[IRCA] DXpediton to Masset 5 - 15 January 2017 PART I

[Walter Salmaniw <canswl@xxxxxxxxx>]

*DXpedition to Masset, BC   5 â 15 January, 2017*



     I just returned from another adventure at my cottage on Haida Gwaii
near Masset, on the north end of the islands.  As you may very well know,
itâs a spectacular archipelago, about 100 km off shore from the north coast
of British Columbia, and about 75 km south of the Alasakan panhandle.  Itâs
rural, of course, and exceptionally quiet electrically.  We do have power,
which causes some noise, especially on LW.  No internet, yet, however.
Closest neighbours are about 100 m on one side and a bit more on the other
side, but these can be seasonal, or very lightly used.  No plasma TVs and
the like!  On this time around, I was able to do some serious DXing, and
have many gigabytes of Perseus SDR wav files to prove it.  I have my set up
down pat, and I can be up and running in a very short period of time.  The
first antenna to go up is a general reference antenna, the ALA 100.  I have
it as a large diameter loop near the ocean (we have about 4 acres on the
water facing north, looking at Alaska across Dixon Entrance).  The loop is
in the trees, facing NE/SW and is about 25â high and about 20â across, and
is double looped.  My second antenna up is always the BOG = Beverage on
Ground, about 750â aimed to the W/NW to Asia, and a good compromise to
Australia.  This antenna is always my favourite and consistently is the
best performer, and the last to stop yielding signals in the morning.   The
third antenna is the DKAZ, which I constructed a couple of years ago.  Itâs
directed to the SW.  Iâd say it was 75% as good as my BOG, with an
advantage of being very directional.  Many times Iâd have different
stations on the same frequency heard on different wires.  The DKAZ was a
good performer when we had some DU activity, although it doesnât quite have
the âoomphâ compared to the BOG.  Finally, I have a permanent, about 450â
(to 500â if I extend into the water) mini-Beverage, aimed due north.  With
so little activity over the pole, it wasnât used too often, although
occasionally it was useful.   Note that both the BOG and Beverage were
amplified using a DX Engineering RPA-1 HF-Preamplifier located at the
feedline access at the antenna wire base.  All antennae were fed to the
shack (located in my garage, in a small insulated and heated room) via coax
cabling.  The BOG was fed into a mil surplus 16 output multicoupler (with
no resultant losses), while the others were fed via passive Mini-Circuit
2:1 and 4:1 splitters.

     I listened primarily between 13:55 UTC and as long as signals
permitted:  Usually around 18:00 or later.  Not much during the day, due to
family commitments.  In the evening, I attempted to check on conditions,
and also edited mp3 files of captures and unknowns.  By 07:00 UTC, Iâd
check for TP activity, either Pacific Islands (1017 and 1098) or via Japan,
especially Hokkaido.  Iâd then capture some sleep before being âgently
awokenâ by my alarm clock to do things again.   How did things turn out?
Well, conditions were highly variable.  Nothing from Europe, unfortunately,
this time around.   To the Pacific, there were some days that were
relatively poor, and others that were absolutely excellent, whether to
China, or to Japan, or to Korea.  We had a little DU activity, but not much
at all.

     I had access to 3 receivers:  2 Perseus SDRs, with one dedicated to
the MESTOR timer program.  MESTOR worked flawlessly.  I had a routine of
timed TOH and BOH recordings overnight, on most nights.  In person, I DXâd
live with the other Perseus.  If conditions warranted, I was able to, at
the press of a button, activate MESTOR to record the entire MW spectrum
ongoing, until I cancelled it.  Very handy!!!   Finally, I have an AOR
7030+ which served for parallel frequency searches, and often just to park
on an interesting frequency to monitor or tape.  For instance, I really
enjoyed the armchair copy of RRI Palangkaraya on 3325 during local
mornings, and the NVK Radio Sakha from Yakutsk, Russia on 7345 (and 7295)
in our local evenings.  2 laptops were used with the main Dell laptop (W7)
running both Perseii, and a 2nd screen, while the older Dell XP was hooked
up to the audio output of the AOR for sound recordings, as well as DX Atlas
on itâs 2nd screen.  All in all, pretty high tech!

     Each time I travel to Masset, the joy of DXing returns immediately.
Itâs like rolling back the clock to the times of little or no RF noise.
Many times Iâd be enjoying armchair copy, only to realize that the signal
was only S7 or S9.  In the city, thatâs a so-so signal, especially if the
noise floor is at S5!  One day, Iâd like to get internet service (not
possible at the moment).  Wouldnât a remote Perseus SDR be just grand!  So,
onto my loggings.  Please, if you have any comments or corrections to be
made, please do so!



610 CANADA Whitehorse YT  1 kW CKRW, Jan 14 1604 - Quite the difference
from yesterday AM, when 610 yielded a number of stations, and seemed to
change every minute.  This morning, tuned in at the end of the newscast,
and the frequency is owned by Whitehorse!   Excellent reception.  ID'd as,
'96.1, The Rush' and into modern vocals.  Interesting that AM gets short
shrift here.  Wonder whether there are any plans to give up on MW, like the
CBC did in both Whitehorse and Yellowknife.  Great reception for 1 kW.
Minimal cochannel interference.  After I typed this, just briefly at 1610,
CHNL came up to dominate for about 1 minute or less, then faded down again.
(Salmaniw,Masset, BC)



610 CANADA Whitehorse YT 1 kW CKRW, Jan 13 1407 - I have to thank Paul
Walker in Galena AK for reminding me of the one remaining MW station in
Whitehorse.  Heard finally with local and YT weather.  Mentions of 'the
Territory'.  Faded after about a minute back to the usual CHNL Kamloops
(and a Spanish speaker probably KRTA Medford OR).  Listened again at 14:39
and gave a CKRW ID, and into sports.  Good level, all alone virtually at
that time.  'On the Rush' at 14:42, and Ad for Yukon Yamaha, 'toys for all
seasons, on the Alaska Highway'.   One question is where is CKYL Peace
River AB?  I thought they should be a relatively easy catch, but so far
unheard on this trip. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)



639 JAPAN Oita 5 kW NHK 1 JOIP, Jan 10 1718 - Very good reception with
American oldies ('Take me by the hand').  No sign of CNR 1 which I was
expecting to hear.  // to 594.  Not bad for such a low power transmitter.
(Salmaniw,Masset, BC)



680 USA Omak, WA  5kW KOMW, Jan 7 1610 - Oops.  Wrong ID.  This is fact is
KOMW from WA.  I had thought it was KBRW from Barrow AK, which we
occasionally hear in Masset.  .  Good reception, besides splatter from a
very strong Alaskan, KDLG Dillingham, on 670 kHz.  Partyline program, which
is a swap shop.  The give away, besides WA area code, and 'Go Seahawks',
was one fellow who was looking for parts for his big Buick.  I didn't think
there'd be many of those in Barrow!. (Salmaniw,Masset, BC)
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