Longwave-palooza Night #2 2230 UTC 16 Nov 2016

[ChrisSmolinski]

Another good night on longwave:
153 Algeria
162 France
171 Morocco
183 Europe 1
189 Music, Iceland?
198 BBC
207 I suspect Morocco based on the music
216 Monte Carlo
225 Poland
234 Luxembourg
252 Algeria

[jFarley]

Good deal!

Definitely the time to enjoy good LW props, until the bottom falls out again.

Saw some of these the other day.  At the time time, my wife thought I would have more fun finishing the carpeting on the basement stairs, and I couldn't didn't follow up.

[ChrisSmolinski]

252 is playing Bob Dylan now.

Amazing how strong it is, like a local AM station:

[ChrisSmolinski]

A few minutes later, 216 and 234 also booming in:

[jFarley]

252 is playing Bob Dylan now.

Amazing how strong it is, like a local AM station:

My next door neighbor is playing chef and the kitchen fixture with the noisy dimmer is on, wiping out everything below DGPS.
This too shall pass.

Right now I am recording the top end of the NDB band.  Funky things have been happening right around local SS.  I am chasing the last beacon I need this season in Ontario.

Just looking at the prop numbers, and if things hold up, tonight could be better than last night.  There were openings in every direction, California to Greenland, upper Nunavut to Colombia.

[ChrisSmolinski]

Here is the low part of the band:

[jFarley]

Very nice.

I am embarrassed to show the bottom end of the band here.

[ChrisSmolinski]

I was pretty embarrassed to show longwave here, but I assume everyone's waterfall looks like non stop RFI, with all the electronics today.

[jFarley]

Looks like some beacon-like activity around the Beeb and just below?

[ChrisSmolinski]

Looks like some beacon-like activity around the Beeb and just below?

Yes, making it fairly difficult to listen to at times.  It is interesting watching the waterfall, and seeing stations fade in and out, wildly varying in strength. Running all those nights of DGPS recordings was educational, in that I am expecting that now on longwave. For example, the signal from Poland was quite strong for just a few minutes, and otherwise was just a carrier. You really do need patience down here.

I'm still trying to get stations on 161 and 170, but no luck yet.

[jFarley]

Reviewing an overnight recording is plain old hard work because of how dynamic the band can be.  I only record a 100 kHz span max, and that can take several hours to really do the file justice.  On a crowded frequency where there can be a dozen or more common beacons popping in and out of the waterfall over an 8 hour period, it makes it very difficult to find the elusive station in a pile up.  Especially if the calls share a couple of common letters!

[Fred Smith]

Chris,

Try 161 around 5:30 local your time. It was there today not as strong as last week when it sounded almost local. Right now 7:30 local eastern 171 is coming in very well, Radio Mediterranee Internationale

[ChrisSmolinski]

Chris,

Try 161 around 5:30 local your time. It was there today not as strong as last week when it sounded almost local. Right now 7:30 local eastern 171 is coming in very well, Radio Mediterranee Internationale

Sorry, typo on my part - I meant 261 and 270, Russia and Czech Republic.

[ulx2]

I meant 261 and 270, Russia and Czech Republic.

Russia has closed all its LW BC transmitters in years 2014-2015. Radiožurnál from Czech Republic is still working on 270 kHz but with reduced TX power.

[ChrisSmolinski]

I meant 261 and 270, Russia and Czech Republic.

Russia has closed all its LW BC transmitters in years 2014-2015. Radiožurnál from Czech Republic is still working on 270 kHz but with reduced TX power.

Thanks, I'll stop looking for 261 then   Sounds like even 270 will be a tough catch, do you know the current power?