Grayland DXpedition Loggings - April 9-10, & Antenna Report
 

Fabulous catches there Guy and a most absorbing report.
Thanks for that.
Some of those mediumwave catches are over 7,000 miles away, quite remarkable
for small active antenna's.
I would think the performance of the two active antenna's is right up there
with a 1,000 foot beverage.

I have the Roelof mini whip mounted well up, but it's performance doesn't
match my RF Systems DX 1 Pro, although it is a remarkable performer for its
tiny size and portability.
--
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" wrote in message
. ..
This two-night trip to Grayland turned out to be 95% tropical bands DXing,
as I found very little to get excited about on the medium wave
frequencies. There was some moderate geo-storming during the evenings
(particularly 4/9), but I don't know if it was my lack of Beverage
antennas or the propagation to blame.

The tropicals were far more productive than the meager catch of TP
regulars listed below. Best catch was R. Diff. TV de Djibouti on 4780 with
an ID, heard via longpath 1-1/2 hours after Grayland sunrise and 1/2 hour
prior to Djibouti sunset. Botswana and Zambia were also logged during
morning longpath.

Since I was staying at Grayland Beach State Park (1/2 mi. south of the
Grayland motel venue), I was limited to antennas that would fit on the
campsite (the few newer campsites at Grayland suitable for very short
Beverages were already reserved months ago). I can only wonder if the
noise would have been lower had I been in the new, expanded section of
Grayland, where campers are a bit further apart, and a few sites allow for
a few hundred feet of wire strung through the brush.

I used two newly-acquired antennas which complement each other well--the
Wellbrook ALA 100 and the tiny PA0RDT "Mini-Whip" (about the height of a
pencil). The antenna is powered through the coax (like the ALA 100) using
a small interface box mounted near the receiver. The antenna and the
well-built interface box are sold by Dutch NDB enthusiast Roelof Bakker,
PA0RDT, for just 43 Euros (shipping to USA included). I think Roelof may
have tweaked the antenna element to produce better results above longwave,
based on some other information I've heard. By the way, this antenna uses
an overload-resistant amplifier designed with some advice from well-known
Oregon NDB'er Steve Ratzlaff.

The ALA 100 was in a 40-ft. circumference setup the first night, and the
second evening I moved the poles apart and restrung the loop for a 54-ft.
circumference. Both nights the null was oriented toward Seattle. I used
two, 20-ft. "Black Widow" collapsible fishing poles as supports.

I mounted the Mini-Whip at 27 feet high on the second-to-last section of a
DK9SQ mast. The generous height helped the gain, as its designer Roelof
Bakker indicated it would. John Plimmer in South Africa mentioned that the
Mini-Whip is very prone to electrical noise, and I'd have to agree that
it's a real noise magnet. However, I was very impressed with it's
performance throughout medium wave up through the tropical bands. The gain
drops off quickly above 9 MHz or so compared to the ALA 100. On medium
wave the 5-inch long Mini-Whip kept right up with the Wellbrook, and many
times was the antenna of choice. On some parts of MW though, it was
considerably noisier than the Wellbrook (my campsite was near a number of
RVs with TVs, light dimmers, etc. all polluting the bands). I think the
Mini-Whip would have been the equal of the Wellbrook if I had been in a
totally RF-quiet area. (Hmm..I wonder if a 1:1 isolation transformer
between the Mini-Whip's power interface and the receiver would help reduce
noise?)

The ALA 100 was impervious to 99% of the noise, and at times was
*extremely* impressive. However, on the tropical bands the Mini-Whip was
the preferred antenna with better s/n ratio. I didn't have opportunity to
experience the Mini-Whip's reported superiority on longwave, as the local
noise and RFI buzzing was so bad below 500 kHz.

Both antennas are easily transportable and great choices when space is at
a premium. Please check my blog site in a couple of days for some photos
of these antennas, and also a few MP3 audio clips of DX from the trip to
Grayland (the tropical band logs will be posted there, too).

The SDR-1000 showed its superiority over my modded R-75 nearly every time,
although there were a couple tropical band frequencies where the ICOM was
clearly the winner. I *really* like Jeff, WA6AHL's new version of the
PowerSDR software for the Flex-Radio, with filter controls and operation
that fits "my" DXing style, and the expanded panadapter of 85 kHz with
panning and zooming features. The panadapter itself is far more useful
than the "stock" PowerSDR software from Flex-Radio. Screenshots and
comments will also be posted to the blog soon.

On to the few TP medium wave loggings:

------------------------------------
558 JAPAN JOCR, Kobe, Apr 10 1307 - Japanese female pop music tune to 1310
female announcers in Japanese. Korean language heard in background,
tentatively HLQH, KBS 2. Fair level. (Atkins-WA)

594 JAPAN JOAK Tokyo, Apr 9 1220 - Slowly building signal at tune-in 1220,
with lively Japanese conversation with male and female announcers.
Numerous mentions of Tokyo. Fair to good level. Best reception in the
SDR-1000's Binaural-SSB mode, which spreads the noise frequencies
left-to-right on stereo headphones, allowing for better concentration on
the voice frequencies. Also noted 4/10 with a strong signal at 1322.
(Atkins-WA)

612 AUSTRALIA 4QR Brisbane, Apr 10 1318 - Male and female announcers with
talk in Aussie-accent English; mentions of Brisbane and Adelaide. Parallel
to a weak 774 3LO Melbourne. Fair to good level. (Atkins-WA)

612 NEW ZEALAND 3XG Radio Rhema, Apr 9 1334 - Tentatively 3XG with choir
music, male announcers in English with Kiwi accent. Seemed to be
discussing church matters. Weak signal. (Atkins-WA)

667 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, Apr 10 1315 - Weak, QRMed signal, too messy to
identify language 100%. Seemed Japanese or Korean. (Atkins-WA)

774 JAPAN JOUB Akita, Apr 9 1235 - Strong signal of male announcer in
Japanese, and parallel to 828 JOBB Tokyo. Scraps of Aussie-accent English
in the background, possibly 4TO Townsville. (Atkins-WA)

828 JAPAN JOBB Tokyo, Apr 9 1248 - Fast-paced interview or radio drama at
a very good level. Parallel to 774 JOUB Akita. 3+1 time pips and NHK2 ID
noted weakly during a fade at the top of the hour (of course), but signal
back up at 1303. (Atkins-WA)

873 JAPAN JOGB Kumamoto, Apr 9 13012 - Weak signal of male talk in
Japanese, and parallel to 828 JOBB Tokyo. (Atkins-WA)

891 AUSTRALIA 4TAB Innisfail, Apr 10 1332 - Right at tune-in I caught
'Radio T-A-B Australia' ID at 1332, followed by man and woman chatter in
English. Good level, but faded quickly. Is this their typical ID without
the '4' in 4TAB?. (Atkins-WA)

891 UNIDENTIFIED Unid, Apr 9 1344 - Very weak signal of two male
announcers in English, possibly Kiwi. Perhaps 2XW, Wellington? Stayed with
signal and noise for 10 minutes, but it eventually faded out. (Atkins-WA)

SHORTWAVE
-----------------------------------------

AUSTRALIA 2310, 1145-1150, VL8A Alice Springs Apr 10 Music program with
West African kora music and vocals, introduced by announcer in English.
VL8K Katherine in parallel, but both outlets extremely weak. Retuned at
1405 to find MUCH stronger, clearer signals on both frequencies. Still in
audio (very weak) at 1545 (2.25 hours past Grayland sunrise). (Atkins-WA)

BOTSWANA 4930, 1520-, VOA Moepeng Hill Apr 10 James Taylor's 'You've Got a
Friend' at 1520; announcer in English with mentions of VOA, and gave Web
address for VOA Music Mix twice ('www.voamusicmix.net'). Announcer
greetings to listeners in Malawi, Uganda, and India. Into more light pop
music 1526. At 1528, the announcer mentioned the name of the program as
'Border Crossings--the music of the world.' Into news items 1530,
including trade show fire in India. 'VOA News' ID at 1531. Surprisingly
good signal at 2 hours past Grayland sunrise. (Atkins-WA)

DJIBOUTI 4780, 1450-1510, R. Diff. TV de Djibouti Apr 10 Male announcer in
Arabic with pres. Koranic recitation at tune-in; Horn of Africa music with
vocals, stringed instrument, and percussion at 1454. 'Techno piano' sound
effects at 1500, then announcements and a fast '...wa Radio Djibouti' ID
by man. Into news items, with various mentions of 'shariya'. Some CODAR
QRM. Reception was a half-hour prior to Djibouti sunset, and 1-1/2 hours
past Grayland sunrise. Fair at tune-in, but the signal dropped down into
the noise by 1510. Very pleased with this catch, the best tropical bands
log of the DXpedition. (Atkins-WA)

GUYANA 3291.1, 0518-0528, V. of Guyana, Sparendaam Apr 09 BBC relay in
English, with 3-way roundtable discussion of political parties in the UK.
Fair, and slowly improving signal. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 3345, 1232-1241, RRI Ternate Apr 10 Brief talk in Indonesian by
male, with another announcer in unid. language (not Arabic, but perhaps
tribal or hill country lang.); mentions of 'Koran' and USA, with crowd
noises and applause in background. Good signal. Retuned at 1410 to find
female announcer in Indonesian and lagu romantik music. (Atkins-WA)

INDONESIA 3976, 1411-1418, RRI Pontianak Apr 10 'How Great Thou Art' hymn
in Indonesian at 1411; Male announcer with many mentions of Pontianak
1413, followed by telephone report from a live event with auditorium
noises in background. Excellent signal and audio. Still going strong at
1545 recheck (2.25 hours past local sunrise). (Atkins-WA)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3205, 1200-1217, R. West Sepik Apr 10 ID at 1200 in
English, followed by world and PNG news items. Weather forecast for PNG at
1204, including mention of severe thunderstorms for Wabag region. Weather
in Pidgin 1205, brief flute music, and more talk in Pidgin with numerous
mentions of Vanimo. Catchy Melanesian tune at 1210. Good signal.
(Atkins-WA)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3235, 1217-1219, R. West New Britain Apr 10 Fair to good
signal of female announcer in Pidgin, introducing PNG musical group with
Melanesian pop tune. Some utilities QRM on USB. (Atkins-WA)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3325, 1220-1231, R. North Solomons Apr 10 Log drums music
to female announcer in Pidgin at 1223; primative-sounding vocals and flute
and wood flute music at 1224. US pop tune at 1230. Fair signal, but wedged
in tightly on both sides by adjacent-channel ute QRM. Presumed.
(Atkins-WA)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3365, 1241-1248, R. Milne Bay Apr 10 Tentative. Very weak
signal of two male announcers in probable Pidgin language, followed by pop
music. Signal was barely above the noise floor. (Atkins-WA)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 3385, 1248-1303, R. East New Britain Apr 10 Melanesian
sing-sing music at tune-in, followed by 'Young Love' 50s tune. Male
announcer in Pidgin 1258 with mention of Rabaul, PNG, 'meter band', and
'frequency'. Into old bluegrass Gospel tune. Fair to good signal.
(Atkins-WA)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 4960, 0920-0923, Catholic Radio Network Apr 10 Presumed
CRN here, with Christian contemporary music and introduction to selections
by woman announcer. Fair level, and noted again at 1135 with barely
audible signal. (Atkins-WA)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 7120, 0910-0913, Wantok Radio Light Apr 10 Noted in
passing with strong signal with Bible reading and commentary by man and
woman in English. Presumed. (Atkins-WA)

SOLOMON ISLANDS 5019.9, 0845-1118, SIBC Apr 10 First noted 0845 with
island music and reggae tunes; good level. Poor signal at 1107 retune with
female announcer reading South Pacific regional news items in English.
Into Bible reading by man at 1115. (Atkins-WA)

SWAZILAND 4774.98, 0415-0432, TWR, Mpangela Ranch Apr 10 Talk by male and
female in German, to German folk music at 0427. 'T-W-R' ID in English by
male announcer at 0430, followed by Web address. Into 'Focus on the
Family' with Chuck Swindoll at 0431. Good signal. (Atkins-WA)

VANUATU 3944.8, 0837-1105, R. Vanuatu Apr 10 Male announcer in Pidgin with
intro to island music selections; mentions of Vanuatu. Fair to good
signal. Retuned at 1101 to find a considerably weaker signal, with a
sermon or devotional in presumed Bislama and 'pray for the peace of
Jerusalem' mentioned. (Atkins-WA)

ZAMBIA 4910, 0448-0453, ZNBC, Lusaka Apr 10 Tentative. Sermon or preaching
in unid. African language by male. Poor and weakening signal, about an
hour past Lusaka sunrise. (Atkins-WA)

ZAMBIA 4965, 1533-1538, R. Christian Voice Apr 10 Typical Christian
programming in English, with children's drama program, sound effects, and
teaching on Bible principles. Fair to good signal, but losing to the
increasing band noise. VOA Botswana also in at this time. (Atkins-WA)



Guy Atkins
Puyallup, WA USA
DXing at Grayland Beach State Park
Flex-Radio SDR-1000; WA6AHL PowerSDR
ICOM R-75 (mod.)
Wellbrook ALA-100 and PA0RDT Mini-Whip antennas
sdr-1000 blog: www.sdr-1000.blogspot.com