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**JVL DXer** · 08-30-2014, 06:57 AM

Your sure right about this summer, I think the highest it's gotten here is the high 80s, wonder if this winter is going to be like the last, cold! And does the fact that this summer was cool make the fall DX not as good?

**cckadlec** · 08-30-2014, 09:00 AM

Well, I can't speak for the fall DX being any less good, but it's possible that the already-cooler weather could affect tropo in our area. If this past week is anything to go on though, my guess is that it won't matter the slightest bit! However, this kind of opening we just got usually comes later in the year, so if anything, it's more likely the tropo may just be earlier, seemingly like everything this year. Early fall weather. It's been feeling like September since July, and that in turn has affected the lake tropo too, with September conditions over the lake all summer. I wouldn't be surprised if the DX ceased early this year as well.

**JVL DXer** · 08-30-2014, 09:54 AM

How does cooler weather affect DX? And what do you mean DX ceased?! it ends?

obviously not for ever, but still I didn't know that.

**JVL DXer** · 08-30-2014, 10:04 PM

I was wondering if sometime we could both do a bandscan at the same time and compare the results to see if we both got stations from the same aera and also compare it with weather data

**cckadlec** · 08-31-2014, 05:08 AM

How does cooler weather affect DX? Well, if it gets cold enough, it ultimately kills it. Cold air is denser than hot air. It's harder for things to travel through it. That's the reason that warm air rises, which helps create things like radiation inversions (morning enhancement conditions) and my lake inversion tropo, keeping cool air on the surface with warm air above it.

I know you're still new at DXing, so you probably haven't come across this yet, but winter is the dead season. In about three months, most DX will just cease to exist until March. Everyone has their own little dead seasons and some places like down south just never have one, but up here, expect to take a bit of a DX break. A lot of us use winter to update logs, work on projects, or sift through old DX catches, finding unIDs and such, and I'm no different. It's far worse here in Michigan because of living near the lake. Lake effect snow, clouds, and overall conditions does a number on radio waves. I literally have gone 3 months straight without turning on the radio for DXing as I know there is no point. It's funny that lake effect kills radio because it's the same exact weather pattern - just the opposite effect - that gives me all my lake tropo in the summer. Same machine, different behaviour, sorta. Like happy machine (summer) and angry machine (winter). Angry machine eats the radio waves and happy machine spits them out!!

Check out the WTFDA VUD publication from past winter months. You'll notice it's really brief because nobody has DX to report. Sure, there is still DX you can find in winter, but it's sparse and won't usually be worthwhile (aside from that short winter Es season, which I don't bother with short of an actual opening being reported).

* As for bandscans, you'd have to be closer to the lake to do something like that (Waukesha and east; the moraine that runs north-south through there blocks lake conditions). Me and John Rieger did that in the summer of 2005, though he lives a lot closer to the lake. It was during a rather strong lake opening, which you wouldn't get in on out in Janesville. Even if I'm able to hear Janesville, it's because the signal makes it to the water, thus it can cross unhampered, but the actual conditions that affect me won't affect you. But you can see the map from our joint bandscan as well as the logs (though in hindsight, there are some misidentified stations in that log).

**cd637299** · 08-31-2014, 12:57 PM

Many DXers turn to AM & Shortwave for DX during the winter months for their DX fix. I might have to do that myself---but AM DXn isn't much fun to me anymore, unless I want to amass Cuban catches! FM in Cuba is still a luxury, but it's coming around, as there are more and more "standalone" FM stations there (meaning no AM parallel)---Radio Taino & Habana Radio, to name two.

cd

**JVL DXer** · 08-31-2014, 02:51 PM

Yeah that makes sense. I should make a log, all I have now is me screenshoting the station on Wikipedia or radio locator.
In winter is when I play basketball for my middle school, but I'll have to look out for E Skip!

I'm going to be at the park you mentioned(bender park) soon my dad said he'd take me there, but then where going to Chicago to meet up with family from Michigan.

@cd my radio has am and shortwave I just don't get shortwave and the "meter" bands, but I did am DX but I then found it was just nightwave. Is am DXing in the day look fm DXing?

**cckadlec** · 08-31-2014, 03:18 PM

Wow, nice! Bender Park is now on Google Maps. In the somewhat recent past, it didn't even show up on there. No label, nothing. But now it's there. It's in Oak Creek at the end of Ryan Rd. If you go, go to the bottom of the hill and park the car at the base of the hill, not by the water! Park at the very back (west side) of the parking lot aiming out at the lake, which will weaken the Milwaukee locals somewhat and will allow you to get 200-mile catches on adjacents. WVIC, WKCQ, WIOG, etc. are all prime targets that often come in with solid signals at or above 200 miles. Tim also lives right down the street from here, so if you go to our Milwaukee-Madison GTG next year, you'll know right where you're going! The park is barely a park, but more of a quiet boat launch, but if you're heading to Chicago, it's only like 3 1/2 miles off the highway and well worth it if your parents can tolerate it.

I can't answer as much about AM as Chris (that is, the other Chris) can, but I can say this about comparing it to FM: AM uses ground conductivity. It's about your soil instead of your air. It doesn't matter how darn good that tropo is for FM, AM is totally unaffected by it. Other things affect AM though, like solar conditions. In the winter of 2005, I had Cuba and Mexico for a week straight. The whole AM dial was Spanish. Getting into that will be a very different experience than FM and the crowd of DXers is also quite different too.

**JVL DXer** · 08-31-2014, 04:11 PM

I wonder if I should use the truck radio (omni whip it has the next gen of the radio you have if I'm right it's like thisimage.jpg) or maybe my KA1103 but I like the format of car radios.i just hope my parents go by the lake cause they don't get DXing I just can't explain it to them. I think I might get them to leave here around 4am so I can get some of the morning tropo that always happens. Or should I wait?

PS:I've always wanted to connect that radio from my dad's old truck to an antenna but I can't find how

**cckadlec** · 08-31-2014, 04:31 PM

Oh gosh, no clue how to connect antennas. You'd likely have to take apart some things in the car, which is one thing I've never been a fan of, hence not doing it.

Parents who don't get DXing will not be in your favor in this case. You can easily receive Michigan stations like Star 105.7, WSNX, B93, etc. all up and down I-94. Hot 105.3 regularly clobbers K-Love as well. A whip antenna should work just fine as well, if you're parked in that spot. Morning tropo (enhancement) is good pretty much for land only as it's caused by the cooling and the moisture from the ground. While a lake has plenty of moisture, it's not the same thing in the morning. The best conditions come from mid-morning to sunset, though it's not to say you can't get great catches in the morning hours as well. It's a toss-up really. I'd say go whenever you can, because you likely aren't familiar enough with the stations you'll get to make full use of it I think.

**cd637299** · 08-31-2014, 05:19 PM

If you wanna try AM DXing in the day, you are best off to go along a shoreline, if distance is the goal. Signals do go better over water paths, but there is rarely anything "enhanced."

Also: I see the Select-a-Tenna available on eBay for under $20:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...tenna&_sacat=0

You'd be amazed at the signals that will come out of your Kaito, simply by placing this S-a-T about 6 inches away from it---no connection required!! Just tune the thing to the proper frequency & watch out!

We have already passed late June, which is the prime time for "constant" daytime AM DX signals (least flutter, lowest possible interference/regular signals).

PM me, JVL, with your e-mail address, and I'll send you something.

cd

**JVL DXer** · 08-31-2014, 07:48 PM

We'll the radio is from my dad's old truck that he sold and the guy he sold it to said he didn't need the radio and my dad (he worked at GM in Janesville until it closed) knew how to take it out so now I have it.
Your right but I'll have some time if they go by the lake while I'm in the truck DXing.

@cd that's interesting! I'm mowing the lawn twice this week! How we'll do they work at night could I get stations like KFI or WCBS/abc etc

**cckadlec** · 09-01-2014, 09:04 PM

That's the best way to get equipment. Find other DXers who have extras and simply wanna get rid of something for free, or Goodwill, etc. I got myself an FM antenna for free in that way, though I haven't been able to use it (too lazy), but either way, I have it if and when I need it. It's not like the antennas go bad or that technology gets better over time like a smartphone and becomes obsolete!!

**JVL DXer** · 09-02-2014, 12:18 AM

That's right, I need to look on Craigslist for free fm antennas, heck I can use the fm antennas for tv right? I do that now.

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