[IRCA] Grayland Ultralight DXpedition-- Nov. 2 (TP's by the Truckload)

[D1028Gary@xxxxxxx]

Hello Guys,
 
     Sometimes everything just seems to fall into  place!  Not only was I 
able to book Room 15 at the Grayland Motel on short  notice, but I had the whole 
motel to myself, with no RF pollution of any  kind.  I had always wondered 
what it would be like at Grayland on  a fantastic TP morning, and today I found 
out!
 
     18 new TP's were received on the stand-alone  Slider E100 (for a total 
of 70 now), with many second-tier Japanese, Korean and  Chinese stations that 
never could make it to my inland Puyallup  location.  The stock Sangean DT-400W 
also ran wild, with easy loggings of  VOA-1575 in Thailand, VOV-675 in 
Vietnam and Taiwan-738, as well as about 12  other TP's.  The band was still going 
strong in broad daylight at  1545, and two new Ultralight countries were logged 
(Alaska and the Marshall  Islands). A booming mp3 of choral music from 
1098-Marshall Islands was  obtained at 0741 on the Slider E100, along with many 
other recordings of obscure  Japanese stations. Guy Atkins was set up at the 
Grayland Beach  State Park about a mile south of me, and he also had a fantastic 
time with  his Perseus, Wellbrook Array and SRF-39FP prison radio.
 
     One of the main objectives of this trip was to  compare the performance 
of the different E100 modifications (stock, filter only,  Slider loopstick 
only, and fully modified E100) in actual TP DXing  conditions, and some very 
interesting information was obtained for an  upcoming "E100 Four Variant Shootout" 
article, to be posted on  DXer.Ca.  This should prove useful for any DXers 
considering E100  modifications of any kind.
 
     A heavily modified ICF-2010 (30" loopstick) was  used as a spotting 
receiver for the Ultralights, and was extremely useful in  checking all the 
booming frequencies.  Here are the loggings, all on  the Slider E100 (7.5" Amidon 
loopstick + Murata CFJ455K5 narrow IF filter),  unless otherwise noted. Carrier 
strength was checked on the modified  ICF-2010:
 
531   JOQG   NHK1 program strong throughout  morning. Logged on DT-400W at 
1127
549   Strong carrier throughout morning, but too much 550 slop to  ID
558   JOCR  Up and down after 0820, heard on DT-400W at  1231 (fair signal)
567   JOIK   NHK1 booming in all morning;  strong  on DT-400W at 1205
576   R. Mayak synchros up and down in strength; weak  on DT-400W at 0906
585   JOPG  strong throughout morning with NHK1  program
594   JOAK  blowtorch signal from 0704 straight through to  1535; easy on 
DT-400W
603   HLSA at moderate level after 0800 until past sunrise
612   Decent carrier, but never came up to audio
621   Presumably Pyongyang at 1220 with good KK audio under KPOJ  slop
639   CNR1 with moderate strength after 0830; weak on  DT-400W at 1421
648   VOR  Somewhat weaker than expected on  this stellar morning
657   Pyongyang  Booming as usual; heard on DT-400W  at 1403
666   JOBK  Near blowtorch level all morning; easy on  DT-400W at 1425
675   VOV great signal late; weakly heard on DT-400W at max dawn  (1436)
684   Weak audio at 1431 presumed Pyongyang, with typical  obsolete music
693   JOAB Booming in with NHK2 all morning, easy catch on  DT-400W at 1233
702   NHK2 synchros very tough catch in domestic splatter at  1117, // 747
711   Very strong carrier here in KIRO splatter at 1428, but too  much KIRO 
to ID
729   Another strong carrier that never quite made it to  audio
738   BEL2 moderate to strong all morning; weak on DT-400W  at max dawn (1434)
747   JOIB  As expected, incredibly strong on  every Ultralight in the room
750   KFQD over/ under KXL during SSS (0400) on the  Slider-only E100 
756   KBS at a decent level around dawn enhancement (1413)
765   Weak Korean at 0826, presumed HLCQ
774   JOUB King of the NHK blowtorches all morning  long, well past 1515
792   Weak Chinese at 1501;  Shenyang?
819   Obviously NK with extremely ragged carrier in KGNW slop,  but no audio
828   JOBB another NHK2 blowtorch causing hearing damage to  careless DXers
837   Chinese mystery station at decent level all morning;  DT-400W at 1445
846   NHK1 synchros heard weakly at 1139
855   Pyongyang at 1141 with female vocal music and ragged  carrier
864   HLKR decent signal after 0900 through to sunrise, with  KBS program
873   JOGB NHK2 powerhouse most of morning, strong on  DT-400W at 1205
890   KBBI  Homer, Alaska easiest of the  Alaskans during SSS at 0303
891   JOHK and another weak station (CC?) fighting it out at max  dawn (1432)
909   Decent carrier for most of morning, but no audio
918   Shandong CC at good level around sunrise, 1417
927   Not as strong as 918, but audible in CC at 1421
936   Anhui CC audio pretty strong around 1445; weak on DT-400W  at 1450
945   CNR audio easily audible through KJR splatter, 1411
954   JOKR heard with difficulty through KJR splatter at 0847 due  to IF 
filter mod
963   CRI signal weaker than expected throughout the  morning
972   HLCA blowtorch as usual on every Ultralight in sight,  DT-400W at 0835
981   CNR1 strong in CC with some domestic splatter, 1256
999   Strong carrier right next to KOMO, but way too much  splatter to ID
1008  JONR heard in JJ through KOMO splatter at 1212; on DT-400W  at 1214
1017  Good DU carrier at 0727, but never came to audio  (presumably Tonga)
1035  Monster carrier with no modulation heard throughout  morning
1044  China as expected around sunrise (1445), but not very  strong
1053  Jammer + JOAR + unID Chinese fighting it out around 1431
1062  UnID CC at fairly good level, 1355
1098  Radio Marshalls booming in with choral music for nice mp3  at 0741
1134  JOQR very strong all morning; strong on the DT-400W at  1149
1206  China Yangbyan Korean service strong at 1206 for nice mp3
1242  JOLF suddenly came up in JJ through graveyard splatter at  1405
1278  JOFR weakly heard at 1225 with local JJ program in  domestic hash
1305  UnID weak Chinese audio at 1421 (max dawn enhancement)-  CNR1?
1332  JOSF weak with JJ female audio at 0843, but strong at  1434
1422  JORF finally came up to audio at 1504 in JJ, after hours as  carrier
1467  HLKN strong in Korean KBS program at max dawn (1417)
1475  RTM Sabah E.Malaysia heard in weak audio only on ICF-2010,  1453
1566  HLAZ true blowtorch for most of morning, strong on  DT-400W at 1451
1575  VOA Thailand very strong late, with booming mp3 on DT-400W  (1455)
1593  CNR weak signal on DT-400W at max dawn enhancement, 1433
 
     With all this DX fun on stand-alone  Ultralight portables, it's hard to 
imagine how this hobby can get any more  exciting!  Thanks to John Bryant and 
Walt Salmaniw for their  recent DXpedition reports, which helped provide 
identification for many of  the above TP's. Thanks also to Guy Atkins and Steve 
Ratzlaff for their  assistance in developing these modified E100's, which truly 
provide  outstanding DX performance in a very tiny package.
 
     73,  Gary  DeBock      
    
      
       
 
     
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