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Don't need a lot of radios. indoors nothing works very well.. especially in a steel structured type. I use my radios outdoors or at home. with some sort of ext antenna.
I just recently acquired the Tecsun.....I believe it was one that was modified by Gary DeBock. I haven't been in an active search for anything else.
I haven't used the 380 in my house that much. Ill have to ry and see what it can do there. I have a Sony retractible long wire I can use for SW....
Best Regards Phil
WA2069SWL
Lat: 40.8367633 Long: -74.1768412
From: "Hans Stam hansstam@... [ultralightdx]"
To: ultralightdx@...
Sent: Monday, September 8, 2014 1:18 AM
Subject: Re: [ultralightdx] which receiver?
Hi Phil and thanks for your comment..
I have here the Sangean ATS 909X, not bad but not so sensitive..
But the problem here is that listening to broadcasts, there is much noise in the (office) surrounding here. I use a wire antenna of about 10 meter. usb/lsb no problem, no noise etc.
Thats why I am looking also for a receiver that is not so sensible for noise..how about the 380? FM and LW is not interesting for me, only AM and SW
Why no Degens?
Hans
>
>
> I have the 380, modified with an external larger sleeve antenna....
> Works great. I'm still working on an external antenna for SW... AM is
> great. Better sensitivity with the external antenna. I like the auto
> search feature, It will pick up and store all the sigs found in a
> band (AM etc).
>
>
> FM is good too..
> sound is great for its size.
>
>
> I like the USB cable for recharging the batteries. Wish the ATS909
> had that feature....
>
>
> Still haven't figured out how to change freqs and not have it jump
> in 10s of MHZ.... You have to rotate the knob VERY slowly.... to
> change in 1 MHz steps.
>
>
> Still working on the active antenna that will help me with SW and
> LW... I need a broadcast filter too... I have a local ramming down
> the receiver.... So when I do use the active antenna, its VERY
> sensitive to the point of overload. The filter and grounding will help
> that.
>
>
> Don't have any Degens....
>
>
> Best Regards
> Phil
> WA2069SWL
>
> Lat: 40.8367633 Long: -74.1768412
>
> Icom R71A
> Sangean ATS909
> Tecsun PL380
>
>
> From: "Hans Stam hansstam@... [ultralightdx]"
>
> To: ultralightdx@...
> Sent: Sunday, September 7, 2014 4:10 PM
> Subject: [ultralightdx] which receiver?
>
>
> Hi..
>
> I am looking for a receiver like the Tecsun PL-380 or 390 But also
> think about a DE1103 I have read many good reviews. I like to know
> if the 380 is worth buying, and how it handles with noise of electric
> devices etc. Please tell me about your experiences, thanks! Hans
>
>
>
>
>
> Posted by: Myamiphil
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Thanks Greg for your comments..
I just wrote in another mail about the noise I have here on my Sangean 909X, I live in an apartment that is part of a office building unit. So I think that electronic devices over there influence the broadcast reception of my Sangean. usb/lsb is no problem.
How about the DE1103, is this receiver sensible for all kinds of noise?
Hans
>
>
> The DE1103 does not qualify as an ultralight receiver, so don't get
> it if you're looking specifically for an ultralight receiver. But if
> you're just looking for a good portable receiver I would recommend
> it. I have one (in its KA1103 variant) and I think it is an excellent
> little radio. It's the one I take with me whenever I travel.
>
> I can't comment on the Tecsun radios - I haven't used either of them.
>
> Greg S.
> On 7 Sep 2014 16:10, "Hans Stam hansstam@... [ultralightdx]"
> wrote:
>>
>
>> Hi..
>>
> I am looking for a receiver like the Tecsun PL-380 or 390 But also
> think about a DE1103 I have read many good reviews. I like to know
> if the 380 is worth buying, and how it handles with noise of electric
> devices etc. Please tell me about your experiences, thanks! Hans
>
>
>
>
>
> Posted by: VE3LXL
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Hi Phil and thanks for your comment..
I have here the Sangean ATS 909X, not bad but not so sensitive..
But the problem here is that listening to broadcasts, there is much noise in the (office) surrounding here. I use a wire antenna of about 10 meter. usb/lsb no problem, no noise etc.
Thats why I am looking also for a receiver that is not so sensible for noise..how about the 380? FM and LW is not interesting for me, only AM and SW
Why no Degens?
Hans
>
>
> I have the 380, modified with an external larger sleeve antenna....
> Works great. I'm still working on an external antenna for SW... AM is
> great. Better sensitivity with the external antenna. I like the auto
> search feature, It will pick up and store all the sigs found in a
> band (AM etc).
>
>
> FM is good too..
> sound is great for its size.
>
>
> I like the USB cable for recharging the batteries. Wish the ATS909
> had that feature....
>
>
> Still haven't figured out how to change freqs and not have it jump
> in 10s of MHZ.... You have to rotate the knob VERY slowly.... to
> change in 1 MHz steps.
>
>
> Still working on the active antenna that will help me with SW and
> LW... I need a broadcast filter too... I have a local ramming down
> the receiver.... So when I do use the active antenna, its VERY
> sensitive to the point of overload. The filter and grounding will help
> that.
>
>
> Don't have any Degens....
>
>
> Best Regards
> Phil
> WA2069SWL
>
> Lat: 40.8367633 Long: -74.1768412
>
> Icom R71A
> Sangean ATS909
> Tecsun PL380
>
>
> From: "Hans Stam hansstam@... [ultralightdx]"
>
> To: ultralightdx@...
> Sent: Sunday, September 7, 2014 4:10 PM
> Subject: [ultralightdx] which receiver?
>
>
> Hi..
>
> I am looking for a receiver like the Tecsun PL-380 or 390 But also
> think about a DE1103 I have read many good reviews. I like to know
> if the 380 is worth buying, and how it handles with noise of electric
> devices etc. Please tell me about your experiences, thanks! Hans
>
>
>
>
>
> Posted by: Myamiphil
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On Sun, Sep 07, 2014 at 09:58:50PM -0700, Myamiphil myamiphil@... [ultralightdx] wrote: Still haven't figured out how to change freqs and not have it jump in 10s
of MHZ.... You have to rotate the knob VERY slowly.... to change in 1 MHz
steps. If it's like the 660 you can hold down the light button while the radio is on and it will cycle through slow, fast, fast slow choices. The fast slow choice is the so-called "intelligent" step mode where it's supposed to figure out if you're tuning fast or slow. Of course the light button also affects the light settings so it's a little tricky to get everything the way you want. But eventually you get used to it.
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I have the 380, modified with an external larger sleeve antenna.... Works great. I'm still working on an external antenna for SW... AM is great. Better sensitivity with the external antenna. I like the auto search feature, It will pick up and store all the sigs found in a band (AM etc).
FM is good too..
sound is great for its size.
I like the USB cable for recharging the batteries. Wish the ATS909 had that feature....
Still haven't figured out how to change freqs and not have it jump in 10s of MHZ.... You have to rotate the knob VERY slowly.... to change in 1 MHz steps.
Still working on the active antenna that will help me with SW and LW... I need a broadcast filter too... I have a local ramming down the receiver.... So when I do use the active antenna, its VERY sensitive to the point of overload. The filter and grounding will help
that.
Don't have any Degens....
Best Regards Phil
WA2069SWL
Lat: 40.8367633 Long: -74.1768412 Icom R71A Sangean ATS909 Tecsun PL380
From: "Hans Stam hansstam@... [ultralightdx]"
To: ultralightdx@...
Sent: Sunday, September 7, 2014 4:10 PM
Subject: [ultralightdx] which receiver?
Hi..
I am looking for a receiver like the Tecsun PL-380 or 390
But also think about a DE1103 I have read many good reviews.
I like to know if the 380 is worth buying, and how it handles with noise of electric devices etc.
Please tell me about your experiences, thanks!
Hans
|
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The DE1103 does not qualify as an ultralight receiver, so don't get it if you're looking specifically for an ultralight receiver. But if you're just looking for a good portable receiver I would recommend it. I have one (in its KA1103 variant) and I think it is an excellent little radio. It's the one I take with me whenever I travel.
I can't comment on the Tecsun radios - I haven't used either of them.
Greg S.
Hi..
I am looking for a receiver like the Tecsun PL-380 or 390
But also think about a DE1103 I have read many good reviews.
I like to know if the 380 is worth buying, and how it handles with noise of electric devices etc.
Please tell me about your experiences, thanks!
Hans
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Puyallup, WA Ultralight TP's for 9-7
Gary DeBock
Hello All,
First of all, it was a great honor (honour) to join Guy Atkins in welcoming fellow die-hard TP-chasing fanatic Nick Hall-Patch to Puyallup this afternoon. Nick's visit (along with Chuck, Dave and Phil) went a long way in providing psychological assurance to Guy and I that we are still halfway normal individuals, despite our tendency to search for weak transoceanic MW signals at bizarre hours throughout the night.
This morning's TP performance was one of the worst of the young new season-- which is presumably why nobody has bothered to comment about it yet. Around 1230 the only TP managing a weak carrier here was 774-JOUB, and things didn't improve very much by 1300 (972-HLCA and the 1053-Jammer joined JOUB with weak carriers). By 1305 it was abundantly clear that the morning was a clunker, and not worth further investigation. After one full week of lackluster Asian signals the band is certainly overdue for some better propagation.
73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)
7.5" loopstick Tecsun PL-380 Ultralight +
15" FSL antenna
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Hi..
I am looking for a receiver like the Tecsun PL-380 or 390
But also think about a DE1103 I have read many good reviews.
I like to know if the 380 is worth buying, and how it handles with noise of electric devices etc.
Please tell me about your experiences, thanks!
Hans
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Puyallup, WA Ultralight TP's for 9-6
Gary DeBock
Hello All,
Asian results here this morning were no better than those reported by Dennis or Nigel as the TP's seemed to be stuck in anemia. Even an earlier start time (1145 UTC) failed to produce any energetic Asians.
In total darkness around 1230 UTC several big guns (594-JOAK, 693-JOAB, 774-JOUB, 828-JOBB, 972-HLCA and the 1053-Jammer) did manage to come out of the noise at poor to fair levels, but none of them could maintain their strength for longer than a minute at a time. These were joined by a ghostly 603-HLCA and 738-BEL2 around 1300, neither of which stuck around for long. Any hope of a decent sunrise enhancement boost was quickly gone by 1310, although both 594-JOAK and the 1053-Jammer managed a few brief seconds of good audio around this time. 747-JOIB was the only Asian that seemed to benefit from the sunrise, reaching a temporary good level (in bad Portland splatter) around 1320. Overall it was another mediocre session, and fairly typical of the lackluster sunrise enhancement propagation all week long.
594 JOAK Tokyo, Japan Rapid fire Japanese conversation at an anemic level during "sunrise enhancement" around 1312
1053 Korean Jammer Temporary good-level buzz at 1305; best TP signal of a lackluster morning
73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)
7.5" loopstick Tecsun PL-380 Ultralight +
15" FSL antenna
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Re: Receiver sensitivity parameter
You're going to need something that gives you the ability to put a band stop filter in between your antenna and your radio. Clifton Labs sells them or you can certainly build your own. That still may not protect you from harmonics coming from the transmitter(s). Good luck!
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Re: Receiver sensitivity parameter
If you need a way to minimise the ferrite signal,you may try Tecsun PL360 with plug in ferrite antenna; or CC-EP RADIO which has a switchable internal ferrite option,just my 2 cents .
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 06-Sep-2014, at 4:47 am, "Phillips phillicom@... [ultralightdx]" <ultralightdx@...> wrote:
need a way to minimise the ferrite signal.
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Re: Receiver sensitivity parameter
Poor performance on the BCB. That's pretty relative. I had a high school FM radio station transmitter that was supposedly well filtered. Still, it was very possible for all the attached wiring and everything else associated with the transmitter to actually allow the retransmission the BCB signal out the FM antenna. Signal was so strong that it affected all the telephones in the area, tool. BCB transmitter was a 50KW site and my high school was about 1/2 mitle away.Not a happy situaltion. Bottom line is that rf has a habit of sneaking in on you, even when you do plan for it.
Not meant as a comment of derision but, Best of Luck in your endeavor.
73,
kevin
kc6pob
What I am
thinking of trying is to find a receiver with good
sensitivity at the low end of the short wave bands to give
me an indication of the active performance of the receiver
but which has a poor performance on the BCB. Then I can
interface in my own antenna. I am thinking that I need
to look for a receiver with a short ferrite but with great
2MHz performance.
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Re: Receiver sensitivity parameter
Thank you to all who responded to my question. I have a clearer picture now. It came about because I live within 5Km of a number of high power transmitters, including the famous 5AN, and a lot of the band is denied me because of their proximity. I would like to use a "conventional" antenna so that I can use traps to minimise the flamethrower signals but the ferrite antenna still adds its signal to the mix. I could put the receiver in an earthed iron box but this prevents access to the controls and so I need a way to minimise the ferrite signal. What I am thinking of trying is to find a receiver with good sensitivity at the low end of the short wave bands to give me an indication of the active performance of the receiver but which has a poor performance on the BCB. Then I can interface in my own antenna. I am thinking that I need to look for a receiver with a short ferrite but with great 2MHz performance. Thanks again to all.
To: ultralightdx@... From: ultralightdx@... Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2014 11:49:46 -0700 Subject: RE: [ultralightdx] Re: Receiver sensitivity parameter
To expand on that nice description: Field strength and receiver sensitivity and receiver meter readings are different animals. Receiver sensitivity is just one way to rate how a receiver will "hear" a signal arriving at its input. Besides your own ears, there at least 8 ways to determine sensitivity. Most have to do with taking background noise into account. A receiver's signal meter (more or less) reports on how much signal it is receiving from what ever antenna is attached to it. For example: S9 = 50.2uV (in a 50 ohm system) = -73dBm. If you were to hook up a signal generator to the antenna input and have it output -73dBm, the s meter would read S9 or 50.2 micro volts if so marked. The reason why a tabletop receiver can not give you an actual field strength reading is due to the antenna. Hook up a good or crappy antenna to a receiver and of course the "S" reading will reflect the antenna's ability to extract the signal and get it to the radio. Two antennas, two readings, same location. The difference between the actual field strength (as measured by calibrated equipment) and what the radio reports is called the antenna factor. Most of the time you won't know the antenna factor (AF) of your antenna so the readings your radio is reporting are relative readings only. To use a radio to make actual field strength readings at a location requires an antenna with a known AF and usually a calibrated receiver as well. Finally, I'm sure it is possible for the manufacturer of a portable radio with a fixed antenna to include AF values in a look up table so that it will display a corrected field strength reading. I would probably want to verify the accuracy before relying on the measurements as absolute values. That's how I see it. Please correct me if I'm wrong! Rick
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Re: Receiver sensitivity parameter
To expand on that nice description: Field strength and receiver sensitivity and receiver meter readings are different animals. Receiver sensitivity is just one way to rate how a receiver will "hear" a signal arriving at its input. Besides your own ears, there at least 8 ways to determine sensitivity. Most have to do with taking background noise into account. A receiver's signal meter (more or less) reports on how much signal it is receiving from what ever antenna is attached to it. For example: S9 = 50.2uV (in a 50 ohm system) = -73dBm. If you were to hook up a signal generator to the antenna input and have it output -73dBm, the s meter would read S9 or 50.2 micro volts if so marked. The reason why a tabletop receiver can not give you an actual field strength reading is due to the antenna. Hook up a good or crappy antenna to a receiver and of course the "S" reading will reflect the antenna's ability to extract the signal and get it to the radio. Two antennas, two readings, same location. The difference between the actual field strength (as measured by calibrated equipment) and what the radio reports is called the antenna factor. Most of the time you won't know the antenna factor (AF) of your antenna so the readings your radio is reporting are relative readings only. To use a radio to make actual field strength readings at a location requires an antenna with a known AF and usually a calibrated receiver as well. Finally, I'm sure it is possible for the manufacturer of a portable radio with a fixed antenna to include AF values in a look up table so that it will display a corrected field strength reading. I would probably want to verify the accuracy before relying on the measurements as absolute values. That's how I see it. Please correct me if I'm wrong! Rick
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Re: Receiver sensitivity parameter
Hi Phillips,
Millivots per meter (mV/m) is a way of defining a station's expected (or measured) field strength at a receiving location. It matters little whether that signal is ultimately impressed on a ferrite bar or rod, or a long wire, in that the receiver will take whatever tiny voltage induced and convert it into intelligible audio if it is strong enough. The iron core ferrite rod is basically a signal concentrator. The longer the rod and thus the more iron ferrite, the more the concentration, and the greater signal voltage, at least to a point.
A mediumwave station's expected field strength at a receiving location (daytime hours) also depends on other factors, one being the ground conductivity between the transmitter and receiver path.
I did some articles on ferrite antennas and signal measurements on my blog a couple of years ago. Maybe they will help with introducing some of this material.
Field Strength Calculations (3 parts):
An Unassuming Antenna - The Ferrite Loopstick:
Field Strength Calculations: A History: Bill RADIO-TIMETRAVELLER http://radio-timetraveller.blogspot.com ---In ultralightdx@..., <phillicom@...> wrote : I am still trying to get my cotton wool stuffed brain around this parameter. Does this parameter only apply to receivers with ferrite antennas? Is this the "missing" piece of the puzzle that has eluded me? It would explain why a barefoot short ferrite antenna receiver generally has lower specified sensitivity than a long ferrite. If I follow this line of logic then it would suggest that a ferrite antenna receiver operating at 150KHz would need to be in a field 10 times greater than the same receiver operating at 1,500KHz to deliver the same degree of performance. This would, in turn, suggest that a ferrite antenna receiver will be roughly three times more effective at the top end of the BCB than at the bottom when operating in fields of the same amplitude. Am I reasonably correct in following this line or am I talking through a cocked hat?
To: ultralightdx@... From: ultralightdx@... Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2014 22:17:13 -0400 Subject: [ultralightdx] Re: Receiver sensitivity parameter
Whatis.com says it better then me! "The standard unit of electric field (E-field) strength is the volt per meter (V/m). An E field of 1 V/m is represented by a potential difference of 1 V existing between two points that are 1 m apart. The volt per meter, or some fractional unit based on it, is used as a means of specifying the intensity of the electromagnetic field (EM field) produced by a radio transmitter. Although an EM field contains a magnetic (M) component as well as an electric (E) component, the relative field strength of radio signals is easier to measure in free space by sampling only the E component. The magnitude of the E component from a distant radio transmitter is often much less than 1 V/m, and in such cases, fractional units are preferred. One millivolt per meter (mV/m) is equal to 10 -3 V/m; one microvolt per meter (? V/m) is equal to 10 -6 V/m; one nanovolt per meter (nV/m) is equal to 10 -9 V/m; one picovolt per meter (pV/m) is equal to 10 -12V/m. The magnitude of the E component of a radio wave varies inversely with the distance from the transmitter in a free-space, line-of-sight link. If the distance is doubled, the E-field intensity is cut in half; if the distance increases by a factor of 10, the E-field intensity becomes 1/10 (0.1 times) as great. The E component of an EM field is measured in a single dimension, so the intensity-versus-distance relation is a straight inverse rule, not the inverse-square law."
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Puyallup, WA Ultralight TP's for 9-5
Gary DeBock
Hello All,
After reading Nick's long report of vibrant TP's from 1130-1300 yesterday it certainly seemed like my lackluster sunrise enhancement session (after 1300) got the short end of the propagation stick. The Asian results after 1300 this morning were very similar to yesterday's, leading me to conclude that Nick once again probably managed to receive the "main course" from 1130-1300, while I ended up with the "leftovers."
At my 1300 start time a couple of Koreans (972-HLCA and the 1053-Jammer) were managing fair to good audio, but they slid downhill from there. "Sunrise enhancement" was once again missing in action, with no propagation boost at all. Some anemic audio from 594-JOAK, 603-HLSA and 657-Pyongyang was in and out of the noise from 1310-1320, but these ghostly signals didn't stick around for long. Overall the session was almost an exact repeat of yesterday's, with the same cast of characters on a slow downhill slide. Lacking Nick's ability to record DX during the earlier hours I'll probably need to wait for better sunrise enhancement propagation before coming away with more than the usual suspects on 594, 603, 657, 972 and 1053.
73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)
7.5" loopstick Tecsun PL-380 Ultralight +
15" FSL antenna
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Re: Receiver sensitivity parameter
I am still trying to get my cotton wool stuffed brain around this parameter. Does this parameter only apply to receivers with ferrite antennas? Is this the "missing" piece of the puzzle that has eluded me? It would explain why a barefoot short ferrite antenna receiver generally has lower specified sensitivity than a long ferrite. If I follow this line of logic then it would suggest that a ferrite antenna receiver operating at 150KHz would need to be in a field 10 times greater than the same receiver operating at 1,500KHz to deliver the same degree of performance. This would, in turn, suggest that a ferrite antenna receiver will be roughly three times more effective at the top end of the BCB than at the bottom when operating in fields of the same amplitude. Am I reasonably correct in following this line or am I talking through a cocked hat?
To: ultralightdx@... From: ultralightdx@... Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2014 22:17:13 -0400 Subject: [ultralightdx] Re: Receiver sensitivity parameter
Whatis.com says it better then me! "The standard unit of electric field (E-field) strength is the volt per meter (V/m). An E field of 1 V/m is represented by a potential difference of 1 V existing between two points that are 1 m apart. The volt per meter, or some fractional unit based on it, is used as a means of specifying the intensity of the electromagnetic field (EM field) produced by a radio transmitter. Although an EM field contains a magnetic (M) component as well as an electric (E) component, the relative field strength of radio signals is easier to measure in free space by sampling only the E component. The magnitude of the E component from a distant radio transmitter is often much less than 1 V/m, and in such cases, fractional units are preferred. One millivolt per meter (mV/m) is equal to 10 -3 V/m; one microvolt per meter (? V/m) is equal to 10 -6 V/m; one nanovolt per meter (nV/m) is equal to 10 -9 V/m; one picovolt per meter (pV/m) is equal to 10 -12V/m. The magnitude of the E component of a radio wave varies inversely with the distance from the transmitter in a free-space, line-of-sight link. If the distance is doubled, the E-field intensity is cut in half; if the distance increases by a factor of 10, the E-field intensity becomes 1/10 (0.1 times) as great. The E component of an EM field is measured in a single dimension, so the intensity-versus-distance relation is a straight inverse rule, not the inverse-square law."
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Re: New station logged 8/31/14
On Thu, Sep 04, 2014 at 02:34:31PM -0400, 'richarda@...' richarda@... [ultralightdx] wrote: I've managed to log a new medium wave station. Congrats! ... and ditto. Hearing Voice of Russia from Grigoriopol, Moldova on 1413 KHz now at 19:30 UTC which is about 1100 miles from my QTH. Have a PL-310 on order but it has not arrived so this station was logged on a new PL-660. According to WRTH they're running half a megawatt but the signal is still just above the noise. Propagation is improving as it gets later. Signal has come up quite a bit in the last 5 minutes. Fades in and out in a very long cycle as is typical for long path MW. Can also hear BBC's Cyprus relay on 1323 KHz in the evenings pretty clearly but it is very close. QTH is SE mediterranean --
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New station logged 8/31/14
I've managed to log a new medium wave station.
8/31/14
1239 GMT 750 kHz KSEO, Durant OK (0.22 kW @ 276 km/172 mi). Heard by chance while listening to KMMJ, Lexington NE, with a promo for the University of
Oklahoma vs. University of Tulsa football game "on KSEO" on 9/6/14. It immediately faded out under KMMJ. Faded-in briefly at 1254 with "Good times oldies
are back in Texoma....." Heard on a PL-310ET and 8-inch FSL.
9/4/14
1217 GMT KSEO heard again with song "Dream Weaver", followed by weather forecast for southeast Oklahoma., then faded away at 1220. Heard on a barefoot
SRF-T615.
I must admit I didn't know the station existed until heard on Sunday. Total ULR station #1041 and barefoot #1028.
Good DX.
Richard Allen,
near Perry OK USA.
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Re: Receiver sensitivity parameter
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