Tag Archives: FDM-DUO

Oxford Shortwave Log 200 metre Beverage antenna: further MW and SW reception videos

a1-beverage

Hi there, further to my previous post regarding the initial testing of the Medium Wave Circle-design 200 metre Beverage antenna at the woods in Oxford, UK, I am pleased to share further reception videos for both the medium wave and shortwave bands. For medium wave, I operated the FDM DUO via a laptop and the FDN-SW2 software, recorded the entire band at the top of the hour and retrospectiively analysed the signals. For shortwave I utillised the FDM DUO as a standalone receiver, routing the audio via the excellent Bose Soundlink Mini 2 speaker.

As a quick recap, the antenna was terminated at the ‘front end’ with a 650 Ohm resistor into a 1 metre-long, permanent copper earthing rod that I had previously driven into the ground, away from the route taken by the general public. The actual wire was orientated in a generally westerly direction, and thus nulling signals propagating from the east. At the receiver end, I utillised my self-built transformer, wound for a 50 Ohm input impedance (14 turns on the primary), thus making the entire set-up suitable for the Elad FDM DUO. It was quite a pain to set up, taking over an hour to deploy, however, the results were very promising. A scematic diagram follows below.

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Links to the next group of reception videos follow:

The reception from VOCM St. Johns, Newfoundland & Labrador and WRCA Waltham, Massachusetts was unprecidented and another indication that the 200 metre Beverage configuration is demonstrating excellent SNR performance. Similarly, the reception of Radio Nacional Brazilia was an improvement on any signal I’d previously recorded with any receiver or antenna. Finally, the signal received from Radio Huanta 2000 – one of the more exotic stations on the Tropical Band and rarely heard in Europe – delivered discernible audio with this set-up, whereas previously I had only ever observed a carrier. All-in-all a very pleasing result, with more reception videos using this antenna set-up to follow in the coming weeks.

Right now I’m uploading SW and MW reception videos to my YouTube channel, recorded during my two week trip to Pará in Northern Brazil – it was really interesting to check out what can be heard on the radio in the middle of what is a very remote area of tropical rainforest. I hope you find the time to take a look.  In the meantime, thank you for watching/ listening and I wish you all good DX.


 

MW DX with the 200 metre Beverage: WRCA 1330 kHz, Waltham Mass., big signal/ clear IDs!

 

 

 

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

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Medium wave DX: Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela heard in Oxford, UK

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Hi there, I thought I would share a few recent medium wave DX catches from South America. In the past month or so, I’ve managed to record signals from Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and one that I’m particularly happy about – Ecuador, which is rarely reported in Europe. All catches were obtained with my usual indoor home set-up – the brilliant little Elad FDM DUO coupled to the equally brilliant Wellbrook ALA1530 active loop antenna. I have started to take the Elad on DXpeditions now, having constructed a battery pack for it, but the results I’m yielding outdoors are so far mainly with shortwave reception, where the improvement in SNR is quite obvious in the size of the carriers I’m observing and much improved modulation/ audio clarity on the Tropical Band. Hopefully in time, similar results will yield on medium wave. In the meantime, Im very happy with the indoor performance and these catches demonstrate that. There are many more reception videos on my YouTube channel Oxford Shortwave Log, including a large number of signals recorded from North America on medium wave. Direct links follow below and further down, embedded reception videos. Thanks very much for watching, listening and I will you all excellent DX.


Medium wave DX: Radio Huellas 1470 kHz, Cali, Colombia, first reception

 

Medium wave DX: Bethel Radio 1570 kHz, Lima Peru, first reception

 

Medium wave DX: Radio Santa Maria 1490 kHz, Azogues, Ecuador

 

Medium wave DX: YVKS RCR 750 Radio Caracas 750 kHz, Venezuela

 

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

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Medium wave DX logs: WMEX, CFRB, CJBC, WNYC, WARV, WRCA, WWRU received in Oxford, UK

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north-america-map
Hi there, here is a selection of North American medium wave stations logged in Oxford UK, over the past couple of weeks using the Elad FDM DUO and Wellbrook ALA1530 active loop antenna (indoors).  A quick list of stations logged follows below – with URL links which will take you directly to the respective reception video on the Oxford Shortwave Log YouTube channel. Embedded reception videos follow further below.  A subsequent posting will follow detailing some South American stations logged recently on medium wave, using the same Elad/Wellbrook set-up. Thanks for watching/ listening and I wish you all great DX.

 


Medium wave DX: WMEX Boston Talk Radio 1510 KHz, wonderful signal

 

Medium wave DX: CFRB Newstalk 1010 Toronto 1010 kHz, with clear ID

 

Medium wave DX: CJBC Toronto 860 kHz, French language network of CBC

 

1000th video! Medium wave DX: WNYC 820 kHz, New York Public Radio (presumed)

 

Medium wave DX: WARV 1590 kHz, Warwick, Rhode Island, USA

 

Medium wave DX: WRCA 1330 kHz, Waltham Massachusetts, clear ID

 

Medium wave DX: WWRU Jersey City 1660 kHz, New Jersey, clear ID

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

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South American shortwave catches, rarely heard in Europe

RCRI

r9djHi there, I thought I would share some DX catches, all of which are rarely reported in Europe and yet I was fortunate enough to catch in Oxford UK, using a couple of different set-ups. The first is Radio Chaski Red Integridad from Urubamba Cusco, Peru, heard using an Elad FDM DUO and Wellbrook ALA1530 active loop antenna (indoors). The two subsequent receptions originate from Brazil; Radio 9 de Julho, Sao Paulo and Radio Transmundial,Santa-maria rtmCamobi, both of which were caught using the venerable Sony ICF-2001D portable receiver and my 200 metre longwire antenna. In all three cases, persistence was necessary whilst optimum conditions of propagation aligned with my listening schedule at home and my less frequent, but regular DX’peditions.

I am soon to deploy a 200 metre Beverage with adjustable termination resistance for nulling ‘rearward’ signals and matching transformers suitable for 75 and 50 Ohm receiver antenna inputs. I hope this will further improve my reception capability on both the MW and SW bands.  Another post specific to that project is in the pipeline, but in the meantime, thanks for reading/ watching and I wish you all very good DX.

 


 

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log for Radio Chaski Red Integridad reception video

 

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log for Radio 9 de Julho reception video

 

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log for Radio Transmundial reception video


Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

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Tropical Band DXing at home with Elad FDM DUO and Wellbrook ALA1530 active loop

2-jungleRecently I have spent a little more time listening out for Tropical Band stations from my shack in Oxford UK, attempting to emulate some of the very nice signals I have previously recorded out on DX’peditions. The obvious problems with this (and they are numerous) include the relatively weak signal strength of many tropical band stations, the ubiquitous blanket of QRM, resulting in generally poor SNR, lack of space for a large antenna……need I go on?! Fortunately, the Elad FDM DUO has proven to be a very senstive and selective receiver, capable of, at times, incredible SNR, coupled with almost limitless signal conditioning options and SSB, SYNC, ECSS etc. Throw the Wellbrook ALA1530 active loop into the mix (not literally!) and you have a very powerful Tropical Band receive set-up. The Wellbrook is able to null most (although not all) QRM in my shack and that really can make the difference between simply observing a carrier and actually hearing audio. Clearly one cannot expect to hear DX at home under heavy QRM as well as you might outdoors, however, the following stations were logged in the past month or so, with respectable signals, with the ALA1530 indoors:

Video links also follow below, thanks for reading/ watching.

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log video; Radio Logos 4810 kHz, Peru

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log video; Radio Cultura Ondas Manaus 4845 kHz, Brazil

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log video; AIR Bhopal 4810 kHz, India

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log video; Rádio Educação Rural 4925.2 kHz, Tefé, Brazil

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log video; Radio Mosoj Chaski 3310 kHz, Bolivia

 

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

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Brazilian DX heard in Oxford UK, with venerable Sony ICF-2001D

Hi there, I thought I would share some Brazilian shortwave catches with you, obtained using my Sony ICF-2001D receiver and 200 metre experimental longwire. The first is Radio Bandeirantes, Sao Paolo on 9645.4 kHz. This is a station that I’ve only heard once or twice previously, but was received with excellent signal clarity and strength recently, using my deployable longwire antenna. I would rate this station as moderately difficult to receive with reasonable discernibility. The second is Radio Novo Tempo from Campo Grande, on 4894.9 kHz. This station I would rate as difficult to hear with discernible audio. The key is always signal-to-noise, thus moving yourself out of the ubiquitous blanket of QRM most modern environments endure will usually achieve this and of course coupled with sufficient space outdoors to erect a larger antenna will hopefully also improve signal strength. My final video on this post is Radio Nacional Brazilia on 6180 kHz. I would regard this station as quite easy to hear well; their effective TX power towards Europe is around 2 MW, however, outdoors, this station can literally boom in, with what might be perceived as local-AM signal strength. I hope you enjoy watching the videos and seeing/ hearing what’s possible with a modest set-up. As for the Sony ICF-2001D? Well the design is more than 30 years old, but in my opinion at least, still one of the very best portable shortwave receivers ever manufactured. Thanks and 73.

 

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log for reception video of Radio Bandeirantes

 

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log for reception video of Radio Novo Tempo

 

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log for reception video of Radio Nacional Brazilia

 

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

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Radio Fana 6110 kHz Ethiopia; excellent SNR with Elad FDM DUO

FanazaThe Elad FDM DUO makes for a fantastic receiver, in both standalone mode and via the FDM-SW2 software. Thus far it has been demonstrating this by outperforming the Sony ICF-2001D in many of my reception tests using an experimental longwire antenna. Bear in mind that whilst this might not be such a surprise, the Elad without the FDM-SW2 software driving it has no SYNC, which is often invaluable for Tropical Band DXing. To make the point further, here is a wonderfully clear signal from Ethiopia, with, in my experience at least, exceptional signal-to-noise.

My 200 metre longwire is still very much a work in progress. I am in the process of building a termination resistance box, receiver-end termination suitable for high and low impedance inputs and earthing straps for metre-long copper pipes that will remain in-situ. When I have completed these tasks, I will record a video because I know some of you are interested in the details. For now though, it just remains an experiment – 200 metres of wire and very late nights/ early mornings!  Recorded at the ‘DX woods’ in Oxford UK at 03:23 hrs UTC on 31/07/16. Thanks for watching.

Direct link to Radio Fana reception on the Oxford Shortwave Log YouTube channel

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

 

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