Ultralight Loggings Update

Not a lot of time over the past two weeks for ultralight DXing. Here's what I've added to the log since the previous update. Radios used: Sangean DT-400W and Eton E-100.

• 1370 WELG Ellenville, NY 1245 UTC 20-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1260 WCHV Charlottesville, VA 2245 UTC 20-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 570 CMDC-R. Reloj Santa Clara, Cuba 0805 UTC 21-Dec-2008 E-100
• 1650 CINA Mississauga, ON 2030 UTC 21-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1360 WKYO Caro, MI 2228 UTC 21-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 950 WROL Boston, MA 1245 UTC 30-Dec-2008 E-100

Total ultralight count: 231.

WELG 1370 is a sister station to WKIP 1450. The ID I heard was actually for WKIP. Both stations are located at the same address in Poughkeepsie, NY.

WCHV 1260 was carrying The Kim Komando Show - a welcome change from the political talk shows one hears everywhere. I'd much rather listen to Kim talk about computers. WCHV is simulcast on 94.1 FM.

I didn't hear anything of Radio Reloj on 570 except for its distinctive "RR" Morse code identifier. Radio Reloj is a news network from Cuba and one of its characteristics is that it sends "RR" in Morse code once a minute. Often that "RR" gets through when nothing else does, which was the case here. I heard that "RR" repeated several times over a ten minute interval but didn't hear anything else.

CINA 1650 is a new station in Mississauga that is carrying a South Asian format. They are still currently in the test broadcasting phase. They're authorised to use 1 kW, but given how weak they are at my location in Toronto, I suspect they're currently operating on reduced power.

WKYO on 1360 is an oldies station. I didn't hear much of it except for an ID and a weather forecast. Too weak to hear much else.

WROL 950 is a religious broadcaster. It goes by the slogan "The Spirit of Boston".

Saudi Arabia on Shortwave

I don't do much shortwave radio DXing any more, but I made one logging this week that's worth noting. On Mon. Dec. 8, 2008 I heard the Broadcasting Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 15380 kHz at 1340 UTC. It sounded like it was carrying a religious program, but since I don't know a word of Arabic, I can't really say.

I'd like to get back into shortwave, but between the lousy conditions due to the solar minimum, the large amounts of electrical noise at my location, the difficulty of putting up an effective antenna here, and the disappearance of one broadcaster after another, it sometimes doesn't really seem worth it.

This Week's Ultralight Loggings

The latest batch of stations heard on an ultralight radio - in this instance the Sangean DT-400W. Most are from my local region (the northeast) but this set also includes the second Cuban station I've logged on an ultralight, an outlet of Radio Reloj.

• 960 WTGM Salisbury, MD 0404 UTC 13-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 960 CMDJ - Radio Reloj Guantanamo, Cuba 0430 UTC 13-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 960 WEAV Plattsburgh, NY 0430 UTC 13-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1530 WLCO Lapeer, MI 2320 UTC 13-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 880 WRFD Columbus-Worthington, OH 1357 UTC 14-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 920 WYBY Cortland, NY 2157 UTC 14-Dec-2008 DT-400W

Total ultralight count: 225.

Ultralight Loggings for the First Week of December

It's been a productive week for ultralight DXing. Seven new stations added, including one new Canadian provice (Manitoba) and one new U.S. state (Nebraska). The Manitoba logging was made on the Sony SRF-59, while all the others were on the Sangean DT-400W:

• 990 CBW Winnipeg, MB 2358 UTC 02-Dec-2008 SRF-59
• 630 WPRO Providence, RI 0428 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 620 WRJZ Knoxville, TN 0558 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1110 WCCM Salem, NH 2145 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1400 WDNY Dansville, NY 2215 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1320 WJAS Pittsburgh, PA 2223 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 880 KRVN Lexington, NE 2240 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W

Total ultralight station count: 219. Total U.S. states: 27. Total Canadian provinces: 3

CBW 990 is a 50 kW outlet of CBC Radio. I picked it while walking home from the subway. I've received this station several times before, but never like thit time. An astonishingly strong signal - I listened to it for ten minutes and it came in solid and steady with almost local quality for most of that time.

Three of these stations are new to my overall log: WJRZ 620, WDNY 1400, and KVRN 880.

KVRN 880 was an interesting catch. I'm not sure but it might be the first station I've ever received from Nebraska on AM. It's certainly the first on an ultralight. I heard it under WCBS. WCBS was dominating the frequency, but under it I could hear country and western music. Occasionally it strengthened enough to make out what was being said. The clincher was hearing a detailed weather report and forecast for the state of Nebraska.

This is a reception I made because of a new listening technique I discovered recently: sit on a frequency that is dominated by one station and then listen in the moments of silence for stations below it. It was my hearing WINS on 1010 below CFRB that made me realize this could work. No station has more of a dominant "presence" at my location than CFRB, so if I could hear another station behind it, it should work for other stations too. So that's how I got KVRN here and WJAS (which is on a frequency with another local station, CJMR).

Ultralight Awards

I was pleased to receive three more awards recently from the Ultralight Radio Awards Committee: the 200 Stations Heard Award, the 25 U.S. States Award, and the "entry-level" (i.e., one station) Trans-Atlantic Stations Heard Award. If you're interested in these awards, see the ultralight DXing files area at dxer.ca.