MHz UTC ITU Program + Location Details Remarks km
89.70 1514 MLT 89.7 BAY, Gharghur/Fidiel Zarb Street (mt) 1847km
89.40 1529 I Radio Kiss Kiss, Omignano/Monte Stella (sa) PI logged: 5225 1439km
89.60 1531 I Primaradio (Napoli), Caserta/Frazione Casertavecchia (ce) PI logged: 20FE PS logged: eliIMARAD 1327km
89.60 1532 I Radio Deejay, Castellammare di Stabia/Monte Faito-Via Cresta (na) PI logged: 5214 PS logged: DEEJAY 1372km
FM – DAB+: my logblog!
World of DX-ing
April 23 2021
MHz Block UTC ITU Ensemble + Location Details Remarks km
178.35 5C 0546 D DR Deutschland, Dequede (san) Signal 0.666 520km
178.35 5C 0546 D DR Deutschland, Fulda/Hummelskopf (hes) Signal 0.222 351km
178.35 5C 0638 D DR Deutschland, Nürnberg-Schweinau (bay) Signal 0.506 482km
178.35 5C 0638 D DR Deutschland, Züssow (mev) Signal: 0.219 687km
190.64 7B 0708 D hr Radio, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) 277km
190.64 7B 0709 D hr Radio, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) 377km
178.35 5C 0750 D DR Deutschland, Schwerin (mev) Signal 0.348 541km
178.35 5C 0805 D DR Deutschland, Schöppingen (nrw) 215km new? TII 2112.
April 21 2021
MHz Block UTC ITU Ensemble + Location Details Remarks km
218.64 11B 0613 HOL Noord-Holland, Wormer/Cellnex Toren (nho) 167km
209.94 10A 0738 D NDR NDS OS, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) 249km
190.64 7B 0743 HOL DAB+ 4 Brainport, Eindhoven/Stadhuis (nbr) 72km
213.36 10C 0743 HOL Almere DAB, Almere/Carlton (fle) 157km
April 19 2021
MHz Block UTC ITU Ensemble + Location Details Remarks km
197.65 8B 0556 HOL RANDSTAD-ZW, Zoetermeer/Dunanstraat (zho) 119km
April 18 2021
MHz Block UTC ITU Ensemble + Location Details Remarks km
197.65 8B 0642 HOL 8B Wageningen, Wageningen/Bemonte Residence (gel) 128km
192.35 7C 0643 F Lille-Local, Lille/Lambersart (59) 124km
211.65 10B 0643 HOL NUNSPEET, Nunspeet/Oosterlaan (gel) 171km
213.36 10C 0643 HOL Almere DAB, Almere/Carlton (fle) 157km
225.65 12B 0645 BEL Hainaut Ouest, Mont-Saint-Aubert/Place (wal-hnt) 100km
178.35 5C 0649 BEL HAINAUT 1, Tournai/Froidmont (wal-hnt) 108km
April 16 2021 – LNA and DAB
The other day I bought a Low Noise Amplifier from Amazon UK.
The device is designed by RTL-SDR.com.
Inspired by Nils Schiffhauer’s review of Qirx 3.1.2 Beta (part 1 and part 2) it was time to check out the RTL-SDR + LNA + Qirx 3.1.2 Beta combo.
Data was always gathered in the same time span and with the same antennas.
Reception conditions were flat during these observations, no lift at all.
‘Without LNA’ doesn’t mean switched off but physically disconnected.
With nesdrSMArtee the same results are obtained. However the BIAS TEE cannot be switched off when using nesdrSMArtee!
Click on the pictures below to enlarge them.
Wideband LNA purchased from Amazon.
My set-up: coaxial lead to the Emme Esse stacked antennas is about 20 metres in length.
SNR (db) readings in Qirx are virtually equal when using a LNA or not. There’s certainly no deterioration in signal quality when using this LNA.
With the LNA hooked up to the RTL-SDR Qirx’s AGC does a great job and the Gain (db) drops considerably.
You can switch off the AGC and go for manual Gain settings, but there’s no need to do so: Qirx’s AGC works just fine.
The LNA performs very well when considering Strength in Qirx. Strength is represented on a scale from 0 to 1.
Nearby strong transmitters at my QTH like Veltem, Liège or Wavre are of the same ‘Strength’ with or without the LNA.
However more distant transmitters showing up in the TII are a different matter and spectacular improvements can be seen.
Measuring the ‘Magnitude‘ also clearly shows the impact of the LNA.
Conclusion
Do you need this LNA next to your RTL-SDR when doing some serious DAB listening?
It all starts with a good rotatable antenna with a clear view and positioned as high as possible and not too long a coax lead. That’s of course almost impossible, so one needs to find a satisfying compromise.
When there’s no lift or ‘conditions’ at my QTH there’s not much of a difference when using a LNA. No muxes are found which could not be heard under normal conditions, although signal strength has definitely and considerably improved.
What will happen when there’s a great opening like e.g. on December 29 2019?
We’ll have to wait and see…
To be continued.
Update April 17 2021.
A quick indoors test: a laptop with a short whip. QIRX and RTL-SDR with or without LNA.
Without the LNA 4 muxes can be received. With the LNA 5 are captured.
The test was done several times and always the same results were obtained.
April 15 2021 – Qt-DAB: R820T vs RSP1A
As mentioned in the previous post QT is a great tool to explore the world of DAB.
It works well with RSP1A and AirspyR2.
However R8220T dongles are not that great with QT. As can be seen in the video below this text there is indeed a big difference in performance between R820T and RSP1A. The antennas used were the same in both cases.