Solar X-Rays Geomagnetic Field
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Shortwave DX Radio
WPE9GIZ
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Solar X-Rays Geomagnetic Field
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Shortwave DX Radio WPE9GIZ |
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Were you a WPE?
BBC Jingle:
Lillibulero
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| Welcome
to the Radio DX page of my site. I was an active DX'er from 1962
until the late 80's. Recently the bug is hitting again. I
have started to upload pictures of my QSL's , but it is a work in progress.
And, check out my countries/stations verified listing. Take a look: requests for verifications (QSL) and loggings. |
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 May 2003:
It was a fun DX season, getting back into the hobby again. About
six new stations were heard and two new countries verified, Slovakia and
Moldova. I've added a mini-amplifier and now can easily switch from
speaker to earphones listening to the raw signal from the RX-320 or from
the sound card in the computer.During the summer I will be playing with DSP and sound editing software along with recording possible targets when I'm not at the radio. I also started a subscription to Listening In, a good monthly magazine from the Ontario DX association. October 2002: Click the thumbnails below to see a picture of my shack and antenna set-up on the neighbor's fence. My main radio does not even show up in the picture. The Ten-Tec RX-320 is the little black box to the right of the scanner which has the running number 80 in a frame on it. That is Hallicrafters S-108 on the left which works but needs an antenna. Another project. The fence antenna works very well with the impedance transformer and ground rod.
September 2002: Last weekend a ground rod was added to the antenna system. I was able to drive a 9' copper rod into the ground using a normal hammer. No rocks or other obstructions were encountered. I was able to hear Radio Thailand and a tentative on SIBC in the Solomon Islands, stations never heard before! August 2002: I was having trouble with doing my own connectors on the coax which resulted in poor reception. The antenna system needed to start from scratch. I ordered two TV cable installation systems which included 100' and 25' cables with connectors in place. I ran the 100' foot cable from the computer/radio room. This time I drilled a small hole to outside rather than going out with the actual TV cable that goes right by the electrical box. My neighbor allowed me to run wire on the top of his eight foot high fence and I now have about 80' of wire out away from the house. After burying another run of cable from the house to the fence then new antenna was complete. The difference is immediate and stunning. Signals are all over the bands. I'm listening to Jazz America broadcast by the VOA from the Philippines! This looks like a great winter DX season coming on. June 2002: Started the new antenna system with cable coax from the computer/radio room through the basement. Nest step is drilling through side of house. I've decided to put the antenna on top of the neighbor's fence (with his already gained permission) hoping to move it away from the house the RF noise. April 2002: The RX-320 really is a phenomenal radio. There still is some antenna work to do. Seems there is a loose connection in the coax going into the adapters for the radio’s RCA plug. Once it's moved manually around the signal becomes full. I ordered a device to filter out AM band signals since the transmitters a half mile away are reeking havoc on the 120 and 60 meter bands. I ordered the ICE BCB Interference Filter 402 which should help the situation. I still need to work on grounding the antenna properly, which will be a summer project. Another part of the antenna improvement is putting up a straight wire replacing the speaker wire around the eve approach. A new addition is a Radio Shack DSP-40 digital signal processor. The RX-320 has two audio out ports. The first one is connected to the PC and plays through the PC speakers. The second is directly into the DSP-40 where I can use headphones. The DSP-40 works OK,, but for adding headphones it works great. The unit was cheap on Ebay anyway. There are three control programs on the PC for the RX-320:
The Tec-Tec software is decent but does not offer the capabilities of the other two. Tom’s is more designed for scanning which is not my forte, but the software is excellent. I’ve settled into Clifton’s controller. His also includes a database reader (as does Tom’s) which I've loaded the ILGRadio database. The database program works with the controller so you can tune the radio from the database or have the database list the stations and schedules available on the frequency which the radio is tuned. Another great database reader is Radio Listener’s Database by Fineware Radio. This database will hold four databases:
The last new software piece is SR5 which is a DSP program. All kinds of filters can be applied along with other options for audio signals from the radio. A good feature is taken record .wav files of stations and cleaning up the audio without having to do it live during the broadcast. Lastly, I've decided not only to verify new countries but to log as many countries starting over from scratch. See my progress here. March 2002: The RX-320 has arrived and is installed. What a beauty and who would have thought having a radio working through the computer. The receiver works very well, however there is lots of noise only using the whip antenna. In the next couple of weeks I will run a coax through the basement to an antenna I put up last summer. It is only speaker wire running around the eves of the house, but it should improve reception greatly. February 2002: Investigating and trying AM DX'ing was fun, but still is not like shortwave listening (SWL). I've ordered a radio that combines my computer interest with SWL. The Ten Tec RX-320 comes as a black box and the front end, or the controls, is a computer program. There are some very good freeware RX-320 programs available on the net. I'll keep you updated on how this new type of receiver works out. Here is a screen shot of the Ten Tec software:
October 2001: Even thought the auction did not make the reserve price, the highest bidder and I arrive at a price and the R-71A will be shipped off on Monday. I've decided to have the ICF-2010 repaired and then try my hand at AM DX'ing. I've added several links and graphics to the page reflecting this revived interest. September 2001: I placed the R71-A on Ebay today. The feeling is sad, but if I can purchase an new ICF-2010 then it will be worth it. Say, if you are interested in the radio, go to the auction. It ends on October 2, 2001 Summer 2001: I've decided with this location and the state of the hobby to not pursue getting my radios to work well. Recently I sold one old radio (SW-4A) to a gentleman I met on Ebay. He also purchased some of my old World Radio-TV Handbooks and other radio related books. My goal is to gain enough money to purchase a new ICOM 2010. The current one will no longer receive AM or Shortwave at all. I will continue to sell off my old radios and possibly the ICOM R71-A. I did get the ICOM R-71A up and running. Reception is terrible as a local AM radio station is a 1/2 mile away and dominates all bands. I am working on that problem. I did receive my first QSL in nearly 10 years:
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Current Receivers: |
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Ten-Tec RX-320:
Reasonable priced receiver with great, free software controllers.
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| Sony 2010: I've had this radio for about 10 years and it is still going strong. This is wonderful radio and a portable to boot. |
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| Other receivers I own or have owned: | ||
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