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- Subject: [IRCA] WNTP and WXCT December 10-11 DX Test Results
- From: "Les Rayburn" <les@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2004 15:36:07 -0600
Last Friday night generated one of the most
exciting DX Tests in
recent memory, including an impromptu second test by
WXCT in
Southington, CT during the "silent period" of the WNTP test!
While unannounced, this second test period was most
welcome by
alert listeners. Fortunately, many were closely monitoring
the
flow of e-mail on the list servers and were alerted to the
new test by
this method. Look for a complete test from WXCT
on January 9th.
Here is a summary of the test results for both
stations:
===================================================================================
WNTP 990khz Philadelphia, PA
TEST
Date: December 10, 2004 (Late Friday night into Saturday
morning)
Time: 00:01 - 01:30 EST
Modes of Operation: 00:01 - 00:30 50KW
Daytime Directional Pattern
00:31 - 01:00 5KW Non-Directional
01:00 -
01:30 Off Air to allow DXers in our region of the country to
DX other
stations on 990 kHz.
Programming: Morse IDs, Voice IDs, Tones, Marching Band
Music - Stars and Stripes Forever,
Washington Post March, Liberty Bell March
(the old Monty Python Theme)
Among those who heard the test were Bill Harms
in Elkridge, Maryland who was the first
to report that the test was running.
Tom Janinski reported that the sweep tones
used in the test cut through the
clutter at his QTH in Shorewood, IL.
Les Rayburn in Central Alabama heard the station
with code and March music in
Central Alabama, while J.D. Stevens pulled them
out from the northern
part of the state. Bill Dvorak in Madison, WI heard
fragments of the code
along with Steve Francis in Tennessee. Neil Kazaross
was deprived of his normal weapon of
choice, the beverage on the ground
(BOG) array and instead logged the WNTP code ID's
on a TRF portable near
Chicago!
Kaz reported that it was an easy logging after the
switch to the non-directional
pattern. WNTP was another good catch for Robert
Ross in London, Ontario Canada
who had a detailed log of the test.
After the station switched to lower power (7KW) but
a non-directional
pattern some listeners saw their luck improve. Among those
loggings
were Jim Renfrew in Byron, NY, Scott Fybush in Rochester, NY and
Barry McLarnon in Ottawa,
Ontario (who can hear everything it seems!).
Another spectacular logging was that of Patrick
Martin in Seaside, OR who
logged the test with those amazing beverage
antenna's of his. Closer in
Ray Bauernhuber caught the test on a CC Radio
from his home in NY. as
did Jim Hunter in Rossville, Georgia. Another
Southerner who heard the
test was Col. RC Watts in Kentucky, who dug the
signal out of the
classic music sounds of CBW, which dominated the frequency.
David Hochfelder in Highland Park, NJ heard
them as
did Tom Jones in Mason, NH. Tom reported that the
sweep
tones seemed to cut through the noise best--we'll try to
encourage
more stations to use these in the future.
Tom Kenny in Toms River, NJ reported, "Holy Cow! My
first real DX test".
His excitement grew later as he also logged the test
from WXCT.
Others who tried for the test without success
or still have some reviewing
of recordings to do included Gerry Bishop in
Niceville, FL who battled
strong signals from Texas and Tennessee, Willis in
Old Fort, TN heard
sweep tones, but wasn't confident enough to call it a
logging.
Mike Booker in Toronto heard bits of code and
sweeps, but was
uncertain about calling it a success. He's got them in the
logs
already from when they were still WZZD.
Tim Hall in San Diego tried for the test, but found
the distance and
the clutter too much for success. Patrick Griffith near
Denver shared
that fate. Blain Thompson was also disappointed in Fort Wayne,
IN, along
with Nick Hall-Patch who tried for the test.
Powell Way forgot about the test until late, only
to find the frequency
clobbered by WEEB in North Carolina...no joy in South
Carolina. Phil
Greenspan tried for the test in MA, but got too much grief
from
WALE to pull it in. Greg Myers and Robert Foxworth suffered a similar
fate, listening
to kids tunes from Radio Disney in nearby Miami rather than
the
hoped for test signals.
Even an AOR 7030 and a 150' EWE antenna couldn't
help Mike Stonebridge
pull out the test from his home in St Isidore AB. Eric
in St. Louis
also failed to pull in an ID. Bruce Portzer had similar bad
luck
in Seattle.
======================================================================================
WXCT 990khz Southington, CT
TEST
Date: December 10, 2004
Time: 01:00AM EST to 01:30AM EST
(30 Minutes)
Programming: Morse Code, Sweep Tones, Voice IDs,
and unusual
music.
Any reception reports should be sent to...
WXCT AM 990
440 Old Turnpike Road
Plantsville, CT 06479
ATTN: Ron Barnes CE
Test Results:
CE Ron Barnes powered up the WXCT 990khz
transmitter during the WNTP "Silent Period"...so total
duration was about 30
minutes. Despite no publicity for this test, it was caught by
several
listeners including Bill Harms in Maryland, Rene Tetro from the
transmitter site of WNTP in
Philadelphia, Jim Renfrew in Western NY, and Les
Rayburn in Alabama.
Neil Kazaross also logged this station from his
home in Barrington, IL near Chicago. Two for one!
Robert Ross in London,
Ontario Canada,Scott Fybush in NY,David Hochfelder in Highland Park, NJ,
and
David Hochfelder in Highland Park, NJ also managed to hear both tests.
Bill Whitacre heard fast code followed by what he
termed "Dragon Dance Music" (actually
a tune called "The Sabre
Dance")
Bill Dvorak tried for WXCT in Madison, WI but
couldn't pull them out during the short duration. He's
hoping for better
results in January.
A very enjoyable evening of DXing which resulted in
Santa bringing an early gift of a second
test for alert DX'ers. Thanks to Mr.
Rene Tetro and Mr. Ron Barnes for the tests. Also
special Christmas cheer to
DX'er Scott Fybush who suggested the impromptu test to
WXCT.
73,
Les Rayburn, N1LF
IRCA CPC Chairman
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