I’ve been hearing a faint carrier on 531 during the evening for the last few months but nothing ever reaching audio. CIAO on 530 usually obliterates anything in this neighborhood anyway for me but I have heard Cuba here before. Checked again tonight, not really expecting to hear anything other than the mystery carrier, and was surprised to hear some audio coming across from RNE 5 Spain on 531. I had to tune up to 533 to avoid much of CIAO’s splatter. About 5 minutes after tuning in, RNE 5 faded into soft pop music which had started to dominate. ...
The more I use Google Earth, the more uses I find for it relating to DXing. Case in point- I’ve been looking at the vacant land behind our house with the anticipation of laying out a pair of BOGs (beverage on ground antennas) for DXing medium wave stations. Google Earth’s satellite view allows me to visualize the antenna layout (to work around obstacles, etc.) and provides a tool to measure length and heading. With this information, I can figure out exactly how long of an antenna I can layout and the beam direction. Knowing the antenna’s heading, I can then...
I just started DXing again this year after being out of the hobby since about 1990. I was active during my teenage years in the 1980s and was affiliated with such radio clubs as IRCA and the ACE. At that time, I was primarily interested in shortwave pirate radio DXing, mediumwave DXing, and shortwave utility monitoring. My equipment was modest and included various old tube “boat anchors” that usually gave poor results but kept the room warm on winter nights. Antennas used were nothing more than a long wire strung through some tree branches outside. At some point I got...
