Grayland DXpedition Loggings & Comments - June 10-11
Guy Atkins
nights of fishing for exotic signals at Grayland, Washington. It was great
to see Don again after well over a year of our paths not crossing at
DXpeditions; and John has recently returned to the Pacific Northwest where
he is nearing completion of his summer and fall home on beautiful Orcas
Island.
A few days before the DXpedition I felt a mild cold coming on, but I had
hopes that it would pass quickly and not bother me while at Grayland.
Nope--no such luck. Half way through the weekend, my head felt like an
inflated weather balloon and my voice trailed away into broken, raspy speech
as laryngitis set in. At least the fun of DXing would keep my mind off the
misery!
Besides DXing, we each had related pursuits at Grayland. Don has been
assembling a very impressive amateur radio setup, and during the daytime he
was trying out a firmware upgrade to his computerized/motorized "Steppir"
vertical antenna, along with working the kinks out of an amplifier and
accessories. John erected a large 27 ft. X 100 ft. EWE antenna with
adjustable termination to compare to the Beverages. I brought along my Eton
E1 portable receiver, for what I expected would be very unfair comparisons
against communications receivers.
John's carefully constructed large EWE antenna was disappointing in its
performance at Grayland, with signals many dB down, providing no edge in S/N
or signal intelligibility. In contrast, John says the large EWE is a
"Beverage beater" back in his Oklahoma pasture land. Dramatic differences in
ground conductivity are probably to blame, as we've always had difficulty
getting good grounds in the sandy soil of Grayland.
The night of the 10th began with very good signals from Papua New Guinea on
the tropicals, but virtually no signals or hets anywhere on medium wave.
Finally, past 1000 UTC, some MW TP signals were heard; first were the
Japanese, but then conditions quickly shifted to Australia and remained that
way through dawn. The 11th was similar, but with far weaker PNGs on 90
through 60 meters (Wantok Radio Light was at good to very good levels both
nights, though).
We had high hopes for spectacular MW propagation across the Pacific, based
on the low solar flux and A/K indices the previous days. Unfortunately
reception turned out to be "average", but I'll take average any day over the
truly lackluster MW reception I experienced in January and April at the WA
coast.
This DXpedition was my first chance to hook the portable Eton E1 to a "real"
antenna. I fully expected the front end to "fold" when connected to the
Beverage antennas, but happily the E1 responded beautifully. It was great
fun to cruise the tropical bands and MW splits with the Eton, and experience
reception which in most cases was every bit as high performance as that
provided by communication receivers. Particularly memorable was listening to
World Cup soccer on 2NR Grafton, Australia (738 kHz) using the synch-AM
detector in LSB selectable sideband to avoid the domestic on 740.
Click on the links below to hear a couple of DX audio recordings made with
the E1:
http://www.guyatkins.com/files/sdr/wantok_r_light_7120_11_jun_2006_e1.mp3
(Wantok Radio Light, 7120 kHz, with talk & ID)
http://www.guyatkins.com/files/sdr/r_vanuatu_signoff_3945_10_jun_2006_e1.mp3
(R. Vanuatu 3945 sign-off with IDs, announcements, and anthem)
Check my SDR-1000 blog site (URL below) in a few days for comments and
recordings relating to the Flex-Radio's performance on the DXpedition.
------------------------------------
MEDIUM WAVE
558 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, Jun 10 1310 - Two stations mixing on 558: Japanese
talk and music (presumed JOCR Kobe) and Aussie accented English with talk
and an oldies tune (4GY Gympie?). Pretty low level for both stations.
(Atkins-WA)
594 JAPAN JOAK Tokyo, Jun 10 1118 - First het and audio noted on the MW band
tonight. Faint signal of male and female announcers in Japanese; improving
to fair by 1122. (Atkins-WA)
612 AUSTRALIA 4QR Brisbane, Jun 11 1240 - Interview or talk show with male
and female announcers, discussing bird flu. Parallel to 702 Sydney, also on
the Metro network. Nice signal on peaks. (Atkins-WA)
684 FIJI Radio One, Labasa, Jun 11 1304 - Presumed. Nice choral female
vocals and drumming at 1304; slowly giving way to a presumed Australian in
English. Back to island music at 1308. Fair signal at best. (Atkins-WA)
738 AUSTRALIA 2NR Grafton, Jun 10 1126 - Low level signal, with Aussie
accented English. Seemed to be talk on FIFA World Cup. Later at 1210, the
signal was much stronger and competing co-channel with RFO Tahiti in French.
Noted parallel 594 3WV Horsham at 1219. (Atkins-WA)
774 JAPAN JOUB Akita, Jun 11 1127 - Noted in passing at fair level with male
announcer in Japanese. Parallel to 828 Osaka (stronger) and 747 Sapporo.
(Atkins-WA)
783 AUSTRALIA 8AL Alice Springs, Jun 10 1220 - Presumed 8AL with good
signal, but not parallel VL8T on 2325 (Alice Springs 2310 is off for
maintenance, if i recall.) Very strong at times, with male and female
announcers in English. Discussion of Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka at 1239.
Noted with BBC relay of World Cup soccer (parallel 9740) at 1255 to time
pips at 1300 and into BBC world news. 8AL was a full 3 to 4 seconds behind
9740 (satellite delay). John Bryant notes this could possibly be 2YA Access
Radio in Wellington, NZ running BBC soccer coverage rather than 8AL, but as
he mentions there were no other Kiwis heard this morning. (Atkins-WA)
792 AUSTRALIA 4RN Brisbane, Jun 10 1242 - Nice program of classical and jazz
music with male announcer discussing selections. '14 minutes until 11' time
check at 1246. S-9 +10 dB signal!. (Atkins-WA)
891 AUSTRALIA 5AN Adelaide, Jun 11 1140 - Interview with announcer and male
guest; seemed to be discussing Australian politics. Noted parallel 2325 ABC
network, but 891 was mixing co-channel with presumed 4TAB Innisfail at times
with discussion of horse racing. Fair level. (Atkins-WA)
963 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, Jun 11 1210 - Pop music and female vocals at tune-in;
best on SW Beverage. Male announcer in English with possible ID at 1218, but
too faint to decipher. (Atkins-WA)
1098 MARSHALL ISLANDS V7AB Majuro, Jun 10 1020 - Very likely Majuro here
putting in a brief appearance, with island music and vocals in pres.
Marshallese. Fair level for a few seconds, then back to threshold audio.
Definitely not a South Pacific night! Noted a moderately strong open carrier
on 1098 while trolling past the frequency later in the morning. (Atkins-WA)
1566 SOUTH KOREA HLAZ Cheju, Jun 11 1145 - Sermon and hymns in Chinese;
typical for HLAZ at this time prior to switching to Japanese language at
1230. Strong and clear signal, and particularly enjoyable on the Eton E1
with synch-AM mode. (Atkins-WA)
--------------------------------------
SHORTWAVE
INDIA 4910, 1320-1340, AIR Jaipur Jun 10 Weak but increasing signal
approaching Jaipur sunset. Subcontinental music at tune-in, then apparent
news items in Hindi by male announcer at 1330. John Bryant and I compared
signals carefully on 4910, using my modded R-75, the SDR-1000, and my newest
acquisition, the Eton E1. The best signal? The Indian-made Eton E1 in its
remarkable synchronous AM mode! Antenna in use was a 1000 ft. NW Beverage
antenna connected directly to each receiver. The E1 never showed signs of
overload from this lengthy antenna, even on medium wave, where it provided
very impressive reception (for a portable receiver) of trans-Pacific
stations, such as the uncommon 8AL outlet in Alice Springs, Australia on 783
kHz. (Atkins-WA)
INDONESIA 2960, 1050-1110, RPDT2 Manggarai Jun 10 Presumed. Female announcer
reading a list of some sort, with many mentions of Indonesian city names and
individual names. Perhaps the Indo version of 'communicados'. No pause or ID
at top of hour, but some mentions of Manggarai at 1108. Nice S4 signal.
(Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3205, 1210-1216, R. West Sepik Jun 10 Very good signal of
PNG pops music and male announcer in Pidgin with mentions of Vanimo, Papua
New Guinea, and Sandaun. Phone interview at 1215. I did not do a formal
bandscan of PNGs, but the following were also noted in passing: 3260 R.
Madang; 3325 R. North Solomons; 3355 R. Simbu (weak-tentative); 3385 R. East
New Britain; 3905 R. New Ireland; 4960 Catholic Radio Network; and 7120
Wantok Radio Light (see separate logs on these last two). (Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 4960, 0845-1005, Catholic Radio Network Jun 10 Mellow
acoustic guitar music and Christian vocals at tune-in. Into Catholic mass at
top of hour without break or ID. I reviewed the recording of this station
later, and noted that the Vatican Radio interval signal was heard at 1002
UTC, followed by a weak 'Catholic Radio Network' ID by man in English. Poor
to fair signal at best. (Atkins-WA)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 7120, 0805-0940, Wantok Radio Light Jun 11 Very impressive
and strong signal tonight. Sermon in Pidgin by native pastor; acapella
vocals in English; Christian contemporary music selections. Female
announcer in English with time check '15 minutes past seven o'clock' and
Wantok Radio Light ID; introduction to local gospel music group with song
'Hosanna, Hosanna'. At 0900, into relay of NBC (Port Moresby) news. At 0910,
an interesting PSA for malaria treatment was heard; the text from my
recording: 'Every year in Papua New Guinea, there are more than one million
reported cases of malaria. That means about one quarter of Papua New
Guineans suffer from malaria each year. But malaria can be treated by
sleeping under treated mosquito nets every night. The mosquitos that spread
malaria only breed at night. Treated mosquito nets are safe for you and your
family, and enable everyone to get a good night's sleep. Mosquito nets do
protect against malaria. Pregnant women and children under five are at most
risk of dying from malaria, and must sleep under a treated mosquito net
every night. Be sure to have enough net for the whole family; the more
people protected by mosquito net, the greater the level of protection for
the whole community. They come in a range of sizes-- single, double, and
extra large, and are available at the grocer or your local store. Get more
information from your provincial health office; buying treated mosquito nets
is the best investment you can make to protect your family from malaria.
Malaria can be treated and cured. Sleep under a treated mosquito net every
night, and together we can beat malaria.' (Wow...more than a million cases
each year in PNG alone? Why are a few cases of bird flu getting all the
Western press? Third world issues always take a back seat, it seems.)
(Atkins-WA)
VANUATU 3944.8, 0945-1115, R. Vanuatu Jun 10 Lengthy sermon in presumed
Bislama at tune-in; nice sing-sing music by choir and acoustic guitar. Conch
shell and drums at 1000, and into news items. A mix of contemporary
Christian and pop music was played up until 1111 when a female announcer
gave ID and full sign-off announcements including MW, SW, and FM
frequencies, and mentions of Port Vila. Into anthem and sign-off 1115*. Good
signal level, and very enjoyable on both the SDR-1000 and the Eton E1 with a
Beverage antenna. Our usual setup at Grayland includes an impedance matching
transformer ahead of a ARR preamp upstream of an 8-way passive Mini-Circuits
splitter. A separate trio of components is used with each of the Southwest,
West, and Northwest antennas. (Atkins-WA)
Guy Atkins
Puyallup, WA USA
DXing at Grayland, WA
http://www.sdr-1000.blogspot.com
Flex-Radio SDR-1000 / mod. ICOM R-75 / Eton E1
SW, W, and NW Beverage antennas 800-1000 ft. long;
PA0RDT Mini-Whip antenna @ 30 ft. height
Father Michael
(snip)
Wonderful. Guy, i always enjoy reading about your DXpeditions.
makes me wish i could be there. thanks for the report. always
good business.
Father Mike...
Guy Atkins
not 8AL Alice Springs. John Bryant checked 2YA's Web site this morning, and
discovered they broadcast BBC World Service between midnight and 5 a.m.
their local time, which is within the timeframe we were DXing. 2YA had a
pretty amazing signal, considering that propagation didn't favor New Zealand
at all (we heard no other Kiwis on the DXpedition). There have been rare
times in the past when conditions were the reverse-- all Kiwis and no
Aussies.
John Plimmer
Getting MW DX from 8,000 miles away is awesome = well done.
That E1 is certainly impressive.
re the Malaria, you are right about the first world countries ignoring third
world deaths.
Here in South Africa alone over 600 die everyday from AIDS and TB
tuberculosis.
--
John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa
South 33 d 47 m 32 s, East 20 d 07 m 32 s
RX Icom IC-756 PRO III with MW mods
Drake SW8 & ERGO software
Sony 7600D GE SRIII
BW XCR 30, Braun T1000, Sangean 818 & 803A.
GE circa 50's radiogram
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop
http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx
"Guy Atkins" <dxNO...@guyatkins.com> wrote in message
news:0d6dncB65dIlwxPZ...@comcast.com...
> This past weekend, I met with DXers John Bryant and Don Nelson for two
> nights of fishing for exotic signals at Grayland, Washington. It was great
> to see Don again after well over a year of our paths not crossing at
> DXpeditions; and John has recently returned to the Pacific Northwest where
> he is nearing completion of his summer and fall home on beautiful Orcas
> Island.
>
> 783 AUSTRALIA 8AL Alice Springs, Jun 10 1220 - Presumed 8AL with good
> signal, but not parallel VL8T on 2325 (Alice Springs 2310 is off for
> maintenance, if i recall.) Very strong at times, with male and female
> announcers in English. Discussion of Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka at 1239.
> Noted with BBC relay of World Cup soccer (parallel 9740) at 1255 to time
> pips at 1300 and into BBC world news. 8AL was a full 3 to 4 seconds behind
> 9740 (satellite delay). John Bryant notes this could possibly be 2YA
> Access Radio in Wellington, NZ running BBC soccer coverage rather than
> 8AL, but as he mentions there were no other Kiwis heard this morning.
> (Atkins-WA)
>
> 891 AUSTRALIA 5AN Adelaide, Jun 11 1140 - Interview with announcer and
> male guest; seemed to be discussing Australian politics. Noted parallel
> 2325 ABC network, but 891 was mixing co-channel with presumed 4TAB
> Innisfail at times with discussion of horse racing. Fair level.
> (Atkins-WA)
>
RHF
DXpedition Reports from Grayland ~ RHF
WRT - PNG and "Malaria" vice WNV here in the USA :
All Politics is Local and the Local News is often what
Sells the News Papers and TV & Radio Air Time.
- - - What 'interests' the Readers, Viewers and Listeners
-vice- what informs them about the world that they live in...
While a 25% 'incident' of Malaria is bad in PNG :
There are now whole Countries in Africa where
the HIV Infection Rate is in the 40% Range;
with the potential for the population of Africa
decreasing over the next 30-Years or longer.
.
.
. .