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Hi Gary,
I'm enjoying your recordings so far. :)
Hey if you're still there today, unless you already did and I missed it, have
you ever done a midday bandscan video with the PL-380 and FSL at the cliff?
I'd love to hear (and see on the display) what signals you receive there in the
daytime.
Also have you done a gain comparison / shootout video of a stock PL-380 (no
7.5" loopstick) vs. the FSL + 7.5" loopstick? I'd like to get some idea of the
gain it gives, and I think it'd help if it's done with a signal that's weak but
readable on the stock radio, for example one reading 17/04 or something like
that.
I'd love to be able to try DXing some DU stations myself, but is it possible
from my inland location (32.76065, -116.94585) with just a ULR and
Select-A-Tenna?
My ULRs are:
• PL-380 (busted volume knob)
• 2x PL-606 (1x busted display)
• SRF-59 (audio out left side only)
• SRF-M37W (with aftermarket filter, but at least 1 local is still heard 200+
kHz away)
• CC Pocket (but considering sending it back due to some issues like low volume
on some signals)
• SRF-42
and a few others with much inferior performance. Also my 60+ dBµ pests are on
600, 690, 760 (80+ night), 910 (70+ night), 1130 (70+), 1170 (80+ day) and
1360, with runners up (50+) including (but not limited to) 540, 660 (night),
720 (night), 740 (night), 800, 810 (night), 840 (night), 860, 950 (day), 1040
(day), 1070 (night peaks), 1090, 1110 (SR/SS), 1210, 1240, 1470, 1530 (night),
1580 (night), 1670 (night) and 1700.
My next confirmed DU reception would be my first, although there's been a few
times I've wondered if I had something but couldn't get enough audio to ID.
I've been looking at the lists on mwlist.org trying to come up with a list of
targets, but that project is no where near done yet.
A few comments on some of your recordings so far this week ...
7-13 - 603 Radio Waatea - nice nearly-QRM-free signal. :) This would be tough
for me, as I have a local on 600 just 7.7 miles west of me. Although, I wonder
if it would be possible? I *have* heard 594 JOAK here once, and 600-KOGO (~68
dBµ on PL-606) was running IBOC at the time and they aren't anymore.
7-13 - 1503 Radio Sport - is there some nearby local interference/station here?
The character of the noise/hiss sounds a lot like what I hear when there's a
strong local signal (like 75+ dBµ 20-40 kHz away or 87+ dBµ 100+ kHz away;
blank-channel dBµ readings nearby would typically be 41-49, or sometimes 50)
near a semi-weak-to-medium target signal.
7-14 - 594 NZ Rhema - think I have a chance at this? (see above on 7-13 603
re: KOGO)
7-14 - 675 RNZ - is the splatter from 670-KBOI or 680-KNBR (guessing this one)?
And I would have thought the ±1 kHz filter should have eliminated all traces
of it from 5 kHz away?
7-14 - 684 NZ Rhema - what was that noise from at the beginning that quieted
down after a couple seconds? Also I'm guessing the splatter is KNBR?
7-14 - 738 R Polynesie - I would have liked to hear a few seconds of the
splatter they were putting on KCBS. :)
7-14 - 765 R Kahungunu - would my strongest nighttime local (760 KFMB, 7.3 mi
NW, 50 kW DA, 81 dBµ) be too much for this to overcome?
7-14 - 891 5AN - wow that's a pretty nice signal for the distance! :) I think
midway through I'm hearing another station in the background - is that
something else on 891 (which I'm guessing due to the rhythmic fade that you get
when you have two near-frequency stations coming in), or off-frequency
reception of a domestic on 890 (guessing not this cause the het would be much
louder, unless you tamed it in an editor before you posted it)?
And I must have a different definition of "crunch test" than you do? :) Here's
a couple videos of me doing crunch tests on my PL-606 on 1170 KCBQ, going from
barefoot to boosted with SAT + utility ground, including some shortwave
harmonics:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE2n94DLDak - 9.2 miles S of transmitter
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEMLcEqCu3E - < 0.1 mi SW of transmitter
I would assume that receiving 2CH Sydney from that 2nd video's location would
be very tough. ;)
You may notice that the signal with the SAT + utility wire from 9 miles away is
stronger than the barefoot signal from a few hundred feet away. Does the 15"
FSL give a comparable level of boost?
7-15 - 657 Southern Star - this would be at least one station I'd like to be
able to listen to from here, as I like Christian music. (Speaking of which,
could you confirm whether 1460-KARR is off the air? I heard they were going to
go off.)
7-16 - 531 PI - this would be another desired target (I like the music, also in
the 7-13 recording - is it a Christian station? although I don't know the song
& don't understand the language). I have a local on 540 (XESURF) but at "only"
~55 dBµ or so it shouldn't be too much of a pest hopefully? Although, it does
hamper my reception of the fringe TIS I sometimes receive on 530, though.
I've noticed on your cliff loggings you almost never have stations on signals
ending in "0", like 540, 630, 720, 810, etc. Is that because the FSL + cliff
combo isn't directional enough to null the domestics?
73, Stephen Airy
On Thursday, July 17, 2014 12:10 AM, Gary DeBock via IRCA
<irca@hard-core-dx.com> wrote:
Hello All,
It was a pleasure to welcome noted DXpeditioner Chuck Hutton to the humble
Highway 101 turnoff this morning-- possibly for the psychological assurance
that somebody else was also fanatical enough to chase DX on the side of an
ocean side cliff on busy Highway 101 at 0400 local time (actually, Bill was
there before me, at around 0300, to set up his small flag antenna). So with the
reassurance that both of us were indeed halfway normal, we proceeded to chase
Kiwi DX in both an "Apples and Oranges" setup (Perseus SDR + Flag antenna, and
PL-380 Ultralight Radio + FSL antenna).
Fortunately Chuck encountered the same New Zealand-slanted propagation that I
have been experiencing for the past 3 days (which happens often at Rockwork 4,
but which is particularly intense this week). We both DXed independently, so
the report below contains only the Ultralight + FSL highlights of the session.
Once again it was primarily an all-Kiwi session, with S/N pegging signals from
531-PI, 567-RNZ and 657-Southern Star. At the 1115 UTC start time New Zealand
stations were already on the warpath, with 531-PI leading the charge at an S-9
level. Signals continued to improve until the peak sunrise enhancement from
1230-1300, including the strongest signals ever received from 567-RNZ and
657-Southern Star. Despite multiple searches the Australians seemed to be back
in hibernation, with the intense Kiwis totally shutting them out on all the low
band frequencies. Around 1256 UTC a fairly decent carrier finally showed up on
576, and I figured that the
Aussie big gun 2RN was finally making its first appearance this week. When
tuning in, however, I heard a fairly weak station with a solemn DU voice
reading something (or maybe preaching), backed up by a two-tone organ-- with
apparent mentions of "the Lord" at :54 and :57 into the MP3 recording. Because
this format doesn't sound at all like the Aussie big gun 2RN, it makes me
wonder whether the intense Kiwi propagation delivered a very rare New Zealand
station apparently never before heard on the west coast-- the 2.5 kW The Word/
Bible Radio in Hamilton. The only Aussie to make it through the twisted
propagation was the Brisbane big gun 1116-4BC, which somehow managed to deliver
a vibrant signal around 1247. Chuck and I wrapped up DXing around 1330, and
plan to hit the Rockwork 4 cliff again very early on Thursday morning.
531 PI Auckland, NZ (5 kW) Another day, another thunderous PI recording--
so what else is new?
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/er60cl7pivjaj02/531-PI-1217z071614PL380.MP3
567 RNZ Wellington, NZ (50 kW) Monster signal from the Kiwi big gun
pegging the PL-380 S/N with news at 1302;
this was the strongest signal it's managed during any of the
ocean cliff DXpeditions
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ei3fcu7fmpm7bs2/567-RNZ-1302z071614PL380.MP3
576 UnID-DU Weak DU English speech with apparent religious format-- possibly
the 2.5 kW New Zealand station?
(headphones required)
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/glgibkqqw67x72w/576-UnID-DU-1256z071614PL380.MP3
603 Radio Waatea Auckland, NZ (5 kW) The standard late-night Maori male
announcer showing up on 585-603-765
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ikesbfefho6h1yl/603-R.Waatea-1234z071614PL380.MP3
657 Southern Star Wellington, NZ (50/ 10 kW) Huge signal at 1224 with
Christian hymns and female DU speech
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/y51tg4z4m9g22zb/657-SouthernStar-1224z071614PL380.MP3
783 Access Radio Wellington, NZ (10 kW) Temporarily vibrant with pop music
at 1311
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/kx3l6fk73d7sfb2/783-AccessRadio-1311z071614PL380.MP3
1116 4BC Brisbane, Australia (17kW/ 6.3 kW) The sole Aussie signal
managing to get through Kiwi-slanted propagation
this morning, with vibrant speech around 1251
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/xsxewoew3ah7rou/1116-4BC-1251z071614PL380.MP3
73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock (in Cannon Beach, OR)
DXing at the Rockwork 4 ocean side cliff on Highway 101
(Tillamook Co., OR)
http://www.mediafire.com/view/2jtmctq7as7448o/Rockwork-Sites-003.jpg
7.5" loopstick Tecsun PL-380 Ultralight +
New 15" DXpedition FSL antenna
http://www.mediafire.com/view/7bkbc9rzg2koq2k/15inchDXFSL-014.jpg
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