CC Skywave SSB: Second Impressions

What's in the box: clockwise from top left, the box, instruction manual, earbuds, radio, carrying pouch, and SW reel antenna.

After spending Friday afternoon playing with my new C.Crane CC Skywave SSB receiver, I tried it out after dark and logged a new station at 0210Z: WFUN on 970 kHz in Ashtabula, Ohio, transmitting 1 kW, 404 miles to the west broadcasting the Cleveland Cavaliers game.

With nightime conditions, the Skywave SSB performs like the original Skywave. Like the original, the SSB was able to pull out stations on 1070 despite the slop from 50-kW WTIC on 1080, 12 miles away. Using the SSB mode, I was also able to dig out a station on 980 from under the slop from WPRX on 990, 4 miles away.

IMHO, the sensitivity and selectivity of the Skywave SSB and original Skywave is about the same on AM, FM, SW, and WX bands. Also, I found the SSB to be more sensitive on the Air band.

The addition of the SSB option on the AM and SW bands makes the Skywave SSB a better radio.

CC Skywave SSB: First Impressions

I ordered the new C.Crane CC Skywave SSB AM/FM/WX/Air/SW radio online Wednesday morning. I had a 15% discount coupon, so the radio only cost $127.49 plus $12.40 for Priority Mail shipping. The USPS delivered the radio late this morning and these are my first impressions.

Despite some scuttlebutt I’ve read on the Internet, the SSB mode does work on the AM band as well as the SW bands.

Compared to the original CC Skywave, the SSB has a longer telescoping antenna by 2.5 inches.

The SSB is colored grey, whereas the original is black.

The SSB and accessories come in a nice cardboard box, whereas the original Skywave came in a clear plastic package.

I compared the SSB and original Skywave side-by-side on the air on each band this afternoon for about two hours and I noted the following:

The SSB is more sensitive on the Air band than the original Skywave.

The sensitivity and selectivity of the SSB and original Skywave are about the same on the WX and FM bands.

The sensitivity of the SSB and original Skywave are about the same on the SW and AM bands.

Note that these are first impressions over a few hours out of the box, so my opinion may change over a longer period of use.

Eclipse Report

Eclipse from downtown Wolcott, CT, at 1854 UTC
(photographed while holding my telescope's sun filter in front of the lens of my iPhone 6)

I made over a dozen recordings of the AM broadcast band during the eclipse and I will review them later. I also had my C.Crane CC Skywave receiver outdoors with me during the event. I programmed six frequencies from this list into the Skywave – 650, 670, 750, 1040, 1190 and 1510 – frequencies that are dead air during daylight here.

I heard nothing on these frequencies during the hour leading up to the eclipse maximum here in Wolcott at 1845 UTC. About 15 minutes later, I could hear a weak signal on 1510 that became stronger during the next ten minutes – strong enough to be intelligible and identifiable: WRNJ in Hackettstown, NJ, transmitting 2,000 watts, 113 miles to the west-southwest. The signal peaked at about 1915 UTC and then slowly faded into the noise disappearing completely at about 1930 UTC.

I hear WRNJ most nights, but never during daylight, so I assume the eclipse's "nighttime" conditions were the reason I heard it this afternoon.

Instant QSL

Memorial Day afternoon, I was relaxing on the front porch listening to random shortwave stations as my C.Crane CC Skywave receiver scanned the bands. I logged four new ones including WRMI, Radio Miami International on 19 meters, which was broadcasting an interesting shortwave listener's program at the time.

At the end of the broadcast, they announced their address for reception reports, but I was conversing with my wife and missed the details. So I visited their website and found their e-mail address for reception reports. I cannot recall the last time I sent a reception report ― certainly not in this century, but I could not resist the ease of sending a report by e-mail and so I did.

Within minutes, WRMI confirmed my report in an e-mail with the cool QSL card pictured above attached.

On the FM radio

This time of year, I don’t expect to work anything new on the FM band, but yesterday, I logged two new stations.

On an early morning grocery run, I noticed a handmade sign on the side of the road in Bristol, CT, that read, “105.3 Christian Radio.” I don’t recall logging many religious stations on FM, so I tuned the car radio to 105.3 Mc and found a religious station, WJYC, that was loud and clear.

I continued monitoring 105.3 during my grocery run and WJYC was solid until I crested South Mountain. WPTY out of Long Island took over the frequency.

After I unloaded the groceries, I looked up WJYC on Radio-Locator.com. It is the Riverside Baptist Church’s LPFM station transmitting 76 watts from Terryville, CT, 3 to 4 miles to my west as I drove around Bristol, CT.

Since WJYC was a new station right under my nose, I decided to check what other new stations might be under my nose and ready to be logged.

Using the Radio-Locator.com “find U.S. radio by your location” feature, the website came back with a list of AM and FM stations I should be able to hear. Perusing the list, only one was not in my log: W253BQ on 98.5 Mc. Their transmitter is 7 miles line of sight of my QTH, so I thought it was a sure-thing and sure enough, they were loud and clear on the C.Crane CC Skywave receiver. W253BQ transmits 250 watts 7 miles to my southwest and is is a relay station for Spanish station WSGG.

WBOB in Jacksonville

WBOB, 600 kc, Jacksonville, Florida, ran a test from 0500 to 0800 UTC Sunday. I had my doubts that I would hear them (WBOB is 924 miles to my south-southwest), but I stayed up anyway and was rewarded with a new log entry.

I began hearing WBOB at 0516 UTC and monitored 600 kc until 0605 UTC. During that time, I heard voice and Morse Code station identifications, as well as, music (the Price is Right theme song), a variety of tone sweeps and telephone busy signals. WBOB was competing with local WICC and an unidentified Spanish station (it may be Radio Rebelde in Cuba), but I managed to hear "something" from WBOB most of the 49 minutes I monitored 600 kc.

I e-mailed a reception report, which the station already confirmed and promised a QSL card real soon now.

I used my Elecraft KX3 with the 80-meter inverted Vee dipole most of the time, but the signal was so good that I tried listening with my C.Crane Skywave receiver using its stock internal antenna and heard a voice ID loud and clear.

Midday C.Crane Shoot-Out

It rained here Sunday morning, which postponed my plans to move leaves. Plan B was to play radio and that's what I did.

I now own five models of C.Crane receivers and after FARMERIK published a comparison of Sony receivers he owned on the Ultralight DX list, I decided to compare my C.Cranes in a similar manner using the radio's stock AM antennas.

I parked each radio in the same spot on my radio desk and in turn tuned across the AM band counting the number of stations heard. I did this between 1550 and 1655 UTC (1050 to 1155 local time/EST). My location is in Wolcott, Connecticut (41° 37' 48" N, 72° 56' 43" W) at 912 feet ASL. Radio conditions were flat.

Here are the results:

CC Radio 2E Enhanced: 60
CC Skywave: 60
CC SW Pocket: 53
CC Radio SW: 50
CC Pocket: 45

The CC Skywave and CC Radio 2E heard the same 60 stations with two exceptions: the Skywave heard a station on 850 kHz that the 2E did not and the 2E heard a station on 920 kHz that the Skywave did not.

Comparing the Skywave and the 2E, their sensitivity is similar on the AM band in my opinion, but the Skywave is more selective. 1070 kHz is a problem area at my location because the 50 kW of WTIC on 1080 kHz blasts through here 24/7. Until I added the Skywave (and an Elecraft KX3) to my radio shack, I never heard anything but QRM from WTIC on 1070 kHz. With the Skywave, I’ve logged four stations on 1070.

On the other hand, the 2E sounds much better than the Skywave. Of course, size matters and you would expect the 2E to sound better than its pint-sized cousin. The 2E is the best sounding AM radio I have ever owned.

DX on 1320 Revisited

In my previous post about my Wednesday night monitoring of 1320 kc, I wrote:

While I was trying to identify WCVR, I could occasionally hear another station playing Middle Eastern music that was most likely not emanating from this side of the Atlantic. Checking the World Radio TV Handbook this morning, I might have heard a station in Iran about 5600 miles away (Radio Tabriz transmitting 50 kW from Joifa on 1323 kc).

KAZ e-mailed me of a more likely source for what I heard on 1320: CJMR from Toronto, which broadcasts "Asian Vision / Rangla Punjab" in the time slot that I was monitoring.

DX on 1320

I have not posted here for over two weeks because my family and I had been dealing with the impending death and finally, the actual death of an immediate family member, who passed away early Labor Day morning.

After spending most of two days making arrangements and fielding phone calls, I needed a break. So last night, I grabbed my CCrane CC Skywave receiver and plopped myself in a lawn chair outdoors to see what I could hear.

There are a few AM channels in my log that only list one station because those logged stations are too close and/or too powerful to permit me to hear anything else. 

One of the usual suspects is WATR on 1320 kc. When I was growing up, I lived one block away from the WATR antenna farm and WATR was the only thing I could hear on my crystal radio. Now I live 7 miles away from WATR, so last night I thought I would work on 1320.

No matter which was I positioned the Skywave, I could not null out WATR completely, but I was able to position the radio so I could peak another signal that was also on 1320. 

The other station was broadcasting the Red Sox game. The only station in the Red Sox radio network on 1320 is WCVR in Randolph, Vermont, so I thought it was most likely WCVR.

I never heard a station identification, but after the game, there were ads for businesses in Randolph and nearby Waterbury, Vermont, so that confirmed it for me and I put WCVR in the log at 0255 UTC running only 66 watts, 160 miles to my north.

A nice catch, but there's more! 

While I was trying to identify WCVR, I could occasionally hear another station playing Middle Eastern music that was most likely not emanating from this side of the Atlantic. Checking the World Radio TV Handbook this morning, I might have heard a station in Iran about 5600 miles away (Radio Tabriz transmitting 50 kW from Joifa on 1323 kc).

Now that would be a very nice catch!

WCAP

After a few fruitless days of scanning the AM band, I finally logged a new one this morning at 0435 UTC ― WCAP in Lowell, Massachusetts, transmitting 5 kW, 108 miles to my northeast. Playing 1960's oldies, "the Beatles and before," the station was vying with two other stations, one unidentified, the other identified as "ESPN 980" (probably WTEM in D.C., which I logged previously).

I used my C.Crane CC Skywave receiver with my Terk Advantage antenna to catch this new one.

Listening with the Meteors

While sitting in the dark watching the Perseid meteor shower, I bagged two "new" stations with my barefoot C.Crane CC Skywave receiver:

CFZM ― This Toronto station is a fire-breather running 50,000 watts on a clear channel (740 kc) 354 miles to my north-northwest. I was surprised that I had not logged this one before and when I checked the log, I discovered I had worked it on 2011 when it was CHWO.

WTEL ― Transmitting 5,000 watts on 610 kc from Philadelphia 164 miles to my southwest, like CFZM, I had logged this station before using a different callsign... in 2013 when it was WIP.

I did see two meteors last night, one a whizzer, and then the clouds rolled in and obscured my view.

Two New Oldies are Old!

Tuning up and down the AM and FM bands yesterday afternoon and I came across a new oldies station where there used to be an old Hispanic station. For a moment, I thought I had a new entry for the log, but the station identified and it turned out to be WXCT on 990 kc, 4 miles away in Southington, Conn.

WXCT changed formats earlier this month and is now simulcasting the 60's oldies format with WACM on 1490 kc in Agawam, Mass. I tried to listen to WACM to see if they were really simulcasting, but I could not hear them and for what it's worth, WACM is already in the log, too.

By the way, I was using my C.Crane CC Skywave receiver sans external aluminum.

WEAV in the log

New Haven’s WELI usually lays claim to 960 kc around here, but last night, WEAV popped in for about five minutes with a stronger signal than WELI. The Plattsburg, NY, station with transmitters in Peru, NY, peaked at an S-5 at 0158 UTC. WEAV was transmitting 5 kW, 205 miles to my north while running an advertisement for Poulin Auto Sales.

Receiver used was my barefoot C.Crane CC Skywave.

No news is bad news

I have been listening, but I have not heard anything new in over a week. With Daily Savings Time kicking in over the weekend, I am now driving to work at dusk, so I expect that there will be many opportunities for DX on the way to work.

For example, Cincinnati’s WLW has been loud and clear on 700 kc each morning and I reheard WSJP out of Wisconsin on 1640 kc this morning. It’s hard to believe they are running only 1 kW!

At home, I am still working out with the C.Crane CC Skywave, but nothing new was heard at home either. But we’ll keep on listenin’.

The Party’s Over!

I had a very productive sunrise drive to work on Friday and logged three new stations with the stock radio in my 2007 Subaru Outback Sport:

- WSJP on 1640 kc transmitting 1 kW from Sussex, Wisconsin, 785 miles to my west-northwest

- WKKX on 1600 kc transmitting 33 watts from Wheeling, West Virginia, 418 miles to my west-southwest

- WHGT on 1590 kc transmitting 58 watts from Maugansville, Maryland, 286 miles to my west-southwest

Sunday evening, I logged a brand new station with the C.Crane CC Skywave:

- WFME on 1560 kc transmitting 50 kW from Queens, NYC, 81 miles to my south-southwest. 

Logging WFME means the party is over! WFME takes over 1560 from the dearly departed WQEW. During the transition from QEW to FME, for about ten days neither station was on the air and I logged four new stations that I would unlikely be able to hear if QEW or FME were on the air. It was fun while it lasted!

A Thousand Miles Away (Almost)

I logged three new AM radio stations. Two with the CC Skywave barefoot and one with the stock radio in my 2007 Subaru.

With the CC Skywave, I heard WNBH Monday evening local time, 2320 UTC on 1340 kc transmitting 1 kW from New Bedford, Massachusetts, 105 miles to my East.

Also heard WFTH Monday evening local time, 0000 UTC on 1590 kc transmitting a mere 19 W from Richmond, Virginia, 373 miles to my southwest.

In the Subaru this morning during my commute to work at 1140 UTC (sunrise was at 1133 UTC), I heard KXEL on 1540 kc transmitting 50 kW from Waterloo, Iowa, 4 miles short of a thousand miles to my west. KXEL was loud and clear for about 5 minutes broadcasting the local weather forecast. The KXEL logging is the best AM DX from the Subaru and is in the top 5 for best AM DX overall.

4 new loggings with the CC Skywave

Four new loggings with the CC Skywave barefoot on February 21:

0230 UTC - 1560 kc - WFSP - Kingswood, WV - 1 kW - 386 miles WSW - S1 to S3 - 1960 oldies

0329 UTC - 1600 kc - CHHA - Toronto, ON - 6.25 kW - 354 miles NNW - S4 - Spanish language

0359 UTC - 1490 kc - WKVT - Brattleboro, VT - 1 kW - 86 miles N - S1 - station identification, nothing else!

2327 UTC - 1560 kc - WTNS - Coshocton, OH - 1 kW - 473 miles WSW - S0 to S2 - country & western music

The CC Skywave continues to impress me. I am also enjoying the absence of WQEW on 1560 allowing me to log 3 new stations on that frequency.

Success to the North

I added another station while hanging around the graveyard frequencies Thursday evening at 2300 UTC: WSNO on 1450 kc transmitting 1 kW from Barre, Vermont, 179 miles north. Using the CC Skywave receiver barefoot, I heard WSNO's signal at an S-1 level for about two minutes before it disappeared in the cacophony typical on the graveyard frequencies.

Next morning, as I began my morning commute, I caught a rare new one while mobile: WQOM on 1060 kc transmitting 2.5 kW from Natick, Massachusetts, 89 miles east-northeast. It was a very brief reception of a traffic report as I drove out of WQOM's coverage area of the moment. Equipment used was my 2007 Subaru Outback Sport's stock radio and antenna.

Sunday dawn, I heard a lot of interesting stations on my barefoot CC Skywave, but only one new one: the station identification of WTWN on 1100 kc transmitting 5 kW from Wells River, Vermont, 180 miles north-northwest. Interestingly, while on vacation in that area, I have driven by WTWN's studios on Route 302 many times, but this was the first time I actually heard the station on the air.

WCTC

I'm still hanging around the graveyard frequencies and last evening (2256 UTC) I caught WCTC on 1450 kc transmitting 1000 watts 110 miles to the southwest in New Brunswick, NJ. I heard WCTC again this morning just before sunrise ― both times an S-1 signal heard using the CC Skywave receiver barefoot.

2 for 1 on 1340

Source: NECRAT.us

I have been listening to the graveyard frequencies the last few days trying to pull something intelligible out of the nightly stew in 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450 and 1490 kc. Actually, I skip 1240 because there is a local station there broadcasting right wing malarky 24/7 (no intelligence to be found there), so I stick to the other five graveyard frequencies.

About three minutes before midnight UTC, a station came up out of the muck on 1340 with a weather forecast for the "Champlain Valley," which means the station was in upstate New York or Vermont. As the top of the hour approached, the station started fading into the muck and then a station id from another station (WMDR) popped up followed by the station id of the fading Champlain Valley station, WIRY.

Wow! Two new ones for the price of one.

WIRY is in Plattsburg, New York, transmitting 940 watts 212 miles to my north.

WMDR is in Augusta, Maines, transmitting 1000 watts 246 miles to my northeast.

The CC Skywave barefoot was the receiver.