"Ian Smith" wrote:

| Thanks for that, Steve. Great catch, Greece on AM. You may be
| interested to know that, in the 80's/early 90's (in Scotland), caught
| quite a few AM stations from the US, Canada, and South America.
| Remember (gleefully) counting a total of 120 for US/Canada, though my
| efforts were by no means exceptional. The strongest ones were from the
| east coast, but managed a few further west, including KMOX St.Louis
| (1120). Don't think I managed Minnesota, but may give the whole thing
| a try again this winter. Used to have an amplified loop with positive
| feedback. Was able to peak weak carriers right out in front of strong
| ones. Need to rebuild that loop again.

I don't know how much space you've got, Ian (I live in an apartment,
myself), but I would highly recommend a large - aperture loop antenna.
I have a couple of the NRC publications, and would be glad to share
them with you. In my experience, most of the amplification schemes
I've used introduced quite a bit of noise into the signal, so that was a
setback.

| Some people occasionally go on a "DX-pedition" to the north-west
| coast of Scotland, at Sheigra. Chosen for its isolation from the
| electrical grid and good locale for the setup of MW beverage antennae.
| They get quite a number of great results -
|
| http://www.users.waitrose.com/~bdxc/articles.html

I have that site bookmarked, and can only say that I am looking forward
to my next trip back to Nebraska (In Spring, perhaps) to try my hand at
using beverage antennas (as opposed to using beverages; that's another
story and requires extensive refrigeration!).

| Looks like KFAN 1130 Minnesota might be a good one to go for!

You know, Ian, I've been cooking up a scheme, maybe getting on #SWL
or another Instant Messaging program, and using that for communicating
DX catches. Such a thing is also really useful for comparing "catches." I
remember fondly chatting in ICQ with Alf Ardal, a DXer in Norway with
a respectable beverage or two (or three), and verifying that he was, indeed,
hearing 1620 from Omaha (another sports talk outlet). KFAN is actually
a bit of a pest - I live about 3 miles from the transmitter site, and if
you'd
like, I can send some pics of the antenna system. It's located in a bog
along the Minnesota River, East of Shakopee, Minnesota.

| Of course, you have the advantage of not having to stay up as late
| as I have, to get the trans-Atlantic DX. On the other hand, we get to
| enjoy the "great" climate here. Well, at least it doesn't go "30
| below" like over there. That would bother even a hardened Scotsman.
| :-)

Snow builds character. Actually, I've camped in blizzards. When I
relate that story to my wife, she rolls her eyes and gives me "the look."

Let me know if you'd like a copy of my NRC books - I've used them as
far as I can at present.

73,

Steve Lawrence
Burnsville, Minnesota

"If a man wants his dreams to come true then he must wake up."
- Anonymous


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