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If you'll excuse an old kid with a new toy...earlier this week I became the proud owner of a Quantum QX Loop from Radio Plus+ Electronics. With the advantage of absolutely no preconceived notions - read that, no idea what I was doing - I set about to learn the fine art of looping.
My first targets in mid afternoon, were the stations in the Bahamas. My reasoning, they're not north/south like everything else. When I found my nulling effort aimed ESE for ZNS1-1540 and ZNS2-1240, and ENE for ZNS3-810, I began to suspect I was doing something wrong. Fortunately the first thing I did was dig out my atlas and, lo and behold, for the first time realized that from Nassau to Freeport, there is indeed just such a directional distinction from my locale. I'd always thought of the Bahamas as southeast from me, never considering the rather long swath they actually make off the coast of southeast Florida. If my mother hadn't given up decades ago trying to pry me away from my radio, I could point out how I was learning geography thanks to it.
My next target was obvious, the Wobbler. I had a good wobble going on 930 to work with. Assuming a Cuban station as the source, the Radio Reloj 10kW outlet in Ciego de Avila was the likely culprit. I expected to find the null at something like 160-170 degrees as I ran repeatedly through aiming and re-aiming.. No doubt about it, that Wobbler is at about 120 degrees from here. That's more toward the Bahamas, well north of the entire island of Cuba.
Maybe all radio actually comes from the Bahamas and we're all just being fooled.
I'll not be so presumptuous as to assume I have actually proved something here. In fact, about all I've done is re-muddle the origin question all over again. Anyway, this was my first try looping the Wobbler, and only the one on 930. When I get a good signal on one of the other usual Wobbler frequencies, it will be interesting to see if I can get a null and where it points. Also, if the one on 930 stays put.
W. Curt Deegan
Boca Raton, (South East) Florida
[JRC NRD-535D, LF Engineering H-800 & M-601,
Quantum QX Loop & Phaser, ANC-4 noise canceler, GAP DSP]
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