Re: [IRCA] Kona dial tune 0630 U

[Gary DeBock <d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Chris,

<<< I'm curious, looking at the map, if anyone has tried to listen from the westernmost island of Hawai'i instead of from Kona. Is Kona a sort of sweet spot where someone once saw that the signals were superior or is there another reason for this specific location, historically speaking? It seems that things on the outlying islands could be quieter than on the Big Island. I mean, it's a tad harder to access and fewer services, but for hardcore DXers (of which anyone heading to Kona or the Pacific coast typically are), it would be do-able. >>>

Kona on the Big Island has quite a few advantages going for it, if a DXer is mainly interested in TP-DX.

It is relatively distant from the RF zoo of Oahu (Honolulu), where far too many stations run far too much power to cover such a small area. It is west of the Big Island's significant mountain range, which tends to attenuate signals from the east (like those from the North American mainland). And finally it has lots of relatively cheap motel rooms, in comparison to tourist traps like Oahu (Waikiki Beach, etc.), Maui, etc..

Kauai (the westernmost main island) is also a popular DXing spot, especially around Princeville on the north coast. Craig Barnes took one of the 5" Frequent Flyer FSL's there last April, and received lots of Asian DX at strong levels. But the fact that Kauai is the westernmost island probably doesn't give it any real TP-DXing advantage over the other islands. The main factors seem to be DXing as far away from Honolulu as possible, and as close as possible to salt water on the side of the island facing your preferred area of DX (west side for TP-DX, and the east side for North American DX).

Gary


> On January 7, 2018 at 6:58 PM Chris Kadlec <beaglebass@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> 
>     I'm curious, looking at the map, if anyone has tried to listen from the westernmost island of Hawai'i instead of from Kona. Is Kona a sort of sweet spot where someone once saw that the signals were superior or is there another reason for this specific location, historically speaking? It seems that things on the outlying islands could be quieter than on the Big Island. I mean, it's a tad harder to access and fewer services, but for hardcore DXers (of which anyone heading to Kona or the Pacific coast typically are), it would be do-able. Heck, for FM DXing, I used to climb a mountain just to get to my spot and would regularly climb 2,000+ foot mountains for my bandscans. You do what you have to do to get the signals you want.
> 
>      
> 
>     -Chris Kadlec
> 
>      
> 
>      
> 
>      
> 
>      
> 
>     Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2018 10:13:41 -0800 (PST)
> 
>     From: Gary DeBock <d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> 
>     Subject: Re: [IRCA] Kona dial tune 0630 U
> 
>      
> 
>     Thanks for the report from Kona, Colin.
> 
>      
> 
>     <<< The last few nights I?ve looked, there has been no evidence of 846 KHz even being on the air. >>>
> 
>      
> 
>     If 846-Christmas Island isn't pounding in after local sunset in Kona then its transmitter is almost certainly QRT. It was on the blink last month, so certainly not very surprising.
> 
>      
> 
>     <<< No sign of 1098, 1017 or 846 KHz. >>>
> 
>      
> 
>     1098 should also be around after local sunset, but 540, 1017 and 1440 typically need about an hour after Kona sunset to show up.
> 
>      
> 
>     <<< Found a couple of sweet spots along the sea wall between the Hale Kona Kai and the Royal Kona where Gary DeBock would have DXed only a few weeks ago... where the noise level, while still omnipresent, is not drowning out everything in its path. >>>
> 
>      
> 
>     You are welcome to use my old beachfront DXing hot spot by the fake Hawaiian boat on the Royal Kona property, Colin. Nobody ever questioned me the whole time I was DXing there!
> 
>      
> 
>     Gary
> 
>      
> 
 
_______________________________________________
IRCA mailing list
IRCA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca

Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers

For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org

To Post a message: irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx