[IRCA] Rockwork 4 DXpedition-- Ultralight Radio + FSL loggings & MP3's

[d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Hello All, 
>From August 6-10 three fanatical transoceanic DXers once again chased South Pacific medium wave DX at Rockwork 4-- a plunging ocean cliff dropping straight down 400 feet (122 meters) to the Pacific below. My DXpedition partners Chuck Hutton and Tom Rothlisberger set up small broadband loops for Perseus-SDR spectrum capture, while I set up 17" and 12" FSL antennas for live DXing with Ultralight radios. A photo of the busy cliff-side DXpedition setup on August 7th is posted at https://app.box.com/s/fa2heca0v3ll2umbc84ko7zq2oj9k8uy 
Once again exceptional South Pacific propagation was enjoyed on several days, including a low-band opening to Australia that resulted in a long distance logging of 558-6WA in Wagin, West Australia-- breaking the Ultralight radio all-time wordlwide DX distance record. A total of 22 New Zealand, 11 Australian, 1 Fiji and 1 Tahiti stations were received on Ultralight radios over the five day period. My DXpedition partners Chuck and Tom are still sorting through their wav files for the DXpedition, but the Ultralight radio + FSL antenna loggings and MP3 recording links are posted below. In order to stay within the IRCA reflector's posting bandwidth limit, three separate postings will be made. 
With the exception of the 531 kHz loggings (made with a Tecsun PL-380 and 12" Longwave FSL) all loggings were made with a 7.5" loopstick C.Crane Skywave Ultralight radio and 17" FSL antenna. All recordings which pegged the CC Skywave's signal strength bar graph are identified with a double asterisk (**). 
73 and Good DX, 
Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA) 
______________________________ 
531 4KZ Innisfail, Australia (5 kW) Overall the strongest 531 station during the DXpedition, the signals of this Queensland broadcaster varied greatly depending on whether propagation favored Australia. This fairly strong string of local ads was received in total darkness immediately after FSL antenna setup at 1146 on 8-8-- the morning of exceptional Australian propagation 
https://app.box.com/s/4cglto8uzff7zymehxiw0bkx8wha5rtl 
531 PI Auckland, New Zealand (5 kW) The signals of this Samoan language Kiwi broadcaster took a major dive this year compared to last, presumably because of unfavorable antenna changes in the spring. Whereas it was the strongest New Zealand station last July it wasn't even the strongest 531 DU this summer. This modest signal was typical, and both 4KZ and More FM could dominate over it at times 
https://app.box.com/s/gtb0vuqntnmvkn0h14zdq5iadezpapze 
531 More FM Alexandra, New Zealand (2 kW) Very rare Kiwi R & B music station heard for the first time in North America in June, it occasionally broke through the more powerful (5 kW) PI signal to dominate for a few minutes. This MP3 includes a "More FM" ID 3 seconds into the recording 
https://app.box.com/s/d164sjtzhxef38wdzbsxcdd22nraz20u 

531 UnID Mystery station mixing with 4KZ (shortly after 4KZ 's 6 pips at 1300 on 8-8) during all-Australian propagation at the time-- possibly 2PM? (headphones recommended) 
https://app.box.com/s/bfjib90s7zhf0ewun5xas01ljw4msn7m 

558 Radio Fiji Suva, Fiji (10 kW) Listed as inactive in the 2015 WRTH and not listed in the current PAL, the station was heard weakly in June at this location by Tom and I (and without interruption, by some NZ DXers). This powerful (near S9) signal recorded on the last day of the DXpedition features the station's typical Polynesian choral music format, and is solid evidence that the transmitter has been repaired. 
https://app.box.com/s/vq9768fgfvqdjeuc30dtqkt2m6p9u7rh 

558 Radio Sport Invercargill, New Zealand (5 kW) Very rare South Island Kiwi snuck through with a few seconds of Yankee-accented English (from the American Fox Sports Network) // 774 at 1304 on 8-6 (headphones recommended); this obscure station is always a tough challenge 
https://app.box.com/s/cnzp33v5vz3f0po8lwxi56s87qb5ufdl 

558 4GY Gympie, Australia (5 kW) Presumed the one during all-Australian propagation with commercial ads mixed with apparent talk format near end of recording; DXpedition partner Chuck Hutton had the talk-format SRN network // on 639 at the time to confirm his own reception of 4GY, which broadcasts the SRN talk format during this period. 
https://app.box.com/s/6nl2diq31sw5n0czulp1oew5isj1upt4 

558 6WA Wagin, Australia (50 kW) Relatively weak logging made at the end of a session featuring Australian-slanted propagation, this recording features the typical LR network male-female interview format and announcer voices, with programming identical to an LR network signal from 828-3GI heard by DXpedition partner Tom Rothlisberger. Fortunately, 6WA is the only LR network station on the frequency. A new Ultralight radio worldwide DX distance record at 9,137 miles / 14,704 km. 
https://app.box.com/s/qihuia6gdcc07l4z3jix5f8gwwzycg26 
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