{"id":55249,"date":"2023-01-08T07:17:01","date_gmt":"2023-01-08T11:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=55249"},"modified":"2023-01-08T07:17:01","modified_gmt":"2023-01-08T11:17:01","slug":"a-little-daytime-medium-wave-dxing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/a-little-daytime-medium-wave-dxing\/","title":{"rendered":"A little daytime Medium Wave DXing . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get one thing clear from the start: it\u2019s all Ken Reitz\u2019s fault. When the search for the guilty begins, the finger should point squarely at Mr. Reitz.<\/p>\n

Who is Ken Reitz? He is the Managing Editor and Publisher of The Spectrum Monitor<\/em>. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Spectrum Monitor<\/em><\/strong> 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\/<\/a><\/strong> I am a subscriber, and I can heartily recommend it without reservation.<\/p>\n

So what is it that Mr. Reitz did that set me off? Short answer: he wrote a really good article entitled \u201cAM DX Antennas: Long Wires and Loops Big and Small.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

WGY is a local station for me in Troy, NY, but I wondered: Could I hear WCBS in New York City?<\/em> That\u2019s nearly 150 miles from me. Hmmm.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. Nothing heard.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>\u00a0I could hear WCBS better, but the noise was really, really nasty.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

One way to preserve domestic tranquility is to hide the MFJ Loop behind a curtain!<\/p><\/div>\n

Then I connected the MFJ 1886 Receive Loop Antenna<\/a>. Tah-dah! I could hear WCBS just fine, with some noise in the background, but \u201carmchair copy.\u201d 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\u2019t hear WCBS at all with the radio\u2019s internal antenna, the 1886 made an enormous difference, pulling out a fully copyable signal with noise in the background.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>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.<\/p>\n

Bottom line, for this very small foray into daytime medium wave DXing, the MFJ-1886 Receive Loop Antenna<\/a> was a powerful and useful tool, one I can easily recommend. Second, when it comes to portables, the CCrane Skywave SSB<\/a> (either model) continues to show that it is \u201cThe Little Radio That Could.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Let\u2019s get one thing clear from the start: it\u2019s all Ken Reitz\u2019s 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. \u00a0 The Spectrum Monitor is a radio hobbyist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,3607,433,3],"tags":[625,1643,10042,9323,3417,4099,6831,432],"class_list":["post-55249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-antennas","category-mediumwave","category-news","tag-am-radio","tag-antennas","tag-cc-skywave-ssb-2","tag-jock-elliott-kb2gom","tag-magnetic-loop-antennas","tag-mediumwave","tag-mfj-1886","tag-mw"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-en7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61431,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/a-file-worth-having-bobs-guide-to-building-an-electrically-small-resonant-loop-antenna-for-mediumwave-reception\/","url_meta":{"origin":55249,"position":0},"title":"A File Worth Having: Bob’s guide to building an Electrically Small Resonant Loop Antenna for Mediumwave Reception","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"December 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is short and sweet. If you click here--Electrically Small Resonant Loop Antenna for Mediumwave Reception (PDF)--you can download a copy of Bob Colegrove's excellent paper on the Electrically Small Resonant Loop Antenna for Mediumwave Reception. He has actually built this antenna; it works; and he uses it often.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Bob-Homemade-Loop-antenna-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Bob-Homemade-Loop-antenna-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Bob-Homemade-Loop-antenna-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Bob-Homemade-Loop-antenna-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Bob-Homemade-Loop-antenna-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61335,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/here-we-go-loop-de-loop-in-which-your-humble-correspondent-tests-a-hypothesis\/","url_meta":{"origin":55249,"position":1},"title":"Here we go loop de loop . . . in which your humble correspondent tests a hypothesis","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"December 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM It was this post by Alan -- https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/11\/bbc-rd-how-to-test-a-loop-antenna\/ -- that set me off. After downloading the BBC report on how to test a loop antenna, I noticed the following in it: \u201cPolarisation Illustrations of the antenna usually show it mounted upright; that is, with its axis\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MW-amp-001-1024x431.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MW-amp-001-1024x431.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MW-amp-001-1024x431.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55946,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/02\/the-ccrane-skywave-ssb-2-and-long-wire-antennas\/","url_meta":{"origin":55249,"position":2},"title":"The CCrane Skywave SSB 2 and long wire antennas","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"February 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Frequently when people write about attaching a long wire to a portable shortwave receiver, readers will comment that you need to worry about desensitizing or overloading the receiver or ever harming the front end of the receiver. Clearly that can be a concern. But recently I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Skywave-SSB2-001-1024x768-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Skywave-SSB2-001-1024x768-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Skywave-SSB2-001-1024x768-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Skywave-SSB2-001-1024x768-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55526,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/saturday-morning-fun-fat-mw-dxing-with-the-mfj-1886\/","url_meta":{"origin":55249,"position":3},"title":"Saturday morning fun: \u201cfat\u201d MW DXing with the MFJ-1886","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"January 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM It was a reader, Mario Filippi, who set me on this path. He posted a comment that said, in part: \u201cAn interesting place to DX would be the segment between 1500 \u2013 1590 kc\u2019s where there are a number of news stations, one being federal news\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-002-001-1-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-002-001-1-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-002-001-1-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7604,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/the-spectrum-monitor-a-new-radio-magazine-finds-a-home-in-the-digital-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":55249,"position":4},"title":"The Spectrum Monitor: a new radio magazine finds a home in the digital world","author":"Thomas","date":"October 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm happy to announce that there is a new radio magazine on the horizon: The Spectrum Monitor (TSM). The Spectrum Monitor,\u00a0an e-magazine, will cover \u00a0amateur radio, longwave and shortwave listening, public service scanning, AM\/FM\/TV broadcasting, satellites, WiFi radio, vintage radio and more. I have agreed to be the shortwave radio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The SpectrumMonitor","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/The-SpectrumMonitor-300x285.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":49295,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/jock-designs-a-horizontal-room-loop-to-cope-with-reception-issues\/","url_meta":{"origin":55249,"position":5},"title":"Jock designs a Horizontal Room Loop to cope with reception issues","author":"Thomas","date":"June 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: Got reception issues? An idea worth considering: the \u201cHorizontal Room Loop.\u201d by Jock Elliott (KB2GOM) When my radio room was in the front of the house (on the east side), it was easy to run a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Jock-Elliott-Horizontal-Room-Loop-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Jock-Elliott-Horizontal-Room-Loop-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Jock-Elliott-Horizontal-Room-Loop-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Jock-Elliott-Horizontal-Room-Loop-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Jock-Elliott-Horizontal-Room-Loop-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55249"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55267,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55249\/revisions\/55267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}