BADX 2007 "DX Clams"
August 2, 2007Granite Pier, Rockport MA (42°40'N 70°37'W)
The DX Clams expedition has always been great camaraderie and the opportunity to showcase new technology. This year was no exception. Diehard BADX'ers Mark Connelly WA1ION, Bruce Conti, Paul Graveline K1YUB, Briggs Longbothum AB2NJ, and Gary Thorburn KD1TE once again converged at Woodman's in Essex to feast on Chubby's fried clams before heading out to the pier in Rockport. Gary planted himself comfortably in his minivan converted to a rolling radio shack, Bruce tested a mini SuperLoop terminated loop antenna, and Mark fired up the laptop to demonstrate the RFSpace SDR-IQ software defined radio. Reports and photos from the individual DXers follow.
DXpedition vehicles in position on Granite Pier, and Gary gets comfortably positioned for a night of MW DXing.
Gary Thorburn KD1TE; Drake R8A, amplified tuned 50 x 50 cm loop
Transatlantic MW DX logs from 2330z 2 August 2007 through 0136z 3 August 2007.
774 SPAIN R.Nacional 1 - Parallel 1152 kHz.
837 CANARY ISLANDS COPE synchros.
864 FRANCE France Bleu
1044 MOROCCO RTM - Strong audio; early in evening, woman singing slow Middle Eastern song, after 0100z, more western music, including Debussy's "Gymnopedie."
1107 SPAIN R.Nacional
1152 SPAIN R.Nacional 5 - Parallel 774 kHz.
1134 CROATIA Hrvatski Radio - Woman announcer, light jazz music.
1206 FRANCE France Info - Bluesy version of "Somewhere over the Rainbow."
1215 SPAIN COPE synchros.
1521 SAUDI ARABIA - Strong signal, Islamic chant.
1575 UAE UAE Radio.
1584 CEUTA RadiOle - Good signal, light rock music.
Bruce Conti; Drake R8B, MWDX-5, 3 x 6 m SuperLoop antenna, 6-m vertical
This DX Clams was a chance to test a compact SuperLoop antenna with considerably smaller dimensions than the original design, typically in the range of 23-m vertical by 30-m horizontal. The SuperLoop is a super-sized terminated corner-fed broadband loop, a variant of the Flag and Pennant antennas, the concept introduced in the August edition of Popular Communications magazine. The SuperLoop for DX Clams measured 3-m vertical by 6-m horizontal, and was terminated with 1150 (470 + 680) ohms. Test results were better than expected. A quick pretest on 880 kHz proved the cardioid backside null of WCBS New York; 20 dB high with the termination shorted out, and a wobbly s9 terminated. The east-aimed 'mini' SuperLoop alone was enough to log all transatlantic MW signals, no preamplification or phasing required. However DX conditions weren't all that impressive, with transatlantic signals from Spain and France dominant, and Latin American signals buried in lightning noise.
Mark Connelly demonstrated the RFSpace SDR-IQ. Using the spectrum analyzer display, he could zoom in on the RNE Spain synchros at 1107 kHz, easily showing the known off-frequency signal separate from the others.
It was fun as always to have a group of us DXers take over a section of Granite Pier with our radio equipment. MW DX logs follow. Until next time...
Transatlantic Logs
603 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0141 - Fair with synchro echo; teletalk parallel 585 kHz.
612 MOROCCO RTM A, Sebaa-Aioun AUG 3 0140 - Strong; talk parallel 207 kHz.
657 SPAIN RNE5 Madrid AUG 3 0129 - Good; talk parallel 684 kHz.
702 ALGERIA Chaine 1, Djelfa AUG 3 0114 - Fair; Koran parallel 153 and a strong 891 kHz.
738 SPAIN RNE1 Barcelona AUG 3 0014 - Good; man and woman parallel 684 kHz.
765 SWITZERLAND RSR Option Musique, Sottens AUG 3 0146 - Weak through heavy lightning noise.
783 MAURITANIA R.Mauritanie, Nouakchott AUG 3 0024 - Talk; 20 dB better than 4845 parallel.
837 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN COPE synchros AUG 3 0110 - Good with synchro echo; talk parallel 999 kHz.
864 FRANCE France Bleu, Villebon-sur-Yvette AUG 3 0032 - Excellent; Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven" parallel 1494 kHz.
1044 MOROCCO RTM A/C, Sebaa-Aioun AUG 2 2350 - Loud and clear; Koran. Signed off shortly after 2400 leaving SER Spain in clear.
1161 SPAIN Euskadi Irratia, San Sebastian AUG 3 0117 - Fair; folk music and talk parallel 1197 kHz.
1206 FRANCE France Info, Bordeaux AUG 3 0106 - Good, over an unID signal.
1224 SPAIN COPE synchros AUG 3 0108 - Good; "la Cope" ID by woman into talk, parallel 999 kHz.
1251 LIBYA Libyan Jamahiriya, Tripoli AUG 3 0125 - Strong; man in Arabic.
1287 SPAIN SER synchros AUG 3 0123 - Fair; talk parallel 1044 kHz.
1296 SUDAN SRTC Reiba AUG 3 0056 - Presumed; African drums, then weak talk not parallel 999 COPE Spain.
1305 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0102 - Over sub-audible het rumble; parallel 855 kHz.
1314 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0136 - Fair; teletalk parallel 1305 kHz.
1341 NORTHERN IRELAND BBC Radio Ulster, Lisnagarvey AUG 3 0134 - Good; BBC5 talk parallel 909 kHz.
1422 ALGERIA RTA Algiers AUG 2 2340 - Good; man and woman in French, no sign of 252 parallel.
1431 DJIBOUTI R.Sawa, Arta AUG 3 0038 - Good; Mid East pop vocal.
1485 MELILLA // SPAIN SER synchros AUG 3 0043 - Over unID low frequency het; talk parallel 1044 kHz.
1494 CORSICA France Bleu, Bastia AUG 3 0032 - Fair; Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven" easily paralleled 864 kHz.
1503 SPAIN RNE5 Piñeira and La Línea de la Concepcion AUG 3 0045 - Good with synchro echo; talk parallel 855 kHz.
1512 SAUDI ARABIA BSKSA Jeddah AUG 3 0049 - Good; ud solo. 0148 Call of Islam parallel 1521 kHz.
1557 FRANCE France Info, Fontbonne AUG 3 0154 - Good; news/talk in French parallel 1377 kHz.
1584 CEUTA RadiOle, Ceuta AUG 2 2345 - Good; Spanish rock music. AUG 3 0156 - Huge local-like signal; Spanish pop vocal.
1602 SPAIN SER synchros AUG 3 0120 - Good; pop vocal parallel 1044 kHz.
Pan-American Logs
720 BRAZIL ZYK276 R.Guaiba, Porto Alegre AUG 3 0010 - Fair; sports commentary in Portuguese, presumed this as it wasn't parallel 666 RDP Portugal.
770 unID AUG 3 0018 - Loud wobbly multiple tones, presumed a defective Cuban transmitter.
Tech Talk: (Foreground L-R) Gary, Bruce, Paul, and Briggs, (background) Bruce's SuperLoop mounted on two white PVC pipes, and Mark's car rooftop loop vs. whip phased array. In the car Mark demonstrates the RFSpace SDR-IQ software defined radio.
Mark Connelly WA1ION
This annual event was attended by 5 members of the Boston Area DXers: Bruce Conti, Paul Graveline (K1YUB), Briggs Longbothum (AB2NJ), Gary Thorburn (KD1TE), and Mark Connelly (WA1ION). The traditional "whole belly" fried clam dinner at Woodman's in Essex, MA was followed by sunset-period DXing at the "fabled" Granite Pier site in Rockport, MA.
Report from Mark Connelly - Times / dates = UTC / 2007
e-mail = "MarkWA1ION@aol.com"
Receivers: RFSpace SDR-IQ, Drake R8A
Phasing Unit: DXP-6A
Splitter: Mini-Circuits ZSC-2-2
MP3 Recorder: Pogo Radio YourWay LX
Antennas: cardioid array on roof of car = Vertical: 3.7 m whip (MFJ-1956) to 81:1 transformer to DX Engineering RPA-1 amp + Loop: broadband, in vertical plane, square, 2 m per side, to 1:1 transformer to DX Engineering RPA-1 amp, peak east-west, null north-south
Transatlantic DX
549 ALGERIA Chaine 1, Les Trembles AUG 3 0154 - Parallel 890.97 with male Arabic vocal, strings; fair.
585 SPAIN RNE1 Madrid AUG 3 0153 - Parallel 855 with teletalk/interview; fair to good.
603 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0152 - Talk parallel 855; fair.
612 MOROCCO RTM A, Sebaa-Aioun AUG 3 0144 - Telco-quality male Arabic talk; good. 0151 flute, strings, shrill vocal; huge!
621 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN RNE1 synchros, Santa Cruz de Tenerife et al. AUG 3 0145 - Interview parallel 855; good.
639 SPAIN RNE1 La Coruna et al. AUG 3 0054 - Parallel 621 with woman in Spanish; poor to fair with CBN slop.
666 PORTUGAL RDP1 synchros AUG 3 0149 - Parallel 693 with jazz; poor.
684 SPAIN RNE1 Sevilla AUG 3 0150 - Parallel 855 with Spanish interview; good.
693 AZORES RDP 1, Terceira AUG 3 0149 - Parallel 666 with mellow jazz; good, way over UK.
729 SPAIN RNE1 synchros AUG 3 0046 - Parallel 774 with musical fanfare, woman in Spanish; through WJTO/CKAC slop.
747 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0147 - Parallel 774 with woman in Spanish; fair.
765 SWITZERLAND RSR Option Musique, Sottens AUG 3 0146 - Folk vocal in style of Gordon Lightfoot; fair.
774 SPAIN RNE1 synchros AUG 3 0146 - Parallel 855 with man and woman in Spanish; fair to good.
792 SPAIN SER Seville AUG 3 0047 - Teletalk show with woman; poor.
818.9 unID AUG 3 0143 - One of the two major 819 kHz stations is about 100 Hz low. I think it's the Moroccan, with Egypt being on the correct frequency.
837 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN COPE synchros AUG 3 0144 - Parallel 999 with talk, then a bit of Dixieland jazz; poor.
855 SPAIN RNE1 synchros AUG 3 0143 - Parallel 1098 with fast talk Spanish interview, slight echo; good.
864 FRANCE France Bleu, Villebon-sur-Yvette AUG 3 0035 - Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven"; briefly good, then into fade. 0142 two men in French.
873 SPAIN SER synchros AUG 3 0035 - 10-second segment of a pop song, then Spanish teletalk; to fair peak.
882 UNITED KINGDOM BBC R.Wales, Washford AUG 3 0037 - Interview with US-accented man; briefly atop.
890.97 ALGERIA Chaîne 1, Algiers AUG 3 0040 - Mentions of "arabiya" in newscast; good. 0141 ud music and male vocal; good.
909 UNITED KINGDOM BBC Radio 5 Live synchros AUG 3 0034 - Man and woman in English; poor in WABI slop.
945 FRANCE France Info, Toulouse AUG 3 0037 - Man and woman with France Info mention, then '40s film style lush orchestral music. 0140 parallel 1206 with mood music instrumental; to good peak.
954 SPAIN Onda Cero, Madrid AUG 3 0033 - Man in Spanish; poor to fair, with 1.7 Hz SAH.
963 PORTUGAL R.Renascença, Seixal AUG 3 0040 - Portuguese teletalk (woman in studio, man on phone); poor through tough 970 WZAN slop.
981 PORTUGAL R.Renascença synchros AUG 3 0140 - "Lambada" dance hit, then Portuguese talk by man.
999 SPAIN COPE Madrid AUG 3 0127 - Parallel 1143 with talk and circus/carnival type music; local-like!
1017 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0039 - Soft jazz, man in Spanish; poor.
1026 SPAIN SER synchros AUG 3 0136 - Parallel 1044 with man speaking in large hall, then talk by woman in studio; fair.
1035 PORTUGAL R.Clube, Belmonte AUG 3 0135 - Romantic emotional pop female vocal; good with WBZ phased.
1044 MOROCCO RTM A/C, Sebaa-Aioun AUG 2 2352 - Koranic vocal; huge. Off air at about 0000 UTC.
1044 SPAIN SER synchros AUG 3 0106 - Parallel 1116 with ID "Cadena SER, servicios informativos." 0134 Spanish public speech with large hall acoustics; huge.
1053 UNITED KINGDOM TalkSport synchros AUG 3 0100 - TalkSport ID; poor with bits of Spain in the mix.
1089 UNITED KINGDOM TalkSport synchros AUG 3 0011 - Comment "all is not well on the playing field." 0102 promo for "football live on TalkSport"; briefly good.
1098 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0100 - Pips, Radio Nacional de Espana ID. 0126 talk parallel 1152; somewhat echoey.
1107 EGYPT Batrah AUG 3 0131 - Tentative with Arabic vocal; under Spain.
1107 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0131 - Parallel 1098 with newstalk; over Egypt and 1107.13 off-channel RNE growl.
1116 SPAIN SER synchros AUG 3 0106 - Parallel 1044 with music fanfare, ID "Cadena SER, servicios informativos"; fair. 0131 teletalk; to good peak.
1125 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0102 - Talk parallel 1098, 1152 kHz. 0130 Spanish talk; jumbled with others.
1125 unID AUG 3 0130 - Libya suspected with Arabic music; under Spain.
1134 CROATIA Glas Hrvatske, Zadar AUG 3 0104 - Jazz, Glas Hrvatske ID; good. 0129 Slavic talk by woman; excellent, over Spain.
1134 SPAIN COPE synchros AUG 3 0129 - Parallel 999 with '60s surf guitar instrumental; under Croatia.
1143 SPAIN COPE synchros AUG 3 0100 - Pips, Cadena Cope ID, news; fair. 0127 parallel 999 with Spanish talk, bits of festive music; poor over others (including something Portuguese-sounding).
1152 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0008 - Woman in Spanish; loud, echoey. 0126 echoey Spanish talk parallel 1098 kHz.
1170 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES R.Sawa, Al Dhabiya AUG 3 0101 - Mideast pop vocal; slightly over others.
0125 Arabic female vocal; mixed with phased WWVA.
1179 CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN SER synchros AUG 3 0009 - Parallel 1116 with talk, piano interlude. 0125 teletalk parallel 1116; good.
1206 FRANCE France Info, Bordeaux AUG 3 0124 - Man in French mentioning education, children; good.
1215 SPAIN COPE synchros AUG 3 0008 - Man in Spanish; fair, dominant. 0100 news by woman in Spanish; slightly over UK.
1224 SPAIN COPE synchros AUG 3 0011 - Woman in Spanish; poor to fair. 0101 news; fair.
1251 LIBYA Libyan Jamahiriya, Tripoli AUG 3 0019 - Mideast military-sounding music, pause, then woman in UK-accented English.
1296 SPAIN COPE Valencia AUG 3 0122 - Parallel 999 with man in Spanish; under Sudan.
1296 SUDAN SRTC Reiba AUG 3 0020 - Man in Arabic; to fair peak. 0122 Arabic chanting, drums; fair, over Spain.
1305 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0121 - Parallel 1098 with discussion; fair.
1314 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0119 - Parallel 1098 with discussion; poor.
1359 SPAIN RNE Arganda del Rey AUG 3 0118 - Parallel 1098 with discussion; fair.
1377 FRANCE France Info, Lille AUG 3 0118 - Parallel 1206 with French talk by woman; excellent.
1395 NETHERLANDS The Big L, Trintelhaven AUG 3 0020 - Likely this with Broadway female vocal "Hey Big Spender."
1404 FRANCE France Info synchros AUG 3 0118 - Parallel 1206 with woman in French; fair.
1413 SPAIN RNE5 synchros AUG 3 0016 - Man and woman in Spanish; some echo.
1422 ALGERIA RTA Algiers AUG 3 0019 - Man in French, gypsy-style violin, then man and woman in French; good.
1431 DJIBOUTI R.Sawa, Arta AUG 3 0026 - Parallel 1548 Kuwait with segment of Bush speech in newscast, then man in Arabic used phrase "million dollars"; loud. 0117 Arabic news; excellent.
1485 MELILLA // SPAIN SER synchros AUG 3 0116 - Parallel 1116, woman with teletalk; good.
1503 SPAIN RNE5 Pineira and La Linea de la Concepcion AUG 3 0027 - Man in Spanish, then big-band jazz; good. 0115 Spanish interview about businesses, workers; huge.
1512 CRETE (GREECE) ERA Chania AUG 3 0030 - Presumed this with Greek-style (not Arabic) plaintive male vocal and folk guitar; over jumble and WWZN slop.
1521 SAUDI ARABIA BSKSA Duba AUG 3 0030 - Talk by woman then instrumental music and a man who said "salaam aleikum"; huge. 0113 Koranic male vocal; huge/local-like, annihilating 1520 kHz.
1548 KUWAIT R.Sawa, Kabd-Kuwait City AUG 3 0026 - Parallel 1431 Djibouti with segment of Bush speech in newscast, then man in Arabic used phrase "million dollars"; to good peak.
1557 FRANCE France Info, Fontbonne AUG 3 0029 - Soft music to good peak. 0112 parallel 1206 with romantic nostalgic French male vocal; good with WQEW phased.
1575 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES R.Farda, Al Dhabiya AUG 3 0030 - Radio Far-DAH ID; good. 0112 pulsating Mideast dance music; over Spain.
1584 CEUTA RadiOle, Ceuta AUG 3 0111 - Emotional tropical-influence vocal; dominant.
1602 SPAIN R.Vitoria, Vitoria AUG 3 0110 - Spanish pop-rock; fair, over SER.
Pan-American DX
530 TURKS & CAICOS R.Vision Cristiana, South Caicos AUG 3 0053 - Radio Vision Cristiana ID in Spanish talk; getting through stiff 531 het and heavy static crashes.
670 CUBA CMQ R.Rebelde, Arroyo Arenas AUG 3 0051 - Man and woman with Cuban newstalk; over YVLL.
670 VENEZUELA YVLL R.Rumbos, Caracas AUG 3 0054 - ID "Radio Rumbos, la emisora de Venezuela"; briefly over Cuba and another Latin American.
720 BRAZIL ZYK276 R.Guaiba, Porto Alegre AUG 3 0049 - Reverberated Portuguese talk by man. 0056 man in Portuguese with Guaiba mention; noted during fade of YVQE.
720 VENEZUELA YVQE R.Oriente, Porlamar AUG 3 0045 - Spanish talk, apparent Oriente mention, then into plaintive female vocal with guitar; poor in jumble and static.
800 NETHERLANDS ANTILLES PJB TransWorld Radio, Bonaire AUG 3 0048 - Spanish religion; coming up over VOWR/CJAD mix.
820 ST. KITTS & NEVIS TBN/R.Paradise, Charlestown AUG 3 0047 - Preacher; to good peak, upper sideband used to dodge fat 819 het.
840 BRAZIL ZYK687 R.Bandeirantes, Sao Paulo AUG 3 0035 - Reverberated Portuguese talk by man; over pile-up.
860 VENEZUELA YVYE Enlace 860, Valle de la Pascua AUG 3 0036 - ID "Esta es Enlace, Ocho Sesenta, La Emisora de la Mar"; noisy.
895 ST. KITTS & NEVIS Voice of Nevis, Bath Village AUG 3 0040 - Gospel-influenced Afro-Caribbean music; to fair peak.
950 CUBA R.Reloj, La Habana AUG 3 0040 - Reloj program Spanish talk, beeps; in jumble with suspected CHER/CKNB with WROL phase-nulled to oblivion.
960 CUBA R.Reloj AUG 3 0040 - Reloj beeps; in jumble.
1000 BRAZIL ZYK522 R.Record, Sao Paulo AUG 3 0037 - Portuguese shouting including a 15-second long "Gooooooooooal !"; poor.
1100 BRAZIL ZYK694 R.Globo, Sao Paulo AUG 3 0010 - Portuguese sporting event coverage; dominant. 0106 reverberated man in Portuguese.
1140 VENEZUELA R.Porlamar, Porlamar AUG 3 0009 - ID "Radio Porlamar, La Voz del Caribe"; good.
1149.45 unID AUG 3 0008 - weak carrier.
1160 BERMUDA VSB3 Hamilton AUG 3 0059 - BBC World Service ID; in the clear during audio pause on WSKW.
1170 COLOMBIA HJNW CARACOL Cartagena AUG 3 0011 - Probably this with man in Spanish, several mentions of Colombia; slightly over jumble and static.
1170.35 unID AUG 3 0106 - Weak het against R.Sawa/WWVA; possibly the Colombian logged earlier (I wasn't looking for the offset at that time).
1180.12 unID AUG 3 0106 - Weak het against 1180 jumble.
1199.835 unID AUG 3 0101 - Weak het growl.
1200 VENEZUELA YVOZ R.Tiempo, Caracas AUG 3 0101 - Radio Tiempo ID popped through during WKOX fade.
1220 BRAZIL ZYJ458 R.Globo, Rio de Janeiro AUG 3 0100 - Globo ID in Portuguese talk by man. 0102 up to a good level with mentions of cities including Sao Paulo.
1330.4 unID AUG 3 0020 - Low het behind WRCA.
1420 VENEZUELA YVNZ R.Marabina, Maracaibo AUG 3 0017 - Marabina mentions, then into mellow Spanish male vocal.
1500 VENEZUELA YVRZ R.Dos Mil, Cumana AUG 3 0030 - Talk "en Venezuela... ocho treinte minutos."
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