Re: [IRCA] DXing and cruising - part two

[Theo <theod@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Mark:

Well, as I remarked, it wasn't a serious attempt at DXing but just time 
to make a few observations.  Cruising is a very social activity and as 
my dining was at the late (8.30 pm) sitting, the table was seldom 
finished much before 10.30 pm.

Looking back at my rough notes for the first night while listening just 
after 2100 UT/11 pm Central African I do have 1530 scribbled as 'vy 
good'!.  I just got sidetracked with the surprise of the 380 reaching so 
far so easily up into the Middle East and beyond.

I'd been watching out for 783 and made a note of what was likely it on 
the second major night's sweep as fair at 2200 UT by which time the ship 
was on UT + 1 so again 11 pm .

As for 621, dunno... I never wrote anything down even though the two 
presumed RNE's on 738 and 855 made it south.  The Tecsun definitely did 
not like the listed 300 kW being pumped out at a few km's range once 
tied up in Santa Cruz de Tenerife... it was swamped.

And if you take into account the times I was listening... mostly around 
2100/2200 UT for MW... that would've been too early for eastern seaboard 
stuff from the US... 4pm/5 pm EST.

On the last stretch, two days/three nights from Cape Verde to the 
Canaries, we were under a storm watch with predicted 6m/20-foot swells 
(which in the end never got to more than 4.5m head on) but the wind was 
just too strong to be comfortable out on deck in the dark.

73

Theo

On 29/04/2018 9:19 PM, Mark Connelly via IRCA wrote:
> Subject:
> Re: [IRCA] DXing and cruising -\ part two
> From:
> Mark Connelly <markwa1ion@xxxxxxx>
> Date:
> 29/04/2018 9:19 PM
> To:
> irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> To:
> irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> Do any US stations make it to any of the western Africa locales where you sailed?
>
> Mauritania 783 and Canaries 621 are sometimes "blowtorch" level here on Cape Cod around sunset (as were now-gone Senegal 764/765 and Guinea 1386/1403/1404 in the old days).
>
> The guitar strumming on Mauritania at top-of-hour makes it stand out from several other Arabic language stations on 783:
> https://app.box.com/s/ns3aud9mair8kdh9japhnlmkbhv4zr3z
>
> NE US to West Africa coast seems like a low-loss path, less land and less auroral activity in the way than from here to northern Europe.
>
> I'd think that there would be a pretty good chance of the big NYC stations getting across as well as some out of FL as well.
>
> Brazilians, as you mention, should be fairly numerous.  R. Itatiaia 610 has been particularly good here lately:
> https://app.box.com/s/mas9yjqvd1ldf5qfckwdvbfv6yhi4gh2
>
> You should also get the 1030 Argie (R. Noticias del Plata) which sometimes pesters WBZ only about 55 miles away from here:
> https://app.box.com/s/oyrrwtxgcsbve9tbs5gh2tw6txg6i9o1
>
> VOA Botswana 909 does indeed go off at 2100 UTC as heard on this recording here last November:
> https://app.box.com/s/724khhz6khcx72b0if8x1n39iztwc5ji
>
> VOA Sao Tome 1530 should have been smokin' loud most of where you went.
>
> It's not half-bad here in MA:
> https://app.box.com/s/tv29mbjl81wqwjgia7gplbjoyfd77vaf
>
> Mark Connelly, WA1ION
> South Yarmouth, Cape Cod, MA

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