Monthly Archives: August 2013

A Great Mob

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On the occasion of the League’s 60th Anniversary in 2008, the League patron Frank Glen contributed an article “A Great Mob” to the DX Times 60th Anniversary Supplement . The article is now reprinted here on radiodx.com

Frank is a very accomplished author and DXer and it was very fitting that he take over the role of League patron after the passing of previous Patron Jack Fox.

Origins of DXing in New Zealand

Barry Williams wrote “The Origins of DXing in New Zealand” for the DX Times supplement in 2008, marking the DX League’s 60th anniversary.

This well-written and researched article is now posted here.

In the Market for a New “Pre-loved” Receiver?

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In New Zealand, the majority of used shortwave radios are bought and sold via the on-line auction site TradeMe.

But which of them are cherries and which are lemons? There is a useful guide on the dxing.com website. The list of receivers rated appear on this list. The receivers ratings using ‘H’s instead of stars, seem to reflect general opinion as far as the tried and true experience of NZ DXers goes, with one exception. The Yaesu FRG7 receives a top-rank, however they pale in comparison to the actual performance of even some HHH rated sets.

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Dates of Importance to NZ MW DXers

There have been a number of significant dates affecting MW stations and therefore DXers, in New Zealand.

1919: the first experimental radio station started broadcasting in Dunedin, New Zealand when founder “Toots” Mitchell was presented with a triode amplifying tube by his engineer friend Edward Meining. The opening song was “Robin Adair,” sung by Mitchell’s girlfriend at the microphone while Meining pedalled his bike the three kilometres from the sending station to his house where he had built a receiver. The station later became 4XD. They broadcast intermittently until 1921, then started regular scheduled programming two days a week. Those broadcasts led to the start of the Otago Radio Association. 4XD is still broadcasting, now on 1305 kHz and 99.2MHz often using the slogan “We were here first.”