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CLE 219 Results
30 May 2017 | by 
As originally feared, MF conditions took a nasty beating this weekend during the monthly CLE .
It's really amazing how closely synced to terrible conditions the CLE's have become ... perhaps we need to offset our monthly activity by staging the next one in two weeks to see if we break out of sync with the Sun's regular 27-day rotation of coronal hole streaming.
Friday night was the best, much better than most other regions in North America from what I could tell as the geomagnetic storm had not yet struck ... but most others suffered from severe thunderstorm noise further to the south and east of BC.
Once the geomagnetic storm was underway, the DST quickly tanked and both Saturday and Sunday nights saw a shroud of absorption thrown over the NDB band, at times making me wonder if I even had an antenna connected to the receiver. I haven't seen such poor conditions on MF in several years.
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| courtesy: http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ |
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| courtesy: http://www.noaa.gov/ |
Fortunately, the following stations were heard on Friday night, before the storm, using my Perseus SDR and LF / MF inverted-L resonated to ~350 kHz:
27 06:00 350.0 SWU Sweden - Id Falls, ID, USA
27 11:00 350.0 RG Oklahoma City, OK, USA
27 05:00 350.0 NY Enderby, BC, CAN
27 08:00 351.0 YKQ Waskaganish, QC, CAN
27 06:00 353.0 RNT Renton, WA, USA
27 06:00 353.0 PG Portage La Prairie, MB, CAN
27 12:30 353.0 LLD Lanai Island, HWA
27 06:00 353.0 IN Ericsburg, MN, USA
27 11:00 353.0 DI Dickinson, ND, USA
27 11:00 353.0 AL Dixie, WA, USA
27 06:00 356.0 ZXE Saskatoon, SK, CAN
27 10:00 356.0 ZF Yellowknife, NT, CAN
27 11:00 356.0 PND Portland, OR, USA
27 05:00 356.0 ON Penticton, BC, CAN
27 11:00 356.0 MEF Medford, OR, USA
27 10:00 358.0 SIT Sitka, ALS
27 10:00 359.0 YQZ Quesnel, BC, CAN
27 10:00 359.0 YAZ Tofino, BC, CAN
27 10:00 359.0 SDY Sidney, MT, USA
27 06:00 359.0 BO Ustick, ID, USA
27 08:00 362.0 RPX Roundup, MT, USA
27 08:00 362.0 BF Seattle, WA, USA
27 10:00 362.0 6T Foremost, AB, CAN
27 10:00 365.0 MA Mayo, YT, CAN
27 05:00 365.0 DPY Deer Park, WA, USA
27 06:00 365.0 AA Harwood, MN, USA
27 07:00 366.0 YMW Maniwaki, QC, CAN
27 11:00 368.0 ZP Sandspit, BC, CAN
27 10:00 368.0 VX Dafoe, SK, CAN
27 11:00 368.0 SX Skookum - Cranbrook, BC, CAN
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
ICQ Podcast Episode 238 – WSPR and Small Portable Antennas
In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, Martin Rothwell M0SGL and Chris Howard M0TCH to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episode’s feature is WSPR by Ed Durrant D5LP and Small Portable Antennas by Bill Barnes N3JIX.
We would like to thank our monthly and annual donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate
Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].
ICQ Podcast Episode 238 – WSPR and Small Portable Antennas
In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, Martin Rothwell M0SGL and Chris Howard M0TCH to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episode’s feature is WSPR by Ed Durrant D5LP and Small Portable Antennas by Bill Barnes N3JIX.
We would like to thank our monthly and annual donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate
Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].
Ham College 29
Safety part 3 and our final episode covering the Technician Exam Questions. Plus tips on taking your exam.
01:00:46
George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 158
Hamvention 2017 Review & Interviews [podcast]
A new look with a familiar feel in an all new Venue… and it was really a good day!
HamRadio 360
2017 Hamvention Report
The short story is that we had a blast and the new location is an improvement over Hara.
K0NR
Reflections on Hamvention 2017
I cannot overstate how little I miss the nasty old Hara. Though I knew where things were and like an old pair of shoes, there was a certain comfort in familiarity… the place simply sucked.
K9ZW
2017 Hamvention photos: Inside Exhibits
The following photos were taken in the main Hamvention buildings at the Greene County Fairgrounds.
The SWLing Post
2017 Hamvention photos: Flea Market
I’ve posted well over one hundred photos I took at the Hamvention Flea Market.
The SWLing Post
MFJ-1026 Noise Canceller tests
Mark, VA7MM, has been testing out his newly-acquired MFJ-1026 Noise Canceller and has provided several videos of the noise canceller in action.
AmateurRadio.com
How to play chess on CW
You can use chess notation to send moves and play chess games on the radio. The CARI group often met on the air to play informal games and tournaments.
KB6NU
The portable solar power station: You CAN have it both ways (sort of)
Many hams would like to have it both ways: Powerful enough to do something besides charge batteries or push a QRP radio while compact and light enough to hit the road.
Off Grid Ham
Video
Icom IC-7610 preview at Hamvention
This radio has 2 receivers, the equivalent of two IC-7300.
YouTube
Flex-6600M preview at Hamvention
Here’s a preview of the Flex-6600M. (M stands for Maestro, with display.)
YouTube
Six meter ham radio dipole for the VHF contests
Get on the 6m magic band during the second weekend of every June for the North American VHF contest.
KA5D
Digital Trunked Scanning Using SDR
Cheap, digital trunked scanning using RTL-SDR for the absolute beginner.
YouTube
Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.
Remote Controlled Vehicles and Ham Radio, A Marriage of Two Hobbies – ETH070
Ever since I was a little kid I have loved air planes. It doesn’t matter if it 
was riding in them, watching them, or flying them. Over the years, I have bought several little cheap-o toys-r-us style RC planes, I have a RC Boat, and as I’m sure most young boys, Ive had several RC Cars.
When I first got my license and found out that you could marry amateur radio with remote controlled vehicles it really got me interested. Then the questions came to mind, why would you want to marry these two hobbies? The first thing that came to mind, because of the little bit of experience with RC cars, was the frequency issues. There was many times growing up where a friend and I would have RC cars and if both our transmitters were on, they would interfere with each other.
Shortly after I started my blog, about a year before my podcast, Remote Controlled vehicles was one of the topics that I wanted to talk about in an article since about month one, but here two and a half years later, I still haven’t done anything on the topic.
Two of Jason’s planes
That changed a couple weeks ago when a George with the Hamradio 360 podcast got me in contact with a friend of his that was a ham and enjoyed using RC vehicles as well.
In this episode of the Everything Ham Radio Podcast, #70, we talk with Jason Howard, K6DNG. We talk about his experiences with using RC Planes and Drones and how you can use ham radio to control your vehicles with. Even though with the way technology is now, it really isn’t necessary.
http://www.everythinghamradio.com/podcast/70
If you would like to receive emails on when a new podcast episode or a blog post is publish, click here to be taken to my Subscribe page.
Curtis Mohr, K5CLM, is the author/owner of Everything Ham Radio Blog and Youtube channel. Contact him at [email protected].
Hunting For NDBs In CLE 219
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| YMW-366 Maniwaki, QC courtesy: VE3GOP |
This coming weekend will see another CLE challenge. This time the hunting grounds will be: 350.0 - 369.9 kHz.
For those unfamiliar with this monthly activity, a 'CLE' is a 'Co-ordinated Listening Event', as NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum.
A nice challenge in this one is to hear the Maniwaki NDB, 'YMW', on 366 kHz. It's a 500-watter and is well heard, having been logged from Europe to Hawaii and is a good propagation indicator for listeners in western North America. Look for 'YMW' on 344.401 kHz.
I see a forecast of a possible CME impact sometime Friday, right on schedule for the CLE event! Sometimes these help but usually not. At this time of the year it's usually not the propagation causing problems but rather, the lightning activity and its associated QRN. A good place to check lightning activity in realtime is at the Blitzortung website.
When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. With your receiver in the CW mode, listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are tone-modulated with a 1020 Hz tone approximately.
For example, 'AA' in Fargo, MN, transmits on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier is tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident can be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone is actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone is 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 organizer Brian Keyte, G3SIA, comes the usual 'heads-up':
Our 219th Co-ordinated Listening Event is almost here.
Can new 'listening eventers' join in too? YES, PLEASE! I'm always
pleased to help first-time CLE logs through the harvester program.
Days: Friday 26 May - Monday 29 May
Times: Start and End at midday, your LOCAL time
Range: 350.0 - 369.9 kHz
Please log all the NDBs you can identify that are listed in this range (it
includes 350 kHz but not 370) plus any UNIDs that you come across there.
You can find full information to help you, including seeklists made from
RNA/REU/RWW, at the CLE page http://www.ndblist.info/cle.htm
Please send your 'Final' CLE log to the List, if possible as a plain text
email and not in an attachment, with 'CLE219' at the start of its title.
Please show the following main items FIRST on EVERY line of your log: The full Date (e.g. 2017-05-26) or just the day number (e.g. 26)
and UTC (the day changes at 00:00 UTC).
# kHz - the beacon's nominal published frequency, if you know it.
# The Call Ident.
Optional details such as Location and Distance go LATER in the same line.
If you measure LSB/USB offsets and cycle times they are useful too.
Please always include details of your own location and brief details of the
receiver, aerial(s) and any recording equipment you were using, etc.
I will send the usual 'Any More Logs?' email at about 17:00 UTC on Tuesday
so you can check that your log has been found OK.
Do make sure that your log has arrived at the very latest by 08:00 UTC on
Wednesday 31 May. I hope to make all the combined results on that day.
Good listening
Brian
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From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'gmail.com
Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE co-ordinator)
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(Reminder: If you wish you can use a remote receiver for your loggings,
stating its location and owner - with their permission if required.
Sometimes a listener has local problems and can only take part that way.
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 actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date
- 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. If you are a member of the ndblist Group, results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
The very active Yahoo ndblist Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. It's also a good place to submit your CLE log! 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.
If you are contemplating getting started on 630m, listening for NDBs is an excellent way to test out your receive capabilities as there are several NDBs located near this part of the spectrum.
You need not be an ndblist member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the ndblist or e-mailed to either myself or CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above.
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.
Good hunting!
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
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