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An MT How To: the Beginner's Guide to TV Dxing

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An MT How To: the Beginner's Guide to TV Dxing An MT How To: The Beginner’s Guide to TV DXing By Gayle Van Horn W4GVH All photos courtesy Larry and Gayle Van Horn very so often, I tire of watching the talk- of the opening rises, the skip range on the lower ing heads bantering back and forth on TV channels shortens (i.e. closer-in station the satellite dish and switch over to the become visible again). This is a key to clue the E DXer to check higher channels for activity. terrestrial television channels. And depending on the time of the year, I occasionally get an Es conditions at a given receiving location unexpected surprise – distant television (TV- change as the ionized clouds move around. A DX) signals from outside my local area. TV station signal coming from Florida might be Yes, you heard right, I said terrestrial seen all along the Gulf Coast, past Texas, and television, the medium we grew up watching. well into Arizona and beyond, and is known Remember those days? We had three channels as a “single hop.” My own personal best dur- and were proud to have that! When Public ing E skip conditions was watching Mexican Broadcasting Service (PBS) was added to our television on a hot June afternoon from here in channel selection, we thought we had hit the big KMID Midland-Odessa TX western North Carolina. time! Unless of course, the president was on that strikes an ionized area of the E layer of the at- Last summer, DXers in Michigan logged night ... simulcasting on all four channels, thus mosphere (usually 50-75 miles high), causing sunset reception from Pensacola, Florida, and ruining our evening of Andy Griffith! Today, in the signal to be “reflected” back to earth. Es is Texas stations from Amarillo, Houston, Dallas, this fast paced world of instant entertainment a highly unstable form of propagation which San Antonio, and Harlingen via E-sip propaga- at our fingertips, it’s easy to forget the four will first affect the lower VHF channels from tion. channel TV days. 2 through 6, and sometimes channel 7. On very A DXer along the East Coast or West If you’re not familiar with the term “TV- rare occasions, Es has been observed by a few Coast may have a shot at receiving what is DX,” chances are you’ve seen it and it may not hobbyists as high as channel 13. known as a “double hop” E-skip opening. This have occurred to you that it is a phenomenon E-skip cannot be predicted and can oc- occurs when you have two Es clouds where a closely followed by a select group of radio hob- cur any time of the year, with the most active signal strikes one cloud, bounces back to earth, byists around the world. In this article we will periods occurring during the summer months, bounces up to another cloud and back down explore some of the basics of TV-DX, including from early May to August in the Northern again. Double hops are rare, but TV-DXers what it is, how (and why) it suddenly appears Hemisphere, and early November to February on both coast dream of receiving signals from on your television screen, and some internet in the Southern Hemisphere. You’re likely to 2,000 or more mile away via a double hop Es. resources. also see an abbreviated Es skip season in the The best way to catch an Es opening is to northern hemisphere around Christmas and into leave your television set on continually, tuned What is TV DX? early January. to the lowest open channel, or check conditions Start your search for Es by checking for on the hour or half hour when TV stations are Chances are, you’ve seen a snowy image supposed to identify their stations. fade in and out, or perhaps some wide black distant video on the lowest open TV channel, horizontal lines suddenly appear on TV chan- usually channel 2. If you have a scanner capable nels 2 through 6 – followed by the realization of TV audio reception, you can also park it on Gone Tropo? that you have no local TV stations on those 59.750 MHz (TV channel 2 audio frequency) No, not the Gone Troppo song by George channels. If you’re lucky, you may see a sta- and use it as an identification aid. Harrison; I mean another propagation mode tion identification logo on the screen that has As an E-skip opening becomes more in- known as Tropospheric or Tropo DX. This been transmitted from a station hundreds or tense, the Es condition will be seen on higher involves the bending and ducting of signals thousands of miles away! That is what we call TV channels; the more intense, the higher the due to a certain type of weather phenomena TV-DX, and it involves receiving long-distant TV channels E-skip affects. But as the intensity in the tropospheric regions of the atmosphere, broadcast stations on terrestrial television. and it is one of the prime modes used by the The concept of receiving long-distance TV monitor. Unlike Es, Tropo is a more stable television signals involves an understanding form of propagation, and openings can extend of the different ways broadcast signals can from 200 to 1000 miles or more for hours on be sent and propagated from a station to your end. television. As mentioned, Tropo conditions are a direct result of the weather. A high pressure system is required for Tropo to occur. When E-Skip Time a temperature inversion occurs, with warm air Our first and most popular propagation converging with cold air, there is a low level mode involves the phenomena known as Spo- connection formed in the troposphere. This radic E propagation, also called E-skip or Es. causes the VHF and UHF signals to travel be- Sporadic E-skip occurs when a VHF TV signal KPRV Pierre SD 10 MONITORING TIMES April 2006 lived and very weak propagation mode, nor- mally peaking around sunrise. Meteors entering the atmosphere burn up in the ionosphere and often leave an ionized trail that can reflect TV signals. These very small signal bursts may last only a few seconds or longer during meteor showers. Television channels 2-13 are most affected by this mode. Auroral Scatter (Au) involves signals that bounce off the northern lights (aurora borealis) during periods of high solar activity. Signals from 200 to over 2,000 miles are possible, and are caused by intense geomagnetic activity as- KRIS Corpus Christie TX sociated with high sunspot numbers. Conditions AETN Jonesboro AR tube/transistor-type black and white televisions, are predominantly seen in the northern states, and who hasn’t seen those at a garage sale?! The yond their normal areas. Tropo is most likely to and produce a distorted or smearing signal on analog tuning of TVs made in the late 1970s to occur in the morning and evening during spring VHF TV. mid 1980s enable you to “fine tune” for various and summer, as it builds up quickly after sunrise Signal bursts can pop up due to Lightning offsets very easily. and gradually burns off as the day progresses. Scatter (Ls) with distances of up to 300 miles. As with radio reception, antennas have the After sunset, tropo often returns. September and The strongest Ls signals occur in the UHF TV greatest impact on how much DX you receive October are usually the best months for tropo band. But don’t forget to take lightning precau- and how it will come in. Unless your location conditions. tions if you’re using an outdoor antenna and the is within a few miles of the transmitter, you UHF channels are most affected by tropo storm is within 5 miles of your area! want the highest possible gain. Your best bet conditions, so check the open channels near the A less frequent event occurs around the is to install an outside antenna. The higher the top of the UHF band first, as well as the low (2- peak of each sunspot cycle known as F2 skip. antenna above the ground and above an aver- 6) and high (7-13) VHF channels. You’ll know The F2 layer of the ionosphere can propagate age terrain, the better results are possible. Try you’ve “gone tropo” when you see a steady VHF signals several thousand miles beyond to place the antenna above trees, buildings, and signal with slow fades on normally vacant TV their intended area of reception. The height of power lines. channels at your location. Sometimes you’ll the F2 layer is some 200 miles, resulting in the A second antenna installed lower in height even see noise-free TV signals, in full color. single-hop distance of thousands rather than may help reduce or eliminate interference from Tropo may appear for a few hours, or could hundreds of miles. F2 skip reception is directly nearby stations during an Es opening. You have a clear and steady signal for days. If that related to radiation from the sun on a daily might also consider mounting an antenna ver- happens, don’t ignore an opportunity to log a basis and/or in relation to the sunspot cycle. tically for Es reception, to reduce interference bunch of new stations for your logbook. Television pictures propagated by F2 reception from nearby stations. Long distance reception may also be pos- are usually seen at midday with a multiple or If possible, use separate antennas for VHF sible when a dust storm exists along a front smearing image.
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