Friday, 26 May 2023

CLE 292 Seek List


List candidate AP-378 Mayne Island, BC...Can you hear it?

Here is the remaining information needed for this weekend's CLE 292. Please give it a try, especially if you have not entered before. MF conditions have been very good this week.


Hello all

Our 292nd CLE starts at 12:00 UTC  this Friday (probably ‘today’ as you read this) and it ends at 12:00 UTC on Monday.

Big thanks to those of us who each chose 1, 2 or 3 ‘special’ NDBs for us all to try and log during the event.   Several of you also gave interesting reasons why they are special – something for the Coordinators’ Comments afterwards!

 As expected, we have ‘netted’ a final total of about 75 NDBs in all.

That’s not a lot, so, for THIS CLE ONLY, everyone is invited, wherever they are, to make ONE OR TWO SEPARATE LOGS – one log made in the ‘normal’ way (e.g. listening from home)  PLUS, if you wish, a separate log made vIa any kind of remote receiver (WebSDR, KIWI, etc.).

 (The full Final Details for the Event are repeated below)

 Here is your seeklist. 

The Radio Countries are in Alphabetical sequence, with the European ones flagged in yellow:

 

RADIO      

 NDB

COUNTRY

ID

kHz

Chosen by

ALG(?)

ESR

290

Jorge G

ALS AK

PEE

305

Noel W

AUT

RTT

303

Andrea D

BEL

ONO

399.5

Roelof B

BRU

BR

318

Ken A

CAN BC

AP

378

Steve M

DEU

BRU

427

Hartmut W

DEU

FR

297

Hartmut W

DEU

HC

330

Hartmut W

DEU

LYE

394

Joachim R

DEU

NOR

372

Joachim R

DEU

WSN

378

Joachim R

ENG

BBA

401

Noel W

ENG

BPL

318

Alan G

ENG

BZ

386

Brian K

ENG

CAM

332.5

John M

ENG

CUL

370

Peter G

ENG

CWL

423

Noel W

ENG

EME

353.5

Peter G

ENG

EMW

393

Andrew P

ENG

EPM

316

Brian K

ENG

EX

337

Paul N

ENG

LBA

402.5

Alan G

ENG

LCY

322

John M

ENG

LPL

349.5

Alan G

ENG

SBL

323

Peter G

ENG

SND

362.5

John M

ENG

STM

321

Brian K

ENG

TNL  

327

Andrew P

ENG

WL

385

Paul N

ENG

WTN

337

Dave R

ESP

SA

416

Jorge G

FRA

TLN

322

Giorgio C

FRO

MY

337

Roelof B

HOL

NW

373

Roelof B

HRV

RI

289

Andrea D

HWA HI

HN

242

Mike T

HWA HI

POA

332

Mike T

ITA

VIC

417

Andrea D

MDW

MDY

400

Mike T

MN USA

AA 

365

Steve M

POR

STR

371

Jorge G

SAR

CAL

316

Giorgio C

SAR

DEC

331

Giorgio C

SCT

BRR

316

David A

SCT

OBN

404

David A

SCT

PIK

355

David A

SCT

SAY

431

Paul N

THA

NP

383

Ken A

THA

SN

365

Ken A

USA AZ

IP

201

Steve R

USA AZ

RBJ

220

Steve R

USA AZ

RYN

338

Frank O

USA CA

MOG

404

Frank O

USA CA

SB

397

Frank O

USA CO

ITR

209

Tony C

USA MO

FZ

227

Dick P

USA MO

JE

397

Dick P

USA MO

SU

326

Dick P

USA NE

CD

362

Tony C

USA NH

LAH

276

Stephen H

USA NH

LC     

328

Charles D

USA NY

GF

209

Stephen H

USA OR

PND

356

Steven O

USA TX

DNI

341

Douglas S

USA TX

GG

410

Douglas S

USA TX

MA     

326

Charles D

USA TX

ROB

400

Douglas S

USA VT

BT

382

Stephen H

USA WA

AW

383

Steven O

USA WA

BVS

240

Steven O

USA WA

MW

408

Steve M

USA WY

GYZ

280

Tony C

XOE

EKO

375

Dave R

There might be some discussion on the List about good remote receivers to choose.

(If you have kept the Results from previous CLEs, you might be able to see where users have made good results with their chosen remotes.)

Here are the Final Details again, sent before we had the finished seeklist:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello all,

This coming weekend's Coordinated Listening Event is a very special one!

For the first time, the NDBs that we shall be listening for have all been selected by NDB List members during this last week.

Nearly all the replies had the suggested maximum of three NDB choices, mostly fairly local ones that have a special significance for that listener.

There will be about 75 different NDBs in all for everyone to listen for (not just those who chose them!) 

YES – that sounds difficult for many of us, with most of the chosen NDBs in Western Europe and Western USA/Canada.

BUT  recognising that, Joachim and I have been busy in the last few days finding a way to increase the number of available NDBs for each of us to listen for.

So, for THIS CLE ONLY, we can invite listeners, wherever they are, to make one OR TWO SEPARATE LOGS – one log made in the ‘normal’ way (e.g. listening from home)  PLUS, if you wish, a separate log made via any kind of remote receiver (WebSDR, KIWI, etc.).

e.g. North American listeners could make a log as usual, PLUS a second listening via the Enschede WebSDR (University of Twente) in Holland.

(That supports hundreds of simultaneous listeners and is good on the NDB frequencies).

 As always, first-time CLE logs will also be very welcome, however modest.

 Days:       Friday 26th May to Monday 29th May

 Times:     Start and end at midday local time at the receiver.

 Targets:  The Nominated NDBs ONLY   The seeklist is to follow.

                     (the NDB nominations finish today at 16:00 UTC*)

     (QRG:    ALL NDB frequencies, 190 – 1740 kHz)

Send your final one CLE log, or 2 separate logs, to NDB List, preferably as plain text emails, not in an attachment, with CLE292 and FINAL at the start of their title.

Please show on EVERY LINE of your log(s):

 #   The full Date (or Day no.)  e.g. '2023-05-26' (or just '26') and UTC (the day changes at 00:00 UTC)

 #   kHz   (the beacon's nominal published frequency)

 #   The Call Ident.

Other optional details - Location, Distance, etc. - go LATER in the same line (or in footnotes).  

Please make your log useful to old and new members alike by ALWAYS including the receiver’s location, its 6-character Locator if you know it, and brief details of the receiver and aerial(s).

We will send an 'Any More Logs?' email at about 20:00 UTC on Tuesday evening so you can check that your log(s) have been found OK.

To be included in the combined results, all logs must arrive on NDB List by 09:00 UTC on Wednesday 31st May at the very latest.

We hope to complete making the Combined Results within a few days.

Good listening

Brian and Joachim

ndbcle'at'ndblist.info

Tuesday, 16 May 2023

CLE 292 Needs Your Input


In preparation for something never done before in a CLE, the organziers are asking for your input. See their quest below. I will post the usual 'Hunting For NDBs..." blog outlining all of the rules in a few days but in the meantime, please see if you can help and hopefully participate in the monthly activity.


 Dear Beacon Listener

 

Joachim and I (Brian) are asking for your help!

We would like to know which active NDB is your NEAREST and which two others are also of special interest to you. 

 

Maybe you have visited the site of one or more NDBs or you have other special reasons to remember them.

Everyone is invited to send us their own three ‘votes’, so we hope to have a large number of special NDBs to listen for during the coming coordinated listening event (CLE). 

Your choices, with everyone else’s, will decide all of the NDBs in the Seeklist for the event. 

This is our FIRST  ‘YOU-CHOOSE’ CLE (and it will probably be our last!).

 

You do NOT have to listen yourself in our 292nd CLE (26-29 May) though everyone will be very welcome to send a log if they want to -  but you will probably be interested in the results, showing who logged your own chosen NDBs and from where.

 

Please send your choices during the next 7 days to ndbcle@ndblist.info (that email address sends only to us, your Listening Event Coordinators Joachim and Brian)

Please help us by using the following format for your votes:

 

       NDB1: (your nearest?)  Ident:  ABC  345 kHz   Location1        

Ideally, your 3 choices should be NDBs in your own Radio Country,  

       NDB2:                              Ident:  DEF   543 kHz   Location2      

or in ones that share a land border with it.

       NDB3:                              Ident:   GH   432 kHz   Location3        

(e.g. If listening from Oregon, try to choose from OR, WA, ID, NV and CA)

You can find our list of all the Radio Countries at:

          Chosen by (your name):   eg  Brian Keyte

                               https://www.ndblist.info/index_htm_files/countrylist.pdf

                 Your Radio Country:   eg  ENG                                               

                  I can be identified:        *YES / NO                                      

Joachim or I will send an acknowledgment for your ‘votes (see below)   to your sending email address.

 (If someone has already nominated one of your NDBs - unlikely? - we’ll invite you to choose an alternative)

 *The CLE results will NOT show who nominated any of the NDBs.

 However, in the Coordinators’ Comments afterwards we’ll probably mention some of the interesting reasons why NDBs were chosen.

 Please choose NO above if you would NOT want to be identified there.

 For those who also want to listen during the Event, we’ll send the CLE292  EARLY ADVICE  to NDB List in a few days.  That will be followed, after the ‘voting’, by our FINAL DETAILS, including the seeklists showing all of the chosen NDBs.

If there is anything you need more advice about, or if you have any other comments, please feel free to email the two of us at ndbcle@ndblist.info

 

73

  Joachim and Brian

Thursday, 20 April 2023

Hunting For NDBs In CLE291

ZSJ-258 Sandy Lake, ON (ve3gop.com)

This coming weekend brings CLE 291. This is a challenge for all NDB hunters, both new and old and the ultimate test of your medium frequency receiving capabilities. Can you meet the challenge?

'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.
 
With the number of targets slowly being decommissioned, the hunting grounds have been widened...this month the frequency range is for the NDBs whose published frequencies are between 240.0-259.9 kHz and 420.0 - 439.9 kHz.

A good target for all NA listeners is powerhouse ZSJ on 258 kHz, located at Sandy Lake, Ontario. Listen for its upper sideband CW identifier on 258.406 kHz.

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, transmitted on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier was tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident could be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone was actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone was 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 organizers comes the following info:

Hello all,

 

This coming weekend we have another chance to enjoy a Coordinated Listening Event. All CLE logs will be very welcome, short or long.

 

Days:                   Friday, 21st April – Monday, 24th April

Times:                 Start and end at midday, local time at the receiver

Searching for:    NDBs in the ranges

240.0 - 259.9 kHz   and   420.0 - 439.9 kHz

BOTH frequency ranges are for ALL listeners.

REU and RNA show that the number of NDBs, each

of them heard by at least 10 or more listeners in the

last 12 months, was:

 

240-259.9 kHz   420-439.9 kHz

REU                      30                         116

RNA                      54                         54

 

Please log the NDBs you can identify that are listed in the ranges, plus any UNIDs that you come across there.

You can find details, lists and maps of the beacons in those ranges, if you go to  https://rxx.classaxe.com/cle.

 

Send your final CLE log to  ndblist'at'groups.io  with “CLE291” and

“FINAL” in the email Subject.

Please show on EVERY LINE of your log:

 

  #   The full Date (or Day no.)  e.g. ‘2023-04-21’ (or just ‘21’)

         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).  Please make your log useful to old and new members alike by ALWAYS including your own location (and 6-character Locator if you know it) and brief details of the equipment and aerial(s) that you were using.   

 

We will send an 'Any More Logs?' email at about 20:00 UTC on Tuesday evening so you can check that your log has been found OK.

To be included in the combined results  your log must have arrived by 09:00 UTC on Wednesday 26th April at the very latest.

We hope to complete making the Combined Results within a day or two.

 Good listening

Joachim and Brian

(CLE coordinators)

If you would like to try some remote listening - 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, whether local or remote, to make more loggings for the same CLE.

 

CLE's provide several purposes. They:


• determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the newly-re-vamped Rxx 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.


The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other DXers 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!