Since I live in an apartment, my choices of antennas are limited. My first antenna here back in October of '08 was a random wire of about 40 feet. I found out quickly that this produced a lot of electrical noise that covered most of even the decent stations. Being busy at work and day to day activities, I just let it go for awhile, resigned to trying to dial in some common stations.
My previous antenna at my other residence was a long-wire of about 90 feet with proper grounding. My DX-160 was picking up some very interesting stations, which I logged but have since misplaced the log sheets. With winter coming on and being limited in my choice of antennas at the new place, I packed away the DX.
The bug then hit me again with a new radio, the CC SW. So, I went into experimental mode and started working with the random wire set-up. I tried better grounding of the radio and antenna, and even ran a counter-poise to try to make the signal better. In the end, though, I was actually doing better with the whip antenna on the radio. So, shopping I went.
About 4 years ago, I built a helical-wound antenna - a "Broomstick Special" if you will, and had much success with it. I used a 4 foot piece of 1-inch PVC and 16 gauge solid wire. I wound about 110 feet of wire onto the pipe, topped it with a 9 inch metal plate, and it just blew smoke. A very good set up indeed.
I bought the items I needed to build another Helical, but this time I wanted to build it as cheap as I could. I used a 3/4 inch wooden dowel, about 4 feet tall, two strand electric cord wire, two hose clamps top and bottom to hold the wire, and a galvanized 6 inch round shallow gang box for the static cap.
This set-up seemed to work okay, but not nearly as good as the previous helical. Back to the drawing board.
I was outside smoking (Yeah, I know, I know!) and was looking at the clouds in anticipation of the next winter storm coming in. I was looking also at the icicles that had formed on the gutter. Hmmm, gutter. Would that work as an antenna? It was metal and it was HUGE!
My apartment building is a two-story with an apex roof (Pyramid style), so the gutter system went all the way around the building. From my calculations, it ran about 200 feet, plus or minus. And it was, by default, multi-directional.
So off to the store I went again. I had plenty of wire so I picked up some alligator clips to experiment with. If it did work I would sheet metal screw it onto the gutter.
After it was all hooked up, I fired up the DX-160, hooked up the antenna, and was confronted by a stronger signal, but a hell of a lot of noise. So, I ran a counter-poise of about 15 feet from the radio, but this did little to curb the noise.
Now dammit, I've done battle with RF noise before but not near as bad as this. The grounding wasn't working and I found out why. The copper pipes inside the apartment connect to PVC under the building, and the electrical system wasn't grounded, either on purpose or just wired improperly. UGGGH! There was nowhere I could put a grounding rod in because of all the concrete and asphalt. The electrical service comes in on the other side of the building, so tapping that ground wasn't practical.
So, just for giggles, I took the alligator clip off the gutter's downspout and connected it to the stop sign on the corner, which is only about 10 feet from my window.
Wow, I must say I was impressed. The bad RF noise was to a minimum and I was getting good, strong signals. Just for comparison, WWV would normally come in at about a 333 SIO on a good day. At 5000KHz, it was burying my signal meter and the fading wasn't bad.
There are two lessons learned here: Never give up, and be creative and use your curiosity. It will serve you well.
The biggest lesson I learned? Sometimes your tax dollars do work for you.
19 January 2009
Log for 12 - 19 Jan 2009
| DATE | UTC | FREQ. | MODE | STATION | LOCATION | SINPO | RECEIVER | NOTES |
| | | | | | | | | |
| 1/12 | 0545 | 7335 | AM | V. of Russia | Moscow | 43333 | CC SW | Radio adaptation of "The Marriage", music, sign off @ 0600 |
| 1/12 | 0601 | 6915 | AM | Unk | Unk | 33333 | CC SW | Spanish Talk Show? Station unlisted in my freq. Book |
| 1/12 | 0606 | 6140 | AM | Radio Habana | Havana, Cuba | 43444 | CC SW | Music (Pianist), some talk. In Eng but uninterpretable. |
| 1/12 | 0619 | 6115 | AM | WLD Univ. Net. | Anquilla | 33323 | CC SW | Talk, topic was individualism and the common good (Socialist) |
| 1/18 | 1303 | 9570 | AM | CRI | Beijing, China | 44444 | ATS 803A | News |
| 1/18 | 1315 | 9450 | AM | UNK | UNK | 22322 | ATS 803A | News in unk. Language. Freq. Not listed in my book |
| 1/19 | 0110 | 5875 | AM | WHRI Angel 6 | UNK | 44444 | ATS 803A | U.S. weather, tornado in Japan. Relations to the end-times |
| 1/19 | 0115 | 6020 | AM | CRI | Beijing, China | 43333 | ATS 803A | News, discussion of upcoming Spring festival |
| 1/19 | 0117 | 6140 | AM | Radio Habana | Havana, Cuba | 44444 | ATS 803A | Environmental report, energy discussions, Kyoto summit @ U.N. |
| 1/19 | 0155 | 9775 | AM | UNK | UNK | 33333 | ATS 803A | Foreign Lang. News, discussing Barak Obama. Sound clips in Eng. |
| 1/19 | 0208 | 6605 | SSB | VOLMET | Gander, NY | 33333 | ATS 803A | Aeronautical Weather |
| 1/19 | 0236 | 6165 | AM | | | | | |
| 1/19 | 0422 | 6240 | AM | V. of Russia | Moscow | 43433 | ATS 803A | Music discussion, Trombone player Christian Limberg(?) |
18 January 2009
The Propogation Blues
Let's face it, it's been a bad couple of years for SWL's. Being in the lull of the sunspot cycle is never fun, nor productive for the DX'er, but here lately it has been absolutely disappointing.
I can't remember the last time I saw the solar activity as flat for as long. In fact, it is so flat that NASA is concerned that the lack of solar winds will cause devastating UV effects on the earth. That's pretty bad.
Everywhere I've read, there seems to be no end in sight, at least for a few years. But alas, our good friend Arnie Coro has seen the light at the end of the tunnel, literally.
Arnie does things the old fashioned way. He grabs a telescope (With proper filtering, of course) and takes a look at the surface of the sun. He stated last evening on his show , DX'ers Unlimited (Radio Habana), that he was seeing the beginning of a sunspot!
Maybe there is some good listening around the corner. The only thing I can say is that it can't get much worse than it has been.
I can't remember the last time I saw the solar activity as flat for as long. In fact, it is so flat that NASA is concerned that the lack of solar winds will cause devastating UV effects on the earth. That's pretty bad.
Everywhere I've read, there seems to be no end in sight, at least for a few years. But alas, our good friend Arnie Coro has seen the light at the end of the tunnel, literally.
Arnie does things the old fashioned way. He grabs a telescope (With proper filtering, of course) and takes a look at the surface of the sun. He stated last evening on his show , DX'ers Unlimited (Radio Habana), that he was seeing the beginning of a sunspot!
Maybe there is some good listening around the corner. The only thing I can say is that it can't get much worse than it has been.
Always Up For A Good Deal
I like my toys. I mean, what fun is life with no toys?
I wouldn't say I'm a fanatic, although I have been known to drool over such things as cars, street bikes and such. Some guys I know do fall into the fanatic category...And you know the ones. They spend money they don't have to get their fix. I try to keep my whims on the logical side.
My wife understands and she supports me in my hobbies. She probably figures that in order to keep me from becoming a fanatic she should at least let me have my fun and humor me in my endeavors. Who knows what she really thinks but she never gripes.
About a month before Christmas we were out shopping and we stopped in the local Radio Shack to check deals on batteries for the load of gifts our five year-old was about to gain... That would surely need a truckload of batteries. While perusing the store, I spotted a Grundig S350DL on the shelf, setting out for display. I pulled it down and fiddled with it a bit. Of course, with all the steel, concrete and flourescent lights, I couldn't pick up a damn thing, but I was confident in the radios ability to pull in stations. Afterall, it was a Grundig.
Whilst fiddling, the wife comes rolling around and spots me. I briefly laid out the radio, price, etc. She stated that wasn't a bad price considering some of the rigs that are on my wishlist. Thinking that may have been enough of a hint for a Christmas gift, I put the radio back in its place and meandered out of the store.
Christmas came, and to make a long story short, no radio. Now, I had just watched "A Christmas Story" with the wife and kid a few nights before and the thought started going through my head that maybe it would be a last gift surprise hiding in the corner somewhere. Ralphie got his Red Ryder BB gun against all odds, why shouldn't I get my radio?
Alas, no radio.
Poo-poo on Ralphie.
Fast-forward to December 28 and we are - where else - but Radio Shack buying batteries. And where else was I but in the last aisle looking at the Grundig. The old lady sneaks up behind me (Just like always) and says "You should go ahead and get it". I told her it could wait and she immediately lets me know in no uncertain terms that we weren't leaving the store without the Grundig. So I go to the clerk and ask for a boxed one. The clerk stated they were out of stock but that we were more than welcome to take the demo.
Floor models, demos, whatever you wanna call them, always make me a bit uneasy, especially when they don't knock off a few bucks for you. But the radio had that classic look similar to the Panasonic RF 2200 that I have always wanted. It had all kinds of knobs...big ones, little ones, a nice stout antenna. And it said GRUNDIG! Against my better judgement, I took the radio, no box, no manual...nothing but the radio.
The next day, buyer's remorse started to set in. As I was tuning around with it I noticed that once you switched to the SW2 band, the frequency started bouncing all over the place. After some tinkering I realized it had a bad switch but I could find a sweet spot and it would stop twitching on me.
After a bit more playing I realized I was getting some bad imaging from a station around 17,000KHz...I happened to be in the 8,000KHz area. That was all I needed.
I promptly took the radio back. I figured they would give me some static at the store because it was a demo...kinda like a car from a buy-here pay-here lot with the "As Is: No Warranty" sticker in the window.
I must have looked kinda pissed because the manager promptly refunded my money with a smile.
I then suggested we go to Universal Radio up in Columbus. She agreed.
Upon arrival I was greeted by a vast array of toys. Mouth watering toys. I hadn't been to Universal in a couple of years and forgot how pleasant it was just to be inside there. I talked to one of the guys in there and told him of my story with the Grundig. As I was talking to him I noticed about 5 S350L's in the used radio area. I thought either they are popular and they like to keep a few on hand or I wasn't the only one unhappy with it.
After much discussion he sold me on the new CC Radio SW from C. Crane. He stated that for the price there was no better radio.
I got her home and immediately put some batteries in her and let her rip. Boy, what a radio. I didn't even have her hooked up to the external antenna and it was picking up stations as clear as a bell.
If any of you out there have kinda blown off the CCRadio SW because it doesn't have Kenwood, Grundig, or whatever on it, you need to at least test drive this radio. I'm not going to go into a review of it here, but I will tell you that you are doing yourself a disservice by not at least considering one. You won't regret it.
And wouldn't you know it, two days later I came across a Panasonic RF 2200 for $50.00. It does have a few issues, like a very dirty sounding volume pot, rusted coil springs for the batteries, and the need for a serious alignment. Fairly easy doings. I have my other radios to listen to, so this one will be my project.
Stay tuned...
I wouldn't say I'm a fanatic, although I have been known to drool over such things as cars, street bikes and such. Some guys I know do fall into the fanatic category...And you know the ones. They spend money they don't have to get their fix. I try to keep my whims on the logical side.
My wife understands and she supports me in my hobbies. She probably figures that in order to keep me from becoming a fanatic she should at least let me have my fun and humor me in my endeavors. Who knows what she really thinks but she never gripes.
About a month before Christmas we were out shopping and we stopped in the local Radio Shack to check deals on batteries for the load of gifts our five year-old was about to gain... That would surely need a truckload of batteries. While perusing the store, I spotted a Grundig S350DL on the shelf, setting out for display. I pulled it down and fiddled with it a bit. Of course, with all the steel, concrete and flourescent lights, I couldn't pick up a damn thing, but I was confident in the radios ability to pull in stations. Afterall, it was a Grundig.
Whilst fiddling, the wife comes rolling around and spots me. I briefly laid out the radio, price, etc. She stated that wasn't a bad price considering some of the rigs that are on my wishlist. Thinking that may have been enough of a hint for a Christmas gift, I put the radio back in its place and meandered out of the store.
Christmas came, and to make a long story short, no radio. Now, I had just watched "A Christmas Story" with the wife and kid a few nights before and the thought started going through my head that maybe it would be a last gift surprise hiding in the corner somewhere. Ralphie got his Red Ryder BB gun against all odds, why shouldn't I get my radio?
Alas, no radio.
Poo-poo on Ralphie.
Fast-forward to December 28 and we are - where else - but Radio Shack buying batteries. And where else was I but in the last aisle looking at the Grundig. The old lady sneaks up behind me (Just like always) and says "You should go ahead and get it". I told her it could wait and she immediately lets me know in no uncertain terms that we weren't leaving the store without the Grundig. So I go to the clerk and ask for a boxed one. The clerk stated they were out of stock but that we were more than welcome to take the demo.
Floor models, demos, whatever you wanna call them, always make me a bit uneasy, especially when they don't knock off a few bucks for you. But the radio had that classic look similar to the Panasonic RF 2200 that I have always wanted. It had all kinds of knobs...big ones, little ones, a nice stout antenna. And it said GRUNDIG! Against my better judgement, I took the radio, no box, no manual...nothing but the radio.
The next day, buyer's remorse started to set in. As I was tuning around with it I noticed that once you switched to the SW2 band, the frequency started bouncing all over the place. After some tinkering I realized it had a bad switch but I could find a sweet spot and it would stop twitching on me.
After a bit more playing I realized I was getting some bad imaging from a station around 17,000KHz...I happened to be in the 8,000KHz area. That was all I needed.
I promptly took the radio back. I figured they would give me some static at the store because it was a demo...kinda like a car from a buy-here pay-here lot with the "As Is: No Warranty" sticker in the window.
I must have looked kinda pissed because the manager promptly refunded my money with a smile.
I then suggested we go to Universal Radio up in Columbus. She agreed.
Upon arrival I was greeted by a vast array of toys. Mouth watering toys. I hadn't been to Universal in a couple of years and forgot how pleasant it was just to be inside there. I talked to one of the guys in there and told him of my story with the Grundig. As I was talking to him I noticed about 5 S350L's in the used radio area. I thought either they are popular and they like to keep a few on hand or I wasn't the only one unhappy with it.
After much discussion he sold me on the new CC Radio SW from C. Crane. He stated that for the price there was no better radio.
I got her home and immediately put some batteries in her and let her rip. Boy, what a radio. I didn't even have her hooked up to the external antenna and it was picking up stations as clear as a bell.
If any of you out there have kinda blown off the CCRadio SW because it doesn't have Kenwood, Grundig, or whatever on it, you need to at least test drive this radio. I'm not going to go into a review of it here, but I will tell you that you are doing yourself a disservice by not at least considering one. You won't regret it.
And wouldn't you know it, two days later I came across a Panasonic RF 2200 for $50.00. It does have a few issues, like a very dirty sounding volume pot, rusted coil springs for the batteries, and the need for a serious alignment. Fairly easy doings. I have my other radios to listen to, so this one will be my project.
Stay tuned...
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