LEM DXpedition News of 2011-2012 Season
Jan-Erik Österholm (JEÖ) and Pertti Äyräs (PÄ)
Wednesday, February 8
The continuing story of LEM317 - Pedition Les Miserables. Fortunately only two days to go. This morning half an hour of weak NA-signals from the Great Lakes region, e.g. WMBD etc. During night the usual cx towards Brazil and La Plata and some interesting stations that need to be analyzed - might be that we can find something new. Also a weak opening towards Peru and Ecuador before sunrise with stations such as TurboMix 1540.5 and Zeta Uno, Guayaquil 1400v.
Since a new coronal hole will hit during the coming day the cx that never came is definitely over for this pedition. Remarkably enough! Think of a QTH such as Lemmenjoki with no sign of real NA-signals, not to mention Mexico etc between January 21-February 10! OK, lets not spill the tears, Pertti and I have had a great time anyway and have spent many months in Lemmenjoki during super cx so we have no reason to complain...BUT...we do it anyway.
Should anything surprisingly emerge on Thursday or Friday we will report it after arrival back home.
Since - as far as we now - nobody is intending to come to the LEM-QTH anymore this spring, we bring the antenna splitters to RS and disconnect the baluns.
This is the LEM317 pre-closing
JEÖ&PÄ
Monday, February 6
With the exception of weak Brazil/La Plata during night and some Orinoco before sunrise the same story is continuing. No NA-cx whatsoever.
Sunday, February 5
These messages might turn out boring to read, but that's how we feel in the almost complete absence of signals. Amazing that the band can be so empty for nearly two weeks now. A positive sign for the remaining week might be that the awful disturbances that covered the band during daytime, e.g. yesterday and the days before. Yesterday evening even some JP-stations (1413 and 1278 appeared). Presently at 13.25 UTC the almost only audio on the AM band is EST Tartu 1035 ...
Saturday, February 4
The same pattern is still continuing. A little from Brazil and La Plata during night hours and before sunrise. Even WBBR 1130 was noticed just before sunrise. Immediately after sunrise the band went silent. All antennas threw in an amazing amount of noise with the exception of the 300 degree one which seems to be malfunctioning even after several attempts to fix it.
Thursday-Friday, February 2-3
We are still waiting for the skies to open up for some cx towards North America. Hardly any sign from this direction during our first seven days. We had some nice catches from South America during the past days during a couple of hours before sunrise including bolivian Radio Difusora del Oriente, Santa Cruz with 1000 watts on 1000 kHz. No sign of, e.g., Record. Other new for us included R Gazeta, Vitoria, ES on 820, R Caicara, Porto Alegre RS 1020 etc. A pretty strong opening towards Peru this morning on the common frequencies above 1200 kHz. PÄ just reported R Symbian with strong signals around 2368 kHz. All in all, as stated earlier, a very disappointing week.
Wednesday, February 1
Still nothing to report. With the exception of a couple of hours of Brazilians and some NA power houses prior to sunrise the band has been completely empty. The two consecuitive proton storms during the last ten days reminds us of the LEM200-pedition in 2004 when we did not hear anything for 11 days. We still have ten days to go so we have not lost the hope of some catches during next week.
Tuesday, January 31
The day has been spent listening to audio clips from October last year. No TA signals whatsoever during the past 24 hours. Looking at Todays Space Weather and Alvestad's forecasts, we still remain optimistic however that we dont't leave Lemmenjoky empty handed. Unfortunately it takes quite a long time for the band to settle after such a strong proton storm that took place more than a week ago.
Monday, January 30
The proton storm seems to settle down slowly but heading in the right direction. Pretty good signals from Brazil between 01-04 UTC. Even some NA-signals audible such as CIWW 1310 which is a significant improvement from the past 10 days if we can believe Jussi and Jopi. The weather wonderful very calm, -20 degrees and clear skies. We went out walking and had a chat with Aslak.The afternoon has been spent partly sleeping, partly listening to audio clips from LEM306 and LEM307. Presently at 14 UTC quite many Chinese and Japanese stations emerging. Let's see what is to come.
Sunday, January 29
Not much to report. The proton event that appeared on January 27 is decreasing but there is still a couple of days to go to hear anything from NA. During night and morning and day, no signals from TA except from some of the Brazilian powerhouses such as 740, 980, 1100 and 1220 during night and morning hours.
Saturday, January 28
LEM317 is on! PÄ and JEÖ left Turku around 21 UTC on January 27 and arrived by train to Rovaniemi at 8.40 UTC. During the train trip we noticed that the proton storm was degrading and the hope for even some TA-signals were there. After driving to Kittilä for shopping solid and liquid foodstuffs and enjoying the last "civilian" steaks before the pedition, we headed east towards Lemmenjoki where we arrived at 14.00 UTC sharp. After a fast phone call to JUS we found the front door key. Jussi and Jopi that spent the previous week in Lemmenjoki on LEM316 had really made a great job with handing over the cabin to us - everything absolutely perfect! Thanks guys.
To our disappointment a new proton storm appeared on January 27 in the afternoon and thus it will take several days before we can expect some NA-signals. We hope that something from the southern parts of SA is alive despite this, if not we have terabits of clips from our last peditions to check while waiting for the arrival of some TA-signals.
Jopi Nyman (JJN) and Jussi Suokas (JUS), both from Joensuu, Finland
Friday, January 27
¡Viva España! Spain saved our day. We began with lots of common Brazilians, but the fiesta started at 6.25, when we heard stations like COPE Murcia 711, RNE5 Murcia 1152, SER Murcia 1260, RNE Com Valenciana 936, RNE Andalucía 900 and 1098, SER Algeciras 1260 etc etc. It was not in vain that we kept enjoying tapas throughout the week. Nothing from Asia in the afternoon, nor NA for that matter.
We will be leaving early tomorrow, so there won't be too many chances to catch a yankee anymore. We wonder if our diet has been too rich in protons for them.
Anyway, one more feast today: hot-flavoured Mexican bean soup and Finnish lager beer from Iisalmi.
This is LEM316 howling off!
Thursday, January 26
Radio is dead but the picnic goes on...
Today's highlights: breakfast, lunch, afternoon coffee and dinner: roast lamb, creamy garlic potatoes with Santa Helena unoaked Shiraz.
Wednesday, January 25
We are starting to hear voices. Around 7 a.m. utc many Brazilians were just and just visible on the Perseus screen and we developed a sport on how many of them we could also spot with a trace of audio. Not too many. Another target has been Africa. It's no secret that we have set our gleaming eyes on the Gambia, but no,no, no. No such luck yet. The options last night seemed to be not to hear Banjul and stay awake, or not to hear Banjul and sleep, so the second option won in spite of Brother Mauno preaching us on perseverance. Well, some stations that have pleased us during the past 24 hours are, e.g., Bayrak Radyosu 1098, FRCN Kaduna 594, RNE Baleares 621, Onda Cero Ciudad Real 1341, RNE5 Aragón, Zaragoza 936, as well as an interesting Greek station on 1260.
Another international menu today: hot pork vindaloo from Goa with cold Australian lager beer.
Tuesday, January 24
Nice to be part of something big. It's the biggest one in six years, we hear. But even if the conditions were to stay like this, we can already say that yes, indeed, we managed to positively identify one US station here, before the CMEs and whatever started their show. Two Nigerians (917 and 1026) late yesterday evening and some strong Spaniards at 06.20 this morning.
When we returned from the antenna forest, a mouthful of Reindeer Droppings surely tasted good . We do like English amber ale in the afternoon, you know.
Today's menu: a tapas sortiment for starters, then meatballs Smyrna style and Cameleon Cabernet Sauvignon. Eat well, drink moderately and forget the big bad flares.
Monday, January 23
Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level occurred. Solar radiation storms reaching the S2 level occurred. Radio blackouts reaching the R2 level occurred. Space weather for the next 24 hours is predicted to be strong. Solar radiation storms reaching the S3 level are expected. Radio blackouts reaching the R1 level are likely.
Today's menu: Baronnets de faisan aux raisins et des pommes de terres sautees avec Montes Pinot Noir Limited Selection
Sunday, January 22
We waited patiently for the Gambia and other Africans last night, but they never came. Too cold up here. In fact, it's getting colder all the time and the temperature has already dropped down to 25 below while writing this. Today's positive surprise was a decent opening to Orinoco, Puerto Rico and easternmost Canada, e.g. CKHJ Fredericton 1260, WUNO San Juan 630 and R Esperanza, Cartagena 1140. All the distant signals disappeared before 9.00 utc.
Today's menu: Uhtua fish stew and Yalumba Pinot Grigio
Saturday, January 21
The wolves have returned! Before leaving Joensuu we visited a specialist's shop and bought their newest Lurx repellant, which we sprayed abundantly to get hold of the DX hut. So, Ipa's ceremonial habit of eating wolf berries proved to be to no avail.
Anyway, the turn was changed peacefully, and Lemmenjoki witnessed a megalomanic five-man howling session as a result. But no wonder the Lurxes left so easily: they left us an empty band. Don't tell anybody, but we just tried if there is anything to hear in Iran and Afghanistan.
Today's menu Tex-mex pork and 35 South Cabernet Sauvignon
Ilpo Parviainen (IPA), Jarmo Havukunnas (JHU) and Roland Sandberg (RS)
See the details at http://lem315.blogspot.com/
Jari Ruohomäki (JPR) and Jim Solatie (JMS)
Wednesday-Thursday, January 4-5
In the last two days we have seen mediocre North American conditions, but nothing special to report. Nights have been lousy and mornings the usual stuff. Only interesting cases have been WTCR 1420 and KCTE 1510.
We have paid more attention to Saariselkä cross country tracks and outdoor activities. Last night we also visited the new Korpikartano restaurant in Menesjärvi. Very interesting to see tourists around the world (Japan, France, Italy) so close to us.
Time to return home tomorrow. In summary these past 8 days were a pleasant surprise. The first 5 days were super - really super, and then the CME's made us enjoy the winter outdoors.
See you Lemmenjoki again next fall.
Tuesday, January 3
On Tuesday an unexpected CME arrived and destroyd everything. So the DX-fun is over, at least for a day or two. Well, we had 5 great days in a row, which was much more than we expected. Time to concentrate on cross-country skiing now :)
Monday, January 2
Monday offered a great opening towards Mid West at midday. The best catches were KWIX 1230, WSDZ 1260 and KIOL 1370. No South America nor Caribbean today.
Sunday, January 1
Today still very good conditions towards Northern South America and North America. West Coast stations were completely gone, but the Lakes were heard too well. The highlight of today were the two early afternoon hours (12-14 local time), when graveyards were in perfect shape. Stations like WJRW 1340 and WTRC 1340 were booming in.
Saturday, December 31
Then on Saturday only Northern South America was available. During the morning hours the band was crowded with exotic Latin rythms, no English were spoken in any frequency. Again a super day!
Friday, December 30
Friday offered us a once-in-a-lifetime opening to the East Coast. Only coastal stations - from Massachusetts to Florida - were available in the morning and midday. All dominants from Great Lakes were absent. Truly wonderful!
Tuesday-Thursday, December 27-29
The first days have offered mediocre and mixed nonstop conditions (21-15 utc) to Northern South America and the whole North America. Nothing really spectacular so far. However, the vacated frequency 630 kHz gave both WPRO and WMAL.
Some 15 cm snow on the ground and -7 degrees Celsius. Very beautiful indeed!
Hannu Asikainen (HAS) and Hannu Niilekselä (HN)
Saturday, December 17
Last chance for daytimers: WQOM-1060 with a better signal than night before. A few interesting carriers in addition, but these never developed to any signals with audio.
A lousy night and back to normal with stations gradually appearing around sunrise. Again the same pattern with the development: first strong NF and ON, then gradually a couple FL and NJ joining, plus a few stations from the "more inner" parts of the U.S.
Stations heard all day until around 1130 UTC, but again with surprisingly much fluctuation in signal, causing at least two "lost" TOHs. Since this was the third day in a row with "flat 0" values in the Kp indices, it would be interesting to understand what the minor disturbances that are clearly noted are based on.
Again some AK and HI after other directions gradually died out, but just in the upper parts of the mw band. So it was time to hit the Big Switch around 1200 UTC.
In all it was an interesting week with stations from the main target area being audible every day of the week. Surprisingly, no daytimer conditions occurred and the conditions never reached the "inner parts" of the U.S. Quite different from previous experiences !
Friday, December 16
After a somewhat disappointing Thursday, signals were a bit better in the evening than any evening before. This, however did not mean anything more than WQOM-1060 with a decent signal around 2100 UTC, together with a handful of the most common "evening stations". Also a few more signals than before during the night hours, but just common stuff and fairly weak signals.
The morning cx started earlier and the signals developed better than in the previous days, so again hopes were high. And we weren't very disappointed. Fairly good signals all the way to around 1200 UTC, but very much the same stations appearing than also in the previous days. Interestignly, again the conditions moved gradually along the Great Lakes, staying mostly by the Canadian border, ending up in MI, but not further on. So the stations gradually disappeared from the mw band as the sun rose in Michigan ! Just a few of the most common AK and HI were audible for a few moments. R Cross strong again for about 2 hours.
The solar activity has dropped to unexpectedly low levels, but somehow the mw band still suffered from quite strong fluctuations in overall signal strengths, with periods of almost total blackouts – quite unbelievable when looking at the indices.
WGR-550, KVNU-610, WTNY-790, WCMC-1230, WMMB-1240, WWCO-1240, WNEM-1250, WPKZ-1280, WKBK-1290, WMBN-1340
Thursday, December 15
The old saying says that "Thursday is full of hope" – and so it was after a promising Wednesday. However, after a practically dead night, the signals were weaker and appeared later than on Wednesday. But they steadily improved and at local sunrise it seemed that it is going to be good again.
But this did not happen. In spite of good indices, some of the forecasted effects of a minor coronal hole arrived in mid-morning and the signals were quite soon covered with bruises, and gradually almost died out. The interesting thing, though, was that the upper west started to be fairly well audible just as the disturbance took over. Nothing particular from there, just the very first opening to that direction all this week.
What first looked like an excellent day, was cut to just about one hour of worthwhile conditions.
WGR-550, WTCM-580, WIOD-610, WMAL-630, WYBY-920.
Wednesday, December 14
The late evening and night hours –once again- did not provide anything worth while. But in the morning stations from NA, together with a few Cubans and isolated Orinoco, started to come in almost one hour ahead of days before. The band was clear and also the lower end of the band opened up nicely with both CA and NA, mainly from NL though.
Signals were clear and enjoyable, but the conditions remained in the same area as days before: NL and Cuba strong, with some nice signals from also New England and Upstate NY, but no specific east coast conditions. Some of the most common FL with weak signals.
The peak of signals was again in MI, mainly on GY frequencies, where same stations were identified on several occasions for a couple of hours all the way to their lively morning programs. But there it stopped – nothing of the same from the neighboring states further west and south. In any case a nice day with clear signals – but with just a few new acquaintances since the conditions tend to favor these areas quite often.
RNV-560, WEBC-560, WKAQ-580, CKTB-610, WBNW-1120, WANG-1330, WDJA-1420, WRXB-1460, WCEC-1490, WARV-1590, R Cross-4755.
Tuesday, December 13
The solar wind continues to be at fairly high levels, which means no night cx to start with. However, in the morning the stations started appearing slightly earlier than in the previous days. At first some Cuba with a bit of East Coast, later on the emphasis being in the upper parts of MI and the Great Lakes area in general.
Much more stable conditions than during the previous days with some enjoyable clarity in the signals. However, the band "dried" again around 11 UTC, so still no afternoon NA-stations yet. But they will surely come !
Later in the afternoon some Japanese, but they disappeared rapidly.
Some identified stations: KCJB-910, KSDN-930, WSOO-1230, WCBY-1240, WROD-1340, WNZS-1340, WMBN-1340, WGPL-1350 ("Passion 1350" with Urban Classics), WXTG-1490
Monday, December 12
The increase in solar wind continued to have fairly dramatic effects on the cx. No trace of NA in the late evening hours of Sunday and just a station or two each hour in the night.
Around sunrise stations became audible again, but very weak. There was no specific direction for the cx, at first a bit more easterly, but soon that direction died out and for a while the main direction seemed to be OR, mostly on GY´s. But after about 2 hours of the fun, the band was empty again.
So if our start was slow, it became even slower for the second day of our expedition.
Sunday, December 11
The morning held some promise, as stations mostly from the east coast and Great Lakes region started slowly but steadily to gain strength around daybreak. But, as was to be expected due to the disturbance, the pattern was quite suddenly broken just as the signal levels started to become decent. Some Cubans here and there, but the only LA identified was R Puerto Cabello 1290.
This disturbed break lasted about 30 minutes, after which the east coast was gone and stations mostly from the prairies close to the U.S. – Canadian border took over. This lasted to around 10 UTC after which there was again very little to listen to.
In all, a fairly weak start and well enough time to go through most the recordings already the same day. But in any case, a couple of reports to the both of us on the first day was better than on many other expeditions we have been on !
WIOD-610, KKIN-930, WCMC-1230, KYSM-1230, WCLO-1230, WPKE-1240, KHRT-1320, WMID-1340, WMSA-1340, WLMC-1470
Saturday, December 10
We arrived to the LEM quarters at 5 minutes to 10 UTC. The LEM312 radios were running hot and no attention was paid by the LEM312 crew at our arrival – the last TOH with the "method traditional" NRD´s was too close to let anything come in between. And as far as we understood, it paid off in the form of a couple more NA listening reports.
At exactly the agreed time for change (7 minutes past mid-day local time) it was time for LEM312 to hit the Big Switch and for LEM313 to take over. At about exactly the same moment the conditions started to deteriorate because of the rapidly increasing solar wind from a recent coronal hole. And sure enough – there was very little to listen to during the remainder of the day – perfect timing of LEM312 ! So we got a good chance to take it easy and "build the world" in peace for the week to come.
However, after 21 UTC some of the most common dominants from NA started gradually creeping in – the only truly interesting signal being a UC-GOS station appearing for 10 minutes on 1510, but disappearing without identifying itself. The night went by with a couple of TOH´s having a fair amount of the most common NA audible, whereas most of the TOH´s were almost dead.
Timo Reiniluoto (TRE) and Antti Aaltonen (ANA)
Friday, December 9
During the night a lot of effort was needed in order to pick up any TA-signal! Quite amazing, keeping in mind the great space weather conditions. The non-existent cx gave us the chance to get some much-needed sleep. The morning started slowly but developed gradually into nice East Coast-cx and we even had a short Florida-opening. Around noon almost all NA-stations disappeared completely, but they resurfaced again later on in the afternoon and gave us strong cx towards Minnesota and the Dakotas. Some identified stations: WMCA 570, WQAM 560, WMMB 1240, KTOQ 1340. Dinner: tenderloin of reindeer with baked vegetables. Luigi Bosca Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. This is LEM312 signing off. We were very pleased with the "brand new" QTH, the reception conditions and - most of all - the best food and wine Lemmenjoki has ever seen!
Thursday, December 8
Another uneventful night. After that nice non-stop cx from the morning until the afternoon. In the beginning there were strong signals from the East Coast, but quite soon the direction of the cx shifted to the Midwest. Some identified stations: WCMC 1230, WKHM 970, WRTO 1200, KROS 1340, KYAL 1550. Dinner: slow-braised lamb shanks with vegetables in truffle cream. Brown Brothers Shiraz 2009.
Wednesday, December 7
Expectations were high as the space weather forecasts looked very promising. However, both the night and the morning were bitter disappointments. During the night the band was more or less dead and the morning offered the most boring possible mix of NA-dominants, practically from coast to coast. The day was saved by a nice opening towards the Midwest in the afternoon. Some identified stations: KDUZ 1260, KWYR 1260. Dinner: pork cheek with caramelized apples. Man O'War Ironclad 2008 (Waiheke Island, New Zealand).
Tuesday, December 6
During the night the conditions were completely useless: just some common NA-powerhouses. Even Latin America was almost totally absent. However, in the morning we had very enjoyable cx towards the East Coast and the Great Lakes. The nice stations & signals kept us glued to our chairs and we did not find the time to properly celebrate the Independence Day until the afternoon, when Ltn. Reiniluoto and Ltn. Aaltonen performed a breathtaking two-man military parade in the yard area. Some identified stations: CFCO 630, WHCU 870, KJOC 1170, KACH 1340, WMOB 1360, CJVA 810. Dinner: willow grouse with vegetables and Lappish potatoes. Vietti Nebbiolo Perbacco 2008. BTW: yes, we always have spectacular appetizers and desserts as well…
Monday, December 5
NA-dominants during the night from uninteresting directions. Absolutely no signals from Latin America – quite unusual! In the morning a very clear improvement in the conditions was noticed: NA boomed in all day without major interruptions until the afternoon. The Great Lakes and the Prairie states dominated. In the afternoon it was a pleasure to check some antennas in the almost snowless forest. Some identified stations: KTRF 1230, KWSN 1230, KCJB 910, KNEU 1250, KVFD 1400. Dinner: apricot&chipotle-glazed duck breast, Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2008.
Sunday, December 4
The night offered only some lousy Brazilian signals. In the morning lots of NA-dominants, but mostly with quite modest signals. Some identified stations: KPOW 1260, KTRP 1260 – and of course KKXA 1520 with its excellent classic country format. Dinner: pike-perch "Walewska", Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve.
Saturday, December 3
We had no rush to reach Lemmenjoki as we knew that the band was still recovering from the effects of a CH. An enormous load of top quality groceries was purchased in Kittilä, not to mention the excellent wines and the more exclusive ingredients we had brought with us all the way from Helsinki. Our listening equipment (a total of seven NRDs, still not a single SDR!) was quickly operational and no problems were discovered.
Juhani Korhonen (HJK) and Jari Korhonen (JJK)
Friday, November 25
Some of the usual dominants from ON/MI were heard after 2100 utc, but nothing special from the night. Radio Surco 1140 delighted us with a clear ID at 0401 UTC. At 0700 UTC none westerly stations were heard, KCCR-1240 SD, KSTC-1230 CO, KACH-1340 ID and KBNW-1340 OR. Yankees were heard also in the afternoon until 1500 UTC, but it is hard to find new ones, although the signals are good. However, KYIZ 1620 will be reported again.
Our dxpedition is coming almost to an end, only one more night left. This is LEM311 signing off!
Thursday, November 24
Early birds appeared at 2100 UTC, but the stations were usual dominants like CIWW 1310 ON. In the night La Plata and Brazil on low frequencies, but not too many. The morning gave nice signals from PR and Venezuela&Colombia and after 0800 UTC clear signals for especially OH IL dominants, but others, too, like WMOB 1360, WSBB 1230, WFEA 1370 and WMKT 1270. China in the afternoon.
Aslak was visiting us in the evening with his son.
Wednesday, November 23
There was a peak of NA signals after 2300 UTC. WMOB Mobile AL was noted with twin id for 1110/1360 AM. WGIV-1370 NC with nice signals. X-band ARG R. America, San Jose, Entre Rios 1630 and Fantastica FM, BA 1700. Nothing special in the morning from NA, but some VEN/CLM stations were reported In the afternoon nice signals from China and Thailand.
Tuesday, November 22
The night was quite poor (IL-MN-OH-WI dominants), but after 0300 utc some better MN stations were heard (KDMA-1460, KAUS-1480, KYSM-1230). The morning was not "once in a lifetime" NA morning, but a lot of Cuban stations were audible. In the afternoon, good signals from Iran with many hifi ids on the half hour. Let´s see what can be heard next!
Monday, November 21
Not a good day for NA DXing, but nice signals from Orinoco in the night. No better yankees in the morning, but some Mexicans were heard after 0700 XEHX 860 and XEIB 1170. KCJB 910 with a good signal after 0800 UTC. In the afternoon, a couple of Asian stations with nice signals, like DZXQ-1350 and Radio Nepal 792.
Saturday-Sunday, November 19-20
We arrived late in the afternoon on Saturday. NA was audible already at 2115 UTC but nothing special was noted. We noted a very irritable QRM that actually spoiled the nite signals and early morning. The QRM was caused by a power supply of a hub. The best station noted so far is WTAB 1370 NC. KSEN 1150 MT in the afternoon and a Rock 95.7 station on 1590 (new slogan for KGMK 1590 MN).
Jarmo Patala (JP) and Vesa-Jussi Rinkinen (VJR)
NOTE: Automated recordings from 14NOV2011 to 19NOV2011
Friday, November 18
We have already started to exam recordings at home even our equipment are still recording at LEM QTH.
At first we went through the top-of-the-hour for Sunday 13th at 07 and 08 utc and found these stations: 1360 WMOB, 1590 WCGO, 590 WEZE, 610 WIOD, 1670 WPLA, 1260 WSKO, 1300 WXRL, 1230 WSBB, 1360 La Nueva Q FM, 1450 14-50 AM Gold, 1550 R El Sol, 890 R Galeon, 1060 R26.
It looks like NA is rising later at this time of the year, around 08 utc, while South America is stronger at early morning hours.
We would like to wish the next crew HJK and JJK the best conditions and thanks for all support.
PS. The first verification for this expedition was received today as Classic Country 1520 KXA.
Monday, November 14
LEM310 on the road heading to the south. Last evening NA was audible already 1945 UTC ! In the morning better cx to Rockies. First snow covered the quiet landscape. (Sent from mobile)
LEM310 Automated DX Shack:
Sunday, November 13
Sunday morning offered us again nice Orinoco and NA East Coast conditions. Asia woke up surprisingly early today. Common Chinese and commercial Japanese stations appeared already before 09 UTC in the upper MW band. Then after 10 UTC the entire band was full of Japanese and of course NHK1 local break was recorded.
NA continued with mixed conditions during the day. Signals became weaker around 12 UTC as China took over the band. But at the time of writing this story at 1510 UTC there are still signals from the west coast. KUGN 590 was just identified. Alaska has been considerably weak in this weekend and (at least live) observations from Oseania are almost nil.
We will now convert our shack into automated mode and start making preparations for tomorrow's home trip. Even though our "live" expedition lasted only one long weekend, it has been very interesting one! We expected a lot more disturbed conditions but luckily everything went another way round.
All lights are green - all systems are working. This is KIK-DX signing off.
73 JP, VJR
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Saturday, November 12 In the night mediocre Brazil cx. From 06 utc rather good east coast NA opening and lots of Orinoco. WRED 1440. At daybreak only most common dominants. Very nice weather conditions, bright blue sky, only 1 degree below zero. Kuivajärvi lake has now a shining thin ice cover. Perfect time for some antenna work. | 
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Friday, November 11 New crew JP & VJR arrived already on Friday at 12 utc. Due to lack of available vacation days, this will be our shortest visit at LEM ever! We will set up a fully automated DX shack during the weekend and start back to the south on Monday. Meanwhile automated recording system and timed antenna relay switches will do the job for us. | 
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Pekka Hakala (PEH) and Yrjö Kainulainen (YK)
Aftermath in Jyväskylä
The conditions were much better that we expected. The big and mean-looking sunspot 11339 was surprisingly calm and didn´t launch a dreaded X-class flare. PEH, the LA expert and the first LEM-rookie for many years, logged many nice stations from all around LA and even encouraged YK to record lots of SA files. Cx to NA, Japan and Iberia were also rather good at times.
The weather was surprisingly warm all week and we felt like living in a hotel. Thanks to our landlord!
Let´s hope good cx to the next crew, JP and VJR!
Friday, November 11
We slept until 3 am, so let´s see if there´s something on the disks later on. In the morning pretty good cx to Orinoco and Colombia. Because at sunrise there were only some common NA stations audible and a weak CME was predicted for Saturday, it was rather easy to unplug the receivers and head for home.
Thursday, November 10
Quiet night with some NA and SA. In the morning widespread cx to SA and NA cx that lasted until 13 UTC, but somewhat worse than the day before. Some Japanese stations in the afternoon.
Menu: home made deep-frozen burgundy stew and borsch soup with smetana most of the week. Drinks according to individual preferences.
For family reasons we'll be heading home on Friday morning. Lots of stuff on the disks to study during mid-winter.
Wednesday, November 9
Lousy night but after 2 UTC widespread cx to SA (La Plata, Col, Ven etc ) and after 4 UTC NA cx that lasted until 15 UTC with GY´s open occasionally. Also some Hawaiians noted.
After noon pretty good cx to Japan with lots of stuff to analyze later. Still, no X-band Aussies. QRM from electric fence rather annoying.
Our landlord, Taisto, paid us a visit and urged us to use the sauna. He also collected the rent for weeks 44 and 45. Another nice guest was a local hawk owl hunting for rodents on the yard.
Tuesday, November 8
At night NA dominants from East Coast. In the morning disturbed conditions due to a weak coronal stream: NA, Col, Ven, PR etc. Time to visit Inari.
Lousy afternoon with nothing to report.
Monday, November 7
At night NA dominants from East Coast. In the morning widespread NA cx , mixed with SA stations. In the afternoon some NHK2 local id´s. Radio Fly 5960 noted with a moderate signal at 11.30-12.00. Chinese weak, fortunately.
Sunday, November 6
Weak Brazil during the night. In the morning somewhat better cx to Brazil, La Plata etc . Thereafter the normal PNW powerhouses. In the afternoon some Japanese stations mixed with Chinese ones etc. Clearly the last flares have taken their toll, but no total blackout.
Saturday, November 5
We arrived at Lemmenjoki at 7 pm after 12 hours drive, unpacked our gear, set up the receivers and went to bed.
Håkan Sundman (HS) and Hannu Tikkanen (HAT)
Saturday, November 5
Time to wrap up LEM308 on Sunday morning in Espoo/Helsinki. After the western hemisphere became silent we focused into Asia on Friday afternoon and later in the evening the ears were tuned into Africa, but no real results known at least so far. Asia was mostly China fairly early in the afternoon. In the evening Nigeria was strong on 917 kHz, but nothing else was found though strict surveillance. The AM remained silent on Friday evening/Saturday night and morning, just a handful of weak Brazilian and LaPlata stations made a weak effort to surface. So it was easy to start packing. We had made the house cleaning already on Friday (carpets out, floors washed, etc, standard procedure) so Saturday morning packing and leaving were quite without any stress. We had also time for a nice, long chat with Jouni Ilmari and Niiles, who came to greet us in the morning.
All in all we were very lucky to have the NA conds almost to the end of the expedition. Currently there’s again some solar activity, but hopefully the conds recover fast for LEM309 ie. YK and PEH!
Friday, November 4
R1 blackout of course took place between Thursday and Friday, not Wed/Thu…So today didn’t offer anything on medium waves, but we can live with that – quite a lot of files to be examined at home already so far. The highlight of the expedition for HAT took place however this very day, when mw was dead and silent – The Cross from Micronesia was finally heard on 4755,450! The station was audible also yesterday, but much weaker and tentatively. R Fly 5960 had a nice signal today, whereas yesterday it was also weaker just like The Cross. So when a storm blows, short wave bands offer two exotic stations. Not bad.
Early afternoon AM band awakened with lots of Chinese turning into Middle East and such. Now, in the early evening, we’re waiting for an interesting night and tomorrow morning, after the storm hopefully mixed the station blend a little. The final update will be on Sunday after we're back in Espoo/Helsinki, so already now it’s time to say that this has been a pleasant week; lots of material to study, aerials and inhouse dx-equipment working perfectly well, and finally nice weather outside – still no snow nor ice on the lake!
Thursday, November 3
The formula was already familiar, well tested and approved. NA starting at night with wide selection from east to west, and during the daylight hours the stations west of the Rockies were dominating together with the Canadian, Alaskan and Hawaiian friends. KINY-800, KQEN-1240, WCCN-1370, KODI-1400, KKTL-1400, KMED-1440, KMMS-1450. The night between Wednesday and Thursday offered empty 10-channels for the first time during our expedition. R1 blackout (the weakest in its’ scale though) had emptied the band, so we are at the moment waiting for the daybreak and some signals.
Wednesday, November 2
The conds were quite ok today. Lots of files to be examined later on, PNW and Rockies, Midwest etc. Some AK and HI blended into the mix. A few Mexicans popped in every now and then, but no real South of the Border conds though. Stations such as KPQ-560, KUGN-590, KBBO-980, XECL-990, KBZZ-1270, KSRO-1350, KLIN-1400, KKTL-1400, KTEL-1490, KDBI-1490 were identified on the fly. KXXJ-1330 was really booming, as colleagues already mentioned. In the afternoon some Asian were briefly noted, RRI Jakarta 1332 with warta berita for instance.
Tuesday, November 1
The pattern was familiar by now. Some coast to coast cx at night with stronger signals to the day break and through the daylight. The stations were mainly from the Rockies, and MT WY ID region, with Canada from the high prairies. Some id’s on the fly were KTIX-1240, KPOW-1260, KOUU-1290, KPAY-1290, KIHH-1400. Asian side didn’t offer anything particularly interesting ; Japan changed rapidly into India in the afternoon. AK was very strong also in the early evening hours, so we’re looking forward to seeing what this means.
A look into our menus. As usual, industrially processed & microwaveable food, with some beer (domestic) or cider (dry), small amounts of wine (red), and finally a night cap of whiskey (single malt). This evening we enjoyed steaks in Hotel Inari though.
Monday, October 31
Monday offered lots of North America, but this time mainly the regulars from the Canadian prairies and the equivalent US partners. When the cx go to the not so dense populated ID/MT/WY it’s ofcourse hard work to find new stations on the fly or from the files. In the afternoon lots of Thai for a while, and other regular Asia, even some Japan peaked for a while, JOFD-1602 at least. A few Hawaiians, 1570 like a local station for a while, but nothing interesting to be found. KONP-1450, KART-1400, KDZA-1350, KWLE-1340, KJCR-1240, XESSD-1030, KPAM-860. From previous days eg. WBSM-1420, WOYK-1350, WIOD-610. KKXA-1520 seems to be a new super signal station with it’s excellent Classic Country. Evening opening was restricted to a few scattered signals from the East Coast power houses. Highlight of the October grayline cx was KVOX-1280!
It was also time to check the aerials, which were in good shape except one supporting pole that needs to be changed in the 338-aerial.
Saturday-Sunday, October 29-30
HS&HAT arrived in Lemmenjoki just in time to meet HN&JEÖ on the Lemmenjoki road on their way back South. The cx situation was quickly discussed, NA had been audible giving good hope to the new crew, and after some chatting the two groups separated to their directions.
The listening equipment was unpacked in the afternoon hours, and after turning on the rx’s around 14 utc, the most common Pacific Northwest (PNW) were noted with weak signals. Not bad, was the analysis. In the late evening there was no sign of the USA opening, so LEM308 went to sleep and let the timer do the recording.
Nothing particular was audible in the nighttime (a quick analysis of the night recordings), but in the morning the cx became rapidly much better, and soon we noticed the wide spread cx from South America via East coast of USA to PNW. The fun lasted until afternoon, when a (hopefully short?) disturbance cleared the band leaving CFYK and such on the band. Asians naturally took the leading role at this stage, but unfortunately not from Japan, so no NHK break ID’s today.
Hannu Niilekselä (HN) and Jan-Erik Österholm (JEÖ)
Saturday, October 29
Surprise, surprise: good cx towards NA, maybe the best or second best during our two week expedition, with stations booming in on almost every frequency especially above 900 kHz and with strong signals. Some mexicans also noted during these morning hours. Branson Information Radio (KLFJ Springfield MO 1550) was heard for several hours during this morning and with very strong signals but had periodically a hard time to compete with WPFC Baton Rouge LA on the same frequency. Since we were cleaning the house simultaneously we don't yet have a clear picture of the conditions other that they were good. A lot of interesting audio files to analyze.
We left Lemmenjoki just before 11 UTC and met the new crew Hannu Tikkanen (HAT) and Håkan Sundman (HS) just a couple of kilometers from our QTH. We had a short discussion on the road and after that HN and JEÖ started the trip back home and HAT and HS started their LEM308 pedition.
We are very disappointed on the total absence of NA daytimer openings between October 15-29 as well as the total absence of stations from the Pacific. This period of the year should have been the best but the proton event in the middle of the expedition simply destroyed these possibilities. Shit happens....
Friday, October 28
Better than average LP/BRA on the 255 degree antenna between 23-06 UTC covering 550 (Colonia) up to 1660 (Revivir). Conditions then changed more to the North with some Orinoco. Practically nothing from NA all night/morning. Just a few stations from Montana before sunrise with almost non-existent signals, then nothing.
Thursday, October 27
Even though the proton level has returned to more or less normal the day as a whole has been yet another disappointment. With the exception of some excellent La Plata/Brasil during night and morning hours and a short but very selective NA-opening, during which HN identifed 30+ stations, we have spent the day by listening to audio clips from last week. The whole AM band has been completely empty during the day hours so our expectations to have a Pacific and/or NA daytimer opening before we end LEM 307 this coming Saturday has vanished. Hopefully HAT and HS will have a great week to come when the LEM-crew is changing on Saturday. At least the predicted space weather forecast doesn't seem bad for next week.
However, due to the fact that we are approaching the next solar maximum makes things challenging but at the same time very interesting. The proton event that occured earlier this week made us confused. Talking to JPR in Muhos some 600 km south of Lemmenjoki indicate very dramatic cx differencies, again yesterday. Much more needs to be done to really understand how these silly signals reflect into our antennas. Still two days to go and we still hope for some last minute improvement.
Wednesday, October 26
Very strong conditions towards Brazil. The first stations appeared early on in the evening and stations were heard all night, also on many such frequencies where they are only very rarely noted.
The proton levels have returned to normal. Also the geomagnetic storm experienced on Tuesday has subsided. However, as our experience tells, it will take several days for the solar wind to settle and the east-west propagation conditions to return to more or less normal.
Extensive amounts of time has been spent on digging deep into the files created, so in spite of empty days on the band "live" there is a lot of work to be done!
Tuesday, October 25
The same pattern continued as on Monday. No NA but good signals from BRA-ARG – even if not quite as strong and selective as the night and morning before.
Monday, October 24
Quite unexpectedly, the AM band opened up towards BRA very early in the evening. The signal strengths were good and recordings during the night showed that it was a good going all night and morning.
In all, the disturbance appeared to have a positive effect on the BRA-ARG direction, which has remained strong through this troubled period. Even for Janne, who has experienced beautiful openings to that direction many times before, the conditions in the morning were "excellent" – if not better. The beauty of the opening in the morning hours was that the direction was almost solely towards Argentina and Paraguay. And in pure daylight there were practically uninterferred. To illustrate the quality of the conditions it is worth while to mention that so far he has found some 10-20 new Argentinians on top of the some 150 he already has!
The effect of the disturbances was interestingly demonstrated when comparing conditions with Jari Ruohomaki, listening at his cabin outside of Oulu, just some 500+ kilometers south of Lemmenjoki. While we had exceptionally strong Argentina, he had good reception from Orinoco and no Argentina at all!
In the afternoon the AM band opened up late, again to the southern parts of Asia. The languages sounded mostly like Thai, but this story needs to be told in more detail by our friends at AIH ...
Sunday, October 23
The reason for the non-existent conditions in the evening of Saturday was confirmed soon: the relatively quiet period in the sun had ended and a proton flare had occurred the day before. Anyone with experience will know that when the proton level starts to increase it is goodbye for NA for quite some time. There was not a single signal on the band from that direction on Sunday (and at least 3 following days as of writing this).
Also, signals from the eastern and southern parts of South America was very weak, so just as everything was seemingly turning good for great NA catches, it was spoiled by this unexpected event. Other solar indices remained good for a couple of days, but that just does not help when those little bastards are out in the air!
Saturday, October 22
The solar wind dropped below 300 having the expected impact on conditions. The stations started to gain strength around 05 UTC and soon we experienced one of the strongest CA-Orinoco direction conditions in a long time. NA joined briefly, but suffered very badly from the CA-LA stations covering most frequencies with almost any antenna. This lasted past 08 am, even though NA was gradually increasing in strength. Cuban stations were noted on many frequencies with superb signals on frequencies where they have never before been logged. Some of the Cubans were noted as late as 11 UTC.
NA was coming in from all over, the nice thing being that also some of the lower east coast and "deep south" was included. However, a good illustration of the generality of the condition were the numerous stations heard from upper New York and Ontario with strong signals, while at the same time also Florida was strong for some half an hour.
East coast died out around 10 UTC, but the Rockies-West Coast area carried on until around 13 UTC. In spite of this magnificent day, with clear signals, the eastern directions only opened to the lower parts of Asia, with stations also from the British Isles having strong signals in bright daylight – something that had not happened during any of the previous days.
Expectations for a day timer opening were high again, but the evening was a disappointment with no NA signals at all ...
Friday, October 21
This was a special day for both of us – not because of good skips, but because we paid tribute to our dear land lady Kristiina´s memory on the day she left us for heavenly pastures one year ago. Her sons Aslak, Jouni Ilmari and Niiles, accompanied by Aslask´s son Harri, joined us to spend the evening over coffee and cakes. We memorized Kristiina in candle light and shared memories from the 30+ years passed – it was a memorable evening and we could sense the appreciation of our hosts and guests for this gesture.
Solar indices were OK, but on the mw band it was again a below mediocre day. Just some "more than common" Midwest to the Rockies stations between 0500 and 0700, there after just an empty day until afternoon, as some good signals from Hawaii were noted again. However, expectations for conditions to the Pacific were drowned once again.
During the evening just some week signals from WEGP-1390 and likes around 2230 UTC.
Thursday, October 20
Again some promise for daytimers before 2200 UTC, but the signals were concentrated only in the eastern Great Lakes area with "just" stations like WLQV-1500, WWKB-1520 and likes. An odd exception was the brief appearance of KGOW-1560 at 2300 UTC.
Again some of the most common NA from the midwest were noted all night, but with weak signals. However , at the same time strong BRA on some interesting frequencies like 850, 1050, 1060 and 1550.
Around sunrise strong Orinoco accompanied with some ecuadorians, as well as puertoricans. These lingered on all the way to around 10 UTC. NA was weak until a bit after 07 UTC, when stations like KSJB-600 and KQAQ-970 surfaced rapidly with very strong signals for a while. Already by 09 UTC we were wondering where the conditions disappeared, since again it had seemed that this will be a good day.
The highlight of the afternoon was the opening ceremonies of KJNP-1170 with a signal like from next door. Also KXLJ-1330 was noted unusually strong. At the same time 4-5 most common Hawaiians also had huge signals. Especially KNDI-1270 must have done "something good" to its equipment, as it has been as strong as KUAU-1570 and KFKA-1500 this season.
Otherwise theafternoon was quite empty and the easterly direction opened up only after 1330 UTC without any OS. In all the conditions towards both NA and LA, as well as(if any) towards Australia and New Zealand have so far been a disappointment. The only comfort to this is that also KONG reports the same.
But our hopes are still high for the remaining 9 days to come.
Wednesday, October 19
The first hour with some audible NA was at 0500 UTC with KXGF-1400 alone on the frequency. Not much else to mention. Gradually improving, delightfully also to the lower east coast with many of the most common FL identied. At the same time strong towards the rockies with huge signal from for ex KEZW-1430 and KTUB-1600, and common west coast again.
Promise from 4QD-1548 again with a better signal and 2 hours earlier than the day before, but again only for some minutes and never returning. Weak signals from AUS on the X-band, 2gw-1611 being well audible on a few occasions.
Later in the afternoon huge signals from the upper-band HI stations, but no trace of the same under 940 kHz.
In all, a day with variable "general" conditions, but mostly only above 1000 kHz, which factors makes it quite difficult to find anything specifically interesting.
Again a weak night towards both NA and LA, even if some of the most common NA tried to push through the exceptionally strong european QRM level.
Tuesday, October 18
In the night, practically nothing. Also LA/CA was almost totally absent. The morning started somewhat promising towards the North American continent. Specifically Newfoundland was very strong, accompanied by lots of Cubans. At he same time west coast was quite strong – but not so many stations in between.
However the expectations for a good after-sunrise opening were destroyed by some unexpected disturbance, as the whole mw band died out in just one minute, beginning at 0557 UTC ! The same seem to have happened exactly the same time at all arctic DX-locations. After this, just some of the most common west coast stations with very weak signals all day.
Later in the afternoon, as the easterly direction started to open up, ABC Emerald on 1548 surfaced for a short while, but disappeared soon again. Asia was mediocre, with stations from the lower parts only.
In the evening a few stronger signals like WQOM-1060 and WXKS-1200, but disappearing already before the top of 2200 UTC.
Monday, October 17
The night was practically empty, only some common LA and occasionally a couple of weak NA signals. Morning was worse than on Sunday, so most of the day was spent improving antennas and tackling the still present technical problems.
In the afternoon some weak signals after we got the 70 degree antenna working. 2GW was the strongest signal, with 4QD appearing on 1548 for short moments. BBC WS surfaced very weakly on 1152, but Asian stations gradually started dominating the entire MW band.
Now we are more or less set up for the challenges (hopefully) to come.
Sunday, October 16
The conditions opened up around 04 UTC west of the rockies. The super signal with classic country music of KKXA Snohomish, WA was a nice start, even if this direction is not amongs the most wanted. Varying NA, occasionally with good strength remained throughout the morning. Another recently started station was KTFI Wendell, ID on 1340, at times dominating the frequency with EWTN programming. Some east coast tried to squeeze in at times, but the direction soon was swinging west again. Other identified stations included KPAY-1290, KBZZ-1270, KTRP and KFSB on 1260. GY signals were more clear than at any point last season – but only from the west.
LA-CA gave only a few Cubans and some of the very common Orinoco. AS-OS was not available due to antenna problems, so most of the day was spent repairing the 30 and 70 degree antennas, which had been destroyed by wood handling machinery after a small tornado sometime in late august. Nothing worthwhile in the late evening hours.
Saturday, October 15
After a night of sharing experiences with Jari Ruohomäki at his DX-cottage in Muhos we arrived at Lemmenjoki around 15hrs UTC . The evening passed setting up the "stations", so no actual listening took place. Around 22 UTC some of the most common upper band NA appeared, giving hope for some conditions ahead.
Several kinds of technical problems surfaced, including recording with "state-of-the-art" laptops. For some reason we both encountered the same issue: the recording "paused" for a split second around every 2 seconds, leaving out parts of identifications, if something was heard.
Pertti Äyräs (PÄ)
Friday, October 14
Hello, one more time....
The following night will be the last one for me this year at the Lemmenjoki QTH. The conditions last night provided strong signals from everywhere: the dominants, both from South America as well from North America were very strong not providing much space for the weaker ones. As usual, again the strongest signals at around local sunrise. First from South America, especially on the lower frequencies and then followed by the North American stations, some of which were audible until around 11.30 am local time.
So it is goodbye for now and maybe next year we will meet again. Tomorrow, Saturday 15th of October a new crew consisting of Jan-Erik Österholm and Hanny Niilekselä will take the command. Hope they will have good signals from interesting stations!
Should there be something exceptional next night I probably will write some comments when back home again.
Adios
Pertti Äyräs/PÄ
Thursday, October 13
Last night was a mixed one what comes to the propagation conditions. Around midnight UTC there was nothing....At 03 UTC some stations from the central states of the USA appeared with quite weak signals. Then at 04.30 the conditions turned again to southern America with stations like: 550 R Boa Vontade Sertaozinho SP (Colonia was there, too), 560 R Educadora do Maranhao, Sao Luiz, 630 R Rivadavia BA assisted by two interesting Brazilian stations, "Rádio Difusora" giving a time check UTC-3 pointing to Macapá and another "Rádio Educadora 630 AM", most likely from Candido Rondon PR. Just the lowest frequencies are partly analyzed so far.
Wednesday, October 12
The conditions this morning were not as good as they were expected to be. But luckily there was a good peak towards central parts of USA around 05 UTC. Also stations from Mexico, around the Capital City were observed. Some examples are: 1230 KWIX Oberly MO, 1440 KEYS Corpus Christi, 1450 KYNT Yankton SD, and as mentioned above, stations like 1410 XEBS La Perrona and 1500 XEDE R Formula both from Mexico City.
Tuesday, October 11
The propagation conditions have been good if you like to hear massive signals from North America. Around start of the day, October 11th, there was practically nothing interesting to listen to. So I was mostly sleeping through the night but luckily got up around 03.30 UTC and had to put my radios and recording systems on right away. The first identification I heard came from 630 WPRO Providence RI, accompanied by 790 WPRI. Most likely there are many more interesting East Coast NA stations on the hard discs. Also Cuba was again playing a major role. Stations like 980 R Ciudad de la Habana and R Ciudad Bandera on 1140 were noted.
It seems like the conditions will continue next morning, Oct. 12th. We shall see!
Monday, October 10
As I previously wrote "The propagation conditions are surely changing." turned out to be case. After a mediocre Latin American Night the "Yankees" came booming in in the morning hours of Monday the 10th of October, with a lot of strong signal, mainly from the eastern parts of the NA continent. Also many signals from Cuba were heard, for example Radio Ciudad del Mar on 1340.
Some of the NA signal could still be seen on the screen of my laptop (assisted by the Perseus receiver) around 1.30 pm local time.
In the afternoon around 14 UTC signals from Australia on the X-band were noted on many fq´s. Hope this type of conditions will continue at least to the end of this week.
Saturday, October 8
Greetings from the LVRSPO (Lemmenjoki VHF Radio Signal Propagation Observatory)!
The radio conditions after 6th of October have been mediocre. Practically nothing from North America, almost solely stations from the southern South America have been observed, with a few exceptions from Venezuela e.t.c. around sunrise.
The conditions on the 6th at sunrise have been the best ones so far. I have listened to my recordings at local sunrise. Only 550 to 820 AM have been partly analyzed yet but here are some results: 600 Mirante and Gaucha, 610 Uruguay, CX4 with px "Gustavo en la Madrugada", 620 Unid relaying Radio Nacional BA 870. Also Globo was there. And tentavely R. San Rafael giving an ID where their FM fq was given. 630 unid Argentina accompanied by a station from Brazil. On 740 also Radio Nacional relaying 870.
Earlier I found 820 R Tres Arroyos and 900 R Provincia de Corrientes and Radio Villa Maria on 930 AM. So conditions that morning were quite impressive.
Today 8th of October I did hear signals from Japan around 15 UTC for the first time during LEM306. The propagation conditions are surely changing.
Thursday, October 6
I got up around 01 UTC this morning and noted better than average conditions towards southern Brazil and Argentina. Many stations audible but haven't yet listened to the recordings. On the fly I noted 900 Radio Provincia de Corrientes from Argentina. On the morningside stations audible on many unusual frequencies, like 630 giving stations from Argentina and Brazil. Ulnfortunately the signals were quite weak so most of them surely remain unidentified. No signals observed from northern South America nor CA.
Did some antenna work with the Asia 30 degrees wire and now when checking it I first time hear, in addition to those tens of stations from countries like Romania and Iran, stations from more distant eastern places, Thai etc. When writing this story (14.20 UTC) there also is an english speaking station audible on 1152, UK or Australia? OK, it appears to be some UK station!
Wednesday, October 5
This morning I woke up just prior to 01 UTC (04 our local time). Just the usual stuff giving some Brazil and La Plata stations. One more interesting station was observed on 1060 AM, Rádio Evangelizar de Curitiba carrying, as you correctly guess, gospel programming and it was simultasting with a lot of other brazilian stations. Maybe there are more to be found in the hard discs. No signals from North America observed.
The band is relatively empty when writing this report at around 14 UTC with strong semilocal russians and stations from the Middle East are gradually becoming stronger. Some antennas need to be repaired tomorrow to give signals from more far a way parts of Asia, or is it the solar activity preventing these to be received?
One big question is the electrical noise generated by the modern DC power sources. Every gadget has a DC source of it´s own and it is guaranteed you will find a noisy AM band on these otherwise silent conditions. You have to be prepared to replace all modern low voltage AC/DC power transformers with old time transformers which are silent in the noise respect. I have some 20 pieces of these with me but no own of those happens to fit my Samsung 1.5 T external hard disc!
Tuesday, October 4 - New Season Has Started
Greetings from Lemmenjoki and from the first dx-pedition of the fall 2011. This is a "solo" pedition, so I will have a lot to do and fix in the Lemmenjoki Listening Base and it's surroundings.
The start was from Kaarina in southern Finland on Friday morning, Sept.30th. In the evening I arrived at the Jari´s (JPR) Muhos DX-Cabin where he was doing some antenna work and waiting for me. Jari prepared a magnificent dinner with salmon for us while I was working with the fireplace of the cabin. A mix mix of drinks was also available. Of course we had a lot of talking on various things and happenings mostly related to DX.
Around midnight we went to our beds and woke up around 7 am local time. After some breakfast I started to continue my trip "way up North". Thanks Jari for your great hospitality.
After additional 8 hours of driving, alltogther some 1200 kms from Kaarina, I arrived at Lemmenjoki where the warm house of Taisto and home of the late Kristiina was waiting. Since it allready was almost dark I did not directly rush to the antenna park in the woods (bears and wolfs and maybe ghosts waiting .... you know?) but concentrated to do some inside work with the antenna coaxials, splitter-amplifiers etc. Hence no DX listening in the night between Saturday and Sunday.
Sunday was a rainy day but I went out to check out the conditions of at least most of the 11 pieces of 1 km long wires and to connect them to the impedance matching boxes and to the ground. I found some defects but till the evening I had 8 of them working properly. As known earlier two wires pointing to Asia were partly destroyed by a storm and will hopefully be fixed later.
Some DX was possible the following night (02OCT-03OCT) and I found some propagation towards South America with many stations from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. On 1050 I managed to catch Radio San Francisco from Cordoba which was a new one for me. Hopefully there are much more to be found in my Perseus recordings.
The conditions of the next night (03OCT-04OCT) were very poor until the morning hours when there suddendly was a lot of stations observable. Mostly from South and Central America but also some NA among them, mainly from eastern Canada. Among others I heard 1330 Visión Cristiana from Santo Domingo. Surely more will be found later.
No significant signals from the Asian Continent or from the Pacific have been noted. Maybe the Sun is presently too active? But who knows later perhaps?