ALLENTOWN SEPT 4-5-6 WTFDA/NRC COMBINED CONVENTION Visit Us At
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VHF-UHF DIGEST The Official Publication of the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association AUGUST 2009 The Magazine for TV and FM DXers A VERIE FOR THE AGES ALLENTOWN SEPT 4-5-6 WTFDA/NRC COMBINED CONVENTION Visit Us At www.wtfda.org THE WORLDWIDE TV-FM DX ASSOCIATION Serving the UHF-VHF Enthusiast THE VHF-UHF DIGEST IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WORLDWIDE TV-FM DX ASSOCIATION DEDICATED TO THE OBSERVATION AND STUDY OF THE PROPAGATION OF LONG DISTANCE TELEVISION AND FM BROADCASTING SIGNALS AT VHF AND UHF. WTFDA IS GOVERNED BY A BOARD OF DIRECTORS: DOUG SMITH, GREG CONIGLIO, BRUCE HALL, KEITH McGINNIS AND MIKE BUGAJ. Editor and publisher: Mike Bugaj Treasurer: Keith McGinnis wtfda.org Webmaster: Tim McVey wtfda.info Site Administrator: Chris Cervantez Editorial Staff: Jeff Kruszka, Keith McGinnis, Fred Nordquist, Nick Langan, Doug Smith, Peter Baskind, Bill Hale and John Zondlo, Our website: www.wtfda.org; Our forums: www.wtfda.info AUGUST 2009 _______________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS Page Two 2 Mailbox 3 Finally! For those of you online with an email TV News…Doug Smith 5 address, we now offer a quick, convenient and FM News…Bill Hale 19 secure way to join or renew your membership Eastern TV DX…Nick Langan 28 in the WTFDA from our page at: Western TV DX…Nick Langan 37 http://www.wtfda.org/join.html Southern FM DX…John Zondlo 43 You can now renew either paper VUD 6 meters…Peter Baskind 47 membership or your online eVUD membership at one convenient stop. Use the link above to Northern FM DX and Photo News will return either join the WTFDA or renew your next month. membership in North America’s only TV and There’s lots of good reading in this issue, DX organization. so dig into it! FIND US FAST! WTFDA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Bugaj, use the WTFDA Mailing address listed below [email protected] Doug Smith, 1385 Old Clarksville Pike, Pleasant View, TN 37146-8098 [email protected] Greg Coniglio, 11825 Genesee St., Alden, NY 14004 [email protected] D.Bruce Hall, 5 Stirton Ave., Brantford, ON N3T1E2 Canada [email protected] Keith McGinnis, 18 Newbridge St., Hingham, MA 02043 [email protected] ******************************************************************************************************* THE MAILBOX and all general club correspondence: Mike Bugaj at WTFDA, PO Box 501, Somersville, CT 06072 [email protected] TV NEWS Doug Smith, 1389 Old Clarksville Pike, Pleasant View, TN 37146-8098 [email protected] FM NEWS Bill Hale, 6124 Roaring Springs Drive, N. Richland Hills, TX 76180 [email protected] PHOTO NEWS Jeff Kruszka, 1909 Lost Lake Pl., Pearland, TX 77581 [email protected] EASTERN AND WESTERN TV DX Nick Langan, 1040 Riverview Dr., Florence, NJ 08516 [email protected] SOUTHERN FM John Zondlo, 4009 Driftwood Cir., Yukon, OK 73099 [email protected] NORTHERN FM Keith McGinnis, 18 Newbridge St., Hingham, MA 02043 [email protected] TV and FM STATISTICS Fred Nordquist, 147 Travis Hill Road, Moncks Corner, SC [email protected] 6 METER/2 METER Peter Baskind, 3225 Forest Hill-Irene Rd, Germantown, TN 38138 [email protected] WEBSITE Tim McVey Webmaster http://www.wtfda.org [email protected] 2 P.O. Box 501, Somersville, CT USA 06072 MIKE BUGAJ [email protected] LIFE WITHOUT ANALOGS MEMBERS AND MORE Life after analog TV is not necessarily life We have a boatload of renewals this time without analog televison. That fact became very around so let’s get to them. All of these arrived obvious after July 12th. during the period of June 23rd to July 15th. Analog TV is gone and that’s for sure. But Renewals were received from Mike Deroo DXing analog television after the analog (KS), Randy Zerr (FL), Steve Walko (PA), stations went dark was (and is) much fun for a Mike Lazaro (NY), Keith McGinnis (MA), Bob good number of DXers in northeastern North Rush (MA), John Johnson (MT), Greg America. Coniglio (NY), Ronald Purdue (MN), Claudio Imagine having channels 2-6 empty Leite (DC), James Montgomery (IN), Richard everywhere! But there’s no need to dream Gray (LA), Randy Miltier (OR), Benjamin because the dream is reality. Just aim your Greenlaw (ME), Alan Michalek (MA), Ralph antenna and pick up the Dominican Republic, Strobel (IN), Doug Smith (TN), Jeff Kruszka Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama, (TX), Tim Cronin (IL), Garret Wollman (MA), Mexico and more. Aim your antennas in the John Zondlo (OK), Robert Williams (ID) and same direction as the six meter opening is Frank Aden (ID). I was wondering if a couple heading and wait for something good to of you fellas were going to jump ship, but you happen. And it probably will. came through for another year! Thank you! All of the countries mentioned above were Andy Bolin writes “I found your latest seen by WTFDAers either in the Midwestern Mailbox to be very interesting (I’m glad USA, the northeastern USA or the Provinces of somebody did –mike), so I thought I would pass Quebec and/or Ontario. DXers in these areas this along. Imagine this. I hear double hop to also saw sporadic E from Newfoundland and Newfoundland’s CHOZ at 1890 miles back in Baja California Norte. 1982 and on 6-29-09 I hear it again and it And since this is my column, I’ll just mention counts again because in 1982 it was on 93.9 my double hop reception of XHBC ch2, “Tu and now it’s on 94.7! I have verification from Canal”, in Mexicali, BCN on July 7th around Mr. Doug Neil at CHOZ and the reception is 7pm. I have a video of some of this reception posted at http://www.dx.bobandtanya.com. over on YouTube. If you’re interested, just Here’s hoping there’s plenty of TV DX reports search YouTube for videos by Grump46 and from Newfoundland.” watch it as I, the grumpy one, recorded it on my A few of you (well…maybe one or two of trusty HP digital camera. you, or perhaps just one) have been wondering what ex-Western TVDX editor Dave Williams has been up to since he gave up the column and left the tvfmdx list. Dave was “supposed” to be spending quality time with his wife and kids, but I think DX got in the way. Dave writes “Just thought I’d mention that I finally caught some DTV skip today (7/13)…KBSD 6 Ensign KS, KHAS 6 Hayes Center NE (also DT 6.2 KTVG), KHGI 5 Kearny, NE and KSNB 4 Superior, NE. All four decoded and at one time I had the 3 NE stations in and decoded at the same time. Not bad for someone who had never received a single DT to date via Es! Also a number of HD FM stations in today from CO, OK and KS. Over 70 stations total from AZ to MB. Fun stuff. So yeah, I’m still out here. I am down to one tuner (Sony XDR-F1HD and one TV (insignia), but DX lives in Central Oregon.” 3 OVER 4,000 HEARD pests" will also eventually be ignored. Adelaide (720 miles) is one example from my QTH. This news comes from Ralph Strobel of Besides actively checking memory channels Muncie, IN regarding FM DXer Andy Bolin: it is necessary to monitor some of the online 6 WTFDA member Andy Bolin, Charleston, IL metre reflectors: has been the first to log more than 4000 FM stations throughout North America. Andy began DX Sherlock - DXing the FM band in 1970 from his home in http://www.vhfdx.net/spots/map.php Charleston. On July 2 of this year, Andy's 50 MHz Prop Logger - reception of KDLW 97.7 Belen, NM was station http://dxworld.com/50prop.html #4000. Another of Andy's accomplishments DX Summit - this summer is that he verified his reception of http://www.dxsummit.fi/DxSpots.aspx Newfoundland by double hop E-skip. I have seen his e-mail verification from the OZ WTFDA members are doing it tough by Network. I have known Andy since the mid trying to view 2Es DX TV without a scanner 1970's and he is very strict in the manner he and/or modified TVs. I went for years without counts stations. Andy only counts stations receiving 2Es FM and TV before I bought the when call letters and/or city of license are given AOR AR-3000 and Icom R7000. Once the and distant stations are always tape recorded. R7000 was used, the bands came alive. With So, congratulations to Andy for his devotion 2Es DX TV and FM, the signals are weaker by and determination in this achievement. some 10-20 dB compared to single-hop Es. Not only are 2Es signals weaker but they are also DXING DOUBLE HOP received for shorter periods. This is where a scanner alerts a DXer to the "tails" before and Submitted by Curtis Sadowski and posted after visual DX TV reception. Visualise a bell by Todd Emslie on the ICDX email list recently: curve modeling DX signal strength as a Let's assume someone in Louisiana is function of time. With a garden variety especially interested in receiving TVes wideband TV and no scanner, you will at best Caracas, Venezuela 55.25 chA2 via 2Es @ only detect the very top of the bell curve 2,300 miles. The first step is to pull out the (median) when the signal reaches its peak over entire 20-88 MHz database and located a very short period. Even then, the picture will transmitters near Venezuela. In addition, probably be limited to sync bars most of the transmitters (Cuba, Jamaica, Cayman Islands) time.