Playing With The Excalibur Demo Software

The Excalibur software is downloadable from Winradio's download pages, working in a demo mode as long as the receiver has not been installed. It has a test signal on 15 MHz, as you can see from the screendump.

The initial impression of the GUI is quite good, although they try to put a lot of information into limited space. A good thing is that the program window is resizeable and that several "skins" are available.

The RF recording feature suffers from the same problem as the Perseus: No scheduled recordings. Third party software solved the problem for the Perseus, and I hope that a Winradio plugin, or a software update, will solve the problem for the Excalibur too. There is in fact a very able scheduler in the program, but it only handles audio recordings.

There are some really nice features once you dig a bit deeper into the software. I hope to see the receiver some time next week.

Excalibur Ships!

While there have been no updates on winradio.com regarding the Excalibur (as of June 20 at 1945 UTC), Waters and Stanton announced that the radio arrived there on June 18 and they are taking orders. They have taken mine. Thanks Tracey Gardner for alerting me.

QDFA Project Version 3

Those who followed this blog last season know that we were very satisfied with the performance of the QDFA. There were however some problems:

1. The amplifier transistors blew due to static discharge. Proper surge arrestors were fitted by Dallas Lankford, and the QDFA v. 2 was up late November.

2. Another problem, probably related to static build-up, caused the transistors not to blow but produce excessive noise. The only explanation we can find is that replacing the battery in cold, dry weather caused the problem. Another fix was needed, and the coming season we will supply power to the QDFA box from within the house. Hopefully, the extra cable will not compromise the nulling properties of the QDFA.

3. The cheap angling rods, while surprisingly weatherproof, did not survive the winter entirely intact. One of them failed in January, and another in April. So we decided we need proper supports, and found them at Max-Gain Systems Inc. These are extremely sturdy fiberglass rods, fastened not by friction but with clamps. We got four 21-ft center supports, and eight 12-ft end supports. This allows us to double the area of each loop, giving us another 6 dB of gain. The visual appearance of the loops will be a "house" instead of the common "delta".

The QDFA v. 3 will be up and running as the Arctic DX Summit starts, early September.

Arctic DX Summit 2010

From Sep 3 to Sep 5, Kongsfjord will be the venue for the Arctic DX Summit. Over the last few years, the Kongsfjord (KONG) and Lemmenjoki (LEM) crews have established a closer collaboration with regards to condx alerts, DX openings, loggings, equipment and QSLs. So it's about time we meet!

OJ Sagdahl and Bjarne Mjelde (host) will meet with Finnish DX-ers Jim Solatie, Håkan Sundman, Hannu Tikkanen and Antti Aaltonen. We will test the novel QDFA antenna design, the new Winradio Excalibur SDR, discuss various facets of the DX hobby, eat Norwegian seafood (and surely more than that) and drink good wines (and surely more than that).

Our intention is that the Arctic DX Summit will evolve into an annual event.

EAC R-390A Spring Test

My EAC s/n 204 R-390A isn't used for DX anymore, but I fire it up now and then to make sure that it works properly. And it always does. This time, I connected a pair of Logitech active speakers to the audio and line out connections.

Using the Lankford-designed manual AM sync I can enjoy distortion-free reception with the R-390A. It is enabled by switching the BFO switch on. Tune the Pitch control to obtain zero beat. At the time I took the photo, I was tuned to Radio Romania's German service. The radio on top is a 1950's Radionette. Works perfectly too, except there's no light in the magic eye.

Micronesia Air Checks

the Federated States of Micronesia is an elusive country for MW enthusiasts in Europe, to my knowledge the only confirmed European reception is V6AJ 1503 kHz in Kongsfjord in 2007. Paul Walker is an announcer at Monster Radio 1150 WGGH Marion IL, and he has taken a special interest in the Micronesia radio scene. A result of this is a collection of air checks from V6AI 1494 kHz, relaying 88.1 FM using a "KUTE" moniker. Paul generously offered me to share these air checks with other DX-ers. They are around 45 minutes each and in MP3 format.

Air check 1

Air check 2

Air check 3

Air check 4

Air check 5

Enjoy!

WOC Davenport IA 1420 Photos

WOC is a very common guest, especially in northern Scandinavia, but they've been heard in large parts of Europe this season. It's many years since I received a verification from the station. Yesterday, veteran engineer Jon Book at WOC emailed me some photos from the station, including one KMXG-FM tower photo. Breathtaking! All pictures are (c) Jon Book.

Jon also contributes to Captain Ernie's Showboat, a treasure vault of radio history from the Quad Cities.

Winradio Excalibur Soon Out?

According to the latest info I've received from Winradio, production has now started and they are awaiting CE certification.

Interestingly enough, the preliminary spec sheet has been revised. Minimum selectivity is now 10 Hz instead of 50, the resolution bandwidth within a DDC spectrum is now 1 Hz and not 15, and most important for me, sensitivity figures have been upgraded from a mediocre -94 dBm to a more acceptable -101 dBm (AM, 30 % modulation).

"It will be on sale shortly", Winradio claims.

Its GUI has been slightly changed too, as can be seen on the pictures above. Above is the January version of the GUI, below is the current one. Not bad at all. The displays are fully zoomable and the DDC can be displayed in a separate window.

Another QDFA Antenna Success

Those of you who are still not convinced that the QDFA is a superior antenna for MW should read Walt Salmaniw's report from Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada.

So what are you waiting for?

Mid Winter Greetings

With Winter Solstice passed, days in the Arctic will gradually get lighter, in more than one way for many, until we see the sun again early February. Our noon right now is in fact darker than the photo suggests.

It's been another good year for the MW enthusiasts, and another lousy year for the HF amateurs. While I wish nothing bad for the HF amateurs, I'd still prefer to have another year with extremely low solar activity.

And who knows what 2010 will bring? New receivers? New antenna designs? New DRM and Iboc noise towers on MW...?

A happy midwinter celebration to all my readers and everyone else around, and happy new year as well!