September, 2017 Michigan BCB logs

September was a very productive month thanks to a few decent au nights here. Some deep south GY logs are represented below and a new one from Nicaragua. 27 new logs in total for the month of September, 2017 Domestics: ========================================================= 540 WFLF Pine Hills, FL. Sept.11,2017 0059 UTC I’m probably the last guy in the Midwest to log this one, but finally…Very poor but alone on the channel during au cx with lengthy multi-call ID at TOH then into FOX News, best in USB to avoid strong Nicaraguan het on 539.86 kHz. ANTENNA: South DKAZ 1046 miles 50kw NEW...

Michigan DU’s & a new domestic logged, Aug 26

I connected up my southwest phased BOGs last night and woke up early for a little sunrise DX to gauge “Down Under” (DU) conditions, since after all, it’s that time of year again here when DU’s can make their presence known in Michigan.  Expecting nothing more than a few weak carriers to kick off the season, I was pleasantly surprised with weak audio on several channels.  These logs all revolve around local sunrise time here, which was 11:03 UTC Aug.26th, 2017, times below are UTC. 612 4QR ABC Brisbane with weak audio, easy enough to tell it’s rugby play-by-play with...

August 2017 Eclipse Report: 1580-1700 kHz

August 21nd, 2017 Eclipse peak: 18:22 UTC / 2:22pm EDT, 85% Totality Antenna: DKAZ loop aimed 180 degrees South Receiver: Perseus SDR Location: Western lower Michigan While enjoying the eclipse outside, the SDR was faithfully recording large chunks of RF spectrum which should provide much enjoyment over the next few weeks.  Peak DX time occurred here near the bottom of the hour before tapering off at 19:00 UTC.  Fishing for IDs at TOH isn’t going to cut it this time around and it’ll require careful listening of content and other clues near the BOH to pick out the more unusual...

Oldies take over 1710 this week

Some unexpected activity has been taking place on 1710 kHz during the week of July 17th.  Casual “drive by” checking of the frequency during the early evening hours revealed a new signal this week, something different from the usual suspects of distant TIS stations and the occasional W807 which is sometimes heard here.  An open carrier has been noted on most evenings, often accompanied by a 400 Hz test tone.  The carrier, always becoming stronger as the sunset approaches, has reached S8 levels here.  Music has also been heard, beginning on UTC 7/16/2017 during the 0100 UTC hour.  This has...

How to capture & upload your SDR videos to YouTube

I’ve posted many DXing videos to YouTube over the years demonstrating the Perseus SDR.  A common question from other SDR users is: “how do you create your videos and retain good video quality after uploading to YouTube?”  Below are some notes I’ve made about the process, which was written for Windows 7.  I now use Windows 10 and this process remains largely unchanged. Windows 7: I use Camstudio Version 2.00 to capture video from the Window’s desktop.  Within Camstudio, I have the audio set to “Record from Microphone” under the Options pull down menu.  Under the same Options menu, I have the...

Jan-March 2017 Michigan BCB Logs

New stations heard in Western Michigan on the Perseus SDR from January through the end of March. All times/dates UTC, antenna used is noted in the log. 610 KCSR Chadron, NE. – 1159 UTC 3/3/2017 – With c/w song and OM “24 hours a day, we’re AM 610, K-C-S-R, Chadron” and into CBS News at TOH, on SW BOGs. 640 Radio Progresso, Cuba – 0110 UTC 2/1/2-17 – Clear and dominant during semi-au cx during WMFN absence, on South D-KAZ, // to 880. 640 WHLO – Akron, OH. – 2300 UTC 2/17/2017 – Very poor under dominant WOI with semi-local...

1760 kHz Balkans region pirate heard in Michigan

Scanning no man’s land between 1710-1800 kHz and I find a weak carrier on 1760. Noting a number of trans-atlantic carriers on the 9 kHz spaced frequenices, I surmise that propagation is decent towards Europe on medium wave. I stick with the 1760 carrier a bit longer and begin to notice some very weak muffled modulation. On signal peaks I can tell it’s dance music, with a fast thumping beat, but nothing else can be made out. Audio is threshold at best. Could this finally be my first Euro pirate log on medium wave? I immediately connected to a remote...

BCB #2,000 logged from Michigan!

I had hopes of hitting #2000 before the year ended, and that goal was accomplished yesterday afternoon when a faint 1490 KLGR was heard.  I don’t count call letter changes and all logs between 530-1710 kHz have been from my same suburban West Michigan location. I started my logbook in 2009 with a “barefoot” DX-440 that was good for a few hundred medium wave stations, but I wanted more!  Enter the DX Tools Quantum Loop, which worked wonderfully with the DX-440, and netted me a few hundred more stations including my first ever Trans-Atlantic station (1134 Croatia) and several more...

Yawneb

Hot summer static best describes radio conditions around here this time of year.  Summer also provides a time to catch up and purge my stale old SDR recordings to make room for the new upcoming DX season.  Some SDR recordings are tough to let go, and I find myself hoarding them much like recordings of stations I made on cassette tape decades ago.  Boxes of cassette tapes are now replaced by terabytes of Perseus SDR recordings with countless hours of radio programming that no one person could ever digest and process in one lifetime. Aside from hours upon hours of medium...

April-May 2016 Michigan BCB Logs

New stuff logged during the months of April & May from West Michigan with the Perseus SDR and D-KAZ antenna: 1070 WFRF Tallahassee, FL. – 0100 UTC 5/9/2016 – Very weak with religious programming and call letter ID at TOH while mentioning North Florida and South Georgia coverage areas, on the South D-KAZ during semi-auroral conditions. 1140 WRLV Salyersville, KY. – 1000 UTC 4/3/2016 – Poor with c/w music and slogan: “Pure country is classic country” and then call letter ID under dominant WRVA, on South D-KAZ. 1230 WHIR Danville, KY. – 1005 UTC 4/3/2016 – With local ads and...