Mag Loop Antenna

A friend called today asking for information on transmitting loop antennas. I have never used one personally, but from what I've experienced with other kinds of receiving loop antennas, I'd bet their well worth the effort to build. QRPer's boast of transcontinental QSOs with the magnetic loops in many of the articles I've read. Feeding the loop is relatively simple, you can either feed it with an inductively coupled smaller loop, or with a capacitive coupling. There are several plans to be found simply by doing a Google search for magnetic loops. Don't let the remote tuning process intimidate you. It may not be necessary if you plan to use a couple of frequencies inside the same band ie. 40 meters. Below are some links that will get you pointed in the right direction.
Felix Meyers Loop page
Mississippi Style 40 Meter Loop
K1RST's Loop Page
AA5TB's Small Transmitting Loop Page
Magnetic Loop Diagrams

73's
KBØQYB

A closeup view

SlimJim 2 Meter Antenna

As the title states, this is the slimjim 2 meter antenna that I just completed. The antenna was made with quarter inch copper tubing, or refridgerator tubing as they say. The base section is a inch inner diameter PVC pipe section. The slimjim boasts more efficiency over the standard 5/8 wave antenna because it's lobes branch out horizontally, rather than at a 15 to 35 degree angle. This means, theoretically, that more of the gain is radiating omnidirectionally at your targets, rather than getting lost in the sky. The antenna is fed like an end-fed zep or j-pole and the matching section is contained inside the pvc. So far I have had very positive results with it. If you would like to view the plans click HERE.

Google Earth

This is a scene from a new program I've installed called Google Earth. It's a free program that has tons of possibilities for us knob twisters. I may use it to indicate the stations I have logged on MW. I used it to view my brother's new house that I haven't been to yet. It's in 3D and the zoom functions and control of the views are out of this world. It's like you're in a plane and zoominging in on anything or place you wish. Here is the link....Click Me

A Rare Catch

Tnx to Glen Hauser for the "heads up." Winnipeg's 99
watt special events station CJML-580 returned to the
air today for two weeks of broadcasting commemorating
Victory in Japan and the end of World War 2. Has
anyone heard this outside the Winnipeg area?

580 CJML MB Winnipeg 8-6 0957 CDT good mentioning
support from Kiwanis Chateau, nostalgic music, phone #
(204)-895-2565 and ID.(MS-MB)

Morris Sorensen
Winnipeg MB
Drake R8 with Quantum QX pro loop

NDB Database

Bill WAØTFT and I were listening to a NDB on 253 KHz the other night, and for the life of me, I could not find any data about it. After searching a bunch of personal websites maintained by LW enthusiasts, I found a great site. The site is called RNA and it's author is Martin Francis. Just click here to find the page.

By the way, the signal we were hearing 253 KHz was from the Chisholm/Hibbing airport, and it's ID in CW is JA. Thanks Bill for initiating the search, which nearly drove me silly, until I found it.

73
Jim

Spokane's Colorful Radio History

If anyone is interested in a great site that gives plenty of information about Spokane's radio history, or radio history in general, PhilcoBill's website is a must. Here is the link
http://spokane.philcobill.com

This is the antenna that has had the most impact on my MW DX experience. I've been using variations of it for approximately two years now. The original plans call for 85 feet of wire. I use 135 feet of wire for each loop. Also I use ground radials under each leg of my loops that extend from the center ground rod to 5 or 6 feet beyond the loops. Mine is hidden in the trees about 150 feet behind my house. Of course, this antenna performs best in the mediumwave portion of the spectrum, but the performance is respectable up to 9 or 10 MHz. I use a homebrew antenna tuner for the frequencies beyond 7 Mhz.

Kind regards,

Jim Townley

50-kilowatt KUTR in Utah new on 820 kHz

KUTR logoKUTR is a new talk station in Taylorsville, Utah, in the United States. KUTR began broadcasting on 820 kHz mediumwave on May 9. The station is transmitting with a power of 50 kW daytime and 2.5 kW nighttime. All programming is aimed at women. The station is owned by Bonneville International Corp.
(DXing.info, May 10, 2005)

CJML 580 in Winnipeg on the air for two weeks in May

A temporary radio station will be launched in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on May 1st. CJML will be broadcasting for two weeks on 580 kHz mediumwave. CJML commemorates the 60th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day in the Second World War. As well as wartime memories, the broadcasts will feature events leading up to and immediately following the war, big band and other period music, and appearances by veteran Winnipeg radio personalities. The calls CJML stand for Come Journey Down Memory Lane. The station can be contacted by writing to 2565 Broadcasters, P.O. Box 46124, RPO Westdale, Winnipeg, R3R 3S3, Canada. If CJML uses the facilities of the 50-kilowatt CKY, which until May 2004 operated for years on 580 AM, it should be heard widely in North America. Local DXer Shawn Axelrod was the first to report about the radio project.(DXing.info, April 26, 2005)

The new DXpedition rig

April 2005 Loggings

My AM broadcast loggings from April 2005.

Call KHz Location SIO Date
KGA 1510 Spokan, WA 444 Apr 3, 2005
KQLX 890 Lisbon, ND 333 Apr 4, 2005
KLMR 920 Lamar, CO 444 Apr 5, 2005
KCJJ 1630 Iowa City, IA 444 Apr 10, 2005
WYLL 1160 Chicago, IL 444 Apr 11, 2005
KSCJ 1360 Sioux City, IA 444 Apr 17, 2005
WTTN 1580 Watertown, WI 323 Apr 18, 2005
KGHS 1230 Int. Falls, MN 333 Apr 21, 2005
KWNO 1230 Winona, MN 222 Apr 21, 2005
WCCN 1370 Neilsville, WI 344 Apr 21, 2005
CFRW 1290 Winnipeg, MAN 343 Apr 24, 2005
KBRB 1400 Ainsworth, NE 323 Apr 24, 2005
WKNR 850 Cleveland, OH 222 Apr 24, 2005
WKLJ 1290 Sparta, WI 333 Apr 24, 2005
WOOD 1300 Grand Rapids, MI 333 Apr 24, 2005

SIO stands for Signal Interference Overall

Antennas

My bedtime secret weapon

This is my 22 inch mw loop. I made it from pine dowels. It works great near the bed with my Sony ICF 2010. Anything bigger would have me sleeping in the dog house. My main dxing antenna is a homebrew K9AY loop array. Check out this link if you'd like to read more about the K9AY antenna http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx/antenna/loop/k9ay/index.html

Happy DXing,

MWave

Where's That Station (WTS)

Have you ever heard a call sign and couldn't find a listing for it? Then later you discover that what you heard and the actual call sign are two different things. WTS is a great reference tool for MW dxers, and it's packed with features. You can use it to log call signs, and look up call letters as well. It even takes wild cards. KB*R for example. Another neat feature is that it shows you distances, and keeps track of your furthest loggings. When you log a station that is further than anything you've logged so far, a window pops up congratulating you. There are several other MW queries you can use as well. One thing nice about this program is that the author, Eric Force, continually updates the database. Did I mention that this program is free? Here's the link http://www.dobe.com/wts/

Have fun,

MWave

Finding other Hobbyists

One of the biggest advancements for me in the monitoring hobby was the ability to find others who share the same excitement of the hobby as I do. On the IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is where I located chat channels where I could chat with others about what I was listening to. I found channels on the Starchat network with people who had far more experience than I in the hobby, and they were willing to share their knowlege with me in real time. I have learned more about radio in the past four or five years by hanging out on the Starchat network in channels like #SWL and #MWDX, than I ever did before.

MWDX (Medium Wave DX) as the name implies, is a chat channel designated solely for AM broadcast. People from all over the globe hang out there to chat about topics such as equipment, conditions, dxtips, and up and coming changes in the hobby like IBOC. It was here that I developed a real appreciation for the AM broadcast hobby. I could chat in real time with others who have been logging MW stations for years.

For more information on the IRC and the Starchat network follow this link http://www.starchat.net/

Cheers for now
MWave

Welcome MW DXers

This blog was created as a place to discuss such topics as antennas, receivers, conditions, testings, loggings, TA's, graveyard channels or anything else medium wave related. When possible, I will post links and tips for reference to help or assist those who are interested in this great hobby.

Kind regards,

Mwave