[HCDX] MW logs and comments from the past evening (January 13)

Hello !

Solar conditions seemed fairly low the last evening (January 13 - early AM Jan. 14 UTC), not enough to make St.-Pierre-1375 audible, but too low to make any decent or even sub-par Latin American reception possible. The only real action and signal I could identify was from Guadeloupe-640 mixing with the 2 other regulars (WNNZ and YVQO Union Radio). But, I could enjoy at times a very strong signal from CKEC-1320, my favorite canadian station. If anyone, especially those far-away in the west (such as Patrick Martin with your big Eastern Beverage) would like to log NS, I think CKEC in New Glasgow would be your best bet.

QTH: Montreal/Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada

Equipment: Sanyo MCD-S830 w/ ferrite antenna

Note: Latin American DX is reported in UTC and Domestic DX is reported in Eastern standard Time.

Pan-American DX:

640 Guadeloupe, Pointe-à-Pitre JAN 14 0307 - Man in FF with what sounded like nx. Barely audible with heavy QRM from WNNZ and even weakers Venezuela/probable Cuba, but the only Latin American channel to produce readable audio last night (RVC-530 was barely hetting with bits of audio against the adjacent computer QRM from our neighborhood). Also 760 was producing bits of Colombian audio from (RCN Barranquilla) around 0157 in a tight WJR null, but definitively sub-standard reception. (Chiochiu-QC)

The last Sunday night conditions were just as poor.

Domestic DX:

630 WPRO (Providence, RI) JAN 13 - noted in passing with nearly always an excellent signal during the mid-evening period with not much evidence of CHLT Sherbrooke. They are nightly visitors in the Montreal area, of course, with usually good to very good signals, but not that often LOCAL-like, like they were the past night. (Chiochiu-QC)

1320 CKEC (New Glasgow, NS) JAN 13 1852 - with the DJ talking about a Canadian song they just played (probably by Alanis Morissette) and sayed it's "on CKEC, Radio New Glasgow" followed by commercial ads. Very good at the time. Also played a BackStreet Boys song a few minutes later. Signal was fading a bit of times and they were a few occasions when both this and even CJMR ethnic "pest" wasn't audible. But, generally speaking they were the dominant station last night on my QTH - often peaked very close to LOCAL-like. (Chiochiu-QC)

Didn't try for CKBC-1360, altough I should ! The strongest low-band NYCer that is always LOCAL-like at night seems to be WFAN-660 (but due to it's lower frequency more often completly inaudible during intense AU activity, than WABC-770 interestingly - I may need some aurora soon either or some extremely good high-latitude condx, otherwise French Quebecers and USA talkers all over the AM dial at night). As always, except for very good nights, domestic DX is rather boring here - so many crowded frequencies, so many patience to hear stations not that far away. But, some interesting Maritime Canadians music stations, like CKEC, some spanish domestics, some gospel singing stations, as well as, very occasionally, even some talkers under certain circomstances (such as during the September 11 terrorist attacks when neary everone on the dial had interesting talk-shows) still keep me on the dials even when Latin American signals are almost non-existent. And still some domestic signals often behave like Latins - very often WSB is just as strong as RCR, but of course Atlanta is much farther away (and much more exciting and challenging) as is WSM in Nashville, TN to hear than a clear/regional pest in New England or Toronto like WPRO-630, CZYR-640, WABC-770 or WBZ-1030 wich covers pretty much all the other interference on their channel in their direction.

If I tryed to listen before I goed to school today at 5:45AM up to 7AM (I leave around 7:20), I could perphaps hear some west-coast domestics. Maybe another day ?

I will try to do some patient listening around local dawn, just before I leave for school - even with my unaided Sanyo receiver - maybe I could hear something on clear frequencies (there isn't much too strong on either 1570 or 1580, so maybe I could bag VOA-1575 ?) and maybe 4QD-1548. After all, Ray Moore in FL has heard trans-Pacific stuff even on simple equipment (he obviously have a Drake R8B wich is better than my Sanyo, but only use a loop antenna !). At least I could get some SAH - it may be something. Obviously, I can forget about Tahiti-738 wich has been logged by Bruce 2 years ago - you know what CKAC-730 is even without telling about it, but there is always something interesting in DX'ing and something that lead us to the limits - see by myself what is the hardest reception possible: mainland Central AMerican (i.e.: Guatemala, Costa Rica, etc...), deep-South America, west-coast domestic, trans-atlantic, trans-pacific, trans-polar, long-path, etc... Everything is possible during the right conditions. With the equipment I have now I may get some Central Americans and possible some deeper-SA, but I know TAs and TPs is essentially something I will never really done with my Sanyo rx, since 6 kHz is pretty wide for those DX, but at least I can always hope and try regularly for those tantalizing places.

I have done very little listening beewten late November 2001 and late September 2002, but now one thing is sure: I will never give up on DX'ing the AM band, it is just too interesting to hear nice signals from many hundreds and thousands of kilometers away. I will soon do more showtwave DX'ing too, as soon as I find an adaptor to connect my long-wire.

I need to finish some home-works and to go to bed right now, as condx don't look very good tonight.

That's it for now !

73 and good DX,

Bogdan Chiochiu