DX Tests

United States

mw

Re.: https://mediumwave.info/2024/12/12/united-states-767/

The DX-test from WZON on 620 kHz this morning was heard by several listeners mostly not to far from the transmitter site.

KarlAmong them Peter Laws, who reported to irca iog
“Got the start at 0103  CW ID and something else, maybe “DE WZON”, then a rising tone, then a bunch of DTMF, more CW and then … into PacMan Fever!   A song I had not heard, perhaps on purpose, for nearly 45 years.
All this under WVMT still dominating.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say that WZON is not on Night Power.  And thank them for that!
Announcer just mentioned that they were on Day power.”

A recording made by Karl Zuk, Katonah, NY and shared in the irca iog

Ydun Ritz (2024-12-22)

United States

mw

WZON 620 DX TEST
WZON in Bangor, ME has graciously agreed to perform a DX Test before they leave the air for good at the end of the year.  Test will be on Sunday Dec 22 at 1am EST (0600 UTC). Still waiting on final determination of the duration.  Please spread the word wherever you think it would be appropriate.  Hopefully a bunch of you will be able to log Maine!
From the mwdx Slack group. Arranged by David Pete, Old Town Maine.

Russ Edmunds to irca iog (2024-12-12)


Stephen and Tabitha King closing 3 radio stations. WZON [620 kHz],WZIT and WZLO will be shut down at the end of December…announced today, December 2, 2024. (Arthur Pozner to WOR iog (2024-12-02))

Ydun Ritz (2024-12-12)

Netherlands

mw

Re.: https://mediumwave.info/2023/10/11/netherlands-131/
Radio North 846 seemed to remain on the air, but I still heard the Dutch station [Album AM / Ed] on 844kHz, causing a nasty 2kHz het on Radio North!!!
IDed at one point during the non stop music. Noted in Scotland around 2100 I think it was. (Logbook in shack and email being sent from another machine. )
A little unusual for a dx test to be off channel …LOL…

Ken Baird in Scotland (2023-10-14)

After looking at my perseus recording from thursday night……..

At for example 1947 I see and hear Albums on 843kHz, playing Pink Floyd, Another Brick In The Wall…. But at 2006 there is a freq change to 844kHz, and is still on 844kHz at 2225 for example. Pity they never used a clear MW channel, as there are a few channels nowadays a lot clearer…

Ken Baird in Scotland (2023-10-15)

Netherlands

mw

Because pirate Radio North is off-air, legal radio station Album AM will use this opportunity to perform a DX transmission test on 846 kHz October 11 & 12 (evening).
Please send reports from Wales, Isle of Man, Scotland and Ireland because normally this is not possible due to RN radio@albumam.nl (www.albumam.nl).

Bart De Lange to mwcircle FB group (2023-10-11)

DX Tests

mw

International SWL contest in November and December 2023.
Contest dates:
01 November 2023 to 31 December 2023

To translet in another language https://www.deepl.com/translator or  https://translate.google.com/

It is not necessary to be registered to participate in the contest, send your list of countries to listen to at the end of the contest.
To encourage listening to medium wave and shortwave radios stations all over the world I thought about organizing this competition. This is only for the fun, you can use your radio receiver and its also possible to use a WEB or KIWI SDR but the SDR must be always the same ( same place )

This SWL contest is open to all listeners in the world.
THE GOAL is to listen to a maximum of countries in the world on MW and SW.
MW 530 kHz to 1602 kHz

If you want to be a sponsor of this SWL Contest and offer a book, a radio receiver, an antenna to the best scores please contact me by my Facebook. 
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009933974595
Please future sponsors look also at the end of the article.
https://icomjapan.blogspot.com/2023/09/international-swl-contest-in-november.html

THANK YOU.
Frank Fzeroduw SWL F14368 Paris France (2023-09-09)

United States

mw

Dual DX Test — THIS WEEKEND– KJJR 880 Whitefish, MT & KSEN 1150 Shelby, MT.
The Courtesy Program Committee (CPC) of the National Radio Club and International Radio Club of America are proud to announce another “Dual DX Test” this weekend. 

Chief Engineer Todd Clark will be doing maintenance testing starting on Saturday, April 8th at 12:01 AM Mountain Daylight Time (0601 UTC) when KJJR, 880 AM, will be testing on daytime power and pattern. 10,000 watts. Programming will consist of sweep tones, Morse Code IDs, 1 kHz “long duration tones,” etc. The test will last two hours, until 02:00 AM Mountain Time. 

Part two of the dual test is the next day, Sunday, April 9th, at 12:01 AM Mountain Daylight Time (0601 UTC) when KSEN, 1150 AM, will be testing on daytime power and pattern. 10,000 watts. Programming will consist of sweep tones, Morse Code IDs, 1 kHz “long duration tones,” etc. The test will last two hours, until 02:00 AM Mountain Time. 

SSTV (Slow-Scan TV) Tests

Both tests will also feature the transmission of Slow-Scan TV images commonly used by amateur radio operators and increasingly by shortwave broadcasters. 

The images are transmitted as audio tones in Scottie 1 format. KDWN recently used this same format in Las Vegas during their signoff DX Tests. SSTV requires computer software to decode. This can be done using an audio connection to your PC or holding a cell phone near your speaker. 

SSTV is straightforward and works great. You can get reasonable images by picking up audio with your laptop without wiring.

Download the free MMSSTV app and try it out:

hamsoft.ca/pages/mmsstv.php

Another great app for Mac or PC is Fldigi from http://www.w1hkj.com/.

You can also search the App store on your iPhone or Google Play for Android for “SSTV.” Lots of great apps are available. 

Highly recommend you test BEFORE the weekend. The best bet is to tune to 14.233 MHz in USB mode if you have a shortwave receiver. Lots of activity there most of the day. 

— 

++ Note: SSTV is not a weak-signal mode like FT8. If you cannot copy the Morse Code and sweep tones, you will unlikely decode an SSTV image successfully. 

It’s a fun mode, not a miracle mode. 

QSL INFORMATION

At the station’s request, the Courtesy Program Committee will be responsible for verifying reception reports and issuing QSLs. All reception reports should be emailed to: 

dx@highnoonfilm.com

The new QSL rules for CPC-coordinated tests will be in effect for this test. Please read them carefully. 

SPECIAL THANKS

A big thank you to Chief Engineer Todd Clark who agreed to include SSTV and allow us to test this mode as an option for future tests. Also to Paul Walker, who arranged for all this. 

And to Rob Keeney who encoded the images into SSTV format and provided technical expertise on incorporating them into our files. 

NEW QSL RULES FOR THE 2022-2023 SEASON

  • DX Tests are arranged by the Courtesy Program Committee of the National Radio Club (NRC) and the International Radio Club of America (IRCA.) Both clubs offer low-cost, online-only memberships. It is appropriate that those seeking QSLs should support the clubs financially. Please indicate in your request which club you are a member of. It may improve the response time for your QSL. 
  • QSL requests for DX Tests where the CPC will issue QSLs must be received within 30 days of the test. 
  • A brief recording of at least two (2) minutes must be submitted. .MP3, .wav, or .MP4 video formats accepted. No written reports unless accompanied by a recording. 
  • No remote receivers (Internet-based) will be accepted for QSLs. The exceptions to this rule are as follows:

A.) If you constructed the remote receiver, maintained it, or contributed money towards those purposes, you may use it to submit reception reports. Examples would be DXers who built remote receivers in low-noise locations but operate from home. 

B.) Internet-based receivers you don’t own are only acceptable if they are more than 500 miles from the transmitter of the test station. You must fully disclose which receiver was used, including its URL. If the owner is known, please provide their name so they may receive credit. Include the distance of the receiver in miles from the transmitter site. 

C.) Only one QSL will be issued per DXer, even if they operate multiple remote receiver sites or use more than one remote receiver at distances of 500 miles to receive the station. 

  • QSLs will be issued only after the conclusion of the 2022-2023 DX Season. Generally, this will occur in April. We will send out group emails when QSLs are issued. 
  • Unpaid volunteers perform all work in verifying reports and sending you a QSL. We all have jobs, spouses, kids, and lives. Be patient. Be nice. 

73,

Les Rayburn, N1LF to mwcircle iog (2023-04-03)

United States

mw

Less Than 24 Hours Until the “Spring Into DX” Tests.
The Courtesy Program Committee (CPC) of the International Radio Club of America (IRCA) and the National Radio Club (NRC) are pleased to announce the 2023 “Spring into DX” tests from the Bluegrass State! Stay up late with us on Saturday night/Sunday morning as WWKY 990 in Winchester, KY and WMST 1150 in Mount Sterling, KY will both be conducting maintenance tests for two full hours. 

The test starts at one minute after midnight 00:01 AM EDT, Sunday morning March 26 (0401 UTC) and lasts until 2 AM EDT (0600 UTC). Both stations will run at their daytime power and pattern. That’s 2,500 watts for WMST and 1,000 watts for WWKY. Snagging this dynamic duo will be a challenge. To help make it easier, the station is broadcasting some of the best DX test material available. 

The test will consist mostly of sweep tones, Morse code at 20WPM & 12 WPM (1 kHz), 1kHz long tones, and proven sound effects to cut through the noise. The stations also plan to run some “special programming” that is sure to be fun. 

73, Les Rayburn to irca iog (2023-03-25)