[IRCA] April 2018 Cook Island Ultralight DXpedition Article

[Gary DeBock <d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

     About 11 years ago John Bryant conducted an all-out DXpedition on Easter Island in the Pacific, deploying multiple 500 foot beverages and chasing DX with total freedom, whenever he wished. He received transoceanic DX from around the world, demonstrating the awesome potential of ocean-enhanced propagation on an isolated Pacific island.

Of course there was no way to duplicate John's outstanding achievement with ultra-compact Ultralight gear that was all designed to fit inside a single hand-carry suitcase, but I was convinced that the new TSA-friendly FSL antenna could be a real thriller if it was deployed at a similar location-- Aitutaki island in the Cook group, about 2,600 miles due south of Hawaii.

     I would be traveling to the gorgeous South Pacific island with my wife, who of course expected this anniversary trip to be worthy of the awesome scenery. As such DXing time would need to be somewhat limited, although I knew that sunrise sessions would be possible every day, along with evening sessions about 2 hours after sunset. So it was with some anticipation that we both boarded the 9.5 hour flight on Air New Zealand from LAX to Rarotonga.

     So how much transoceanic DX can someone expect with a hot-rodded pocket radio and a 5 inch (13cm) diameter FSL antenna, chasing exotic MW stations as a secondary priority during a busy South Pacific vacation? As it turns out, the results were the hobby thrill of a lifetime! India, Bangladesh, Mongolia and Cambodia were all received on MW around sunrise, and despite the inability to chase DX around sunset, stations like 1000-Radio Record (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and multiple North Americans showed up two hours later. Exotic Pacific island stations like 630-RCI and 990-Fiji Gold pounded in, and over 100 Kiwi DX recordings were made. Full details are contained in the 20 page DXpedition article posted at the link below, containing multiple photos, narrative and 145 transoceanic DX MP3 links for stations in Asia, the Pacific islands, North and South America, Hawaii, NZ and Australia  http://www.mediafire.com/file/rcsss62udssl9js/April_2018_Cook_Island_Ultralight_DXpedition-final.docx/file


73 and Good DX,

Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)

 

      
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