WXM45 Logged

Lately, I check the vhf bands for enhanced propagation everyday after breakfast. I hit paydirt this morning on 162.425 MHz where I heard the Albany NOAA radio station WXM45 loud and clear for over an hour starting at 1230 UTC.

WXM45 transmits 300 watts from Middleville, New York, 147 miles to the northwest, which I received on my ICOM IC-R8600 receiver and ICOM AH-7000 discone antenna. At 147 miles, it is the most distant NOAA radio station I have received so far.

Year in Review

Here is my year in review compared with my all-time stats.

LW new 2017 loggings: 6
LW total all-time loggings: 119

LW best 2017 broadcast station DX: 3919 miles, Radio Algerienne, Tipaza, Algeria
LW best all-time broadcast station DX: 4598 miles, Antena Satelor, Brasov Bod, Romania

LW best 2017 navigational beacon DX: 1183 miles, YPH, Inukjuak, Quebec, Canada
LW best all-time navigational beacon DX: 1647 miles, DDP, San Juan, Puerto Rico

MW new 2017 loggings: 50
MW total all-time loggings: 492

MW best 2017 DX: 5489 miles, ERTU Quran Karem, Santah, Egypt
MW best all-time DX: 5489 miles, ERTU Quran Karem, Santah, Egypt

MW best 2017 domestic DX: 973 miles, WTAD, Quincy, Illinois, USA
MW best all-time domestic DX: 1666 miles, WJCC, Miami Springs, Florida, USA

FM new 2017 loggings: 3
FM total all-time loggings: 113

FM best 2017 DX: 315 miles, WCOT, Jamestown, New York, USA
FM best all-time DX: 744 miles, WLHR, Lavonia, Georgia, USA

The dearth of new FM loggings is not a surprise because I don't spend much time monitoring that band. However, the dearth of new LW loggings was an eye-opener because I spend a lot of time monitoring that band!

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.

Sixteen

I added the following 16 new stations to the log during the past few days using an ELAD FDM-S2 SDR receiver, an 80-meter inverted Vee antenna (for HF) and my 2007 Subaru's stock radio and antenna (for the FM logging) an ICOM IC-AH7000 discone antenna (for VHF/UHF).

YUY on 219 kc transmitting 500 watts from Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, 540 miles to the north-northwest

QB on 230 kc transmitting 500 watts from Quebec, Quebec, 360 miles to the north

OW on 236 kc transmitting 14 watts from Ottawa, Quebec, 289 miles to the north-northwest

YVB on 243 kc transmitting 90 watts from Bonaventure, Quebec, 576 miles to the north-northeast

YXR on 257 kc transmitting 400 watts from Earlton, Ontario, 538 miles to the north-northwest

YQA on 272 kc transmitting 400 watts from Muskoka, Ontario, 396 miles to the northwest

YLQ on 289 kc transmitting 550 watts from La Tuque, Quebec, 398 miles to the north

QT on 332  kc transmitting 1000 watts from Thunder Bay, Ontario, 929 miles to the northwest

GW on 371 kc transmitting 500 watts from Kuujjuarapik, Quebec, 967 miles to the north-northwest

JT on 390 kc transmitting 450 watts from Stephenville, Newfoundland, 838 miles to the northeast

3B on 391 kc transmitting 100 watts from Brockville, Ontario, 253miles to the north-northwest

Y8 on 401  kc transmitting 126 watts from Drummondville, Quebec, 393 miles to the north-northwest

YTA on 409 kc transmitting 13 watts from Pembroke, Ontario, 359 miles to the north-northwest

3U on 414 kc transmitting 85 watts from Gatineau, Quebec, 300 miles to the north-northwest

WAZZ on 1490 kc transmitting 1000 watts from Fayetteville, NC, 556 miles to the south-southwest

WNYZ-LP on 87.7 Mc transmitting 3000 watts from New York, NY, 80 miles to the southwest simulcasting WWRU-AM

WURD on 900

CHML dominates 900 kc here most of the night, but frequently other stations do battle with CHML and try to takeover the frequency. They always lose, but my goal this week was to log a new one on 900 (in addition to CHML, I also have WGHM in the log for 900).

The top of the hour is the most productive time to nab a new one, so I started listening at 2255 UTC last night and heard two or three stations depending on which antenna I used and which way they were swung (for the two that I can swing).

Once I identified CHML, I nulled it out with my two swinging antennas and I could hear a station down in the mud, but in the clear that was either to my northeast (WGHM?) or southwest (?).

There was no station identification at 2300, but I hung in there and was rewarded a minute later with the I.D. of WURD transmitting 1 kW in Philadelphia, 180 miles to the southwest. I was using the Elecraft KX3 radio and Terk Advantage antenna at the time of the I.D.

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.

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.

Home for the Holidays

KJNP, 50,000 watts Gospel Station at the Top of the Nation,
North Pole, Alaska 99705, 1170 on the radio dial.

I have been listening regularly, but hearing nothing new on the AM band. So when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Home for the holidays, I plan to do some reconfiguration of the radio shack equipment, as well as some shack housecleaning.

This is way overdue!

820 Action... Not So Much

I monitored 820 kHz between 2230 and 2345 UTC last evening and all I heard was the previously logged WNYC out of NYC (actually transmitting from Kearney, NJ, 85 miles southwest of here). There was not a peep from any other stations on 820 last evening as compared to the three or four I heard the previous evening.

Go figure propagation!

820 Action

Last evening, I parked my receivers on 820 kHz because there were three or four stations vying for dominance of the frequency. I managed to identify two of the stations ― both new loggings here in Downtown Wolcott.

“Gamut Radio,” WWFD in Frederick, Maryland, 283 miles to my southwest was prepping to broadcast the Washington Capitals hockey game and was the dominant station on 820 transmitting 430 W, which resulted as an S-1 to S-3 signal in my neck of the woods at 2347 UTC.

“The Answer,” WNTW in Chester, Virginia, broke through WWFD at 2349 UTC transmitting 1 kW 379 miles to my south-southwest. Its signal peaked at S-1 at 2349 UTC just as it broadcasted its station identification.

I used a C.Crane CCRadio SW receiver with an C.Crane CC twin coil ferrite external antenna to log WWFD and a C.Crane CCRadio 2E Enhanced receiver with a Terk Advantage antenna to log WNTW.

I plan to revisit 820 kHz tonight and try to pick off some more stations from that busy frequency.

Dust Settling

After months of family health issues, the dust is finally settling and I can hunker down next to the radios to hear what I can hear.

In the past few days, I made two new entries into the log.

WMEX is a new call sign for a previous entry (WWZN). Transmitting 50 kW from Boston (104 miles to my north-northeast), it had a solid S-5 signal here on 1510 kc on December 1 at 2345 GMT.

WAIK is a real brand new one for the log. Transmitting a mere 55 W from Galesburg, Illinois, 902 mile to my west, their signal on 1590 kc wavered between S-0 and S-2, but I heard their station identification at the top of the hour on December 9 at 0000 GMT.

Both loggings were made using my C.Crane CCRadio 2E Enhanced receiver and Terk Advantage antenna.

By the way, rumor has it that I will be gifted with a radio on December 25: the brand new C.Crane CC Skywave AM, FM, Shortwave, Weather and Aviation Band receiver. If the rumor is true, you can expect my review of the radio here in the near future.

I logged FCC

Last night, 145.39 MHz was wide open according to this, so I cranked up the FM broadcast band radio to see what I could hear and I logged three new stations!

WFCC (love that call sign!) playing classical music on 107.5 MHz, put in an S0 to S1 here with its powerhouse 50 kW transmitting from Chatham on Cape Cod, 152 miles east.

WFHN on 107.1 MHz was S1 transmitting 5,400 watts from Fairhaven, Massachusetts, 105 miles east.

WDBY, "Kicks 1055" on 105.5 MHz with a country and western format was S0 to S1 with a mere 900 watts from Patterson, New York, 37 miles west southwest.

Radio equipment here was my C.Crane CC Radio 2E Enhanced and its stock whip antenna.

Speaking of VHF DX, the photo above is I and another long-time VHF DXer, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, at the ARRL Centennial Convention in Hartford last month. Besides chasing Es, Dave runs the show up at 225 Main Street in Newington. 

WAAF

According to the APRS propagation server, 2 meters was wide open last night, so I perused the FM broadcast band for awhile and caught one new one: WAAF on 107.3 MHz transmitting 9.6 kW from Westborough, Massachusetts, 80 mile to the northeast. WAAF’s signal was a puny S-1 on the CC Radio 2E and its stock whip antenna.

High Weirdness

Smudge

I was sound asleep this morning when the doorbell rang at 1:30 AM. My first thought was that it cannot be good and expected the police to be at the door with some bad news.

I went downstairs and looked out the windows of the front door, but no one was there.

Suddenly, a cat hopped down from the porch railing, scooted halfway down the sidewalk, and turned around to look back at me. After a second or two, it moved on.

I was not wearing my eyeglasses, so I could not identify the cat as one of our neighbors' felines, but I have a feeling it was a neighbor's cat named Smudge, who my daughter and I rescued from a tree and babysat for a few days when he was a kitten.

I felt bad for the cat because it was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit at that time with a wind chill factor down in the single digits.

But how did it ring the doorbell? The doorbell is within a cat's reach from the porch railing, but was it just dumb luck or was the cat very intelligent.

And by the way, just as I began typing this, about 15 wild turkeys just crossed our lawn on their way into the woods across the street!

Minotaur Seen in Downtown Wolcott

Space cadet that I am, my eyes lit up when I heard on the local news that a nightime launch of a Minotaur I rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia, might be visible along the East Coast tonight.

I watched the launch on the NASA channel at 8:15 EST and went outside to see what I could see.

Two or three minutes later, I spotted a red light on the south-southwest horizon rising at a 60-degree angle.

I watched it for about two minutes until it disappeared to the south-southeast approximately 45 degrees above the horizon.

When it disappeared, I could not determine whether the light was extinguished or was obscured by a cloud. Probably the latter, but in either case, I did not see the light again.

What a difference six months makes!

Pumpkin Pie takes in the weather on February 9 and July 28.

AM DX Log

2013-03-10   0411Z   WKCW   1420 kHz    60 W   Warrenton, VA   320 m SW   station id (1)
2013-03-12   2300Z   WENE   1430 kHz   5 kW   Endicott, NY   160 m W   station id (1)
2013-03-17   2317Z   WINY   1350 kHz   5 kW   Putnam, CT   58 m ENE   station id (2)

My receiving equipment: C.Crane CC SW Pocket and built in whip antenna (1) or CC twin coil ferrite antenna (2).

AM DX Log

Worked three new ones including a station (WHO) over 1000-miles away last night!

• 2013-03-04   2359Z   CJBC   860 kHz   50kW  Toronto   370 miles   WNW   news, id
• 2013-03-08   0340Z   CFRB   1010 kHz   50kW   Toronto   364 miles   WNW   talk radio
• 2013-03-08   0346Z   WHO   1040 kHz   50kW   Des Moines   1025 miles   W   id

My receiving equipment: C.Crane CCRadio-SW and CC twin coil ferrite antenna.

WHO antenna farm.