2 questions.
 

I'm new to the hobby of SWL, and currently studying for a amateur
radio license. I'm using a Sony ICF-2010 as my primary radio. I
apologize if my question is OT, but I'm interested in picking up
distant MW signals. One of my better catches would have to be WICC on
600 kHz broadcasting from Bridgeport, CT @ 500 W, and approx. 350
miles from me (reciever is in downeast Maine.) Anyway, my goal is to
pick up a signal from each of the 48 contiguous states. In addition to
the 2010 I've got a Terk loop. Is this setup adequate for my goal
(assuming "luck" as a factor)? I'd add that I'm limited to indoor
antennas at this time. I suppose I will need to pay more attention to
timing....

Also, I was trying to listen for a signal on the aeronautical band.
The 2010 was picking up music from the AM/FM radio in the adjacent
room... confusing at first, since I couldn't understand why the AB
would be host to syphonic music. I don't quite understand how the
AM/FM being on would cause this to happen....

thanks,
M.

Maturin wrote:



I'm new to the hobby of SWL, and currently studying for a amateur
radio license. I'm using a Sony ICF-2010 as my primary radio. I
apologize if my question is OT, but I'm interested in picking up
distant MW signals. One of my better catches would have to be WICC on
600 kHz broadcasting from Bridgeport, CT @ 500 W, and approx. 350
miles from me (reciever is in downeast Maine.) Anyway, my goal is to
pick up a signal from each of the 48 contiguous states. In addition to
the 2010 I've got a Terk loop. Is this setup adequate for my goal
(assuming "luck" as a factor)? I'd add that I'm limited to indoor
antennas at this time. I suppose I will need to pay more attention to
timing....

The 2010 is primarily a shortwave radio. For MW you're gonna need a
radio that is just an AM/FM radio, and that has good MW circuitry.
Examples would be a GE Superadio 3 or a Sangean CCRadio. I'm surprised
nobody has responded to you yet, since there are plenty of people here
who are familiar with MW DXing. You'll probably need to make your own
loop, since most ready made loop antennas are designed for SW. Also,
since you're in Maine, you'll have a hard time picking up MW stations
from west of the Rocky Mountains (likewise, people in California rarely
pick up anything east of Denver). It can be done under exceptional
propagation conditions but that doesn't happen very often.

Also, I was trying to listen for a signal on the aeronautical band.
The 2010 was picking up music from the AM/FM radio in the adjacent
room... confusing at first, since I couldn't understand why the AB
would be host to syphonic music. I don't quite understand how the
AM/FM being on would cause this to happen....

The aero band is like the police and fire bands-if you're tuning across
the band at random you'll be unlikely to hear anything unless you're
near a major airport. This is because the aero, police, and fire bands
are "point to point" transmissions. Unlike a regular broadcast station
that puts out a signal all the time, planes and towers only broadcast
when they're communicating, and are silent the rest of the time. (Same
thing with a police car or a fire truck communicating with central
dispatch.) For public service bands you'll need a specific radio called
a "scanner", go to rec.radio.scanner. The 2010 is not designed for
either MW DX or public service band listening, it's designed for
shortwave listening.


thanks,
M.




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"running dogg" wrote in message
...
The 2010 is primarily a shortwave radio. For MW you're gonna need a
radio that is just an AM/FM radio, and that has good MW circuitry.

The 2010 is not designed for
either MW DX or public service band listening, it's designed for
shortwave listening.

Yes, that's fair to say the 2010 isn't for MW DX. But I just wanted to
comment that I use a 2010 (well, an ICF-2001D, identical radio) for MW DX.
For example, I can often listen to Radio Fiji 1, out of Suva, Fiji (12
kiloWatts) from here in Auckland, New Zealand. That's 1,150 nautical miles
away, so I consider that to be MW DX.

Mark.
Auckland
New Zealand.

"Maturin" wrote in message
...


I'm new to the hobby of SWL, and currently studying for a amateur
radio license. I'm using a Sony ICF-2010 as my primary radio. I
apologize if my question is OT, but I'm interested in picking up
distant MW signals. One of my better catches would have to be WICC on
600 kHz broadcasting from Bridgeport, CT @ 500 W, and approx. 350
miles from me (reciever is in downeast Maine.) Anyway, my goal is to
pick up a signal from each of the 48 contiguous states. In addition to
the 2010 I've got a Terk loop. Is this setup adequate for my goal
(assuming "luck" as a factor)? I'd add that I'm limited to indoor
antennas at this time. I suppose I will need to pay more attention to
timing....

Also, I was trying to listen for a signal on the aeronautical band.
The 2010 was picking up music from the AM/FM radio in the adjacent
room... confusing at first, since I couldn't understand why the AB
would be host to syphonic music. I don't quite understand how the
AM/FM being on would cause this to happen....


Well, I would have to disagree with the poster who suggested the 2010 was
not adequate for MW dx. I have a portable quite inferior to yours(dx-398)
with which I logged 1120 KMOX St. Louis, and 1080 WTIC Hartford, Ct. from my
qth in Wilmington, NC last night without any external antenna at all, and
those are just the two that I recall off hand. I do agree however that it
would prove difficult to say the least to log 48 states on MW, but I'll
leave that for someone more knowledgeable to comment on. You'll probably
want to construct a box loop antenna or some such for the mw band. There are
several sites with instructions on how to build various types of mw loops on
the internet. Good luck.

-Brian

Why not go for all 50 States -- for best bets see URL:
http://ac6v.com/clearam.htm#50

--
Caveat Lecter



"Maturin" wrote in message
...


I'm new to the hobby of SWL, and currently studying for a amateur
radio license. I'm using a Sony ICF-2010 as my primary radio. I
apologize if my question is OT, but I'm interested in picking up
distant MW signals. One of my better catches would have to be WICC on
600 kHz broadcasting from Bridgeport, CT @ 500 W, and approx. 350
miles from me (reciever is in downeast Maine.) Anyway, my goal is to
pick up a signal from each of the 48 contiguous states. In addition to
the 2010 I've got a Terk loop. Is this setup adequate for my goal
(assuming "luck" as a factor)? I'd add that I'm limited to indoor
antennas at this time. I suppose I will need to pay more attention to
timing....
SNIP Question 2
thanks,
M.

"running dogg" wrote

Maturin wrote:

Also, I was trying to listen for a signal on the aeronautical band.
The 2010 was picking up music from the AM/FM radio in the adjacent
room... confusing at first, since I couldn't understand why the AB
would be host to syphonic music. I don't quite understand how the
AM/FM being on would cause this to happen....

The aero band is like the police and fire bands-if you're tuning across
the band at random you'll be unlikely to hear anything unless you're
near a major airport. This is because the aero, police, and fire bands
are "point to point" transmissions. Unlike a regular broadcast station
that puts out a signal all the time, planes and towers only broadcast
when they're communicating, and are silent the rest of the time. (Same
thing with a police car or a fire truck communicating with central
dispatch.) For public service bands you'll need a specific radio called
a "scanner", go to rec.radio.scanner. The 2010 is not designed for
either MW DX or public service band listening, it's designed for
shortwave listening.

Aeronautical Mobile is allocated thousands of frequencies from MW (2000+ Khz
range) all the way up through most of the entire HF spectrum. These are all
in USB mode. Portable radios that can select "SSB" will also receive these
but may need to fine-tune to the upper sideband.

Nighttime frequencies will be lower, daytime higher for New York Center/New
York Oceanic, Gander Radio, Shanwick, etc. All transoceanic flights use
aeronautical-mobile MW and HF frequencies.

Just for starters, try night frequencies of
2.899Mhz, 3.016Mhz, 5.598Mhz, 5.616Mhz, 5.649Mhz
Daytime frequencies of
8.825Mhz, 8.864Mhz, 8.879Mhz, 8.903Mhz, 8.906Mhz, 11.396Mhz, 13.306Mhz

As to your second problem, turn off other radios and television,
dimmer-switches, low-voltage lighting and halogen-dimmers when you are SW
listening. They are all "transmitters" to your highly sensitive little SW
radio. If you have a short wire antenna with the radio, use it and put the
wire around a window or outside completely.

Good luck,
Jack

"Caveat Lector" wrote in message
news:GOfyd.12163$JI.5760@fed1read07...
Why not go for all 50 States -- for best bets see URL:
http://ac6v.com/clearam.htm#50

--
Caveat Lecter


Great link.

-Brian

Back in the 1950's almost any cheap little transistor radio I owned that
had five or six transistors could at night time pick up some radio
stations in New York City and Denver and Detroit and Minneapolis and a
radio station in either (I forget which city now) Los Angeles or
Sacramento.
cuhulin

People who live in the East coast area's of America can pick up some
European MW radio stations with their ordinary radio's at night time.In
1960,one night I was driving along the A1A highway to Miami and I picked
up a radio station in Ireland on my car radio.
cuhulin

Heck, I used to get 40 states and Canada and Mexico on my old
Astronaut-8 and a 60 ft. wire from Massachusetts, and I didn't know
what I was doing.. MW is not that hard if you just spend a bit of time
at the right moments.

Bruce Jensen