Re: [IRCA] Was Gray Line Software-- Now SSS DX

[James Renfrew <jim.renfrew@xxxxxxxxx>]

Yeah the trick with the printed maps is to figure out which side of the
line your target station is on.  Would be nice to have in software.
Transmitter site is the key not city of license I would think.  The station
doesn't use a map; they have some sort of schedule from the FCC I would
guess

Neil did not make a map.  He made a chart to find the months of opportunity
for a particular station, not all stations.  But he is a good source for
information on this.

The flip date would be the summer, or when the sign off time becomes
earlier than the previous month.  So The season really begins in September
so the end of September would be the best time.  I suppose that the end of
August would be better than the beginning.

There may be more nuances based on the winter equinox falling on the 21st
and not the 15th.  So the sweet spot in December might center on the 21st
not the 31st in that one month.

To be honest I have not done a lot of sunset dxing in recent years.  Makes
for domestic tranquility around dinner time with a granddaughter in the
house.  But HS football season is a good time to look.  Lately I have
mostly been reviewing perseus files from Newfoundland from November 2013.
Lots of Brazilian stations reduce power at night but I have yet catch even
one of them in the act of doing so.

Jim Renfrew

On Feb 28, 2014 4:44 PM, "Les Rayburn" <les@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>  Jim,
>
> The NRC does still make those reprints available. I've been studying them
> for the past few days. I was hoping that someone had basically created a
> software version of those NRC Maps. Even better would be one that would
> download the FCC license data, and map the stations on the globe. Click on
> a station, and the software would tell you what time it was supposed to
> shift to day/night power today. Wishful thinking I suppose.
>
> I wonder if Neil would be willing to scan one of his custom target maps
> and send it to me?
>
> Follow up question. You mention that "before January 1st" and "after
> January 1st". But when is the "flip date" for that rule? Right now, it's
> March 1st---so according to your advice, the beginning of the month is best
> for catching new stations. But what if it was August 1st?
>
> Most of the reprinted articles and web stuff I can find reference "the
> good ole days" before stations operated as they do today. All of them
> mention sign-offs and sign-ons, etc. Remember those? Me too, but trying to
> make sense of the history lesson only adds to my confusion.
>
> --
> 73,
>
>
> Les Rayburn, N1LF
> Maylene, AL
> EM63
>
> Member NRC, IRCA, & Medium Wave DX Circle
> Former CPC Chairman for NRC/IRCA
>
> Perseus SDR, SDR-IQ,Funcube Pro, Wellbrooke ALA-1530+ loop, LF Engineering
> Active Whips,
> Quantum Phaser, Kiwa Loop, Palstar MW Pre-Selector
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  On 2/28/2014 12:38 PM, James Renfrew wrote:
>
> Before JAN 1st, the end of the month is better for sunset DX.  After JAN
> 1st the beginning of the month is best.  (Plus the beginning of the month
> may be a time to catch stations failing to adjust to the new month).  The
> sign-off times or power down times are set at the 15th of each month, so
> that's what creates the window of opportunity before or after the 15th.
>  Long before software came onto the scene, the NRC had a reprint available
> with a map of the US and world for each month showing the sign off zones in
> 15 minutes increments.  Some months the lines are nearly north/south and
> other months they are skewed.  In every month there are opportunities.
>  Neil Kazaross has worked out some charts that demonstrate the best months
> to go after certain western stations, those times when the target station
> is in the dark for the longest period.  Some stations have post-sunset and
> pre-sunset authority to operate before sunrise and after sunset, usually
> with much limited power.  Some of them, I think, don't bother to power down
> though.  Check the NRC list to see if the chart is still available.  One of
> the most glorious experiences years ago was to sit on 1580 and listen
> through the afternoon and evening as stations would sign off in turn every
> 15 minutes.  Jim Renfrew
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 28, 2014 at 12:47 PM, Les Rayburn <les@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>
>> Forgive the idiot questions. I'm not new to AM DXing, so can't really
>> even use the "newbie" excuse.
>>
>> When I asked about software to help with gray line DX, I should have been
>> more specific. I'm interested in sunset DX (and to a lesser extent sunrise
>> DX). I know that certain times of the year result in some AM stations
>> switching to nighttime power levels well after my local sunset. Sometimes
>> they can remain at daytime power/pattern long enough for them to be logged
>> when it might otherwise be impossible.
>>
>> I know this occurs more in some months than others.
>>
>> What I'm looking for is software that might aid in determining how much
>> of an opportunity exists on a given day for these types of loggings.
>>
>> Does that make more sense? I'm sure that more experienced DX'ers can just
>> do this in their heads--but it's hard for me to visualize.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> 73,
>>
>>
>> Les Rayburn, N1LF
>> Maylene, AL
>> EM63
>>
>> Member NRC, IRCA, & Medium Wave DX Circle
>> Former CPC Chairman for NRC/IRCA
>>
>> Perseus SDR, SDR-IQ,Funcube Pro, Wellbrooke ALA-1530+ loop, LF
>> Engineering Active Whips,
>> Quantum Phaser, Kiwa Loop, Palstar MW Pre-Selector
>>
>
> --
> 73,
>
>
> Les Rayburn, N1LF
> Maylene, AL
> EM63
>
> Member NRC, IRCA, & Medium Wave DX Circle
> Former CPC Chairman for NRC/IRCA
>
> Perseus SDR, SDR-IQ,Funcube Pro, Wellbrooke ALA-1530+ loop, LF Engineering
> Active Whips,
> Quantum Phaser, Kiwa Loop, Palstar MW Pre-Selector
>
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