3-7-09 Tropo

[NN2E]

Good DTV tropo to AL, FL, GA, KY, TN.
#210 WFBD 48 Destin, FL. 450 mi. (first Florida DTV)
#211 WRBL 15 (3) Columbus, GA. 370 mi.
#212 WSFA 14 (12) Montgomery, AL. 360 mi.
#213 WCIQ 7 Mt. Cheaha, AL. 270 mi. (with 2/3 of my VHF antenna destroyed!)
#214 WPMI 47 (15) Mobile, AL 430 mi.
#215 WCTV 46 (6) Thomasville, GA. 490 mi.
#216 WGNM 45 Macon, GA. 390 mi.
#217 WVLT 30 (8) Knoxville, TN. 250 mi.
#218 WMUM 7 (29) Cochran, GA. 420 mi. (!)
Several re-logs.
Saw signal indications on some of the VHF channels but antenna is just too badly trashed to get much. I'm really surprised by the two channel 7's.
73, Ed NN2E
Owner / Operator - Murphy's Law Test Site & Thunderstorm Proving Grounds

[Danny]

Your TV/DTV DX is amazing, Ed.

[NN2E]

Thanks, Danny.
It's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I'm a night owl so the tropo openings, usually 1 A.M. to 11 A.M., fit into my schedule. When I'm not awake the DTV box is almost always parked on something I'm looking for.
73, Ed NN2E
Owner / Operator - Murphy's Law Test Site & Thunderstorm Proving Grounds

[KA9UVY]

Ed, I caught the opening here also with very intense path into Atlanta for me. I also got my first DTV from Florida with WJCT (7) on 38 from Jacksonville @ 691 miles.

73, Bob
KA9UVY

[NN2E]

Hi Bob,
Great catch on the Jacksonville, FL. DTV!
Atlanta and Birmingham were both very strong here. Lots of re-logs from those two cities.
What TV antennas are you using at your QTH?
I'm using a 7 ft parabolic UHF @ 45 ft and, what's left of, an Antennacraft MXV-5100 (the ice storm ruined it) VHF @ 40 ft. (I'm waiting on Hughes Electronics in Paducah to get me a new CS-1100 Antennacraft VHF from his supplier in Mt. Vernon) Pre-amp is a Channel Master 7777.
73, Ed NN2E
Owner / Operator - Murphy's Law Test Site & Thunderstorm Proving Grounds

Update 2 P.M. Minor tropo to AL and MS this morning... Logged WIIQ 19 (41) Demopolis, AL. 310 mi. for DTV #219. Early afternoon still shows hints of signals from that direction.

[KA9UVY]

Ed, I also am using a 7 ft parabolic here a genuine Finco P-7 at 65 feet fed with .625 hardline and CM 77?? preamp. The VHF is a CM Quantum mid sized model coupled at preamp with the parabolic.
The RX is usualy a DTT 901 but sometimes use the WinDTV that is used for screen captures.
I managed to grab WFJB-DT 44 this morning but still can't seem to get WNAB with an ID on the screen. I only count stations in my totals when I can get an actual call or PSIP on the screen and CW58 don't cut it for me.
Do you know when they actually put up a full screen ID ?? The only ID I seem to catch is very small letters and the resolution is to poor for a screen capture.
My DTV total is right at 195 now

73, Bob
KA9UVY

[NN2E]

Good question on when WNAB -DT actually ID's...top and bottom of the hour, maybe? Sometimes you just have to do a bit of detective work to figure them out. The ION and KET TV stations are bad about not using call letters in their data stream. I use Doug's site...

http://www.w9wi.com/newweb/index.html

...a LOT to solve the mysteries. Sometimes, the best you can do is put all of the pieces together to determine what station you're seeing.
73, Ed NN2E
Owner / Operator - Murphy's Law Test Site & Thunderstorm Proving Grounds

[antennanut]

First of all Ed and Bob - awesome DX catches!

I am not an avid viewer of WNAB, but truthfully I have never seen a full screen ID from them. Unfortunately, that is like a lot of other stations these days - they bury their callsign in a corner of the screen in tiny font, and almost never actually announce the callsign. I miss the good ole days where stations threw up full screen IDs, where they actually had a graphic design they could be proud of, and also announced. True, we have more resources at our disposal to ID stations, but I still long for the full screen with an announcement.