Re: [IRCA] not TP 30 May Victoria version

[d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Craig, 

I think that the FSL-based Hawaii DXpeditions in April were a pretty good learning experience for both of us. We were both swamped with lots of transoceanic DX that we had never heard before, and had to adjust to the new reality in a hurry. 

Your Chinese TP-DX in Princeville, Kauai was exceptional, with strong signals even on open-air iPhone videos. In the same way I was swamped with Pacific Island DX around local midnight in Kona, with S9 signals from exotic stations like 621-Tuvalu,1440-Kiribati and others. 

Like you I'm very eager to go back to Hawaii for a second round, based on the experience of the April DXpeditions. Ruth and I have already booked another vacation in Kona for 5 days in December, during which all sorts of exotic Pacific Islasnd stations like 630-Cook Islands, 1035-SIBC (Solomon Islands) and 1125-Vanuatu will be prime targets. We plan to stay in another oceanfront room in the same Royal Kona Resort, which provided awesome DU results in April. The Japanese Ultralight radio enthusiasts have also been keenly interested in the "Frequent Flyer" FSL project, with our July 2016 Rockwork 4 DXpedition partner Satoshi Miyauchi receiving a 5" model (identical to ours) recently. With his job in the travel industry he makes frequent trips to places like Indonesia and the Philippines, and is eager to enjoy some high-gain MW-DXing right inside his motel rooms. 

Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA) 


<<< Mark, 

Thanks to your referencing the DXploits of Richard Wood in Hawaii, I was aware of the potential for Latin American DX from Hawaii. The best opportunity for that for me, without setting up a one night DXpedition, was probably on the north coast of Kauai. The location I was staying at on the big island was on the west slope of Hualalai at approx. 1500 ft. and several miles inland from the coast. I did have a clear visual path to the Pacific. I will be working on reviewing my logging and recordings from that location soon. As I suspected, that location favored DU propagation, which it did. At that location, I had an unidentified source of locally generated QRM in the direction of northern Asian TP, so even JOUB was not heard there. I also suspected a potential DX rich environment there. In recent times, I have only experienced that on a couple of Pacific NW coastal DXpeditions, the most recent of which at Kalaloch, WA and at Rockaway Beach, OR. Years ago, a couple of local DXers and I ran beverages just east of Denver in the Colorado plains. Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bonaire and I think El Salvador were heard. As a Spanish speaker who started DXing when I was growing up in DC, I have long been interested in Latin American DX. As that was my first trip to the islands, there was much I wanted to see and do, as well as get some quality DXing in. I chose to focus on TP and DU DX this trip. The locations I stayed at favored that approach, even more than I anticipated. From my standpoint, you know you're in a DX rich environment when in Kauai Voice of the Strait on 783 is one of the propagation bellweathers I used. On the big island, it was 4QD on 1548. For a guy living in Colorado, that was DX hog heaven! I will certainly work on a more strategic approach for my next visit to the islands. For my part, I accomplished what I set out to do. As always you're insights and contributions to the hobby are much appreciated. A huge Thank You also goes to Gary DeBock. Without his FSL and help with Asian linguistics, the results would have been greatly diminished, I'm sure. 

73 and Best of DX 

PS. I am now wistfully pining for island DX. Not so much as a single TP carrier can be had in Colorado these days! 

Signed, 

Craig Barnes 
Wheat Ridge, CO >>> 

Sent from my iPhone 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Donald Barnes via IRCA" <irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
To: "Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America" <irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
Cc: "Donald Barnes" <bevdxer@xxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Thursday, June 1, 2017 1:42:08 PM 
Subject: Re: [IRCA] not TP 30 May Victoria version 

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