Summer at (and around) the KONG-HQ

So, it's been a few days since the Midnight Sun waved goodbye. Another MW season is about to start! The FM season started here early May, with hopes to hear stations from Siberia, Kazakhstan and China's western provinces on one antenna, and stations in the Arctic, Iceland, Greenland and possibly Canada on the other. I and Ole Forr had SDRPlay receivers that did the FM band, but not the distance (hopeless reference to a Cake song) which is double-hop. 

Most logs were noted from as far east as Russia's Komi Republic to as far west as the Netherlands. Ukraine was logged for the first time this summer. The usual UK high-powered stations from Scotland mainland, Orkneys and Shetland were heard, and a few (much less than previous years) from Iceland. Greenland and a couple from the Arctic islands were also noted. As with previous years, the combination of waterfall BMPs and IQ recordings off HDSDR, together with playback on SDR Console, worked well.

Another tool that may make band surveillance a bit more efficient is the new RDS Bridge by British DX-er Graeme Stoker. It can scan the FM band continuously, and also play back IQ files, such as those recorded with HDSDR. RDS Bridge is as add-on to the SDRconnect software and uses a browser interface so no installation is required. We're basically in "test mode" at the moment, but it looks like it decodes RDS roughly as good as SDR Console. RDS Bridge today is very much a work in progress.

RDS Bridge - luckily for me also available in light mode

Antennas

Antenna wires need to be replaced now and then. We have used extremely strong wires with a copper core inside steel strands and insulation. They don't stretch like copper wires, and they perform admirable in a very demanding climate. But the insulation is thin, and if it's damaged the steel will rust and eventually break. The steel reduces flexibility too, and the wire weighs a bit, 25.5 grams per metre. We will experiment this season with lighter wires which hopefully have enough strength.

A bit of work had to be done with antenna supports as well. We use a combination of treated wooden fence posts and fibreglass fence posts designed for electric fences. A few places the antenna wires would touch terrain which of course damaged the insulation and ulitmately caused the wire to break because of rust. Below is a hopefully permanent replacement at one such spot.

New antenna support

Transformers

Or baluns as many call them. Important hardware! We have used transformers from DX-Engineering for many years and they have performed well. One of them went bad last year, maybe because of a nearby lightning discharge. We bought in a set of new transformers from QRO.CZ, not necessarily to replace but supplement the DX-Engineering ones. As you can see on the image they are a lot larger but they also offer better protection and at a substantial lower cost - at least in Europe. A no-name transformer I bought for USD 9 at Alibaba is shown for reference (it is quite useless on MW).

Transformers.

Inside the QRO.CZ transformer

Ole, OJ and I will meet at the KONG-HQ for a few days around September 10th to set up all our gear. The "proper" DX-pedition will take place in week 43, but beginning on October 16th.

And here is a view from late in the evening last Saturday.