Howdy Tim, i have several portables that I bought expressly for my DX dog walking. This log was done with a Sangean ATS 909x. I really love this radio. I also sometimes use a Tecsun PL380 or a Tecsun PL360 but they don't come close to the ATS909x. I had been walking China in the mornings but found the DX to be better at 10:00pm local time (3:00 utc). In addition to these stations Voice of Vietnam is on 6175 at 3:30 utc via one of those US religion stations.
see this AM dog walk log
http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,11490.0.htmlIf I find other interesting things on the bands I will do another DX dog posting.
regards & best 73
Glimmer
4:00 utc: Having just returned from a DX walk, I feel compelled to mention that the Tecsun PL380 is actually much better than I remember. When I first got it about 6 months ago i used it for a week or so as my only dog walk radio & didn't really care for it that much. I used it again tonight & I now feel differently. I also should mention that what I DON'T know about radios & how they work could fill volumes. Having admitted that (it's always been my shameful secret. That & the fact that I can't copy CW), I was pleasantly surprised at how well this baby performed. My complaints are that the keys act funny, you have to press them really hard to get the desired result & it doesnt have up & down "slew" buttons. Also it doesn't have SSB. The bandwidth capabilities are pretty cool though. You can narrow it down to 1 khz & open it up to 6 khz. I love the DSP thing too. I am not at all sure how this works but as you tune slowly it sounds like a BFO in that you can hear a slight het as you approach an active frequency. It seems to act like a synchronous detector in this respect. It picked up all of my regular stations as well & usually better than the ATS909x. I was able to get "armchair copy" from Radio Romania & Voice of Turkey. Iran came in much better than normal too. One thing I love is that I can hold the radio easily in one hand. This is real important to me since I have my other hand full of a barely controlled dog. I actually was able to lay the extended antenna against the radio & put the whole thing in my pocket. With the ATS I have to hold the antenna in a sloping position for the best reception & it is way to big to even consider putting it in my pocket. The light can be kept on by holding the button on for a few seconds. That is very handy for me as I am walking in the dark & try to avoid the street lights. When I did walk right under light there was very little signal degradation on the PL380. All in all a nice little portable for about $50.00.
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