Re: [IRCA] Grayland DXpedition Report, May 7-9, 2012

[Derek Vincent <eargazimm@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks for taking for the DX report... That sure gets me motivated. Im always amazed how quite the band is in Washington especially at your location.

Keep up the good work. 

Derek 



On May 26, 2012, at 3:57 PM, Guy Atkins <dx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> The month of May is not considered prime time for either DU or Asian medium
> wave from the Washington coast, so my "DXpectations" weren't very high for
> this trip. Besides the sub-par season, we're a few years removed from the
> periods of excellent DX heard during the low point in the last solar cycle.
> I had planned to be content with antenna experiments, figuring I may not
> hear any overseas DX worth logging.
> 
> Surprise! The first night of the 7th (UTC) was indeed a bust, but the 8th
> and 9th progressively improved--all the way through local sunrise and my
> last recorded Perseus files just past 1300 UTC.
> 
> All loggings below were made with a single delta Flag antenna, oriented at
> 240 degrees. The high, dense brush at Grayland in the southwest direction
> from my camp site prevented me from creating a phased array as I had
> planned, so I erected the 2nd loop at 310 degrees to hopefully be optimum
> for any Asian TPs. The two loops were identical except for their bearing
> (60 ft. base wire at 3 feet above ground, 22 ft. apex height, 1150 ohms
> termination resistor (modeled in EZNEC... thanks KAZ), and using the
> excellent "LN" (low noise) version of Wellbrook's FLG100 modules.
> 
> This was the first time I've used single delta loops rather than arrays of
> loops, and the directionality was better than I expected. Check out *this
> audio clip* <http://www.mediafire.com/?vwasnolghm7m550> which compares
> approx. 10 seconds each of daytime reception on 820 kHz, as I switch
> between antennas. One signal is KGNW Seattle and the other is KORC
> Waldport, OR.
> 
> DX on the 8th was modest, but it was all Asian until sunrise approached
> when reception shifted mostly to Australia & New Zealand. Even during the
> hours well before sunrise, the Japanese, Chinese, and South Korean stations
> came in best on the southwest delta Flag... evidently a case of skewed path
> reception, perhaps due to the disturbed geo-conditions.
> 
> The last night of the DXpedition on the 9th was almost entirely mid-band DU
> reception and most of the signals were logged during the last 1-1/2 hours
> before sunrise. I did note a few very weak Japanese signals and they were
> best on the northwest loop, as typical. The ability to "rewind" the entire
> medium wave band with Perseus WAV files was again the #1 tool for capturing
> as much DX as possible, especially when propagation is poor and interesting
> foreign signals are hard to find.
> 
> A few photos with captions from the DXpedition can be seen in this folder: *
> https://picasaweb.google.com/114798392023680237679/GraylandDXpeditionMay792012
> *<https://picasaweb.google.com/114798392023680237679/GraylandDXpeditionMay792012>
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 531 JAPAN JOQG Morioka, May 08 1301 - Japanese talk by man, fading up on
> 531 from some local, buzzy QRM. Poor to fair level while it lasted;
> presumed.
> 
> 567 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 08 1259 - I noted a very weak English language
> signal 'in the grass' just prior to 1300; it sounded Aussie or Kiwi. It
> resurfaced again at 1302. The RNZ National station in Wellington is most
> likely, based on its 50 kW power.
> 
> 612 AUSTRALIA 4QR Brisbane, May 9 1200 - ABC trumpet fanfare at 1200, and
> into news read by male announcer. Fair.
> 
> 630 ALASKA KJNO Juneau, May 09 0859 - ID by man 'Your capitol information
> station, 630 KJNO, Juneau, Alaska'. Good signal at top of the hour.
> 
> 684 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 09 1230 - Soft pop or MOR music playing here, at
> a low level. Never did get any clues as to identification before fade out.
> 
> 693 JAPAN JOAB Tokyo, May 09 1230 - Caught the beginning or end of an
> English lesson program, with lively talk by male and female announcers in
> Japanese and English. Noted to be parallel to 747 and 774 kHz. Poor to
> fair.
> 
> 702 AUSTRALIA 2NR Grafton, May 09 1002 - 2NR with Aussie male and female
> announcers with news items, in slop from 700. Poor. Heard at much better
> level at 1300 with trumpet fanfare, 'ABC News' network ID, and into news
> items by man and woman announcers.
> 
> 720 AUSTRALIA Unid ABC Station, May 09 1230 - I noted a female announcer in
> Aussie accented English, which was parallel to the unid ABC outlet on 756.
> Perhaps 2ML in Murwillumbah on 720? It's only 400 watts but the New South
> Wales location makes sense for propagation to WCNA.
> 
> 738 AUSTRALIA 2NR ABC North Coast - Grafton, May 08 1300 - ABC trumpet
> fanfare at 1300, and into news by man and woman announcers. Fair on peaks.
> Brief evidence of 1ere Tahiti in French.
> 
> 738 TAHITI Polynesie 1ere, May 8 0602 - First definite TP of the evening,
> with French talk by man. Modest signal level; noted with an exact match
> with MWoffsets frequency.
> 
> 747 JAPAN JOIB Sapporo, May 09 1230 - Female and male announcers with
> English language lesson, parallel 693 and 774. Poor to fair.
> 
> 756 AUSTRALIA Unid ABC Station, May 09 1230 - Unknown ABC station, possibly
> 3RN Wangaratta or 2TR Taree. Female announcer in English on ABC network
> station, parallel to another unid ABC network station on 720 kHz (2RL ABC
> North Coast?).
> 
> 774 AUSTRALIA 3LO Melbourne, May 8 1314 - Man and woman announcer, with
> talk and interview with field reporter. Noted parallel 2485 VL8K Katherine.
> Poor to fair, and gone for good at 1319. Also heard earlier at 0830 and
> 0930, and then 5/9 at around 1030 with a fair signal. ABC trumpet fanfare
> and English news noted at 1200. Also heard 5/9 at 1300 with ABC news,
> parallel to 738 kHz.
> 
> 774 JAPAN JOUB Akita, May 8 1131 - Fair level of male and female Japanese
> talk, mixing with 3LO Melbourne. Also noted with good signal on 5/9 at 1130
> and 1230.
> 
> 792 AUSTRALIA 4RN Brisbane, May 09 1300 - Nice signal past local dawn at
> Grayland, with man and woman reading the ABC news, parallel to 774 3LO
> Melbourne. Frequency matched up nicely with MW Offsets, too.
> 
> 819 AUSTRALIA 2GL Glen Innes, May 09 1230 - Female announcer with interview
> or talk program, parallel to 720 and 756 kHz. Poor to fair signal.
> 
> 828 JAPAN JOBB Osaka, May 9 1130 - Low level signal of man and woman in
> Japanese. Language finally became recognizable during a brief peak to good
> signal level. Also noted 5/9 at 1203 and 1230.
> 
> 855 AUSTRALIA 4QB - ABC Wide Bay, Dundowran, May 09 1230 - Two male
> announcers with Australian accent, discussing urbanization or land use
> issues. Fair level on peaks. Measured frequency matches MW Offsets List for
> 4QB. Last heard by me in 2004 and ID'd with assistance from Tony Magon,
> Sydney.
> 
> 891 AUSTRALIA 4TAB Townesville, May 09 1200 - Tentatively 4TAB with
> low-level talk by male announcers or sportscasters across the top of the
> hour. No ABC trumpet fanfare at top of the hour, so not 4AN Adelaide (4LO
> Melbourne was heard with the ABC trumpets at the same 1200 hour). Poor
> signal. Much better at 1300 with horse racing announcers, but still behind
> a stronger 4AN with interview of a book author.
> 
> 909 NEW ZEALAND 2XD Southern Star, Napier, May 09 1300 - Christian
> contemporary music in English at a fair to good level. Then into string of
> ads at 1300, including DVD/CD offer for 'United Live in Miami' with a 25%
> discount from Hillsongmusic.com using the code 'STAR'. Also an ad for a
> restaurant in Eden Terrace ('Euro Cafe'), an outdoors canopy company
> ('Quick N Easy Canopies; They've got you covered') and a computer program
> called The Customizer. At 1302, ID was given as 'The music of home...
> Southern Star', and then into more Christian contemporary music. Good
> signal. This was the most enjoyable catch of the DXpedition due to the
> reasonable strength of the signal and the wealth of local ads and details.
> I only wish I had erected an array antenna to help squash the adjacent
> channel QRM from 910 kHz. *Click here for a three minute audio clip of the
> 2XD Southern Star reception. <http://www.mediafire.com/?6925lf6x82j8oq2> *The
> Southern Star ID is at 2:15 in the recording.
> 
> 918 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 09 1229 - Weak signal of English talk by male
> and female announcers. Possibly one of the two RNZ National outlets on 918.
> 
> 927 AUSTRALIA 4CC Gladstone, May 09 1230 - Briefly in at fair level with
> Dire Straits' 'Sultans of Swing'. Probably 4CC, due to the Oldies format.
> Heard at a better level with R&B oldies around 1305.
> 
> 936 AUSTRALIA Unid, May 09 1306 - Low level signal of Aussie accented
> English with what sounded like a discussion of finances and road
> construction projects. Perhaps 4PB Brisbane or 7ZR Hobart? Some Chinese
> language co-channel QRM at times from presumed Anhui RGD.
> 
> 954 AUSTRALIA Unid, May 09 1300 - Another low level signal in English, with
> an accent more likely to be Australian than New Zealand. Too weak to get
> any identifying clues. I think the most likely outlet here is 2UE
> 'Talkradio 954' in Sydney.
> 
> 954 JAPAN JOKR Tokyo, May 09 1229 - Talk by male and female announcer in
> Japanese; noted a few mentions of Tokyo. Brief music and possible ID at
> 1230, but too noisy to say for sure. Weak signal.
> 
> 963 NEW ZEALAND 3YC Southern Star - Christchurch, May 09 1300 - Christian
> contemporary music, followed by the same string of advertisements that I
> heard on parallel 909 2XD. Fair to good signal, but it faded out sooner
> than 2XD.
> 
> 1008 AUSTRALIA 4TAB Brisbane, May 09 1203 - Two male announcers with horse
> race progress and commentary. 4TAB would occasionally fade quickly and be
> abruptly replaced by a news station, presumed Newstalk ZB, Tauranga New
> Zealand with stock numbers or financial results. Fair.
> 
> 1008 NEW ZEALAND Newstalk ZB, Tauranga, May 09 1203 - Presumed with
> financial news or stocks information by male announcer, trading places with
> horse racing from 4TAB Brisbane. Fair level.
> 
> 1035 NEW ZEALAND 2ZB Wellington, May 09 1230 - Man and woman announcers in
> Kiwi accented English, and multiple 'Newstalk ZB' IDs, plus 'newstalk.co.nz'
> URL given; advertisement of some sort ('Order yours today!'). Fair signal.
> 
> 1035 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 8 1101 - Woman announcer in (possibly) Kiwi
> accent English, with news items. Signal faded up out of the noise, barely,
> at 1101. Frequency offset matches Newstalk 2ZB, Wellington.
> 
> 1098 AUSTRALIA 4LG Longreach, May 09 1300 - Tentatively this oldies station
> with Queen's 'We Will Rock You', followed by a brief announcement (ID?) by
> a man in English. Signal was mixing with ABC news in the background (low
> power station 2RN is the only candidate).
> 
> 1098 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 8 1304 - Talk show program in Aussie or Kiwi
> accented English; male & female announcers with lively talk. Poor signal.
> Possibly 3ZB Newstalk ZB, Christchurch.
> 
> 1107 NEW ZEALAND Radio Live - Tauranga, May 09 1301 - This is a
> tantalizing, tentative one, with obviously English speaking male and female
> newscasters with a likely Kiwi accent. However, the low level signal
> throughout precludes any identification clues. At exactly 1300 an announcer
> says 'Here's a brief news talk.' The only Australian on the frequency is an
> ethnic station (2EA Sydney) which does not broadcast in English, per their
> web site. Radio Live however is a newstalk station on the frequency. I was
> doubtful it could be them at 1 Kw, but dawn enhancement propagation this
> morning certainly favored New Zealand and Australia.
> 
> 1116 AUSTRALIA 4BC Brisbane, May 09 1300 - Nice signal with '4BC' and '4BC
> News' IDs at 1300, and into Australian news by woman announcer. Good signal
> but struggling against daytime power KPNW, Eugene Oregon on 1120.
> 
> 1116 AUSTRALIA 4BC Brisbane, May 8 1255 - Two announcers in Aussie accented
> English. Rapid fades of signal from absent to strong. Also noted 5/9 at
> 1100 with newscast read by man and woman; advertisement for car rental
> firm. Later noted with '...on 4BC' ID at 1305:30. Fair.
> 
> 1125 NEW ZEALAND Radio Sport - Napier, May 09 1302 - Kiwi sportscaster with
> play-by-play of what sounded like a football (soccer) match. Fair but in
> splatter.
> 
> 1161 AUSTRALIA 4FC Radio TAB  - Maryborough, May 09 1302 - Clear mentions
> of 'horse racing' at 1259, followed by man and woman announcers with news
> (presumably sports news). Offset frequency matches 4FC. Poor to fair in
> 1160 splatter.
> 
> 1188 JAPAN JOKP Kitami, May 09 1204 - Poor to fair level of male announcer
> in Japanese. From 1200-1203 I couldn't figure out the language, but by 1204
> the signal was strong enough to hear it was definitely Japanese.
> 
> 1197 JAPAN Unid, May 09 1205 - Unidentified Japanese station here, at an
> extremely low level. Best guess is JOBF Kumamoto.
> 
> 1251 CHINA Unid, May 09 1206 - Unidentified Chinese station here with
> scraps of Chinese language by female 1200-1205. Poor to fair.
> 
> 1260 CHINA Yanbian RGD, May 8 1130 - Male announcer with talk in Korean.
> Signal was well off-channel at a measured 1205.959 kHz. Surprisingly
> strong... the loudest TP of the evening.
> 
> 1278 NEW ZEALAND Newstalk ZB - Napier, May 09 1303 - Newstalk ZB ID, and
> weather for various regions of New Zealand given by male announcer,
> followed by brief promo and talk with another announcer. Fair on peaks.
> 
> 1287 AUSTRALIA 2TM Tamworth, May 09 1229 - Lively song or advertisement
> with music, followed by clear mention of 'Tamworth' by woman announcer.
> Seemed to be giving locations of a business before the signal faded into
> the noise.
> 
> 1287 JAPAN JOHR Hokkaido, May 8 1250 - Male announcer in Japanese,
> apparently in the studio with a woman announcer giving a remote report.
> Signal varied from really weak to good, multiple times over 3 to 4
> minutes... evidently disturbed propagation conditions. Like all other TPs
> this morning, JOHR was coming in best on the SW (240 deg.) Flag antenna.
> Also noted earlier at 1030 during Perseus file check (also SW Flag
> antenna).
> 
> 1314 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 09 1300 - A very faint signal of English
> language announcers heard on 1314; the rapid pace sounded like the horse
> racing coverage audible from other stations like 4TAB... so possibly 2KY
> Racing Radio, Wollongong, Australia.
> 
> 1332 JAPAN JOSF Nagoya, May 8 1247 - Presumed, with a weak signal of
> Japanese talk by man and woman.
> 
> 1386 JAPAN Unid NHK2, May 8 1130 - Possibly Morioka here, with good signal
> of Japanese talk by male announcer. Three other 10 kw JJ outlets listed,
> but Morioka JOQC is the most northerly.
> 
> 1440 JAPAN JOWF Sapporo, May 8 1240 - Strong signal of Japanese talk with
> fast paced male announcers; apparently a sporting event. Fade to
> inaudibility at 1244, but back up with a great signal at 1246.
> 
> 1476 CHINA Unid, May 8 1130 - Multiple, layered programming noted, with
> echoes. Top level was a male announcer in Chinese, and at a lower level was
> dramatic, Chinese orchestral music. Yet another faint signal in possible
> Chinese was heard on the frequency.
> 
> 1503 JAPAN JOUK Akita, May 8 1238 - Good level of Japanese talk by male
> announcer.
> 
> 1548 AUSTRALIA 4QD Emerald, May 09 1202 - ABC news in English, read by man
> and woman announcers. Fair level in 1550 splatter. Also heard at 1300 with
> news about Vanuatu.
> 
> 1566 SOUTH KOREA HLAZ Cheju, May 09 1230 - Noted the switch over from
> Chinese language, with mentions of HLAZ by male in Chinese to 1229:30 dead
> air, then male announcer in Japanese promptly at 1230:00 with mention of
> HLAZ. This was followed by the 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' signature
> tune. Good signal.
> 
> 1566 SOUTH KOREA HLAZ Cheju, May 8 1106 - Good signal of hymn or religious
> music sung in Chinese.
> 
> 1575 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, May 8 1100 - Fade-up of faint music, right at
> 1100:30. It was clearly U.S. pop music in English, but signal was very
> weak. Perhaps one of the AFN Japan stations.
> 
> Guy Atkins
> Puyallup, WA USA
> DXing at Grayland Beach State Park, WA
> Perseus SDR & AR7030 Plus (modded)
> Wellbrook FLG100LN Delta Flags at 240 & 310 degrees
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