Excellent Longwave propagation was the big story of this month's Rockwork Cliff effort, with Tom R. once again breaking the record for South Pacific NDB's received during a west coast DXpedition. But even on the lower part of the Medium Wave band some South Pacific signals got a huge boost as a related bonus. The two Kiwi stations on 531 kHz pounded in like locals when the South Pacific NDB's made their move, and 558-Fiji rode the same trend. Other than that the usual Kiwi and Aussie regulars rounded out the top ten, except that the new 1107-Magic Talk made the list for the first time, definitely seeming to have received a power boost along with the new format.

531  More FM   Alexandra, New Zealand   2 kW   The rare Kiwi rocker (except for Rockwork) pounded in at S9+ during some exceptional Longwave propagation at 1307 on 8-9, with a female ID at 40 seconds  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/qolvem4idtcnc13q4map1akzn4kjjay3
         Another S9+ rocking signal during the record breaking Longwave propagation at 1302 on 8-8; ID at 53 seconds  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/87mcu8quklzeqknfl5hf7vy5oc3vylgl
531  PI   Auckland, New Zealand   5 kW   Another beneficiary of exceptional Longwave propagation with female Samoan and island drum music at S9 level on 8-6 at 1307  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/qkcrdgqr3a2q6xnsjhhinujcix2ibc6y
         Island music at similar S9 level at 1309 on 8-2  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/n5qbmjytn4dt2fblzn0v1r3t9zmbvu1m
558  Radio Fiji One   Suva, Fiji   10 kW   Church music at S9+ level at 1307 on 8-3; this signal was found by Craig Barnes  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/jnfbi4r7d1tn0c0u74bldkyifiayzi1b
         Island music at S9 level with female voiced ID at 1:18, and male voiced ID at 1:24  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ndgtrr4ny3a4uxq704jgli88ecccpdwc
585  7RN   Hobart, Australia   10 kW   Once again this Tasmanian RN network relay seemed to tap into the Kiwi propagation pipeline to the Cliff, usually hitting a powerful level at least once each session, as at 1317 on 8-7  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/9wah7pdvq0pg0gy7r81nebj0ugcsy2ey
 603  Radio Waatea   Auckland, New Zealand   5 kW   Maori net flagship station usually hit several S9 peaks with its Maori music each session, such as at 1302 on 8-4  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/uxw3hiowrc1pu122a48f1t4m2xt5b22f
Australian interloper 4CH (// 594) temporarily sneaks onto the frequency at a good level all alone at 1305 on 8-5, only to be humbled by an S9 Radio Waatea a few seconds later  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/uxw3hiowrc1pu122a48f1t4m2xt5b22f
657  Star   Wellington/ Tauranga, New Zealand   50/ 10 kW   The Christian hymn broadcaster always managed a potent signal each morning (such as at 1321 on 8-3), but was typically plastered by heavy splatter https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/mv1x0iqrvgkyyojh09oowz36xw7owf9m
702  2BL   Sydney, Australia   50 kW   LR network big gun was overall the strongest Oz signal during the DXpedition, and typically had the edge over NZ's Magic, as at 1315 on 8-1  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/1d01x2womxzqacy1f1ooqf91zqbqwn0p
765  Radio Kahungunu   Napier-Hastings, New Zealand   2.5 kW   Overachieving Maori network station was its usual booming self, with this Maori music S9 signal at 1248 on 8-4  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/bqx6iuffr9relwc9bg0ewt276yilwq90
1017  A3Z   Nuku'alofa, Tonga   20 kW   This South Pacific big gun continued to pound in at S9+ several times each morning, such as with church music at 1321 on 8-4  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/kzv3pmyjnhkmyixde5vogjv85evaqxqp
          Young female Tongan speech was testing my Ultralight radio's crunch resistance at 1253 on 8-7  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/nvhy8kiw630h9msmtchynkwt7fjrbkrb
1035  Newstalk ZB   Wellington, New Zealand   20 kW   Usually managing S9 peaks several times during a session, such as with this ID and Kiwi ad string at 1317 on 8-3  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/a3sgzvq9syg9u6eqwasu1avmnbc96gmw
1107  Magic Talk   Tauranga/ Rotorua, New Zealand   "1 kW" (LOL)   The new-format phenomena from NZ's Mediaworks, apparently featuring call-in talk from Monday to Friday and a parallel with the oldies-broadcasting Magic network (702-738-891) on weekends. This S9+ oldies music // 702 (including the "Magic difference" ID) was received during the Kiwi weekend at 1318 on 8-3  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/0ww0477aey9oc4hv3jmqqjqffwbriklj
           The new-format call in talk program was also at an S9+ level at 1313 on 8-6  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/2q9l94q89i7lqwytl2h0vzyfwopd3s4z
1503  Radio Sport   Wellington/ Chrischurch, New Zealand   5/ 2.5 kW   The big gun Kiwi network with the Yankee-accented relay of Fox Sports Network after 1300 daily, such as at 1315 on 8-1  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/cebgbgw96tepsp2atq2ezw4tbrcjcs4i

73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock (DXing with Tom Rothlisberger and Craig Barnes from August 1-9 at the Rockwork ocean side cliff on Highway 101 near Manzanita, Oregon, USA)
7.5" loopstick CC Skywave SSB and XHDATA D-808 portables +
15", 15" and 17" Airport Unfriendly FSL antennas
DXpedition video (with an unusually smooth ocean) is posted at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tLpBzB1qrM
 

At the risk of receiving some rotten tomatoes across the border from Victoria I decided to compile a detailed report of the final Rockwork Cliff DXing session on August 9th, mainly because there is far more time for such activities back at home. The DU's are somewhat more enhanced at the ocean cliff site, especially for blasters like 531, 558, 603, 1017 and a few others. Nick has spent some serious time at the Cliff himself, so he knows the score.

This last session was a wild one featuring enhanced DU's on both Longwave and Medium Wave at the same time (1230-1300), making it tricky to choose priorities in live DXing. At my 1200 setup time there was no South Pacific NDB propagation on Longwave, but a spot check at 1230 revealed 260-NF on Australia's Norfolk Island at a fair to good level, and the Longwave NDB rush was on. A detailed search was made for trans-equatorial beacons, and although propagation wasn't quite up to Thursday's standard, the final tally wasn't bad for a hot-rodded Ultralight--  238-KT (New Zealand), 260-NF (Norfolk Island), 320-AI (Aitutaki, Cook Islands) and 352-RG (Rarotonga, Cook Islands). 320-AI had apparently repaired its sick-sounding transmitter within a day, although its signal strength was down quite a bit from Thursday. During this Longwave search 531 kHz, 558 kHz and 1107 kHz were being recorded on dedicated Medium wave FSL's, and both 531 and 558 kHz caught some of the Longwave enhancement effect, resulting in S9 signals (and ID's) from both 531-More FM and 558-Radio Fiji One. 603-Waatea also pounded in at S9+, although that was after the live DXing switch back to MW around 1300.

Biggest impression of the morning (except for the unusually smooth ocean) was the potent boost that the enhanced Longwave propagation seem to provide for both 531-PI and 531-More FM, who seemed to tap into some extra strength from 1245-1315. Unfortunately, with the overwhelming strength of both 531-More FM and 558-Fiji there was no chance to check for Western Australian parallels on 531 and 558 to match the ABC football game heard on 702 kHz. The Longwave NDB's provided another thrilling session, though, with multiple low power stations crossing the Equator at great range.

238  KT   Kaitaia, New Zealand   2 kW   Fair strength Morse code ID at 1239; longest range beacon of the session  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/or98t3rs1i2i93l841smige8koj3auz8
260  NF   Norfolk Island (Australia)   500 watts   Fair strength Morse code ID at 1233, starting the Longwave NDB search  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ruqw0m124qs9rntaj1ag1hr4pd6hl5b7
320  AI   Aitutaki Island (Cook Islands)   Poor to fair strength Morse code ID at 1247, with CW tone note repaired within a day  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/e6hmsr8q6hblxktm0hv0cakbin0rdbu9
353  RG   Rarotonga, Island (Cook Islands)   Fair strength Morse code ID in Hawaii super beacon LLD splatter at 1253  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/b50ioz9mfae1w46ghj70ubgaiwfdtw9h
531  More FM   Alexandra, NZ   2 kW   Female-voiced ID and Kiwi ad string at S9 level from 1257-1259, obviously with some freakish propagation  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/nsg1k0e4em59zxfb2qnaif3181mdl2l8
More FM is coming out at S9+ at 1307; "better get the party started"  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/qolvem4idtcnc13q4map1akzn4kjjay3
531  PI   Auckland, NZ   5 kW   Island music and "531-PI" ID (21 seconds) at huge level at 1300 https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/k4bvzhpht4dknz3rex3frvb49i046wut
     Drum oriented S9 Island music at 1317  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/9u3nwv2ewe0vyjjtvl7ryenwacn1f5t9
558  Radio Fiji One   Suva, Fiji   10 kW   S9 island music with female ID at 1:18, and male ID at 1:24  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/ndgtrr4ny3a4uxq704jgli88ecccpdwc
585  7RN   Hobart, Australia   10 kW   The Tasmanian ABC relay goes against the Kiwi trend with fair to good strength female speech // 576 at 1318  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/tp95vt97xc8z4gkg4e3fxgz289t6159o
603  Radio Waatea   Auckland, NZ   5 kW   R&B music at S9 strength // 765 at 1305  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/eed53kcqemgu9ovtz67yw899w0dx4f8v
702  Magic   Auckland, NZ   10 kW   Classic oldies pounding in at huge level over 2BL at 1248  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/7pogcfk1gxad5vnlecegfzeuz7v4xsic

73 and Good DX,
GaryDeBock (DXing at the Rockwork 4 ocean cliff turnout on Highway 101 near Manzanita, OR, USA on August 9th, 2019)
7.5" longwave loopstick Tecsun PL-380 Ultralight + 12" Longwave FSL (Longwave loggings)
7.5" loopstick CC Skywave and XHDATA D-808 portables + 15", 15" and 17" Airport Unfriendly FSL antennas (Medium Wave Loggings)
Last day DXpedition video showing the gear (and the unusually smooth ocean) is posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tLpBzB1qrM

Starting with the extremely rare appearance of the 500 watt Longwave NDB 260-NF (Norfolk Island) on an Ultralight radio it was an Oz-slanted session on the cliff, as several Australian stations temporarily took over Kiwi frequencies on the low band. This caused some interesting frequency fights, such as on 603 where the unusual 4CH came in at a very good level at 1305, only to be completely buried by an S9+ Radio Waatea a half minute later.

The morning session started off with a bang as I set up the  Ultralight Longwave gear for the second day in a row, hoping to simply check some of the Alaskan NDB's along with Tom. The Hawaiian super beacon 353-LLD was unusually strong, though, so on the outside chance that one of the super rare South Pacific NDB's might show up I checked for 260-NF on Norfolk Island, a 500 watt beacon off the coast of Australia.  At 1205 I was stunned to find NF already pretty strong with a decent signal, the strongest I had ever heard it. After notifying Tom I went back to the gear and tried for 270-FA (MIA), 238-KT (a 2 kW beacon at the northern tip of NZ, received at a fair level), and 352-RG (MIA). In the predawn darkness I tried to find a list of more target frequencies, but the Longwave propagation to the South Pacific tanked around 1220 on the Ultralights.

The Australian stations made their big move after 1300, and were dominant by 1330. The identity of 639-2HC around 1320 was easy to determine now that 639-RNZ has shut down, since a single commercial ad rules out the ABC stations. David Sharp's 585-2WEB showed up at a fair to good level with rock music around 1329, with the first 2WEB ID I've ever been able to decipher (barely) at 1330. I've received the station many times previously, but Programming Director David (a member of our Ultralight Radio group) always assisted me with the identity check by matching my recorded song with the station's music log. The first time this happened was in 2010 in Seaside, when I received an UnID rock station on 585 and railed on the Ultralight list about the "dumb Australian station on 585 that never ID's." Within a day I had an e-QSL from David, who had matched my recorded song to his music log :-)

238  KT  Kaitaia, NZ   2 kW   Longwave NDB with repeated Morse code ID at a fair level; first time received in 6 years  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/vjoi244n0533e0gkmhabreixyj6ed85z
260  NF   Norfolk Island, Australia   500 watts   Longwave NDB with repeated Morse code ID at a good level; first time received in 1 year  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/2sps8q3y7dr52012yer82ycxumoah456
531  More FM   Alexandra, NZ   2 kW   Dominant over the 531 circus (PI and 6-pip UnID) at 1300, with female voiced ID at 44 seconds  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/9rewxwuu6c9v2r8cd2ccjpbart2wqdli
585  2WEB   Bourke, Australia   10 kw   Rock music at 1329 not // 576 (the recording includes a parallel check at 27 seconds, with a female voice on 576) and a male-voiced 2WEB ID at 1:11  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/rlbsodh2bgc6z8o3h3dmzv7vc9m8p48k

603  4CH  Charleville, Australia   10 kW   Wild ocean cliff propagation-- ABC's male-female conversation at a very good level // 774 gets plastered by an S9+ Maori music signal from the Kiwi station Radio Waatea within a half minute  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/zdvs9ken0v3vr8gkqskys3vle5mheowe
639  2CH  Coff's Harbour, Australia   5 kW   Good signal at 1320 with SRN call-in talk program  https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/femsn15a98exwl7b5tf9emagf2l2azw9

73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock (DXing with Tom R. and Craig B. at the Rockwork 4 ocean cliff turnoff on Highway 101 near Manzanita, OR, USA)
7.5" loopstick CC Skywaves and XHDATA D-808 portables + 15", 15" and 17" Airport Unfriendly FSL antennas