onsdag 24 december 2008

Christmas loggings from the Fredriksfors Radio Shack

Xmas greetings from our Radio Shack!
This time me and Ona (my faithful dog & best friend) will spend the Christmas without Donald Duck as we have no TV here in the shack. DD on Xmas Eve is one of the most consistent Swedish Christmas traditions there is but honestly I am just as happy with my radio. At the moment, there are very few transatlantic signals as the solar conditions are not very favourable and solar winds are too speedy. Still, let's hop for better conds soon. Over to the log from the Fredriksfors shack sofar. All times are UTC.
I wish you all a very Merrry Christmas and GOOD DX!
NORTH AMERICA
560 23.12 07.58 WQAM Miami FL with several IDs. Q2-3. RFK
580 21.12 23.33 CFRA Ottawa ON with promo for a local Xmas market. Q3. RFK
590 19.12 22.00 VOCM St Johns NL very strong as many of the parallel fq's. 620 is often the strongest, followed by 710. RFK
600 19.12 22.05 CBNA St Anthony NL with CBC 1. Q2. RFK
610 21.12 23.20 CHNC New Carlisle QC with a very enjoyable rock- and countrymix, primarily songs in French. Q2-3. RFK
610 22.12 00.50 WIOD Miami FL spot for ”Torneau Watches”. Q2-3. RFK
640 19.12 22.10 CBN St Johns NL had CBC News. Q3. RFK
680 19.12 22.15 KBRW Barrow AK is generally heard at most times of the day here when the path is open. Was playing blues. Q3. RFK
770 22.12 08.30 CHQR Calgary AB with ”Coast to Coast AM” about the film ”Jesus in India”. Q3. RFK
780 19.12 22.13 CFDR Halifax NS ”Kicks Country” very common. Q3. RFK
790 22.12 08.17 CFCW Camrose AB had country + OID NA. RFK
800 21.12 21.40 VOWR St Johns NL carrying a programme of string music. Q3. RFK
830 19.12 22.28 WRCN Worcester MA recommended us to “buy a Chevrolet in beautiful Worcester….” Q2-3. RFK
910 22.12 08.15 CKDQ Drumheiler AB”Q-91” country. RFK
930 21.12 05.20 CJCA Edmonton AB “9-30 The Light” with gospel music. Q3. RFK
950 20.12 00.20 CKNB Campbellton NB ”95 CKNB Satellite Weather” then oldies. Q3. RFK
980 21.12 05.00 CJME Regina SK ”Newstalk 9-80 CJME”. Q2-3. RFK
1020 21.12 23.05 KDKA Pittsburgh PA had ”Let it snow” in the talk show (Cto Coast AM?) and it was indeed snowing a lot outside here. RFK
1040 22.12 08.05 CKST Vancouver BC with ESPN. Q2. RFK
1050 21.12 05.40 CHUM Toronto ON playing ”I’m gonna knock on your door” by Eddie Hodges. This was the first no 1 entry of the Swedish chart "Tio i Topp" (Top Ten) when it started back in 1961.. RFK
1060 21.12 05.28 CKMX Calgary AB ”Classic country 10-60” with “Honky tonk angels” also heard //SW 6030 kHz. RFK
1060 22.12 22.00 WBIX Natick ME ”The Business Station”. Q2. RFK
1090 22.12 07.58 KPTK Seattle WA with ”Web-Ex” spot. Q3-4. RFK
1130 19.12 22.35 WBBR New York NY very strong with news plus unid NA in the background. RFK
1160 20.12 00.05 WYLL Chicago IL with phone-in show on faith issues. Q3. RFK
1160 22.12 07.54 KSL Salt Lake City UT dominant, at least two more NA on the channel. RFK
1180 21.12 23.00 WHAM Rochester NY identifying as ”Wham”. Q2-3. RFK
1190 19.12 22.36 WLIB New York NY advertising “Wal-Green” plus a promo for “Metropolitan Baptist Church”. Q3-4. RFK
1260 21.12 22.20 WMKI Boston MA "Radio Disney" sam+ unid NA talk station. RFK
1310 21.12 11.25 CHLW St Paul-Bonnyville AB in the middle od the day. Commercial for ”Lifelock.com”. Q2. RFK
1320 22.12 05.01 CHMB Vancouver BC ID ”This is AM 13-20 CHMB” then into Chinese. Q3. RFK
1400 21.12 20.05 CBG Gander NL with local weather report from the studio in St Johns. Q3-4. RFK
1510 21.12 22.50 KGA Spokane WA coming through very well on both our East Coast and Prairie beverage (300 and 317 degrees). Often the most common one in Fredriksfors. RFK
1570 22.12 04.48 CKBW Winkler MB ”….the heart of country music, 15-70 CKMW”. RFK
1580 19.12 23.40 CKDO Oshawa ON has a nice oldies format, not to mention that they also verify with real QSL cards. There is still hope! RFK
1630 20.12 05.10 KRND Fox Farm WY one of the few X-banders heard. ”La Grande 16-30”. RFK

tisdag 16 december 2008

Fredriksfors DX 14 december

Besviken kom jag tillbaka från Fredriksfors.Förhoppningarna var goda med Dan Andersson, Rolf Larsson och Hans Olovsson som ville testa sin nya mottagare/SDR också på plats i stugan.Men antingen hade antennerna tagit rejält stryk av blötsnö och kyla eller också var det så dåligt som det kändes... Dessbättre var det nog det senare som gällde. Det lät hyggligt när jag slog på vid 23.30-tiden men blev snabbt östligare och svagare. Ett par nattkollar undermåligt. Morgonen började det se hoppfullt ut med västkustantennen med signaler på KOMO, de vanliga AB/BC-stationerna etc. Men det gick över...Hela förmiddagen gick sedan östligare dominanter mer eller mindre, oftast mindre, bra. WOOD, WEGP och några till väldigt bra fortfarande efter 11. Däremot kom inte något igenom på 317- och 345-gradarna. Om det inte tog sig igenom det massiva (lokala) störningsbruset eller om det verkligen inte fanns något får jag kanske veta av vad andra hört på sitt håll.Jag har nästan inget inspelat och har hört ännu mindre.När det var dags åka hem hade det kommit underkylt regn under natten (- 16 när jag kom, ännu -7 när jag åkte mot .0,5 här i stan) så att det låg 3-4 mm tjock is över hela bilen. Fanns ingen möjlighet att skrapa utan bara att låta den stå på tomgång en stund för avisning.
Logg NA
680 14.12 0700 KBRW Barrow, AK framme en liten stund när det verkade som det tänkte öppna västerut. Religiöst på eskimåspråk. JE
1250 14.12 0730 WSSP, Milwauke, WI mws "Milwaukee´s Sports leader". JE
1300 14.12 0800 KGLO Mason City, IA någon sekund innan dominerande WOOD, Lokalt väder. JE
1440 14.12 0000 WHKZ Warrren, OH med religiöst. JE
1540 13.12 2358 KXEL Waterloo, IA ställde till det innan jag fattade att det var den som sände sport. JE
1600 14.12 0830 WUNR Brookline, MA med franska. JE

måndag 8 december 2008

Late november loggings, mainly NA stations

Some loggings made in late-November at the DX schack:
North America
660 22.11 23.52 WFAN New York NY “Sports Radio 66 The Fan” Q4.
680 22.11 00.08 CFTR Toronto ON weather report. Q3. RFK
690 22.11 23.48 CINF Montreal QC French. Q3. RFK
720 22.11 23.44 WGN Chicago IL news. Q3. RFK
730 21.11 05.32 CKAC Montreal QC in French. Q2-3. RFK
740 22.11 05.20 CFZM Toronto ON “AM 7-40” playing The Platters’ “The great pretender”. Q2-3. RFK
760 22.11 23.38 WJR Detroit MI “Newstalk 760” Q2-3. RFK
770 21.11 05.40 CHQR Calgary AB news. Q3-4. RFK
780 22.11 23.32 WBBM Chicago IL “WBBM News Update” Q3. RFK
800 22.11 08.32 CHRC Quebec QC in French. Q2-3. RFK
840 22.11 05.30 WHAS Louisville KY “84 WHAS” Fox News. Q2-3. RFK
880 21.11 04.52 CHQT Edmonton AB with news, quite common. Q3. RFK
880 22.11 00.13 WCBS New York NY “WCBS Newstime” Q4. RFK
890 21.11 05.45 WLS Chicago IL Chicago’s Talk Station. Q2. RFK
920 21.11 05.25 CFRY Portage La Praire MB country, Q2-3. RFK
930 22.11 00.14 CFBC Saint John NB “I fought the law” by Bobby Fuller Four and other oldies. Q3. RFK
940 22.11 07.10 “Coast to Coast AM” was heard and rumour has it that this is CINW Montreal QC now carrying this show, no local ID, though. Q4. RFK
950 22.11 23.05 CKNB Campbellton NB with country. Q2-3. RFK
960 22.11 07.00 KMA Shenandoah IA with perfect ID. Q3-4. RFK
970 22.11 07.05 WDAY Fargo ND with several IDs. Q2. RFK
990 22.11 05.05 CBW Winnipeg MB was probably the station carrying “CBC One”, playing Dickie Doo & Don’t’s. Q3. RFK
1000 21.11 05.47 KOMO Seattle WA one of the most common West Coast AM stations here. Q2. RFK
1050 22.11 23.28 CHUM Toronto ON Simon & Garfunkel “Sounds of silence” plus other oldies. Q3. RFK
1060 23.11 04.22 CKMX Calgary AB “Country AM 10-60” Q2-3. RFK
1130 22.11 07.25 KFAN Minneapolis MN with ad for “Minnesota School Of Bartenders”. Q3. RFK
1150 21.11 05.15 WHBY Kimberly NY “Newstalk 11-50 WHBY” Q2-3. RFK
1160 21.11 05.10 WYLL Chicago IL Chicago’s Christian Talk. Q2-3. RFK
1170 22.11 07.40 WWVA Wheeling WV with “American Talking Network”. Q4. RFK
1250 22.11 06.05 WSSP Milwaukee WI “The Milwaukee Sports Leader”. Q2-3. RFK
1280 20.11 20.50 CFMB Montreal QC in Italian. Q3. RFK
1290 22.11 06.08 CFRW Winnipeg MB playing Stevie Wonder “A place in the sun”. Q2. RFK
1310 22.11 06.20 UNID station carrying “Coast to Coast AM”. Q2. RFK
1310 22.11 06.26 CIWW Ottawa ON with the Hollies “Stop stop stop”, “Oldies 13-10”. Q2. RFK
1360 22.11 08.21 WKAT Miami FL “Lifetime Radio” promo, ID, gospel. Q2. RFK
1360 22.11 09.19 WTAQ Green Bay WI with “Coast to Coast AM”, talk on Tesla. Q3. RFK
1380 22.11 08.34 KRKO Everett WA sports Q2. RFK
1390 20.11 20.05 WEGP Presque Isle ME often one of the first transatlantic signals here. RFK
1410 21.11 05.05 CFUN Vancouver BC with news. Q2. RFK
1430 22.11 08.30 KEZW Aurora CO played “Duke of earl” by Gene Chadler & other oldies. Q2. RFK
1430 22.11 22.35 CHKT Toronto ON “Fairchild Radio”. Q3. RFK
1500 20.11 21.28 WFIF Milford CT daytimer closing down with station ID. “Life Changing Radio” just like WLQV which was not heard at this time. Q2. RFK
1500 20.11 21.45 WLQV Detroit MI with good signal, Q3. RFK
1510 20.11 10.00 KGA Spokane WA with legal ID and sports. Q2. RFK
1510 22.11 08.38 KCKK Littleton CO Fox Sports, “Mile High Sports Radio” Q3. RFK
1540 21.11 02.25 CHIN Toronto ON in Chinese. Q3. RFK
1540 22.11 08.55 KXEL Waterloo IA PSA for “Medical Center, Waterloo”. Q3. RFK
West Indies
570 21.11 02.15 CMOC Radio Reloj, Santa Clara Q2. RFK
More to come soon....

söndag 7 december 2008

From the Radio Shack

Welcome to my – or I should rather say our – blog! As a member of Delsbo Radioklubb (DRAK), I will tell you about our various activities, including BC loggings and so on. One of my biggest interests is DX-ing and although it may seem like an oldfashioned pastime today, there are still a few of us around, enjoying our hobby like we always did. The DX section of Delsbo Radioklubb consists of five members, Dan Andersson (chairman of DRAK), Rolf Larsson, Jan Edh, Peter Stillberg and yours truly, Ronny Forslund (a k a RonnyBGoode). We are sharing a listening shack not far from Delsbo in the province of Hälsingland (some 350 km north of Stockholm) and here we have access to a number of beverage antennas in various directions plus one delta loop and a G5RW antenna.

A special favourite area of ours is mediumwawe (broadcast band) DX-ing and naturally, being in a sunspot minimum of the solar cycle, this season has given many great catches. Especially nice is being able to catch MW/AM signals from North America but we generally try to listen for anything of interest. We expect the holidays to give quite a few new catches and are looking forward to many enjoyable hours in front of our receivers.

As for me I use a JRC NRD-535D which I think is a great receiver and it has given me many good catches over the years. I am sure the other members of our DX-group will present their equipment soon. I am, of course, referring to their receivers....

Delsbo Radioklubb, DRAK, is a very active club and apart from DX-ing we have a lot of active hams in the club. Our club station has the signal SK3PH and this year the club is active with a special signal, 7S35PH, which is to commemorate our 35th anniversary. Yes, we have been around for that long and I am sure we will still be around in another 35 years. Once you have been bitten by the radio bug it stays with you forever.

I will get around to compile the loggings from my latest listening session in our shack and will be back soon. Take care and keep on listening!