[IRCA] Craig Barnes' 3.5 inch Baby FSL Rocks at Rockwork

[Gary DeBock <d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

     The TSA-friendly 3.5 inch Baby FSL antenna was designed to provide air travelers with some serious inductive coupling gain during vacations, ocean cruises, business trips or other travel. Designed to provide gain roughly comparable to that of a 4 foot (1.3m) air core box loop, its design, construction and performance is fully described in the 22-page full construction article posted at http://www.mediafire.com/file/pnfm8909c77zjoy/3.5inch-FF-FSL.doc/file

     Recently I had the pleasure of welcoming "Frequent Flyer" Craig Barnes (veteran of multiple Hawaii DXing trips with his 5" Bar FSL) to the notoriously wild Rockwork cliff on the Oregon coast-- home of enhanced DU-DX, enhanced weather and (recently) an enhanced squatter population. Craig's original plan was to use his 5" Bar FSL to track down the DU's at the "Kiwi Cliff," where he and I would dodge the squatters to set up multiple FSL antennas each morning.

     Unfortunately, Craig's 5" Bar FSL had accumulated a little too many air miles during the trips to Hawaii, and was in need of some general maintenance (which could only be done back home in Puyallup). Fortunately I had brought along the very first of a new type of 3.5" Baby FSL, having an internal "rubber locking collar" to securely lock all the ferrite rods in place, even when the antenna is subjected to rough treatment and/ or vertical positioning during travel. Craig eagerly jumped at the chance to be the first to test out this reworked design, which was immediately put to the test in all out DU-DXing with his modified Tecsun PL-380 portable at the Rockwork cliff.

     The Baby FSL proved to be a real thriller when operated by a quick learner like Craig. Within a couple of days he was fully independent in tracking down the DU's, often finding Kiwi and Australian DX that I had missed. The Baby FSL generally tracked down all the same DU-DX as the 15" and 17" FSL models, although not quite at the same signal levels. As with any antenna, the attitude of the DXer was the most important-- and in this aspect Craig really shined. If a DXer really believes that he has a decent chance and goes after any type of rare DX regardless of the odds, then he is going to come away with some astonishing results. With his tiny antenna (small enough to easily fit within hand carry luggage) Craig tracked down 531-More FM, 558-Fiji, 936-Chinese Voice and 1017-Tonga, besides multiple Kiwi and Australian DX. For a DXer from an inland state like Colorado, Craig certainly ended up with results approaching those of a west coast veteran!

     Here are some of Craig's Rockwork Cliff DU-DX recordings, all using his modified PL-380 and 3.5" Baby FSL:


558  Radio Fiji One   Suva, Fiji, 10 kW   Island choral music at fair level at 1252 on 8-6  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/3u4csqfcg07kcghx0hzzwqe79u3oh0fp

567  RNZ National   Wellington, New Zealand, 50 kW   News and music at 1256 on 8-6, with ID at 7 seconds  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/983zbl3cosoo9nhcf397tvkdv24ucnof

603  Radio Waatea   Auckland, New Zealand, 5 kW   Beautiful Maori island music at good level at 1258 on 8-6  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/4tgbod0pyxn7emmi8gu7hgb3ofa604d0

657  Star   Wellington/ Tauranga, New Zealand, 50 kW/ 10 kW   Christian music at very good level at 1237 on 8-6  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/iz73c742lc7rwr50m6rgzayjhi5nd3v7

738  2NR   Grafton, Australia, 50 kW   ABC network conversation at very good level at 1312 on 8-6 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/85zgrh2dwg71xev2tjr1fclvp6y93o6rits  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/85zgrh2dwg71xev2tjr1fclvp6y93o6r

792  Radio Sport   Hamilton, New Zealand, 5 kW   Relay of Fox Sports Network (American accented) at very good level at 1315 on 8-6  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/2c3uv943u3373kg42vhop526au0kzcx9

1017  A3Z   Nuku'alofa, Tonga, 10 kW   Island choral music at good level at 1222 on 8-5  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/968jmqot7q6cadywcfdqktrlutoz8bp7

Craig Barnes and his 3.5" Baby FSL on a 4' PVC base at the Rockwork 6 ocean cliff turnoff on 8-2-18  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/xigucktp07306guw0fh3e4ep49f4qepb


         
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