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MI LOG

wa8lcz
 

1440 WJBS SC Holly Hill 1k 100w 0715 EST 8 Jan 10 new state #27
1440 WJJL NY Niagara Falls 1k 1k 0730 EST 8 Jan 10 new

on the same freq, WGVL is supposed to be running 5kw sports but they may be off the air, and their signal is beaming south east. Anyone from down south, know their status ?

i tried pitting the SRF-M40W against the SRF-59, both had equal sensitivity and low noise, on this SC station. surprising, since the M40W has PLL synthesized tuner and LC Display. i walked around the house and found some locations that were much quietier than the radio shack. near the kitchen sink and in the living room. thats a big advantage for the ultra-lite radios. I can sit in my favorite chair and DX. if it was warmer i could go outside and really find a quiet location. looks like 3 or 4 inches of snow on my car.

byron wa8lcz Sony SRF-M40W barefoot
Evaluation Board User's Guide

jim_kr1s <jkearman@...>
 

Thanks to Nick for sending me the SiLabs "Si47xx Evaluation Board User's
Guide." I've put it on my site. It's a 5.5-MB PDF file.

http://kearman.com/images/Si47xxEVB.pdf

73,

Jim, KR1S
Re: Help with ID for Unid

jim_kr1s <jkearman@...>
 

Tony,

The LYQ NDB was in Manchester, Tennessee, on 529 kHz.

The other station may have been CIAO, in Brampton, Ontario.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIAO_(AM)

73,

Jim, KR1S
Re: Help with ID for Unid

Gil Stacy
 

Tony,
If Arabic, then it was most likely Algeria on 531 kHz according to the Euro-African MW guide:
ALG- Alger Chaîne 1, El Ain Beida (600*) - 24h: Arabic transmissions (*: 0600-1800: 600 kW, 1800-0600: 300 kW)

The CW you heard originates from an NDB station, an airport beacon, in Manchester, TN. It is 50 watts and is on 529 kHz.

Nice snags on a $10 rx.
73 Gil
Help with ID for Unid

Antonios Kekalos <akekalos@...>
 

Listening to 530 between 2214-2221 EST. Arabic (I think) voice with Arabic music. Audio for the voice and music was steady enough that I'm pretty sure it was Arabic. In the background I could hear these morse characters: L Y Q. Don't know if the morse was on the same frequency or an adjacent frequency. Anyone able to assist in an ID?

Tony Kekalos
Traverse City, MI
SRF-59
Re: Log is Ready, But...

jim_kr1s <jkearman@...>
 

--- In ultralightdx@..., Scott <scottmac1120@...> wrote:
its actual path there is: "H:&#92;AM DX Log.xls".

Rename the file to remove the spaces or replace them with underscores or hyphens.

73,

Jim, KR1S
Re: Log is Ready, But...

Scott <scottmac1120@...>
 

Well, the problem isn't on the computer's side. When I try to click on the "Upload a file" button, it says, "Invalid Path: Member's Loggings ", with a space like it's expecting the ampersand, and what's after it. I actually wrote it at school, so its actual path there is: "H:\AM DX Log.xls". Hope that helps.

Scott


On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 12:14 PM, jim_kr1s <jkearman@...> wrote:
 

Try moving the file to your computer's Root directory (C:/ ) before uploading it. That will eliminate the spaces.

73,

Jim, KR1S
Re: more on PL-380 loop antennas

jim_kr1s <jkearman@...>
 

Nick,

Hmmm. Maybe they left it out. Can you post a link to the manual for the EV board? I couldn't find it the day I looked. Thanks.

They may spec the larger coil to provide coverage down into LW. Maybe someone at SiLabs is into NDBs. :)

73,

Jim, KR1S
Re: more on PL-380 loop antennas

Nick Hall-Patch
 

--- In ultralightdx@..., "jim_kr1s" <jkearman@...> wrote:
A series cap will reduce the available tuning range with the on-chip varactor, too. ......
Somewhere on that board is a tiny chip cap.
Haven't found it yet, Jim, and the circuit in the PL380 doesn't seem exactly the same as the recommended Silicon Labs circuit either. However the board has many markings similar to that found on the SiLabs circuit, "AMI" for example, though that seems to be the node to which the loop antenna is connected in the PL380, not the expected series capacitor.

As has already been mentioned, 0.47uF is recommended in the evaluation board for this component; did anyone notice that the recommended loop antenna inductance on the EV board is up to 600uH, not the 450uH seen in the chip's data sheet?


best wishes,

Nick
Last Night in Nova Scotia

John Cereghin <jcereghin@...>
 

We're heading back to Delaware tomorrow, with an overnight stop in
Augusta, Maine, so my Maritime DXing is about finished until our next
trip up here, probably in July. But one new log for my Nova Scotia
log UL log (currently at 114 stations) using the PL-310 barefoot

1400 CBG Gander NF, CBC programming, lots of mentions of Newfoundland
with local music (fiddle music) interludes, CBC news at 1630 Atlantic.

John Cereghin
Greenwood, Nova Scotia
Re: Log is Ready, But...

jim_kr1s <jkearman@...>
 

Try moving the file to your computer's Root directory (C:/ ) before uploading it. That will eliminate the spaces.

73,

Jim, KR1S
Log is Ready, But...

scottmac112 <scottmac1120@...>
 

Hey everyone!

I have my log finally prepared. Problem is, I can't add it into the files. It keeps giving me a "Bad Path" message. I think that the punctuation in the folder name is causing it to not recognize the folder name when the characters get converted to HTML (%20, for example). Anyway, it's an XLS (Excel) file, and I can convert it to ODF, PDF, or whatever anybody would like. But I can't post it. Maybe I can e-mail it to somebody else and they can do it. Anybody?

Thanks!

Scott
Hobbs, NM

Sony SRF-59, Grundig G8, 2002 Ford Focus
Re: Garmin GPS / PL-380 battery charging

Gil Stacy
 

Newer Blackberry's charge with a plug incompatible with the 380/310.
The noise issue while charging is a non-issue with me as I don't leave the charger in place while listening.

Compared with the Kchibo ULR line of DSP rx's, Tecsun has put considerable thought into their designs. It's as if Kchibo built a radio having never seen or used one. The Tecsun will operate without batteries provided the "charger" is in place. Not so with my D96L. The Tecsun will hold in memory the auto shut off time. Not so with the D96L. Then there is the battery issues and charger polarity problems between the D92L and D96LThese are a few of my pet peeves with the Kchibo, but there are others.... The Kchibo is sensitive as Gary has observed, but given the choice between the two, go with the Tecsuns.
73 Gil
Re: Garmin GPS / PL-380 battery charging

Phil Pasteur
 

I had a followup and correction to my post on this subject as well.
I suggested that a charger for a Motorola V551 could be used. That is incorrect. It is actually the charger for the Motorola Razr V3. The numbers are SPN5202 (CH710). I noticed this morning that Amazon had them as low as 77 cents (?). I have tried three of these with my PL 310. They add negligible to no noise when plugged into the radio. I tested between stations at different frquencies on both AM and FM while plugging the charger in and disconnecting it. I really could hear no difference. From my experience, this charger would be a good option for anyone wanting to run the radio from wall power or charge it when away from a computer.

Phil P.

--- In ultralightdx@..., "jim_kr1s" <jkearman@...> wrote:

A follow-up. Gil, NN4CW, suggested the Blackberry 8330 battery charger for the Tecsun PL-380. I ordered one but the vendor shipped the wrong model. They shipped the correct one right away and didn't ask for the wrong one back, and I got it yesterday. It does indeed plug in and charge the radio, but it generates a LOT of RFI (radio-frequency interference). The noise only shows up when the charger is plugged into the radio. Switching supplies don't get serious until you give them a load. Wrapping the charger-radio cord around and through various ferrites didn't help enough to be worthwhile on MW, SW and many FM stations, so use this gadget for charging and disconnect it for listening. The Garmin GPS USB cable, OTOH, only introduces a little noise on MW, but my desktop PC is pretty noisy to start with.

Jim, KR1S
Re: more on PL-380 loop antennas

sdwillingham
 

I just took a look inside my PL-300 and it uses 1 uF (according to the silkscreen marking '105' -- I didn't measure it).

Then I looked in my PL-380, but they put a metal shield around the Si4734 area! So that'll have to wait for another time. All of the visible antenna and RF circuits look the same, however, with a little cleaner board layout.

-Scott-

--- In ultralightdx@..., "jim_kr1s" <jkearman@...> wrote:



--- In ultralightdx@..., "Roy" <roy.dyball@> wrote:


In both of the Si Labs evaluation boards they use a value of 0.47µF
for the AM input AC coupling capacitor.
That should do it! Sure wish we knew what Tecsun was using. I can't spot it in the photos someone took of the PL-380 antenna. Can you get access to the antenna port on the chip from the bottom of the board? One way around this would be to connect one of the loop leads through a 0.47 uF to the terminal, and bypass whatever Tecsun uses.

73,

Jim, KR1S
Re: First TA's ever heard tonight PL-380 barefoot in Calgary AB

jim_kr1s <jkearman@...>
 

--- In ultralightdx@..., Deane McIntyre <Deane@...> wrote:

What continent does R. Farda count as?

Congrats! According to WRTH 2010, R Farda's 1521-kHz transmitter is in the United Arab Emirates, which is Asia.

73,

Jim, KR1S
First TA's ever heard tonight PL-380 barefoot in Calgary AB

Deane McIntyre <Deane@...>
 

After my barefoot Japan loggings of Japan on my PL-380 this morning I
logged tonight my first TA's on any radio:

Noticed at 2:35 WBZ-1030 in like a local over KTWO

At 2:40 Croatia on 1134 with local pest CHRB-1140 nulled barefoot

At 2:50 R. Farda UAE on 1575 with armchair reception using the tuned passive loop.
On peaks could be heard barefoot. What continent does R. Farda count as?

These are my first TA's ever with any radio:)

73,

Deane McIntyre VE6BPO
Re: New version of Tecsun PL-380

Mark Roberts
 

On Mon, Jan 4, 2010 at 11:58 AM, Chris Knight <chris@...> wrote:
Mark,

I can't think of anything else other than how much elapsed time it took to
receive it. Muchisimas gracias!
US Postal Service shows it as having arrived in Oakland CA this
afternoon. So I expect delivery to be tomorrow or Friday (I live in
Oakland). More to come....
New Version of Tecsun PL-380

Gary DeBock
 

Hello All,
 
As mentioned previously, an order has been placed with "Anon-co" for a new version Tecsun PL-380, using the EMS shipping option (which costs only $5 more than regular air mail shipping, but is apparently about 10 days faster). Joyce's description of the new version, pasted below, may be of interest.
 
73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)
 
Dear Gary,
 
Thx for your new order for 1pc. of PL-380 (NEW VERSION) in black.
I shall send the new version to you.
Actually, the new version PL380 is only upgraded the software for more stablizing frequency.
If you insist to have it, I am going to send it to you.

The extra shipping cost by EMS is US$5.00
 
 
Re: 1450

Kirk <kirk74601@...>
 

After listening again to 1450 just now, I've concluded my logging from 1450 last night was actually this:

WNAT NATCHEZ MS 1000 1000 NDA TALK/SPORTS ESPN NEWSTALKSPORTS

Hrd just a while ago, and this time it sounded like WNAT. 99.9% sure this time. Sorry for the confusion. After doing some research online, WNAT fits much better than WMAV.
73,

Kirk Allen
Pasadena, TX
27341 - 27360 of 34499