Rob and Nick, Rob's discussion is downright profound, and should be read by all ULR enthusiasts! Of course, we all have different DXing goals, and reasons why we enjoy using these little radios. 600 ULR stations received in one year is phenomenal from any location, but from the west coast... well, it's about as likely as receiving WOON-1240 (or maybe MOON-1240 :>) To be honest, Rob has taken the ULR focus into a direction that I never would have considered, since from the beginning, my own ULR interest has been receiving TP's on these tiny wonders-- an absolutely thrilling experience. Catching the tail end of the 2007 fall season with my humble stock SRF-59, I managed to log 3 of them (JOAK-594, JOIB-747, and HLCA-972), before the band went into the winter hibernation period in December (which we are now experiencing again, one year later). Greatly missing the TP's (and having some moderate Navy technical experience), a fascinating challenge developed-- no doubt equally fascinating to Rob's multiple station challenge-- I wanted to make the ULR radios ultra-competitive for TP reception! Yes, make them, ultra-sensitive, ultra-selective and ultra-effective for transoceanic DXing... so that they could outperform even the full-sized stock portables like the ICF-2010 and E1. This challenging goal was probably equally daunting to Rob's goal of logging many hundreds of stations in one year-- and equally fascinating. Along the way, some outstanding technicians like John Bryant, Guy Atkins and Steve Ratzlaff joined in-- as we pursued the common goal of creating an Ultralight radio with unprecedented 9 kHz-split DX capability. I had a lot of "education" along the way-- SRF-39FP loopstick transplants that boosted sensitivity but degraded selectivity, vintage ferrite loopsticks that needed to be retired, etc. But eventually, working together, we found the perfect way to combine extreme sensitivity with extreme selectivity in a modified Ultralight (with extreme nulling ability as a bonus). The Slider loopstick E100's (with the Murata CFJ455K5 IF filter) are now astonishing ever DXer who tries one out-- and like Rob, I can truthfully say that this year has provided great Ultralight radio thrills for me, for John Bryant, and many other TP DXers. We all have differing reasons for enjoying these tiny wonders, but like Rob eloquently wrote, we all have one great thing in common-- FUN! It's a total blast to hold a tiny modified E100 in your hand, and receive 5AN-891 in Adelaide, Australia (8,230 miles from Grayland). It's equally fun for Allen Willie to log new European, African and Asian countries on his stock SRF-M37V, or John Bryant to log multiple Aussies and Kiwis with his E100, assisted by a Wellbrook array. Even stock SRF-59 DXing is alive and well, despite the fact that lazier DXers (like yours truly) have bailed out :>) So in addition to thanking Rob again for his phenomenal accomplishments, I would like to thank all of you for setting the standard in AM-DXing fun this past year, and for giving this hobby a huge enthusiasm boost. Our best days are yet to come, and 2009 looks like an ultra-exciting year for our booming niche group. 73 and Best Wishes, Gary DeBock In a message dated 12/30/2008 11:34:04 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, n...@ieee.org writes: At 18:24 12/30/2008, you wrote:
>Hi Guys: > > After logging # 602 I have found myself in another Drought...not >hearing anything New on ULRs for the last 2 Days!! Several people have >asked the Million Dollar Question....Is there a limit to how many >stations can be logged using ULR Radios?? a great write-up, Rob. Your basic DXing technique is universally applicable (you don't hear 'em if the radio isn't switched on; a couple of hundred brand new stations in a single year after many years of DXing attests to that), but your observations concerning regional "spotlights" certainly bear repeating as well. Thanks, and Happy New Year. Nick ***************************** Nick Hall-Patch Victoria, BC Canada _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com 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: irca@hard-core-dx.com **************One site keeps you connected to all your email: AOL Mail, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail. Try it now. (http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000025) _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com 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: irca@hard-core-dx.com