Author Archives: Martin Butera

Videos from DXcamp Marajó Island, November 2019

Photo: Ivan Dias & Martin Butera, during the first Dx-Camp 15.61 Crew Radio Listeners’ Marajó Island – Amazon Rainforest, North of Brazil – November 2019

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Martin Butera, founding member of the 15.61 Crew, for the following guest post:

The 15.61 Crew Radio Listeners, Martin Butera and Ivan Dias, give us a small video preview made in the first Dx-Camp on Marajó Island in the Amazon Rainforest, North of Brazil on November 2019.

There are more than 11 hours of SDR recordings and videos of the Ultralight radios, which will take much additional time to process, of course.

Crew is working on the report with a complete story that includes videos and photos of everything experienced during the DX-Camp–this will be published in several languages and the first LOG, which we estimate will be the first months of the South American summer 2020.

We recommend not forgetting to periodically visit the official site of the DX-Camp, to find updated information: https://dxcamp-marajo2019.blogspot.com/

Above, you’ll see a short stretch of the medium wave band with plenty of interesting content: 585 kHz, alternating between National Radio of Spain (Madrid), BSKSA (Saudi Arabia), 590 kHz, alternating with Poty Radio (Crateús / CE), Radio Diffuser (Boa Vista / RR) and Radio Continental (Buenos Aires), 594 kHz BSKSA (Saudi Arabia), 595.9 kHz SNRT (Morocco – operating off-frequency for years), 600 kHz Mirante Radio (São Luís / MA), Vale Radio (Barreiras) / BA) and Radio Gaucha (Porto Alegre / RS) and 603 kHz National Radio of Spain (Sevilla).

Videos

All of the following videos were captured during the November 2019 Dx-Camp:

Brazil is a country with vast continental distances. The following three videos showcase Brazilian radio from across the country.

Radio Diffuser Boa Vista (1408 km distance)

Radio Itatiaia 2191 (km distance)

Radio Band B (2747 km distance)

Photo: Ivan Dias & Martin Butera, during the first Dx-Camp 15.61 Crew Radio Listeners’ Marajó Island – Amazon Rainforest, North of Brazil – November 2019

More photos of the DX-Camp from the official site:

https://dxcamp-marajo2019.blogspot.com/p/photos.html

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Dx-Camp Marajó Island: A small action to change our world

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Martin Butera who shares the following note:

Photo: Flyer Martin Butera (left) and Ivan Dias da Silva Junior (right)

A small action to change our world.

Fulfilling our commitment to get involved in causes of direct action, instead of only DX we decided to do something.

For this reason we planted in the Marajó island a small tree in the name of the European DX Council (EDXC) which we affectionately baptized with the name “Chrissy”, referring to our friend Chrissy Brand, Chief Editor of BDXC bulletin and European DX Council (EDXC) Secretary, who supported this DXcamp.

We are aware that planting a tree in the midst of the flames that are killing the Amazon rainforest will not be its salvation, but will leave a legacy and is a way to contribute to a better world.

Help the environment does not require big actions, but small ones, such as:

Separate out our waste for later recycling;
Turn off the lights. It seems obvious, but we don’t realize how many times we turn on the light of a room we will not stay in;
Eat organic fruits and vegetables. Organic products help the environment because in their production no fertilizers or other polluting products are needed;
Turn off the faucet correctly. When you do not need water, turn off the faucet and check for leaks;
Go by bicycle or public transport. Pollution in big cities comes largely from the excessive use of cars;
Take your own bags to the supermarket. More and more supermarkets are selling plastic bags to avoid their use and encourage recycling;
Take advantage of natural light. To reduce the electricity consumption, open the windows and curtains so that sunlight enters your home;
Recycle everything you can. Before throwing clothes, books or toys, think about whether you can give them a second chance to avoid spending and buying everything new. You will save money and protect the environment.

As you could read, they are small actions that help energy saving, recycling and conservation of these resources.

The report will be ready in January 2020,
Stay tuned for the official website https://dxcamp-marajo2019.blogspot.com/ and for the publications of SWLing Post and the BDXC (British Dx Club).

Ivan Dias da Silva Junior & Martin Butera

(15.61 Crew founders)

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Dx-Camp Marajó Island: Thank you for the support!

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Martin Butera who shares the following note:

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

The DXcamp that took place between November 15 and 18 on the island of Marajó was the first event of this kind held in Brazil and perhaps in South America.

This DXcamp got the attention of several sponsors who helped the 15.61 Crew, including: C.Crane, SDRplay, DS Antennas (Brazil), Heil Sound, COMPACtenna, Cross Country Wireless, Antennas4Less, NI4L Antennas, Radiwow, RTL-SDR, ELAD, SSB, RadioShack, Antennas Loop DZ by Denis Zoqbi (Brazil), Arrow Antennas and the SWLing Post blog.

Different organizations and clubs are included: BDXC (British DX Club), EDXC (European DX Council), SR (Sugar Radio – Sperimental Group), RC (Romeo Charlie Dx Group), Colón Dx Club, Dxnews.com, among others.

We would like to thank everyone for supporting us and we hope to have all of you, in the next Dxcamp as well as all the people, beyond the brands, who believed in our project and supported this Dxcamp: Ligia Katze (DXcamp photographer and Martin Butera’s wife), Mark Van Marx (Marcos Melzi, photo editor), Orlando Perez (PT2OP), Chrissy Brand BDXC (British DX Club), all members of the European DX Council, Thomas Witherspoon ( SWLing Post), John Wilder KJ6AVJ (C.Crane Radio), Jon Hudson (SDRplay), Murilo Rodrigues (DS Antennas – Brazil), Bob Heil (Heil Sound), Chris Molding (Cross Country Wireless), Chris Fox (Ni4L), Madeleine Wellie (SSB -Electronic GmbH), Tim Chapman (Arrow Antennas), Jack Nilsson (COMPACtenna), Carl Laufer (RTL-SDR.com), Darrell / K7LZR (antennas4less.com), Denis Zobqi (Stars Telecom – Brazil), Radiwow, Elad SDR , RadioShack, Stephane (RC Int. DX Group), Mimmo (Sperimental Radio), Sal Al (GCC DX Foundation), all members of the Colón Dx Group and DXnews.com.

The report will be ready in January 2020,
Stay tuned for the official website https://dxcamp-marajo2019.blogspot.com/ and for the publications of SWLing Post and the BDXC (British Dx Club).

Ivan Dias da Silva Junior & Martin Butera

(15.61 Crew founders)

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Crew 15.61 announces its first DXcamp in the Amazon rainforest

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Crew 15.61 announces its first DXcamp in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil and launches its exclusive event site.

From today you can visit https://dxcamp-marajo2019.blogspot.com/ and find all the information about the first DXcamps of the 15.61 Crew.

The DXcamp, will be held between November 15-18 on Marajó island. It’s the first time that an event with these dimensions and characteristics is held in Brazil and maybe in South America.

“When the Last Tree Is Cut Down, the Last Fish Eaten, and the Last Stream Poisoned, You Will Realize That You Cannot Eat Money ” (Native American saying).

Vital to the planet weather, the Amazon region has suffered fires for several weeks and several organizations have denounced the silence of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro about what they consider a devastating environmental crime against Earth. Such disaster has caused worldwide shock and must be remembered, because as something that happened during September, unfortunately the media coverage is focusing probably another disaster.

Marajó is the largest island in Brazil and the largest river island in the world, where the Amazon and Tocantins rivers and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It’s located about three hours by boat from Belém, capital of Pará state.

The 15.61 Crew founders are Martín Butera, correspondent journalist in South America for the British DX Club and Ivan Dias da Silva Júnior, founder of the Regional DX group of Sorocaba/São Paulo.

The objective of 15.61 Crew is not just DX. We will take a direct and committed action to help the planet and raise awareness about the climate change that we are sadly living.

We will plant a tree on behalf of the European DX Council (EDXC). Planting a tree amid the flames that are killing the Amazon rainforest today will certainly not be your salvation, but it will leave a legacy and our contribution for a better world.

We will raise awareness that together we can change this situation with actions such like waste sorting, buying products that can be reused, lowering electricity consumption, eating more organic fruits and vegetables, moving on public transport and so on.

Martin Butera lives in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, about 27 hours from Belém or 1982 km. Ivan, lives in Sorocaba,São Paulo state, 38 hours from Belém or 2893 km. Both will meet in Belém and then go by boat to the island.

A trip like this requires a lot of preparation. It’s not something cheap or easy to be done. It takes a lot of time, effort and personal expenses to go to these remote places in South America and then share our catches with you. Those who would like to collaborate with us can do by Paypal account, from our website.

Why do we ask your financial support? Airline weight limits and luggage size are a problem in South America and are increasing the costs for us. We also have a long boat trip of more than 3 hours and will rent a house in the island.

Everything is already paid, but your help can made everything easier on the next DXcamps of 15.61 Crew. All donations will be reported on our site, but whoever makes an anonymous donation will be kept anonymous, and we will report only the value. Please consider support our DXcamp camp in Marajó island!

Your contribution will help us take the best listening station we can gather and have more and better chances of getting good results.

The 15.61 Crew founders, have extensive experience in the hobby, both Martin, 29 years as a ham radio operator (LU9EFO-PT2ZDX), with many DXpeditions in several South American islands, as Ivan, started DXing 26 years ago, including contributions to several clubs and as utility stations professional monitor.

Everything we do during this DXcamp will be shared by texts, photos and videos of our correspondent Martín Butera and will be published as son as possible on the BDXC bulletin and SWLing Post blog.

This will be the first of many DXcamps in exotic places that we plan to carry out, always with a message and a proposal for direct action. We are living in a world in danger and our roles as a society can’t be limited only to be only radio listeners.

Thank you!

Martin Butera & Ivan Dias
15.61 Crew Radio Listeners founders

To know more about CREW 15.61 Radio Listeners’ please click here.

Martín Butera is a correspondent journalist in South America for the British DX Club.

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