SEA GAIN is indeed a very interesting phenomena. A group of MW DXer's
throughout the world have been researching this and confirmed the very
beneficial results obtained when DXing by or near the sea. A couple of the
fella's unearthed research done by the BBC over forty years ago when they
were researching the best siting of MW transmitters. This was the definitive
paper that confirmed the existence of "sea gain" on the MW band.

I did a sea gain experiment with my Drake SW8 at Veldrif in 2005. Using a
reference station of France Info, Nice on 1557 I travelled inland from the
beach. By the time I got 10km's/6 miles inland the signal had dropped off
minus -23dB!

I can confirm after 40 years of DXing in various sites that DXing by the sea
is spectacularly better than the best inland location.
Most of your top American DXer's head for the coast during the DX season and
get amazing catches not possible inland.

--
John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa
South 33 d 47 m 32 s, East 20 d 07 m 32 s
RX Icom IC-756 PRO III with MW mods
Drake SW8 & ERGO software
Sony 7600D, GE SRIII, Redsun RP2100
BW XCR 30, Sangean 803A.
GE circa 50's radiogram
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop, POARDT Roelof mini-whip
http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx

"Greg" wrote in message
...
"Sea gain"? Sounds interesting - please explain. Once while
vacationing on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, Anna Maria Island,
Florida, I was pulling in all kinds of DX at night on the 20 meter ham
band on my Radio Shack DX-440 portable - much more than I ever did at
home (inland).

Greg

John Plimmer wrote:

SEA GAIN is indeed a very interesting phenomena. A group of MW DXer's
throughout the world have been researching this and confirmed the very
beneficial results obtained when DXing by or near the sea. A couple of the
fella's unearthed research done by the BBC over forty years ago when they
were researching the best siting of MW transmitters. This was the definitive
paper that confirmed the existence of "sea gain" on the MW band.

I did a sea gain experiment with my Drake SW8 at Veldrif in 2005. Using a
reference station of France Info, Nice on 1557 I travelled inland from the
beach. By the time I got 10km's/6 miles inland the signal had dropped off
minus -23dB!

I can confirm after 40 years of DXing in various sites that DXing by the sea
is spectacularly better than the best inland location.
Most of your top American DXer's head for the coast during the DX season and
get amazing catches not possible inland.

It would seem as though some of the "top American DX'ers" are even resorting
these days to travelling to or near their wanted DX target, hearing said target,
and then actually counting that in their totals. Some are even resorting to
using some of the various "DX-tuners" throughout the world and "hearing" their
target via computer.

A travesty.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

In article ,
dxAce wrote:

John Plimmer wrote:

SEA GAIN is indeed a very interesting phenomena. A group of MW
DXer's throughout the world have been researching this and
confirmed the very beneficial results obtained when DXing by or
near the sea. A couple of the fella's unearthed research done by
the BBC over forty years ago when they were researching the best
siting of MW transmitters. This was the definitive paper that
confirmed the existence of "sea gain" on the MW band.

I did a sea gain experiment with my Drake SW8 at Veldrif in 2005.
Using a reference station of France Info, Nice on 1557 I travelled
inland from the beach. By the time I got 10km's/6 miles inland the
signal had dropped off minus -23dB!

I can confirm after 40 years of DXing in various sites that DXing
by the sea is spectacularly better than the best inland location.
Most of your top American DXer's head for the coast during the DX
season and get amazing catches not possible inland.

It would seem as though some of the "top American DX'ers" are even
resorting these days to travelling to or near their wanted DX target,
hearing said target, and then actually counting that in their totals.
Some are even resorting to using some of the various "DX-tuners"
throughout the world and "hearing" their target via computer.

A travesty.

Yeah, nether would count as DXing. What are these people thinking?

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

"dxAce" wrote in message

It would seem as though some of the "top American DX'ers" are even
resorting
these days to travelling to or near their wanted DX target, hearing said
target,
and then actually counting that in their totals. Some are even resorting
to
using some of the various "DX-tuners" throughout the world and "hearing"
their
target via computer.

A travesty.

dxAce
Michigan
USA



Yes it has been going on for some time. Real DXers my ass. Some of the
published claims I've read over the years seem just a little fishy
considering their QTH and propagation conditions at the time.


--

Regards
B.H.
Southern, MN USA
Radios- R-5000, NRD525,SP-600,SX-28,Eton E1

Brian's Radio Universe
http://webpages.charter.net/brianhill/500.htm

Brian's Basement
http://webpages.charter.net/brianhill/6.htm

Remove your HAT to reply directly

Ahh never said I am a dxer.
cuhulin

John Plimmer wrote:
SEA GAIN is indeed a very interesting phenomena. A group of MW DXer's
throughout the world have been researching this and confirmed the very
beneficial results obtained when DXing by or near the sea. A couple of the
fella's unearthed research done by the BBC over forty years ago when they
were researching the best siting of MW transmitters. This was the definitive
paper that confirmed the existence of "sea gain" on the MW band.

I did a sea gain experiment with my Drake SW8 at Veldrif in 2005. Using a
reference station of France Info, Nice on 1557 I travelled inland from the
beach. By the time I got 10km's/6 miles inland the signal had dropped off
minus -23dB!

I can confirm after 40 years of DXing in various sites that DXing by the sea
is spectacularly better than the best inland location.
Most of your top American DXer's head for the coast during the DX season and
get amazing catches not possible inland.

--

John, may I ask a possibly stupid question? Does it make a difference
as to which direction the signals are coming from in relation to where
you are on the coast? For example, I live on the Gulf Coast side of
Florida, so European signals would have to come over the peninsula of
Florida to reach my antenna. Would being located on the other side of
Florida, say near Miami, be better for European signals, where there
would be nothing but ocean between my antenna and the radio station, or
is it an omnidirectional effect?

No matter where you are in Florida,you are less than two hours away from
a beach.Unless you are walking.
cuhulin

Not a stupid question at all Justice - the results I quoted of doing the
test on France Info from Nice indicates that the sea gain effect is indeed
omnidirectional, as the path of France to the DX test site at Veldrif is
over the African continent.

So if you are trying to get a distant local station inland, you will
experience a great gain on MW by going to the seaside.
Having said that though, obviously the gain over the sea will always be
superior to the land, but an amazing improvement is also possible over land
as well.

At our Jongensgat DXpedition site we have a clear path to the East over the
Indian ocean to Australia and the Far East, so signals from that area are
really good. But we also get amazingly good reception of the U.S. which has
a path of two hundred miles overland and mountains before it reaches the
Atlantic ocean.

The best U.S. catch I ever got was KGA, Spokane from Jongensgat. That is
10,000 miles away and 200 miles of it is over the Southern African
continent.

Have fun and enjoy some DXing from the seaside.
--
John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa
South 33 d 47 m 32 s, East 20 d 07 m 32 s
RX Icom IC-756 PRO III with MW mods
Drake SW8 & ERGO software
Sony 7600D, GE SRIII, Redsun RP2100
BW XCR 30, Sangean 803A.
GE circa 50's radiogram
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop, POARDT Roelof mini-whip
http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx

"justice" wrote in message
oups.com...

John, may I ask a possibly stupid question? Does it make a difference
as to which direction the signals are coming from in relation to where
you are on the coast? For example, I live on the Gulf Coast side of
Florida, so European signals would have to come over the peninsula of
Florida to reach my antenna. Would being located on the other side of
Florida, say near Miami, be better for European signals, where there
would be nothing but ocean between my antenna and the radio station, or
is it an omnidirectional effect?

Frogland used to be part of Limeyland,lonnnng ago.A big Ocean wash wiped
out that piece of territory that used to connect Frogland to
Limeyland.Look at the White Cliffs of Dover.
cuhulin