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[IRCA] Grayland: The Second Morning.
I started the second of three mornings here at the Grayland DX site
at 1130 UTC, 90 minutes before dawn. I'm glad that I didn't start any
earlier since the poor conditions of yesterday continued. The major
difference in the two sessions was "seasonal." Yesterday felt like
very late summer, with the Japanese being evident all morning, mixing
with Aussie powerhouses until the usual all-DU post-dawn
period. This morning early was all DU, followed by about 20 minutes
of Japan, starting at 1230; by 1250, the Aussie post-dawn show kicked
in a few minutes early. This is a very typical pattern for this time
of the season.... noted for many years.
Along with a selection of powerhouses from both areas, this AM
yielded two unverified stations for me:
531-2PM Kempsey, running the 2SM network. I'd been watching 531 all
morning since there are now at least three stations that ,make it
across the Big Pond and I've only logged one of them. There was only
a weak het on 531 until the post-dawn session and then, pow! There
was the SM Network, mixing with one of the others. Thanks to Gary
DeBock for spotting the flurry on 531 this season. New as an
Ultralight logging.
549-2CR Orange - During that same post-dawn period, I stumbled on 2CR
Orange, running the ABC Local network, parallel to 738, 2NR
Grafton. Decent level for about 5 minutes.
I had hoped, again, to test the latest DSL Ultralight, the Kchibo
D96L for TP-like selectivity. Unfortunately, when I opened the case
to check my mod-wiring, the receiver once again froze up, demanding
to have the reset button pushed before it would operate at all.
Through acts or raging stupidity, I managed to bugger up the tiny
hole provided to access the reset button. Now, the only way to get
things going is to take the circuit board out and re-drill the reset
hole. I can't seem to find a way to get the circuit board out
without destroying it (Yes! I'm tempted!) so I'm going to have to
wait for guru Gary to find a qway to open this thing safely. Once he
shares that, I'll repair the case damage, reset the receiver, etc.
I've said publicly that the D96L is one of the few receivers that
I've ever met that I don't like (mechanical design, aesthetics,
battery) and I think that the radio heard me dissing it. It is
seeking retribution. Sorry that I'm unable to answer the 64 dollar
question. Maybe Gary can make it down here again, soon.... I'll not
be back until October. Long before then, we ought to be able to test
the D96L from our home QTHs on the Japanese Big Guns.... COME ON FALL
SEASON!!!
Overall, though, the conditions continued to be poor.... despite what
the loggings show, signal levels were very weak and stations were not
in any audio for very long. I tried twice for a Barefoot Ultralight
logging of the strongest TP signals on the band.. 774 3LO Melbourne
and 792 4RN Brisbane, using a Sony T615 and a Grundig G-8. I think
that I BARELY heard audio on 792 once with the G8, but it was
imaginary level and I'm darn sure not going to claim that "First."
Its going to take quite a decent DU morning to grab the brass ring...
it may be too late this year, again!
Well, I've one more morning, then its reel in the wire and back to
the real world.
John Bryant
Grayland, WA, USA
Winradio 313E, Eton E100 Slider
Wellbrook Phased Array + 600 foot Westerly BOG
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