LEM 304 - Fastest SDR DXpedition ever?

by Hannu Niilekselä (HN), Vantaa

This pedition wasn't intended to make SDR/DX history the way it did. The target was to encounter at least moderate CX towards NA –potentially also some daytimers, due to the favourable change of broadcast times on March 1- with some MW aussies as a bonus.

But it doesn't always go as in the movies and this pedition writes history by being the first(?) DX-pedition where all the files have been checked and destroyed during the pedition and the log ready for publishing on the last day of the pedition.

On the background you'll find some cold facts: There was some CX only in the first three days and only a couple of hours per day. So in the last days of the pedition there was 15-18 hours to check those first three days…

Still some CX was found

Durin the couple short TA cx towards NA, it was wide open from Florida to Hawaii. Strongest signals came from the Rockies and West Coast, called as ”Ylämummo”. Even if East Coast seemed to be weak at live listening, the best parts were found from there from the first morning of the pedition.

Some local noise issues and one break in the automated recording at prime time in the first morning added to the challenge of digging up something worthwhile.

It has been long time ago, when we had a nearly total break towards NA for 5 days, but LEM304 saw and heard also this come true in this season.

But anyway some nice stations were heard and also X-band aussies tried to come through. Below 1611 kHz only 4QD Emerald was audible.

The new netSDR worked out fine and seems to be an excellent receiver. Perseus is close to the netSDR, but real critical benchmarking couldn't be done due to the lack of good material ...

Tuomo Ahonen arrived two days later on ENOX and we made some comparisons on February 28, when Rockies-West Coast had some nice signals. The distance is just some 80 km, but the differences with some individual stations heard were remarkable: On LEM no trace of KAGI-930 or KACH-1340 (which station came in booming on ENOX). Instead KSEI-930 and KYLT-1340. On the same hour no trace on ENOX of KGRZ-1450.

This just enforces some earlier experiences of the remarkable differences even on very short distances during disturbed conditions.

LEM304 loggings (link)