[IRCA] Last Morning at Grayland: October 10
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[IRCA] Last Morning at Grayland: October 10



Yesterday, I was still having trouble believing that I'd heard KFQD in Anchorage on the barefooted T615, right over the top of 50 kW KXL-750 in nearby Portland, OR. Whilke I was at the local Library and firmly hooked to the internet, I checked to see if the University of South Carolina even HAD a hockey team (I'd heard them skating against somebody on what I was certain was KFQD, hearing local Anchorage commercials, etc.). According to the South Carolina web-site, they DO have an ice hockey team, but their season does not start until 24 October. There was no indication of any earlier hockey games on their schedule. I then checked the KFQD schedule on their website... an all newstalk format and I looked at the U of Alaska, Anchorage for their hockey season. KFQD showed the Beck show on at the time that I thought I'd heard hockey from Anchorage and the University hockey team also had not started their season. After mulling things over, I decided to take the KFQD logging outta my list for both the Unlimited and the Barefoot Classes... I had not recorded it and there was just NO evidence.... I must have imagined it.

So, Thursday evening I made up a thorough hit list for Alaska and went to work at 9:15PM local time. The Wellbrook Array, being able to swap directions, made things fairly easy. I soon had evidence of a number of Alaskans on frequencies shared with stations in the Pacific Northwest. As I clicked through 750, THERE WAS A HOCKEY GAME, coming in quite loudly. I tested it with the array.... Sure enough I could hear KXL to my Southeast and the hockey seemed to be coming from the Northwest! I listened a few minutes and darned if one of the teams wasn't that crazy buncha Southerners, the South Carolina Gamecocks!!! Later, there were plenty of local Anchorage commercials, a name of the Anchorage municipal area where the Pre-Season Tournament was taking place, etc. The boys from South Carolina were well ahead, too.

I'm counting that one for sure.... I got several other Alaskans on the E100 and then hit the sack, looking forward to my last dawn for a while at Grayland.

Since I'd been so fortunate the previous three mornings that I decided not to approach this last morning with any kind of strategy other than a target list for Unlimited Class and a list of my current Barefoot loggings.

The early burst around 1200 netted me a new Mayak Unlimited logging on 549 (Okinawa was nowhere to be found) and an excellent 720 Russian JJ Service logging, first on the E100 and then BAREFOOT on the t615.... KDWN in Las Vegas was just clobbered! After that, things slowed down, so with 45 minutes before dawn enhancement, I had breakfast and packed up all of my non-essentials. (I needed to leave as early as possible to drive four hours and then catch an over-crowded ferry back to my home QTH on weekend tourist-magnet, Orcas Island.

I was back in the hunt at 1345 (LSR around 1420). I soon noticed the North Korean on 657... as noted by others, they musta worked on that thing, 'cause its a LOT louder! Well, it was coming in so well that I decided to try for a new Barefoot Country. Sure enough, the T615 snagged it easily... it was just booming in. So, I started going up the dial with the WinRadio, looking for really loud ones and then jumping up, changing headphones and running around the room with the T615 trying to escape the computer QRM, the refrigerator buzz, etc, and snag another Barefoot catch. I was really getting my exercise, jumping up and down like a demented Jack in the Box!!!

Fairly soon, I just abandoned using a spotting receiver, things were really coming in on the T615. I found the Sweat Spot in the room (equi-distant between the computer and the refrigerator) and just DXed dawn with the T615 by itself... I ended up with nine new Barefoot TP loggings and a VERY wide smile.

I closed out the morning with a strange logging on 944.99, running with the normal CNR1 on 945.00... REALLY weird music, etc... I'll have more to say about that logging after I've analyzed the recording.

So.... here are my Unlimited and Barefoot Class Loggings for October 10.

UNLIMITED CLASS LOGGINGS OCTOBER 10: E100+ Wellbrook Phased Array

549 Radio Mayak //576 Synchros. Probably from Magadan RR Discussion and some popular music 1215 UTC
640 KYUK Bethel, Alaska, NPR News at 1435
670 KDLG Dillingham, Alaska, NPR News at 1434
890 KBBI Homer, Alaska, NPR News at 1436
720 V of Russia JJ Service, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (heard also Barefoot) 1230 UTC

BAREFOOT CLASS LOGGINGS OCTOBER 10: T615 Barefoot
567  JOIK NHK1 Sapporo 1409
648 VoR, Ussuriysk, Russia in RR 1411
657 Pyongyang Bangsong, Kangnam, North Korea 1351
720 V of Russia JJ Service, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk 1230 UTC
738 Taiwan Fisheries, Penghu 1413
747 JOIB, NHK2 Sapporo1415
963 CRI Russian Service Loc. Unknown 1400 UTC
981 CNR1 Synchros 1417
1134 JOQR, Tokyo 1420
1260 JOIR, Sendai 1422
1287 JOHR Sapporo at 1425

Well, I'll try to publish a composite list tomorrow.... It is great to see Walt and Guy with major new Conti Loops... and Guy with decently DXable TP signals at home for the first time in many a moon..... This stuff is just too much fun not tyo have everyone in on it.

Also really nice to see Mark C. discovering the joy of hearing DX on these little marvels...

I swear that hearing almost a dozen TPs in one morning on a T615 Barefoot is the most fun I've ever had with my clothes on.... well, except for Easter Island, anyway.... Hey, I could have been nude there and only the horses would have known!!! Talk aboutr Barefoot Class......


Have a great`weekend everyone!

John B.
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