Re: [IRCA] Hawaii adventure

[Gary DeBock <d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Karl,

In comparison to a relatively quiet Mainland location, Hawaii can indeed seem to be loaded with RFI noise. The number and power of the AM and FM transmitters seem excessive for such small islands, and the large motels have all kinds of RFI pollution. If a DXer comes here expecting to receive tons of DX while sitting inside the average motel room using simple portables, he is likely to be very disappointed.

First of all, you can increase your chances of DXing success by getting away from the most RFI-saturated island-- Oahu (particularly Honolulu, Waikiki Beach, etc). Trying to chase rare DX in that environment is little better than trying to do it in downtown Chicago. The farther away you can get from that RF zoo, the better (Kauai, the Big Island, etc.). I was a Navy DXer in Pearl Harbor from 1976-79, so I am speaking from experience. Next, if your main interest is TP-DX, try to get a location on the western side of an island. Most of these islands have significant hills running through the center of them, tending to cut down reception of signals coming from the other side of the hills. That's why Kona on the Big Island is a preferred location for TP-DXing.

Finally, have a "Plan B" ready if your motel places you in an RFI-saturated room. Be ready to take your DXing gear outside the motel, and set up a listening station down on a quiet beach. If you are in an oceanfront motel, this should be relatively easy-- but if not, hit the road until you can track down a quiet location near salt water. Lightweight, portable gain antennas can be extremely useful in situations like this, but even using a stock portable on a quiet beach is far better than listening to RFI in a motel room..

73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)

> On January 5, 2018 at 1:02 PM Karl Zuk <karlzuk@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
> I just completed my first-ever vacation to Hawaii.
>
> I found both central Maui and the Honolulu area to be just stacked with powerful AM and FM stations. I am guessing that the transmitter power combined with very high transmitter locations are an effort to tackle the very challenging terrain of Hawaiâi. Even so, many repeater-translators are used as hole fillers.
>
> I also became very grateful for my home QTH. I live out in the country where I have the ability to keep my enviroment quiet and have reasonable antennas. My home sits over 500 feet ASL with not remarkable but reasonable ground conductivity.
>
> In Hawaiâi, I was nearly at sea level sitting on lava rock with (what seemed like) a chorus of electronic noise makers that just buried everything. I heard very very little on shortwave. On long wave I heard POA 332 from Big Island, VYI 327 in Maui, HHI 373 on Oahu and powerhouse LLD 353 from Lanai. LLD could inside hotel rooms next to Interstate highways. 2000 watts goes a long way!
>
>
>
> On Jan 4, 2018, at 1:22 AM, Gary DeBock <d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> <<< Scanning the dial - night one Kona - nothing at all like Garyâs Royal Kona next door. This is an environment with S9+ video buzz, dimmers, TVI, RFI top of the dial to the bottom - >>>
>
> Colin,
>
> Depending upon which ocean-facing motel room they place you in, you can either end up with a TP-DXing paradise or a RFI-saturated zoo. To be perfectly honest, last month I ended up with the latter. During the "hot season" in Hawaii (which is the cold season for us here), the less desirable rooms seem to be the ones we end up with. We pay more $$ and end up with more RFI.
>
> Last month I survived by taking the modified CC Skywave, Frequent Flyer FSL, digital recorder and logbook down to the ocean side lounge area on the south border of the Royal Kona Resort property, facing your motel. All this gear can easily be carried without any hassle, and setting up a TP-DXing station at the beach level was easy (they even provided a couple of lounge chairs for the motel guests). In Kona you can chase some of the Pacific island stations (846 and 1098) as soon as it gets dark, and about an hour after that the island stations on 540, 621, 1017 and 1440 start to come in. With luck you can track down 558. After about 0800 UTC you can pretty much expect to get plastered by overpowering Asian stations, though, leaving most of the Pacific island DU's in the noise. 621-Tuvalu rarely survived until its 1006 sign off without getting hammered by North Korea and China, while 1440-Kiribati had a running battle with JOWF until it signed off around the same time. 846 and 1098 usually survived the Asian onslaught fairly well.
>
> During wild DXing trips like this, my advice would be to expect the unexpected!
>
> Gary
>
> > On January 3, 2018 at 11:22 PM "R. Colin Newell" <coffeecanuck@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Scanning the dial - night one Kona - nothing at all like Garyâs Royal Kona next door. This is an environment with S9+ video buzz, dimmers, TVI, RFI top of the dial to the bottom -
> >
> > Many thanks to Gary for sponsoring me with the TSA friendly loop -
> > Brought a PL380 and a Kaito KA1103...
> >
> > As predicted, every year is a slightly different pastiche of noises.
> >
> > By now there should be a handful of pacific stations audible and maybe some Japanese stations. Not so. Just an orchestra of gadgets blaring away.
> >
> > Tuning in at dawn will reveal if thereâs any potential here. Currently just the strongest domestics rising above the RFI onslaught.
> >
> > Colin Newell - Kona - Hawaii.
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