Firstly a big thanks to Count Floyd for defending me over my Grayland
gaff. Somehow the Google poster intertwined the posts and it was a
b***up. My ISP discontinued Usenet two years ago, so I am forced to
use complicated Google Groups whether I like it or not..

I have just received a little miracle of modern engineering: a Sony
analogue SRF-39FP Ultralight kindly sent by friends on the US
Westcoast. There is a group where enthusiasts gather and exchange
ideas and logs.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ultralightdx/

I have been giving it a whirl and so far have got seven countries and
a great long distance catch:
1540 kHz @ 0130 ZNS1 from Nassau, Bahamas, 40 Kw and 7,500 miles away.

I was really amazed and gratified when I got a clear Afro-American
spouting hot gospel from Nassau with UAE 1539 right on it's shoulder.
I never would have thought that such a tiny analogue device could
achieve something like this = difficult enough on my big rigs. Pity I
have no way of recording this catch, as it would be very interesting.
Of course, ZNS1 appeared only briefly for a few seconds at a time, as
it was mainly overshadowed by the powerful UAE station. I certainly
have a new respect for the technology they pack into these tiny
radio's these days.

So ultralighting is something you can try for a minimum of bucks and
have lots of fun. My daughter gave me a very generous Christmas
present, so I asked my good friend Guy in Puyallup WA to get me an
Eton E100, which is digital and has shortwave too. They are now off
the market but he located one that had a slight defect that he can
easily repair (at a very good price) so I look forward to receiving it
in six/eight weeks time.

Have fun with your radios and good DX.

John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa
South 33 d 47 m 32 s, East 20 d 07 m 32 s
Icom IC-7700, Icom IC-756 PRO III with MW mods
ERGO software
Drake SW8. Sangean 803A
Sony 7600D, GE SRIII, Redsun RP2100
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro Mk II, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop.
http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx