I am using a radio shack shortwave am/fm radio and for the past 2 months I been trying to get my first graveyard nighttime catch. 100 times I got a good signal at :58 or :59 but fades at top of hour. Once for 10 minutes got an excellent signal from 1400am but faded 10 seconds from top of hour. Should I just give up searching?
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dxing graveyard frequencies
- Thread starter dxtrfn80
- Start date
What radio are you using?
Fades at the top of the hour are pretty common. It always happens -- you get a steady signal riding on top of the mess and then right when you think you're going to hear the local commercial (mentioning something local, to help you ID the station) or a top of the hour ID, another station (usually network news or network sports) takes over, covering the ID.
To DX the graveyard channels, you need patience.
Also, depending on the model of Radio Shack radio, you may want to get an external loop to boost the signal, which may also help. There are several Radio Shack AM-FM-SW models that are great radios, but the AM side needs a loop to boost it. I think it's the bandpass filter in the circuitry to keep AM from bleeding over into the SW bands, I think it decreases the MW sensitivity a bit.
The Radio Shack digital portables I know of that have the hottest MW performance are the DX-375 and DX-398. The other ones are very good, with decent sensitivity and excellent selectivity, but for some reason the MW side needs a bit of a boost from a loop, at least if you live in a low signal area.
Fades at the top of the hour are pretty common. It always happens -- you get a steady signal riding on top of the mess and then right when you think you're going to hear the local commercial (mentioning something local, to help you ID the station) or a top of the hour ID, another station (usually network news or network sports) takes over, covering the ID.
To DX the graveyard channels, you need patience.
Also, depending on the model of Radio Shack radio, you may want to get an external loop to boost the signal, which may also help. There are several Radio Shack AM-FM-SW models that are great radios, but the AM side needs a loop to boost it. I think it's the bandpass filter in the circuitry to keep AM from bleeding over into the SW bands, I think it decreases the MW sensitivity a bit.
The Radio Shack digital portables I know of that have the hottest MW performance are the DX-375 and DX-398. The other ones are very good, with decent sensitivity and excellent selectivity, but for some reason the MW side needs a bit of a boost from a loop, at least if you live in a low signal area.
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@ Dxrtfn80 : Where are you located ? Do you have any proximate daytime GYers ?
I'm in the 'downbeat' phase of DXing AM here in NEPA -- nowhere near as active as on Long Island -- and so have managed a total of just 22 stations on all six GY channels. I think I heard 22 or more stations on EACH of those six GY frequencies back in the 60's and 70's!
The huge problem for many years now is the 24/7 fetish that these 900 or so stations insist on displaying. They never shut up. You'd figure by now the only people who listen to them at night anyway are DXers, so it'd be to their benefit to ID more often, but noooooo.....
The vast majority of programming on them is syndicated as well, which means you'll only hear an actual ID once an hour. Hardly any of them play music anymore (unless its a gospel station). All of these former Top 40 market 'voices of the city' began getting buried in their own ratings graveyards, pun intended, as far back as 45 years go.
The fading at the top of the hour is something you'll come to expect as a DXing speedbump ; a hobbyist's occupational hazard. But still, it's the only time you're likely to hear an ID in the first place. So I disagree a little with Boombox's suggestion about patience. Lol -- I'm out of patience as it is just listening to the extension-speaker/syndicated rubbish on REGIONAL channels, where the TOH ID frenzy is the same as on less cluttered frequencies.
One thing you might try is a radio with good fidelity -- an older one, if you can get your mitts on one. All of the GY frequencies with the exception of 1230 and 1490 are relatively freer from huge splashy signal frequencies -- in their case 1220 and 1500 -- and a well-resonating broader-bandwidth radio will stand you a better chance of detecting a key word or call or city, through sonics alone, on 1240, 1340, 1400 and 1450.
I'm in the 'downbeat' phase of DXing AM here in NEPA -- nowhere near as active as on Long Island -- and so have managed a total of just 22 stations on all six GY channels. I think I heard 22 or more stations on EACH of those six GY frequencies back in the 60's and 70's!
The huge problem for many years now is the 24/7 fetish that these 900 or so stations insist on displaying. They never shut up. You'd figure by now the only people who listen to them at night anyway are DXers, so it'd be to their benefit to ID more often, but noooooo.....
The vast majority of programming on them is syndicated as well, which means you'll only hear an actual ID once an hour. Hardly any of them play music anymore (unless its a gospel station). All of these former Top 40 market 'voices of the city' began getting buried in their own ratings graveyards, pun intended, as far back as 45 years go.
The fading at the top of the hour is something you'll come to expect as a DXing speedbump ; a hobbyist's occupational hazard. But still, it's the only time you're likely to hear an ID in the first place. So I disagree a little with Boombox's suggestion about patience. Lol -- I'm out of patience as it is just listening to the extension-speaker/syndicated rubbish on REGIONAL channels, where the TOH ID frenzy is the same as on less cluttered frequencies.
One thing you might try is a radio with good fidelity -- an older one, if you can get your mitts on one. All of the GY frequencies with the exception of 1230 and 1490 are relatively freer from huge splashy signal frequencies -- in their case 1220 and 1500 -- and a well-resonating broader-bandwidth radio will stand you a better chance of detecting a key word or call or city, through sonics alone, on 1240, 1340, 1400 and 1450.
^^^^ like he said, high fidelity can help.
And not just on graveyards, but any channel that doesn't have a splatter-master sitting right next to it, a higher fidelity radio may help bring in that ID info because of the extra clarity.
Or use headphones (if you aren't already). Even digital portables can sound a lot better through headphones than they do through their speaker. It can be like night and day.
And not just on graveyards, but any channel that doesn't have a splatter-master sitting right next to it, a higher fidelity radio may help bring in that ID info because of the extra clarity.
Or use headphones (if you aren't already). Even digital portables can sound a lot better through headphones than they do through their speaker. It can be like night and day.
Dont' give up! Its a random event and cuts both ways. You can have a signal pop in from out of nowhere....ID itself.....and then be gone. But yes....as boombox said....you need patience.
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