[HCDX] WBIX DX Test Final Report

["Jim Pogue" <KH2AR@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

WBIX DX Test Final Report

     Let me think of some appropriate superlatives: spectacular, amazing,
overwhelmingly successful ? nope, they still don?t capture how great this
late-February DX test from Natick, Massachusetts came out. In addition to
being heard in at least 18 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces, the test
was also logged in Finland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Here?s the LONG list of DXers who have reported hearing the test:

Mark DeLorenzo ? South Dennis, MA
Dave Hochfelder ? Albany, NY
Steve Howe ? Saint Albans, VT
Curtis Sadowski ? Paxton, IL
Joe Miller ? Troy, MI
Mike Brooker ? Toronto, ON
Craig Healy ? Providence, RI
George Sherman ? Minnesota
Perry Crabill ? Winchester, VA
Mark Gerwlivch ? Markham, ON
Mark Connelly - Billerica, MA
Rob Ross ? London, ON (DXing on an Ultralite radio of course)
Bruce Portzer ? Seattle, WA
Tom Jasinski ? Shorewood, IL
Bjarne Mjelde ? Berlevag, Norway
Jan Edh ? Freddiksfors, Sweden
OJ Sagdahl ? Tronheim, Norway
Andrew Blade ? York, UK
Sig Andersson ? Norrköping, Sweden
Torolf Johnsson ? Stockholm, Sweden
Dave Pyatt ? Burlington, ON
Bob Galerstein ? Monroe, NY
Dave Braun ? Wyoming, DE
Scott Fybush ? Rochester, NY
Joe Wozniak ? St. Louis, MO
Rich Line ? Sterling Heights, MI
David Faulkner ? Albany, NY
Torgeir Woxen ? Sørumsand, Norway
Barry Davies ? Carlisle, UK
Shawn Axelrod ? Winnipeg, MB
Neil Kazaross ? Barrington, IL
Jim Wallace ? Charleston, WV
Tim Noonan ? Oak Creek, WI
Steve Francis ? DXing from Newport News, VA
Dave Larrabee ? Columbia, MD
Jim Solatie ? Lemmenjoki, Finland
Eric Söderman ? Norrköping, Sweden
Håkan Sundman ? Lemmenjoki, Finland
Ken Baird ? Sorn, Scotland
Kermit Geary ? Walnutport, PA
Jim Paige ? Sterling Heights, MI
Steve Kennedy ? Coal Township, PA
Charles Helms ? Nutley, NJ
Philip Chiello, Jr. ? Elm Grove, WI
Kraig Krist ? Manassas, VA
Leslie Wood ? East Meadow, NY
John Fisher ? North Chelmsford, MA
Mary Karren-Landry ? Poland Spring, ME
John Malicky ? Pittsburgh, PA
Andrew Blade ? Ayrshire, Scotland

     It seems that the only DXers east of the Mississippi River who had a
problem hearing the test were those like me here in Memphis who live in
WBIX?s protective null. Likewise, J.D. Stephens and Les Rayburn in Alabama
reported no success in hearing this most desirable test.

     A trend that appears to be developing is a greater international
interest in trying for DX tests. This is indeed exciting, and a potentially
strong selling point to station engineers and management for future tests.
Evidence supporting some unrealized potential for future successes in this
area is provided by comments from DXer Mark Connelly in Massachusetts:

?At 0016 EST / 0516 UTC on 24 FEB I had no problem hearing the WBIX-1060
Natick, MA test on the DXTuner receiver located in Ilfracombe, England,? he
wrote. ?Code ID's, sweep tones, and voice announcements came through fine.
Clearly dominating the channel. (Other DXTuners) that had some signal:
Edinburgh, Scotland (poor, much weaker than at Ilfracombe, bits of voice and
tones) Italy and Germany (carrier evident but nil / nearly nil audio)
Caracas, Venezuela (bits of Morse code ID in huge ?furball? jumble).?


     Thanks for sharing this fascinating info Mark. Perhaps we need to try
and reach out to DXers in Latin America and encourage them to begin
listening for tests. I have not received any reports from DXers in those
regions on any tests this season.

     As the prime BCB listening time begins to transition into nights with
higher QRN levels and more hours of daylight, I am still trying to nail down
just a couple more DX tests. More to follow on these as details become
available.

     Once again, our sincere thanks to WBIX Chief Engineer Grady Moates for
agreeing to conduct this test, and to BTC member Paul B. Walker Jr. for his
persistent efforts to arrange it. Now to the task of processing the many
requests for QSLs.

     Remember to keep checking the DXTESTS.INFO Web site frequently and
listen to the BTC Podcasts for news and late-breaking developments.

Jim Pogue
IRCA/NRC Joint Broadcast Test Committee Coordinator
Memphis, TN


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