What can you do to chase DX on an overseas trip when all indoor locations have bad RFI, and almost all outdoor locations are overcrowded, making it difficult or impossible to set up a gain antenna?

You can push your luck with a "supercharged" 7.5" loopstick portable (if you have one), and if you know which stations to chase, you can sometimes do quite well (as Bruce did recently, during his trip to Israel and Jordan). But what if you want to boost your transoceanic DXing results with a gain antenna? You can attempt to set up a gain antenna on an overcrowded beach (as I made the mistake of doing in Hong Kong, ending up with a circle of 20 Chinese onlookers staring at me for the duration during the sunset skip session), or you can use one of these new, highly portable FSL "combo units."

These models combine a TSA-friendly small sized FSL (with the lightweight 100mm x 20mm x 3mm ferrite bars) and a stock portable (CC Skywave or XHDATA D-808) on a common PVC frame. There are three plug-in slots for the portable on the PVC frame, with secure rubber mounting clamps to lock the portable in place so that it won't fall out, even if the combo is held upside down. The  three plug-in slots provide optimal FSL gain for either the low band, mid band or high band, with the rubber locking strips designed to grip either the CC Skywave or D-808. The combo can be carried around anywhere, and provides a medium-gain option for those places which are overcrowded, or where gain antennas are impossible to set up (like Hong Kong).

The TSA-friendly FSL's include both 4" and 5" models. The latter model was the main antenna for the recent Poipu, Hawaii DXpedition, during which all continents except Europe were received on MW. The concept of having such antenna gain available to carry around practically anywhere should inspire a lot of exciting exploration in the future!

73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)
Photo:  4" TSA friendly FSL and Stock CC Skywave Combo Model