Thursday, 21 May 2015

Hunting For NDBs In CLE194


OO-390 kHz courtesy: ve3gop.com

It's CLE time once again! For you low-frequency buffs, another challenge awaits. This month's frequency range covers the high end, 385.0 - 399.9 kHz. A list of all of the North American  targets in this range can be found in the RNA database, while targets for European DXers will be found here... specify the frequency range wanted and check 'show all results'.

An excellent target for North Americans is little 'OO' on 390kHz. It gets out well at just 7.5watts and was heard here on Mayne Island earlier this year.


From CLE coordinator Brian Keyte (G3SIA) comes the following reminder:

Hi all,

Have you tried one of our Co-ordinated Listening Events yet?

CLEs are NOT contests - they allow us to share the same listening
challenge and in the process to learn more about our great hobby.
Short logs or long ones, everyone who enjoys taking part is a winner!
Since early in 2001 over 250 different NDB List members have taken
part in a CLE for the first time - and over four in every five came back
for more.
Fourteen members have come back over 100 times, 44 over 50 times.
End of the Commercial!

Our 194th CLE is almost here:

Days: Friday 22 May - Monday 25 May
Times: Start and end at midday LOCAL TIME
Range: 385.0 - 399.9 kHz

Just log all the NDBs that you can identify with their nominal (listed)
frequencies in the range - it includes 385 kHz, but not 400 kHz -
plus any UNIDs that you come across there.

Please send your CLE log in a plain text email if possible (not in
an attachment) and to the List, not direct to me.
Show on each line of your log:

# The Date (e.g. 2015-05-dd or just the day-of-the-month, dd)
# The Time in 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 - any other details such as location,
distance, offsets, etc., go LATER in the same line (or in footnotes).
Please always include your own location and brief details of the
equipment that you were using.
It is important to put 'CLE194' at the start of the email subject.

If you send any interim logs, please also send a 'Final' (complete)
log showing all your loggings for the event.

I will send the usual 'Any More Logs?' email at about 1700 UTC on
Tuesday so that you can check that your log has been found OK.
It is a good idea to meet that deadline if you can, but make sure that
your log has arrived on the list by 0800 UTC on Wednesday at the
very latest. The combined results should be completed on that day.

You can find full information by going to the CLE Information Page
http://www.ndblist.info/cle.htm It also has a link to the seeklists
for this Event at REU/RNA/RWW.

Good listening
Brian
----------------------------------------------------------
From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'gmail.com
Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE co-ordinator)
----------------------------------------------------------

( If you would like to listen remotely you could use any one remote
receiver, such as http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ 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:
  • 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.

No comments: