The 2012 / 2013 E's season is underway with my first reception this season. Opening lasted no more than 30 minutes and was rather limited in what was heard. What did arrive though, was at good strengths. Reception from 1.05 - 1.35pm CDT.
91.3 4HIT Moranbah
94.3 4PNN Townsville
96.9 4RFM Moranbah
97.9 4ABCFM Mackay
99.5 4JJJ Mackay
101.1 4QAA Mackay
102.7 4ABCRN Mackay
104.3 4PB Mackay
There also were one or two others I did not ID.
It appears there were some E's from Adelaide in Southern NSW yesterday. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to hear any NSW E's. Was on the computer, but busy doing other things and lost track of the time.
Here's hoping for a bumper E's season!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Tropo Haul 24/11 - 25/11/12
Some good strong tropo conditions about mid to late evening last night and through to this morning, with the exception of Bendigo, which was only heard this morning.
88.9 3HFM Hamilton
89.9 5CCC Pt. Lincoln
91.1 3ABCRR Bendigo
91.3 3PNN Warnambool
91.5 5PNN Tumby Bay
91.7 3PNN Western Victoria
92.1 3ABCFM Warnambool
92.5 3ABCRN Western Victoria
93.3 3ABCFM Western Victoria
93.5 3BBO Bendigo
94.1 3ABCRR Western Victoria
94.5 3WWM Nhill
94.9 3JJJ Western Victoria
95.7 3ABCRN Nhill
96.1 5SEF Mt. Gambier
96.5 8SAT Pinnaroo
97.9 3RMR Mildura
99.3 8SAT Streaky Bay
100.9 5ABCRN Streaky Bay
101.1 3JJJ Mildura
102.5 5JJJ Mt. Gambier
103.3 5ABCRN Mt. Gambier
104.1 5ABCFM Mt. Gambier
105.7 5PB Mt. Gambier
106.1 8SAT Ceduna / Smoky Bay
106.1 5TCB Bordertown
106.9 8SAT Minnipa
107.7 8SAT Wudinna
Western Victoria was 3 bars on the Sony XDR unit.
88.9 3HFM Hamilton
89.9 5CCC Pt. Lincoln
91.1 3ABCRR Bendigo
91.3 3PNN Warnambool
91.5 5PNN Tumby Bay
91.7 3PNN Western Victoria
92.1 3ABCFM Warnambool
92.5 3ABCRN Western Victoria
93.3 3ABCFM Western Victoria
93.5 3BBO Bendigo
94.1 3ABCRR Western Victoria
94.5 3WWM Nhill
94.9 3JJJ Western Victoria
95.7 3ABCRN Nhill
96.1 5SEF Mt. Gambier
96.5 8SAT Pinnaroo
97.9 3RMR Mildura
99.3 8SAT Streaky Bay
100.9 5ABCRN Streaky Bay
101.1 3JJJ Mildura
102.5 5JJJ Mt. Gambier
103.3 5ABCRN Mt. Gambier
104.1 5ABCFM Mt. Gambier
105.7 5PB Mt. Gambier
106.1 8SAT Ceduna / Smoky Bay
106.1 5TCB Bordertown
106.9 8SAT Minnipa
107.7 8SAT Wudinna
Western Victoria was 3 bars on the Sony XDR unit.
Monday, October 8, 2012
DX musings
With the final analogue shutdowns looming, it made me think back on how my dxing all started.
It would have been around the mid 1980's while I was in late primary school. For the TV I had a portable AWA brand, solid state black and white set. Connected to that was a simple 4 element VHF/FM antenna mounted to the gutter. A meager set up, that yielded plenty of results:
TVQ-0 Brisbane
DDQ-0 Toowoomba
RVN-2 Wagga*
NBN-3 Newcastle**
AMV-4 Albury*
RTS-5A Riverland
NTD-8 Darwin
2, 7, 9, 10 Adelaide
I'm sure there are others I had forgotten. I think at some stage over those years, I had received an ABC on virtually all VHF channels. Can't remember if I had BTV-6 Ballarat and SES -8 Mt. Gambier when living in Melrose (where I grew up), but both were regular tropo catches in Port Pirie, often clear as.
* Received early before local ABNS-1 and GTS-4 signed on for the day.
** When receiving NBN, I also was getting FM from Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
Channel 0 was espcially strong, enabling clear reception using just the TV's attached telescopic antenna. Even then the signal was so strong, it would be distorted.
It would have been around the mid 1980's while I was in late primary school. For the TV I had a portable AWA brand, solid state black and white set. Connected to that was a simple 4 element VHF/FM antenna mounted to the gutter. A meager set up, that yielded plenty of results:
TVQ-0 Brisbane
DDQ-0 Toowoomba
RVN-2 Wagga*
NBN-3 Newcastle**
AMV-4 Albury*
RTS-5A Riverland
NTD-8 Darwin
2, 7, 9, 10 Adelaide
I'm sure there are others I had forgotten. I think at some stage over those years, I had received an ABC on virtually all VHF channels. Can't remember if I had BTV-6 Ballarat and SES -8 Mt. Gambier when living in Melrose (where I grew up), but both were regular tropo catches in Port Pirie, often clear as.
* Received early before local ABNS-1 and GTS-4 signed on for the day.
** When receiving NBN, I also was getting FM from Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
Channel 0 was espcially strong, enabling clear reception using just the TV's attached telescopic antenna. Even then the signal was so strong, it would be distorted.
Avoid BankSA
Okay, so we know that banks, like politicians, are not exactly flavour of the month with the Australian community - especially the big four. Indulge me here while I have a whinge, I promise to get back to DX related stuff after.....
I am with BankSA, which is of course the former State Bank of South Australia. How do they fit into the big four? BankSA are these days part of Westpac. This is a bank I have been with for around 30 years. However, despite being with them for 30 years, I certainly don't feel like a valued customer. Obviously, loyalty is not in their vocabulary; I assume it is the same with pretty much all banks.
Thankfully, as consumers we have choices and part of that choice is to take our business elsewhere. The big four are not the only institutions to choose from and this is why community banks and credit unions have found a niche market - disgruntled big bank customers.
However, if you must stick with the big banks, I can recommend National Australia Bank (NAB). I recently opened an account with them and surprised to find not only do they not charge fees, but you don't need a minimum balance to avoid paying fees. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by the good customer service, even getting a courtesy call not long after opening the account to see if all was okay and if I have any questions.
BankSA on the other hand charge $7 per month account keeping fees which you need to have thousands in the bank to avoid paying, as well as any other incidental fees (for example using BankSA's ATM more than the minimum free transactions). I shudder to think how much in fees I have paid to them over all those.
At the end of the day, as their customers, we have the power. The power to say, work with me or lose me. For now, I still have my BankSA account, as I have various things tied to it: my pay, several direct debits, paypal/eBay etc. It's getting very tempting though to end my relationship with them and move everything over to the NAB.
**end rant - back to DX related stuff now, lol**
I am with BankSA, which is of course the former State Bank of South Australia. How do they fit into the big four? BankSA are these days part of Westpac. This is a bank I have been with for around 30 years. However, despite being with them for 30 years, I certainly don't feel like a valued customer. Obviously, loyalty is not in their vocabulary; I assume it is the same with pretty much all banks.
Thankfully, as consumers we have choices and part of that choice is to take our business elsewhere. The big four are not the only institutions to choose from and this is why community banks and credit unions have found a niche market - disgruntled big bank customers.
However, if you must stick with the big banks, I can recommend National Australia Bank (NAB). I recently opened an account with them and surprised to find not only do they not charge fees, but you don't need a minimum balance to avoid paying fees. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by the good customer service, even getting a courtesy call not long after opening the account to see if all was okay and if I have any questions.
BankSA on the other hand charge $7 per month account keeping fees which you need to have thousands in the bank to avoid paying, as well as any other incidental fees (for example using BankSA's ATM more than the minimum free transactions). I shudder to think how much in fees I have paid to them over all those.
At the end of the day, as their customers, we have the power. The power to say, work with me or lose me. For now, I still have my BankSA account, as I have various things tied to it: my pay, several direct debits, paypal/eBay etc. It's getting very tempting though to end my relationship with them and move everything over to the NAB.
**end rant - back to DX related stuff now, lol**
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Winter E's 10/7/12
Some mid-winter E's to report today. All from Queensland. Reception was generally 1pm to 2pm-ish. Some strong bursts, with some signals staying in a little while. Others only appeared very briefly.
88.3 4ABCRR Miriam Vale
89.9 4ABCRN Miriam Vale
91.3 4HIT Moranbah
91.7 4QAA Dysart
92.3 unidentified
92.5 unidentified
93.3 4ABCRN Dysart
93.5 4ROK Gladstone
94.3 Racing Gladstone
94.3 4PNN Townsville
94.7 4SBS Nebo
95.5 Racing Emerald (likely, but Bundaberg also possible)
97.9 4ABCFM Mackay
Monday, June 25, 2012
Analogue TV Switch Off
For those still chasing analogue TV DX, the official switch off dates for the final remaining still in use services have been announced....
Adelaide: April 2 2013
Tasmania: April 9 2013
Perth: April 16 2013
Brisbane/Gold Coast/Sunshine Coast: May 28 2013
Darwin: July 30 2013
Sydney/Gosford: December 3 2013
Melbourne: December 10 2013
Get watching while you can!
Source: Gizmodo
Adelaide: April 2 2013
Tasmania: April 9 2013
Perth: April 16 2013
Brisbane/Gold Coast/Sunshine Coast: May 28 2013
Darwin: July 30 2013
Sydney/Gosford: December 3 2013
Melbourne: December 10 2013
Get watching while you can!
Source: Gizmodo
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Back In Business
Well, I bit the bullet and bought a new hard drive for the desktop computer. Rather than getting some one else to install it and to save money I did it myself - piece of cake.
Long story short, all is working just fine. Got Windows reinstalled, along with all drivers and most programs I had before. Touch wood it will continue to work fine.
Just two problems:
1) After a day, I have started getting a problem where is not recognising my external USB hard drive. I had the exact same problem before. Usually I would have to unplug it and then plug it back in OR restart the PC.
2) This other problem is more a nuisance than anything: When I click on a file to play in Real Player (I use this player for my Itunes music downloads - Windows Media Player is set as my default player), it works just fine, but at the same time as it opens and the music starts, I get an error message saying there is no disc in the drive (despite the fact I am playing the song straight from the computer itself).
By the way, am not liking the new look Blogger!!
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