Re: [IRCA] India 1566 reaffirmed by Adam Brower [more]

["Chuck Hutton" <charlesh3@xxxxxxx>]

We'll have to disagree here.

 

(1) The history of DX is well populated with DXers that claimed receptions that were not possible. Often they are new to the hobby, don't know what is very unlikely and what is possible.

 

(2) This particular reception had hours of sunlight in its path.

 

(3) This fellow thinks there is a chance to hear Brazil on 1570 from northern Illinois. That alone tells me he's chasing pipe dreams. His response: "I didn't claim any reception" but that's not the issue; to think you could do that tells me he doesn't know MW DXing at all. To hear Brazilians on a domestic channel in the middle of the country is not going to happen these days.

 

(4) He thinks the R390A is a super machine with its "awesome sensitivity". In reality, it's on a par with many other receivers of today and gives him no special edge over the current Drakes, ICOMs, etc. He's recently moved up from a portable and thinks his 390A has superpowers.

 

(5) He's not heard any other international MW DX. To think his first international DX reception would be a station on the other side of the world that others away from the New England coast or Newfoundland have not had a trace of is - to me - so extremely unlikely as to make this a reception that can't just be swallowed hook, line and sinker.

 

(6) Easier receptions on paths towards that same area of the world (UAE, Iran, SA) haven't occured anywhere near his location at this time of year.

 

(7) The antenna in use was just a single sloping wire and that's not an antenna that could give this kind of amazing, unduplicated performance.

 

(8) There were no real details presented.

 

(9) There's no recording.

 

 

 

Now none of these things by itself makes the claim impossible. There are known (extremely unusual) cases of receptions on paths with this much sunlight. A non-DXer  with no experience could turn on a radio and tune it to the right frequency and catch that miracle daylight path signal. All the domestic interference could amazingly have been at record low levels, allowing a weak signal from the other side of the world  to be heard. At the same time, propagation could have been extremely poor to all other areas where people were listening, resulting in no other receptions.

 

Add up all of these "almost miracles" and the odds are one in a billion.

 

The reception is not absolutely impossible, but I can't just accept the log without BIG reservations. Yes, I've read about others' unexpected receptions and usually have faith that a lucky break occured. But I've never seen this large a claim and so many strikes against the claim. The combo is unprecedented in my book.

 

 

Chuck

---

From: irca-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:irca-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Hochfelder
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 7:29 PM
To: irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [IRCA] India 1566 reaffirmed by Adam Brower [more]

If Adam Brower claims that he heard enough details to confirm that it 
was AIR, that's good enough for me.  We all know what we hear and we're not 
competing with anyone else.  So unless there's some reason to doubt a 
DXer's truthfulness (Barabella, maybe?), we should take him at his word and be 
very, very envious.

Dave
Highland Park, NJ
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