Re: [HCDX] What rigs and antenna does everyone use?

["Robert Montgomery" <RMonty3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think its kind of neat to spend 4 grand for a receiver and then have to
spend another $400 to hear the receiver.
Bob Montgomery
----- Original Message -----
From: "T. Bankson Roach" <sigint@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <hard-core-dx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, July 22, 2000 4:05 PM
Subject: Re: [HCDX] What rigs and antenna does everyone use?


> I'm using a Watkins-Johnson HF-1000. I sold it  a while back, only to
> re-purchase it when I got re-interested in SWL. I couldn't belive just
> how much I missed. In an attempt to make good things even better, I
> bought the Sherwood SE-3 which uses the 455 kHz IF and makes listening
> even better for a number of technical reasons. The biggest change I made
> after I bought back the HF-1000 was to erect an Alpha Delta DX SWL
> Sloper antenna. I did this because I thought it might be nice to have a
> correct impedance match of an antenna to this receiver. The difference
> it made was astronomical! I am routinely picking up signals at easy
> listening levels which I can't even begin to hear using my 150 foot 100
> foot elevation "inverted L" antenna. Still not sure why. The only time
> the long wire is marginally better is on signals in the 2 to 3 MHz
> range. I am not sure why there is such a dramatic difference and would
> like to know if others noted this much of an improvement.
>
> I also have the HF-1000 slaved to a high precision 5 MHz quartz
> oscillator [the Rubidium atomic standard I had went kaput]. By using the
> HF-1000's CW mode and associated audio output, and an oscilloscope, it
> is easy to measure AM and CW stations RF to the one Hz level. This often
> allows me to separate signals "on the same frequency" such as signals
> from PNG and Indonesia. It is also interesting [to me] to see how their
> stability holds over the years, and which stations are exactly on
> frequency, and which ones aren't. The other major "listening" device
> isn't for listening. It is a Singer MF-5 Spectrum Analyzer, which also
> makes use of the 455 kHz IF output of the HF-1000. I can clearly see
> signals that I can never hope to hear and also verify their presence by
> using the "exact tuning" method I mentioned above.
>
> Another favorite hobby device is the Sony TCD-D7 DAT recorder. With this
> device I can record up to 4 hours audio output from the HF-1000 on a
> tape not much bigger than a small match box. It is a digital tape
> recorder so I can always be assured of no "wow", "flutter" or frequency
> distortion. Nice to record those rare broadcasts. It also features an
> internal date/time stamp clock. I set it for UTC and then you can play
> back the tape years later and know exactly what day of the week, date,
> month, year and time [to the one second resolution level]. Even when the
> clock "drifts" I merely record a patch of WWV so I can correct for any
> error. Great for recording digital modes for subsequent analysis or
> breakout if you ever get an advanced decoder card.
>
> I used this portable Sony tape unit [fits in your shirt pocket easily]
> on trips to Costa Rica, Belize, Mexico, Africa [Tanzania and Kenya] and
> India [several places] and recorded signals from a Sony 2010 or YB-400.
> The Indian "natives" enjoyed hearing cricket games, football, etc. The
> fidelity of the DAT was superb and I had a portable stereo microphone
> and nice set of earphones to listen to it with. One morning in India
> when I was way out in East Nowhere [Little Rann of Kutsch looking for
> Wild Asses] I played back the morning prayer which greeted us every
> morning in this Muslim area. My tour guide heard it and signalled for
> one of his workers. About 30 minutes later [this was late in the
> afternoon] the fellow who did the daily prayer broadcast over a
> loudspeaker from the Mosque heard the tape. He was dumfounded! He then
> sang the whole prayer for me so I could record it in stereo. Another one
> of our guide's servants [slaves is closer to the truth!] heard himself
> talking on the tape from the evening before and looked like he had heard
> the voice of the devil. He was almost frightened by the whole thing. It
> was proper grounding to realize just how miraculous such things can be
> to people that are barely living above stone age conditions.
>
> While in India I would take the longwire antenna and string it up in the
> straw roof of the cow dung hut we slept in. It worked fine. I could lay
> in my bed at night, which consisted of a frame with ropes and a hay
> filled mattress. I would listen to the radio and go off to sleep. It was
> especially interesting when I awoke the next morning and heard an AIR
> broadcast in English telling me details about the giant LA earthquake
> [Jan 1964?]. Since some of the people in our group were from LA, I was
> able to give them details on what areas were affected the most.
>
> I currently have my old, but reasonably good, NRD-525 which I use as a
> back up. Alas, I must tell you, even at its best, it was not even close
> to the receiver the HF-1000 is. I hope someday to make a comparison of
> the TenTec RX340 to the Watkins Johnson. As good as the WJ is, I'll bet
> the RX340 is better. Time marches on!
>
>
> Tom Roach
> In the Sierra Foothills about 50 miles East of Sacramento, California
>
>
>
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