KG6VSW - DX Equipment

The Sony XDR-F1HD is an excellent all-around tuner, and is particularly useful for its superb selectivity. The Sony can DX on first adjacent frequencies to even the strongest locals, which give the Sangean some difficulty. Thus, it is my primary tuner, with its audio running to the primary sound card of the computer, which is hooked up to the headphones.

The Sangean HDT-1X serves as a backup tuner. The Sangean is routed to a secondary sound card on the computer, and its audio comes over the small speakers behind the monitor. The Sangean's RDS is far quicker, and displays PI codes, so I also use the Sangean for grabbing quick RDS IDs that the Sony struggles to pick up, or doesn't see at all.

All audio over the tuners is automatically recorded 24/7 by Total Recorder. Total Recorder can be programmed to run more than one instance at a time, recording from different sources on each. It runs two recording instances flawlessly on my modest computer without a noticeable degredation in performance.

Antennas

Pictured above: Dipole antenna (facing east/west)

My primary antennas are two dipoles, both the type that are included with the Sony XDR tuners. I shortened the length of the dipoles with electrical tape above the mount, so that the dipoles are roughly resonant to 95 MHz, instead of ~85 MHz stock*. Another dipole, not pictured, is mounted horizontally on the ceiling, facing north/south.

*per Brain Beezley, K6STI's review of the XDR-F1HD.

Pictured: Winegard HD-6000 four element beam on temporary upside-down tray table mount.

During DX events, I unfold the beam antenna pictured above. The table gives it some elevation and stability, and makes it easy to turn. The directionality has proven useful during the tropospheric ducting events in November 2009, but I have yet to evaluate the antenna during an Es opening.

For a comprehensive technical review of the Winegard HD-6000 by Brain Beezley, K6STI, click here.

Other useful DX tools

Pictured: Realistic PRO-2004 receiver (late 80s/early 90s)

I picked up this PRO-2004 used on eBay, after reading positive reviews about it from Randy, KW4RZ, and other users. Unlike many scanners, it receives lower VHF frequencies, and once setup, is a great way to detect building Es events before they reach the FM band. It can also be programmed to scan FM Broadcast frequencies, air beacons, and other high VHF frequencies, which can serve as indicators for intense Es openings, or tropospheric openings to some extent. For now, it is hooked up to a pair of unamplified "rabbit ears" on a small table.

Pictured: Total Recorder (two top windows) and Wavepad (bottom window)

While not tangible equipment, these two programs are vital (in my opinion) to getting the most out of FM DXing. Total Recorder, as previously described, records all audio over the two tuners. The files are saved as .wav files that are automatically labeled with their time and tuner. The files are loaded into wavepad, where the levels of the sound waves can be clearly seen, which allows me to review many hours of unattended audio in a just a few minutes, as I can skip to elevated areas where signals are indicated.