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Re: [IRCA] not TP 30 May Victoria version

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Nick, I suspect that you (as a long-time DXer out there), as well as Pat Martin and Bruce Portzer, have some recollection of West Coast loggings of Latin Americans back in the '70s / '80s.

There were other DXers active at the time such as Hank Wilkinson, Randy Seaver, Ralph Sanserino, and Randy Tomer.  All or most R.I.P. now I suppose.

Though a lot has changed, examining the logs sections of old DX Monitors could still provide guidance as to seasonal trends and best times of night to listen.  Especially if you can pair up the logs with geomagnetic (A/K) data.  Location of the reporting DXer as well as equipment / antenna used can also be of value.

Different now on the minus side:
* More domestics running more hours, no Monday Morning Silent Periods
* IBOC
* Man-made interference in the home environment often making use of indoor loops and portable radios infeasible
* No more Latin American split frequencies
* Countries that have gone dark, especially in the Caribbean islands

Different on the plus side:
* Spectrum-capturing SDR receivers that can be scheduled for unattended recordings at times when the DXer may be sleeping or at work
* Antenna technology that has advanced on several fronts including FSL's, terminated loops / phased arrays thereof, and Beverages / BOG's
* Information about DX on the internet; groups such as RealDX to help with ID's
* Parallel audio checking via station webstreams and remote receivers

So with plus items somewhat counterbalancing minus ones, maybe Latin American DXing should not be completely ignored in the Pacific time zone.  Something to do at least when auroral activity makes usual TP DX a non-starter.  Admittedly Mexicans and Cubans will be leading the parade but even within those countries there are low-power seldom-reported rarities worth chasing.

I know that the recent Hawaii and Utah desert DXpeditions primarily concentrated on TP DX but I don't see why Latin Americans could not also have been part of the mix.  Richard Wood had many South Americans from Hawaii 40 or so years back.  These included Chile and Peru: West Coast South American countries only heard spottily on the East Coast.

OR / WA / BC receptions of South America are always going to be a rough ride.  Masset / Haida Gwaii might be far enough isolated from the domestic interference pack of wolves to make a reasonable go of it.  Alaska .. same.  Beverage or DKAZ arrays would likely be mandatory.

Mark Connelly, WA1ION
South Yarmouth, MA


-----Original Message-----
From: Nick Hall-Patch <nhp@xxxxxxxx>
To: Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America <irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Mark Connelly <markwa1ion@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Thu, Jun 1, 2017 1:21 am
Subject: Re: [IRCA]  not TP 30 May Victoria version

Thanks for the comments on propagation from the east coast Mark.   I 
am concerned sometimes that "not viable" Latin American DX in the 
west may be a self-fulfilling prophecy...you can't hear them if you 
don't listen for them, after all, and I really don't very much, based 
on past experience.   But, there are other DXers here in the west, 
and they don't seem to hear anything much either (or are not listening either).


best wishes,

Nick



At 16:57 31-05-17, Mark Connelly via IRCA wrote:
>Too bad that Latin America DXing is not viable out west.
>
>Last night was wall-to-wall Spanish here.  My first few minutes 
>listening to a 9 p.m. EDT / 0100 UTC Perseus capture popped up Radio 
>Reforma (Panama) topping 860, RCN Colombia owning 940, local-like 
>PJB 800, huge Venezuela 750 putting Progreso & WSB in the mud, etc.
>
>Mark Connelly, WA1ION
>South Yarmouth, MA
>
><<
>Subject: [IRCA] not TP 30 May Victoria version
>
>Nada, not even a worthwhile carrier.....
> >>
>
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Nick Hall-Patch
Victoria, BC
Canada

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