Team Lurx goooooooooooes now!!!

The last day of Operation D´Xcellence started again with nice African rhythms. The work we did erecting the new coax-cable to the woods to get us a 1.000 meter antenna to the south really paid off, because this southbound antenna has been a real lifesaver (or better yet a cx-saver) for us the last couple of days. There is a huge difference between listening to African stations with Alaska -antenna or real Africa -antenna.

Stations though came this evening a little later and signals weren´t that strong. After yesterday´s strong cx today´s TOH´s at 20, 21 and 22 UTC were a little disappointing, but nevertheless stations were identified, mostly the same ones that we got yesterday with better signals. However, nice addition to yesterday´s cx was that this time we also got couple of Nigerians with nice signals. 917-Gotel was heard louder than ever.

Not a single NA-station on band the whole evening. Little before 00 UTC three most common Brazilians were noted and fourth one came along after the TOH. By 01 UTC they were gone.

The whole morning was spent in the woods in antenna works, so at this point we don´t have a clue what happened on the band. AT 07 UTC there was a band full of faint NA-signals.

To sum up, it has been a wonderful two weeks here. We had so many different types of cx, so many surprises and thus so much interesting files to go through that we can´t say anything else than that this has topped our expectations by far.

This is the end of this blog, but not the end of the LEM327 story. We have used 7 x Perseus as hardware and 7 x Jaguar as software and the next step is to let PC to analyze each MW channel and detect interesting offsets and hotspots. So far we have just scratched the top of the ice berg and the fun part is about to begin.

The report that ends all reports, ends - how else but - with a nice poem;

"Dah dah, tic tic yo, dynamite.

Hot-demma, we're super-jamma,

when we rock  the rig right,

it's like dynamite"

(William Shakesheare)

Maybe there’ll be another D’Xplosive LURX radio adventure some day in the future.  If so, you’re welcome to join us again.

73 & Cheers de

Captain Morgan

Major Storm

General Electric

HoArrible cx

Disturbed cx continued. Africans came pretty early with 10 HoA-stations on the band at 17 UTC. After that stations fading up and down giving at the best really nice signals. In total 13 HoA-stations were noted but not all identified. At 21 UTC Ethiopian sign off was a good one. Also some not so usual Egyptian stations were noted. At 22 UTC MOZ-sign off with five stations. After that nothing worth mentioning from Africa. No cx at night.

First U.S. stations were noted again after 23 UTC, but only one or two and very much disturbed. No cx at night. In the morning at 08 UTC again some kind of cx peak that lasted about 15 minutes. Nothing spectacular, just dominants from EC. No NA cx after that the whole day.

No Chinese stations today nor anything else from Asia. So, in all, besides the improvement in African cx, the downhill of cx is still continuing. Good thing is that it can´t get much worse anymore.

One day left of Operation D´Xcellence.

Ohoi, rock bottom ahead!

Cx are still getting worse to all directions. Cx to Africa worse than yesterday - still some HoA -signals, but again weaker. 1224-MOZ again, but weaker.

No NA-signals before 23 UTC. After that only half dozen dominants heavily disturbed. Some disturbed signals from Cuba and EC (1590-WARV) in the morning at 08 UTC, but after that total radio silence to U.S. and LA.

Some Chinese stations after 12 UTC and Iran etc. normally strong after 14 UTC. Not much more to say.

Bad - worse - today

Can it be worse than worst? Yes it can. Africa was again starring this evening, but yet again quite mediocre performance. Signals were maybe little bit stronger, but there were basically the same stations on the band and still not strong enough signals. Not good. We want more!

NA-cx downhill continued as this was again worst evening so far. Some decent signals after 23 UTC but nothing even worth checking. In the morning at 08 and 09 UTC some nice signals, but no new ones for us today. Best ones noted were 600-KCOL, 630-KFXD, 750-KERR, 750-KHWG, 930-WTAD, 960-WSBT, 1490-WKLQ and 1590-KGFK. Mostly the same stuff that has been around the couple of last days. No worth-mentioning cx after 10 UTC. No LA-stations were noted.

The recent discussion in DX community about joint-reports is surprisingly not a new one. It has been a hot topic also in the past. This was discovered by our Lurx-research-team when going through the old Lur-X-files. A unique video clip from the 1940´s was found and kept secret until now. It has been uploaded to YouTube for your entertainment - you can check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8SYXyhMF3k

For our foreign readers; we are sorry that the subtitles are available only in Finnish!

Dias como hoy

Again some northern lights on the northern horizon and thus hopes were high for nice African cx. And we did get some HoA signals at 17.30 UTC but bit too weak for our taste. Strongest was 837-VoBME with booming signal. After that some promises of nice cx on the band but signals just didn´t get strong enough. At 22 UTC 1224-EP de Cabo Delgado came with strong signal, but no other MOZ-stations noted.

NA-stations came late this evening as well. Decent signals at 22.30 UTC, but this was clearly the worst evening opening for us so far. Nothing interesting was noted. Night cx was also poor.

In the morning the bad cx continued. TOH-id´s at 08 UTC was the highlight of the day giving us a bunch of semi-nice stations like 580-KUBC, 600-KCOL, 1300-KOLY, 1340-KFGW, 1490-KORN, but the only new one for us today was 1420-KULY. Cx ended at 09 UTC, but the stations rose back up again after 11 UTC for a short while with some WC-stations. Signals rose up once again at about 13.30 UTC and after that some short cx-peaks until 15 UTC.

Today we had very much disturbances on the band and with the exception of 08 UTC TOH in all very faint signals. Typical disturbed cx. Hopes of finding anything new from today´s NA recordings are next to nil.

After ten days of very poor to poor cx to Iberia we finally got something today. Before this the whole time it has been one or two stations per fq and cx towards Galicia, País Vasco and Castilla y León region with delightful exceptions of Cantabria and Asturias. This morning we had really strange and interesting cx when basically only stations from Comunidad Valenciana, Aragón and Navarra were audible.

With the cx on a break, we had some time to outdoor activities. Today we had a brisk winter weather with -30 degrees. So we let the artistic side of ourselves loose and did some snow works. And as you can see from the picture below we did pretty good. From the picture you can also see the current snow level at the forest - yes, there is a forest behind that pile of snow. Next expeditionists might want to take some mining equipment with them ... 

Damn, it´s Kolt out here ...

With a slight delay the disturbances of magnetic field caused by M-flares hit the cx. Solar wind speed rose well over 500 km/s and the band emptied up. At 21 UTC heavily disturbed WEGP-1390 was the only barely audible U.S. station on the band - no sign of f.ex. CBG-1400. We thought that finally we could get a nice full night's sleep, but once again we were totally wrong. This is becoming a habit for us. About an half hour later cx started to rise and after 22 UTC the band was again full of U.S. stations fading up and down. EC was very weak, stations were heard mainly from westwards of MI. Strong cx continued until 02 UTC. No Orinoco or La Plata, just U.S. stations. Highlights were 1320-KOLT, 1450-WLEC, 1450-WMIQ, 1460-WBRN and 1590-WIXK.

Also finally some light at the end of the tunnel for cx to Africa. This was the first time we could say we almost had cx to Africa. The hope is not lost.

In the morning finally some LA-stations along with some U.S. stations. Cx were at the best mediocre and despite our efforts we weren't able to identify anything interesting. Cx dried up at 13 UTC.

Porridge still bubbling

Well, maybe we did little bit exaggerate that explosion on the sun. Just some mild crackles of M-flares stirring the porridge. The cx continued strong with opening again before 21 UTC. This time signals were weaker, but still decent. Stations noted were 790-WTNY, 920-WURA, 1450-KFIZ, 1570-WTWB. Also some Cubans and PR again very early - best ones noted were 1020-R Artemisa and 1350-R Ciudad del Mar.

This was a third night in a row with almost total absence of Orinoco stations, or any LA-stations that matter, not even Brazilians. Just Cuba and PR and tons of U.S. stations.

Decent cx continued in the morning and the whole day; MN was strong again. Stations identified were 630-KFXD, 690-KTSM, 860-KTRB, 860-KNUJ, 900-KTIS, 930-KKIN, 1070-KVKK, 1100-WZFG, 1200-WRTO, 1230-KGHS.

Below you can see a picture of the inside of our modern high-tech monitoring room we just got finished. It takes roughly a week to assemble and dismantling takes another week. That´s why we always have to spent two weeks on our expeditions.

Skyfall!

Yep, sky was filling with northern lights and the band went crazy. Strong signals even before 21 UTC fading up and down, multiple stations on each fq. By midnight we had identified 760-KKZN, 850-WWJC (DT), 930-WTAD, 940-WKGM, 1060-WQOM, 1110-WJML, 1110-WYRM (DT), 1120-WUST, 1190-WCRW, 1400-WSLB, 1690-WMLB, also lots of unids and tents. and had hundreds of GB's interesting stuff to go through. Updates will follow. One of the coolest evening openings we have ever had. What a treat!

Cx lasted the whole night and day slowly drying out by 15 UTC leaving still a hand-full of dominants on the band. Most of our day went with checking the evenings recordings while rx's were piling up new files all day long. Quick check at 12 UTC TOH gave us 1030-KCTA, 1340-KPRK and 1440-KRDZ, so some goodies should be expected to be found on this days recordings, too.

Those lucky bastards ...

yes! Yes!! YES !!!! YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coming up next ...

Quick update

We are so overwhelmed and exhausted with the recent cx's that we just shortly report here what has been going on lately;

Thursday:

After the great cx the day before we didn´t expect that much of the next day - in fact we were kind of hoping a bit quieter day, so that we could catch up and recover from our sleep deprivation.

To be honest we don´t have a clear picture what happened on the band, but according to our logbooks and quick bandscans, not much. Signals were audible again before 21 UTC, but nothing worth mentioning was noted.

In the morning after decent sleeps we found full bands length of stations booming in with very strong signals, mainly from MN-MT. Non-stop cx until 16 UTC. Best catches of the day were 560-WEBC, 610-KDAL, 640-WOI, 750-KHWG, 800-KBRV, 840-KKNX, 1340-KWVR, 1400-KBJM and 1400-KXGN, but we haven't checked so many TOH-ids today.

Couple of updates to yesterday's catches; 1200-KYAA (tnx OJS for hint!) and 1280-KQLL.

Friday:

Again very similar early evening on the band. Much promises but after all nothing gained. Noticeable thing was that PR-stations were heard widely on the band even before 22 UTC. At 21.30 UTC some interesting stations fading up and down (like; 870-CFSX, 1020-WURN, 1040-WYSL etc.), but the band died before 22 UTC - or at least the interesting stations faded out. After that again some serious sleeping.

In the morning and whole day mostly dominants (plus 1230-WSOO, 1450-KZZJ) with good signals and again strong signals from the WC (= West Coast, not the actual WC) later on, mostly same stations than earlier days (plus 800-CKOR, 820-KUTR, 1150-KSEN, 1280-CBQG, 1300-KACI etc.).

Cx continued non-stop so that there was still over half dozen AK-stations audible when NL started to crowl in. The sky was filling with northern lights ...

Sweet Home Alabama

In modern DXing ever-increasing work is done by software and eyes – but ears will always be needed for “final nailing” ----- here  "KFIR 7-20 AM Sweet Home,  Your Voice of The Valley" & “10-70 WAPI Birmingham” nailed with eyes & ears.

Ylämummo revisited

We have had huge problems with our internet connection thus we are one day behind in our reports. We´ll try to catch up soon, if and hopefully when internet-cx gets better. The weather has been either below -20 degrees or snowing. We have got about 20 cm more snow in the last couple of days.

Nevertheless, DX-cx got better again on wednesday. Cx started at 22 UTC with stations like 1300-WAVZ, 1350-WGPL, 1500-WFIF, 1590-WGBW etc. At 23 UTC we got 1070-WAPI with nice TOH-id. The cx continued whole night; U.S.-cx mostly C2C with lots of Cuban and Oronoco again (starting from 530-R Enciclopedia and Rebelde).

In the morning at 08 UTC we had nice opening to EC continuing until 10 UTC, with stations like 630-WMAL, 1240-WBBW, 1340-WXKX, 1320-WDER. After 10 UTC cx again to MN and westwards.

On our first Lurx-expedition we had great cx towards OR-WA region. But compared what we experienced later today, that was nothing. The cx started at 14 UTC with huge 1540-KASA TOH-id accompanied with 870-KLSQ and 1500-KSJX. But the best was yet to come. After brief BC-cx with 760-CFLD, 840-CKBX and 870-CFBV, at 15 UTC we got a real treat from OR-WA-region: 660-KXOR, 660-KAPS, 720-KFIR, 960-KALE, 1240-KCLV, 1280-KLDY, 1490-KBZY and 1590-KTIL among other more common stations. And there´s still huge amount of files to go through.
 

After today´s superb cx lots of adrenaline was running in our veins and we decided to took the challenge of providing wood to the next expeditionists. And as always we did it the lurx-way going well over the top. In the heat of the moment we lost the track of the location of the entrance of our cabin but we finally managed to find it somewhere from the middle-front of the pile. Unfortunately one of us didn't succeed and is still somewhere out there outside on the other side of the pile trying to find the way in.

Another day ...

Another day in DX paradise, at least for some of us. Not so good cx towards the U.S but Orinoco and Cuban stations had pretty good signals.

 

Cx started again early with some U.S. stations, but signals were considerably weaker than yesterday. WNWC-1190 and WHGT-1590 were noted again but with weaker signals. Night was pretty OK, but we had to get some sleep, so not much to say about cx.

 

In the morning really strong signals (1520-WVOZ, 1250-R Viva, 1190-UCSG R, etc). At 09 UTC some FL-stations (850-WFTL, 1140-WQBA, etc). Then again U.S. with some common stations from MN and westwards. After 12 UTC good cx to Alaska giving us finally 1330-KXXJ with really nice signal.

 

We have completed our second antenna building project and we now have 1000 meter antenna towards South. The difference to antenna towards the North is huge. Hopefully we will get a chance to test it with good cx to Africa. So far no such cx.

 

We came up with an old LURX scrapbook and found this unique photo, but we are not sure about what this picture presents. Could it be;

 

a)      The military wing of Team LURX was condemned in the Great Team Work Trial of SDXL. Captain Morgan with his sunglasses on the left, General Electric in his military uniform on the right, Major Storm in the middle (again fallen in sleep with headphones on).

b)      Perscheus-wideband receiver (developed by German engineers) charmed already in the 1940’s: even the head officers of the state were hooked on listening to these magic recordings, even at work and even when it seemed obvious that they were loosing their jobs. After the war every single unit of Perscheus-receivers were destroyed so that mankind would never face again all the suffering caused by them.

Maybe we should get some more sleep again …

 

Evergreen Terrace

Monday´s cx started early sunday evening with WNEM-1250 at 21 UTC. Next TOH gave us WNWC-1190 and WHGT-1590. At night nice cx to U.S. (graveyards open all night), Colombia, PR and Cuba. In the morning cx continued to be steady, mainly to MN and westwards (910-KCJB, 920-KWAD, 1020-KJJK, 1260-KROX, 1340-KROS, 1390-KRFO, 1420-KGIM etc.)

At 14 UTC we got 1340-KQJZ and tent. 1540-KASA. Cx continued until 18 UTC with lots of signals from the sunny side. Totally exhausting day with 20 hours of DXing and one hour sleep... and besides that our next antenna project took promising steps ahead as we got 400 meters of coaxcable erected to the woods. Now we are just too tired to joke about anything ... or maybe just one thing, greetings to the lapdogs of Uhtua - we probably found one of your chewing toys from the forest. Does this look familiar?Please mail us your address for delivery!

Special thanks to TAK for the huge work done: TURTLE is a life changing D'Xperience. V2 rocks !

Ho-ho-ho...

All three happy Santa´s are safely at the location. No reindeers were harmed during the process, which was a nice bonus.

After some stormy technical adjustments we were ready for furious and D´Xcellent band scanning. By 21 UTC we had also antennas connected and scanning finally started to make some sense.

Nevertheless, after promising start at 21 UTC with some usual suspects (like 1060-Natick etc.) conditions melted down totally. At 04 UTC some nice Colombians were noted, unfortunately not in the cabin but on the upper band, but nothing spectacular or even worth mentioning was noticed. An hour later a decent cx to ND, MT and thereabouts. ESPN-730 raised some eye-browns, but was soon discovered to be only KINF with a new format.

At 08 UTC short opening to OH giving us the only new U.S. station of the day; 1230-WYTS.

The early morning temperature of -27 degrees Celsius gave us a good chance to prepare some D´Xtreme outdoor activities. By the time we got geared-up the temperature had risen well above -20 degrees Celsius. Besides that the snow level in the surrounding forest is about 60 centimeters, so all in all quite ideal conditions to erect a kilometer long antenna. But we did it!

As it has began to be a tradition to tell everybody the content of DXpedition meals, here we reveal the secret of a perfect and typical Lurx-menu;

1) brush your teeth with extra strong toothpaste to guarantee piquant aroma of the meal (after that most of the meals taste the same, so there´s no need to purchase any fancy foods!)
2) main course; half defrost piece of pizza (burning hot on the sides and icy in the middle) with orange juice
3) and end the meal with some salted peanuts and licorice with bubbling limonade

After that meal it is hard to stay in hermetic space with the other guys, but what wouldn´t you do for a perfect meal.