Tag Archives: Loyd Van Horn

Rest In Peace, Larry Van Horn

I’ve been away for almost a week and a number of readers have written in to express their condolences after only recently learning that a legend in our radio world, Larry Van Horn, passed away in August after a short period of illness.

I remember meeting Larry once when I stopped in unannounced at The Monitoring Times HQ in Brasstown, North Carolina. He was a true gentleman and shared his enthusiasm for the airwaves with me for a couple of hours. He was a passionate radio man through and through.

Of course, our condolences and hearts go out to his wife Gayle Van Horn and son, Loyd Van Horn, both of whom are also prominent figures in our radio world.

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DX Central Announces Inaugural Grand Slam DX Challenge!

DX Central Announces Inaugural Grand Slam DX Challenge

Chances are, if you ask a DXer how they began their love of DX, many will tell you it all began by searching through the static for the unmistakable sounds of baseball.

Radio and baseball have been intrinsically tied together since the early days of both. In fact, radio broadcasts of baseball games, long before the days of television, are what helped to turn it into “America’s National Pastime.”

It is with that history in mind that we are pleased to announce the inaugural Grand Slam DX Challenge.

Originating from an idea between DX Central’s Loyd Van Horn (W4LVH) and Sean Kutzko (KX9X), the Grand Slam DX Challenge (GSDXC) once again honors the link between radio and baseball by challenging hobbyists to log as many radio stations, from as many Major League Baseball teams, as possible during the MLB regular season.

“I knew I wanted to have some sort of challenge,” says Van Horn. “I just wasn’t sure exactly what or how that would work. Then Sean came to me with the idea of doing something around the baseball season and I thought ‘that’s genius!’”

The notion of tying America’s game with DXing came naturally to Kutzko.

“My love for baseball goes back probably on par with the same time that I got interested in AM DXing as a really, really small kid,” says Kutzko. “[The challenge] is a multi-month event focused around the two greatest things that I spend my time with which is radio and baseball.”

To help turn this idea into reality, Kutzko brought his experience building the ARRL’s National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program in 2016 for the amateur radio community. In addition, Kutzko and Van Horn teamed up with Mike Leary (K7MSO), an experienced web developer and radio hobbyist, who volunteered his time and skills to the project.

The premise is simple: a participant should try to receive as many stations – and from as many different Major League Baseball teams – as possible. The broadcasts must be from the team-sanctioned radio network broadcast (national broadcasts from networks such as ESPN, Westwood One, etc. do not count).

There are nine entry categories that a participant can choose from, and include AM only, FM only or both AM and FM submissions.

Submissions for the challenge will be through the challenge Web site: grandslamdxchallenge.com. The full rules and scoring system for the challenge also available on the same site.

It is important to note that this inaugural edition of the challenge is a true beta version. Feedback from the community will be critical for resolving any defects or making any improvements for future iterations of the challenge.

“I just hope that this is something people will really be able to enjoy, perhaps even remind them of why they fell in love with radio in the first place,” says Van Horn. “With the Sporadic Es season coming for FM and the unique propagation opportunities that often occur during summer on AM, there should be plenty here to keep DXers glued to their radios throughout the summer!”

Click here to check out the Grand Slam DX Challenge website and register!

Livestream Video:

Click here to view on YouTube.

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Inaugural DX Central MW Daytime Challenge starts today!

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Loyd Van Horn at DX Central who shares the following announcement:

The Inaugural DX Central MW Daytime Challenge

What a great season of DX Central Live! and the MW Frequency Challenge it has already been and we are just getting started! This season, you helped us cross 1,000 subscribers on our YouTube channel, have brought in a record number of MW Frequency Challenge submissions thus far, and have helped to generate a lot of energy around this DX season! We couldn’t do it without your support, so thank you!

First, a little housekeeping. We will be taking some time off to spend the holidays with family and of course – some DX! As such, there will be no DX Central Live! on Friday, December 23 or 30th. We will return on Friday, January 6, 2023.

Also during this time, we will be taking a brief pause on our weekly MW Frequency Challenge as well. I will be announcing the results from week 12 (576-600) when we return on Jan 6, as well as the next frequency range at that time.

Don’t worry, we have a challenge for our little break that should provide all of the fun and difficulty to push DXers to scratch new ones in their logbooks: The Inaugural DX Central MW Daytime Challenge.

The premise: Log as many stations as you can during daytime conditions. That’s it!

Nothing but daytime DX (period from 2 hours after local sunrise to 2 hours prior to local sunset) starting at 0200 UTC Saturday, December 17 and ending at 0200 UTC Monday, January 2, 2023. This challenge is open to all DXers around the world!

A few rules:
– Loggings must be during your local daytime period (2 hours after local sunrise to 2 hours prior to local sunset)
– Loggings must be from between 0200 UTC Saturday, December 17th and 0200 UTC Monday, January 6.
– Any stations are allowed for this challenge: local stations, TIS/HAR, part 15 transmitters not to mention anything distant you might be able to pull in!
– Stations do not need to be “new to you”, relogs are allowed
– Stations need to be on any mediumwave frequency between 530-1710 kHz.
– Loggings should be from a location within 50 miles of your home location. This includes use of online SDRs, portable operations, etc.
– If you are traveling for the holidays and will be away from home but have access to either your station remotely or another online SDR from your home location, those submissions will be allowed.
– Only submissions made using the Google Form sheet (link below) will be considered for the challenge. Social media posts, emails, etc will not count.

Categories for this challenge will include US and international versions of:
– Most stations logged
– Most US States/Canadian Prov logged
– Most countries logged
– Furthest reception
– Most frequencies with at least one logged station

Google Form for entries: https://forms.gle/TVgCPrHMpfDAzbzb6

I hope this challenge will be a fun one for all!

To all of our fellow DXers, supporters, family, friends….Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and may your logbooks be filled with DX and your hearts filled with joy and love!

73,

Loyd Van Horn
W4LVH – Mandeville, LA

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2022-23 Season of the MW Frequency Challenge is underway with Week 1: 1160-1224 kHz

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Loyd Van Horn at DX Central who shares the following announcement:

We are kicking off the 2022-23 DX season with the return of the MW Frequency Challenge! The MW Frequency Challenge officially started during the season premiere of our DX Central Live! livestream on YouTube on Friday, September 2022.

Our frequency range for this week’s challenge is 1160-1224 kHz!

A reminder of the rules for this season:

- Submitted loggings must be for receptions made between 0000 UTC Saturday, September 24, 2022 and 0200 UTC Saturday, October 1, 2022. Any station that transmits between 1160-1224 kHz will be accepted for the challenge.
- Submissions/loggings must be made with your own equipment, NO ONLINE SDRs (unless you own the online SDR). If you are logging receptions away from your home location, be sure to note that location on the submision form.
- Submissions must be entered on the Google Form using the link below. Logs posted through social media, DX club log submissions, email, etc. will not be accepted.
- Receptions can be for any station received within the frequency range. It does not need to be “new to you”, relogs are welcome as long as it occurred during the challenge period.

This week’s Google Form link is: https://forms.gle/EtKhNYc1qZhVmexh8

Good luck and best of DX!

73,

Loyd

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Special DX Test via WCGA: May 1, 2022 at 04:00 UTC

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Loyd Van Horn at DX Central who writes:

Wanted to share this with you…..our final DX Central Live stream for season 2 will coincide with the upcoming WCGA-GA DX Test coming Saturday night/Sunday morning. You should have a GREAT shot at hearing this one….would love to have you join us for the livestream, too, if you can make it!

The link to the release with all of the details can be found below….

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Apr 28, 2022

The Courtesy Program Committee (CPC) of the National Radio Club (NRC) and the International Radio Club of America (IRCA) is pleased to announce a special DX Test for distant listeners for WCGA on 1100 kHz in Woodbine, GA. The test is scheduled for 5/1/2022 at 12:00:00 AM Eastern Time (0400 UTC Sunday, May 1st). This test is scheduled to run for 2 hours.

For WCGA, Wesley Cox, will be performing regular maintenance of the station’s audio chain and transmitter during the test. Listeners will hear: Morse Code IDs at 10 WPM at 800 Hz, Morse Code IDs at 20 WPM at 1000 Hz, Tone Sweeps, Long duration tones at 1 kHz, Off-hook Telephone Sounds, Voice IDs and more.

WCGA will be operating on a full daytime power of 10,000 watts during the test on their daytime antenna pattern. This should aid DXers across the country and indeed the world in being able to receive this test!

RECEPTION REPORTS & QSL REQUESTS

WCGA is actively soliciting reports from DX’ers on their signal. They’re interested in hearing about frequency stability, audio quality, and overall performance. The station will accept both hard copy reports via USPS mail and email reports. They would love to receive audio recordings in either .WAV or.MP3 and videos in .MP4 video.

Reception reports should go directly to:

Wesley Cox

Owner/General Manager

News/Talk 1100 WCGA

714 Narrow Way

St. Simons Island, Georgia 31522

[email protected]

Physical QSL card senders will receive a physical QSL. Email QSLs will receive email QSL.

Best audio narrative recording and received via email in MP3 or MP4 about themselves and their passion for radio that includes their reception of WCGA and the who, what, when, where, why and how of that event taking place will receive a special prize from the station. DX’ers who submit recordings must grant permission to broadcast their recordings. The decision of WCGA staff on the winner is final.

The IRCA/NRC CPC would like to thank the owners of WCGA, Wesley Cox, and Hall of Fame DXer, Jim Renfrew, for helping to arrange the test.

Good luck to all DXers!

About the CPC

The Courtesy Program Committee (CPC) is a cross-functional group comprised of members of both the National Radio Club (NRC) and International Radio Club of America (IRCA) for the purpose of coordinating and arranging DX Tests with AM radio stations. These DX tests both allow radio stations to conduct valuable equipment tests on their transmitter and audio chain as well as enable DX hobbyists to receive the testing station from greater distances than would normally be possible. The CPC membership consists of: Chairman Les Rayburn, Paul Walker, George Santulli, Joe Miller and Loyd Van Horn.

For radio stations interested in coordinating a DX test with the CPC, please visit the following Web site for more information:

https://amdxtest.blogspot.com/

For more information on the types of content heard during a DX test, the video “An introduction to DX Tests” is available at DX Central:

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DX Central’s MW Frequency Challenge: Week 11 Results and Week 12 Announcement

DX Central’s MW Frequency Challenge: Week 9 Results and Week 10 Announcement

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Loyd Van Horn at DX Central who shares the following announcement:

Another great week in the MW Frequency Challenge, and you all continue to pour the logs in! Our live streams on Saturday nights have been so much fun getting to interact and hear about what you heard in the previous week. If you haven’t been able to make it to a livestream yet, you are missing out! Join us Saturdays at 1945 CST / 0145 UTC (Sunday morning, UTC) on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/dxcentral

A total of 29 DXers from three countries (Mexico, Canada and the US) and 17 US States brought in 82 logs for Week 9 of our MW Frequency Challenge. 25 unique stations in 18 states and six countries made it to this week’s log. The number of logged stations was down, because there are fewer stations on 550 than previous weeks. But look at that jump in countries…an opportunity here for DXers to get some great international DX!

Most Logged Stations: From runner-up last week to the top spot this week, South Carolina’s Rob Keeney hauled in an impressive 9 stations this week. Right on his heels, was Mark Connelly (MA) and Stephanie Battaglino (CA) with 7 each.

Most Logged States: Rob Keeney once again took the top spot for heard states this week with 7 logged US states: FL, GA, MO, NC, NY, OH, TX

Most Logged Countries: Mark Connelly (MA) brought in the most countries (including US) with 4 total countries: Colombia, Cuba, US, Venezuela.

Furthest Logging: Brent Taylor of Canada’s Prince Edward Island and his log of YVKE-Radio Mundial in Venezuela was our longest reception of the week at 2,477 miles! This was only 5 miles more than the #2 spot, Mark Connelly’s 2,472 mile reception of HJHF-Radio Nacional de Colombia in Colombia. Even tighter, Mark’s log was only ONE MILE more than our third place finish from Marc DeLorenzo for his log of HJHF at 2,471 miles! Talk about a close one! Rounding out our top 10 was Jim Renfrew (NY) – 2,358 miles for YVKE, Mark Connelly (MA) – 2,163 for YVKE, Rob Keeney (SC) – 2,034 for HJHF, Brent Taylor (PEI) – 1,962 for WPAB, Mark Connelly (MA) 1,531 for Radio Rebelde, and Stephanie Battaglino (CA) – 1,094 for KTSA.

Loyd/DX Central Numbers:

5 stations logged
3 states logged (GA, MO, TX)
3 countries logged (USA, Cuba, Colombia)
1,926 miles for furthest catch (HJHF in Colombia)

Most Logged Station: WGY in Buffalo, NY brought in 10 logs this week for the top spot. Missouri’s KTRS and Cincinnati’s WKRC at 7 logs each were just behind them.

Most Logged State/Province: As you might imagine, WGR’s logs brought NY to the top spot here with 10 receptions. NC (9) and TX, MO (8 each) were just behind.

Most Logged Country (outside of US): Colombia and Mexico each brought in 4 loggings this week. Cuba and Venezuela (3 each) were just behind. In all, 15 stations outside of the US were logged this week.

Busiest Time of Day: Overnight hours (67% of logs) continued to be the busiest period for DX. Surprisingly, sunrise was in the second spot with 14.6% of all logs. Sunset (11%) and Daytime (7.3%) rounded out the rest of the day.

Most Used Receiver: While portable use is still going strong, SDRs once again were the king of DX this week with 56 of 82 logs (69%). Portables brought in 20 logs (24%) of all loggings. Among SDRs, we actually had a new brand at the top of the hill as Airspy SDRs brought in a total of 22 loggings (40% of all SDR logs). SDRPlay’s 18 logs (32% of SDR logs) and Perseus’s 13 receptions (23% of SDR logs) were also very popular this week. For portables, Tecsun’s came out of nowhere this week to take the top spot with 9 loggings (45% of portable logs). C. Crane radios (4 loggings, 20% of portable logs) took the #2 spot.

Most Used Antenna: Magnetic Loops were once again the most popular option for DXers this week, with 32 logs (40% of all logs). The Wellbrook loop’s 21 loggings (65% of all mag loop logs) were the most popular used mag loop, with both the W6LVP and YouLoop (9 logs each, at 28%) also bringing in DX. Termed loops proved to continue to be a popular option as well, with 17 loggings (21% of all loggings). This week, other loops (such as the AN-200 or Tecun loops) also brought in 17 loggings this week as a popular option.

See the full export of data at our Google Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OGMctuhKyj3lIxqd6tv9oxw2WhZ3F7Q7qM7TGnOxPak/edit?usp=sharing

With week 9 now under wraps, we look ahead to week 10 and for this week, we have a rather unique challenge. Rather than focus on a single frequency, we are going to explore the ENTIRE expanded band! 1610-1710 kHz – any licensed station (including broadcast and TIS) count as a valid log. No pirates, no NDBs, etc. So the NJ TIS station on 1710? Counts. 1630 Radio Elohim in El Salvador? Counts. The “TVS” NDB on 1650? Does not count.

With 11 frequencies to contend with – even with much fewer stations per frequency – this should be our largest week yet!

Our Google Form for Week 10 can be found here: https://forms.gle/41FNE9F81bhCr4ts6

RULES:

Logs for Week 10 will only be accepted for stations received between 0300 UTC Sunday, January 23, 2022 and 0300 UTC Sunday, January 30th (will be announcing the closing during our live stream of DX Central Live!). Logs must be for licensed stations received between 1610 and 1710 kHz. This includes all standard broadcast stations in the US and internationally, as well as any TIS stations received. Logs must be from your own equipment using WebSDRs is allowed for reference, but will not be counted towards the challenge (unless it is YOUR WebSDR). If you do log from a WebSDR, be sure to mark your location as from the location of the WebSDR itself, not your home location. All loggings must be submitted using our Google Form at https://forms.gle/41FNE9F81bhCr4ts6 Submissions by any other form including social media, email, etc. will not be accepted.

An eCertificate will be sent to the DXer with the most logged stations during the challenge time period. Additional eCertificates may be presented at the discretion of DX Central.

Have fun, 73 and best of DX!

Loyd – W4LVH

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