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- Thread starter CADXER
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What was the Radio @crainbebo?
He said it was his Radio Shack DX-402, which he had modified with a narrower filter on FM. The DX-402 was a Radio Shack version of the Sangean ATS-505, which I think came out in the 2000's.
Later, Radio Shack sold an updated version of the ATS-505, the 200629, which I have. They're a really good, and handy radio for SWL, MW DX (although I have to use a loop, because I live in a hole) and good on FM.
Look up Sangean ATS-505 on a search engine.... A lot of guys out there still use them.
Right now, my 200629 has a wonky whip antenna. I need to hard wire it to the PCB connector, a task which should take maybe 4-5 minutes. The little prongs that touch the solder pad are getting weak. Hookup wire and a solder gun to the rescue. The radio still works well otherwise, though, and MW / AM band is not affected.
G4 Severe Geostorm conditions have been observed. The Governor of New York made a statement about it. Here's the NOAA page:
Listening on Bob Hawkins' Central Indiana SDR, WJR is replaced by XEABC, Radio Canon, and on 770, WABC is replaced by Radio Artemisa. Radio Reloj with programming and their Sunday night chime. Something else in Spanish underneath. (This Reloj listed as 1kW).
Listening on Bob Hawkins' Central Indiana SDR, WJR is replaced by XEABC, Radio Canon, and on 770, WABC is replaced by Radio Artemisa. Radio Reloj with programming and their Sunday night chime. Something else in Spanish underneath. (This Reloj listed as 1kW).
How does the ATS-505 compare to the ATS-909 (aka Radioshack DX-398)?
Seems like good conditions to hear R. Enciclopedia, maybe?
I'll tune around and find out....
c
Huh..Dumb it down for me please
By itself, the DX-398 is a better MW performer. It's kind of a sleeper DX radio, as it's not mentioned all that much as a MW DXer, but it really gets the job done -- even just off the internal loopstick. The 'scratchpad' style MW memory locations -- where you can label all 9 (or 18?) of them, is pretty cool, too.
That said, the ATS-505 (or RS 200629, which I've got -- roughly the same radio as a 505, with some updated circuitry) is more pleasant to listen to, and if you use a loop with it it's better than the DX-398 because a) the sound is much much better (especially through headphones) and b) it doesn't eat batteries to the same extent. The bandwidth of the ceramic filter is narrow enough to DX, but wide enough to enjoy hearing whatever it is you are hearing.
On SW, the ATS-505 is great for broadcasts, but with SSB it's a mix. Where I live (in a hole, basically) an external antenna is necessary for SW with the 505. With SSB, really strong signals will swamp it sometimes, causing the SSB or CW to chirp a bit. So you switch the attenuator on, or just listen to the SSB off the whip, or a shorter antenna in those cases. I do most of my SSB listening to my DX-390 or 398 for that reason. But for broadcast SW, and MW, I prefer my ATS-505 / 200629.
When there is a solar flare, the Auroral Radio Zone (which circles the northern Polar region, and often reaches down to the US/Canada border) can get energized.
When this happens, you won't hear many, if any, signals on the AM band from the northern states, or Canada. And the AM band stations from southern states, Mexico, etc. will come in better.
I'm not sure how it works in California, except I'm sure you wouldn't hear Canada much during those conditions.
For those of us in the northern US states and Canada, it's a great time to hear California, Mexico, Cuba, etc.
Enciclopedia was booming into the Indiana receiver
I see, OK. I don't care much for the sound of my 398. It's quite muddy, even in "normal" bandwidth mode (narrow is worse). While looking to buy one, I researched possible mods, and among those that I found was, I believe, a mod to widen the MW bandwidth a bit. Do you know how that is? I didn't want to waste my time on it if it was "good enough" as is, but after I bought one and became acquainted with how it sounds, it became clear to me that, for me, it clearly isn't....
I'll look into either the ATS-505 or RS 200629.
c
The Sangean 909x has real muddy swishy audio
It too has an audio mdo that can be done... makes the audio better BUT then if you have, say as i did one year when i lived in far northern CA... wide as a barn door Cuba on 6000 and a weaker BBC from Ascension on 6005, cuba audio will make 6005 unlistenable because the audio mod made the audio wide/better
Ah, I see.
It's the same as the Realistic (Radioshack) TM-152 AM tuner I put a wider filter in to improve its sound quality (I also modded it to bypass the audio preamp and EQ, so I basically get raw, unfiltered audio directly off the decoder IC). It now sounds fantastic on local stations, but it's practically useless for anything distant because the filter is so wide (it wasn't that great even with the stock filter, but now I can faintly hear KCBS, one of the strongest locals here, across most of the lower half of the dial).
It doesn't matter much to me, though, because I got it mainly so I could hear my Part 15 AM station in stereo (I'm using a C-QUAM-capable transmitter); lousy selectivity due to an excessively wide filter isn't an issue, in other words.
c
It's the same as the Realistic (Radioshack) TM-152 AM tuner I put a wider filter in to improve its sound quality (I also modded it to bypass the audio preamp and EQ, so I basically get raw, unfiltered audio directly off the decoder IC). It now sounds fantastic on local stations, but it's practically useless for anything distant because the filter is so wide (it wasn't that great even with the stock filter, but now I can faintly hear KCBS, one of the strongest locals here, across most of the lower half of the dial).
It doesn't matter much to me, though, because I got it mainly so I could hear my Part 15 AM station in stereo (I'm using a C-QUAM-capable transmitter); lousy selectivity due to an excessively wide filter isn't an issue, in other words.
c
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Tonight at 11:40pm CDT, heard a clear ID from Zoomer Radio Toronto on the Bonaire SDR. Wasn’t expecting that.
The only "solution" I found was use a good set of high fidelity headphones, and live with it. The Sonys that came with my SRF-59 are good for that, and my newer $25 Sony set I got off Amazon are good with it, too. Also, cutting back on the tight AGC by rolling back on the RF gain a bit helps a lot (the DX-398's AGC is pretty tight, and I think that's part of why the audio sounds the way it does). The DX-398 has more than enough gain to compensate, and if you're using an external loop you still have plenty of gain.
I still use my DX-398 for MW, but I have other radios I prefer. I have to admit, though, that there are times the DX-398 cuts through the splash from strong adjacents a lot better than my other radios (Superadios 1-3, Panasonic RF-B45, DX-370 & 375, etc.). The 200629 I've got is somewhere in between, for some reason. The ceramic filter on mine isn't super narrow or anything, but I've been able to ID some weak stations in between strong stations amazingly well. Not sure why that is.
Haven't heard of a mode to widen the bandwidth -- I'm sure it's out there somewhere, though. There was one company that turned out modded 909s & DX-398's, and I think one of the mods was to improve fidelity.
Just pulled 540-KNMX Las Vegas NM off the Stevensville MT KiwiSDR. I'm guessing it's on 5000-watt day power. Mixed with another Spanish station, assuming XESURF. TOH ID mentioned K260DJ 99.9, into Fox News, and right back into 'New Mexico' music, all in Spanish. 883 miles.
Other finds tonight:
1170 KLOK San Jose over the KSL HD hash (which is normally 10 over S9)
1060 KDUS Tempe AZ, ads, IDs, 500 watts
Other finds tonight:
1170 KLOK San Jose over the KSL HD hash (which is normally 10 over S9)
1060 KDUS Tempe AZ, ads, IDs, 500 watts
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Caught 88.9 Word FM from Pemberton, NJ WBZC from my TEF6686 radio, Wednesday Morning from Nutley, NJ (70 miles away) some tropo going on.
88.9 is usually a mix of The College of Staten Island, Monmouth University in spots, and pirates. The TEF6686 has been the best radio purchase in the 18 years I've been DXIng
88.9 is usually a mix of The College of Staten Island, Monmouth University in spots, and pirates. The TEF6686 has been the best radio purchase in the 18 years I've been DXIng
The TEF6686 is amazing when it comes to sensitivity and selectivity. I caught two new stations Wednesday morning in Clifton, NJ due to tropo. First, 91.3 WTSR Trenton, NJ (54 miles) and then 99.7 WYFI Norfolk, VA (302 miles). I got a few South Jersey and Philadelphia stations as well.
Interesting night on 720AM. At 9PM 3-27-24 I got just my 2nd ever station on 720 (WGN always dominates), with WGST, Hogansville, GA. Clear TOH ID and 'the Voice'. Must have been on daytime power still, possibly just signing off for the day.
But seconds later I also heard another station, which clearly was Bloomberg radio, but none of the 6 US stations on 720 I have any chance of receiving (one in OR, one in AK) show as Bloomberg, so not sure what that was. Apparently there are none in Canada on 720 either for some reason. Has WGN moved to Bloomberg?
I don't much about stations coming in on other frequencies--like half or double or some other multiple. How common is that on the AM band, and what frequency might that have been if not 720?
But seconds later I also heard another station, which clearly was Bloomberg radio, but none of the 6 US stations on 720 I have any chance of receiving (one in OR, one in AK) show as Bloomberg, so not sure what that was. Apparently there are none in Canada on 720 either for some reason. Has WGN moved to Bloomberg?
I don't much about stations coming in on other frequencies--like half or double or some other multiple. How common is that on the AM band, and what frequency might that have been if not 720?
WGST is a sunrise to sunset operation only and has been heard welll well after dark, a bit this last week.. and 9pm is well after dark