[IRCA] Grayland DXpedition Report, May 7-9, 2012

[Guy Atkins <dx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The month of May is not considered prime time for either DU or Asian medium
wave from the Washington coast, so my "DXpectations" weren't very high for
this trip. Besides the sub-par season, we're a few years removed from the
periods of excellent DX heard during the low point in the last solar cycle.
I had planned to be content with antenna experiments, figuring I may not
hear any overseas DX worth logging.

Surprise! The first night of the 7th (UTC) was indeed a bust, but the 8th
and 9th progressively improved--all the way through local sunrise and my
last recorded Perseus files just past 1300 UTC.

All loggings below were made with a single delta Flag antenna, oriented at
240 degrees. The high, dense brush at Grayland in the southwest direction
from my camp site prevented me from creating a phased array as I had
planned, so I erected the 2nd loop at 310 degrees to hopefully be optimum
for any Asian TPs. The two loops were identical except for their bearing
(60 ft. base wire at 3 feet above ground, 22 ft. apex height, 1150 ohms
termination resistor (modeled in EZNEC... thanks KAZ), and using the
excellent "LN" (low noise) version of Wellbrook's FLG100 modules.

This was the first time I've used single delta loops rather than arrays of
loops, and the directionality was better than I expected. Check out *this
audio clip* <http://www.mediafire.com/?vwasnolghm7m550> which compares
approx. 10 seconds each of daytime reception on 820 kHz, as I switch
between antennas. One signal is KGNW Seattle and the other is KORC
Waldport, OR.

DX on the 8th was modest, but it was all Asian until sunrise approached
when reception shifted mostly to Australia & New Zealand. Even during the
hours well before sunrise, the Japanese, Chinese, and South Korean stations
came in best on the southwest delta Flag... evidently a case of skewed path
reception, perhaps due to the disturbed geo-conditions.

The last night of the DXpedition on the 9th was almost entirely mid-band DU
reception and most of the signals were logged during the last 1-1/2 hours
before sunrise. I did note a few very weak Japanese signals and they were
best on the northwest loop, as typical. The ability to "rewind" the entire
medium wave band with Perseus WAV files was again the #1 tool for capturing
as much DX as possible, especially when propagation is poor and interesting
foreign signals are hard to find.

A few photos with captions from the DXpedition can be seen in this folder: *
https://picasaweb.google.com/114798392023680237679/GraylandDXpeditionMay792012
*<https://picasaweb.google.com/114798392023680237679/GraylandDXpeditionMay792012>

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531 JAPAN JOQG Morioka, May 08 1301 - Japanese talk by man, fading up on
531 from some local, buzzy QRM. Poor to fair level while it lasted;
presumed.

567 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 08 1259 - I noted a very weak English language
signal 'in the grass' just prior to 1300; it sounded Aussie or Kiwi. It
resurfaced again at 1302. The RNZ National station in Wellington is most
likely, based on its 50 kW power.

612 AUSTRALIA 4QR Brisbane, May 9 1200 - ABC trumpet fanfare at 1200, and
into news read by male announcer. Fair.

630 ALASKA KJNO Juneau, May 09 0859 - ID by man 'Your capitol information
station, 630 KJNO, Juneau, Alaska'. Good signal at top of the hour.

684 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 09 1230 - Soft pop or MOR music playing here, at
a low level. Never did get any clues as to identification before fade out.

693 JAPAN JOAB Tokyo, May 09 1230 - Caught the beginning or end of an
English lesson program, with lively talk by male and female announcers in
Japanese and English. Noted to be parallel to 747 and 774 kHz. Poor to
fair.

702 AUSTRALIA 2NR Grafton, May 09 1002 - 2NR with Aussie male and female
announcers with news items, in slop from 700. Poor. Heard at much better
level at 1300 with trumpet fanfare, 'ABC News' network ID, and into news
items by man and woman announcers.

720 AUSTRALIA Unid ABC Station, May 09 1230 - I noted a female announcer in
Aussie accented English, which was parallel to the unid ABC outlet on 756.
Perhaps 2ML in Murwillumbah on 720? It's only 400 watts but the New South
Wales location makes sense for propagation to WCNA.

738 AUSTRALIA 2NR ABC North Coast - Grafton, May 08 1300 - ABC trumpet
fanfare at 1300, and into news by man and woman announcers. Fair on peaks.
Brief evidence of 1ere Tahiti in French.

738 TAHITI Polynesie 1ere, May 8 0602 - First definite TP of the evening,
with French talk by man. Modest signal level; noted with an exact match
with MWoffsets frequency.

747 JAPAN JOIB Sapporo, May 09 1230 - Female and male announcers with
English language lesson, parallel 693 and 774. Poor to fair.

756 AUSTRALIA Unid ABC Station, May 09 1230 - Unknown ABC station, possibly
3RN Wangaratta or 2TR Taree. Female announcer in English on ABC network
station, parallel to another unid ABC network station on 720 kHz (2RL ABC
North Coast?).

774 AUSTRALIA 3LO Melbourne, May 8 1314 - Man and woman announcer, with
talk and interview with field reporter. Noted parallel 2485 VL8K Katherine.
Poor to fair, and gone for good at 1319. Also heard earlier at 0830 and
0930, and then 5/9 at around 1030 with a fair signal. ABC trumpet fanfare
and English news noted at 1200. Also heard 5/9 at 1300 with ABC news,
parallel to 738 kHz.

774 JAPAN JOUB Akita, May 8 1131 - Fair level of male and female Japanese
talk, mixing with 3LO Melbourne. Also noted with good signal on 5/9 at 1130
and 1230.

792 AUSTRALIA 4RN Brisbane, May 09 1300 - Nice signal past local dawn at
Grayland, with man and woman reading the ABC news, parallel to 774 3LO
Melbourne. Frequency matched up nicely with MW Offsets, too.

819 AUSTRALIA 2GL Glen Innes, May 09 1230 - Female announcer with interview
or talk program, parallel to 720 and 756 kHz. Poor to fair signal.

828 JAPAN JOBB Osaka, May 9 1130 - Low level signal of man and woman in
Japanese. Language finally became recognizable during a brief peak to good
signal level. Also noted 5/9 at 1203 and 1230.

855 AUSTRALIA 4QB - ABC Wide Bay, Dundowran, May 09 1230 - Two male
announcers with Australian accent, discussing urbanization or land use
issues. Fair level on peaks. Measured frequency matches MW Offsets List for
4QB. Last heard by me in 2004 and ID'd with assistance from Tony Magon,
Sydney.

891 AUSTRALIA 4TAB Townesville, May 09 1200 - Tentatively 4TAB with
low-level talk by male announcers or sportscasters across the top of the
hour. No ABC trumpet fanfare at top of the hour, so not 4AN Adelaide (4LO
Melbourne was heard with the ABC trumpets at the same 1200 hour). Poor
signal. Much better at 1300 with horse racing announcers, but still behind
a stronger 4AN with interview of a book author.

909 NEW ZEALAND 2XD Southern Star, Napier, May 09 1300 - Christian
contemporary music in English at a fair to good level. Then into string of
ads at 1300, including DVD/CD offer for 'United Live in Miami' with a 25%
discount from Hillsongmusic.com using the code 'STAR'. Also an ad for a
restaurant in Eden Terrace ('Euro Cafe'), an outdoors canopy company
('Quick N Easy Canopies; They've got you covered') and a computer program
called The Customizer. At 1302, ID was given as 'The music of home...
Southern Star', and then into more Christian contemporary music. Good
signal. This was the most enjoyable catch of the DXpedition due to the
reasonable strength of the signal and the wealth of local ads and details.
I only wish I had erected an array antenna to help squash the adjacent
channel QRM from 910 kHz. *Click here for a three minute audio clip of the
2XD Southern Star reception. <http://www.mediafire.com/?6925lf6x82j8oq2> *The
Southern Star ID is at 2:15 in the recording.

918 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 09 1229 - Weak signal of English talk by male
and female announcers. Possibly one of the two RNZ National outlets on 918.

927 AUSTRALIA 4CC Gladstone, May 09 1230 - Briefly in at fair level with
Dire Straits' 'Sultans of Swing'. Probably 4CC, due to the Oldies format.
Heard at a better level with R&B oldies around 1305.

936 AUSTRALIA Unid, May 09 1306 - Low level signal of Aussie accented
English with what sounded like a discussion of finances and road
construction projects. Perhaps 4PB Brisbane or 7ZR Hobart? Some Chinese
language co-channel QRM at times from presumed Anhui RGD.

954 AUSTRALIA Unid, May 09 1300 - Another low level signal in English, with
an accent more likely to be Australian than New Zealand. Too weak to get
any identifying clues. I think the most likely outlet here is 2UE
'Talkradio 954' in Sydney.

954 JAPAN JOKR Tokyo, May 09 1229 - Talk by male and female announcer in
Japanese; noted a few mentions of Tokyo. Brief music and possible ID at
1230, but too noisy to say for sure. Weak signal.

963 NEW ZEALAND 3YC Southern Star - Christchurch, May 09 1300 - Christian
contemporary music, followed by the same string of advertisements that I
heard on parallel 909 2XD. Fair to good signal, but it faded out sooner
than 2XD.

1008 AUSTRALIA 4TAB Brisbane, May 09 1203 - Two male announcers with horse
race progress and commentary. 4TAB would occasionally fade quickly and be
abruptly replaced by a news station, presumed Newstalk ZB, Tauranga New
Zealand with stock numbers or financial results. Fair.

1008 NEW ZEALAND Newstalk ZB, Tauranga, May 09 1203 - Presumed with
financial news or stocks information by male announcer, trading places with
horse racing from 4TAB Brisbane. Fair level.

1035 NEW ZEALAND 2ZB Wellington, May 09 1230 - Man and woman announcers in
Kiwi accented English, and multiple 'Newstalk ZB' IDs, plus 'newstalk.co.nz'
URL given; advertisement of some sort ('Order yours today!'). Fair signal.

1035 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 8 1101 - Woman announcer in (possibly) Kiwi
accent English, with news items. Signal faded up out of the noise, barely,
at 1101. Frequency offset matches Newstalk 2ZB, Wellington.

1098 AUSTRALIA 4LG Longreach, May 09 1300 - Tentatively this oldies station
with Queen's 'We Will Rock You', followed by a brief announcement (ID?) by
a man in English. Signal was mixing with ABC news in the background (low
power station 2RN is the only candidate).

1098 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 8 1304 - Talk show program in Aussie or Kiwi
accented English; male & female announcers with lively talk. Poor signal.
Possibly 3ZB Newstalk ZB, Christchurch.

1107 NEW ZEALAND Radio Live - Tauranga, May 09 1301 - This is a
tantalizing, tentative one, with obviously English speaking male and female
newscasters with a likely Kiwi accent. However, the low level signal
throughout precludes any identification clues. At exactly 1300 an announcer
says 'Here's a brief news talk.' The only Australian on the frequency is an
ethnic station (2EA Sydney) which does not broadcast in English, per their
web site. Radio Live however is a newstalk station on the frequency. I was
doubtful it could be them at 1 Kw, but dawn enhancement propagation this
morning certainly favored New Zealand and Australia.

1116 AUSTRALIA 4BC Brisbane, May 09 1300 - Nice signal with '4BC' and '4BC
News' IDs at 1300, and into Australian news by woman announcer. Good signal
but struggling against daytime power KPNW, Eugene Oregon on 1120.

1116 AUSTRALIA 4BC Brisbane, May 8 1255 - Two announcers in Aussie accented
English. Rapid fades of signal from absent to strong. Also noted 5/9 at
1100 with newscast read by man and woman; advertisement for car rental
firm. Later noted with '...on 4BC' ID at 1305:30. Fair.

1125 NEW ZEALAND Radio Sport - Napier, May 09 1302 - Kiwi sportscaster with
play-by-play of what sounded like a football (soccer) match. Fair but in
splatter.

1161 AUSTRALIA 4FC Radio TAB  - Maryborough, May 09 1302 - Clear mentions
of 'horse racing' at 1259, followed by man and woman announcers with news
(presumably sports news). Offset frequency matches 4FC. Poor to fair in
1160 splatter.

1188 JAPAN JOKP Kitami, May 09 1204 - Poor to fair level of male announcer
in Japanese. From 1200-1203 I couldn't figure out the language, but by 1204
the signal was strong enough to hear it was definitely Japanese.

1197 JAPAN Unid, May 09 1205 - Unidentified Japanese station here, at an
extremely low level. Best guess is JOBF Kumamoto.

1251 CHINA Unid, May 09 1206 - Unidentified Chinese station here with
scraps of Chinese language by female 1200-1205. Poor to fair.

1260 CHINA Yanbian RGD, May 8 1130 - Male announcer with talk in Korean.
Signal was well off-channel at a measured 1205.959 kHz. Surprisingly
strong... the loudest TP of the evening.

1278 NEW ZEALAND Newstalk ZB - Napier, May 09 1303 - Newstalk ZB ID, and
weather for various regions of New Zealand given by male announcer,
followed by brief promo and talk with another announcer. Fair on peaks.

1287 AUSTRALIA 2TM Tamworth, May 09 1229 - Lively song or advertisement
with music, followed by clear mention of 'Tamworth' by woman announcer.
Seemed to be giving locations of a business before the signal faded into
the noise.

1287 JAPAN JOHR Hokkaido, May 8 1250 - Male announcer in Japanese,
apparently in the studio with a woman announcer giving a remote report.
Signal varied from really weak to good, multiple times over 3 to 4
minutes... evidently disturbed propagation conditions. Like all other TPs
this morning, JOHR was coming in best on the SW (240 deg.) Flag antenna.
Also noted earlier at 1030 during Perseus file check (also SW Flag
antenna).

1314 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 09 1300 - A very faint signal of English
language announcers heard on 1314; the rapid pace sounded like the horse
racing coverage audible from other stations like 4TAB... so possibly 2KY
Racing Radio, Wollongong, Australia.

1332 JAPAN JOSF Nagoya, May 8 1247 - Presumed, with a weak signal of
Japanese talk by man and woman.

1386 JAPAN Unid NHK2, May 8 1130 - Possibly Morioka here, with good signal
of Japanese talk by male announcer. Three other 10 kw JJ outlets listed,
but Morioka JOQC is the most northerly.

1440 JAPAN JOWF Sapporo, May 8 1240 - Strong signal of Japanese talk with
fast paced male announcers; apparently a sporting event. Fade to
inaudibility at 1244, but back up with a great signal at 1246.

1476 CHINA Unid, May 8 1130 - Multiple, layered programming noted, with
echoes. Top level was a male announcer in Chinese, and at a lower level was
dramatic, Chinese orchestral music. Yet another faint signal in possible
Chinese was heard on the frequency.

1503 JAPAN JOUK Akita, May 8 1238 - Good level of Japanese talk by male
announcer.

1548 AUSTRALIA 4QD Emerald, May 09 1202 - ABC news in English, read by man
and woman announcers. Fair level in 1550 splatter. Also heard at 1300 with
news about Vanuatu.

1566 SOUTH KOREA HLAZ Cheju, May 09 1230 - Noted the switch over from
Chinese language, with mentions of HLAZ by male in Chinese to 1229:30 dead
air, then male announcer in Japanese promptly at 1230:00 with mention of
HLAZ. This was followed by the 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' signature
tune. Good signal.

1566 SOUTH KOREA HLAZ Cheju, May 8 1106 - Good signal of hymn or religious
music sung in Chinese.

1575 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 8 1100 - Fade-up of faint music, right at
1100:30. It was clearly U.S. pop music in English, but signal was very
weak. Perhaps one of the AFN Japan stations.

Guy Atkins
Puyallup, WA USA
DXing at Grayland Beach State Park, WA
Perseus SDR & AR7030 Plus (modded)
Wellbrook FLG100LN Delta Flags at 240 & 310 degrees
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