Looking for a dream location in the forward Pacific with the chance to track down MW stations from Africa and the Middle East-- in addition to the entire continent of Asia? Consider joining the November 1-7 ocean beach DXpedition at Poipu Kai on Hawaii's Kauai Island-- the closest of the main Hawaiian islands to Asia. This point features an unobstructed salt water path to Asia and the South Pacific, as well as to North and South America.

Last November's Ultralight trip resulted in loggings from Oman, Egypt, Iran, India (2), Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam (5), Bonaire and many other countries-- but this time we hope to have SDR capability by setting up Rockwork-type breakdown versions of broadband loops in the large, open patio area next to the gorgeous 2-BR condos at Poipu Kai-- a 5 minute walk to the best snorkeling beach on Kauai. A Home Depot store about 20 minutes away provides access to broadband loop materials like PVC pipes, antenna wire and concrete bases. A video showing this dream DXing location is posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CbS3zUD6hI

My wife and I have once again booked our 6-day vacation through a Costco Travel package, which offers round trip airfare for two (nonstop each way from Seattle), great accommodations in newer 2-BR condos at the Aston at Poipu Kai, a full sized rental car and a $ 50 Costco cash card-- all included in the $ 2.3K cost. For two DXers who would share one of the comfortable condos, the cost of the entire trip (per person) would be about $ 1,200. Three of us are already making plans for an awesome DXing vacation, and if you would like to join us in this hobby thrill of a lifetime, we would be honored to have you with us!

Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)

Nov. 2018 Kauai DXpedition report posted at https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/p21pc6hddkxejcnf8i3k9gp9ksxvsa0u

A touch of low band Aussies and Japanese earlier on, and a couple of high band Asians. Nothing very strong or long lasting

pretty darn good audio (all of it understandable by a native speaker, at least briefly):

not so

Reasonable audio at times during the period (much of it understandable by a native speaker, though often battling with splash or noise):

so not

not so reasonable audio, occasional words or phrases in splash or noise could be understood by a native speaker:

774 JOUB 1426UT

828 JOBB 1425UT

1566 HLAZ woman in Chinese 1511UT

1593 CNR1 man talking 1510UT //6175

Burbles in the splatter and noise (if lucky, language might be guessed at by cadence of talk, or parallel established by changes in talk or music)

594 man talking DU English intonation 1439UT

702 man DU English intonation 1436UT

972 two men, Korean intonation? 1439UT

Strongish het, no or "near imaginary" audio (either undermodulated or ravaged by splatter)

594 738 1557 seemed to be Asian;
567 576 612 621 891 1017 1098 seemed to be DU

best wishes,

Nick

Nick Hall-Patch
Victoria, BC
Canada

<<< Features look very similar to CCrane's Skywave series. >>>

Yes, Ed, the D-808 was "inspired" by the CC Skywave SSB model (to use a term very generous to the Chinese reverse engineers). Both are manufactured in Shenzhen, China, and the D-808 appeared a few months after the Skywave SSB, with amazingly similar features.
The full details of this wholesale design appropriation are unlikely to ever be revealed to the general public, but C. Crane has reason to deeply regret its decision to manufacture at the Redsun factories in Shenzhen. And most likely XHDATA company's 2018 restriction on direct shipment of the D-808 to North America was related to their fear of a copyright lawsuit by C. Crane.

Gary

> On February 19, 2019 at 2:37 AM Ed Muro <emuro3@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Features look very similar to CCrane's Skywave series.
>
> On Tue, Feb 19, 2019, 5:15 AM Gary DeBock < d1028gary@comcast.net mailto:d1028gary@comcast.net wrote:
>
> > >
> > As most North American DXers found out last year, the cost to purchase an XHDATA D-808 AM-FM-LW-SW-AIR SSB portable in the USA or Canada was significantly higher than in the rest of the world (around $ 112, in comparison to around $ 75).
> >
> > Apparently an eBay seller is now offering new D-808 models to USA purchasers for around $ 75, but you need to order through the Australian eBay system at https://www.ebay.com/itm/XHDATA-D-808-Digital-Portable-Radio-FM-stereo-SW-MW-LW-SSB-AIR-RDS-Multi-Band/183176708238?hash=item2aa62ec08e:g:KG8AAOSwHqdaz1l6:rk:17:pf:0
> >
> > You will need to pay AU $ 12 shipping (about $ 8), but the radio is shipped from China, and the total cost will still be far below the other eBay listings. I don't know if this is a quirk that will soon disappear, but interest in the model remains very high, so nail down your new D-808 at $ 75.64 while you can.
> >
> > A full 16 page article describing the development, features and 7.5" loopstick transplant procedure for the XHDATA D-808 model is posted at http://www.mediafire.com/file/t2989hg61vbkb5h/Supercharging_the_XHDATA_D_-808-FinalMWLW.doc/file
> >
> > 73 and Good DX,
> >
> > Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NRC-AM" group.
> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to nrc-am+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com mailto:nrc-am+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com .
> > To post to this group, send email to nrc-am@googlegroups.com mailto:nrc-am@googlegroups.com .
> > To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nrc-am/1803626593.31547.1550571319886%40connect.xfinity.com https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nrc-am/1803626593.31547.1550571319886%40connect.xfinity.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer .
> > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
> >
> > >
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NRC-AM" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to nrc-am+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com mailto:nrc-am+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com .
> To post to this group, send email to nrc-am@googlegroups.com mailto:nrc-am@googlegroups.com .
> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nrc-am/CAHVWE1UWNVtyvzs%2B%2BaSheyd%3Dh9_A%3DJskQ93qNZBN1cmQvb1vhQ%40mail.gmail.com https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nrc-am/CAHVWE1UWNVtyvzs%2B%2BaSheyd%3Dh9_A%3DJskQ93qNZBN1cmQvb1vhQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer .
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
>

As most North American DXers found out last year, the cost to purchase an XHDATA D-808 AM-FM-LW-SW-AIR SSB portable in the USA or Canada was significantly higher than in the rest of the world (around $ 112, in comparison to around $ 75).

Apparently an eBay seller is now offering new D-808 models to USA purchasers for around $ 75, but you need to order through the Australian eBay system at https://www.ebay.com/itm/XHDATA-D-808-Digital-Portable-Radio-FM-stereo-SW-MW-LW-SSB-AIR-RDS-Multi-Band/183176708238?hash=item2aa62ec08e:g:KG8AAOSwHqdaz1l6:rk:17:pf:0

You will need to pay AU $ 12 shipping (about $ 8), but the radio is shipped from China, and the total cost will still be far below the other eBay listings. I don't know if this is a quirk that will soon disappear, but interest in the model remains very high, so nail down your new D-808 at $ 75.64 while you can.

A full 16 page article describing the development, features and 7.5" loopstick transplant procedure for the XHDATA D-808 model is posted at http://www.mediafire.com/file/t2989hg61vbkb5h/Supercharging_the_XHDATA_D_-808-FinalMWLW.doc/file

73 and Good DX,

Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)

A step back (again) this morning; not nearly so much happening on the upper band near sunrise.

pretty darn good audio (all of it understandable by a native speaker, at least briefly):

not so

Reasonable audio at times during the period (much of it understandable by a native speaker, though often battling with splash or noise):

gone again

not so reasonable audio, occasional words or phrases in splash or noise could be understood by a native speaker:

594 JOAK erratic fading, many times at this level, maybe more, but often in the bucket; mostly Japanese talk 1507-1520UT

747 JOIB 1518UT; sticking around later today

Burbles in the splatter and noise (if lucky, language might be guessed at by cadence of talk, or parallel established by changes in talk or music)

567 JOIK //594 1506UT

693 JOAB 1518UT

774 JOUB 1511UT

1422 man mumbling, perhaps Japanese 1520UT

1503 JOUK man and woman //594 1520UT

1557 woman talking, Chinese intonation.1521UT

1566 man in apparent Chinese 1521UT,

Strongish het, no or "near imaginary" audio (either undermodulated or ravaged by splatter)

603 621 639 702 756 828 1287 1377 1494 seemed to be Asian;
675 756 1017 1548 seemed to be DU

best wishes,

Nick

Nick Hall-Patch
Victoria, BC
Canada