Quiet period at Northshore Studios....

 So, no posts recently because honestly, there hasn't been much in the way of DX recently.

Oh sure, there have been a few smaller catches on the AM side, and I still have hours of recordings from the most recent FM opening (to say nothing of what is still sitting there from this summer) that could produce some new entries.  

But as they say, nothing to 'write home about".

I have though been working tirelessly at a few projects, most notably, a logbook entry project for my MW logs from Brasstown, North Carolina.  

From 1993 to 2010, my Brasstown MW logs were confined to the "old school" format of an ARRL spiral logbook.  I hadn't yet made the transition while I was in Brasstown to a computerized logbook as I did when I was in Charleston.

But, I wanted to do a few things:

 - I wanted to begin a 'lifetime' logbook that contained everything I had ever logged at my various home locations as well as total up how many stations I had logged overall as well as how many total countries, total states, logs per state/country, etc.  

 - I wanted to bring my Brasstown logbook online to allow for the full suite of data analysis I have completed with my other logbooks from Charleston and Mandeville

 - I wanted to have a baseline of previously received stations to use for my review of the recordings made back in October in Brasstown during our last week on Dog Branch Road. 

So, to accomplish all of this, I had to go line by line, entry by entry, log by log and enter 17 years of AM DX into my Google Form.  It was a long process, but late in the evening last night (Sunday) I put a wrap on the work.

Next, I have to build the Website to hold all of the analysis/data, but since I want to actually use this as an opportunity to create a video showing my process, I am going to wait until I have a little more free time for that project.

I will next be digitizing my Greer logbook (about 20 pages of manual logbook entry, compared to Brasstown's 33 pages) soon.  Just in time for that project, I found a number of audio files I recorded on my computer from my AMDX in Greer, so I should have at least a handful of airchecks from Greer/2012.  I posted the first in the series:  WDEL, on the YouTube channel this weekend.

In other news, we are waiting patiently for the shipment (should be this week) of the new KiwiSDR2 that we will be installing at our satellite branch of Northshore Studios.  I am currently working up an antenna design that will provide what should be excellent reception into Colombia/South America from Mandeville.

On to the next....

73 and best of DX;

Loyd

New Loggings | Week of 19-Jan to 26-Jan

 Before any MW DX season, I spend some time looking through my logbook analysis, trying to identify gaps.

I am looking for anything that I need to "clean up" or focus my energy and attention on in an effort to try to flush out my logbook with more stations.

So, for instance, I had a goal this MW DX season of trying to get 5 or more stations logged on every frequency - outside of the expanded band and 530 kHz).  When I started the season, there were 25 frequencies left (31 counting the expanded band).

As of today, I am down to my last 2 frequencies (870 and 1280 - where I have powerful local stations) that I need to get to 5 or more.  I have 3 logs on each, so need 2 more per frequency to hit the goal.

Another goal I had was to reach 150 new logged stations this DX season.  That would put me just under 900 logged stations total from Mandeville.  I was hopeful I would hear more, but the higher you go in your totals, getting new ones becomes harder and harder.  So, I thought 150 new ones for the season since the previous season I logged 169 new ones.  I run my seasons September 1st through August 31st, for consistency.

Some personal matters this summer led to a delay in getting my DX season started.  I am still using Sept. 1 as my starting point for the season, I just didn't personally get started until November with any sort of real DX.

At first, logs were coming in at a trickle....much like I thought they might.  But then, things started picking up.  December and January have been my two most productive months of AM DX in Mandeville (and indeed, ever) outside of the first month I was here (when everything was new).

So, while this week I didn't get much AM DX in the logbook, it was enough to complete my goal of 150 new logs for the season.  I am now on my new goal of reaching 900 by the end of this DX season.

However this week was not about the AM DX, it was the FM!  Several Sporadic Es openings happened on the 22nd and 25th.  It all started with a very brief opening on the 21st when I had an RDS autologger log of Arizona at the same time DXers to my North in Arkansas were hearing to their West and into Mexico.  This was a very brief opening but did net me a new state!

Then on the afternoon of Monday, the 22nd, things really got interesting.  First, an opening into Mexico that netted me a new Mexican State (Sin).  Then, the opening shifted and I was hearing near the 4-corners area of NW NM and Southern CO.  Centered on a bearing of around 300°. 

Finally, on Thursday the 25th, we once again had an opening into Mexican, this one a bit closer to due West from here.  Netted two new Mexican states (Coah and Chih) and a handful of new stations.

Anytime you can get FM DX in January, it is an absolute blessing!

New Loggings | Week of 12-Jan-24 through 19-Jan-24

 

Greetings from Northshore Studios!  This is our initial BlogLog post, with receptions made on the AM/MW band for the past week.  My goal is to update this each Friday in conjunction with our weekly DX Central Live! livestreams that take place here each Friday at 1845 CST  (0045 UTC Saturday mornings).  

Total Stations Logged This Week:  22

Total US States Logged This Week:  12 (including one new state, WA)

Total Canadian Provinces Logged This Week:  2 (both new, BC and MB)

Total "DX" Stations Logged This Week (Non-US or Canada):  3 (including a new country: Algeria)

Furthest Reception This Week:  5,151 miles (891 - Algeria)

Notes:  

What an amazing week of DX, honestly.  It started almost immediately on Saturday when I heard my first ever reception (from home) of Washington state:  1000 KNWN.  I was doing a review of my morning IQ recordings from that morning and had wrapped up when I decided to check 1000 to see if KNWN was around.  I had been trying for several days with no luck, as this station was being widely heard (including on the East Coast).  However, XEOY-Mexico, KTOK-OK and WMVP-IL had made this impossible thus far.  I would try nulling XEOY first through my phaser, as they were broadcasting music which would make pulling a weak WA station more difficult.  But when I would null XEOY, KTOK and WMVP would come to the top.  

When I dialed up to 1000, I heard two stations with network ads (no sign of XEOY).  I figured one was KTOK and the other probably WMVP.  I pulled up the Whidbey Island KiwiSDR to see if I could match up what I was hearing, and to my surprise, it was a direct match!  Still, I figured these were just network ads and nothing to get excited about.  Both of these stations were strong, surely KNWN wouldn't be coming in like this!

Then I heard it:  "Northwest traffic."   

Wait, what?

Then I heard mentions of I5, Mount Vernon, Turnwater and Seattle.  I heard "Northwest Newsradio" and a weather forecast that seemed to match what Seattle was getting at the time.  The melodic sounders they were using matched what I had been hearing on the Whidbey SDR from KNWN.  I couldn't believe it.

I just heard Washington from Louisiana!

But the night wasn't over. A few hours later, after I had noticed that multiple DXers were hearing Vancouver's CKWX in British Columbia on 1130, including East Coast DXers.  Why not give it a shot?

At first, nothing, but then, I noticed what sounded like a match for a talking female from my SDR and the KiwiSDR on Whidbey Island.  I recorded the on-air signal I was receiving and monitored.  There were a few peaks, so I asked some DXer friends if anyone had been recording the CKWX signal on any PNW SDRs.  Jacob Hammond in Minnesota came through with a recording that was during the EXACT same timeframe I was hearing the peak of what I thought was CKWX.

Sure enough, I was able to find multiple matches on my recording with his.  I compiled them all together in this YouTube video so you can hear for yourself what a reception of 2,152 miles sounds like!

As Billy Mays once excited proclaimed "But wait, there's more!"

I had been trying to log Manitoba for nearly 2 and a half years from Mandeville with no success.  Inspired by my recent luck, I decided to try my hand on Sunday night at doing exactly that!  I have a local on 990 kHz, where my best option for MB seemed to be:  CBW.  

Armed with my newly erected 340° SuperLoop antenna (12'x56' in size), my recent addition of a 22'x73' SuperLoop pointed at 15° and my PA0RDT Mini-Whip mounted in a tree at 45' in height, I felt confident it would happen.

And it did!  CBW, with my local on 990 nulled using a vactrol on my 340° SuperLoop (and a little bit of my 305° NW SuperLoop of 22'x97' in size), was received here in Mandeville with a top-of-the-hour (TOH) ID!  

But, we are still not done!

Right on the heels of finally adding Manitoba to the logbook, I was sitting on 730 kHz with my PA0RDT mini-whip listening for CKAC in Quebec (hey, I was on a roll, why not?!).  To my surprise, I instead managed to snag CKDM-Dauphin, Manitoba (with a much lower-than-CBW 5kw signal)!  I had heard these guys on a business trip to Omaha, Nebraska but never imagined I would hear them from Louisiana!

And that was just the first two days of the week!

I was later able to add a station I hadn't heard since my days in Charleston, SC:  891-Chaine 1 in Algeria.  At 5,151 miles, this was my new furthest reception (by about 100 miles) and my 21st country received from Mandeville!

Other catches of interest this week included:

• 1250 | WSSP | Milwaukee, WI
• 1080 | WWNL | Pittsburgh, PA
• 1680 | WPRR | Ada, MI
• 1130 | KLEY | Wellington, KS

You can see all of my logs at my online MW logbook.  

 Welcome to DX Central's BlogLogs!

As a supplement to my online logbook, this will be where I discuss what I am hearing on AM/MW and FM DX sessions from my home shack in Mandeville, Louisiana!

Many years back, my mother, Gayle Van Horn (W4GVH) started what she called "BlogLogs," sharing her recent DX catches on shortwave.  Soon after, my father Larry Van Horn (N5FPW) started doing this too with milcom and other DX interests of his.

Now, to continue with the Van Horn family tradition, I bring you DX Central's version of "BlogLogs!"

You can find my full online logbooks, complete with analysis charts and tables, at the links below.  Here, I will attempt to not only share those recent catches, but tell the story behind their capture.  This is mostly an exercise for me, so I can memorialize for my own benefit my DX adventures.  Let's face it, my memory is not as good as it used to be, so I don't want these great stories to vanish into the ether.

DX Central's Mandeville MW DX Online Logbook

DX Central's Mandeville FM DX Online Logbook

Hopefully, together, we can share the stories that help us in getting new catches in our logbook, and maybe that will help ourselves and others be able to do more of the same!

Take care, 73 and best of DX!

Loyd