Author Archive
Hunting For NDBs In CLE288
January 25th, 2023 | 
Author:  |
| YNE - 207 Norway House, MB (tnx ve3gop.com) |
Yes! It's CLE time once again. This is a challenge for all newcomers to NDB listening and the ultimate test of your medium frequency receiving capabilities. Can you meet the challenge?
E.g. 282.5 RT (AUI), 284.5 MH (TUA), 312.5 KML (SYR), 328.5 EGT (NIR), 400.5 COD (ITA).
When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. Listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are modulated with a 1020 Hz tone approximately.
For example, 'AA' near Fargo, ND, transmitted on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier was tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident could be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone was actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone was 1054 Hz.
Often, one sideband will be much stronger than the other so if you don't hear the first one, try listening on the other sideband.
Canadian NDBs normally have an USB tone only, usually very close to 400 Hz. They also have a long dash (keydown) following the CW identifier.
All NDBs heard in North America will be listed in the RNA database (updated daily) while those heard in Europe may be found in the REU database. Beacons heard outside of these regions will be found in the RWW database.
From CLE organizers comes the following info:
Hello all,
Do try not to miss our 288th co-ordinated listening event - it starts this Friday at midday. This could be an ideal CLE to try out for the first time, but everyone is welcome, as always, of course!
Days: Fri. 27th - Mon. 30th January, Midday-Midday, your local time
NDBs on frequencies from 190 - 239.9 kHz
PLUS: normal NDBs with carriers on 'half-way' frequencies ( nnn.5 kHz )
from 190.5 - 999.5 kHz
So for all of us it is a CLE in two parts - the first part is hunting for the NDBs whose published frequencies are lower than 240 kHz.
The second part is hunting for the NDBs whose carrier frequencies are 'half-way'.
E.g. 282.5 RT (AUI), 284.5 MH (TUA), 312.5 KML (SYR), 328 EGT (NIR), 400.5 COD (ITA).
The seek list below includes the ones that are more likely to be logged.
(Europe listeners will hear few or none from part 1, while the
listeners away from Europe will hear few or none from part 2)
Please send your final CLE log to the List, if possible as a plain text email and not in an attachment, showing 'CLE288' and 'FINAL' in its title.
(Loggings from both parts can be shown in the same list)
Please include on EVERY line of your log:
# The date (or just the day 'dd') and UTC (days change at 00:00 UTC).
# kHz - the beacon's nominal frequency.
# The Call Ident.
It is important to show those main items FIRST - any other optional details such as Location, Distance, etc., go LATER in the same line.
Don't forget to give your OWN location (your 6-character Locator if you know it please) and details of your receiver and aerial(s), etc. Others will be interested to know, especially new members - and old ones with failing memories like mine!
Listening around the 'half-way' frequencies means we might also catch some interesting non-CLE beacons – you can tell us about those too, but in a separate list.
Joachim and I will be processing the incoming logs as usual - please look out for our 'Any More Logs?' email at about 19:00 UTC on Tuesday evening, with a list to let you check that your own log has been found OK.
Do make sure that your log has arrived on the NDB List at the very latest by 08:00 UTC on Wednesday.
Good listening
Brian and Joachim
(CLE Coordinators)
If you wish you could use any one remote receiver for your loggings,
stating the location and owner - and with their permission if required.
A remote listener may NOT also use another receiver, local or remote,
to make further loggings for the same CLE.
For your full seek list in the 190-240 kHz range just go to Rxx (https://rxx.classaxe.com/cle) for your part of the World.
Below is the seek list which includes the ‘nnn.5’ NDBs that are more likely to be heard.
• determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range
• will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations
• will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working
• give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed
Final details can be found at the NDB List website, and worldwide results, for every participant, will be posted there a few days after the event.
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other DXers in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
Topband’s Poor Winter Performance
Ever Heard Of Heathkit’s SS-8000 Digital Transceiver? …. Me Neither!
 |
| courtesy N8RS |
The Heathkit SS-8000 was a unique synthesized HF transceiver (160-10m) originally designed as a kit in 1978. The reason that very few hams have heard of it is that it was never released … and only three were ever prototyped!
Ever Heard Of Heathkit’s SS-8000 Digital Transceiver? …. Me Neither!
|
| courtesy N8RS |
The Heathkit SS-8000 was a unique synthesized HF transceiver (160-10m) originally designed as a kit in 1978. The reason that very few hams have heard of it is that it was never released … and only three were ever prototyped!
Hunting For NDBs in CLE285
 |
| YPO-401 Peawanuck, ON tnx: ve3gop.com |
When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. Listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are modulated with a 1020 Hz tone approximately.
For example, 'AA' near Fargo, ND, transmitted on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier was tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident could be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone was actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone was 1054 Hz.
Often, one sideband will be much stronger than the other so if you don't hear the first one, try listening on the other sideband.
Canadian NDBs normally have an USB tone only, usually very close to 400 Hz. They also have a long dash (keydown) following the CW identifier.
All NDBs heard in North America will be listed in the RNA database (updated daily) while those heard in Europe may be found in the REU database. Beacons heard outside of these regions will be found in the RWW database.
From CLE organizers comes the following CLE info:
Our 285th Coordinated Listening Event starts on Friday.
This frequency range is not packed with signals for any of us, but if conditions are OK there could be some nice surprises.
Do join in, whether you have days to spare, or only an hour or so over the weekend.
Days: Friday 28 October - Monday 31 October 2022
Times: Start and end at midday your LOCAL time
PLEASE NOTE that most of us will be changing our house clocks
during the weekend, but UTC time continues without changes.
Range: 400 - 419.9 kHz
Please log all the NDBs that you can identify with nominal (listed) frequencies in the range - it includes 400 kHz, but not 420 kHz - plus any UNIDs that you come across there.
Send your final log to the List (no attachments please) with ‘CLE285’ and 'FINAL' in its title.
Show on each line:
# The Date (e.g. '2022-10-28', etc., or just '28' )
# The Time in UTC (the day changes at 00:00 UTC).
# kHz - the nominal published frequency, if known.
# The Call Ident.
Please show those main items FIRST. Other optional details such as Location and Distance go LATER in the same line.
As always, of course, tell us your own location and brief details of the equipment that you were using during the Event.
We will send the usual 'Any More Logs?' email at about 20:00 UTC on Tuesday so that you can check that your log has been found OK.
Do make sure that your log has arrived on the List by 09:00 UTC on Wednesday 2 November at the very latest.
We hope to complete making the combined results within a day or two.
You can find full details about the coming CLE from the RWW Website, including the CLE285 seeklists for your part of the World – just select CLE from the main menu.
Details about current and past CLEs are available from Alan’s NDB List Website, http://www.ndblist.info
Good listening
Brian and Joachim
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'ndblist.info
Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE coordinator)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
(If you would like to listen remotely you could use any
one remote receiver for your loggings, stating its location
and owner and with their permission if required.
A remote listener may NOT also use another receiver,
local or remote, to make further loggings for the same CLE)
A remote listener may NOT also use another receiver, whether local or remote, to obtain further loggings for the same CLE)
These listening events serve several purposes. They
• determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range
• will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations
• will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working
• give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed
Final details can be found at the NDB List website, and worldwide results, for every participant, will be posted there a few days after the event.
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other DXers in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
Recent Crystal Radio DX Group ‘Listening Event’
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| Crystal Shortwave Receiver of Al Klase (N3FRQ) |
The Facebook Crystal Radio DX Group’s fall listening event was held two weekends ago over a two-night listening period. Unlike last year’s event, this was not a contest but rather a leisurely opportunity for members to take some time to see what they could hear with their setups. Also unlike last year, this one introduced and encouraged members to see what they might hear on shortwave! Since circuits losses are measurably much higher as you climb above the broadcast band, audio amplification (AF) was permitted to encourage members to give it a try as this was a whole new region to explore for most of us.
Oct 1
Some of the BCB and SW construction inspired by the recent listening event is shown below. For more information and more sets, please visit the Facebook Group and consider taking part in our next event, sometime in December ... maybe you can build the perfect SW tuner!
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| Kasey Jean Double-Tuned Loopstick BCB Tuner |
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| James Kern Double-Tuned BCB Tuner |
.jpg) |
| Ferhat Yavas Shortwave Tuner |
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| Armando Anazco BCB Tuner |
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| Doug Allen (K4LY) Shortwave Tuner |
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| Don Dulmage (VE3LYX) Loop SW Tuner |
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| Doug Allen (K4LY) Shortwave Tuner |
The DX Central’s Weekly MW Frequency Challenge
If you enjoy DXing the broadcast band, then the weekly ‘DX Central MW Frequency Challenge' may be of interest to you. It’s run and organized by Loyd Van Horn, W4LVH, a dedicated DXer and a big promoter of BCB DXing.
Basically, participants are asked to listen on the chosen frequency (or frequencies) for a one week period (Friday to Friday) and report what they have been able to identify. Results of course will be different throughout the continent but if you are near any other listeners, it’s always fun to compare your final results.
The new frequency (or frequencies) are announced Friday evening on Loyd's regular live-feed Youtube channel as well as on his Twitter feed @dxcentral
Loggings are reported via a fill-in form which is updated weekly.
This week's frequencies are 670-702kHz - What do you here there?
