[IRCA] West Coast (Puyallup, WA) Ultralight Longwave TA's for 10-21

[d1028gary@xxxxxxx]

Hello All,

Thanks to a tip from Steve around 0206 UTC last night, there was a
chance to set up a 12" Longwave FSL antenna in my back yard and be the
first west coast Ultralight radio user to chase Longwave TA's.

Threshold audio on 5 different Longwave frequencies was received, but
the signals were nothing to shout about-- almost all of the recordings
require headphones for detection. Since my FSL antenna was set up in
the back yard to escape household RF noise, I was only able to match
web site audio with one of the stations to confirm identity--
162-France International. This was also the most persistent of the
Longwave TA's received, sticking around until 0430 (but dropping in and
out of threshold level audio). 171 kHz (presumably Morocco) also had
some weak audio for about an hour, but unfortunately not long enough
for me to confirm its identity through web site audio (no African TA
has ever been received on an Ultralight radio by a west coast DXer, on
either LW or MW). 180 kHz seemed to have threshold audio to me, but
Steve (a Longwave expert) says that any such audio is probably Radio
Rossii, or something else that isn't a TA. 189 kHz (presumed Iceland)
and 198 kHz (presumed BBC) also rose above the noise level with
ghostlike audio at times.

It was a blast to have TA audio for the first time on Longwave here,
even though the signals were pretty mediocre. Considering the
lackluster Medium Wave season so far, this was a pretty big surprise,
and I'll be happy with what signals showed up! It would be great if
other of the West Coast gang could share the in the fun, but these
Longwave TA signals are so weak that a west coast DXer almost needs a
Longwave-optimized antenna to have much of a chance at receiving them.
Like I was telling Walt, I doubt that many DXers will want to duplicate
my 12" Longwave FSL project-- it really is the ultimate antenna to fail
airport security checks (84 Russian surplus 200mm x 10mm ferrite rods,
weighing 26 pounds, $500+ and looking extremely subversive).

The audio in the following MP3's is nothing to shout about (fair
warning!).

162-France Inter MP3 (headphones recommended)
http://www.mediafire.com/?r6bhu5ajaoipuwf
171-UnID-TA MP3 (headphones recommended)
http://www.mediafire.com/?ng8brkrb4wv3rmg
180-UnID MP3 (headphones recommended)
http://www.mediafire.com/?yieh00ogi3tqu00
189-UnID-TA MP3 (headphones recommended)
http://www.mediafire.com/?jbidm0ef66lcg11
198-UnID- TA MP3 (headphones recommended)
http://www.mediafire.com/?rk9y85si980jyx0

73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock
"G" Longwave loopstick Tecsun PL-380 + 12" Ferrite Sleeve Loop
antenna (photo athttp://www.mediafire.com/i/?0f1qq4awtt8mlp5 )









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