[IRCA] Oregon Cliff (Rockwork 4) Ultralight DU's for 8-1

[d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Thanks to Steve for his report from Arizona. The largest collection of ferrite this side of the Ukraine rolled over the Columbia River bridge to Oregon at 0130 local time this morning, as four very "airport unfriendly" FSL antennas deployed for a one week DXpedition to the wild Rockwork 4 ocean cliff near Manzanita. Originally the plan was to wait until Wednesday to hit the cliff, but I had a premonition that something special might show up if an unscheduled, early morning trip was made from Puyallup. Sure enough, the usually anemic 558-Fiji had its best signal for the past few years at the cliff (even better than in Kona, Hawaii last April). 

Upon arrival at 1025 UTC (0325 local time) the ICF-2010 spotting receiver showed a decent carrier on 1017, and a rush effort was made to set up the 17" monster FSL for a recording. A3Z in Tonga cooperated nicely with decent-level island music, about the same time I noticed another car drive up to the cliff turnoff to join me in the total darkness (always a moment of trepidation, since you never know what to expect on the wild cliff). This turned out to be Chuck, who unfortunately noticed Tonga's sign off about the same time his broadband loop was ready (1105). 531 had a potent mix of 4KZ and PI for over an hour, while the usual Kiwi powerhouses (603, 657 and 702) were testing the crunch resistance of my CC Skywave ultralights after 1230. About this time 558-Fiji started sounding like it might even have a real 10 kW transmitter, despite the fact that everyone knows it has serious signal issues. I tried for Theo's 612-Star but it was missing in action, although the 657 frequency had its strongest signal ever heard at the cliff (by far). 702-Magic and 2BL were in a wild S9 snarl for much of the time after 1245, while an apparent 585-2WEB (not // 576) was playing some pop music. Chuck and I discussed the propagation quite a few times, finally wrapping up the chase around 1330. My overall impression was that the session had a lot to offer, especially considering the fact that 558-Fiji only showed up 1 day out of 11 last year. Tom has yet to join us-- hopefully he will share in the great propagation. 

558 Radio Fiji One Suva, Fiji Actually sounding somewhat energetic with typical island music at 1307 
https://app.box.com/s/vprj88dgl97t4lcp5tx23edh31gorfd0 
The usual male announcer with more island music at 1333 
https://app.box.com/s/2y8dsur5tdymla0qs4fgfw64e4b4mwnq 

1017 A3Z Nukualofa, Tonga Island choral music at decent level around 1036 (after a rush FSL antenna setup) 
https://app.box.com/s/ef3lyfav23rqu7k86eqbw79xvkuks8oa 

For Theo: 

657 Star Wellington/ Tauranga, NZ Yikes! With a news signal like this on the "Kiwi Cliff,", who would choose to vote against the Labour Party? 
https://app.box.com/s/ef3lyfav23rqu7k86eqbw79xvkuks8oa 

73 and Good DX, 
Gary DeBock (DXing at the Rockwork 4 ocean cliff near Manzanita, Oregon) 
7.5 inch loopstick CC Skywave Ultralights + 
17", 15" and 15" Airport-clearing FSL antennas 

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