[Lowfer] 518 kHz Navtex

[Garry Hess]

VO1NA dropped off early sending opera32 so switched to monitoring 518 
kHz Navtex with an e-probe as well as a loop aimed west. Conditions west 
were good and got decodes from area 12 stations C, D, J, Q, and W. Would 
have picked up H too no doubt had the area 4, G station in New Orleans 
not been so long winded (as usual!). Got a few words from J, Kodiak, AK 
during the 0530Z window but most of two messages got through at the end 
of the 0930Z window. Quite a few messages were decoded from US west 
coast stations: 8 from Q, Long Beach, CA around 1050Z and 6 around 
0650Z; 11 from W, Astoria, OR around 1140Z and 10 around 0740Z; 4 from 
C, San Francisco, CA around 0820Z and 1 after local sunrise at 1240Z. 
Station D, Prince Rupert, BC managed to overpower C and decoded one 
message at 0833Z.

Earlier in the evening caught the novel Dominoex4 transmissions of 
WG2XJM on 474 kHz. Eric isn't far at 686 km but without FEC I didn't 
expect the messages to come through error-free like they did.

Conditions to the south weren't shabby either as NDB BOG, 340 kHz 
Bogota, Columbia was noted weakly, first time for that station since 
last Spring.
-- 
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL