By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM
Let’s get one thing clear from the start: it’s all Ken Reitz’s fault. When the search for the guilty begins, the finger should point squarely at Mr. Reitz.
Who is Ken Reitz? He is the Managing Editor and Publisher of The Spectrum Monitor.
The Spectrum Monitor is a radio hobbyist magazine available only in PDF format and can be read on any device capable of opening a PDF file. It covers virtually aspect of the radio hobby, and you can find it here: https://www.thespectrummonitor.com/ I am a subscriber, and I can heartily recommend it without reservation.
So what is it that Mr. Reitz did that set me off? Short answer: he wrote a really good article entitled “AM DX Antennas: Long Wires and Loops Big and Small.” In it, he mentioned that he could hear, from his location in Virginia, WCBS on 880 in New York City, some 300 miles away. He also mentioned that he could hear, during daylight hours, WGY in Schenectady, NY, about 400 miles distant.
WGY is a local station for me in Troy, NY, but I wondered: Could I hear WCBS in New York City? That’s nearly 150 miles from me. Hmmm.
So I started firing up various radios and radio/antenna combinations on 880 kHz. I tried my Icom IC706 MkIIIG ham transceiver, hooked to the 45-foot indoor end-fed antenna. Nothing heard.
Next, my Grundig Satellit 800 connected to its 4-foot whip antenna. I could hear WCBS barely, but with a horrible buzzing noise. Switching the Satellit 800 to the horizontal room loop antenna I could hear WCBS better, but the noise was really, really nasty.
One way to preserve domestic tranquility is to hide the MFJ Loop behind a curtain!
Then I connected the MFJ 1886 Receive Loop Antenna. Tah-dah! I could hear WCBS just fine, with some noise in the background, but “armchair copy.” The MFJ loop made a huge difference in the quality and strength of the signal. I also tried the MFJ loop with another radio I have under test (its identity to be revealed in the future) and found, while I couldn’t hear WCBS at all with the radio’s internal antenna, the 1886 made an enormous difference, pulling out a fully copyable signal with noise in the background.
Finally, I tried a couple of my portables. My Tecsun 880 could hear WCBS, but the noise level was high enough to be annoying. Finally, I tried my CCrane Skywave SSB. The Skywave did a better job of pulling the signal out of the noise. I got the same result with the CCrane Skywave SSB2. Both Skywaves were using their internal ferrite antennas. Impressive.
Bottom line, for this very small foray into daytime medium wave DXing, the MFJ-1886 Receive Loop Antenna was a powerful and useful tool, one I can easily recommend. Second, when it comes to portables, the CCrane Skywave SSB (either model) continues to show that it is “The Little Radio That Could.”
“I am a subscriber, and I can heartily recommend it without reservation.”
Same.
Best $2/mo you can spend on the hobby. Subscribed as soon as it started back in ’11.
Peter / N5UWY / VE2UWY
Subscribed
Please delete my first post as this one is updated.
Today i took my CCRadio 3 out in our yard at 3:30 PM EST (1/8/2023) to see what “DX” I could receive on MW. A quick check resulted in these from my QTH north of Detroit;
WGR 550 khz 220 miles, excellent copy.
WSM 650 khz 490 miles, solid copy.
WLW 700 khz 227 miles, decent copy.
CFZM 740 khz 184 miles, excellent copy.
WBBM 780 khz 255 miles, excellent copy.
WCBS 880 khz 489 miles, it was fading in and out. Poor copy but readable.
N8FNR
Zack S,
Very nice!
Cheers, Jock
Please delete my first post as this one is updated.
Not exactly on topic but sort of. Today i took my CCRadio 3 out in our yard at 3:30 PM EST (1/8/2023) to see what “DX” I could receive on MW. A quick check resulted in these from my QTH north of Detroit;
WGR 550 khz 220 miles, excellent copy.
WSM 650 khz 490 miles, solid copy.
WLW 700 khz 227 miles, decent copy.
CFZM 740 khz 184 miles, excellent copy.
WBBM 780 khz 255 miles, excellent copy.
WCBS 880 khz 489 miles, it was fading in and out. Poor copy but readable.
N8FNR
I enjoy daytime medium-wave DXing. Sure, I might not hear any really long-distance signals. But it gives me a chance to log some of the semi-regional stations that shut down at sunset or go to low power. Just this afternoon I added WDKI -840- from Denton, MD, to my station count. Just 65 miles from my NW DC QTH, but they’re a daytime-only station.
SamA,
Enjoy the fun!
Cheers, Jock
I enjoy daytime AM DXing. I understand I generally won’t get any great distance, but I like to grab those semi-regionals that sign off or lower power at sunset.
Just curious, has anyone tested the MFJ loop up vs the W6LVP loop. The reason being the W6LVP is not weather sealed and that is a consideration once I go out camping soon. Thanks in advance.
Phil,
I have not. Perhaps someone else has.
Cheers, Jock
Now you’ve done it Jock. I’m going to have to buy the MFJ and do a condo vs. in the field test. Hope she doesn’t see them both up at the same time….
Phil,
Hide each of them behind a separate curtain . . .
Cheers, Jock
I enjoy daytime AM DXing. I know I’m not likely to hear any great distance, but it’s a chance to log some semi-regionals that sign off or go to low power at sunset.
About that buzzing noise … can someone just make it go away? Please.
Samuel,
That buzzing noise , , , oh, please yes! Make it go away.
Cheers, Jock
Okay Jock, blame it on Ken, hi hi. He’s one heck of a guy and a constant inspiration to keep spinning those dials.
WCBS all news 880 is only about 50 miles from my QTH and comes in quite well 24/7. An interesting place to DX would be the segment between 1500 – 1590 kc’s where there are a number of news stations, one being federal news on 1500. Thanks for the inspiration .
Not related to the topic but still of interest is that on 570 kc just about every night Radio Reloj (Radio Clock) is heard here in NJ. It ids every minute in CW as “RR.” You can hear it even though 570 is the home of WMCA, a former great rock and roll station in the 60’s that’s now all religious, 24/7.
Mario,
Thanks for the tips . . . I’ll give them a listen.
As to blaming Ken, I am reminded of a sign I saw on a wall at GE Research and Development:
Phases of a project:
1. Enthusiasm,
2. Disillusionment,
3. Panic,
4. Search for the guilty,
5. Punishment of the innocent, and
6. Praise and honor for the nonparticipants.
We’re at Step 4 just now.
Cheers, Jock
Mario,
I tried last night and could hear that Federal News Station — from Washington — very clearly on my CCrane Skywave SSB with no external antenna. I tried for for the station that IDs with CW on 570 but no dice.
Cheers, Jock
Congratulations to Thomas Whitherspoon, who was quoted several times in the January/February issue of Smithsonian Magazine!
See the Smithsonian article “Looking to Ditch Twitter? Morse Code is Back”. The link is https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/morse-code-back-looking-ditch-twitter-180981309/
Also, what is the device in the guy’s hands?
– Steve Yothment W4OGM
Thank you, Steve!
In the main image, That’s Steve (WG0AT) holding his TiNiKey (I think that’s what it’s called) field CW paddles. It’s a really unique paddle!
Cheers,
Thomas
Good info Jock, and I love placing blame on Ken and the Spectrum Monitor! That magazine has led me down some deep rabbit holes! I am almost afraid to read each issue because I know that will add about 5-10 to-do things on my already packed list!! Wait, that’s sort of like this daily blog posting of Thomas’!
Cheers!
Thanks for the kind words, Robert!
You’re right about The Spectrum Monitor . . . every issue has me reading some article and thinking: “Hey, that might be fun!” and something else gets added to my list of radioactivities.
Cheers, Jock