AmateurRadio.com

http://helios.gsfc.nasa.gov/chole.html

This past weekend's CLE191 activity focused on a small range from 260KHz - 269.9KHz as well as from 470KHz and above. From the looks of the Sun, you would think that conditions would have been pretty good but they were not. Except for a couple of brief propagation lifts in the early morning hours of Sunday and Monday, propagation was very poor over most parts of North America. Even though the sun looks quiet, there are two large coronal holes that have been creating geomagnetic disturbances, juggling the K index from 1 to 4 throughout the three-night activity.

With my Perseus SDR taking 2-minute spectrum captures once per hour, from dusk through dawn, the short propagation lifts become quickly evident ... the majority of my loggings were made during these short windows of propagation:

21 04:00 260 ZXS Prince George, BC, CAN
21 02:00 260 YSQ Atlin, BC, CAN
22 07:00 260 AVZ Terrell, TX, USA
21 02:00 260 AP Sedalia, CO, USA
21 13:00 261 D6 Fairmont Hot Springs Apt, BC, CAN
22 09:00 263 ZQT Thunder Bay, ON, CAN
21 09:00 263 YGK Kingston, ON, CAN
21 09:00 263 YBB Kugaaruk, NU, CAN
21 13:00 263 JDN Jordan, MT, USA 
21 08:00 263 3Z Russell Apt, MB, CAN
21 08:00 264 ZPB Sachigo Lake, ON, CAN
21 08:00 266 XD Edmonton, AB, CAN
21 02:00 266 VR Vancouver, BC, CAN
21 08:00 266 SL Turner, OR, USA
21 08:00 266 SAA Saratoga, WY, USA
21 08:00 266 ICK Annette Island, ALS
21 08:00 266 BZ Bozeman, MT, USA
21 13:00 268 ZWL Wollaston Lake, SK, CAN
21 08:00 269 ZW Teslin, YT, CAN
21 04:00 269 YK Castlegar, BC, CAN
21 08:00 269 UDE Delta Beach, MB, CAN
22 09:00 269 SWT Seward, NE, USA
22 09:00 269 PK Park Rapids, MN, USA
22 09:00 269 ISB Sibley Municipal Apt, IA, USA
21 08:00 269 CII Choteau Apt, MT, USA
23 08:00 510 OF Madison, NE, USA
21 10:00 512 HMY Lexington, OK, USA
21 10:00 515 SAK Kalispell, MT, USA
23 08:00 515 PN Ponca City, OK, USA
23 08:00 515 OS Columbus, OH, USA
21 10:00 515 CL Cresent Beach, WA, USA
22 09:00 516 YWA Petawawa, ON, CAN
23 08:00 521 TO Topeka, KS, USA
22 08:00 521 ORC Orange City, IA, USA
21 10:00 521 INE Missoula, MT, USA
23 08:00 524 HRD Hawthorne, TX, USA
21 09:00 525 ICW Nenana, ALS
21 09:00 529 SQM Big Level Isl, ALS

21 08:00 1725 WH2XDE/3 MA
21 08:00 472.4 VE7CNF BC
21 06:00 474 VE7BDQ BC
21 08:00 475.5 WG2XSV WA

In just a few years the Sun should be very very quiet for several winters, offering some superb LF listening once again.

WC-332KHz - White Rock, BC

From Neil (WØYSE):

 WG2XSV (experimental callsign) will be running a CW beacon on 475.475 kHz for this event.
​(​In fact it is already running as of 0001 UTC 20 Feb)​.


Power is ~1 watt ERP (+/- 1 dB) from SW Washington State.

Reports appreciated to wØyse [at] ARRL[dot] net

I'm sure Neil would be delighted to receive any heard reports from his weekend CW beacon. Remember that this CLE also covers the 630m band and CW beacons that may be operational there.

If you know of any other 630m CW beacons that will be activated, please let me know and I will post the information here.

Also, CLE reports may be mailed to either myself, the CLE Yahoo list or to Brain Keyte, CLE organizer. Brian's address is: [email protected]

Reports should include your exact location (Lat/Long preferred or exact Gridsquare), your full name and e-mail address in case Brian needs to send an enquiry regarding your log.

The finer-details of CLE191 may be found in Wednesday's blog.

Lets hope conditions stay nice and quiet as they appear to be doing.

One CLE Target - 'VR'  266KHz / Vancouver Int'l Approach

How time flies. For you low-frequency buffs, another challenge awaits. From CLE coordinator Brian Keyte (G3SIA) comes the following reminder:




"Our February Co-ordinated Listening Event will soon be here.
We'll be hunting for normal beacons in two contrasting frequency ranges.
One range also gives the possibility of hearing several amateur beacons.
As always, first-time CLE logs will be extra welcome.

Days: Friday 20 February - Monday 23 February
Times: Start and end at midday, your local time
Frequencies: 260.0 - 269.9 kHz
plus: 440.0 - 1740.0 kHz

Many of us should be able to hear beacons in both ranges, though Europe
only has a handful in the '260s'. From 440 onwards, Eastern Europe and
North Africa have several beacons and some regular UNIDs and some NDBs
can be found among Europe's Medium Wave Broadcast Stations.

Many of us are within range of some of the amateur beacons on frequencies around 470 kHz and 500 kHz - we'll be listening for ANYTHING OPERATING IN BEACON MODE, preferably with normal speed Morse.
(We ask operators who sometimes use QRSS, PSK, WSPR, etc., which need
software to receive them, to PLEASE CHOOSE THE SIMPLER MODE during
the CLE so that we shall all be able to receive and report them).

Send your CLE log to the List, preferably as a plain text email
and not in an attachment, with CLE191 at the start of its title.
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 you know it)
# The Call Ident.
 
Other optional details, Location, Distance, etc., go LATER in the same
line (or in footnotes). Any extra details about UNIDs, especially strong
ones that may be near to you (maybe their approximate direction, etc.)
will help us to discover more about them. As always, please make your
log useful to old and new members alike by including your own location
and brief details of the equipment and aerial(s) you were using.

I will send an 'Any More Logs?' email at about 18:00 UTC on Tuesday
evening. From it 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 25 February.
I hope to finish making the combined results on that day."


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

Final details can be found at the NDB List website, and worldwide results, for every participant, will be posted there a few days after the event. If you are a member of the ndblist Group, results will also be e-mailed and posted there.

The very active Yahoo ndblist 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.

If you are contemplating getting started on 630m, listening for NDBs  is an excellent way to test out your receive capabilities as there are several NDBs located near this part of the spectrum.

You need not be an ndblist member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers. 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!

Reports may be sent to the ndblist or e-mailed to either myself or CLE co- ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above.

Please...do 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.

I'm the chap who looks after our monthly Co-ordinated Listening Events (CLEs).

About 70 of our NDB List members have taken part in recent CLEs - and the other 550 members haven't. Only about 250 members have ever sent a CLE log (including all ex-members), so more than 300 current members haven't.

If you are one of the 300+, do you sometimes look at our monthly CLE results and maybe find bits of them interesting or useful?

This is NOT a sales pitch to try and make you take part, welcome though that would be! However, if several 'non-CLE' Members are finding the results helpful, I would like to know whether we might improve the way the results are presented to make them more understandable and more useful to our members generally?

If you are interested, it would help me if you could please reply DIRECT TO ME at [email protected]



I will keep your reply confidential and I will try to acknowledge all replies individually - there may be just yours or there might be 100 of them !!


1. How often have you found any individual listener's CLE log of interest?


2. How often have you looked at any of the CLE combined results?

Once or twice
Sometimes
Often

3. (if any) Which results were of interest?

Tables, etc. in the Excel attachments
Tables, etc. in the CLE Archives


4. Did you find that the results needed further explanation?

Yes, sometimes
Yes, often
Yes, always






6. Have you sent your own listening log(s) to NDB List?


7. Finally, please confirm that you are one of the 300+

I've only sent 1 or 2 CLE logs




Brian Keyte

(CLE Co-ordinator)

YJ-200KHz - Victoria Int'l

Listeners towards the central and southern portions of North America reported phenomenally good conditions this weekend, most unusual for a CLE event! Out west and here in BC, conditions were not noticeably enhanced and could best be described as kind of 'mushy' ... most signals were a struggle. The further south you went, the better the propagation became.

CFL Crud

Unfortunately, I am still struggling with noise pollution (cheap or failing CFLs) in a house about ten properties away, creating a constant 60 Hz hum and drifting birdies throughout the band ... as it was during the last CLE. Hopefully the owners of the home will return before the next CLE arrives!

25 04:00  198      DIW       Dixon, NC, USA
24 06:00  200     YJ          Victoria - Sidney Island, BC, CAN
24 04:00  200     YDL       Dease Lake, BC, CAN
25 07:00  200     UAB       Anahim Lake, BC, CAN
24 04:00  201     ZWN      Winnipeg, MB, CAN
24 12:00  201      IP           Lufthansa, AZ, USA
24 07:00  201      GV         Greenville, TX, USA
26 05:40  201      YVZ      Deer Lake, ON, CA
24 06:00  203     ZKI        Kitimat, BC, CAN
24 06:00  203     YBL       Campbell River, BC, CAN
24 06:00  203     TCY       Tracy Municipal Apt, CA, USA
24 04:00  204     ZQR       Regina, SK, CAN
24 11:00   205      XZ          Wawa, ON, CAN
24 04:00  205     COR      Corcoran, CA, USA
24 04:00  206     SOW      Show Low Regional Apt, AZ, USA
24 04:00  206     EF          Castlegar, BC, CAN
24 04:00  207     YNE        Norway House, MB, CAN
24 04:00  207     PY          Fort Chipewyan, AB, CAN
24 07:00  209     ITR         Burlington, CO, USA
24 04:00  209     IB            Atikokan, ON, CAN
25 14:00   209     HGT       Tusi AHP, CA, USA
24 04:00  209     CYT        Yakataga Apt, ALS
24 04:00  211     HDG       Gooding, ID, USA
24 04:00  212     YGX        Gillam, MB, CAN
25 04:00  212     MPZ        Mount Pleasant, IA, USA
24 04:00  212     CGL        Juneau, ALS
24 07:00  212     CFV        Coffeyville, KS, USA
24 04:00  214     LU           Abbotsford, BC, CAN
24 04:00  215     ZAB         Edmonton (Intl Apt), AB, CAN
24 11:00   215     TQH        Tahlequah, OK, USA
24 04:00  216     GRF        Fort Lewis, WA, USA
24 04:00  216     CLB        Wilmington, NC, USA
24 04:00  217     EC           Enoch, UT, USA
24 11:00   218      RL           Red Lake, ON, CAN
24 04:00  218     PR           Prince Rupert, BC, CAN
24 04:00  219     ZRS         Regina, SK, CAN
24 07:00  220     HLE         Hailey, ID, USA
24 04:00  221     QU          Grande Prairie, AB, CAN
24 04:00  222     WY          Wrigley, NT, CAN
24 04:00  223     YKA        Kamloops, BC, CAN
24 04:00  223     AFE         Kake Apt, ALS
25 11:00   224      MO          Moosonee, ON, CAN
24 04:00  224     DN          Dauphin, MB, CAN
25 04:00  225     X5           Vegreville, AB, CAN
24 04:00  225     LWG       Lewisburg - Corvallis, OR, USA
25 04:00  227     YAC        Cat Lake, ON, CAN
25 12:00   227     MHM       Minchumina, ALS
24 04:00  227     CG           Castlegar, BC, CAN
24 04:00  229     AKW       Klawock, ALS
24 06:00  230     YD           Smithers, BC, CAN
24 07:00  230     VG          Vermilion, AB, CAN
24 11:00   230     NRN       Norton, KS, USA
24 07:00  230     BI            Bismarck, ND, USA
24 07:00  233     QN          Nakina, ON, CAN
24 07:00  233     OKS       Oshkosh, NE, USA
25 14:00   233     LG          Seal Beach, CA, USA
24 04:00  233     BWP       Breckenridge, ND, USA
24 04:00  233     BR          Brandon, MB, CAN
25 12:00   233     AZN        Amazon, MO, USA
24 04:00  233     ALJ         Hinchinbrook Island, ALS
25 04:00  235     CN         Cochrane, ON, CAN
25 04:00  236     ZRJ        Round Lake, ON, CAN
24 04:00  236     YZA       Ashcroft, BC, CAN
24 04:00  236     FOR       Forsyth, MT, USA
24 04:00  238     MPA      Nampa, ID, USA
24 04:00  239     OJ          High Level, AB, CAN
25 04:00  381.5   SJX       St James, MI, USA

Listening for NDBs is a practical way to check out your LF receive capability, should you be interested in developing a good 630m station or in following the nuances of night-to-night MF propagation.

Courtesy: http://www.solen.info/solar/

Those of you following the CLE low frequency NDB listening events, will know that this past one was longer than usual, running from December 25th to January 6th. Once again, the sun demonstrated its nasty-side, right on schedule. Conditions from this part of the continent were dreadful, while others, further to the south, were not as badly affected.

The cause of the poor propagation was a continual coronal hole stream, from a very large area in the sun's southern regions, as shown here. Now it appears that Coronal Hole 649, in the north, is about to swing into a geoeffective position, and take over the task of disrupting propagation.

CLE189 covered the range of 275-425KHz, with the objective of logging at least one beacon (preferrably the farthest one) on each available channel (150 in total). There are a number of channels that have no NDBs as well as many that get completely clobbered by 1 Kw DGPS (digital QRM) navigation signals along the coasts and the Great Lakes. Additionaly, I was fighting the new noisemaker in my neighborhood, which has yet to be eliminated.

Here is a screen shot of my Perseus receiver, showing the crud being generated...every 60Hz and never constant...drifting in and out of the desired passband continually. The only way to hear signals was to wait until there was a short hole created by the drifters going by. I will be happy when this is issue is finally resolved.

My log shows 111 stations in total, a surprising number, considering the poor propagation and the QRM. If anything, this demonstrates just what a superb receiver the Perseus SDR is:

29 01:26 275 HIN 1053 Whitney - Chadron Muni Apt, NE, USA
31 13:00 277 ACE 1344 Kachemak - Homer Apt, ALS
31 15:00 278 1U 521 Masset Municipal Apt, BC, CAN
31 15:00 280 GYZ 1005 Camp Guernsey - Guernsey, WY, USA
31 15:00 281 CRN 1510 Cairn Mtn - Sparrevohn LRRS, ALS
31 15:00 283 DUT 1867 Dutch Harbor - Unalaska Apt, ALS
29 09:00 284 QD 1014 The Pas Municipal Apt, MB, CAN
31 04:00 286 EKS 600 Ennis - Big Sky Apt, MT, USA
29 09:00 287 ZWG 1168 Winnipeg, MB, CAN
29 09:00 290 YYF 171 Penticton, BC, CAN
29 09:00 292 ZET 518 Devon - Edmonton IAP, AB, CAN
29 09:00 293 MB 18 Mill Bay - Sidney, BC, CAN
29 09:00 295 8C 537 Fairview Municipal Apt, AB, CAN
31 15:00 296 LGD 349 La Grande, OR, USA
29 09:00 299 TV 417 Turner Valley, AB, CAN
29 09:00 300 YIV 1272 Island Lake Apt, MB, CAN
29 09:00 302 QW 705 North Battleford, SK, CAN
29 09:00 304 FH 485 Mc Leod (Whitecourt), AB, CAN
29 09:00 305 YQ 1362 Churchill / Eastern Creek, MB, CAN
29 06:00 308 ZZD 515 Calmar (Edmonton Intl Apt), AB, CAN
29 08:00 311 9Y 421 Pincher Creek, AB, CAN
29 08:00 312 UNT 173 Naramata, BC, CAN
31 08:00 317 VC 873 La Ronge, SK, CAN
29 12:00 320 YQF 469 Red Deer - Penhold, AB, CAN
29 12:00 323 HJH 1393 Hebron Municipal Apt, NE, USA
31 06:00 325 YJQ 312 Bella Bella (Campbell Island), BC, CAN
29 12:00 326 DC 131 Princeton Municipal Apt, BC, CAN
29 07:00 328 YTL 1465 Big Trout Lake, ON, CAN
29 12:00 329 YEK 1414 Arviat, NU, CAN
02 09:00 330 2A 1147 South Indian Lake Apt, MB, CAN
29 13:00 332 POA 2681 Pahoa - Hawaii Island, HWA
29 09:00 333 STI 540 'Sturgeon' Mountain Home, ID, USA
29 09:00 334 YER 1560 Fort Severn, ON, CAN
29 09:00 335 YLD 1813 Chapleau - Devon, ON, CAN
29 12:00 336 LF 1167 La Salle, MB, CAN
29 09:00 337 7D 956 Hudson Bay, SK, CAN
29 08:00 338 RYN 1316 Ryan Field Apt - Tucson, AZ, USA
29 09:00 339 6X 1237 York Landing, MB, CAN
29 09:00 340 YY 2452 Mont Joli, QC, CAN
31 15:00 341 ELF 1710 Elfee - Cold Bay, ALS
29 12:00 342 PFT 1232 Piney - Pinecreek Border Apt, MN, USA
29 12:00 343 YZH 571 Slave Lake Municipal Apt, AB, CAN
29 14:00 344 FCH 857 Chandler - Fresno, CA, USA
29 09:00 346 YXL 1401 Sioux Lookout Municipal Apt, ON, CAN
29 09:00 347 PA 814 Prince Albert, SK, CAN
29 12:00 348 MNC 112 'Mason Co' Shelton, WA, USA
29 09:00 349 GW 1999 'Teock' Greenwood, MS, USA
29 08:00 350 RG 1604 GALLY - Oklahoma City, OK, USA
31 08:00 351 YKQ 1948 Waskaganish, QC, CAN
29 09:00 353 LLD 2684 Lanai - Lanai Island, HWA
29 09:00 355 YWP 1572 Webequie, ON, CAN
29 09:00 356 ZF 995 Yellowknife, NT, CAN
29 09:00 358 SIT 750 Sitka - Biorka Island, ALS
29 09:00 359 SDY 879 Sidney, MT, USA
29 09:00 360 SW 1267 'Roadd' Warroad, MN, USA
29 09:00 361 E3 630 Wabasca, AB, CAN
29 09:00 362 YZS 1807 Coral Harbour, NU, CAN
29 09:00 364 4D 735 Helmet, BC, CAN
29 09:00 365 HQG 1362 Hugoton Municipal Apt, KS, USA
29 07:00 366 YMW 2179 Maniwaki, QC, CAN
29 09:00 367 R5 1038 Pukatawagan Apt, MB, CAN
02 10:00 368 PNM 1402 Princeton Municipal Apt, MN, USA
29 13:00 370 YBV 1169 Berens River Apt, MB, CAN
29 09:00 371 GW 1946 Jarpik - Kuujjuarapik, QC, CAN
29 09:00 372 ZPA 824 Glass (Prince Albert), SK, CAN
29 09:00 373 TF 1191 ARUBA - Pueblo Mem Apt, CO, USA
29 13:00 374 LV 776 REIGA - Livermore, CA, USA
29 09:00 375 BM 1163 Balmoral, MB, CAN
29 09:00 376 YAG 1345 Fort Frances, ON, CAN
29 09:00 377 EHA 1350 Elkhart - Morton County Apt, KS, USA
29 12:00 378 OT 381 EMIRE - North Bend, OR, USA
29 09:00 379 YBE 945 Uranium City, SK, CAN
29 09:00 380 OEL 1297 Oakley Municipal Apt, KS, USA
29 09:00 382 YPL 1461 Pickle Lake, ON, CAN
29 09:00 383 CNP 1146 Chappell, NE, USA
29 09:00 384 3F 792 Ile-a-la-crosse, SK, CAN
29 15:00 385 EHM 1693 Cape Newenham LRRS Apt, ALS
29 09:00 386 HAU 558 Hauser - Helena, MT, USA
02 09:00 387 CAV 1473 Clarion, IA, USA
29 08:00 388 AM 2596 'Picny' Tampa, FL, USA
29 13:00 389 CSB 1275 Harry Strunk - Cambridge Muni, NE, USA
29 10:00 390 HBT 1620 Borland - Sand Point Apt, ALS
29 09:00 391 DDP 3772 Dorado - Vega Baja, PTR
29 12:00 392 XVG 1344 Longville, MN, USA
29 09:00 393 BR 2101 'Depoo' Brownsville, TX, USA
29 09:00 394 RWO 1333 Woody Island - Kodiak, ALS
29 09:00 395 ULS 1342 Ulysses Apt, KS, USA
29 09:00 396 YPH 1923 Inukjuak Apt, QC, CAN
29 09:00 397 ZSS 760 Yellowhead (Saskatoon), SK, CAN
29 09:00 398 3D 965 Cumberland House, SK, CAN
29 09:00 399 ZHD 1371 'Thunder' Dryden, ON, CAN
29 09:00 400 FN 1071 COLLN - Fort Collins, CO, USA
29 09:00 400 CKN 1220 Crookston, MN, USA
29 09:00 401 YPO 1644 Peawanuck Apt, ON, CAN
29 09:00 402 L4 888 Nipawin, SK, CAN
29 13:00 403 AZC 971 Colorado City Municipal Apt, AZ, USA
29 15:00 404 GCR 1185 Glacier River - Cordova Apt, ALS
29 14:00 405 2K 538 Camrose, AB, CAN
29 09:00 406 YLJ 725 Meadow Lake, SK, CAN
29 08:00 407 CO 1157 PETEY - Fountain, CO, USA
29 09:00 408 MW 221 PELLY - Moses Lake, WA, USA
29 10:00 408 JDM 1270 Wheatfield - Colby, KS, USA
29 12:00 410 GDV 860 Glendive - Dawson Comm Apt, MT, USA
29 09:00 412 1W 996 Sandy Bay, SK, CAN
29 12:00 413 YHD 1361 Dryden Regional, ON, CAN
29 09:00 414 GRN 1094 Gordon, NE, USA
29 09:00 415 CBC 3129 Cayman Brac - West End, CYM
29 09:00 417 IY 1508 CHUKK - Floyd, IA, USA
29 09:00 419 RYS 1975 Detroit / Grosse Ile, MI, USA
29 09:00 420 FQ 1422 MONTZ - East Chain, MN, USA
29 09:00 421 VLY 1721 McKenney, TX, USA

Once again, the 10' x 20' loop was employed for the entire affair, surviving two bad wind storms during the listening event.

10' x 20' LF Loop

As is usually the case, conditions deteriorated rapidly as the CLE weekend approached. Conditions varied throughout North America as those listening from the south-eastern regions of the U.S. reported much better propagation than those further to the northwest. Friday night appeared to be the best of the lot but all three nights were very much less than stellar.

The three-night event produced a total of 39 NDBs, with a couple of surprises.






DD UTC    kHz     Call       mi   Location
----------------------------------------------------------

22 05:00  370     YBV        1169 Berens River Apt, MB, CAN
22 06:59  370     OUN        1611 UoOk Westheimer Apt, OK, USA
22 05:00  371     YK         211  Yakima, WA, USA
23 09:00  371     PUR        1629 Marshall, MO, USA
22 05:00  371     ITU        558  Great Falls, MT, USA
22 05:00  371     GW         1946 Kuujjuarapik, QC, CAN
22 05:00  372     ZPA        824  Prince Albert, SK, CAN
22 05:00  372     YCO        1340 Coppermine, NU, CAN
22 05:12  372     FPN        675  Petersburg, ALS
22 07:00  373     TF         1191 Pueblo Mem Apt, CO, USA
22 05:00  373     MF         444  Table Rock, OR, USA
22 05:00  374     LV         776  Livermore, CA, USA
22 05:00  374     EX         190  Kelowna, BC, CAN
23 09:00  374     EE         1319 Forada, MN, USA
22 05:00  374     BOD        942  Bowman, ND, USA
24 09:59  375     PSN        1854 Palestine, TX, USA
22 05:00  375     FS         896  Fort Simpson, NT, CAN
22 10:59  375     DW         1629 Owasso, OK, USA
22 07:00  375     CP         900  Casper, WY, USA
22 05:00  375     BD         803  Moose Jaw, SK, CAN
22 07:00  376     ZIN        3326 Matthew Town, BAH
22 07:00  376     YAG        1345 Fort Frances, ON, CAN
22 13:59  376     PVQ        1690 Deadhorse, ALS
22 06:59  377     EHA        1350 Elkhart, KS, USA
23 06:59  378     ZFA        1000 Faro Municipal Apt, YT, CAN
22 05:00  378     OT         381  North Bend, OR, USA
22 10:59  379     ZEG        526  Edmonton Intl, AB, CAN
22 05:00  379     YBE        945  Uranium City, SK, CAN
23 12:59  379     IWW        1360 Kenai, ALS
22 09:00  380     OEL        1297 Oakley, KS, USA
22 05:00  380     GC         899  Gillette, WY, USA
22 05:00  382     YPW        86   Powell River, BC, CAN
22 05:00  382     YE         686  Fort Nelson, BC, CAN
22 12:59  382     JNR        1731 Unalakleet, ALS
22 12:00  382     GRN        1522 Guerro Negro, MEX
22 05:00  382     AW         75   Marysville, WA, USA
22 06:59  383     PI         658  Pocatello, ID, USA
22 05:20  383     CNP        1146 Chappell, NE, USA
22 05:00  384     3F         792  Ile-a-la-crosse, SK, CAN
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This particular frequency range (370-384.9kHz) is a tough one for me, since my local pest signal, 'AP' is on 378kHz, smack in the middle of the listening range. 'AP's antenna is just .4 miles (2100') from my antenna and its signal is about 60db over S9.... Very loud!

AP to me...Courtesy: https://www.google.ca/maps/

The new 10' x 20' rotatable loop continues to work well. When pointed towards the east, it offers significant nulling of AP's signal and when carefully aligned to the deepest null-point, reduces the signal by almost 30db...but still leaves a very strong signal.

Using this 'deep null' position, I was (somewhat surprisingly) able to log another Canadian NDB (ZFA  Mayo Airprt, Yukon Territory) on the same frequency as AP. The ident-tone modulation frequencies are separated by 10Hz (408Hz vs 418Hz) which was enough to allow the very narrow ~3Hz Perseus filtering, combined with two notch filters, to reveal the 'ZFA' identifier between the 'AP' identifier. Listen for the weak 'ZFA' ident after the loud keying artifacts of 'AP', when they are transmitting just a steady tone.



The other surprise was the logging of 'PVQ' in Deadhorse, Alaska, way up on the extreme northern slope oil fields.

Courtesy: https://www.google.ca/maps/

My last reception of this beacon was in March and conditions usually have to be very quiet, geomagnetically, to hear it at all. The coronal-hole streaming of this past weekend, putting the damper on LF propagation, makes this path very unlikely and surprising! See if you can hear the weak 'PVQ' identifier during its short appearance early on Saturday morning:


CLE organizer, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), reports 51 participants worldwide and over 2100 reception reports. All reports have been added to the RNA/REU beacon database.

As well, Brian will be publishing all results on the NDB Information page shortly.

All-in-all CLE188 was another enjoyable event....hopefully conditions will be better by this time next month and if you did not participate, maybe you will give it a try next time!