Had to work 3rd shift this AM , so only one log from work : WBZ 1030 on Boy's Radio.

Big dxpedition tonight.

I've usually ignored the MW X band due to weaker sigs and lots of unintelligible foreign languages. Set up a version of the 1AD MPF-102 regen from Owen Poole's site to tune the X band spread out over most of the dial. Wound up putting a Bogen T725 in the drain lead so I could use my SPP. Put a 2200 ohm resistor in the source lead in place of where the 2k DC phones are specified to go. The drain gives a lot more audio than the source. Needed a 1 nF from drain to ground ahead of the transformer for an RF return, otherwise the set does not work (RF blocked by the transformer windings). Some sigs 1610 to 1700 are a bit too LOUD with this setup. Antenna is about 60 feet of wire out a second floor window at 15 feet, with the ground running down the side of the house to a water tap near ground level.

I think that I will edit in comments to this post during the event, rather than making new posts.

So far I've noticed multiple sigs on many frequencies in the X band. With a copied out section of the amlogbook as my guide, this may turn out to be quite interesting . . . .

GL,

Garry

Hi Krys and all;

The T725 and SPP worked fine in place of the 2k DC phones in the source lead also. Louder than my 2k Brandes. But even louder in the drain lead. I know that one can make use of amplification in the drain lead and little or none in the source lead.

Charles Kitchen says that audio taken from the drain results in more instability, but I can't say I've noticed that. Using the source for audio makes the rig an "infinite impedance detector", which is supposed to be less likely to experience overload and have a higher quality audio signal.

Garry

Monday AM update -- 13 stations IDed 1610 to 1710 (NJ TIS on 1710). Getting IDs is tough going even with my print from the amlogbook. Was trying to sort out 4 stations on 1660 last night . . . .

Edited by - Garry Nichols on 1/20/2013 1:16:32 PM

Edited by - Garry Nichols on 1/21/2013 8:49:37 AM

TIS search at FCC (Traveler's Information Stations, also known as Highway Advisory Radio):
http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/travelers-information-stations-search

Edited by - Garry Nichols on 1/23/2013 7:51:51 PM

I'm wrapping up my X Band effort with the 1 AD receiver and may continue with a crystal set:

1610 - CHHA TORONTO
1620 - WPTK490 SYRACUSE TIS WQMP335 VERONA TIS
1630 - KCJJ IOWA CITY
1640 - WKSH SUSSEX, WI - TIS somewhere in PA (wx info)
1650 - CINA MISSISSAUGA, ON - WHKT PORTSMOUTH, VA
1660 - WWRU JERSEY CITY, NJ - WBCN CHARLOTTE, NC
1670 - CJEU GATINEAU, QC - WOZN MADISON, WI
1680 - WPRR ADA, MI - WTTM LINDENWOOD, NJ
1690 - WVON BERWYN, IL - WPTX LEXINGTON PARK, MD - CHTO TORONTO
1700 - WEUP HUNTSVILLE, AL - KBGG DES MOINES, IA
1710 - WQFG689 TIS JERSEY CITY, NJ - (also music, likely some pirate)

Edited by - Garry Nichols on 1/25/2013 8:55:42 AM

I have built that sets "as is" and it worked phenomenal. The mods sound interesting.

Nice catch, Garry, given that they are 10 watts and you, I believe, are located in upstate New York !

73, -Mike-

I was able to find out that Hudson County applied for an FCC waiver in order to use 1710 because they would be the recipient of an evacuation of Manhattan. The station broadcasts a range of public service announcements including what to do in case of a chemical or radiological attack. It appears that there are five 10 watt transmitters.

I wonder if I am getting some sort of combined signal effect. I never hear any out-of-synch program doubling or phase effects on what appears to me to be one signal.

I think it odd that I should hear the station fairly often and fairly well . . . .

I just realized that I should work on the 1640 TIS a bit more to see if I can get an ID. Don't remember what happened there. I do remember hearing something about Philadelphia and southern PA.

Garry

I see that the 'pike has a leg that runs north to Scranton. Maybe I'm hearing a station from there because it would be closer to me.

620 KMNS Sioux City IA
640 KFI Los Angeles CA
680 KKYX San Antonio TX
700 KALL Salt Lake City, UT
710 KNUS-Denver CO
740 KCBS San Francisco CA
820 WBAP-F W TX
850 KOA Denver CO
880 KRVN Lexington NE
900 KALI W Covina CA
1110 KFAB Omaha NE (not sure)
1520 KOKC Oklahoma, OK
1530 KFBK Sacremento CA

Just a few of them that I could identify, but I have many more I am trying to identify. I picked up a walkman radio at a yard sale. The cassette doesn't work, but it has a digital readout and I can see the frequency that my crystal set is on if I get the walkman right next to the crystal set.
It is very exciting to at last see how distant I can receive with my little crystal set. I am in southern AZ 50 miles south of Tucson in the boonies! I get them drifting in and out and my crystal set sounds better now that I finally have hooked up a bogen transformer, as I can hear much better.

Thanks, just lucky I am guessing! The set is a very simple one. Coil is litz, and a 1N60 diode, and an old (unknown mfgr) set of 2,000 ohm? head phones. My antenna isn't very high, and only 6-8 inches above the metal roof of my trailer and 60 feet long. (park rules won't allow much) and the ground is a 3/4 inch aluminum solid rod 6ft into the ground. Rain the last weeks has improved reception, so that must have been the rain that improved the ground.

I've, sat and listened more than ever the last few weeks. I can't positively ID some frequencies, so I didn't post them in fairness. I do have the frequencies and some station info written down and am going to try to find the ID. This is the first time I have really gotten into the DX and have enjoyed very much.

SWsenior

Yes, IDing stations is a real chore. There are so many who just have slogans. You have to time it just right to hear the station call.

We all use detective work to ID stations. I go to the internet a lot. And the various lists as mentioned earlier on these posts. Your honesty is commendable.

Nothing wrong with posting a total stations heard count if you like even if not all are IDed. For this contest I sometimes do that.

I'm messing around with some simple crystal set circuits tonight. A handful of parts and a jumble of test clip leads! Sigs seem quite loud up here in the northeast.

When I got to the Tuggle circuit (with 1n34a clipped on the coil about 1/3 up from the bottom) I was no longer getting SW interference. Either broadcasts ended or the troublesome frequency was not getting into the circuit. Sw had bothered this circuit in the past, however.

Stayed with the Tuggle and swept most of the BCB numerous times. Lots of stations coming through.

Except for SW interference, a single stage Tuggle with tapped diode has always seemed the best simple crystal set to me.

This one used a dual cap and two crystal earphones wired in series with a 68k resistor across them. Coil is #22 close wound on a HDPE pill bottle, about 1:1 length to width.

I'm near Syracuse, NY which puts me in a signal rich area of the country for short and medium skip.

Thanks to ALL who participated !