Some old school DXing

aceb

aceb

Specialist Contributor
My Satellite Setup
TBS 6925
1.8m Precision + PLL Bullseye, motorised but probably siezed now.
2 x Sky Zone 2 for 28/19/13°E
My Location
Sussex
So, this is my first love when it comes to DX and TV, Band 1 VHF. This was recorded this afternoon on Italian channel A from Monte Caccia at about 1700Km via Sporadic E.

[video=youtube;FC58ILbN3Vk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC58ILbN3Vk[/video]
 
Ah that brings back memories - I used to enjoy uhf dxing back in the days when ITV regions carried different programmes. Even with a tatty bent aerial hung out of my bedroom window I used to be able to get Sandy Heath from Cannock near Stafford whenever high pressure drifted over us.

Once managed to get Granada from Winter Hill & on one memorable occasion I managed to get Dutch TV :D
 
Very cool! Have you ever caught anything from Russia? VHF is used extensively there (SECAM D/K).
 
Is there any reason to couple multiple aerials together now the DSO has been achieved ?

I can of course pick up the regional channels (and their quirky local snippets of news/weather) by tuning into 28East and selecting the non-Freesat channel number, but is there anything outside these that could be caught in the London area ?
 
Nice catch. Can't be much analogue left on Band I these days. Finland now uses it for quite a few DVB-T2 multiplexes.
 
And the funny part is, that's Italian High Definition!!! :-rofl2
 
please tell the best way to analog cable tv(rf signal) dxing.
 
You'd need one 'ell of a leaky feeder to DX cable TV?

It's all a bit of a dying hobby these days with all of Europe switching off Analogue although the Middle East, Africa and South America will continue for the foreseeable future. I've had pictures from all these before. CJ, yes Russia is quite a regular catch,both RTR and Pervy Kanal although the most common channel is blocked by baby monitors, I use a notch filter to remove a lot of it but it's so close there's still a lot of attenuation. I stopped UHF DXing a few years ago now, the invisible wall of DTT noise spoiled all the good stuff, I used to use four x four element Triax grids and it was quite easy to get Tyne Tees on ch29. French, Dutch and Belgium were also on tap, either on B3 or UHF. Happy days :)

If I lived somewhere that had a flat horizon to the east I'd be tempted to diplex in something, as it is I use one of my remaining grids pointing south for French TNT.
Some of the highlights of Es and TEP on my youtube channel _http://www.youtube.com/AceBlaggard
 
aceb said:
It's all a bit of a dying hobby these days with all of Europe switching off Analogue although the Middle East, Africa and South America will continue for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...
I know what you mean, it's not the same any more. I used to regularly get various Russian and Baltic signals flutter in during the summer months in Finland without any proper DX equipment (just a keen eye on the empty channels). However, these days in the digital age my equipment seems to do some DXing on it's own. I've seen my TV and DVR in Finland auto-store stations from Sweden and Latvia (presumably from overnight scans) although I've yet to see any of these channels actually work by the time I've noticed them in my EPG!
 
Please tell me the best equipment for vhf and uhf dxing like best anteena,amp etc.
 
they were the days aceb i have not done any dxing for a few years the only thing i have left is a pile of photos of testcards i received,good memories though,iceland was my favorite.
 
Some receptions in Varna(Bulgaria) - 43.2N/27.9E from Russia(more than 1000 km) and Ukraine(ab.600 km)

Equipment:
Antenna with built-in booster 20 - 28 dB
View attachment 43279

Display - CRT TV with PIP/PAP
Tuners - analog (LG 3in1-DVD/VHS Video/tuner , TV tuner)
DVB-T2 receiver

13.06.2012
Tropo conditions:
View attachment 43280

Receptions shown are simulteneously analog and DVB-T2 signals.
1.Russia1 analog channel 9(198 - 206 MHz) - left picture / Ukraine(Simferopol) multiplex ch 32 signal - right picture
View attachment 43281

2..Russia1 analog ch 9(198 - 206 MHz) - left picture / Ukraine(Simferopol) multiplex ch 37(MTV Ukraine...) - right picture
View attachment 43282

3.Ukraine analog ch 41(5 Kanal) from Evpatorija with TV tuner - left/ LG tuner - right
View attachment 43284

4.Ukraine analog ch 25(ИТВ) from Simferopol - left /multiplex ch 23 - right
View attachment 43285

04.06.2012
Ukraine multiplex ch 35(Inter...) from Evpatorija
View attachment 43286


03.06.2012
Some clips on YouYube: [video=youtube_share;KBdRFXgYBjE]http://youtu.be/KBdRFXgYBjE[/video]
 
Amazing you got channels that far away.... I guess it's easier in VHF band where a lot of TV channels still exist in Russia
 
I wish you hadn't reminded me of this............... I'm tempted to dig out my VHF kit and start playing again. Irish TV here in Wales used to be easily get able.

Some of the battery capable portable duel band televisions had really nice sensitive tuners.
(a simple project was to isolate the varicap diode in the tuner and sweep the voltage to produce a scanner)

I almost cannibalised my 1950's VHF band 3 Yagi aerial a few years back for another project. Glad I didn't!
 
aceb said:
So, this is my first love when it comes to DX and TV, Band 1 VHF. This was recorded this afternoon on Italian channel A from Monte Caccia at about 1700Km via Sporadic E.
Click to expand...

Here sporadic reception on VHF 1 are usual,i m curious about,what tuner do you have,mine it s from old analogic days tv set black-white with OIRT tuner,reception via sporadia it s on channel 2, 58-66 MHz.On CCIR tuner channel 2 frecvency it s missing.
Rai One,Sverige,Norge,and lots of channels from arabia.
Summer,when Sporadic it s strong it s madness on VHF 1-OIRT band,same happens on old FM-OIRT band 66-73MHz. Lots of radio station from Russia.
 
Opps I missed the question (only 8 months ago!)

My tuner is from an old battery operated portable BW TV........ Its still in the loft......... like everything else things tend to slip and time to play seems to diminish.
 
Excellent this brings back memories for me. I never did very well with band 3 vhf but band 1 even with f2 propogation in the winter was special. You got a longer high at times,perfectly watchable. Unfortunately my old tv i used died many years ago. That was band 1,3 and uhf, colour 4 inch screen with built in radio and tapedeck.
 
DX TV is well good. I remember setting up a sony dvd recorder for my dad on Christmas day 2007. The aerial was a Vision 48 element pointing in completely the wrong direction. Due North. It was snowing like mad and the German analogue channels were coming crystal clear with good audio. Tried tuning in using the tv but it wasn't multi standard so the tuner only did the 6mhz audio carrier.
 
I've seen on a couple of web sites the latest angle on Dx'ing is DAB Dx'ing with Yagis.

I'm not going there....... when my DAB works I don't care if its from the local trasmitter, repeater or wherever!
 
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