Spring NDB Logs

[jFarley]

Don't care what the calendar sez; we're calling it Spring here!
New or interesting logs while testing a working model of the ferrite loop which went through several stages of prototyping over the Winter.

203    DMZ   Dickson, TN (11Mar15 0300z)
206    IIB   Independence (Wapsie), IA (8Mar15 2300z)
218    AL   Alton (Alpos), IL (14Mar15 0300z)
221    ARV   Minocqua (Arbor Vitae), WI (14Mar15 0300z)
223    MW   Franklin (Onida), OH (9Mar15 1300z)
224    BK   Baker Lake, NU (14Mar15 0300z) booming in above usually dominant MO
227    YAC   Cat Lake, ON (9Mar15 0400z)
230    BU   Columbus (Bouton), OH (11Mar15 0300z)
233    HEM   Sparta (Huchn), TN (9Mar15 0400z)
233    ZFD   Fond du Lac, SK (9Mar15 0400z)
233    BR   Brandon, MB (15Mar15 0400z)
244    TH   Thompson, MB (4Mar15 0300z)
245    FS   Sioux Falls (Rokky), SD (3Mar15 0300z)
245    PWF   Batavia (Sportys), OH (6Mar15 2300z)
248    FRT   Spartanburg (Fairmont), SC (3Mar15 0300z)
250    UGS   Athens/Albany (University), OH (6Mar15 0400z)
250    FO   Flin Flon, MB (4Mar15 0300z)
253    GB   Marshall (Garno), MN (3Mar15 0300z)
253    DD   Columbus (Cobbs), OH (14Mar15 0300z)
254    HLB   Batesville, IN (10Mar15 2300z)
263    DYQ   Greenville (Dulaney), TN (11Mar15 0300z)
266    IN   Indiannapolis (Pully), IN (3Mar15 0300z)
269    ISB   Sibley, IA (5Mar15 0200z)
271    HXO   Huntsboro, NC (11Mar15 0300z)
273    FK   Fort Campbell (Airbe), KY (11Mar15 0300z)
274    RG   Red Wing, MN (7Mar15 0600z)
275    CW   Mosinee (Danci), WI (9Mar15 0400z)
278    EOE   Newberry (Enoree), SC (9Mar15 0400z)
278    HOC   Hillsboro, OH (9Mar15 0400z)
280    MQW   Mc Rae, GA (9Mar15 0400z)
282    OXD   Oxford, OH (3Mar15 0300z)
282    ROS   Rush City, MN (7Mar15 0600z)
283    SCO   Scobey, MT (7Mar15 0600z)
284    RQY   Elkins (Randolph Co), WV (10Mar15 0400z)
284    PTB   Petersburg, VA (11Mar15 0300z)
284    QD   The Pas, MB(5Mar15 0200z)
290    QR   Regina, SK (7Mar15 0600z)
299    HW   Washington (Cubla), OH (4Mar15 2300z)
309    GPI   Guapi, CLM (7Mar15 0600z) LSB and USB nicely straddling the SD DGPS station
315    AT   Dayton (Bruny), OH (4Mar15 2300z)
323    EBS   Webster City, IA (4Mar15 0300z)
326    PKZ   Pensacola (Pickens), FL (31Mar15 0400z)
327    JMR   Mora, MN (3Mar15 0300z)
331    JV   Jeffersonville (Catch), IN (6Mar15 0400z)
334    BNR   Findlay (Benton Ridge), OH (10Mar15 0400z)
335    LUK   Cincinnati, OH (3Mar15 0300z)
335    COQ   Cloquet, MN (7Mar15 0600z)
335    BV   Batesville (Almnd), AR (31Mar15 0400z)
337    FF   Fergus Falls (Hamre), MN (3Mar15 0300z)
340    GN   Lexington (Brindl), KY (6Mar15 0400z)
341    CCJ   Springfield (Clark Co), OH (10Mar15 0400z)
341    ZLP   Toronto (Mississauga), ON (7Mar15 0600z)
344    JA   Jacksonville (Dinns), FL (6Mar15 0400z)
344    BKU   Baker (Timber), MT (6Mar15 0400z)
344    YC   Calgary, AB (7Mar15 0600z)
344    ZIY   Georgetown/Grand Cayman Island, CYM (10Mar15 0400z)
347    AIK   Aiken, SC (31Mar15 0400z)
348    MC   Mason City (Surff), IA (10Mar15 0400z)
349    FV   Indianapolis (Larez), IN (5Mar15 2300z) Seems 2B negative keying "IAS" in carrier which explains an unid on 348
349    APG   Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD (6Mar15 0400z)
350    NY   Enderby, BC (6Mar15 0400z)
351    PH   Mosinee (Bayye), WI (5Mar15 2300z)
351    MSQ   Culpepper, VA (6Mar15 0400z)
353    PG   Portage, MB (7Mar15 0600z)
355    CGE   Cambridge, MD (6Mar15 0400z)
356    IUL   La Porte, IN (5Mar15 0200z) noting weak 2X USB harmonic
356    RCX   Ladysmith (Rusk County), WI (6Mar15 0400z)
361    HB   Burlington (Himun), NC (6Mar15 0400z)
362    AK   Akron, OH (6Mar15 0400z)
362    SUR   Fitzgerald, GA (6Mar15 0400z)
365    MRJ   Mineral Point, WI (10Mar15 2300z)
365    PAL   Palma, EQA (31Mar15 0400z) Booming in, actually
367    FVX   Farmville, VA (31Mar15 0400z)
368    PNM   Princeton, MN (6Mar15 0400z)
374    EE   Alexandria (Tamie), MN (3Mar15 0300z)
376    LC   Columbus (Pickl), OH (31Mar15 0400z)
376    ZIN   Matthew Town/Great Inagua Island, BAH (3Mar15 0300z)
379    MDE   Cincinnati (Madeira), OH (3Mar15 0300z)
385    EMR   Augusta (Emory), GA (3Mar15 0300z)
388    CDX   Somerset (Cumberland River), KY (3Mar15 0300z)
392    XVG   Longville, MN (3Mar15 0300z)
392    AGZ   Wagner, SD (3Mar15 0300z)
394    AI   Anderson (Video), IN (9Mar15 1300z)
400    UWI   Dalton (Whitfield), GA (3Mar15 0300z)
401    LA   Lafayette(Earle), IN (6Mar15 2300z)
404    XCR   Little Falls (Ripley), MN (3Mar15 0300z)
415    DJD   Canton, GA (15Mar15 0400z)
415    CBC   West End (Cayman Brac), CYM (15Mar15 0400z)
420    TU   Tupelo (Veron), MS (15Mar15 0400z)
521    GM   Greenville (Judky), SC (3Mar15 0300z)

[Chanter]

How the heck did you catch that Bahamas NDB?  I am impressed!  Nice one.   

[jFarley]

Thanks, Chanter.  Actually, it's widely heard and is listed at 400 watts.  If one can hear CLB in North Carolina, Bahamas should audible I would think.

I missed ZIN during the winter season for a very simple reason.  For most of the winter, I had both loops pointed towards south James Bay, at an azimuth of about 40 degrees.  Once they got their cabling frozen in snow bank, I couldn't move the loops  easily!  This put the Bahamas right close to the pattern nulls, and my dominants were on a line from Texas to Quebec.

For this next set of Spring logs, I have spun the loops around, at least initially, to Alaska at an azimuth of 320 degrees.  This really shows up in the logs already posted above.  Most of these NDBs would have been near the loop nulls when the loops were pointed at James Bay.  Now, they are just jumping out of the mud.

This loop directionality stuff is serious mojo, especially for signals right near the noise floor.

[EchoDeltaXray]

Two nights ago I logged ZIN 376 for the first time. 1493mi/2400km over a mostly water path.  Tonight I logged CBC 415 from the Caymans for the first time.  1653mi/2660km.  I think the only other Caribbean NDB I've logged has been DDP from Puerto Rico.

Just when I think I've logged all the NDBs I can with portables and no helper antenna, New ones pop in.

I had another unique new logging tonight DG 244 from Passes Dangereusus Quebec 519mi/835km but that is no where near as impressive.      

[jFarley]

Hey EDX

I had the sheer dumb luck to log GPI Colombia last night.  Sometimes you just happen to be in the right place at the right time.  This was not DXing, but just picking the low hanging fruit which was there for only a brief time.



The GPI call is clearly rendered on either side of the DGPS.  This was plainly noted on both antennas, and I almost grabbed a portable to run outside and see if it was audible.  But I was too comfy...

305 is Churchill, MB, and you can compare the signal levels between the two.

I did open up SkyVector and check for others up and down the coast, but no luck.  http://skyvector.com/

[EchoDeltaXray]

i consider grabbing low hanging fruit being DX as well FYI lol.

Very impressive!

i'm waaaaaaaay more of a layman so i've never DX'd in cooridination with any of the online tools mapping space weather or atmospheric changes and conditions

[EchoDeltaXray]

ALSO:  RNB 363 Millville NJ really gets out.  It makes sense that I would get it due to the ocean path but for you to get it that far inland is impressive.  Do you know how many watts its transmitting?  Its still remarkable for me with a portable to have logged it as outside of my home state of massachusetts, i've only received four other NDB's from a US state - 198 & 216 from the North Carolina coast, RNB 363 from NJ and randomly 400 PTD from Potsdam NY.

[jFarley]

RNB is listed at 50 watts.  It looks like it has been logged all the way to the west coast.

[jFarley]

I made an Old School plot of the new NDB logs I have noted here since moving the rod peak response azimuth to 320-140 degrees.  This has remained constant throughout the listening sessions posted in the first post in this thread, at least thru 31Mar15.  The results are pretty clear.



The axes of rod Peak and Null responses are noted on the chart.

Each black dot represents a new log which has not been heard previously this Winter-Spring.  These new logs tend to be located around the az of Peak response +/- 20 degrees or so.  Very few new logs have been noted away from the Peak axis, and if so, they tend to be more local NDBs.

In these listening sessions, I was not actively searching for new NDBs, but just scanning the band and seeing what I could pull out of pileups.

A couple of comments:

- The dashed line labelled "GPI, PAL" is the approx az to the only 2 South American logs this season.  These were not heard in the previous orientation of the rod, which was approx 90 degrees from its current orientation.  Likewise, I was not hearing the Caribbean stations which are quite common logs now.

- The letters "W" and "R" correspond to the NDBs in Winnipeg, MB (WG, 250 watts, ~700 miles) and Red Lake, ON (RL, 500 watts, ~700 miles).  These are very interesting because both of these can now be heard almost 24/7 on days of reasonably low GM activity.  This was not true with the previous orientation of the rod.

- In the previously orientation, I was logging many stations in Quebec and the Maritimes.  Very few of these logs now, and definitely no new logs.

- The ability to null stations from a particular az is pronounced, but will be further evaluated when I get the thing mounted on a rotator.

- Though the map seems to indicate that I live in Green Bay,  I must have fat-fingered my coordinates when generating the map!