72 MONITORING TIMES October 2012

Domestic Broadcast Survey 2012 The 55 year old Danish Shortwave Club International (DSWCI), which has members in 33 countries, has issued the 14th edition of their annual Domestic Broadcasting Survey (DBS) which is divided into three parts:

• Part 1 – The Tropical Bands Survey covers all active shortwave broadcasting stations transmit-ting in the 2300 to 5700 kHz range including clandestines.

• Part 2 – Domestic stations on international short-wave bands above 5700 kHz broadcasting to a domestic audience.

• Part 3 – Deleted frequencies between 2 and 30 MHz which have not been reported heard during the past five years, but may reappear. While Part 3 is only published in the email version, buyers of the printed version can get a copy from the Editor upon request.

This new edition of the survey is based upon many official sources and club DX-bul-letins. Shortwave broadcast A11 schedules are included in this publication when available. One of the useful features for easy station identifica-tion is the inclusion of parallel frequencies and reference to station iden-tification slogans. All buyers of DBS-14 will get a username and password to the monthly updates on the tropical bands published as “Tropical Bands Monitor” on the DSWCI website at www.dswci.org/tbm. The 23 pages A-4 size DBS-14 is available by email as an Adobe Acrobat PDF format (about 505 kb in size). There is a limited number of the printed version of this publication which is 20 pages and does not include the aforementioned Part 3. The DSWCI DBS-14 is sold by the club treasurer via the following address – DSWCI, c/o Bent Nielsen, Egekrogen 14, DK 3500 Vaerloese Denmark. Prices for the email and print version are:

Email edition: DKK 35,00; US $7.00; EUR 5,00; GBP 4,00; SEK 45,00 or three IRCs.

Print edition: DKK 70,00; US $13.00; EUR 10,00; GBP 8,00; SEK 90,00 or five IRCs.

Payment by cash notes are accepted whereas checks and postal money orders are not. If you want to pay via PayPal, you may do so only in U.S. currency and this only for persons living outside the European Union (EU). You will have to contact Andreas Schmid below before you send payment.

If you have the Euro as your national currency, you should send payment to the club representative in Germany – Andreas Schmid, Lerchenweg 4, D-97717 Euerdorf, Germany. Email: schmidandy@aol.com

Icom Loan Program with Boy Scouts Icom America has extended its recent Boy Scouts of America (BSA) partnership by provid-ing up to ten complete amateur stations for use by local Scouts councils. The amateur radio loan program comprises two loans: a development loan station and an event loan station. Interested parties may download program information and a loan application on the BSA’s Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA) webpage www.scouting.org/jota/station-loan.aspx.This program began in 2012 and extends through 2015. Scout councils awarded a development loan station can develop long-term installation for their Radio Scouting programs. The develop-ment loan award is expected to last no longer than 12 months. Local councils applying for an event loan station may use their stations for special events including but not limited to: the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day and BSA workshops. “These stations can be used to support Radio merit badges, JOTA, or other council events to introduce Scouts to the fun and tech-nology of amateur radio while communicating across the country and around the world,” says National Radio Scouting Committee Chairman Jim Wilson, K5ND. Icom’s amateur radio station kits consist of the manufacturer’s IC-7200, an entry-level HF transceiver with advanced digital features. Other loan station components include Icom’s AT-180 antenna tuner, PS-126 power supply, SM-30 desk microphone, SP-5 external speaker, AH-710 folded dipole antenna, and suitable connecting cables. According to Icom America’s Amateur Division Manager Ray Novak N9JA, “Ten complete station kits have been assembled and are ready for delivery.” In May 2012, Icom America became the official amateur radio transceiver and repeater supplier for the 2013 National Scout Jambo-ree. The company has been a proud supporter of BSA since 1981. For information on Icom America’s amateur radio product line, visit www.icomamerica.com/amateur.

DX Engineering’s New Coax DX Engineering has introduced a new premium coaxial cable for the radio hobby mar-

ketplace. Specially manufactured for

DX Engineering, the DXE-400MAX premium 50 ohm coaxial cable is protected with a rugged Type III-A UV-resistant polyethylene jacket. This makes it ideal for any indoor or outdoor application and particularly suited for direct burial. With its AWG #10 stranded bare copper center conductor, DXE-400MAX cable is more flexible than standard LMR400. It is specially suited for high-power amateur stations, and provides a lower loss solution for long cable runs at any power level. The DXE-400MAX features a gas injected foam polyethylene dielectric cov-ered with two layers of shielding: bonded foil and tinned copper braid. An introductory price of $0.82 per foot is currently available. Ready-made coaxial as-semblies with Silver/Teflon PL-259s are priced from $11.88 to $195.88. For more information or to order, visit www.dxengineering.com.

Utility DXer’s QSL Address Handbook Whether collecting verification cards (“veries” or QSLs) from utility (communica-tions) stations around the globe is a dying art is debatable, but many shortwave listeners (SWLs) still do it. Ship-to-shore, international aeronautical, military, Coast Guard, government stations, emergency and law enforcement links, weather stations and more are common listening targets for devoted shortwave hobbyists. But finding the mailing addresses for these elusive DX (distant) “utes” can be frus-trating, even online. To help, veteran SWL Steve Handler has just released his Utility DXer’s QSL Address Handbook, a 56 page soft-cover book listing postal and email addresses of many utility sta-tions around the globe. Where applicable, Handler also includes comments such as the type of QSL the station issues, the preferred method of contact, informa-tion on station officials, verification signers and more. The 8-1/2 by 11-inch handbook also contains dozens of images of QSLs from the author’s personal collection, many in full color. Utility DXer’s QSL Address Handbook sells for $14.95 plus shipping from Steven Handler, PO Box 11, Lincolnshire, IL 60069-0011. For more information, email the author at shortwa-vereport@yahoo.com.

Larry Van Horn, New Products Editor

October 2012 MONITORING TIMES 73

Books and equipment for announcement or review should be sent to What’s New, c/o Monitoring Times, 7540 Highway 64 West, Brasstown, NC 28902. Press releases may be faxed to 828-837-2216 or emailed to Larry Van Horn, larryvanhorn@monitoringtimes.com. When ordering or inquiring about the products mentioned in this column, be sure to tell them that you saw it in the pages of Monitoring Times magazine.

MFJ IntelliTuners Released MFJ Enterprises Inc., in Starkville, Missis-sippi, has released two new remote IntelliTuners for use in the HF radio spectrum. These new remote 993BRT and 994BRT IntelliTuners are mounted in a durable hard plastic case that measure just 9.25 inches by 3 inches by 14.25 inches. Frequency coverage is 1.8 to 30 MHz. Both models have heavy duty 16 Amp / 1000 Volt relays and a highly efficient L-network. They also include the MFJ-4117 BiasTee Power Injector to send DC/RF down the coax to the shack.

The MFJ-994BRT can handle up to 600 Watts SSB/CW and is a perfect match for Ameritron’s solid state ALS-600/S solid state amplifier and the popular tube-type AL-811/H amplifier. The tuner can match 12- to 800-Ohm antennas. A lower power version, the MFJ-993BRT handles up to 300 Watts SSB/CW power levels and matches 6- to 1600-Ohm antennas. The MFJ-993BRT lets you tune any antenna auto-matically balanced or unbalanced. MFJ’s exclusive Adaptive Search and InstantRecall algorithms provide the operator with an ultra-fast automatic tuning capability with over 10,000 Virtual Antenna memories available. You can get more information on these two tuners or any item of MFJ’s large catalog on their website www.mfjenterprises.com or from any of their over 250 dealers worldwide. You can contact the company at 1-800-647-1800 / 662-323-5869 or via snail mail at MFJ Enterprises, Inc., P.O. Box 494, Mississippi State, MS 39762.

RigExpert AA-1000 RigExpert Ukraine has released a new antenna analysis tool, the AA-1000, a powerful antenna analyzer designed for testing, checking, tuning or repairing antennas and antenna feedlines. Easy to use measurement modes, as well as additional fea-tures, such as connection to a personal computer, make RigExpert AA-1000 an attractive tool for both the professional and the radio hobbyists. The following tasks are easily accomplished by using this analyzer:

• Rapid check-out of an antenna • Tuning an antenna to resonance • Antenna SWR and impedance measurement

and comparison before and after specific event (rain, hurricane, etc.)

• Making coaxial lines or measuring their parameters

• Cable testing and fault location • Measuring capacitance or inductance of reac-

tive loads

You can get more details about this new product and a list of dealers worldwide on the RigExpert Ukraine website at www.rigexpert.com. U.S. and Canadian readers can purchase this product from Yuri Onipko N2WCQ, P.O. Box 1403, Buffalo, NY 14225-8403, U.S.A.Telephone 716 240 4597, email: usa@rigex-pert.net, and website: www.rigexpert.net.

70 cm ATV Transmitter from KH6HTV Video Jim Andrews, the owner of KH6HTV Video, now offers a complete line of 70 cm digi-tal and analog ham TV transmitters. The digital transmitters generate high-definition, 720p or 1080i, QAM-64 signals. The analog transmitters generate spectrally clean, standard definition, 480i, NTSC, Vestigial Upper Sideband (VUSB). Reception is very easy as these are exactly the modulation formats used on cable TV (CATV). A conventional, home, analog/digital, TV receiver will also tune these signals. A complete line is offered with different models intended for portable pack-set, mobile, base and repeater applications. Available output powers range from 1to 25 watts for analog TV and 1 to 5 watts for digital TV. For more information, specifications, pric-ing and application notes, visit www.kh6htv.com.

New Array Solutions Coax Surge Arrestor Array Solutions has a new series of coaxial lightning arrestors, the AS-303, designed to protect radio equipment attached to antennas. They will protect from sand, rain and snow static buildup on antennas and feed lines which can damage sensitive radio equipment. They also will protect against damage from nearby and overhead lightning strikes and can mitigate damage to radios or other equipment from oc-curring inside buildings, enclosures, and homes. Based on the design by Industrial Com-munications Engineers’ (ICE) 300 Series coaxial arrestors, these arrestors have improved perfor-mance, packaging, and mounting hardware. The

arrestors are DC blocked and include static and DC discharge capability just like the famous ICE arrestors. They also include rated Gas Discharge Tubes (GDT) which can be replaced with simple tools. The static bleed inductor inside the arres-tor not only helps to keep the tube from firing, extending the life of the GDT, it eliminates cable discharge noise from the sensitive receiver which can lower the noise level. The enclosures are small machined alumi-num blocks which have a convenient removable bracket to screw the device to a plate. They have also developed a mounting bracket system which can be purchased as an accessory to mount di-rectly to ground rods, or plates inside enclosures, or a wall plate located at a coaxial cable entrance. Power rating is 3 kW continuous with an-tenna systems having a 2:1 SWR and 5 kW with a 1:2:1 SWR. Frequency range is 1- to 70-MHz with rated insertion loss of 0.2 db and SWR less than 1:05:1. Price for the AS-303U (UHF connectors) is $58; AS-303N (N connectors) $65; AS-300SB bracket $22. For more information, or to order, visit www.arraysolutions.com.You can also contact the company via mail at Array Solutions, 2611 North Beltline Road, Suite 109, Sunnyvale, Texas , USA 75182 or telephone 214-954-7140.