[IRCA] Long Beach, Washington DXpedition - Day 1

[D1028Gary@xxxxxxx]

Hi Kevin,
 
Glad you are having fun with the E100 Slider in Long Beach. During many  
trips to Grayland last summer, it was the only stand-alone Ultralight that could  
routinely log DU's-- even when conditions were mediocre. The combination  of 
major sensitivity and selectivity improvements is tough to  beat. 
 
Have fun!
 
73, Gary
 
 
 
In a message dated 3/31/2009 8:42:33 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
satya@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

Hi  all:

Greetings from Long Beach, WA!  It's about 60 miles south of  fabled
Grayland, WA, and a whole lot further away from my strong locals  in
Seattle.  I'm with the girls, staying in a stand-alone A-frame  cottage
with no RF to speak of, and an extra bedroom full of all my  stuff.  I'm
about 800 feet or so from the beach.

I am using an  Icom R75 and a dual Crate Loop plugged directly into a
Quantum Loop base  unit as the main “spotter” receiver. (I also have a few
Ultralights and  larger portables.)  While no Beverage or other outdoor
antenna is  being used, this morning didn't really require one! I got up at
0330 local  (1030 UTC), and delightfully found hets on virtually every 9
khz channel,  and at least 25-30 had intelligible audio.

The powerhouses were in on  the smallest of Ultralights, with armchair copy
on 594, 774, 828 and 972  khz.  693 was battling 690-Vancouver and 747 was
battling KXL-750, but  both came in well on the little guys with help from
a passive Crate  Loop.  774 was in well all morning and lasted until well
after local  sunrise, embarrassing 770-Seattle at times.

The highlight was at 1356  UTC when both 774 and 891 came in from
Australia.  I got 891 barely  mumbling on the WRX-911 barefoot, but with
the Crate Loop the horse racing  report came in well, as well as a TOH ID. 
774-ABC was only strong enough  to hear on the R75/Dual Crate combo.

I was struck at how un-dominant  the Portland stations are here.  Long
Beach must be in something of a  Portland shadow, while Seattle stations
were much more meddlesome.   Also, 690 out of Vancouver was amazingly
strong, whereas near Seattle where  I live (much closer to Vancouver), it
often struggles to be heard, so I  must live in a Vancouver shadow!

Some equipment notes:
- The e100  Slider with the Murata filter did very well, picking up much
of what the  spotter receiver was hearing.  However, with the Crate Loop
augment,  the Slider was hearing a lot more.  In many instances, mumbling
on the  Slider was rendered clear with the Crate Loop.  So, if I had to
take  only one radio and loop to the beach, that combo would be it.
- The Sony  M37V, with its replacement filter, did OK but often needed
help.  The  Crate Loop really helps out with the selectivity if the
correct orientation  (facing/adjacent) is chosen.
- The Kaito WRX-911 fared quite well, although  the lack of digital
readout can be a drag at times when chasing TPs.
I  also have a Sony 7600GR, SRF-39 and Tecsun PL-450 along, but there
wasn't  enough time to try all of them.

So, for my first proper DXpedition,  quite a morning.  Time for a nap and
some sightseeing with the girls,  then up again early tomorrow for Round 2.

Kevin S
Long Beach,  WA
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