[IRCA] The Kona Experience

[Colin Newell <cafe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This will be my last night in Kona -
and I will apologize in advance if anyone
has been offended by my lack of effort DX wise.

I have been very happy with the Tecsun PL-380,
most generously modified by Gary DeBock for
Dr. Walter Salmaniw -- yes, this is a loaner
from Walter.

It has performed stupendously - and over shadowed
the Sony 7600G which I brought along for comparison -
which, by the way, developed an odd display issue
while here -- some of the display digits are faint
and only visible when viewing from an extreme angle.
I figure it is a combination of the 7600G's age
and maybe the humidity and the fact that it has
been dropped a few times.

Anyway - the Tecsun DSP super-Ultra-Light would have
done better at a location that was not so gosh darn
noisy with man made QRN - buzzes galore and
a nearby 14kv line.

I have heard lots of "reliable" DX on it -- from
all the regular NHK power-houses, some of the tier two
NHK stations, independents, big gun Chinese and Taiwanese
stations and an assortment of Aussies.

I have not heard India or Radio Farda in the AM -
and there are, in fact, lots of things that are
notable by their absence - but I think it has
more to do with the noise level and the fact that
I am contrasting my experiences from last year
with the Eton E1 and a Wellbrook ALA100M antenna...
which was a bold and wildly successful combination.

I really and truly have been concentrating more
on my tan and dabbling in a bit of Amateur radio --
and spending way more time hanging out with
new friends at the Pool and tipping back
the occasional Mai Tai at Don The Beachcombers
or Huggo's Bar.

As we speak I am working on a 4 day get-away to
Tofino on the West Coast at Easter --
and I promise you this, radio brothers and sisters...

It's DX Game on!

Colin Newell is the editor and creator of Coffeecrew.com, DXer.ca and BobHarris.com Amateur Radio VA7WWV - Victoria B.C. Canada | Twitter.com/coffeecrew
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