Posts Tagged ‘CLE’
Hunting For NDBs In CLE254
Once again it's a CLE weekend.
During these stressful times, the CLE might hopefully provide some peaceful relief for you.
'CLE's are 'Co-ordinated Listening Events, and NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum.
This time the hunting ground is the 20 slice from 400.0 - 419.9 kHz. kHz
A good target for this one is MOG (404kHz) in Montague, California, up near the border with Oregon. It gets out very well and has been logged from Finland to Hawaii. Its been on-and-off of late so maybe you can catch it while it's on again!
Listen for MOG's upper sideband on 405.027kHz with your receiver in the CW mode.
From CLE coordinator Brian Keyte (G3SIA), comes the following CLE info:
Hello all,
Our 254th Coordinated Listening Event starts on Friday.
This frequency range is not packed with signals for any of us, but if conditions are OK there should be some nice surprises.
Do join in, whether you have days to spare, or only an hour or so over the weekend. Staying at home seems to be essential advice for most of us at present - this could be a great way of spending time there!
Days: Friday 27 March - Monday 30 March 2020
Times: Start and end at midday your LOCAL time
(Many of us will be changing our home clocks this weekend -
however UTC time continues unaffected)
Range: 400 - 419.9 kHz
Please log all the NDBs that you can identify with nominal (listed) frequencies in the range - it includes 400 kHz, but not 420 kHz - plus any UNIDs that you come across there.
Send your final log to the List (no attachments please and ideally in a plain text email) with ‘FINAL CLE254’ in its title.
Show on each line:
# The Date (e.g. '2020-03-27', etc., or just '27' )
# The Time in UTC (the day changes at 00:00 UTC).
# kHz - the nominal published frequency, if known.
# The Call Ident.
Please show those main items FIRST. Other optional details such as Location and Distance go LATER in the same line.
As always, of course, tell us your own location and brief details of the equipment that you were using during the Event.
We will send the usual 'Any More Logs?' email at about 19:00 UTC on Tuesday so that you can check that your log has been found OK.
Do make sure that your log has arrived on the List by 08:00 UTC on Wednesday 1 April at the very latest.
We hope to complete making the combined results within a day or two.
You can find full details about current and past CLEs from the CLE page http://www.ndblist.info/cle.htm It includes access to CLE254 seeklists for your part of the World, prepared from the previous loggings in Rxx. (Thanks, Martin and Alan, for your help with that)
Good listening
- enjoy the CLE and do take care of yourself and your family.
Brian and Joachim
-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'gmail.com
Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE coordinator)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(If you would like to listen remotely you could use any one remote
receiver for your loggings, stating its location and owner and with their
permission if required. A remote listener may NOT also use another
receiver, local or remote, to make further loggings for the same CLE)
These listening events serve several purposes. They:
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range
- will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations
- will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working
- give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
Barn Door Wide! Hunting For NDBs In CLE253
This weekend's upcoming CLE event will be the "Barn Door" listening event.
Participants are required to use receivers without the usual narrow filters. Some of the older tube radios can do this easily as can most homebrew receivers ... especially the regens!
If you've never listened to the NDB band with a wide bandwidth, it is a fascinating experience! If conditions are normal, you can typically hear a half dozen or more signals, all at various pitches, vying for your attention. It's almost as if you have plunked yourself down in the middle of the NDB forest of signals, and they are coming at you from all directions.
Many choose to use one of their homebrew receivers for this event, often as simple as a '1AD' or a '1 Active Device' circuit.
From organizer Brian Keyte:
Hello all
Here comes our sixth 'Barn Door' Coordinated Listening Event.
Between us there will be a great variety of ‘Back to Basics’ receiver
types in use. Maybe this is an opportunity for you to bring back to life
that old receiver that has been collecting dust for so long!
Days: Friday 21 to Monday 24 February 2020Times: Start at Midday on Friday 21st, your LOCAL time
End at Midday on Monday 24th, your LOCAL time
Frequencies: Centred on 360 kHz (see below)
NDBs: NOT MORE than 100 'normal' NDBs including any UNIDs
(That is not intended to be a target to reach)
We are all asked to listen with NON-SELECTIVE receivers - i.e. with a WIDE
filter or NO filter. Your 'barn door' should be open wide so you could hear,
at the same time, any NDBs 2 kHz away on both sides of your receiver
setting - E.g. NDBs on 348, 349, 350, 351 and 352 kHz with the receiver
set to 350 kHz.
You could listen with:
Whichever you choose, use the same receiver throughout the CLE.
If your choice of receiver includes a waterfall please use only the
audio output for your listening. You could even cover part of the
screen if there is no other way of stopping or hiding the waterfall.
Unfortunately the use of Pskov – and probably of recordings – is
not appropriate for this CLE.
You choose how wide a RANGE of frequencies you will listen in, CENTRED
ON 360 kHz. You could choose 350-370 kHz , 330-390 kHz, 260-460 kHz, etc.
(That allows each of us to choose a +/- range with enough NDBs to
match our equipment's capability. It will also allow us to compare our
loggings in the Combined Results, at least around 360 kHz).
Logs should show not more than 100 NDBs please (if more than 100
the harvester program will 'drop' the loggings furthest from 360 kHz).
We’ll summarise everyone's equipment on the first page of the combined
results, so please describe:
The RECEIVER/AERIAL you used and the FILTER(s) selected and,
if homebrew, the number of active devices used, transistor types, etc.
All the usual procedures for making logs apply:
Send your CLE log to NDB List, not in an attachment.
Please show on EVERY LINE of your log:
# The full date (or Day No.) and UTC (the day changes at 00:00 UTC).
# kHz - the beacon's nominal published frequency, if known.
# The Call Ident.
Show those main items FIRST on each line, before other optional details
such as Location, Distance, etc. Please send your complete log with
CLE253 and FINAL in the Subject line.
Whether you are a first time CLE-er or a regular, always make your log
interesting to everyone by giving your own location and do feel free
to share any comments you have on this unusual event.
Joachim or I will send the usual 'Any More Logs?' email at about 2000 UTC
on Tuesday 25th so that you can check that your log has been found OK.
Make sure your log has arrived on the List at the very latest by 09:00 UTC
on Wednesday 26th February.
We’ll try to complete making the combined results a day or so later.
However you choose to take part, we hope you will find your 'back to basics'
listening enjoyable and worthwhile.
Brian
------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'gmail.com
Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE coordinator)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
P.S. NOT FOR YOU?
Listening without narrow filters is not going to revolutionise our hobby!
But there ARE some unexpected benefits and advantages:
1. Hearing several beacons on a few adjacent frequencies at the same time
becomes easier as you get practice at recognising them by listening to their
very different audio tones. At first, when listening to a random frequency
setting, you may hear just one or two beacons. But after listening for a
little while you realise that there are three - - four, maybe more, all of
them audible without altering any of the receiver controls.
It is a skill that gives satisfaction as you improve.
2. Hearing multiple beacons like that can be useful because, with no extra
tools, you can hear NDBs over a wide frequency range much more quickly than usual, perhaps spotting the arrival of new UNIDs or the return of occasional beacons. (To protect your hearing, keep your receiver gain controls fairly low, except around very quiet frequencies).
3. With normal listening it is easy to miss any NDBs that have abnormal
carrier frequencies or non-standard offsets. With 'Barn Door' listening
they won't escape because everything is let through.
4. When using a wide filter, you may be surprised by hearing some
Broadcast Station signals (e.g. harmonics) among the NDBs and you will
be able to identify them.
With a narrow filter, often you may not recognise an AM signal as audio
- it just sounds like nondescript 'hash' affecting a wide range of frequencies
around the central carrier.
Maybe listeners will report some other good things about their barn door
listening during the CLE - and probably some bad things too!
Do join in if you can.
**************************
**************************
These listening events serve several purposes. They:
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range
- will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations
- will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working
- give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
‘Barn Door’ CLE
The next CLE, coming up at the end of the month, will be another ‘barn-door’ event where listeners are encouraged to use wider bandwidths than normal ... typically something that will allow you to hear beacons at least 2kHz each side of the frequency that you are tuned to.
Your ears will be the only filter that you need!
This will be the first winter event of this type and results could be very interesting! In the past, many participants have used their homebrew regens including the popular ‘1AD’ (1 Active Device) MOSFET regen, built for the NDB part of the spectrum.
The last time this event occurred, I whipped together a 1AD regen in a day which proved amazingly effective in spite of the mid-summer propagation.
There is still plenty of time for you to put something simple together and you can find some helpful suggestions in my previous '1AD' blog here.
I will have more details later, before the event, so please stay tuned and consider getting something ready ... maybe all you need to do is wind a new coil for your favorite regenerative receiver!
Your ears will be the only filter that you need!
This will be the first winter event of this type and results could be very interesting! In the past, many participants have used their homebrew regens including the popular ‘1AD’ (1 Active Device) MOSFET regen, built for the NDB part of the spectrum.
The last time this event occurred, I whipped together a 1AD regen in a day which proved amazingly effective in spite of the mid-summer propagation.
There is still plenty of time for you to put something simple together and you can find some helpful suggestions in my previous '1AD' blog here.
I will have more details later, before the event, so please stay tuned and consider getting something ready ... maybe all you need to do is wind a new coil for your favorite regenerative receiver!
Hunting For NDBs In CLE252
AP-378 Mayne Island, BC |
How time flies. Once again it's a CLE weekend. It seems like the last one was just a week ago!
'CLE's are 'Co-ordinated Listening Events, and NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum.
This time the hunting ground is the 15 kHz slice from 370.0 - 384.9 kHz.
This is a somewhat dreaded range for me since my local blowtorch NDB, 'AP' (378 kHz), sits right in the middle of the range. 'AP' is located at the entrance to Active Pass, the main ferry route to Vancouver Island, and the antenna is about 3/4 of a mile down the beach from me. Needless to say, the beacon is about 40db over S9! With careful loop nulling, I can reduce this by about 25db but it's still an enormous signal to deal with.
Hopefully you can put 'AP' in your own log this weekend but its 25-watt signal will be much weaker for you. It's been logged as far east as Illinois and with your receiver in the CW mode, can be found on 378.399 kHz.
Things seem geomagnetically quiet at the moment but we are due for another blast on January 21st ... hopefully things settle-down for the weekend event.
From CLE coordinator Brian Keyte (G3SIA), comes the following CLE info:
Hello all
Here is your Early Advice of our next Co-ordinated Listening Event.
We are back to a normal event looking for the NDBs in a narrow and
fairly relaxing frequency range. Beginners, occasionals and regulars
are all very welcome to join in.
Days: Friday 24 January - Monday 27 January
Times: Start and end at midday, LOCAL TIME at the receiver
Frequencies: 370 - 384.9 kHz
Just log all NDBs you can identify that are listed in the range (it includes
370 kHz but not 385 kHz) plus any UNIDs that you come across there.
We last had a close look at this frequency range in CLE236 at the end of
September 2018.
Please look out for the full Final Details in a few days, including how to
present your log, etc.
Please send your CLE log to the List in a plain text email if possible(not in an attachment) with CLE252 and FINAL at the start of its title.
Show on each log line:
# The date (e.g. 2020-01-25, etc., or just 25) and UTC
(the date changes at 00:00 UTC)
# kHz (the nominal published frequency, if known)
# The Call Ident.
Show those main items FIRST - other optional details such as Location
and Distance go LATER in the same line.
If you send interim logs, please also send a 'FINAL' (complete) log.
As always, tell us your own location and brief details of the equipment
that you were using during the weekend.
To help you to plan your listening, seeklists and maps for your part of the
World are available via the CLE page http://www.ndblist.info/cle.htm
Good listening - enjoy the CLE.
Brian
------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'gmail.com
Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE coordinator)
------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are interested in some remote listening - maybe due to local difficulties - you could use any one remote receiver for your loggings, stating its location and with the owner’s permission if required. A remote listener may NOT also use another receiver, local or remote, to make further loggings for the same CLE.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
These listening events serve several purposes. They:
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range
- will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations
- will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working
- give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
Hunting For NDB Pairs In CLE251
A fairly popular CLE event held around this time of the year is the "Noah's Ark" Holiday CLE!
It calls for listeners to hunt down and log pairs of NDBs from as many 'radio countries' as possible.
As explained below, in NA and Australia, states and provinces count as separate 'radio countries' thankfully.
For those unfamiliar with this monthly activity, a 'CLE' is a 'Co-ordinated Listening Event', as NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum.
If you've been meaning to participate in CLE, then maybe this weekend is a fine time to try! We continue to have a lot of first time submissions so you won't be alone!
As well, if you're trying to learn CW, copying NDBs is perfect practice as the identifier speed is generally slow and the letters are repeated again every few seconds!
This past week has seen a long period of great propagation quickly get worse with the arrival of another coronal hole stream. This is quickly abating and the ionosphere may well have fully recovered for the nine-day event.
When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. Listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are modulated with a 1020 Hz tone approximately.
For example, 'AA' near Fargo, ND, transmits on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier is tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident can be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone is actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone is 1054 Hz.
Often, one sideband will be much stronger than the other so if you don't hear the first one, try listening on the other sideband.
Canadian NDBs normally have an USB tone only, usually very close to 400 Hz. They also have a long dash (keydown) following the CW identifier.
All NDBs heard in North America will be listed in the RNA database (updated daily) while those heard in Europe may be found in the REU database. Beacons heard outside of these regions will be found in the RWW database.
From CLE organizer Brian Keyte, G3SIA, comes the details:
Hello all
We hope you are looking forward to our "Noah's Ark" Holiday CLE – it
starts at midday on Christmas Day and you can listen at any times
from then right through to midday on Thursday 2nd January.
It's very straightforward. Just as the animals went into the Ark two by two,
so the Radio Countries' NDBs will go into our logs two by two.
Days: Wednesday 25th December to Thursday 2nd January
Times: Start and End at midday, your LOCAL TIME
Target: A maximum of TWO NDBs from each Radio Country
Range: 190-1740 kHz
So during the course of the event we shall try to log TWO NDBs from each
of as many Radio Countries as we can - e.g. 2 from France, 2 from Spain,
2 from the Florida, 2 from Quebec, 2 from Brazil, 2 from New Zealand, etc.
Each Australian and USA State and each Canadian Province is a separate
Country. For our full list see: www.ndblist.info/beacons/countrylist.pdf
Each NDB making the pairs can be logged at any times during the event.
UNIDs, Amateur, DGPS and Navtex beacons are not included, but any
UNIDs can be shown in a separate 'non-CLE' list or in a separate email.
Noah didn't have single animals in the Ark, but if you can only log ONE
NDB from a Country, it will still be welcome in your log without a mate!
Everyone is asked to please listen for YOUR OWN NEAREST active NDB
and include it with the one other logging for that Country (if any).
For details of a country’s active NDBs go to www.classaxe.com/dx/ndb/rww/
If you are listening from Europe or North America replace the rww by
reu or rna respectively. Next to 'Locations' enter the State or Country
abbreviation(s), then select 'Only Active’ at the bottom.
Post your final, complete log to the List (please not in an attachment)
with CLE251 and FINAL in the Subject heading, to arrive at the very latest
by 09:00 UTC on Saturday 4th January.
As usual, please include on every line of your log:
# Date** and UTC (the day changes at 00:00 UTC)
# kHz (the nominal, published, frequency if possible)
# Call Ident
Those main log items must be shown FIRST with the country shown
LATER in the same line, together with any other (optional) details
such as location, offset and distance.
**IMPORTANT - IF YOU USE THE SIMPLE 'dd' DATE FORMAT.
The input program for REU/RNA/RWW does not allocate the month and year.
The good people who enter the information for us then have to tell the
program what month and year to use. That is not a problem IF ALL
LOGGINGS FOR THE SAME MONTH ARE GROUPED TOGETHER.
So please help us by making sure you separate your December and
January loggings, even if it breaks up some Noah pairs.
Where possible, we suggest that logs are in Radio Country order, instead
of in the usual kHz order, so that the country pairs appear together.
We'll send an ANY MORE LOGS? email at about 20:00 UTC on Friday 3rd
January showing whose logs we have found. Try to post your log to the
List before that so you will get confirmation that it has arrived OK.
Good listening, everyone. Enjoy the CLE.
And finally, radio or not, Joachim and I wish you a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS.
Brian
(CLE Coordinator)
Reminder 1:
This is an ideal event to help you qualify for one or more of Joe Miller's
attractive Award Certificates - they make great "wallpaper" for any
listening shack. Joe, our Awards Coordinator, invites us to submit
requests. http://www.ndblist.info/awards.htm will take you to the
different web pages containing the advice you will need.
Certificates can be ordered direct from the REU-RNA-RWW database.
Now is a good time to apply with so many NDBs going off air.
Reminder 2:
You could use any ONE remote receiver for your loggings, stating its
location and owner - with their permission if required.
( e.g. see https://sdr.hu/ )
A remote listener may NOT also use another receiver, whether local
or remote, to obtain further loggings for the same CLE.
These monthly listening events serve several purposes. They:
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range
- will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations
- will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working
- give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun good hunting and have a great Christmas!
Hunting For NDBs in CLE250
YMW - 366 courtesy: ve3gop.com |
There is no doubt that as one ages, the passage of time seems to accelerate. Didn't we just have a CLE a couple of days ago?? In any event, this weekend finds CLE 250 focusing on 350.0 - 369.9 kHz, in search of NDBs.
For those unfamiliar with this monthly activity, a 'CLE' is a 'Co-ordinated Listening Event', as NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum.
If you've been meaning to participate in CLE, then maybe this weekend is a fine time to try! We continue to have a lot of first time submissions so you won't be alone!
As well, if you're trying to learn CW, copying NDBs is perfect practice as the identifier speed is generally slow and the letters are repeated again every few seconds!
A nice challenge in this one is to hear YMW - 366 kHz. 'YMW' is located in southwest Quebec, near Maniwaki.
'YMW' runs 500W into a massive vertical and is well-heard throughout North America as well as in Europe. Listen for its upper-sideband CW identifier repeated every 10 seconds (with your receiver in the CW mode) on 366.398 kHz.
This past week has seen the best propagation of the season so far. Hopefully it will extend into the CLE weekend ... but, it will be interesting to see if our CLE once again gets whacked by the Sun, just as it gets started. This has been the case for the past several CLEs as our monthly schedule seems synced with some nasty coronal hole on the Sun, also on a ~ 27 day cycle!
When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. Listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are modulated with a 1020 Hz tone approximately.
For example, 'AA' near Fargo, ND, transmits on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier is tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident can be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone is actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone is 1054 Hz.
Often, one sideband will be much stronger than the other so if you don't hear the first one, try listening on the other sideband.
Canadian NDBs normally have an USB tone only, usually very close to 400 Hz. They also have a long dash (keydown) following the CW identifier.
All NDBs heard in North America will be listed in the RNA database (updated daily) while those heard in Europe may be found in the REU database. Beacons heard outside of these regions will be found in the RWW database.
From CLE organizer Brian Keyte, G3SIA, comes the details:
Our 250th Co-ordinated Listening Event is almost here.
Can new 'listening eventers' join in too? YES, PLEASE! Joachim and I are
always pleased to help first-time CLE logs through the harvester program.
Days: Friday 22 November - Monday 25 November
Times: Start and End at midday, your LOCAL time
Range: 350.0 - 369.9 kHz
Please log all the NDBs you can identify that are listed in this range (it
includes 350 kHz but not 370) plus any UNIDs that you come across there.
You can find full information to help you, including seeklists made from
RNA/REU/RWW, by going to the CLE page http://www.ndblist.info/cle.htm
and clicking on SEEKLIST.
Please send your 'Final' CLE log to the List, if possible as a plain text
email and not in an attachment, with 'CLE250' and 'FINAL' at the start of
its title.
Please show the following main items FIRST on EVERY line of your log:
# The full Date (e.g. 2019-11-22) or just the day number (e.g. 22)
and UTC (the day changes at 00:00 UTC).
# kHz - the beacon's nominal published frequency, if you know it.
# The Call Ident.
Optional details such as Location and Distance go LATER in the same line.
If you measure LSB/USB offsets and cycle times they are useful too.
Please always include details of your own location and brief details of the
receiver, aerial(s) and any recording equipment you were using, etc.
Joachim or I will send the usual 'Any More Logs?' email at about 20:00 UTC
on Tuesday so you can check that your log has been found OK.
Do make sure that your log has arrived at the very latest by 09:00 UTC on
Wednesday 27 November. We hope to make all the combined results
within a day or so.
Good listening
Brian
------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'gmail.com
Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE coordinator)
------------------------------------------------------------------
(Reminder: If you wish you can use a remote receiver for your loggings,
stating its location and owner - with their permission if required.
A remote listener may NOT also use another receiver, whether local or
remote, to obtain further loggings for the same CLE)
These monthly listening events serve several purposes. They:
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range
- will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations
- will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working
- give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
Hunting For NDBs In CLE249
YUT - 335 kHz (courtesy: VE3GOP) |
It's CLE time once again! This coming weekend the CLE hunting grounds will be 335.0 - 349.9 kHz.
For those unfamiliar with this monthly activity, a 'CLE' is a 'Co-ordinated Listening Event', as NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum.
If you've been meaning to participate in CLE, then maybe this weekend is a fine time to try! Lately, we've had a lot of first time submissions so you won't be alone!
As well, if you're trying to learn CW, copying NDBs is perfect practice as the identifier speed is generally slow and the letters are repeated again every few seconds!
A nice challenge in this one is to hear YUT - 335 kHz. 'YUT' is located at Repulse Bay, Nunavut, way up on Baffin Island.
'YUT' runs just 25W into a massive vertical and is well-heard throughout North America and parts of northern Europe. Listen for its upper-sideband CW identifier repeated every 10 seconds (with your receiver in the CW mode) on 335.406 kHz.
At this time of the season, summer lightning storms should be drawing down significantly and with some decent propagation there will be many stations to be logged.
When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. Listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are modulated with a 1020 Hz tone approximately.
For example, 'AA' near Fargo, ND, transmits on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier is tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident can be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone is actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone is 1054 Hz.
Often, one sideband will be much stronger than the other so if you don't hear the first one, try listening on the other sideband.
Canadian NDBs normally have an USB tone only, usually very close to 400 Hz. They also have a long dash (keydown) following the CW identifier.
All NDBs heard in North America will be listed in the RNA database (updated daily) while those heard in Europe may be found in the REU database. Beacons heard outside of these regions will be found in the RWW database.
From CLE organizer Brian Keyte, G3SIA, comes the details:
Hello all
Our 249th Co-ordinated Listening Event is less than a week away.
Just a normal CLE using a busy range of frequencies.
First-timers' CLE logs will also be very welcome, as always.
Days: Friday 25 October - Monday 28 October
Times: Start and end at midday, your LOCAL time
Range: 335.0 - 349.9 kHz
Please join us wherever you are - just log the NDBs you can identify
having their nominal frequencies in the range (it includes 335 kHz
but not 350 kHz) and any UNIDs that you come across there too.
We last concentrated on these frequencies in CLE233 (June 2018).
Please read the 'Final Details' which will follow on Wednesday.
73 Brian
(Reminder: You could use any one remote receiver for your loggings,
stating its location and owner - with their permission if required.
A remote listener may NOT also use another receiver, whether local
or remote, to obtain further loggings for the same CLE).
These listening events serve several purposes. They:
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range
- will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations
- will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working
- give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!