Collecting firewood for the coming DX season

Two members of the Delsbo Radio Club - DRAK - collecting firewood for the winter. Left: Dan Edh. Right: Dan Andersson (chairman).

ARC/SWB meeting at Kaneberg, Halmstad

This weekend the Arctic Radio Club and Shortwave Bulletin had its annual meeting at the Kaneberg cabin, close to Halmstad in southern Sweden. Before the hurricane Gudrun swept over the area bringing down most of the trees that used to carry the antennas there used to be a lot of DX-ing at these gatherings. This time a couple of shorter antennas were erected but due to some powerful electrical disturbances most listening had to be made on FM. Still it was a nice meeting and it was great to meet many of the wellknown ARC/SWB signatures in person.

ARC, the Arctic Radio Club, used to be somewhat of a secret circle and new members had to be recommended by a present member. This was mainly because there were a lot of fake loggings made by unscrupulous 'DX-ers' but today anyone who's interested can join the club. It may have kept a low profile over the years but long before the Internet it provided a very fast information service through its printed bulletin, MV-Eko (The MW Echo). This bulletin is still issued in printed form and with a deadline on Monday you will have the bulletin in your letterbox by Wednesday! Who could beat that - and who really needs the Internet? Actually, ARC has been running since 1960 and several of the original members are still active. Many of Sweden's most successful DX-ers are to be found as members of ARC and SWB and the MV-Eko has been full of exciting loggings due to this season's great propagation conditions. Also, members of the clubs are regularly providing information for the World Radio TV Handbook.

As we all know the number of stations on short wave and in the tropical bands is being drastically reduced every year but fortunately there are still lots of new finds to be made in the medium wave (AM broadcasting band). Still the SWB will continue to come out albeit less frequently. As for the MVE it will continue to be published as a printed bulletin for the time being. It is really an impressive work which is done by the editors of both bulletins and these publications are a must for the active DX-er.

Next year Arctic Radio Club will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary and we will get back to that. Below are the radio enthusiasts of ARC and SWB who attended the meeting.

The best MW opening ever?

The best ever?
Last weekend, January 23-25, was probably one of best ever for dx-ing in Sweden. And January 18th let lots of (for me) new Canadians through
Well, it´s impossible to compare what would have happened in the ´50-ies and ´60-ies. If you´ve had todays receivers and antennas and those nights with almost no electronic disturbances and a mediumwave band almost empty of European broadcasters after midnight.
But this weekend was impressing compared to anything!
I was in the schack in Fredriksfors Thursday night and Friday morning. I heard a lot of new stations. But what would have happened if I´ve had the possibility to be out there also in the afternoons and the evenings. Some friends heard for instance some 20 Alaskan stations in the afternoon on Sunday, when also KUMU 1500 (HI) was heard for a couple of hours. And seldom (or possibly never) heard daytimers came in at about 21 UTC.
The only thing to be sure of is that there´s a lot of stations I have never heard. Of course thouse are the best ones.
And one more thing; If I´ve been there on Sunday afternoon I probabaly would have got stuck there because of lots of heavy (wet) snow,
But still, what´s left is quite astonishing as far as we also have some problems with local disturbances due to "villages" as Delsbo and Fredriksfors with housing and some small industries.
On Friday morning I heard two stations from Hawaii!. KUMU 1500 has been widely heard this winter, but AM 9-40 was a real surprise. Both coming in with quite a good signal and 9-40 with just the right music to get that feeling of something exotic.
But there were also a quite a few other stations I hadn´t expected to hear here in the central part of Sweden. With the use of the (not longer so new) SDR-technology and propagation of exceptional standards many stations earlier only "possible" to dx-expeditions in the far north of the Nordic countries has been possible to catch also some 1 000 kilometers to the south. At about the same hours stations came though from Alaska, Washington, California, Texas and New York.
We are talking of really "broad" propagation.

But it wasn´t only a weekend of great catches of new stations.
I also had a most interesting email from Greg Maiuro of AM 1400 WOND in Pleasantville, NJ. The station came in earlier this winter when CBC Gander took a short breath in just the right place.
Greg, who has worked in sports media for almost 30 years has his own talkshow on Friday nights on WOND. And he got his eyes on my report of reception.
Now he has asked me to be on his show this Friday night when he´s warming up for the Superbowl a couple of days later. He´ll phone me at about 11.45 PM UTC, that is 6.45 EST there in Pleasantville, and we´ll talk a little about my listening hobby and what I think of the Superbowl.
Jan Edh - JE

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

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....

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!