2007 Cape Area DXers (CADX) Get-Together

Chris Black:
On Saturday Nov 10th, we had our third annual fall DXing get-together at the QTH of Chris Black, N1CP on Cape Cod, a continuation of the long-standing and ever-popular Ray Arruda get-together.  But the first order of business was the completion of a "SuperLoop" antenna at the nearby QTH of Marc DeLorenzo with custom transformers and phasing unit provided by Mark Connelly, WA1ION.   By mid-afternoon, over a dozen DXers from all over New England had arrived.  A major disappointment was the last minute cancellation of veteran DXer Neil (KAZ) Kazaross.  We had FM and MW radios going, including two varieties of the new software defined (SDR) radios, the SDR-IQ and the WinRadio 313e.  Both have their strong points and many got a chance to experiment with this new technology.   We also had demonstrations of long wave Aero beacon or NDB (non-directional beacon) DXing as well as the Marine weather and safety NAVTEX broadcasts on 490 and 518 kHz which require software to decode the SITOR mode B 100 baud transmissions.  Following some good sunset MW TA receptions we adjourned to a local restaurant to recap the day.

Marc DeLorenzo:
Thanks to Mark C, Bruce, and Chris Black for constructing a new antenna for me!  It's the dual feedline SuperLoop (Flag), about 40 feet per side, and it works great!  The Connelly-designed termination pot greatly attenuates signals from the west so that I've been listening to armchair copy of Sweden-1179 for the past hour and a half with no interference from powerhouse WHAM-1180 (or anyone else).  At Chris' house we had 10-12 guys, some specializing in FM DX, and a splendid time was had by all!

     
The DX flag marks the spot for CADX, and Chris at his DX station.

Bruce Conti:
On behalf of everyone, a big thank you to Chris Black for opening his home to DXers for the day.  Activities actually got started at Marc DeLorenzo's for an antenna raising with plenty of DX talk and a look inside his radio shack.  Then it was off to Chris Black's for plenty more radio discussion and DXing, plus a photo-op under the DX flag which caught the interest of curious neighbors.   This was my first visit south since last attending a Rocket Ray Arruda GTG at the Lower Deck, and prior to that the Provincetown GTGs of the ol' left-handed bandmaster Ernie Cooper.  Mediumwave logs follow, the result of casual live DXing and SDR IQ spectrum captures.  This was by no means an exhaustive DXpedition-style log, yet it still serves as a good indication of DX on the Cape.  So some common signals are missing, like 555 St. Kitts, 567 Ireland, 585 Spain, 999 Spain, 1215 UK, 1467 France, and 1575 UAE, of course all received but without detailed logs.

Mediumwave DX (All times are UTC):
648  SPAIN RNE1 Badajoz NOV 11 0028 - Good; talk parallel 639 kHz.
657  SPAIN RNE5 Madrid NOV 11 0000 - Fair in WFAN slop; fanfare, "Radio Nacional de España, Informativos," parallel 684 kHz.
666  PORTUGAL RDP Antena 1 synchros NOV 10 2359 - Poor, in WFAN slop; woman in Portuguese, RDP time pips parallel 720 kHz.
684  SPAIN RNE1 Sevilla NOV 10 2359 - Good in 680 WRKO splatter; folk vocal parallel 738 kHz, time pips, and news.
693  UNITED KINGDOM BBC Radio 5, Droitwich et al. NOV 10 2358 - Good, synchro echo; telephone talk, "909, 693" ID.
720  PORTUGAL RDP Antena 1 synchros NOV 10 2359 - Poor, under WGN; woman in Portuguese, RDP time pips parallel 666 kHz. No sign of RNE5 Canary Islands.
738  SPAIN RNE1 Barcelona NOV 10 2359 - Fair; folk music vocal parallel 684 kHz, not parallel 657 or 747 kHz, time pips and news now parallel all RNE frequencies.
747  CANARY ISLANDS // SPAIN RNE5 synchros NOV 10 2359 - Fair; "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" bumper music, time pips, and fanfare into news, parallel 657 kHz.
750  VENEZUELA YVKS RCR Caracas NOV 11 0058 - Good; Leones de Caracas baseball coverage.
765  SWITZERLAND RSR Option Musique, Sottens NOV 11 0100 - Good; jingle, "Option Musique, deux heures" time check, and news.
770  COLOMBIA HJJX RCN Bogotá NOV 11 0100 - Under WABC; RCN jingle, concert promo, parallel 760 kHz.
790  CUBA CMAQ R.Reloj, Pinar del Río NOV 11 0200 - Good, over unID Spanish; news, minute marker, code, syncopated clock.
792  FRANCE France Info, Limoges NOV 11 0200 - Fair to good; fanfare, man in French with news.
801  SPAIN RNE1 synchros NOV 11 0200 - Poor; time pips, fanfare into news in Spanish.
820  ST. KITTS & NEVIS TBN/R.Paradise, Charlestown NOV 11 0200 - Fair, over R.Reloj Cuba; "This is the Trinity Broadcasting Network..." and TBN promo.
837  FRANCE France Info, Nancy NOV 11 0200 - Good; fanfare, man with France Info ID and time check into news, parallel 792 kHz.
864  FRANCE France Bleu, Villebon-sur-Yvette NOV 10 2045 - Good; pop music. 2200 France Bleu ID with montage, jingle with "Vingt trois heures" time check into a pop French vocal.
882  UNITED KINGDOM BBC R.Wales, Washford NOV 10 2159 - Fair to good; woman with brief announcement in English, orchestra instrumentals.
1026 SPAIN SER synchros NOV 11 0049 - Fair to good, despite salt water path proximity to 1030 WBZ; talk parallel a good 1116 kHz signal.
1053 UNITED KINGDOM TalkSport synchros NOV 10 2037 - Good; telephone talk.
1100 VERMONT WTWN Wells River NOV 10 2100 - Under WHLI; "...on WTWN Wells River, St. Johnsbury," and s/off with national anthem.
1134 CROATIA Glas Hrvatske, Zadar NOV 10 2020 - Excellent, s9+10; sports commentary.
1140 NOVA SCOTIA CBI Sydney NOV 10 2100 - Excellent; "This is the CBC news for the Maritimes."
1160 MAINE WSKW Skowhegan NOV 10 2100 - Excellent; "ESPN Sports Center, every 20 minutes, AM 1160 The Score, WSKW Skowhegan, Waterville."
1179 SWEDEN R.Sweden International, Sölvesborg NOV 10 2030 - Excellent; signature bells and ID into presumed Russian program per listings.
1206 FRANCE France Info, Bordeaux NOV 10 2051 - Good; woman in French.
1377 FRANCE France Info, Lille NOV 10 2027 - Good, 1380 WMYF splatter; news/talk in French.

     
Bernie the CADX Cat finds a new friend, and Bruce demonstrates the SDR IQ.


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