Recent Ultralight Loggings

Pretty much all of my radio listening activity continues to be focused on ultralight DXing. I didn't intend this; it just happened. But I will switch the focus away from this soon. The mediumwave DXing season will be coming to a close in the next month or two, and at that point I may shift to listening to other things over the summer. Of course, mediumwave DXing is still possible during the summer months, but conditions are not as good as during the fall-winter-spring season, so it's a good time to go explore other things. However, I am hoping to reach 300 stations in the ultralight log before the season ends.

Recent additions to the ultralight log:

• 1230 WTSV Claremont, NH 0700 UTC 02-Mar-2009 DT-400W
• 1230 WMPC Lapeer, MI 1003 UTC 02-Mar-2009 DT-400W
• 1600 WWRL New York, NY 0447 UTC 07-Mar-2009 E-100
• 580 CKWW Windsor, ON 0515 UTC 07-Mar-2009 E-100
• 610 CHNC QC New Carlisle 0501 UTC 08-Mar-2009 E-100
• 1590 WGGO NY Salamanca 2045 UTC 08-Mar-2009 E-100
• 1590 WAUB NY Auburn 2100 UTC 08-Mar-2009 E-100

Total ultralight count: 271. Radios used here: the Sangean DT-400W and the Eton E-100.

The two stations on 1230, WTSV and WMPC, were logged from an overnight recording I did. Not a particularly productive one: over 8 hours and only two loggings. But still, it's two more stations on a graveyard frequency (bringing the count of those to 32).

Logging CKWW on 580 was a surprise. It is only 500 watts and is adjacent to the local Toronto station on 590, which is very dominant. But the E-100 has great selectivity, and allowed me to hear it. The Eton E-100 is really an amazingly good little radio. Too bad Eton has discontinued this model.

CHNC 610 is a station I've been chasing for a couple of months. I had thought I'd heard it several times before, faintly under semi-local CKTB. But this was the first time it that it was coming in strong enough to identify with certainty. Easy enough to identify when it's strong enough - it's the only significant French language station on this frequency in Canada. Glad to have caught it - as I understand, it's moving to FM soon.

WGGO and WAUB on 1590 are odd catches - odd that I hadn't logged them before. They're both semi-local (WGGO is audible during the day here). I guess it's because after doing my daytime bandscans on the ultralights last fall, I reckoned that I'd logged all the semi-local stations and haven't listened for any more during the day. Also, the band above 1500 kHz is badly attenuated inside my apartment, so to DX those frequencies I usually have to head outside. Oddly enough, there's another semi-local station on 1590 even closer to me that I haven't heard yet - WASB in Brockport, NY, near Rochester. No hint of that one yet.

Ultralight Loggings for this Weekend

Two more stations added to the ultralight log, this time using the Eton E-100:

• 600 WICC Bridgeport, CT 0500 UTC 28-Feb-2009
• 960 WHYL Carlisle, PA 2328 UTC 01-Mar-2009

Total ultralight count: 264.

600 kHz is a tough frequency for me because it is usually obliterated by slop from local CJCL on 590. But yesterday WICC was coming in strong enough to make it through the interference. So was WCAO from Baltimore (which is already in my ultralight log).

WHYL 960 is an adult standards / oldies station. Usually this channel is dominated by other stations, but tonight WHYL was the strongest one there. This is also a new station for my overall log.

Ultralight DXing Update

Recent ultralight loggings. All received on the Sangean DT-400W. The three stations on 1400 kHz are the result of an overnight recording session:

• 1280 WFAU Gardiner, ME 2354 UTC 16-Feb-2009
  
• 1400 WCCY Houghton, MI 0700 UTC 17-Feb-2009
  
• 1400 WVAE Biddeford, ME 0858 UTC 17-Feb-2009
  
• 1400 WHGB Harrisburg, PA 1032 UTC 17-Feb-2009
  

Total ultralight count: 262. This also brings me to 30 stations heard on the "graveyard" frequencies.

Ultralight Logs - 1340 kHz

A few days ago I did another all night recording of one of the local channels (a.k.a. "graveyard" frequencies), this time 1340 kHz. In AM radio there are six local channels or frequencies - 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450, and 1490. These frequencies are used for stations that provide purely local service, and therefore contain hundreds of low power stations, most operating at around 1 kW. The level of interference is very high and so DXing these frequencies can be a challenge.

I recorded about nine hours on 1340 overnight and spent the next several days reviewing the recording. This yielded seven new stations for the ultralight log, five of which were also new for the overall log. The radio used for this was the Sangean DT-400W. Here's what I heard:

• 1340 WGAW Gardner, MA 0600 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WSTJ St. Johnsbury, VT 0722 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WBRK Pittsfield, MA 0821 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WWNH Madbury, NH 0824 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WMSA Massena, NY 1022 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WENT Gloversville, NY 1145 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WIRY Plattsburgh, NY 1200 UTC 02-Feb-2009

Total ultralight count is now 258. Total graveyard frequency count is now 27.

Ultralight Loggings

I've been busy this month and haven't been updating here as I should. Here are all the stations I logged in January 2009 using ultralight radios (the Sangean DT-400W and the Eton E-100):

• 1410 WENU South Glens Falls, NY 2235 UTC 01-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1400 WSLB Ogdensburg, NY 2255 UTC 01-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1400 WAMC Albany, NY 2255 UTC 01-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 950 CKNB Campbellton, NB 2315 UTC 01-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 620 WSNR Newark, NJ 2358 UTC 01-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1590 WONX Evanston, IL 0445 UTC 03-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1510 WRRD Waukesha, WI 1402 UTC 03-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1680 WTTM Lindenwold, NJ 1145 UTC 07-Jan-2009 E-100
• 910 WAVL Apollo, PA 1215 UTC 07-Jan-2009 E-100
• 600 WCAO Baltimore, MD 0650 UTC 18-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1240 WOON Woonsocket, RI 0704 UTC 18-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1110 WGNZ Fairborn, OH 2229 UTC 18-Jan-2009 E-100
• 610 WTVN Columbus, OH 2259 UTC 18-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1240 WHMQ Greenfield, MA 0531 UTC 19-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1240 WVKZ Schenectady, NY 0705 UTC 19-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1240 WRTA Altoona, PA 1022 UTC 19-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1240 WWCO Waterbury, CT 1030 UTC 19-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1500 WGHT Pompton Lakes, NJ 1231 UTC 24-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1510 CKOT Tillsonburg, ON 1345 UTC 24-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 560 WCKL Catskill, NY 0708 UTC 28-Jan-2009 E-100

Total ultralight count is now 251.

The logging of CKNB on 950 gave me my fourth Canadian province. I've heard it several times since the initial logging earlier this month.

WOON 1240 in Woonsocket, RI was logged because of a DX test broadcast they did. The broadcast included regular Morse code IDs, which made hearing the station a lot easier. One DXer, Ole Forr, managed to hear this test broadcast from northern Norway!

I also logged four other stations on 1240 (WHMQ, WVKZ, WRTA, and WWCO), all on the same night. This was the result of an all-night recording session. I recently bought a small Sony digitial recorder, and on this night I let it record about nine hours of 1240 kHz. Reviewed it in my spare time over the next several days and heard four new stations. All these were new for the overall log as well.

WCKL 560 was logged one night when they appeared to have accidentally left their signal on their daytime power. This station is 1 kW during the day, but only 43 watts at night. The signal was much too good to be 43 watts. It also sounded like it was slightly off frequency, closer to 561 kHz than 560.

National Radio Club

After years as a mediumwave (AM band) DXer, I finally have joined the National Radio Club. The NRC is the oldest and largest mediumwave club in existence, being founded in 1933. During the DX season they publish their newsletter weekly, and it focuses on the kind of timely information that DXers want to get to help in their DXing efforts. The NRC is also the publisher of the best guide available to the AM stations of the United States and Canada. Ultralight DXing has turned me back into an active mediumwave DXer and so I figured that it was time to join the club.

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.

Ultralight Loggings to the End of November

After reaching 200 stations in the ultralight log I took a few days break from ultralight DXing. When I resumed, I began using two new ultralight radios: a Sangean DT-400W and an Eton E-100. As of the end of November, I've added another 12 stations to the ultralight log, bringing the total count to 212:

• 580 CFRA Ottawa, ON 1218 UTC 20-Nov-2008 DT-400W
• 790 WPIC Sharon, PA 1230 UTC 20-Nov-2008 DT-400W
• 630 WMAL Washington, DC 0520 UTC 23-Nov-2008 DT-400W
• 1140 WCJW Warsaw, NY 1445 UTC 23-Nov-2008 E-100
• 1410 WELM Elmira, NY 1223 UTC 28-Nov-2008 DT-400W
• 1410 WNER Watertown, NY 1238 UTC 28-Nov-2008 DT-400W
• 1010 WINS New York, NY 0510 UTC 29-Nov-2008 DT-400W
• 1240 WNBZ Saranac Lake, NY 1048 UTC 29-Nov-2008 DT-400W
• 1440 WNPV Lansdale, PA 1110 UTC 29-Nov-2008 DT-400W
• 1490 WBTA Batavia, NY 1305 UTC 30-Nov-2008 DT-400W
• 1450 WENI Corning, NY 1323 UTC 30-Nov-2008 DT-400W
• 1240 CJCS Stratford, ON 1738 UTC 30-Nov-2008 DT-400W

CFRA 580 took this long to log because I have a very powerful local station on 590 which bled into 580 so much on the SRF-59 that I couldn't log anything there. But the DT-400W seeems to have better selectivity so I was able to hear CFRA using it.

790 WPIC, 1410 WELM, 1240 WNBZ, 1440 WNPV, 1490 WBTA, and 1450 WENI are all new stations for my overall log.

1140 WCJW is semi-local for me, and would be an easy catch, except that it is daytime only and during the day 1140 is swamped by slop from CKOC on 1150. I was never able to separate it from CKOC on the Sony SRF-59, but the E-100 and the Sangean DT-400W both were able to handle it. I heard it on both radios, but actually logged it on the E-100.

1410 WNER is a relog, but the last time I logged this it was still WOTT, which it stopped using many years ago.

1010 WINS was heard under local CFRB in moments of silence during a talk show on CFRB. Traffic report with mentions of Rockaway, and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels. No ID, but what else could it possibly be? This is a relog, but is my first time logging it in Toronto.

1240 CJCS: I actually heard most of this on my car radio (where the signal was fair to good). Had the DT-400W with me, so I got out of the car and tuned it in on that in order to log it on an ultralight. This is a semi-local station but I have not been able to hear it at my home. But just a few miles to the west, it comes in with a usable signal during the day. So the edge of CJCS's daytime groundwave coverage appears to be somewhere my home and there.

Ultralight Station 200: Glas Hrvatske, Croatia - 1134 kHz

After 199 stations heard on the Sony SRF-59, I was starting to take its amazing performance for granted. But station 200 blew me away. The radio gods decided to give me a present for station 200: my fourth country, my first transatlantic station, my first European station. And they convinced me that almost nothing is beyond the reach of these little radios.

Keep in mind that station 200, like the 199 preceding it, was heard on an unmodified Sony SRF-59 Walkman using only its built-in antenna. Keep in mind that this is a simple consumer-grade pocket AM/FM radio. Keep in mind that I'm located in Toronto, hundreds of miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. And then consider that I received an AM station from Croatia on this tiny thing. Unbelievable.

Details:

1134 Glas Hrvatske, Zadar, Croatia - 17-Nov-2008 0440-0510 UTC - Music with no talk up to the hour. Talk in Croatian - sounded like a newscast thereafter. Severe interference from U.S. stations on 1130 and 1140, but strong enough at times that the language was identifiable. 600 kW. (Poor-Very Poor).

I actually verified the identity of this in three steps. I'd read on the ultralightdx list that some other ultralight DXers had got Glas Hrvatske (Voice of Croatia) recently. So I tuned to between 1130 and 1140 to see if I could hear it. I did hear something that sounded like a station in there. So I went to the Internet and found Glas Hrvatske's web stream (through delicast.com/radio/zagreb/HR_Glas_Hrvatske). This was my reference. Then I tuned to 1134 on my Kaito KA-1103 and waited for the signal to come in strongly enough to compare to the webcast. It took a few minutes but eventually the signal was strong enough to compare and I verified that what I was hearing on 1134 was indeed Croatia. Then finally, I started listening on the SRF-59 to compare it to what I was hearing on both the KA-1103 and on the webcast. It took about 15 minutes of listening but eventually the signal on the SRF-59 was strong enough that I could hear that it was the same programming as I was hearing on those other two sources.

I've gotten Glas Hrvatske here in Toronto several times in the past, in previous years. But it is the only transatlantic station I've ever received here (I have heard many more from Newfoundland). And now I've heard it on a little pocket radio. Very cool.

Radio Saint Helena Day

Saturday Nov. 15, 2008 was Radio Saint Helena Day. Saint Helena is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, a British possession. The shortwave broadcasting station on St. Helena shut down operations in the late 1990s, but once a year they fire it up to do a special broadcast. So I guess you could say that they have a regular schedule - regularly once a year.

The broadcast was on 11092.5 kHz in USB from 20:00 to 23:30 UTC. I was listening for most of it (from 20:30 onwards). Here are the details of what I heard:

(1) Transmission to Japan:
20:30-20:40 (approx): Fairly strong for a few minutes. Male announcer mentioned this was a transmission to Japan. Song by the Carpenters. Then if faded out and nothing more was heard.

(2) Transmission to Europe:
Around 21:14: Faint music and talk. Too weak to make out what was being said or played, but enough to tell that there was a signal. Faded out after a few minutes and nothing more heard.

(3) Transmission to North America:
Nothing heard.

Radio: JRC NRD-525, attached to random length wire on my apartment
balcony (and hooked to balcony railing, which acted as part of the antenna).

A disappointing performance. I heard this station better a few years ago
on a previous Radio St. Helena day, and I was expecting more this time
around, as I was using a better radio attached to a better antenna this
time. Oh well, there's always next year!

Recent Ultralight Loggings

Another batch of stations logged on the Sony SRF-59. This brings the total ultralight count to 199 - one station away from 200!

• 980 CFPL London, ON 2320 UTC 12-Nov-2008
• 1410 WPOP Hartford, CT 2340 UTC 13-Nov-2008
• 1460 WKDV Manassas, VA 0225 UTC 14-Nov-2008 Spanish
  
• 1120 WUST Washington, DC 1230 UTC 14-Nov-2008 French
  
• 1230 WHUC Hudson, NY 2225 UTC 16-Nov-2008
• 1360 WNJC Washington Twp, NJ 2345 UTC 16-Nov-2008

CFPL 980 was one of those stations that proved to be surprisingly difficult to log, given its relative closeness to my location and its power (10 / 5 kW). It has taken me almost two months to log it. Yet CFPL is an easy daytime catch in cities like Mississauga and Brampton, just to the west of Toronto. I'm in central Toronto and must be just outside the range of its groundwave coverage and in an area that the skywave signal must be skipping over.

WPOP 1410 is another ESPN Radio outlet. This one at least was carrying local advertising that made identifying it easy.

WKDV 1460 is a Spanish station. It was IDing itself as "La Caliente".

WUST 1120 is an ethnic station in Washington. It confused me at first because it broadcasts in French in the morning, so I thought it might be a new Canadian station (as there are currently no Canadian stations on 1120).

WHUC 1230 plays "nostalgia" music; WNJC 1360 appeared to be carrying sports programming.