[IRCA] July 21-27 Rockwork 4 Ocean Cliff DU-DXpedition Report

[d1028gary@xxxxxxx]

Hello All,
 
For those who are curious about the hobby's new extreme sport of "Cliffhanger DXing," a full report of the recent 7-day trip to one of Oregon's most awesome ocean side cliffs ("Rockwork 4") has been posted to http://www.mediafire.com/view/2eypa6ga0buq3c2/July_2013_Oregon_Cliff.doc     and has also been uploaded to the Ultralight-dx file site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ultralight-dx/files/7.%20Member%20Loggings%20and%20DXpeditions/                               .
 
Detailing the thrills (and chills) of setting up a transoceanic listening station 3 feet away from a sheer cliff plunging 400 feet (122m) directly down to the Pacific (with no AC power, running water, street lighting or weather protection), the 11-page report documents the freakish ocean cliff propagation available at the extremely narrow site, as well as the extreme sacrifice in DXing comfort necessary to "tap into" it. A new 12-inch Standard (tunable) FSL antenna was used with a modified (7.5" loopstick) Tecsun PL-380 Ultralight radio to receive (and record MP3's from) 39 South Pacific AM stations in New Zealand, Australia, Tahiti and Tonga, with several of the signals received at freakish levels pegging the PL-380's S/N readout (531-PI, 567-RNZ, 594-3WV, 738-Tahiti, 774-3LO and 783-Access Radio). Also included is a description of the new 12" Standard and Broadband FSL antennas, the new 7.5" loopstick PL-380 design and various photos taken at the awesome view site.
 
This bizarre ocean cliff trip was conducted concurrently with a major 8-man DXpedition to Yachats, Oregon (98 miles to the south) by noted hobbyists using state-of-the-art Perseus SDR receivers, a full-sized DKAZ (double KAZ) directional loop antenna (near sea level), a Flag antenna at the top of Cape Perpetua (805' high) and my own 12" Broadband FSL (used by hometown buddy Guy Atkins at the 200' high Highway 101 turn off on Cape Perpetua). Although the humble ($50) PL-380 and 12" FSL at the Rockwork 4 cliff were totally outclassed by this awesome array of radios and antennas, the freakish ocean cliff propagation at Rockwork 4 turned out to be a "wild card" that nobody had expected.
 
73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock (at Puyallup, WA, USA)
 
      




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