[IRCA] Google Earth as a DX aid
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[IRCA] Google Earth as a DX aid



If you didn't already know this, Google Earth is a great tool for finding DX sites, measuring the length of wire antennas, locating transmitter sites, etc. To begin, I downloaded Google Earth (version 4.3.7284.39.16 beta). To find the website I searched for "google earth" (in quotes) from the www.google.com home page.

After Google Earth was installed, I located my old QTH (for example). (At this point you may open Google Earth and follow along with me). The radio room window was located exactly at 38 deg 18' 44.17"N 104 deg 42' 54.65"W (on S. Clarion Dr.). From that point I had a BoG (sometimes elevated 2' or 3' feet above ground) extending from the window to the corner of S. Purcell Blvd. and S. Datura Drive. To find that location, click on "street view" in "layers" at the bottom left. Street names will appear. There's a house there now which didn't exist back in the 1980's.

To measure the length of the Beverage antenna, click the ruler in the toolbar. This brings up a small window entitled "Ruler". To choose the preferred units of measure (feet, meters or other units of measure) simply click the down arrow and select the units. Next, click off "mouse navigation" to set your points of measurement. Click the point you wish to measure from. If you need to navigate to a point off the screen for the 2nd point, enable mouse navigation making sure to toggle it off again once you find the 2nd point. Or, you can zoom out using the controls on the right. For this example click on the old radio room window (at the receive end of the antenna) at the above coordinates, then click the near the intersection of the two above streets. The length of the antenna comes out to be around 750 feet.

If you want a view from ground level, click "street view" in the layers section. You will notice camera symbols popping up all along the streets. Click a camera symbol in the area. You can now see the house, the radio room window and the trees near the house, also the bare prairie where the antenna once lived.

Once you find a potentially good DX QTH, click on the yellow thumbtack symbol in the tool bar. You may now place a marker on the location, title it, and make notes about that location. Once you have saved the placemark, you may refer back to it by double-clicking the information that appears in the "places section" on the left center of the screen. To edit a placemark, right-click it then click "properties". I used this feature to placemark all of my local and semi-local station transmitter sites, for example, finding the coordinates from the FCC database.

The resolution of satellite photos varies. In some areas (especially very remote places) the resolution isn't as good as populated areas. Even so, Google Earth is still an excellent tool and better yet, it's free!

Does anyone have the coordinates for the famous Grayland DX site?...hi.

73. Chris

Chris Knight
Fort Lupton, Colorado
http://sites.google.com/site/2008amloggings/


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