Welcome back! This time we’ll look at a topic I don’t see discussed much, but that I suspect impacts many of our attempts to DX, and also some talk of a type of DX often highlighted in the summer – the graveyard frequencies.

If you have an interest in a certain subject you would like to see covered here, please let me know. I have a wealth of information taken from the listserv over recent months, but not enough room to include it all – what would you like to see here?

Dan Bellesfield <dsb013@fast.net>: Greetings all: A question I would like to pose is do most folks utilize headphones while listening? If so, can anyone recommend a good type to get? I use an Icom R-75 with 1/4" jack for the phones. Any help would be appreciated.

Frank Doosey <Frank.Doosey@MWHSE.com>: I use headphones when DXing all the time. It helps concentrate the sounds towards your ears and muffles noises around the house some. It also keeps the lady asleep when you're late-night DXing! =) I just use the stereo headphones which came with my Discman. I'm sure there are higher-end ones to get which keep all the external sound out, but hey, I didn't have to pay extra.

Adam Rivers <patriotsrule417@yahoo.com>: I always use headphones, it's easier to concentrate with them, and easier to hear.

Bruce Conti <BACONTI@aol.com>: My all-time favorite DX headphones are the "Archer Dynamic Headphones" which I've had since the '70s. They still work, but the hardware has fallen apart and the foam padding is as hard as a rock, not very comfortable. Someday I'll refurbish them. Right now I use the MFJ-392 Communications Headphones. The 392s have separate left and right volume and bass controls. However, the impedance is 32 ohms. I have to plug them into the external speaker output of the Drake to get the sharpest sound, defeating the UL safety circuitry on the headphone output. Not a problem as my ears are already so blasted out from years of DJing (and DXing). I know a few DXers that have the Heil boomset and swear they're the best.

Frederick Vobbe <fredv@nrcdxas.org>

Subject: [NRC-am] Re: Headphones

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2002 7:26 AM

I have a pair of Radio Shack "cans" that I purchased in 1977 while in radio. The pads, as you say, rotted away. Look at newer models in the store, and you can usually adapt a newer pad to an older set. I did that for $7.00 and have my old headphones refurbed.

Allison Smith N2TOZ <asmith03@nycap.rr.com>: Hi Dan I do all the time never DX without them I use the Sony MDR-V6 they have two types of ends 1/4 and 1/8 you guest unscrew the ends and also use a set I got from radio shack the LV-20.

Russ Edmunds <wb2bjh@nrcdxas.org>: I suspect many of us (use headphones), even if only to uphold domestic tranquility! I've mostly used the same type of headphones an audiophile would use - stereo, high fidelity and well- cushioned. These tend to be in the 8 to 16 ohm range, which is fine for connection to a speaker output, put would require a matching transformer if using a headphone jack. I then wire the connection in such a way as to turn them into monaural again.

Dan Bellesfield: Since I have minimal knowledge of the electronics of the radio, and the Icom specs don't identify the ohms for the headphone jack, how do I figure out what will work? Is there a rule of thumb to follow, or is it trial and error? (The specs do state that the external speaker is 8 ohms, 1/8" jack.)

Russ Edmunds: I suspect that the headphone jack is not compatible with the solution of stereo headphones. I'd not want to guess at what they might be, not being familiar with the received, but the output could be in the 500 or 1000 ohm range, which would require a matching transformer. If you have the manual for the receiver, there should be a listing of its basic specs, where the value of the headphone output should be listed, or perhaps someone else on list uses the same receiver and can help.

John Reed <jreed@ponca.net>: I used JRC ST-3 phones for a long time. Recently someone in the Premium RX group asked that same question and we did some testing on what worked best on premium receivers. I was surprised to find out how much headphones influence what you can hear. I compared the ST-3 phones, Sony MDR-V6 phones and last Sennheiser HD580s. On my NRD-525 the ST-3s did sound best, but the audio on the NRD isn't anything to brag about. The receiver combination I use now is a Sylvania R1414 and Sherwood SE-3. With this combination the Sennheiser phones are definitely the ones to use. The Sony phones have too much emphasis on bass and treble. The Sennheiser phones are flat, the detail in the audio is great and they are comfortable. I'll be using the Sennheiser phones from now on. If you have a receiver with good audio experimenting with phones is worth trying.

Frederick Vobbe <fredv@nrcdxas.org>: Depends on several factors. The open foam "walkman type" are nice as they are light, and you can hear people if they talk to you. The closed, over the ear set are heavier, but the sound will not bother others (especially if you are listening in bed). If you compare carefully, a large amount of inventory of Radio Shack is actually made by Koss, a leading headphone manufacturer. I would have no problem with something from that manufacturer.

Ron Gitschier <RGITSCHIER@doyle.navy.mil>: Hi Dan, I've been trying to avoid using headphones whenever possible because I have a hearing deficit and don't want to advance it further if I can help it. That's basically as I'd be inclined to turn up the volume to fish out different DX signals in the noise.

I'd think that you're trying to listen without bothering others in the same or adjoining rooms?

Richard Dale <holden_mcgroyne@hotmail.com>: I'm doing some CD editing for a radio host and yesterday she wanted to hear what I was doing, so she had her son disconnect the headphones and hook up the speakers. It makes it MUCH more difficult to get those tight edits in the songs. I bet there's some way I can hook up a leetle box that will let me choose speakers or headphones or both.

David Hochfelder <hochfeld@rci.rutgers.edu>: I use ordinary Walkman type headphones: they're light and comfortable and I can hear external things if I need to. I don't like the big bulky headphones because I don't find them comfortable.

Randy Stewart <jrs555t@smsu.edu>: I use either a pair of old Sennheisers (HD430 I think-little thing with yellow earpads) or my high-end hi-fi Grado SR-80, which is ruler-flat in the midrange and treble and provides great detail. However, the Grado has *thunderous* low bass response, and the audio from the Yaesu FRG-100 is awfully bassy as it is. My solution? Pull a 25-year-old 5-band Radio Shack graphic equalizer out of mothballs. Now I run audio out from the Yaesu to the equalizer, and from there to a little Radio Shack integrated amp... they now carry them with an "RCA" nameplate, but it's the same unit. Runs around $60, I think--I bought one with the old Realistic name on sale for $40 a year or two ago when they were making the changeover to the RCA nameplates. This setup allows me to feed equalized, custom-tailored audio to the tape deck as well.

Kevin Redding <amfmdx@fastq.com>: I use two pairs of headphones depending on what I want to hear. If I don't want to hear anything outside, I put on a pair of Sony MDR-CD-180 cans. They are good for being about $20 and since I am using them for LF, MF or HF reception, I don't need to spend $100 on a nice set of Sennheisers, Koss or something studio quality. I mostly use these with my R-1000 and have a stereo to mono adapter I plug on to the jack before I plug it in.

With small radios, the 2010, DX-398, CCRadio, SR III, those types, I use a set of clip-on over-the-ear type phones. They are Panasonic RP-HS40's. I really LOVE the things for listening in bed. I use the receiver of choice and clip them over my ears and start listening. They aren't perfect but I find that I can put on the sleep function, DX and pass out and roll all over the place and not notice they are on if I forget to pull them off before I am carried off to la-la-land. These are about the first headphones I have ever used that I can actually sleep on without pain.

Walt Smith <ka3agm@nc.rr.com>: I like the Pro-35 phones from the Shack, but for DXing, they're a bit too bassy for my taste. I was fortunate enough to buy three pairs of Heath phones back when they went out of business and for most applications, these are excellent.

Powell E. Way III W4OPW <powell@conterra.com>: They have honest bass, not the tubby boxy bass I hear on headphones costing much more. They are also **VERY** efficient. The Koss model is the KTX Pro.

Walt Smith: Powell - Yes, I didn't mean to imply that in other applications, the PRO-35 wouldn't be a great phone... in fact, when on sale (as they are about every couple of months) for $20, they're probably the best headphone bargain on earth. For AM DXing, though (and this may have a _lot_ to do with my high frequency hearing loss, which is severe), I really want less bass and more on the high end.

Powell E. Way III: I bought a pair of Sennheisers at Circuit City for $22. The Sony's I heard were just plain muffly on the high end. 2 different models in the $20 range were just plain beyond disappointing. The Sennheisers sparkle and have uncolored bass. They aren’t quite as modular as some other models they have.

Mike Brooker <aum108@postoffice.idirect.com>: I also use Walkman-type headphones, for the same reasons. In fact I use the same phones that came with my walkman. On both my RF-2200 and RFB-45 I the headphone jack delivers sound in the left ear only, without plugging the phones into a mono-to-stereo adapter.

Dan Bellesfield: Well, I went out and purchased a Sony MDR-CD180 ($20 at Circuit City). No problem with matching the impedance on my IC R75. What a difference...although they are a bit "bassy", but I don't think "domestic tranquility" would tolerate me dropping $100 on something better right now, after buying the radio at the end of December :-) Thanks everyone for all of the input-sure makes the "new guy" on the list feel welcome!

Jim Bagge: Dan, I always do AM DXing on ssb on my R75. It sounds very natural and clear to my ears.

Kevin Redding: Dan, They are adequate and they are $20 bucks so you won't get perfection. They are comfortable enough and they get the job done. I looked at it like this, I am listening to LW, AM and HF, none of which are noted for its perfect clarity. A $20 pair of phones should do the job for now. I am glad that you find them useful.

Les Rayburn, N1LF <les@highnoonfilm.com>: As a newcomer, I have a few questions about DXing the graveyard channels. Hoping that some of you can help me out:

1. What types of antennas work best on these frequencies? For instance, are loops with deep nulls critical for success or are you really at the whim of the gods of propagation and you simply have to camp out and wait?

2. Likewise, is audio filter effective at separating stations from the jumble? Are DSP filters an aid?

3. Are there any in the club who "specialize" at DXing the graveyard channels? Is there one "guru" that I should be chatting with on private e-mail?

The idea of specializing appeals to me, because it probably fits my very busy lifestyle a bit better. It would allow me to check, monitor, tape only a handful of channels and make my overnight unattended recording sessions more fruitful. But perhaps I'm just sitting myself up for a world of frustration. My guess is that logging the first 25 or 30 stations (combined) on these channels would be easy enough...but then it would get hard.

Thanks in advance for taking time to help out the new guy.

Russ Edmunds <wb2bjh@nrcdxas.org>: In answer to Les’ questions:

1. If you're looking to DX a specific direction only, 1st choice a beverage; if not, 2nd choice multiple-directional wires; or a good loop.

2. I've found that audio filters are most useful for reducing heterodynes, noises, or adjacent-channel test tones, but for regular audio, usually not, and even less so on a GY frequency.

3. Probably several. But I'll let them respond for themselves. I have quite a number from the old days, but very few new ones the past few years, so I'd not consider myself such.

Barry McLarnon <bm@lynx.ve3jf.ampr.org>: Also in answer to Les’ questions:

1. Yep, camping out is the basic technique... along with recording, of course. I don't think the antenna type is all that critical. A loop is handy for taking out a dominant pest. It's also useful at times to have an antenna that doesn't require retuning. A technique that I've used occasionally is to go with my outdoor dipole instead of the loop, and do a continuous scan of the six GY frequencies, stopping whenever something promising pops up.

2. I don't have DSP filtering, but I doubt if it would make much difference. Using SSB mode could be useful... I use SSB *all* the time for AM DXing. Post-processing of recorded signals with an audio editor may help dig some weak ones out, but I haven't done much of this.

Far more important is to pick times when the ionosphere is non-uniform, favoring propagation in certain directions. Sunrise and sunset are certainly prime times, as are times when ionospheric disturbances occur. I agree with what others have said about GY DXing being more fruitful during the late spring and summer months. The GYs tend to sound less jumbled then... besides, there are so many other targets to chase during the winter season! I also have a pet theory that sporadic E can be an enhancing factor at MW wavelengths, lifting a station in a particular area above the rest. This is

most likely to be noticed on a GY channel, due to the density of stations and the fact that they are on a more-or-less level playing field with regard to power/pattern. Most of my more distant GY catches have been during Es season.

3. I wouldn't call myself a guru, but I'm definitely a GY enthusiast. Whenever I get jaded with regular AM DXing (not lately - it's been great!), I'll go camp on a GY and see what comes up out of the murk. I'm on the threshold of a milestone, as I need just one to more to reach a total of 300 GY stations heard.

It's not for everyone (hi, Kevin :-), but I think GY DXing is great fun. You get tons of relogs after awhile, but there are still so many possibilities for something new to pop up. Recording is critical, and I much prefer recording to hard disk rather than tape, for ease of reviewing, random access, and archiving. I know Rick likes to have cassettes to take on the road with him for review, but that doesn't appeal to me... besides, I have a very short commute. :-)

Kevin Redding <amfmtvdxer@email.msn.com>: Barry my DX brother. I don't do this stuff but I would have to smoke my brains out to be able to sit long enough to DX GY freqs. You are one patient son-of-a-gun to do that. Anyone who can GY DX and have 300 stations is something else, maybe its nuts, I don't know, but someone who can GY DX is something else.

Good luck to you bro. I can be on a GY freq. for about 60 seconds before I gotta move on if nothings on there. The good thing is that there is something in the hobby for everyone.

Now send some of that Canadian stuff down this way. All the AU CX has only allowed me to hear CKWX this year. Too bad Canada isn't considered International DX....

Barry McLarnon: I may be a bit of a masochist, but I don't sit for hours on end listening to a GY channel. You have to be craftier than that! Whether I'm at the receiver or not, I record 8 minute snippets around each TOH, starting at one minute before TOH. The best time for IDs is generally the first minute and the last two minutes of that period, so I often just review three minutes of each snippet. The bottom line is, rather than sitting on a channel listening for a long period, your time is better spent reviewing previously recorded snippets where there is a much better chance of catching an ID... and it's a lot less tedious, too. Recording to hard disk makes this kind of reviewing a breeze.

Rick Kenneally <woodlandview@yahoo.com>: One other trick I find useful is, when using a receiver that has the option, to turn off the AGC when DXing GY channels. It means you have to keep adjusting the RF Gain to keep the volume manageable, and it can NOT be done with electrical storms nearby. But I find I can make out audio from stations in the mix better without AGC action.

Emily <AmBandDxers@aol.com>: I have heard that GYDX is best in the summer months. I have been trying to GYDX a bit this winter, but have gotten very little.

Art Blair <artblairca@prodigy.net>: Emily, Have had good luck listening to GY's from May-October. Started listening in 1998 and have 60- 70 stations heard on the GY's. When everything else fails, give 'em a try.

Russ Edmunds: From your location, Emily, more so than from Les'. Somehow I logged more New England GY stations from NJ in summer than any other time. GY DX is much more difficult now that all are 1 kW power and 24-hours NSP.

Kevin Redding: Honey, you are a better girl than I will ever be if you can GYDX. I do NOT have the patience for it. It is in no way my bag.

Randy Stewart <jrs555t@smsu.edu>: The NRC website has a page listing reprints of articles that can be ordered (www.nrcdxas.org/catalog) -- one of which is no.D11, a 15-pager by Bob Foxworth "with additions by M.Levintow", called "GRAVEYARD DX--DX'ing the local channels with results." I'm ashamed to admit I don't have a copy of this myself, though I should. I do, however, have a couple of articles Robert Kramer wrote a number of years ago and which are by now a bit (or perhaps a lot) outdated (though they had excellent info).... Bob F., when did you write YOUR article?

Russ Edmunds: The Foxworth/Levintow thing is probably older than Kramer's.

Robert Foxworth <rfoxwor1@tampabay.rr.com>: My best guess is 1974 - 1975. I was living in Long Island. I never could get beyond the single hop skip range, but managed to get many of the stations at short range. My favorite target was the New England area and eastern Canada, and I managed to QSL a bunch of them. I used a 40-foot outdoor wire which really seemed to like that area.

I did better in the summer months, as the skip was a lot more selective geographically and with luck, the desired station would fade up and be heard well. However back then a lot of those stations signed off at midnight, or at 0005 etc.

One of my favorite times of the summer was the twice-per-season times the Boston Red Sox did a night-game stand on the west coast, and it would be often 0130 by the time the games ended. I managed several stations that way including WLKN-1450 Lincoln, ME, on late with the Sox, my favorite team then. My verie was signed by the owner who noted that he was a past CBS employee, an item I always included in reports.

Hard to believe that old reprint is still around.

Next time we’ll include some recollections of best Graveyard DX catches, as well as other items of interest. Enjoy the summer…