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Wednesday 30 April 2014

Skegness Log: 30-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 General Scatter:
 93.9 1622 HOL RTV NH, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8618 RTV_NH__ and other scrolling
               text  318km
 95.5 1624 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) OM on phone to YL, as web  360km
 97.1 1627 HOL NPO 3FM, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8203 __3FM___ 3FM_BNN_  318km
 99.1 1630 HOL 100% NL, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) Presumed Tjerkgaast. Vocal ID  360km
 99.6 1631 HOL Slam!FM, Hoorn/Electronweg (nho) Jingle ID  325km
100.1 1632 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Ijsselstein/Gerbrandytoren-Alticom (utr) OM and YL,
               as web  344km
101.6 1638 HOL NPO Radio 4, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8204 RADIO4NL   318km
101.8 1640 HOL Waterstad FM, Leeuwarden/Ceresweg (fri) Pops, as web. Struggling against
               Tournai  369km
103.0 1642 HOL Radio Veronica, Lelystad/Alticom Toren (fle) 83E1 VERONICA  350km
103.5 1642 HOL Radio Veronica, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) Presenter ID in phone-in  334km
107.1 1650 HOL Radio Enkhuizen, Enkhuizen/Gerard Brandtweg (nho) 50 Watts! Lily Allen or
               soundalike, as web  335km **
102.1 1704 HOL Radio 538, Hilversum/Media Park-Alticom (nho) Vocal ID and ads  341km
 98.7 1707 HOL Freez FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Pops, Pop and Rock jingle ID  407km
 98.5 1709 HOL Freez FM, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) Presume Tjerkgaast. Roxy Music track,
               as 98.7  360km **
 96.6 1713 HOL Radio Veronica, Goes/Alticom Toren (zee) OM and pops, as web  303km
 95.7 1715 HOL Fresh FM, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Banging beats, as web  320km
 95.3 1716 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Zwollerkerspel/Alticom Toren (ove) End of ad and OM, as web 
               396km
 94.7 1717 HOL NPO Radio 4, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) 8204 RADIO4NL R4_NCRV_ 
               313km
 93.8 1719 HOL Slam!FM, Megen/Alticom Toren (nbr) ID and slamming beats  387km
 92.9 1721 HOL NPO Radio 2, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8202 RADIO_2_ RADINCRV
               (Corrupted PS)  318km
104.6 1732 HOL 100% NL, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) 83D3 100%_NL_  313km
102.7 1736 HOL Radio 538, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) 83C7 RADIO538  313km
107.5 1811 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) Sounds like a Dutch Benny Hill style
               song, as web  296km
104.2 2022 HOL RADIONL, Alkmaar/Alticom Mast (nho) Just audible in noise. Dutch music,
               as web  304km
 89.3 2040 HOL 89,3 Radio West, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) Pops,
               as web  313km
103.5 2111 HOL Radio Gelderland, Ugchelen/Alticom Toren (gel) OM talk, as web  391km
102.3 2120 HOL Radio 538, Multiple sites 83C7
 92.1 2128  D  Funkhaus Europa, Schiffdorf [nds] (Bremerhaven) (bre) ID in live concert  554km
 88.3 2137  D  Nordwestradio, Bremen-Walle (bre) YL vocal ID  565km
 96.4 2143  D  NDR Info, Aurich (nds) YL, as web  478km
104.9 2143  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Aurich (nds) D389  478km
 95.8 2145  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Aurich (nds) D381  478km
107.1 2154  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Bremen-Walle (bre) D210 __DLF___  565km
 90.0 2155  D  NDR Kultur, Aurich (nds) OM talk, as web. No RDS but slight co-channel noise 
               478km
 87.6 2156  D  NDR 2, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) German pops, as 98.1  650km
 96.4 2158  D  NDR Info, Aurich (nds) German OM, as web  478km
 96.7 2158  D  Funkhaus Europa, Bremen-Walle (bre) Live concert, as web  565km
 95.4 2200  D  Nordwestradio, Schiffdorf [nds] (Bremerhaven) (bre) ID and news  554km
 93.8 2201  D  bremen eins, Bremen-Walle (bre) D341  565km
 90.3 2207  D  NDR 90,3, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) Pops, as web  650km
103.6 2232  D  Radio Hamburg, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) ID jingle and station promo  650km
104.3 2306  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) Pops, as 105.7  477km
103.7 2308  D  NDR Info, Molbergen-Peheim (Cloppenburg) (nds) 1.6kW. V weak. Pops, as web 
               504km
100.8 2310  D  Bremen Vier, Schiffdorf [nds] (Bremerhaven) (bre) Pops, as 101.2  554km


 ** Personal Skegness 'First'

I have no idea where this tropo came from. Nothing was forecast and nothing was showing up on the maps. It looks like it was just this particular area which enjoyed the conditions.

At the time of the opening, the weather was interesting to say the least. Humidity was high, up around 100%. While the sun was out here, the sea front was shrouded in sea mist which could be seen blowing in like smoke from the North Sea, which was invisible unless you were within a few yards of it. We had taken the dogs to the beach and I had my Degen DE1103 with me as I wondered if the mist would cause any enhancement. Belgium and Holland were slightly up but not by much. It wasn't until returning home that I put the 9.2 vertical and discovered lots of Dutch signals at good strengths up at around 39dB.

This opening persisted from mid-afternoon until late evening, when I noticed Antenne Niedersachsen, Steinkimmen on 105.7 - on the vertical 9.2! Returning to the horizontal position, there were some good signals from the Niedersachsen area of Germany.

Around 3am, we were woken by a thunder storm. Time to unplug the aerial! There were a few thunder storms trundling their way north-by-north-eastward and had been during the late evening.

I was not DXing alone though as I had been experimenting with some new software called TeamViewer www.teamviewer.com. This had been recommended to me by Cedric in France. Andy in Wigan and Dave in Brighton were both tuning along with me. Quite a weird experience to watch the radio apparently tuning itself! I will write about TeamViewer in a separate post as I also wanted to try Chrome Remote Desktop too, both for the computer and for the mobile. More about that soon.

Time to unplug the aerial again as I hear more thunder. :O{

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.

Tuesday 29 April 2014

Skegness Log: 29-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
103.2 1832 CZE CRo Dvojka, Votice/Mezivrata (ST) Czech YL song, as web  1069km **
106.6 1858  D  SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Waldenburg (bwü) German OM/YL song, as web  786km **
 94.9 2127  F  France Inter, Bourges/Neuvy (18) Brief burst of modern R&B song, as web. 
               Belmont almost nulled with 9.2  672km **

Band 2 General Scatter:

100.4 1223  D  WDR 2, Bonn/Venusberg (nrw) Meatloaf song, as 93.2  538km
107.3 1224  D  hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Dana Winner song, as web  729km
100.9 1225  D  Hit Radio FFH, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes)  Barely audible. Ads, as web.
               Mixing Wrotham and Schoten  729km

107.2 1229  D  WDR Eins Live, Ederkopf (nrw) Pops, as 106.7  592km
107.0 1230  D  WDR Eins Live, Olsberg (nrw) Ads, as 106.7  592km
105.3 1231  D  B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) German OM, as web  732km
 90.7 1233  D  WDR 4, Bonn/Venusberg (nrw) Pops, as web  538km
 96.4 1421  D  NDR Info, Aurich (nds) YL info (traffic?), musical jingle  478km
102.5 1658  D  hr4, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) Noise free. German pop song, as web  647km

 94.9 2049  G  BBC London 94.9, London/Crystal Palace (EN-GTL) Phone in. As web. Belmont down
               to 7dB, nulled by 9.2  194km


** Personal Skegness 'First'


Meteor Scatter Notes:
I almost nulled BBC Radio Lincolnshire on 94.9 this evening, reducing it to around 7dBf (GTK display). This allowed BBC Radio London to join in every now and again at equal levels. I then recorded a few web streams and was pleased to hear France inter, presumably from the Bourges transmitter, briefly dominate the very weak Bemont via meteor scatter.

Aircraft/General Scatter Notes:
Since I now appear to be able to receive transmitters like Heidelstein, Hoher Meissner, Torfhaus and Kreuzberg Rhon on a regular daily basis, often at noise free levels during scatter peaks, I wonder how useful such loggings are. I know some DXers like to see all loggings as a representation of the conditions, even if they are sometimes on the repetitive side, but I suspect that many DXers do not. In view of the Es season being upon us I will leave out most of these duplicate loggings in future and only post them here occasionally.

For the last few days I have been able to listen to Brocken on 94.6 almost constantly, with regular fading of course. Even some the signal can last many minutes, never quite dropping out completely. This makes me wonder what summertime scatter conditions will bring. Maybe I will be able to increase on my current scatter distance record.

Thinking about scatter, Kenwick Top is spectacular for this with transmitters like Raichburg, Sonneburg and Remda coming in noise free whenever I have visited. I have never heard these via scatter from home and they will now become my 'target' transmitters at home. I may need a lot of luck here due to my location being low down, almost at sea level.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.

Monday 28 April 2014

Skegness Log: 28-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 General Scatter:
 99.0 0932  D  hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) German YL, as web  684km
105.1 0935  D  Hit Radio FFH, Hoher Meißner (hes) Pops, as web  684km
 97.3 0937  D  WDR 3, Kleve/Bresserberg (nrw) Classical music, as 97.0  420km
 95.8 0939  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Aurich (nds) Noise free stereo. Pops, as 91.1  478km

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.

Sunday 27 April 2014

Skegness Log: 27-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 26-04-14:
 87.6 0831 CZE Radio Impuls, Brno/Kojál (JM) 2203 _IMPULS_. AFs: 106.0 100.3 87.6 99.0 100.9 102.3  1219km

Band 2 General Scatter: 26-04-14:
107.9 0624  D  BR Klassik, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) Operatics, as web  732km
105.3 0625  D  B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) German OM, as web  732km
107.3 0630  D  hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Dreamy song, as web  729km
 90.0 0820  D  SWR3, Haardtkopf (rlp) Alphaville Big In Japan, as web  593km
 92.1 0852 HOL 100% NL, Hulsberg/Emmaberg (lim) Shouting Dutch song, as 90.2  455km
 93.0 0853 HOL Radio 10, Westdorpe/Verkavelingsweg (zee) Bad Michael Jackson, as 87.7  322km
 93.3 0855 HOL Ujala Radio, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Indian music, as web  320km
 95.3 0856 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Zwollerkerspel/Alticom Toren (ove) OMs, as 95.4  396km
 97.7 0900 HOL Radio Veronica, Mierlo or Arnhem. Suspect Mierlo Ads, as 96.3 **
 96.3 0901 HOL Radio Veronica, Loon op Zand/Alticom Toren (nbr) ID and news  365km
103.0 1113  D  BFBS Radio, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) Pops and YL ID. 21dB scatter peak.
               Strongest here yet at 21dB!  564km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

The Czech meteor scatter occurred live while tuning across the band.

Scatter was poor to begin the day but soon improved.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.

Saturday 26 April 2014

Skegness Log: 26-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E: 26-04-14:
 88.0 1012  E  Radio Nervión, Bilbao=Bilbo/Ganeta (PVA-BI) E343 RN______  1130km
 88.0 1020  E  RNE Radio 5 Todo Noticias, Unid site Flute music and Spanish OM, as web
 87.7 1030  E  Hit FM, Jerez de la Frontera/San Cristóbal (AND-CA) E200 HI__FM__  1904km

Band 2 General Scatter: 26-04-14:
 88.0 0941  F  France Culture, Alençon/Mont d'Amain (61) French OM and YL, as 98.0  498km
 89.4 0942  F  France Musique, Brest/Roc Trédudon (29) French OM and YL, as 88.7  604km
 95.3 0944  F  France Inter, Troyes/les Riceys (10) Very weak but music as 103.7  643km
 89.9 0952  F  France Musique, Rennes/Saint-Pern (35) OM, as 88.7  564km
 89.0 1025  F  France Culture, Le Mans/Mayet (72) OMs, as 98.0  599km
107.1 1236  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Haardtkopf (rlp) German song, as web  593km


The first Es of the season and some aircraft scatter to northern France at last.

Brocken and Torfhaus were quite stable late in the evening with slow and steady fades. This was either tropo or troposcatter.

I decided to leave the meteor scatter DXing alone for a few days as I am sure the amount of web stream recording I have done over the last few weeks will have taken this month's bandwidth well over the 500GB mark!!

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.

First Band 2 Es Of The Season!!

The Es season has started!

I have just heard Spain and Algeria at the bottom of band 2.

Where it will go from here is anybody's guess, but it's the same start date as last year! We can only hope that is a good omen!

Good DX!

John

Friday 25 April 2014

Skegness Log: 25-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 25-04-14:
104.5 0008 CZE CRo Vltava, Ústí nad Labem/Buková hora (US) Classical music, as web  991km
104.5 0014  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Ober-Olm (rlp) German presenter, as web  649km
104.5 0024 CZE Frekvence 1, Brno/Kojál (JM) YL phone caller, as web  1219km
104.5 0743 SVN Radio Ognjisce, Krvavec (lj) Pops song, as web  1271km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 25-04-14:
 89.4 1011  D  NE-WS 89,4, Düsseldorf/Rheinturm (nrw) You Can Leave Your Hat On song,
               as web  488km
 92.8 1013 BEL RTBF Musiq'3, Profondeville-Rivière/Sart à Soile (wal-nam) 6353 MUSIQ3__  440km
105.3 1015 HOL NPO Radio 1, Hulsberg/Emmaberg (lim) Dominating. OM, as web  455km
107.4 1015  D  Radio Kiepenkerl, Coesfeld (nrw) Tentative. OM and phone caller, seemingly as 

               web though unable to
               rule out Radio Lippe. Mixing Radio Wuppertal  480km
107.4 1015  D  Radio Wuppertal, Wuppertal/Westfalenweg (nrw) Own programming with OMD song,
               as web  508km
107.3 1555  D  hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Schlager, as web  729km
 92.4 1610  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) German OM with news
               after Linz faded  525km
 92.3 1611  D  WDR 2, Sackpfeife (Biedenkopf) [hes] (nrw) German OM after Anderlues faded  612km
 91.8 1613  D  WDR 2, Hohe Warte (nrw) More regular than Profondeville lately. German
               OM, as web  544km
107.9 1615  D  BR Klassik, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) Classical music, as web. Dominating Munster 
               732km
100.8 1620  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Stadthagen/Bückeberge (nds) Guitar song, as web, on Bremen   
               606km
 98.8 1621  D  NDR Kultur, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) YL, as 90.2  525km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

A very repetitive night of meteor scatter. Just three stations popped up, but repeatedly, over and over again! They were: CRo Vltava, Ústí nad Labem; Big FM (Rheinland-Pfalz), Ober-Olm and Frekvence 1, Brno. I did not hear any other station via meteor scatter until shortly after 0700 when Radio Ognjisce, Krvavec broke the monotony.

General scatter continues to bring new stations to my logbook and much of it is noise free.

Radio Kiepenkerl on 107.4 was a possibility earlier today (25th), though I couldn't rule out this being Radio Lippe as the programming on their web stream sounded similar to that of Radio Kiepenkerl's. It definitely wasn't Radio Wuppertal. It would be useful to know if and when these local NRW stations have their own programming, rather than just inserting local IDs and drop-ins.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 rotator.

Thursday 24 April 2014

Skegness Log: 24-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 24-04-14:
103.1 0231 POL PR Radio Koszalin, Koszalin/Gologóra (ZP) Polish soft rock song, as web  1085km **
103.1 0652  D  Deutschlandfunk, Erfurt-Haarberg (2kW) or  Gießen (630W) German OM talk, as web.
               Three second burst **
104.5 2340  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Ober-Olm (rlp) YL phone caller, as web  649km **
104.5 2343 CZE Frekvence 1, Brno/Kojál (JM) OM phone caller, as web  1219km **
104.5 2356 CZE CRo Vltava, Ústí nad Labem/Buková hora (US) Classical rendition of
               Beatles song, as web  991km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 24-04-14:
102.6 0957  D  NDR 2, Stadthagen/Bückeberge (nds) Adele song, as web  606km
101.2 1011  D  Bremen Vier, Bremen-Walle (bre) Pops, as web  565km
 97.4 1026  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Brocken (san) German YL and OM, dominating Linz  712km
 97.2 1027  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Inselsberg (thü) German YL, as Brocken 97.4  739km
 98.0 1030  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Dr. Hook song, as web. Over
               Lille/Amsterdam  707km
 88.3 1202  D  Nordwestradio, Bremen-Walle (bre) News. Dominating Sutton Coldfield  565km
103.5 1226 HOL Radio Gelderland, Ugchelen/Alticom Toren (gel) Noise free scatter. Lively Dutch
               phone in at this time  391km
 89.9 1537  D  NDR Kultur, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Vocal ID in pile-up  707km
 92.5 1811  D  MDR 1 Radio Thüringen, Inselsberg (thü) German YL, as web, mixing with v weak
               BBC R4  739km
 93.0 1812  D  SWR2, Haardtkopf (rlp) Classical, as web  593km
 94.4 1813  D  hr1, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) Caain Sensible, as web  647km
 99.0 1816  D  hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) Bee Gees song, as web  684km
 98.5 1821  D  SWR3, Scharteberg (Eifel) (rlp) Queen song, as web  550km
103.5 1836  D  RPR 1., Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) ID and traffic  553km
103.5 1838  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Torfhaus/DTAG (nds) Suddenly over Ahrweiller. OM,
               as web  707km
107.5 1842 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) Gentle song, as web  296km
105.5 1843 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) Gentle song, as 107.5  296km
 87.7 1845  F  RTL, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) Phone caller, as web  299km
 90.7 1847 BEL VRT Radio 2, Brussegem (vlg-vbr) YL phone caller, as web. alternating with
               Ijjselstein  366km
 91.6 1850 HOL Radio Veronica, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Europe song and ID  320km
 96.3 1852 HOL Radio Veronica, Loon op Zand/Alticom Toren (nbr) Dutch OM, as 91.6  365km
103.6 1857 HOL Radio 10, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) 83D2 RADIO_10  320km
104.1 1858 HOL Radio 10, Arnhem/Kema Toren (gel) Sister Sledge, as 103.6, etc.  397km **
104.0 1902 BEL Bel RTL, Bruxelles/The Hotel (bru) Short jingle, some Info after YL news
               and ID  377km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 rotator.

Wednesday 23 April 2014

Skegness Log: 23-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 23-04-14:
 97.7 0119  D  DasDing (SWR), Reutlingen (bwü) Plinky plonky techno track, as web  811km **
 97.7 0121  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Haardtkopf (rlp) OM talk, as web  593km **
 97.7 0138  I  RAI Radio 2, Multi-tx. Monte Peglia most likely Jazzy music, as web **
 97.7 0146  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Berlin/Alexanderplatz (brb) Berlin most likely tx of
               several. Three second burst  880km **
 97.7 0342  G  BBC Radio 1, Multi-tx Brief enhancement // Manningtree **

Band 2 General Scatter: 23-04-14:
 98.1 0835  D  NDR 2, Aurich (nds) Briefly dominating Nordhelle  478km
 98.6 0836  D  WDR 5, Olsberg (nrw) Dominating Egem  592km
 87.6 0837  D  hr3, Sackpfeife (Biedenkopf) (hes) Aerosmith track, as web  612km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

At 0211 on the 23rd I heard a meteor burst lasting two and a half minutes. It was a jumble of noise with DLF being the only recognisable station, lifting out of the mess for a couple of seconds.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 rotator.

Tuesday 22 April 2014

Skegness Log: 22-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 22-04-14:
104.7 0507 HNG MR 3 Bartók Rádió, Nagykanizsa/Újudvar (Zal) Vocal ID  1398km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 22-04-14:
 90.2 1154  D  MDR JUMP, Inselsberg (thü) Pops, as web. Briefly mixing with Lingen  739km

** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

Catching up with the loggings after a few busy days.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 rotator.

FM Band - Spectral Scan

Using the XDR-GTK software, I made a spectral scan of the FM band here, beaming 100 degrees.



Monday 21 April 2014

Skegness Log: 21-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 21-04-14:
103.9 0115  D  Radio Seefunk, Iberger Kugel (bwü) Pops song, as web  922km **
103.9 0204 SVN Slovenija 3, Kum (ce) Piano music, as web. Four second burst  1317km **
103.9 0627  D  Antenne Thüringen, Dingelstädt (thü) Pops, as web  706km **
103.9 0651 HRV HKR-Hrvatski Katolicki Radio, Psunj (sb) Pop/choral piece, as web 
               1500km **
103.9 1256 CZE CRo Vltava, Liberec/Jested (LI) Shrill classical music, as web  1038km **

104.7 2352 HNG Class FM, Kékes (Hev) Pops, as web  1504km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 21-04-14:
107.9 0759  G  Jack FM 2, Oxford/Boars Hill (EN-OXF) ID and news  193km
 87.8 0837 IRL RTÉ Radio 1, Clermont Carn (LH) OM discussion, as web  450km
 94.0 0838 IRL RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Mount Leinster (CW) Gaelic OM  480km
 93.5 0839 IRL RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Kippure (WW) Gaelic OM, as 94.0  444km
105.1 0847  G  Inspire FM, Luton (EN-BEF) Asian OM, as web. Occasionally topping Capital  
               151km
107.5 0917 HOL Radio Eenhoorn, Menaam/Mieddyk (fri) V weak on scatter. Pops, as web.
               Cross-fading Scheldemond FM  356km
107.5 0917 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) ID and pops. V weak on scatter  296km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

After several days of scatter from Brocken, Torfhaus and Inselberg, all reception has now gone after a front moved through this evening. Even Lille is not getting through. Sutton Coldfield has also disappeared and Belmont has dropped a few dB. This would normally make things good for meteor scatter, but even that seems to be down. So much for a possible peak. Perhaps things will recover over the next few hours.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 rotator.

Sunday 20 April 2014

Skegness Log: 20-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 20-04-14:
 91.8 0142  D  MDR JUMP, Löbau/Schafberg (sac) Pop song, as web  1006km **
 91.8 0153  D  WDR 2, Hohe Warte (nrw) Pops, as web. Two second burst  544km **
 91.8 0301 SVN Slovenija 1, Krvavec (lj) News about Ljubljana in two second burst  1271km **
 91.8 0357  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Zeitz (san) Growly voiced singer, as web. Three second burst  842km **
 91.8 0542  F  France Musique, Several transmitters listed Bourges or Vannes, but others listed   **
 90.2 0952  D  MDR JUMP, Inselsberg (thü) Sudden burst while listening live via scatter  739km
 97.4 1634  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Linz (Rhein)/Ginsterhahner Kopf (rlp) Sudden burst while listening live  560km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 20-04-14:
 91.8 0735  D  WDR 2, Hohe Warte (nrw) Are We Human/Dancers song, as web  544km
 97.3 0939 HOL Firma Bak oe n ei, Twente Dutch pirate. Dutch pops, as web **
106.3 0949  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Bad Marienberg (rlp) Shrieking noises (opera?),
               as web. Noise free scatter!  592km
105.3 0950  D  B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) German OM, as web  732km
 97.2 0951  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Inselsberg (thü) German OM and ID jingle  739km
 90.2 0952  D  MDR JUMP, Inselsberg (thü) Pops, as web. V weak  739km
104.2 0953  D  Landeswelle Thüringen, Inselsberg (thü) Pink song, as web. V weak  739km
100.4 0955  D  WDR 2, Bonn/Venusberg (nrw) Coldplay, as web. Noise free  538km
104.6 1000 HOL 100% NL, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) Dutch YL news, as web.
               Over Tournai  313km
 97.4 1631  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Brocken (san) Long fade-in/out over Linz  712km
102.9 1749  D  RPR 1., Bad Marienberg (rlp) REM Everybody Hurts, as web  592km
103.5 1751  D  RPR 1., Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) REM, as 102.9  553km
103.5 1811  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Torfhaus/DTAG (nds) YL talking over strange music,
               as web  707km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 rotator.

Skegness Log: 19-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 19-04-14:
105.4 0113  D  Hitradio RTL Sachsen, Chemnitz/Geyer (sac) Mister Mister song, as web  904km **
105.4 0616  I  Südtirol 1, Brenner=Brennero/Zirog Alm=Zirago (bz) Vocal ID. Thanks W4WDX for help with this  1052km **
105.4 0656  D  Radio Siegen, Aue/Hohe Hessel (nrw) Toyota ad, as web. 13 second burst  586km **
105.4 0719 POL Radio Zet, Siedlce/Losice (MW) Madonna Learn To Say Goodbye, as web  1512km **
 87.6 0921 CZE Radio Impuls, Brno/Kojál (JM) 2203. Unattended reception. 30dB peak  1219km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 19-04-14:
 87.7 1356  D  NDR Info, Flensburg-Engelsby (shs) First time on scatter. German OM, as web, on Radio 10 fade  627km **
 87.9 1357  D  NDR Info, Heide Welmbüttel (shs) German OM, as 87.7  599km


** Personal Skegness 'First' by the respective mode

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2, 5.5 m AGL. Yaesu G-5500 rotator.

Saturday 19 April 2014

105.4 MHz - Sudtirol 1 Reception via April Lyrids


This was completely unexpected. But then, meteor scatter largely is. You have to be patient and it's pot luck with what comes through. Occasionally you might be lucky and catch a real gem. That's what happened today at 06:16 GMT when a FIFTEEN second burst appeared while I was tuned to 105.4. I happened to be recording the frequency when the signal appeared, and there was even a vocal identification by the male presenter!

Once again, had it not been for W4WDX, who heard my clip, I don't think I would have realised that this was an Italian station in the north-east of Italy. I just assumed it might have been Austria, but there was no station listed with the name "Sud Tirol Eins".

Here is a recording, as it happened. Note the identification seven seconds into this recording. W4WDS has translated to English:

Click here to listen to the recording

German: "Das ist ihr neuer Hit, der sicher bald schon die Südtirol 1 Charts erstürmen wird."
English: "This is their new hit, which is going to storm the Südtirol 1 Charts soon."

Good DX!

John

Friday 18 April 2014

Skegness Log: 18-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 18-04-14:
107.7 0040  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Cuxhaven Otterndorf (nds) Jazzy music, as web  571km
107.7 0058  D  Die Neue 107,7, Stuttgart-Frauenkopf (bwü) Nazareth song, as web  790km
107.7 0137  D  Antenne Bayern, Hochries (bay) Pops, as web  1034km
107.7 0528  D  R.SA, Fichtelberg (Erzgebirge) (sac) Holly Johnson song, as web  918km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 18-04-14:
104.2 0724 BEL AFN PowerNet, Casteau-Shape (wal-hnt) Item on baseball. US accents.   386km
 89.2 0737  D  NDR 2, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) Scatter. Noise free pops, as web  525km
 89.2 0750  D  NDR 2, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) Very fluttery in multiple aircraft
               scatter. Pops, as web  525km
 98.4 0923 HOL NPO Radio 1, Markelo/Alticom Toren (ove) Dutch YL and OM, as web  424km
 93.0 0933  D  SWR2, Haardtkopf (rlp) Opera, as web  593km
100.3 0935  D  Planet Radio, Eisenberg (Neuenstein) (hes) English ID jingle and pops on Radio
               L1 fade  677km **
 94.4 0947  D  hr1, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) Fleetwood Mac song, as web. Above
               Swingate  647km
 94.0 0949  D  SWR2, Koblenz/Dieblich-Naßheck (rlp) Opera, as web  590km
 94.6 0950  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt, Brocken (san) Modern Talking song, ID and ELO
               song  712km
 92.1 0952  D  NDR 2, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Soft rock song, as web  707km
 98.0 0952  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Pops, as web  707km
103.6 0956  D  RPR 1., Kalmit (rlp) Olly Murs, YL ID  687km
102.3 0958  D  Radio ffn, Steinkimmen (nds) Ellie Goulding, as web. Easy at the side of
               Lincs FM  543km
 91.8 1011  D  WDR 2, Hohe Warte (nrw) Light pops, as web  544km
107.3 1013  D  hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) German song, as web  729km
 92.4 1021  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Linz (Rhein)/Ginsterhahner Kopf (rlp) Valerie song,
               as web. Noise free  560km
 91.0 1022  D  hr1, Sackpfeife (Biedenkopf) (hes) German YL, as web  612km
107.4 1031  D  Radio Wuppertal, Wuppertal/Westfalenweg (nrw) Pops, as web. Local
               programming at this time  508km
 95.3 1317  D  YOU FM (hr), Hardberg (hes) Pink song, as web  712km
 99.0 1321  D  hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) Pops and OM/YL chat, as web. Almost noise free when
               peaked  684km
 89.5 1342  D  hr3, Hoher Meißner (hes) Pops, as web  684km
 87.6 1343  D  NDR 2, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) Caro Emerald song, as web  650km
 97.7 1441  D  YOU FM (hr), Rimberg (hes) Club song, as web  678km
106.3 1550  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Bad Marienberg (rlp) Crooning, as web  592km
105.3 1600  D  B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) OM ID and news  732km
107.9 1601  D  BR Klassik, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) YL news, over Munster  732km
 97.2 1607  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Inselsberg (thü) German YL news, as web  739km
103.5 1611  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Torfhaus/DTAG (nds) German OM, as web  707km


** Personal Skegness 'First' by the respective mode

The G-5500 rotator is now connected and aligned. Still really pleased with reception here. As I had hoped, the noise I get to the south is greatly reduced now the 9.2 is on the roof. It appears to be something in a nearby property. the one nearest the 9.2. At the most I am receiving the noise at 9 or 10dBf (GTK scale - no boosts), which is negligible. Background noise in all other directions is at 4 or 5dBf so very quiet. Phew!

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 with Yaesu G-5500 rotator.

Thursday 17 April 2014

Skegness Log: 17-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 17-04-14:
104.9 0101  D  Hitradio Ohr, Offenburg (bwü) OM news with musical bed. (Not news other German) 
               751km **
104.9 0142  D  Radio SAW, Leipzig Wiederau [sac] (san) Acoustic song, as web  843km **
104.9 0208 AUT Antenne Kärnten, Klagenfurt 1/Dobratsch-Villacher Alpe (kae) Pops, as web 
               1199km **
104.9 0237 POL Radio ESKA, Wroclaw/G.Sleza (DS) Pops, as web  1147km
104.9 0256  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) Pops, as web  553km **
104.9 0608 AUT Kronehit, Schärding 2/Schardenberg-Aussichtsturm (obe) Eminem song, as web 
               1056km **

107.7 2319  D  Antenne Bayern, Hochries (bay) Pops, as web  1034km **
107.7 2354  D  Die Neue 107,7, Stuttgart-Frauenkopf (bwü) Creedence Clearwater Revival, 
               as web  790km **
107.7 2356  D  Hit Radio FFH, Hohes Lohr (hes) German YL, as web  639km **
107.7 2359  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Cuxhaven Otterndorf (nds) German OM, as web  571km **

Band 2 General/Aircraft Scatter: 17-04-14:
104.3 0722  D  hr4, Sackpfeife (Biedenkopf) (hes) German music, as web  612km
101.2 0723  D  Bremen Vier, Bremen-Walle (bre) X Fading with Habichtswald  565km
101.2 0723  D  hr3, Habichtswald (hes) Fluttery but peaking above noise, as web  647km
101.1 0725 BEL RTBF Pure FM, Wavre (wal-bra) Subs song, as web, over Holme Moss  396km
107.0 0728  D  WDR Eins Live, Olsberg (nrw) Pops, as 106.7  592km
 87.8 0729  D  WDR 2, Schwerte/Sommerberg (nrw) Ads, as 93.3  525km
 89.4 0731 HOL Radio Oost, Hengelo/Novec mast (Hazenweg) (ove) Kate Bush, as web  445km
102.8 0746  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Wesel-Büderich (nrw) OM, as Lingen 102.0  456km
101.7 0748  D  Radio Salü, Saarbrücken/Schoksberg (saa) Pops and ID  628km
 89.2 0750  D  NDR 2, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) Very fluttery in multiple aircraft
               scatter. Pops, as web  525km
 87.9 0753  D  NDR Info, Heide Welmbüttel (shs) Just making it through. V weak German OM,
               as web  599km
104.0 0815  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Koblenz/Kühkopf (rlp) Fluttery. Peaking noise free  590km
105.9 1432  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) Murray Head song,
               as 105.7  525km
105.1 1434  D  Hit Radio FFH, Hoher Meißner (hes) Pops, as web  684km
104.1 1436  D  WDR 4, Olsberg (nrw) Occasionally above BBC R Sheffield. As 101.3  592km
103.5 1438  D  RPR 1., Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) Pops, as web  553km
103.4 1439  D  Radio ffn, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) Howard Jones song, as web 
               525km
 94.8 1440  D  SWR3, Linz (Rhein)/Ginsterhahner Kopf (rlp) Pops, as web  560km
 95.8 1441  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Aurich (nds) Ralph McTell song, as web. Noise free
               peak  478km
 98.0 1445  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Jonathan Richman's Egyptian
               Reggae, as web. Over Lille  707km
 90.0 1730  D  SWR3, Haardtkopf (rlp) Rosana song, as web  593km
106.9 1733  D  Radio Euskirchen, Schleiden/Broicher Höhe (nrw) Wamdue Project, as web.
               V weak  514km
105.4 1740  D  Radio Siegen, Aue/Hohe Hessel (nrw) Followed this several times today.
               As web stream. V weak.   586km **
 97.2 1843  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Inselsberg (thü) Gentle classical music, as web 
               739km
105.3 1845  D  B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) ID and traffic  732km
 93.6 1909  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Scharteberg (Eifel) (rlp) Twangy music, as web  550km
 93.4 1912  D  Bayern 3, Pfaffenberg (bay) V weak song, as web. Scatter!  712km
 92.8 1913  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) Out of the mush in seconds. Briefly
               clear and noise free, as web  477km
105.2 1918  D  Radio RST, Schöppingen (nrw) Atomic Kitten song, as web. Own programming
               at this time. Clear above Lille  482km **
105.5 1922  D  WDR Eins Live, Teutoburger Wald/Bielstein (nrw) Noise free scatter  591km
107.6 1926  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Bornberg (rlp) Rap song, as 104.0  640km


** Personal Skegness 'First' by the respective mode

The 9.2 is really doing the business, but I really ought to lower it slightly as it is swaying quite noticeably, even in the gentle breeze. I won't lower it too much, but it looks quite imposing up there on the roof at almost three metres above the rooftop. It is actually quite easy to raise and lower it as necessary.

The two NRW firsts were a pleasant surprise, as was Pfaffenberg. I was almost certain I could hear the latter on scatter when I had just moved in to the last QTH, i.e. before all the noise started. I guess it must have been Pfaffenberg all along. There are other bits and pieces across the band too which I hope to identify here at the new QTH. It's a relief to have the 9.2 installed before the Es season, but I still haven't had time to install the rotator cables, so the antenna remains fixed to the ESE for another day. This job is at the top of my To Do list for tomorrow.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2, currently fixed east-south-east.

Wednesday 16 April 2014

Skegness Log: 16-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 16-04-14:
104.9 2329 POL Radio ESKA, Wroclaw/G.Sleza (DS) Pops, as web  1147km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 16-04-14:
 99.0 1646  D  hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) ID and Bruno Mars song  684km
 92.1 1647  D  NDR 2, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Pops, as web  707km
106.3 1649  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Bad Marienberg (rlp) Soft pops, as web  592km
104.9 1810  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) ID and German rap  553km
 99.6 1812  D  hr-info, Sackpfeife (Biedenkopf) (hes) German OM, as web  612km
103.0 1812  D  BFBS Radio, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) Chat and pops. Almost noise free  564km
 98.7 1817  D  AFN Wiesbaden-The Eagle, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) Military ads  647km
 97.3 1821  D  WDR 3, Kleve/Bresserberg (nrw) Classical, as web  420km
 94.4 1823  D  NDR Kultur, Steinkimmen (nds) Piano music, as web  543km
 93.6 1824  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Scharteberg (Eifel) (rlp) French song, as web  550km
 92.0 1827  D  WDR 5, Münster/Baumberg (nrw) Noise free  493km
 90.2 1832  D  NDR Kultur, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) German YL over piano music, as web  477km
 88.3 1840  D  Nordwestradio, Bremen-Walle (bre) Peaking above Sutton Coldfield, as web 565km
107.1 1843  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Haardtkopf (rlp) Jolly song, as web  593km
105.6 1844  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Donnersberg (rlp) Jolly song, as 107.1  656km
102.3 1915  D  Radio ffn, Steinkimmen (nds) REM song, as web  543km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

The Körner 9.2 is on the roof of the bungalow at last! The permissions letter came through yesterday, but the aerial contractor who was coming today let me down. As luck wouldhave it, I found somebody else who was free this afternoon. The 9.2 is approximately two metres above the roof, perhaps slightly higher than at the last address.

The rotator is not connected at the moment due to problems drilling large enough holes through the brickwork to feed the control cables through. Even the aerial contractor did not succeed with his SDS drill, so I am forced to use a couple of external connection boxes and run the dreaded CAT5 cable into the room. This is just thin enough to squeeze through. The 9.2 is currently fixed east-south-east.

Reception of Hoher Meißner, Torfhaus and Brocken were almost noise free on scatter peaks during the late afternoon.early evening. Bielefeld on 103.0 has also been received as well as I have ever heard it, practically noise free when lifting up.

Providing I don't get any more internet disconnections tonight I will be monitoring 104.9 for meteor scatter.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Tuesday 15 April 2014

Skegness Log: 14-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 14-04-14:
100.7 0117 LUX Radio 100,7, Dudelange/Ginsterberg (gld) Classical, as web  573km **
100.7 0147  D  Sputnik (MDR), Klötze (san) Sam Smith song, as web  732km **
100.7 0519  D  WDR 4, Ederkopf (nrw) Beatles Tickt To Ride, as web  592km **
100.7 0614  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Meppen (1kW) or Freiberg Niederschöna (320W) German lady on the phone, as web **


** Personal Skegness 'First' via MS

An interesting meteor session with Dudelange producing the most prominent pings. Klotze was also quite frequent. There were several classical stations too but there were salso networked night services to contend with so not all could be identified. Notably MDR Figaro had the same programming as BR Klassik, and SRF2 Kultur had the same programming as Radio Rumantsch. WDR4 and SWR4 also shared a common service, the same for Sveriges P4 regionals Gavleborg & Blekinge - I definitely heard one of these, but which one?

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Sunday 13 April 2014

Skegness Log: 13-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 14-04-14:
100.2 0008 POL RMF FM, Bialystok/Krynice (PL) Roxette track, as web  1506km **
100.2 0009  D  Antenne Bayern, Gelbelsee (bay) Yael Naim song, as web  905km **
100.2 0020 SVN Radio Aktual, Krim (lj) Four second burst of Slavic song, as web  1295km **
100.2 0041  D  RBB Kulturradio, Belzig (brb) Sombre classical piece, as web  831km **
100.2 0100  E  RNE Radio 3, Montserrat (CAT-B) Banging techno, as web  1289km **
100.2 0311  D  R.SH, Bungsberg/DTAG-Turm (shs) Godawful Alexandra Burke song, as web  694km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 14-04-14:
 87.6 0926 BEL Nostalgie Vlaanderen, Oudenburg/Zeeweg (vlg-wvl) Ads and promos, as web. Just
               about noise free, briefly  288km
100.0 0931  D  WDR 4, Münster/Baumberg (nrw) Noise free. Nice scatter today  493km
100.0 0931  D  WDR 4, Münster/Baumberg (nrw) Noise free. Nice scatter today  493km
105.5 0933  D  WDR Eins Live, Teutoburger Wald/Bielstein (nrw) Noise free. As 106.7  591km
103.0 0935  D  BFBS Radio, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) Almost noise free on scatter, despite the
               FM5 being 1m above the ground  564km
 93.6 0941 BEL Club FM, Koolskamp/Watertoren (vlg-wvl) Club and pop, as web. Noise free peaks 
               309km
 93.4 0951 HOL Radio Rijnmond, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) Noise free
               peak. Outside Broadcast  313km
 93.4 0952  F  Nostalgie, Lille/Mons-en-Baroeul 1 (59) Ads, as web, suddenly over Rijnmomd  338km
 90.2 1517  D  NDR Kultur, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) Classical music, as web  477km
101.8 1520  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Aurich (nds) YL and OM, as web  478km
105.7 1524  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Steinkimmen (nds) ID and pops  543km

** Personal Skegness 'First' via MS

I had decided to let the XDR rest for a few nights so it was bright and fresh for the April Lyrids. Then I realised that meteor activity was quite active just before midnight last night, so I decided to tackle 100.2. Bursts were much more frequent than on previous nights, though things did taper off a bit towards dawn. I guess the earlier increase might be related to the Lyrid meteor shower, which is due to peak over the next week or so.

All MS stations logged above were heard numerous times.

Daytime scatter was good with Bielefeld coming in with the best signal I have had here this year, yet the FM5 is still only 1 metre above the ground.

More info on the Lyrids, taken from the AMS Meteors page: http://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar

Lyrids: Active from April 16th to 25th 2014.

The Lyrids are a medium strength shower that usually produces good rates for three nights centered on the maximum. These meteors also usually lack persistent trains but can produce fireballs. These meteors are best seen from the northern hemisphere where the radiant is high in the sky at dawn. Activity from this shower can be seen from the southern hemisphere, but at a lower rate.

Radiant: 18:04 +34° - ZHR: - Velocity: 30 miles/sec (medium - 48.4km/sec) - Parent Object: C/1861 G1 (Thatcher)

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Friday 11 April 2014

Skegness Log: 11-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 11-04-14:
 93.6 0046  I  RAI Radio2, Trieste/Monte Belvedere (RAI) (ts) Distinctive female vocals,
               as web  1278km **
 93.6 0103 SUI Radio SRF 1, Beatenberg or Port Valais Hall and Oates song, as web **
 93.6 0122 POL Radio Zet, Wroclaw/G.Sleza (DS) Eighties syndrum track, as web  1147km **
 93.6 1056  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Scharteberg (Eifel) (rlp) Soulful German YL song,
               as web  550km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' via MS

There was another marked increase in meteor activity overnight, though most of it was only micosecond pings. "3205" had lodged itself onto the XDR-GTK display when I awoke.

RAI Due and Radio Zet were the chief bursters on 93.6 overnight, with Radio SRF1 taking a close third place.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Thursday 10 April 2014

Skegness Log: 10-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 10-04-14:
 92.2 0026 SVK SRo 1 Rádio Slovensko, Poprad/Králová hola (PO) Poprad Presumed. Rock guitar,
               as web. Three second burst  1459km **
 92.2 0048  D  SWR3, Stuttgart/Hoher Bopser (bwü) Peter Bjorn and John song, as web  789km **
 92.2 0217  F  France Musique, Nice/Mont Chauve (06) Presumed Nice. Violin concerto, as web 
               1160km **
 92.2 0450 SUI Radio Cité Genève, Mont Salève/Téléphérique [F 74] (ge) Three second burst of
               sad French song, as web  885km **
 91.4 2122  F  France Musique, Troyes/les Riceys (10) Chance burst while listening to
               Troyes via scatter  643km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 10-04-14:
 91.0 2002  F  Le Mouv', Lille/Mons-en-Baroeul 1 (59) ID after promo  338km
 88.0 2003  D  WDR 5, Bonn/Venusberg (nrw) OM news, as 90.6  538km
104.7 2004  D  WDR Eins Live, Nordhelle (nrw) Pops, as 106.7  553km
 93.2 2006 HOL Waterstad FM, Jirnsum/Rijksweg (fri) Soft rock track, as web  365km
 89.6 2119  D  WDR 5, Bärbelkreuz (Eifel) (nrw) German OM, as web  519km
 91.4 2121  F  France Musique, Troyes/les Riceys (10) French OM and gentle music, as 88.7 
               643km
102.8 2126 BEL Zen FM, Gent/Opgeëistenlaan (vlg-ovl) Jazzy stuff, as web  328km
100.7 2127 LUX Radio 100,7, Dudelange/Ginsterberg (gld) Operaticals, as web. Noise
               free  573km
 99.5 2128 BEL RTBF Musiq'3, Liège/Bol d'Air (wal-lge) Orchestra, as web  459km
 97.6 2129 HOL Radio Decibel, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) 86F0 DECIBEL_  313km


** Personal Skegness 'First' by the respective mode

Meteor Notes:
* Lots of bursts tonight.
* SRo 1 Radio Slovensko was the most regular burster.
* There were lots of interesting Slavic languages here.
* I recorded a 28 streams in total, which I think is more than I have ever done simultaneously.
  It was a bad night for web streams switching off however. About eight to ten of them did so.

Other than that, I moved the FM5 to the opposite side of the bungalow this evening, at the most northerly corner, trying it one metre above the ground and then at five metres. It made very little difference to reception as that side of the garden is more 'open' and has slightly more distance between us and the nearest property. It also has a better take-off across the middle of some long gardens gardens between neighbouring streets.

What I also noticed is that there is a reduction in the noise I get to the south and this has almost gone now. I am tempted to install the 9.2 on this side of the bungalow, but I think it would be more out of the way where I had originally planned - on the south-west side. I still don't have the necessary written permission to install this yet, but I have been assured it will be with me next week. We'll see!

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Wednesday 9 April 2014

Skegness Log: 09-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 09-04-14:
106.0 1114  D  Hitradio RTL Sachsen, Auerbach/Schöneck (sac) Distinctive music, as web 
               881km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' by the respective mode

106.0 proved to be a difficult channel as Tournai had improved and blocked the channel for a good part of the night.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Tuesday 8 April 2014

Skegness Log: 08-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 08-04-14:
106.5 0239 AUT Antenne Vorarlberg, Bregenz 1/Pfänder (vor) OM with distinctive voice,
               as web  917km **
106.5 0301 CZE CRo Brno, Brno/Kojál (JM) Squeaky voiced OM news, as web  1219km **
106.5 0554  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt, Leipzig Wiederau [sac] (san) New Seekers song,
               as web  843km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' by the respective mode

Bregenz 1 was the frequent burster during the earlier part of the morning. This was less frequent by sunrise with Brno and Leipzig Wiederau taking over.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Monday 7 April 2014

Skegness Log: 07-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 07-04-14:
 97.5 0012 AUT Ö1, Linz 1/Lichtenberg (obe) Classical music, as web  1111km **
 97.5 0038  D  SWR3, Bornberg (rlp) German OM over song, as web  640km **
 97.5 0452 DNK DR P4, Næstved - Øverup/Køgevej 291 (sjl) Simply Red song, as web  782km **
 97.5 0748  D  MDR Info, Suhl/Erleshügel (thü) German OM talk, as web  768km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' by the respective mode

97.5 was tonight's chosen frequency. There was a big increase in the number of MS pings too. Unsurprisingly, regular bursters were Ö1 from Linz (100kW) and SWR3 from Bornberg (25kW), often appearing together in the same burst! Next to that, 5kW MDR Info from Suhl was also quite regular.

There were quite a few bursts from unidentified German language stations which I hadn't recorded. I can only presume that they were low powered Austrian or Swiss transmitters. Germany, Switzerland and Austria has become of particular interest lately and I endeavour to record all German language streams to be certain I am logging the correct station, but all Swiss station's web streams simultaneously dropped out after only eight minutes of recording on this occasion - at precisely 00:13:35 GMT in fact. I also tend not to record the stations with flea powered transmitters, i.e. 50 watts or less. Perhaps I should.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Sunday 6 April 2014

Skegness Log: 06-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 06-04-14:
 96.5 0028  D  SWR3, Waldenburg (bwü) Maroon 5 song, as web  786km **
 96.5 0105  F  France Culture, Carcassonne/Pic de Nore (11) Presumed Carcassonne. French
               OM, as web  1093km **

 96.5 0122  F  France Inter, Rouen or Chaumont Unusual singing, as web  **
 96.5 0237  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Helpterberg (mev) Raucus brass music, as web  881km **
 96.5 0804  D  Bayern 2, Brotjacklriegel (bay) OM and musical bed, as web  1021km **

Band 2 Scatter: 06-04-14:
 99.0 1623 BEL Randstad FM, Mechelen/Douaneplein (vlg-ant) Presumed. Dutch ads with .be
               web addresses.   370km

102.8 1625  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Wesel-Büderich (nrw) German OM, as 101.8  456km
104.6 1626 BEL RTBF Classic 21, Tournai/Froidmont (wal-hnt) 6354 BONAMASS (corrupted scrolling
               PS) Good peak.  351km

104.8 1628 HOL NPO Radio 1, Roermond/Alticom Toren (lim) Noise free. Dutch OM  443km
 89.5 1630 BEL VRT Klara, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw/Norkring Toren (vlg-vbr) Classical, as 89.9  376km
 89.9 1630 BEL VRT Klara, Genk/VRT Zendmast (vlg-lim) Classical, as 89.5  431km
 97.9 1631 BEL VRT Radio 2, Genk/VRT Zendmast (vlg-lim) Pops, as 98.6. Dominating Sutton
               Coldfield  431km


** Personal Skegness 'First'

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Saturday 5 April 2014

Skegness Log: 05-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 05-04-14:
 95.5 0012  D  SR 3 Saarlandwelle, Göttelborner Höhe (saa) Bee Gees song, as web  629km **
 95.5 0629  D  BR Klassik, Büttelberg (bay) Piano concerto, as web  812km **
 95.5 0706  F  France Musique, Clermont-Ferrand/Puy-de-Dôme (63) YL news, as web.   842km **
 95.5 0721  D  hr2, Hoher Meißner (hes) Talking about Baroque music, as web  684km **

Band 2 Scatter: 05-04-14:
102.5 1613 BEL Q-Music, Genk/VRT Zendmast (vlg-lim) Suddenly over Radio 538  431km
102.5 1613 HOL Radio 538, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) Dutch OM, as web  360km
102.9 1614 BEL Nostalgie Vlaanderen, Schoten (vlg-ant) Commodores Brick House, as web  354km
100.8 1629  D  WDR 2, Aachen/Stolberg (nrw) ID and verkehrsservice  483km
101.0 1630  D  WDR 2, Bärbelkreuz (Eifel) (nrw) Verkehrsservice, as 100.8  519km
105.5 1631  D  WDR Eins Live, Bärbelkreuz (Eifel) (nrw) Pops, as 106.7  519km
103.1 1635 BEL Q-Music, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw/Norkring Toren (vlg-vbr) Pops, as web  376km
103.5 1649 HOL Radio Veronica, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) Briefly over Essex with
               pops, as web  334km
103.5 1655 HOL Radio Gelderland, Ugchelen/Alticom Toren (gel) End of song and OM ID  391km
 99.8 1656  D  NDR 2, Steinkimmen (nds) Fade in. Soft rock song, as web  543km
 93.5 1657  D  WDR 2, Nordhelle (nrw) Marillion song, as web  553km
 90.6 1659  D  WDR 5, Teutoburger Wald/Bielstein (nrw) German OM, as web  591km
 93.2 1659  D  WDR 2, Teutoburger Wald/Bielstein (nrw) Marillion song, as 93.5  591km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via MS

95.5 was interesting overnight in that the overwhelming majority of pings and bursts were from SR3, Gottelborner Hohe. Of the few which were not SR3 (four or five pings) they were from a mystery classical music station and one I did not record. Other transmitters started to come in after 0600, France Musique being the most consistent, very likely the Clermont Ferrand transmitter.

All general scatter was received with the FM5 horizontal. I re-positioned this vertically during the afternoon but it killed off all the scatter, with the exception of Langenberg. Back in horizontal again and the Dutch scatter returned. When my one metre high FM3 and FM5 were vertical at the last QTH I noticed the same lack of scatter. Vertical really does not work well on band 2 when low down.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Friday 4 April 2014

Skegness Log: 04-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 04-04-14:
 94.0 0037  F  France Musique, Vittel/Thuillières (88) Jazzy classical piece, as web 
               684km **
 94.0 0238  D  Bayern 3, Lindau/Hoyerberg (bay) Michael Sembellos Maniac, as web  907km **
 94.0 0256  F  France Culture, perhaps Bergerac. Strange twangy music, as web **
 94.0 0800  G  BBC Radio 4, Limavady most likely off the back. Corrie Corfield reading
               the News **

Band 2 Scatter: 04-04-14:
 91.7 0846 BEL VRT Radio 1, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw/Norkring Toren (vlg-vbr) Nice noise free
               peak. OM talking about chocolate!  376km
 97.5 0857 BEL VRT Radio 2, Schoten (vlg-ant) Dutch OM, as web  354km
 97.8 0857 HOL NPO Radio 2, Westdorpe/Verkavelingsweg (zee) Ad break  322km
 99.5 0858 BEL RTBF Musiq'3, Liège/Bol d'Air (wal-lge) Classical music, as web  459km
100.0 0858  D  WDR 4, Münster/Baumberg (nrw) German OM ID in ads  493km
100.3 0858 HOL L1 Radio, Roermond/Alticom Toren (lim) Punt NL web address in ad  443km
102.0 0859 BEL VRT MNM, Genk/VRT Zendmast (vlg-lim) Dutch ads  431km
 90.2 0900 HOL 100% NL, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) ID and news  334km
 90.7 0900 HOL SubLime FM, IJsselstein/Gerbrandytoren-Alticom (utr) Fiat ad, punt NL
               address, ads running over the hour  344km
 90.8 0901 BEL RTBF Classic 21, Profondeville-Rivière/Sart à Soile (wal-nam) ID - RTBF
               Classic 21 Ecoutez Original. Noise free  440km
 91.0 0902 HOL Slam!FM, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) OM ID. Not the usual Omroep Brabant 
               360km
 91.1 0903 HOL Slam!FM, Hilversum/Media Park-Alticom (nho) Fast talking OM news, as 

               91.0  341km
 91.4 0903 HOL NPO Radio 4, Markelo/Alticom Toren (ove) Classical music  424km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

Another "one metre high DX session"! Maybe I should class this as an ultralight log? It was quite a rapid-fire session though with lots of Dutch stations coming up very suddenly on aircraft scatter, some leaping out well above the noise. I have noticed a scatter good peak around this time before.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Thursday 3 April 2014

Skegness Log: 03-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 03-04-14:
107.5 0025  D  BB Radio, Berlin/Schäferberg (brb) Pops, as web  864km
107.5 0035  D  SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Buchen/Walldürner Str. (bwü) OM traffic in six
               second burst, as web  743km

Band 2 Aircraft Scatter: 03-04-14:
 88.6 0850 HOL NPO 3FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) U2 song, as web  407km
 91.1 0855  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Steinkimmen (nds) Diana Ross song, as web  543km
 95.4 0900  F  France Inter, Amiens/Saint-Just-en-Chaussée [60] (80) YL, as 103.7  431km
 96.1 0901 BEL RTBF La Première, Wavre (wal-bra) OM, as web  396km
 96.6 0907 BEL RTBF Pure FM, Anderlues/Mont-Sainte-Geneviève (wal-hnt) Pops, as web.
               Noise free peak  409km
101.2 0914 HOL Sky Radio, Hilversum/Media Park-Alticom (nho) Pops, as web  341km
101.8 0915  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Aurich (nds) German OM, as web  478km
106.7 1050  D  WDR Eins Live, Langenberg/Hordtberg (nrw) ID jingle between songs  504km
104.8 1051 HOL NPO Radio 1, Roermond/Alticom Toren (lim) Dutch OM, as web  443km
 91.1 1055 HOL Slam!FM, Hilversum/Media Park-Alticom (nho) Pops, as web  341km
 95.2 1055 HOL Slam!FM, Alphen aan den Rijn/Alticom Toren (zho) Pops, as 91.1  312km
 91.0 1057  F  Le Mouv', Lille/Mons-en-Baroeul 1 (59) Brief peak. Discussion, as web  338km
 92.8 1731 BEL RTBF Musiq'3, Profondeville-Rivière/Sart à Soile (wal-nam) Noise free peak 
               440km
 93.2 1732 BEL RTBF Classic 21, Brussel/Financietoren=Bruxelles/Tour des Finances (bru)
               Lee Dorsey song, as web  376km
103.1 1734 BEL Q-Music, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw/Norkring Toren (vlg-vbr) Retro sounding disco
               track, as web  376km
104.0 1736  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Koblenz/Kühkopf (rlp) Club track, as web  590km
100.4 1738 HOL Q-music, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Pops,as 100.7  407km
100.8 1739  D  WDR 2, Aachen/Stolberg (nrw) Almost noise free  483km
100.9 1740 BEL VRT Studio Brussel, Schoten (vlg-ant) Rock track, as 102.1  354km
101.0 1740  D  WDR 2, Bärbelkreuz (Eifel) (nrw) Same YL, as 100.8  519km
107.9 1741  D  WDR Eins Live, Münster/Baumberg (nrw) Acoustic track, as 106.7  493km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, five meters AGL.

Wednesday 2 April 2014

Skegness Log: 02-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 02-04-14:
107.8 0013 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Säntis (ar) Laid back pop song, as web  917km **
107.8 0137 POL Radio Zet, Tarnów/Lichwin (MP) Polish song, as web  1465km **
107.8 0703  D  BB Radio, Frankfurt (Oder) Booßen (brb) Eight second burst. YL phone
               caller with music behind, as web  951km **
 93.3 1625 POL RMF FM, Bydgoszcz/Trzeciewiec (KP) Polish ads, as web. Three second
               burst  1186km **
 93.3 1742 HRV HRT-HR 1, Beli Manastir (os) YL interview, as web  1552km ** 

107.5 2314  D  BB Radio, Berlin/Schäferberg (brb) Adele song, as web. Listening live  864km **
107.5 2326  D  SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Buchen/Walldürner Str. (bwü) OM talk and traffic,
               as web  743km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' via MS.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL.

Tuesday 1 April 2014

Common Sense Prevails

Following a visit from the planning officer from the new housing association, permission has, thankfully, been granted from the 9.2. Phew! However, after the gentleman had left I discovered that the G-5500 rotator had not been included in his notes. I doubt this will be a problem but will get in touch with the planning department tomorrow to add this.

It seems the neighbour complaint was simply because they were worried that the FM5 I had been using temporarily would collapse into her property and cause damage or injury. As I explained in my previous blog entry this is just not likely to happen due to the trees. The planning officer saw this and took photos of the conifers, so I presume the neighbour is going to be asked to cut down or remove the conifers. Conifers are not allowed in these properties it seems.

I have been instructed not to go ahead with the installation until I have received official written permission. I have also been told that I need to provide proof of insurance cover and have the 9.2 fitted by a professional aerial installer, providing a receipt. Everything is covered this way. Luckily I know a good company whose price is very reasonable.

It's things like this which make me feel slightly disillusioned about the whole hobby. While DXing is straight-forward enough, the hobby is considered slightly off the beaten track by most people and downright weird to some. I dread to think what the neighbours will think to a rotating aerial once it is erected. Will it attract unwanted attention? This was highlighted very nicely at the previous address. Even children would stop me in the street to ask what the aerial was and what I was listening to with it. That makes a change from people thinking I am a spy or working for the police - yes, that happens too. The problem I have is that it all leaves me feeling quite isolated and 'different'. An unwanted centre of attention.

I wish I could just enjoy the hobby without having to worry what people think. I know I shouldn't let this bother me, but it does bother me as what I am doing is publicly visible and some people seem slightly scared by it. Or they see me as some kind of freak. I have known so many other hobbyists suffer this problem. Hopefully it will just make people leave me alone ;O)

Körner 9.2 Installation Halted

After all the problems we had with aerials and neighbours at our last address, I had hoped for better things here. It seems this may not be the case. Neighbours! Damn neighbours! 

After already being granted verbal permission to erect the 9.2 antenna, our new local housing association planning department telephoned me yesterday to halt today's installation of my 9.2, on the grounds that my temporary FM5 antenna had fallen into a neighbour's garden. Let me assure you it most certainly had not. The neighbour in question has a small row of very tall conifer trees which would not allow such a thing to happen. These are actually higher than my FM5. Maybe I should complain that the same conifers have spread several feet into our garden. So much so, in fact, that there is no room for me to rotate my FM5 aerial easily where it is. Even the planning officer wondered if this was a slight exaggeration on the part of the neighbour if she was only concerned that the FM5 might fall into her garden. That's not how the complaint was received, however. Either way, it couldn't possibly have fallen anywhere as it was pressed firmly against the bungalow wall by the trees.

This neighbour has always seemed friendly, and even spoke to us this morning, but she obviously did not wish to confront us face to face about this matter.

So, our new planning officer said I would now have to go via East Lindsey District Council's Planning Department and obtain written permission to have my 9.2 erected, which he doubted they would approve. This would cost me £72. It actually costs around £400 should it need to go to the Public Notice stage, after which they could still refuse permission and not have to refund the fee, but such planning applications would usually be necessary only for larger structures, such as tall lattice towers, etc. I am really surprised to be referred to the local council.

The new planning officer also decided that he needed to check whether there might be a local covenant which restricts aerials at the new property. Personally, I would very much doubt this to be the case as many of the bungalows around here have unusually large masts for their television aerials, some as high as 20 feet above the rooftops. I would consider it very unfair if I were refused, so I hope common sense wins in the end.

After his visit, I telephoned ELDC and described the nature of my request, giving the physical size of the 9.2 antenna, including details about the rotator, etc., and the officer there said this was not an 'unusual' request and was classed as a "De Minimis" issue and so would not need written permission. I had not heard of this expression before, but it basically means that this is a simple domestic matter which does not require full planning permission. Phew! The officer referred me back to the local housing officer, who is now due to visit us later today as a result and will either grant or refuse permission for my 9.2 and the rotator, based on how he sees it.

If permission is refused then I am not even allowed to have a free-standing FM aerial. If this happens then I will need to take the matter further as I cannot see that it is reasonable for the planning department to disallow something as simple as an FM radio antenna, though I wonder if I may have to scale things down and use something like an FM3.

Somewhat dismayed.