DX'ers this season have been blessed with a very rare "Weekly DX" test from WODI, 1230khz in Brookneal, VA. The test was the brainchild of Tony DeNicola, WA2IHZ , and Dave Marthouse, N2AAM who jointly run the station.
The station has been conducting a five minute duration DX Test each week since October 1st, allowing many DX'ers to put this station into their logs for the first time. If you don't see your name listed here, it's not too late, the test continues into January and possibly quite a bit longer. So take advantage, and give them a try this Saturday night! QSL INFORMATION ======================================= QSL's for all received reports have already been sent, so if you haven't received yours yet, please send me another report. The club is handling all the QSL requests for the station. Here are the details: Reception reports are desired via e-mail (first choice) and snail mail (only if e-mail is not available) Station would prefer to received recordings of the test (MP3, CD, or cassette). Submit reports to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please put "WODI DX Test" in the subject line. All standard mail reports should go to: Les Rayburn High Noon Film 100 Centerview Drive Suite 111 Birmingham, AL 35216 *SASE Required for reply. TEST RESULTS AS OF DECEMBER 20, 2006 ========================================== The first WODI test premiered on the same night as the WNJC Test on October 1st. Many DX'ers attempted to log both of them on the same night, with many reporting that success. First to nail them both was Bob Antoniuk of Clifton, NJ. He used his Sony 2010 with only the stock antenna to pull it off. Next up was Bert New of Watkinsville, GA, followed by Russ Johnson in Lexington, NC. Our neighbors to the North got into the act too, with Jerry Coatsworth, VE3KXO of Merlin, Ontario reporting reception of both station's test signals. J.D. Stephens seems to hear them all from his shack in Hampton Cove, AL. He used his trusty Drake R8, and the Kiwa Loop to pull in the graveyard signal of WODI on the first night of the test. Other's hearing the test on it's inaugural night were Richard Line of Sterling Heights, MI using his Drake R8B and a 100' N/S wire. Brett Saylor got them on his Icom R-75 and a 100' sloper from his home in Central PA. While the first night of the test was very successful, many DX'ers (including your editor) had to try several times, waiting for the perfect conditions to pull in WODI. This is part of what makes this test so special---repeated week after week, DX'ers can wait on conditions and luck to bring home the prize. In the weeks since the first test, lots of others have heard the WODI signal too including Tom Jasinski of Shorewood, IL, Joe Miller of Troy, MI (he also designed the QSL cards! Thanks Joe!) and Larry Russell of nearby Flushing, MI. Canadians continued to enjoy success with Saul Chernos logging WODI from his car radio in downtown Toronto. Does anyone know what Saul is using for a card radio? I gotta get me one of those! And of course, Barry McLarnon logged the test from his home in Ottawa. (Yawn!) My contacts in the government have determined that Barry has access to the HAARP system allowing him to manipulate the ionosphere at any time. What else could account for his uncanny ability to hear everything? Ken Wilson added Kentucky to the list of states logging the test. He pulled them in using his JRC NRD545 and a K9AY antenna array. Chris (last name unknown) logged the test from his home in Taylors, SC using only a Sony Walkman, proving that fancy radios aren't always required for DX. Others hearing the test included Jim Pursel, of Lancaster, PA, Bill Swiger of Bridgeport, WV, and Jim Pogue of Memphis, TN. Delaware received the signal too, thanks to Pete Jernakoff, who also seems to have the ability hear pins drop at great distances. Jim Chenard in Blairstown, NJ reeled in the WODI signal using a Drake R8 and the Kiwa Loop, while Jim Sgrulletta used a JRC receiver and a BOG antenna to hear the test from his shack in Mahopac, NY. Week five was "the charm" for both Steve Francis of Alcoa, TN and Les Rayburn in Helena, AL. John Hunter added Georgia to the list, after sleeping through his alarm the week before! John, it gets harder to do these late night DX sessions every year doesn't it? Dave Hochfelder in Highland Park, NJ found success after a few weeks of effort, as did Steve Howe in St. Albans, Vermont. Steve has a great "batting average" this DX season! Dave Pyatt in Burlington, Ontario, Canada used his famous 40" box loop antenna to pull the test in after trying several weeks. While the AOR7030 (great receiver) and 130' terminated random wire turned the trick for Jeff Falconer in Clinton, Ontario. Wade Smith, VE9WGS rounded out the list of Canadian DX'ers who have managed to log this test. A bit further South, George Clement of Keyston Heights, Florida used an EWE antenna to capture the graveyard signal and Brandon Jordan (of www.dxtests.info fame) heard clear Morse Code ID's and sweep tones from his shack in Memphis, TN. The last report received was from Phillip Chiello, who had a great reception of the test from his home in Elm Grove, WI, adding yet another state to the list. The results are very impressive from a 1,000 watt signal on a crowded graveyard frequency. Our thanks again to Tony and Dave for this unique test---and if you haven't logged it yet, tune in Saturday night! Maybe Santa will come a bit early this year! SOAPBOX =========================================== Surprised to get both these Northeasterners with the A index at 15. Thanx, Les, and the stations' staff for a great start to the DX test season! -J.D. Stephens, Hampton Cove, AL Just minutes ago logged the weekly 5 minute WODI 1230 Khz DX test (00:00 to 00:05 ELT on Sunday Morning). Heard well, slightly above the noise with Morse Code and sweep tones. -Tom Jasinski, Shorewood, IL Heard with some fairly good sweep tones from 000-0004 and around 0005 something sounding like a mild beep beep / beep beep / beep beep / ... In downtown Toronto ON in the car. Didn't have to go too far mobile - in front of my house was good enough. Thanks Dave et al at WODI! -Saul Chernos, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Heard fairly well here too: cw with many repeats of WODI, alternating with swept tone. Not new, but fun to hear anyway - thanks for the test! -Barry McLarnon VE3JF Ottawa, ON I picked up WODI's October 15 DX test here in Lancaster, PA, using my ICOM IC-T90A handheld and a homebrew hentenna (indoors) cut for 144MHz. The code was difficult to pick up at times, but the sweep tones came through loud and clear. Any voice ID was lost in the noise. As the attached audio clip will show, there was a ton of noise! -Jim Pursel, Lancaster, PA Approx. 15 seconds of very faint Morse code W-O-D-I IDs over GY rumble followed by about 70 seconds of faint but obvious sweep tones. The test was apparently a few minutes early (originally scheduled for midnight 10-22-06 east coast time). New. A 257 mile catch. Many thanks to all who arranged this DX test!!! -Pete Jernakoff, Northern DE Week five was the charm - Morse code and sweep tones in solid from midnight to 12:06 10/29. I'd forgotten to listen one weekend, and had no sign of it on the other three. Thanks, Dave and Tony! -Steve Francis, Alcoa, Tennessee _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
