[Lowfer] Heard in NE IL

[Garry Hess]

The evening began with good conditions to the east. Lowfer SJ on 
186.8495 kHz was copied around 0200Z using ARGO at QRSS30, slow. Then 
TAG was decoded on 185.8 kHz via the Wolf GUI:

2010-12-22 03:39:17 >WOLF10  -r 11100.051 -f 400 -t 1.0 -w 0.0000 -ut
...
04:20:53 f: 0.107 pm:23.46 jm: 77 q: -0.6 -8.5 /JB**W6Y6YI86XH ?
04:22:29 f: 0.107 pm:24.43 jm: 77 q: -0.4 -5.9 TAG RAYMOND ME  -
...
04:32:05 f: 0.107 pm:35.77 jm: 77 q:  1.5 -2.9 TAG RAYMOND ME  -
2010-12-22 04:32:14 >WOLF10  -r 11100.051 -f 400 -t 1.0 -w 0.0000 -ut
...
04:35:26 f: 0.107 pm:2.667 jm:939 q: -7.7 -5.9 6V2AE2TI4R2KSYC -
04:37:02 f: 0.107 pm:4.844 jm:939 q: -5.2 -6.0 TAG RAYMOND ME  -
...
05:13:50 f: 0.107 pm:31.40 jm:937 q:  1.6 -0.1 TAG RAYMOND ME  -

Next the watering hole was examined and again both WM signals were seen. 
The higher one in Andover, MA came in better than the lower one in 
Ellsworth, NH, even though a synthesizer spur from local SIW overlaps 
the former.

Like Todd I found the European time signals from DCF77 on 77.5 kHz and 
HBG on 75 kHz good and displaying UTC+1.

Early morning VLF conditions favored the west but were only moderate. 
CKN was in strong on 76.2 kHz from Vancouver, NDI on 54 kHz from Okinawa 
was seen and JJI on 22.2 kHz from Japan was enhanced. On the 518 kHz 
Navtex front $12C, San Francisco, CA and $12W, Astoria, OR were decoded 
but $12D, Prince Rupert, BC and $12O, Honolulu, HI were visible on the 
waterfall but too weak to decode. Finally, the high accuracy DGPS 
station on 458 kHz from Pueblo, CO was again on the air.

All in all an interesting night.

73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL