2013 - THE MEDXR "YEAR IN REVIEW"

2013 - THE MEDXR "YEAR IN REVIEW"

Although the Mount Evelyn DX Report went live for the first time on January 3, 2013, I had trialled it off-line for three months before launch date, and before inflicting it on you guys, the all-important readers and fellow DXers/SWLs! I have to say that I thought I'd lose enthusiasm and let the blog lapse over time. However, to my own surprise, I've kept it going and enjoyed immensely the weekly act of compiling and publishing DX news.

But…..I do want to thank all the MEDXR readers for your encouragement and support of the blog. New posts are generally advised in the various forums of Facebook, there have been many comments and "likes" received there, which is much appreciated. Without your support, I doubt that I would have kept going with the project. So…..give yourselves a round of applause!!

Over the year, the top five posts (based on the number of views) were:

#1:  The LATIN AMERICAN DX SURVEY 2013 - which linked to the nine-page document I prepared during the Australian winter months. The link is still available, and amazingly there have been more than 500 downloads of this document since it was posted on September 6.
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/latin-american-survey-2013-available.html

#2:  The DOUBLE BAZOOKA ANTENNA - A YOUTUBE REVIEW - has been very popular. Because of it's broad appeal to both amateur radio operators as well as SWLs, the video was also linked to additional forums such as Yahoo groups and eHam.net, resulting in an astonishing 5000+ hits on YouTube since its posting in late April.
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/the-double-bazooka-antenna-youtube.html

#3:  It's clear that many people wanted to know more about the post entitled VISIT THE FASCINATING VOA MUSEUM!  This linked to one of the best video productions of a shortwave radio transmitter site available, providing excellent technical information on the workings of this once-mighty transmitter site.
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/visit-fascinating-voa-museum.html

#4:  DXers were curious to know what was in WRTH 2014 - TEN REASONS WHY YOU NEED THIS YEAR'S EDITION!  I received the book within 7 days of its release and it hasn't disappointed. The receiver reviews are especially interesting.
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/wrth-2014-ten-reasons-why-you-need-this.html

#5:  There have been some big changes for the current transmission season, and this was reflected in my post B13 NEW FREQUENCY SUMMARY - AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD NOW. So far, there have been over 100 downloads of this document, and it's still available.
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/b13-new-frequency-summary-available-for.html

The pop-out menu on the right-hand side of this page lists another five of the most viewed posts this year, so you may want to check those out as well.

One of the towering VOA Bethany antennas

This web site also features other pages listed at the top of the blog screen. The highest number of hits went to:

#1:  The RADIO SHACK page - http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/p/radio-shack.html

#2:  The QSL PHOTO GALLERY page - http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/p/qsl-photo-gallery-qsl-card-is-formal.html

#3:  The RADIO RESOURCES page - http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/p/radio-resources.html

HOWEVER!……… (there's ALWAYS an "however"…..!!), some of my favourite posts that you may have missed along the way include the following:

A tape recording I dug up and"re-engineered" from 1973 entitled HISTORIC RECORDING: RADIO AUSTRALIA'S "CLUB FORUM":
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/historic-recording-radio-australias.html

My research into an interesting radio station operating from South Sudan in SPOTLIGHT: RADIO MIRAYA - THE SOUND OF SUDAN, which is proving especially relevant over the past week or so because of the sad situation with the outbreak of war once again in that part of the world:
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/spotlight-radio-miraya-sound-of-sudan.html

A summary of reception conditions over some weeks for the WINTER DAYTIME DX SURVEY:
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/the-winter-daytime-dx-survey-medxr.html

The link to the wonderful short video by Myke Weiskopf's SHORTWAVEMUSIC 2012: TIMBUKTU:
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/shortwavemusic-2012-timbuktu.html

Links to the fascinating story behind RADIO REBELDE:
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/radio-rebelde-some-interesting.html

The exciting reception of the Canadian CKZU - a rare occurrence here in Melbourne:
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/canadian-500-watts-ckzu-visits-mount.html

The story of ONE OF MY MOST VALUED QSL CARDS:
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/one-of-my-most-valued-qsl-cards.html

An example of a recent afternoon DXpedition I undertook in south eastern Victoria entitled DXPEDITION - BALD HILLS WETLAND RESERVE:
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/dx-pedition-bald-hills-wetland-reserve.html

If you are interested in a good book to read, then check out my post BOOK REVIEW: GOOD MORNING HANOI:
http://medxr.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/book-review-good-morning-hanoi.html

In addition, there have been many posts listing stations heard in my logbook over the past twelve months.

So, there has been lots of activity on the Mount Evelyn DX Report during 2013. I'll try to keep up the pace for the coming year as well!! If you haven't already done so, you may want to SUBSCRIBE to the MEDXR Blog and this easy to do by going to the right-hand side pop-out menu and clicking on the SUBSCRIBE button for email or RSS alerts.

Finally, I want to send everyone my very best wishes for a wonderful year ahead. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay happy, and enjoy the fascinating world of radio!

73 and good luck in 2014,

Rob Wagner VK3BVW