[ARC5] NDB useful range ?

[Doran Platt]

> 2nd try.
> 
While assigned to the weather station on Swan Island in the mid-70's, we had an HH (high altitude/high power) NDB on 407 kHz running a bit over a KW.  Ident was SWA.  I got QSLs from all over N and S America and a few from Europe.  SWA was the midway of the western Caribbean, so there was some pressure to keep it going.  Actually, we only had one failure... the day I first arrived!  I don't hear too many around the DC area as many have been decommissioned.  With GPS being available, some of the local airports that used to have privately maintained units are gone.  Having some experience in both remote (few Navaids) and over-water operations, the ADF was always a back-up and a confidence provider.  Of course, in summertime conditions, a cluster of T-storms can mess things up from a long distance.  But, course averaging does work, even with the QRN.  My last airplane has a Bendix ADF-T12C that was as reliable as they come.  But, in the past 4-6 years, we depended on it less and less. I have had little success in SWLing beacons at this QTH owing to noise.  I do have a spare T12C, with everything, and I might at least try the receiver and maybe even the loop antenna?   
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