Working
Conditions/Shack
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Jump: Local Signal Conditions | Conditions
by DX Mode
| Shack | Recording
DX Audio
This page has what conditions I
face locally as a DXer, as well as information about what kind of equipment I
use in my DXing set up.
Local
Signal Conditions
- 22
miles SW from Washington, DC.
- Grid
square FM18iq
- Closest
FM signals: 17 mi NE in Washington, DC.
- Closest
TV signal: 9 mi NW in Burke, VA.
My
DX Shack
Above
are my two main DX radios, the Denon TU-1500RD and Sony XDR-F1HD. The Pioneer
DEH-1400 is used with the Olympus voice recorder (pictured in front of the Denon
radio) during Es openings to record an unattended frequency while I DX the other
two radios actively. The Coby TV is kept on its back while not in use to save
space. Check out my detailed review of the Sony tuner here.
FM
& TV DXing Equipment as of 6/4/2009: - Denon
TU-1500RD radio with RDS and modified 110/150 IF filters
- Sony
XDR-F1HD radio with RDS and HD, unmodified
- Pioneer
DEH-1400 car radio, unmodified
- Samsung
LN-T4042H 40" TV for HDTV reception
- Coby
TF-TV505 5" TV for analog reception
- Radio
Shack 15-1245 Antenna Rotor
- Radio
Shack 10dB antenna amplifier
- Radio
Shack VU-90XR 7' antenna, roof-mounted and on a rotor.
- Olympus
voice recorder for use with the Pioneer car radio.
|
The
Denon TU-1500RD's stock knob, as seen above, is not useful for DXing due to its
very small size. I took the knob off an old unused stereo, and to my surprise,
it had the same semi-circle sized shaft under the knob that the stock knob had,
which provided an easy slip-on without further modification or gluing needed.
I advise you to be careful when removing any knob from your radio, as it might
permanently damage it. The Denon tuner is now much easier to DX. I wish I tried
this sooner, as I've had the radio for 2 years and hated its small dial.
Above
is my Radio Shack VU-90XR antenna on the roof, as seen from the ground. Don't
worry--the power lines seen in the foreground are far enough away from the antenna
to be safe!
.
Recording
DX Audio
Wavepad and Total Recorder
are two programs that have been extremely valuable in DXing for me. Total Recorder
is a program that you can set up to record DX via your sound card hourly, while
Wavepad is a program you can use to view the audio files and pick out DX from.
Please refer to KW4RZ's
page on recording DX if you are interested yourself, as he has already done a
great job explaining how to set the programs up for optimal use.
I started
regularly recording my DX logs in 2006, although I have done it occasionally before
then. I noted, especially with Es openings, that I log about twice as many signals
in a good opening with an audio recorder due to having the ability to listen to
the recordings again to pull out weak IDs that I missed the first time around.
The
major problem I faced with recording intially was how to record from both my two
primary radios at once. I hooked up the 'left' audio output from the Denon radio,
and the 'right' output from the Sony radio, to my computer's sound card input.
I can record in stereo mode using Total Recorder and successfully be able to DX
two radios at once, with complete audio records saved from each without the need
for a second computer.
When the bands aren't open, I usually always have
Total Recorder running in mono mode, recording one empty frequency for Tr and
Ms. This has proven helpful many times because I'd witness distant signals fade
in that I'd otherwise not be able to log.
Overall, I recommend all DXers
record their audio from their radios, even if it can only be done with a voice
recorder. Either way, it is great to have recorded proof that you actually, in
fact, received stations over 1000 miles away.
