[IRCA] Cook Islands Ultralight DXpedition-- Asian TP-DX Loggings (Part One)

[Gary DeBock <d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Checking out transoceanic DX propagation at an exotic ocean beach site can provide the hobby thrill of a lifetime-- if a DXer is lucky enough to choose the ideal time, place and gear to make the chase. All of these fell into place in an amazing way during a 5-day trip to Aitutaki Island (2600 miles due south of Hawaii) with Ultralight radio gear, resulting in the reception of MW stations in India, Bangladesh, Mongolia and Cambodia (all at over 6,800 miles).


Because of extensive QRM from Australia and New Zealand the total number of Asian stations received was limited, but it was definitely a case of quality over quantity. Phenomenal gray line propagation around sunrise shut down Japanese signals almost completely, but boosted up those from the exotic countries in east and south Asia. Korean station reception was limited to the big guns, which was also primarily true for Chinese signals. Except for the ANZ pest QRM, the conditions seemed custom-designed for a west coast DXer to go after the exotic stations which rarely-- if ever-- show up in BC, Washington or Oregon (even though the Cook Islands' distance to them is greater).


Gray line propagation at sunrise was strong enough to bring in both 693-Bangladesh and 1431-Mongolia at S9 levels almost every morning on my Ultralight gear, and allow both 657-AIR and 918-Cambodia to break through ANZ QRM on April 12th. No doubt many more of these exotic stations could have been logged except for Australian QRM on 576, 594, 872, 883 and 1566, but this only added to the thrill of the chase. The overall results were exceptional for a DXer using only a 7.5 inch loopstick Ultralight radio and 5 inch "Frequent Flyer" FSL-- all designed to fit within hand-carry luggage, and easily pass through airport security inspections.


657  All India Radio   Kolkata, India, 200 kW  (8,075 miles/ 12,995 km)   Recorded by accident during a sunrise check of the Korean big guns at 1641 on April 12, reception of this longest-distance station went unnoticed until file review after return to the States. The female speaker (in the Bengali language) is the third station in the recording, after the female vocal music from Pyongyang BS and the Irish-accented male preacher from NZ's Star network. Her speech peaks around 40 to 50 seconds into the recording. The isolation of the Star network at the 55 second point was done by the Ultralight's loopstick, not by the propagation. Thanks to Alokesh Gupta for the language and station identification  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ix71clk446ad5d5bkzbn3e0q94fe18wu

657  Pyongyang BS   Pyongyang, N. Korea, 1500 kW   Like most east Asian signals the N.K. big gun sounded pretty anemic in the Cook Islands. Its female vocal music at 1641 on April 12th shared the frequency with NZ's Star network (Irish-accented preacher) and AIR's female Bengali speaker  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ix71clk446ad5d5bkzbn3e0q94fe18wu

693  Bangladesh Betar   Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1000 kW  (7,960 miles/ 12,810 km)   Probably the biggest surprise of the DXpedition, with S9 signal peaks on 4 out of 5 sunrise sessions. Frequently snarling with the Oz pest 3AW, it usually managed a few minutes on top of the frequency each morning from 1630-1700 UTC. Exotic South Asian music was the usual format, and was very easy to distinguish from the talk-oriented format of 3AW (and other Oz co-channels). This first appearance at 1652 on 4-10 featured a "Bangladesh Betar" ID by a male speaker at 8 seconds into the recording (thanks to Chuck Hutton for listening)  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/94j756mjptm1fuaij381dw2wbsqkre91

This was followed by a lot of exotic music until 3AW claimed the frequency just before the 1700 TOH   https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ltl5f8aeo5w2qm3bf2n02x06xsu9fb9r

The next day (4-11) the exotic station was back with S9 peaks, including this typical music and female speaker at 1625  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/3fu4wo3efoj34dfjm4c6jvg4mzb3nrcv

The exotic music from Bangladesh was in an S9 snarl with 3AW (and another Oz pest) from 1659 throughout the 1700 TOH on April 11th  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/pa29z92iqim2y6ps40qlv08q84gtxbqv

774  JOUB   Akita, Japan, 500 kW   Oddly enough, this was the only Japanese signal making it to the island during the entire trip. Mixing with a goofy-sounding 3LO announcer at 1613 on 4-11, the Japanese female speech concerns a "doobutsuen" (a "zoo" in Japanese, similar to what the frequency sounded like with the 3LO announcer)  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/57lu1aeb7u77kjwub1v7gr1id66xho7l

819  KCBS   Pyongyang, N. Korea, 500 kW   The N.K. big gun managed a potent signal for its 3+1 pips across its "TOH" at 1630 on 4-12 but never could shake off RNZ's Tauranga transmitter  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/4x2b670b8p2b2edy9xw19ns1eftnbg1w

909  CNR6   Quanzhou, China, 300 kW   Strong signal with CNR ID (1:08) and Mandarin speech by male and female announcers. NZ's Star network was apparently off the air at the time, since it was a real blaster when transmitting  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/kgvitthtofeqvphnve4yoi35q1nxfypn

918  RNK   Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 600 kW  (6823 miles/ 10,981 km)  Breaking through the Shandong and Oz QRM at an ideal time to dominate the frequency, its sign off transmission with the National Anthem peaked just before the 1700 TOH on April 12. Female speech in the Khmer language and exotic music are featured just before the anthem (thanks to Hiroyuki Okamura and Jari Lehtinen for listening, and identifying the National Anthem)  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/8ji74eayhau8ttjv25pv6zlmcnt0jyai

Chuck Hutton's improved audio file of the same reception (thanks)  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/qams92h5ktn7ki93u3qlvbzvyl3y8rru

918  Shandong RGD Synchros  (Multiple)   The dominant Asian signal on the frequency, it rarely allowed Cambodia to sneak through. Here it is with female Mandarin speech at 1647 on 4-11  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ml1vqzmgl35q9gfzpzlsepvvmz1l1shw

Shandong RGD's transmitters were poorly synchronized, resulting in the two-tone time pips at the 1700 TOH on 4-12 (during Cambodia's National Anthem at 1:40, in the MP3 linked below). Although actually from two different transmitters, the sound effect sounds similar to that of a "cuckoo clock," resulting in some initial confusion about their source  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/8ji74eayhau8ttjv25pv6zlmcnt0jyai


(TO BE CONTINUED)       

         
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