Nice new one at sunset tonight on the DT-200VX barefoot:

1380 RI WNRI Woonsocket, 1700, weather report- 28 degrees, sung ID
"WNRI., Woonsocket", call-in show, "We're talking with you until 6
o'clock on WRNI".

UL station #412.

John Cereghin
Smyrna DE

I really can't add much that's not already been said about the first
anniversary of this very fun aspect of the DXing hobby. I also have had
a renewed interest in MW DX'ing, something that in the past I would
only get into when there was a chance of hearing a new country. In
other words, I've never been into MW DX'ing like I am now. Ditto on the
thanks to Gary and all the guys who have been so instrumental in
getting this movement moving along. I'm having a blast, and it had been
many years since I'd enjoyed radio DX'ing. My life is a lot more fun
since John Bryant told me about the ULRs.
73's!!
Kirk Allen
Ponca City, OK

Which Sangean did you use?

Tom Welch
Mesa, AZ USA

I have to agree with these posts. Not everyone can afford a thousand
dollar boat anchor or put out a beverage and many of us don't have the
technical know-how to construct a EWE. But anyone can buy a $15-$75
ultralight and start DXing. And I think UL DXing taxes your skills
more than "standard" DXing. It's one thing for me to get France or
England on my FRG-7 with a 200-foot longwire. It's quite something
else to do it on a SFR-59 barefoot, while in my easy chair.

I've really been serious about UL DXing since July of this year and
have managed to hear 411 stations, 32 states and 12 countries on my
various UL radios. That is no small feat in itself.

I consider barefoot UL DXing as "minimalist DXing." Nothing against
using mega loopsticks and hooking up your UL to a beverage, but there
is something to be said for barefoot UL DXing, the ultimate challenge
in my opinion. What can you accomplish with a 1.5-inch ferrite bar
and a stock UL?

Onward and upward!

John Cereghin
Smyrna DE

Gary:

Thank you for discovering the DX capability of the tiny SRF-59. It
returned me to a hobby I'd neglected for many years. Now my R75 and
G313e communication receivers sit idle most of the time.

Happy anniversary and good DX.

Richard Allen
36°22'51"N / 97°26'35"W
(near Perry OK)

My sentiments  are  the same as the previous posts regarding the anniversary of the Ultralight Radio movement. This past year has definitely been a very special one for me , having the opportunity to be involved in something new  in a hobby I've been passionate about for the last forty years.    Having the chance to hear new stations and places I never dreamed I would ever hear on any type of receiver , let alone these mini marvels.   The AM broadcast band DX interest has been re-sparked to new heights  in this radio Dxer who like many got their start on the AM dial.   A personal thank you and Happy Anniversary goes out to the individuals such as Gary DeBock and others who started the Ultralight movement on it's fantastic journey   In closing I am honoured to be associated with such a wonderful membership of individuals that our group has become in the past year.   Sincerely,   Allen Willie St. John's, Newfoundland

---

Now with a new friend-happy design! Try the new Yahoo! Canada Messenger

Carl:

Thanks for the information. I will definitely check out KVI 570.
Back in the good old days, before the AM band became so overcrowded, I
use to hear KGA 1510 from Spokane. But that was a long time ago.

Good Dxing.

Richard Allen
36°22'51"N / 97°26'35"W
(near Perry OK)

--- I forgot to mention that i first read about the ULR movement
through the article that Popular Communications did on it back in
April(i think) of this year.I had not heard of it previously.I read
where John Bryant was involved and since i knew John and had met him
a time or two before,i went and bought one of the ULRs mentioned -the
Sony SRF -M37V.I have since bought the M37W version and the Sony SRF-
59 as well as the Eton E-100.I contacted a mutual friend of John,s
and mine,Kirk Allen,who lived in the same city as me,Ponca City,Ok,at
the time.John had told Kirk about ULRs and had given him a SRF-59.I
called John on the phone and we talked about the ULR movement just
before he left for Orcas Island,Wa.John recommened the E-100 to me as
well as Kirk.Kirk and i both ordered an E-100 from Durham Radio
within days of each other.And the rest they say is history:) hi!hi!
Carl DeWhitt
Walland,Tn.

In ultralightdx@..., "Carl DeWhitt" <carl_elissa@...>
wrote:

---Happy 1st anniversary to all in the ultralight movement.I can

say

with many others for sure,that this is the most amazing niche of

the

hobby that i have ever been involved in.The fact that anyone can
receive TA and/or TP dx on a little pocket radio is amazing!Who

would

have thought this movement would have accomplished this much and

come

this far in just a short year.Just like it has with others on the
group,it has reawakened my interest in mw dxing.Thanks to
Gary ,Rob,John and all others who really contributed early on to

this

movement.73 and good dx and good luck for the next year of ULR
enjoyment.
Carl DeWhitt
Walland,Tn.

In ultralightdx@..., Robert Ross <va3sw@> wrote:

At 08:24 PM 11/18/2008, Gary Debock wrote:

Hello Guys,

With the Ultralight radio niche hobby now being enjoyed

throughout

North America, Europe and many other areas of the world, some

enthusiasts

may be curious how this whole craziness started. It actually

started on

November 20, 2007 with some startling TP receptions on a humble

SRF-59,

but was fueled by some amazing coincidences that gave the

movement a

massive surge within just a month.

Happy 1st Anniversary/Birthday to the ULR Movement!!! Being one

of

the

Canadians who benefited from Gary's generosity last

December......I

am

happy and proud to have been able to see the growth of the

subculture over

this past year!! I don't think anyone...including Gary could have

ever

imagined where this would be 1 Year later. As a matter of

fact....I

doubt

anyone really gave it much thought at the beginning. It was just

something

that happened ...and as it progressed it opened a lot of eyes.
The real bonus of this Ultralight growth, is that it

brought

a lot

of Old Timers outta the woodwork and Re-exposed them to the FUN

they had

when they began BCB DXing years ago , many as Kids I reckon!!

So........Gary even though you had no idea where we were

going.....you had

enough insight to take us there!! Thanks for that...and Happy

Birthday to

everyone on the ULR Reflector....may our 2nd year be as much fun

as

the

first. I can only imagine where the ULR Hobby will be at the end

of

2009.......

A good show by all......and thanks for letting me be a part of it

all!!

73...ROB.



Robert S. Ross VA3SW
Box 1003, Stn. B.
London, Ontario
CANADA N6A5K1

Antique/Vintage Radio Enthusiast
Amateur Radio Stations VA3SW/VE3JFC
Enjoy Ultralight Radio DXing......It's like being a KID again!!

Defy Physics.....Play Table Tennis!! (Ping Pong with an Attitude)
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«

---Happy 1st anniversary to all in the ultralight movement.I can say
with many others for sure,that this is the most amazing niche of the
hobby that i have ever been involved in.The fact that anyone can
receive TA and/or TP dx on a little pocket radio is amazing!Who would
have thought this movement would have accomplished this much and come
this far in just a short year.Just like it has with others on the
group,it has reawakened my interest in mw dxing.Thanks to
Gary ,Rob,John and all others who really contributed early on to this
movement.73 and good dx and good luck for the next year of ULR
enjoyment.
Carl DeWhitt
Walland,Tn.

In ultralightdx@..., Robert Ross <va3sw@...> wrote:

At 08:24 PM 11/18/2008, Gary Debock wrote:

Hello Guys,

With the Ultralight radio niche hobby now being enjoyed

throughout

North America, Europe and many other areas of the world, some

enthusiasts

may be curious how this whole craziness started. It actually

started on

November 20, 2007 with some startling TP receptions on a humble

SRF-59,

but was fueled by some amazing coincidences that gave the

movement a

massive surge within just a month.

Happy 1st Anniversary/Birthday to the ULR Movement!!! Being one of

the

Canadians who benefited from Gary's generosity last December......I

am

happy and proud to have been able to see the growth of the

subculture over

this past year!! I don't think anyone...including Gary could have

ever

imagined where this would be 1 Year later. As a matter of fact....I

doubt

anyone really gave it much thought at the beginning. It was just

something

that happened ...and as it progressed it opened a lot of eyes.
The real bonus of this Ultralight growth, is that it brought

a lot

of Old Timers outta the woodwork and Re-exposed them to the FUN

they had

when they began BCB DXing years ago , many as Kids I reckon!!

So........Gary even though you had no idea where we were

going.....you had

enough insight to take us there!! Thanks for that...and Happy

Birthday to

everyone on the ULR Reflector....may our 2nd year be as much fun as

the

first. I can only imagine where the ULR Hobby will be at the end

of

2009.......

A good show by all......and thanks for letting me be a part of it

all!!

73...ROB.



Robert S. Ross VA3SW
Box 1003, Stn. B.
London, Ontario
CANADA N6A5K1

Antique/Vintage Radio Enthusiast
Amateur Radio Stations VA3SW/VE3JFC
Enjoy Ultralight Radio DXing......It's like being a KID again!!

Defy Physics.....Play Table Tennis!! (Ping Pong with an Attitude)
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«

--- Richard:
When i lived back in Oklahoma,i did receive KVI 570 in Seattle at
least a couple of times but not on ULRs.The winter dx season was
over when i got involved in ULRs.On a few occassions i had a
tentative log on another Seattle station -KOMO 1000.Maybe you can
give these 2 a try.I never did log Oregon though.
Carl DeWhitt
Wallnd,Tn.

In ultralightdx@..., "bbwrwy" <richarda@...> wrote:

Kevin:

While conditions are improved, thus far the distant signals aren't
rolling in as I hoped. The exception, is Vancouver's "News 11-30"
which is coming in at 0500 UTC with a fair signal. Ironically I

can

hear CKWX, but have yet to hear a station in Oregon and

Washington. I

guess I'll just have to wait my turn.

Good DX.

Richard Allen
36°22'51"N / 97°26'35"W
(near Perry OK)

Kevin:

While conditions are improved, thus far the distant signals aren't
rolling in as I hoped. The exception, is Vancouver's "News 11-30"
which is coming in at 0500 UTC with a fair signal. Ironically I can
hear CKWX, but have yet to hear a station in Oregon and Washington. I
guess I'll just have to wait my turn.

Good DX.

Richard Allen
36°22'51"N / 97°26'35"W
(near Perry OK)

My thanks to Gary and Kirk for their kind comments.

Now that I've reached 200 I'm going to take a break from ultralight DXing for a few days. Then, when I return I'm going to start using my two new ultralight receivers - a Sangean DT-400W and an Eton E-100. I bought them both a month ago, but they've been sitting in a box unused until now. I wouldn't allow myself to DX with them until I got to 200 on the SRF-59. Introducing these two radios should help with the numbers.

When I started with this ultralight thing, I didn't expect that I'd get so into it. It seemed like a neat idea, but I figured I'd do it until I reached 100 and would then stop. But it has really revitalized my interest in mediumwave DXing and I'm enjoying it a lot more than I'd expected.

Best,
Greg Shoom
VE3LXL

--
$
$ Greg Shoom - shoom@...
$ Toronto, Ontario, Canada
$

At 08:24 PM 11/18/2008, Gary Debock wrote:

Hello Guys,
 
     With the Ultralight radio niche hobby now being enjoyed throughout North America, Europe and many other areas of the world, some enthusiasts may be curious how this whole craziness started.  It actually started on November 20, 2007 with some startling TP receptions on a humble SRF-59, but was fueled by some amazing coincidences that gave the movement a massive surge within just a month.
 

Happy 1st Anniversary/Birthday to the ULR Movement!!! Being one of the Canadians who benefited from Gary's generosity last December......I am happy and proud to have been able to see the growth of the subculture over this past year!! I don't think anyone...including Gary could have ever imagined where this would be 1 Year later. As a matter of fact....I doubt anyone really gave it much thought at the beginning. It was just something that happened ...and as it progressed it opened a lot of eyes.
      The real bonus of this Ultralight growth, is that it brought a lot of Old Timers outta the woodwork and Re-exposed them to the FUN they had when they began BCB DXing years ago , many as Kids I reckon!!

So........Gary even though you had no idea where we were going.....you had enough insight to take us there!! Thanks for that...and Happy Birthday to everyone on the ULR Reflector....may our 2nd year be as much fun as the first.  I can only imagine where the ULR Hobby will be at the end of 2009.......

A good show by all......and thanks for letting me be a part of it all!!

73...ROB.





«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«

Happy Birthday, ULR! And of course, a profound thanks to Gary for all of
his enthusiasm, generosity, and all-around support for making the
Ultralight Radio hobby what it is today!

Kevin S
Bainbridge Island, WA

Hi Richard:

Things have been good out here near Seattle as well. WGN-720 and WBBM-780
were coming in great last night from Chicago, on top of stations out of
Nevada, with readability quality perhaps the best in memory.

Kevin S
Bainbridge Island, WA

I appears signal propagation conditions have improved from the
unsettled period last weekend and should be mostly quiet for the
remainder of the week. The K-index has been zero since before 0600
UTC on 11/17/08.

I've been hearing WGN 720 (1023km/636mi) and KQWB 1660 (1180km/733mi)
here in Oklahoma all day. So hopefully tonight will allow you to hear
that elusive station or maybe a TA or two. If you live in the central
part of North America, check out 1134 kHz for Hrvatsha Radio. It has
been heard in northern Oklahoma between 0030 and 0230 UTC.

Best of DX to all.

Richard Allen
36°22'51"N / 97°26'35"W

Hello Guys,

 

     With the Ultralight radio niche hobby now being enjoyed throughout North America, Europe and many other areas of the world, some enthusiasts may be curious how this whole craziness started.  It actually started on November 20, 2007 with some startling TP receptions on a humble SRF-59, but was fueled by some amazing coincidences that gave the movement a massive surge within just a month.

 

     On November 19, 2007, I was shopping for a Christmas present to give my son, Danny, an introduction to the joys of AM-DXing (which I experienced as a kid, with a transistor radio).  At the local Fred Meyer store, I picked out an analog Sony Walkman, the SRF-59, which looked a lot like the portables I used in the early 60's.  Upon returning home to ensure the radio worked properly, I gave it a quick test on AM and FM.  Everything worked OK--  but there was something very unusual about the AM performance.  A tiny, cheap transistor portable like this wasn't supposed to be receiving California stations around noontime here in western Washington, 500 miles to the north.  This SRF-59 was a real shocker!  Feeling somewhat guilty, I asked Danny if Daddy could get him another present instead of this one.  To my relief, he quickly agreed.

 

     The daytime DX on this SRF-59 was astonishing, but even more stunning was the complete freedom from image reception, and almost complete freedom from spurious signals.  On an $18 portable?  What was going on here?  Why hadn't anyone else in the AM-DXing hobby reported the outstanding performance of this tiny wonder?

 

     But the big shocker was yet to come.  Just after local midnight on November 20, a couple of Japanese TP stations (JOIB-747 and JOAK-594) made a decent appearance on this tiny SRF-59, completely transforming my casual AM-DXing attitude.  This was revolutionary!  Other AM-DXers had to experience this excitement.

 

     Upon getting up after reduced sleep (a common malady affecting TP chasers), I excitedly attempted to send a report of the new SRF-59's performance to the IRCA list reflector.  But probably due to lack of concentration, the email was sent to Colin Newell (of DXer.Ca) instead.  This "mistake" was actually one of the major reasons the Ultralight Radio boom got started, because Colin's support for the ULR concept (and his encouragement of a formal SRF-59 review) helped spread the Boom throughout North America.

 

     A formal SRF-59 review posted on DXer.Ca caused such a run on SRF-59's (in December) that even Amazon.com had trouble filling orders at times.  To show appreciation for Colin's support, various free SRF-59 samples were sent to Canadians, including one to Rob Ross, who used it to log over 300 stations in 30 days in January.  In early December, the SRF-59 Boom was in full swing, and pocket radio DXing was catching on like wildfire (with SRF-M37V's and DT-200VX units also popular).  Also in early December, Kevin Schanilec suggested that we designate a name for this new form of AM-DXing, and by consensus, Kevin's suggestion of "Ultralight Radio" was chosen.  By late December, the Boom was the talk of AM-DXing circles, and established DXer John Bryant was showing interest (along with many others).  A new AM-DXing phenomena had begun, which with John's organizational talents, became the established, exciting niche hobby that we enjoy today. Thanks to all who contributed, and "Happy Birthday" to all Ultralight Radio enthusiasts!

 

     73 and Best Wishes,

     Gary DeBock         

 

       .   

Hi Saul,

 

     Wow, thanks for the great report.  I'm happy that you guys logged a lot of great DX during the Newfie trip, and congratulations on hearing Saudi Arabia-1521 on your Prison Radio.

 

     I know what you mean about computer hash causing trouble for barefoot ULR's (and even hot-rodded ones, using only their monster loopsticks).  During the summer DXpeditions to Grayland, there were a couple of times when John Bryant and Guy Atkins were all set up with computers and table radios inside Room 15, but I needed to go out to a picnic table near the beach for the best ULR environment.

 

     Congratulations to Chuck for receiving India-1566 on his Sangean ULR.  West coast DXers tried hard to receive India on ULR's this season, and we were always hoping we could do it first.  Now it appears that we did, although one of us had to go to Newfoundland to do it :>)

 

     73,  Gary   

Howdy Radio Nuts,

I didn't have much time to tune around tonight, but I lucked into one
new station and a Canadian at that. I'm always happy to hear the
Canadians because for some reason I have trouble hearing them here
most of the time. I noticed CBK, 540, was stronger than I've ever hrd
them here, so with the few minutes I had left, I checked some of the
freqs where the most commonly heard Canadians are logged down this
way...once again, I thank Richard Allen for putting this station on
my hit list. Only apx. 120+ more stations and I'll catch up with him!

940, CJGX, Yorkton, SK, 0405-0430+, 11/18. Current weather with
temps, etc. Started with a poor copy but then improved greatly in the
remaining minutes I had to spare. "GX-94" IDs hrd several times
between their usual fare of C&W mx.

Heard on an Eton E-100 slider plus the Select-a-Tenna. That combo is
most times a killer from what I've experienced so far!

73 and good DX to everyone,

Kirk Allen
Ponca City, OK

Carl:

The het is often heard here in Oklahoma on 1521 kHz from around sunset
until about 0130 UTC. I'm sure it's the BSKSA station at Duba, Saudi
Arabia. The tough part is pulling an audible signal passed KOKC 1520.

Richard Allen
36°22'51"N / 97°26'35"W
(near Perry OK)