MW DX with 200 m Beverage: UNID transatlantic signal carrying US news on 1110 kHz

Hi there, another UNID signal that could be WBT from Charlotte, North Carolina (TX power 50 kW) or CBC Radio 1 from Deep River, Ontario. The latter would be a really excellent catch as their reported TX power is only 0.04 kW. Either way, this would have been another PF if an ID had been heard, but that goes with the territory! Recorded in Oxford UK on 10/10/16 at 02:00 hrs UTC using an Elad FDM DUO. Thanks for watching.

MW DX with 200 metre Beverage: CKAC 730 kHz Montreal, Quebec, heard in Oxford, UK

Only the second time I'd copied CKAC, the first being an hour earlier on the same morning. Again, tricky to hear well because of adjacent QRM, but the Elad mostly deals with it very well in USB. Recorded on 10/10/16 at 02:57 hrs UTC using an ELAD FDM DUO. Thanks for watching.

MW DX with 200 m Beverage: WUNR Brookline, 1600 kHz, Newton, Massachusetts

Hi there, only the second time I've copied WUNR, so nice to catch them on the Beverage. A difficult signal to hear well due to severe adjacent channel QRM, but that's where the Elad and it's myriad of filtering options comes into it's own. Recorded in Oxford UK on 10/10/16 at 02:59 hrs UTC using an Elad FDM DUO. Thanks for watching.

Urban DX antenna test #5: Comparing 30 metre longwire to Boni whip on LW

Hi there, here is the fifth and final video in this series comparing the Bonito Boni whip to a 30 metre longwire in an urban environment. This time the target signal is Polski Radio on 225 kHz longwave and finally the Boni whip produces clearer audio than the longwire. Despite a significant increase in noise floor, the SNR appears to improve a little. The Wellbrook reception at the end of the video is a final calibration as to what is possible with an H field antenna in a noisy urban environment. Thanks for watching.

Urban DX antenna test #3: Comparing 30 metre longwire to Boni whip

Hi there, the third reception video in this series of tests, comparing the Bonito Boni whip with a 30 metre longwire in an urban environment and then, as usual, a check on how the signal is heard with the Wellbrook ALA1530. In this example of the signal from Myanmar Radio 5985 kHz, there is no audio with either the longwire or Boni whip, only the ALA1530 manages to resolve some audio from their weak modulation. A LW and MW example to come, where, in one instance, the Boni whip prevails against the longwire. Conclusion: on SW, there is no advantage to the whip over a longwire, but no disadvantage either. Thanks for watching.

 

Urban DX antenna test #2: Comparing 30 metre longwire to Boni whip

Hi there, the second comparison video in this series, this time using the large signal from CRI on 6020 kHz. Again, there's little difference in SNR performance between the 30 metre longwire and Boni whip. More to come. Thanks for watching.

 

Medium wave DX: WENE "Fox Sports AM 1430" Endicott, NY, first reception & clear ID

Hi there, I was pleased to catch WENE, Endicott,  New York for the first time with an ok signal, despite serious adjacent channel QRM. Again, the Elad operating via the FDM-SW2 software demonstrates amazing selectivity via the almost innumerable filtering options. Recorded in Oxford UK on 09/12/16 at 03:59 hrs UTC using an Elad FDM DUO and Wellbrook ALA1530 active loop antenna (indoors). Thanks for watching.

Bonito Boni whip versus Wellbrook ALA1530 test #7 winner: Wellbrook (7 wins out of 7)

Hi there, this is the final test comparing these two antennas in my noise-laden shack, using the Afia Darfur signal on 9510 kHz, from Santa Maria di Galeria, Rome, Italy. Once again, reasonable reception on the Wellbrook with an audio bandwidth filter of 6.6 kHz and a signal pushing over S9. However, once the whip is connected, the noise floor increases by more than 10 Decibels and the signal almost dissapears under the blanket of amplified noise. So it's 7 wins out of 7 for the Wellbrook, but I'm not giving up. For the next test, I'm interested to see how the whip performs against a 30 metre piece of wire slung around the garden - a less than ideal arrangement I used for some time before I purchased the Wellbrook. Then finally I'm going to take them both out to the woods and run another comparison. I must reiterate that I really want the Boni whip to prove itself an excellent performer in a quiet environment, because that would give me an excellent, very portable antenna to use on DXpeditions. Thanks for watching.

Bonito Boni whip versus Wellbrook ALA1530: Test #1 winner: Wellbrook

Hi there, here is a signal from Medi 1 on LW 171 kHz with nice audio on the Wellbrook ALA1530. Watch as the Wellbrook is unplugged from the Elad FDM DUO and the Boni whip connected (using the supplied radiating element). The noise floor jumps by around 20 decibels and the resulting audio is severely compromised. I read that the Boni whip is often very ineffective in buildings, so I put both antennas in the garden to give it the best chance of success. The problem is however, that my garden is often noisier that inside the house because our neighbours surround us quite closely on three sides. Anyway, test number 1 is a disaster for the Boni whip. Let's see what happens next. Thanks for watching.