On 12/29/09 16:36 , SX-25 wrote:
Ric...

I'm in Wisconsin too (near the U.P.) and having a ball with shortwave.
Don't listen to the baloney that the "golden days of shortwave are
gone." Several shortwave stations have went on the air this past year
and numerous are expanding their coverage. There is still a lot there
but you'll need more than a telescopic whip to do it. Telescopic whips
NEVER were much of a performer. Alligator clip a longwire...any length
more than 20 feet and see what you get. Everybody seems to have bought
into the "if it's digital it is an outstandinga piece of gear" crap. A
lot of digital SW receivers are just as deaf as their earlier ancestors
which needed more than a bicycle spoke as an antenna. You need to
capture RF with something more than a whip.

Mr. Mendleson's explanation was the most accurate. We're in a period of
horrific sunspot inactivity and all the bands are dead.

As for hams, there's plenty of action from 3500 to 4000 kc with the
3500-3600 loaded every night with CW.
By the way, I can decode digital modes with my lowly little Grundig
Yacht Boy 400PE although the audio is, well, like most things of the
cell phone era are on music and voice; so I use old stuff.

Good luck and...enjoy...

WPE9GHF



I spend my getaway time in the North Woods, about 45 minutes
south of Rhinelander. I've gotten some pretty decent catches with my
Grunding Sat 650 Professional. Not the tightest IF in the world, but
tremendous audio.

And out in the middle of the woods the noise floor is
astonishingly low, so there are some opportunities for deep DX you
don't find down here in the big city.

The bands aren't as full as they were when WNYW was pounding the
ether. But there's still plenty out there to hunt down and savor.


Some pretty intense political discussions, too. A unique
perspective on the World stage.