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[IRCA] UltraOkie Composite DX Log Updater
As long term members of this group already know, the three
Ultralighters who are clustered in north-central Oklahoma have formed
a sub-group practically from the beginning of Ultralighting (Richard
Allen, Kirk Allen, John Bryant.) Since we are all located in a 40
mile diameter circle, our DX conditions are often quite similar as
are, often, our catches. Naturally, we find that sharing catches and
tips amongst ourselves in near real time is a very useful pursuit. We
touch base every morning by e-mail, with informal loggings, unids,
comments on conditions, etc. This activity has really helped each
one of the three of us and has multiplied the fun quite a bit,
too. This kind of sub-group (one exists in the Pacific-Northwest,
too) is highly recommended for DXers living fairly near each other.
Another thing that the "UltraOkies" have done is keep a running
Composite Log among the three of us. We have not indulged in the "who
heard it First" competition that some folks do find fun, but we have
found that the composite log between the three of us is a running
Target List for each one of us. The log was updated weekly during
the main DX Season and during our summer period, we had planned a
monthly update pattern. With migrating from Oklahoma to the NW
recently, I fell behind on updating the Composite Log and have just
completed that chore for the first time since mid-April.
Beside a running and very relevant Target List for each of the three
of us, The Composite List is a good tool for some fairly
unsophisticated statistical analysis. For instance:
The group as a whole just crossed the 900 Stations Heard barrier with
Kirk's most recent logging from a couple of mornings ago. The average
time of the three of us in Ultralighting is a year, though Richard
has been involved a bit longer and John a bit less than that. The
average individual Stations Heard count is 600 (Richard about 650,
Kirk about 600 and John about 550.) The conclusion from that bunch
of numbers is that each of us managed only to log 2/3 of the stations
that the whole group did..... or more positively, each of us have at
least 300 more stations to log that one or more of the others heard
during the past 15 months. That is a very hopeful outlook to
consider when you are "stuck at 552 stations and have DXed out the
band...." as I was feeling right before I left Oklahoma. Despite the
fact that mostly all three of us were listening every morning and
often some in the evening, too, there had to have been quite a few
stations that escaped all three of us. So..... Ultralighters
logging 600 or so stations from one location is provably just a start.
Looking over our new stations since mid-April, it does appear that
the summer season has led us to new catches closer to home than was
the case during the traditional Fall/Winter/Spring season. The vast
majority of our new ones were from nearby states. That was not 100%
true, however, since Kirk managed to catch a new one in Detroit and
another (on 1300KHz.!) in Seattle. I managed a new one in Frankfort,
KY as well.
After avoiding the Graveyard frequencies for the first 6 months or
so, five of the six channels have yielded between 14 and 17 stations
each for the group. Only 1240 is lagging with a total of 8 stations
heard. Our composite Graveyard count is 88!
The UltraOkie Foreign count, especially the Mexican Count is impressive:
Mexico 121 Stations
Canada 24 Stations
Cuba 22 Stations
Japan 3 Stations
Singleton stations in Anguilla, Neth. Antilles, Dominican Republic,
Hungary and Venezuela
That makes our composite Latin count at 147 Stations.... Not too bad
from Northern Oklahoma, with a pocket radio.
For new people on the group, I should mention that Richard DXes
exclusively in the Barefoot Class, using a tiny Sony T615; Kirk DXes
with an E100 Slider (E100 modified with an 8" ferrite bar and a
sliding antenna coil) sometimes assisted by an inductively coupled
Select-a-Tenna. I DX, usually, with an E100 Slider directly coupled
to a major outside antenna, usually the Wellbrook Phased Array, a
highly directional array of loops phased against each other. It is
more than a little interesting that Richard uses the least
sophisticated DXing set-up and has the most stations. I have the
most sophisticated arrangement and have heard the least number of
stations (hummmmmmm!)
So..... if you have been doing Ultralighting for a year and have less
than 900 stations logged, you gotta have hope that there are more
than 300 stations out there,, just WAITING for you to catch
them!!!! And from the bunches of stations that we have logged in the
past two months, the summer season is also, provably, quite
productive... even for folks with high station counts.... Come on
back, you FM Woosies!!!
Happy Fourth of July to the USA members of this group.... and a
belated Canada Day to our northern neighbors. With Canada Day on the
First and Independence Day on the Fourth, those of us here on the
Border throw a four day party!!!
John Bryant
Orcas Island, WA
Winradio G313e and various Ultralights
Wellbrook Phased Array + Superloops
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