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ULR DX Season winding down.........
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On 2012-04-30, at 7:33 PM, RichardA wrote:
Same here Richard............I won't be doing much AM BCB DXing with the ULRs as the FM/TV Season is just starting to get going here. Once the E-Skip and Tropo starts going Crazy......I find it hard to pry myself away from that!! I don't use the ULRs for FM DXing however. With 2,154 FM Stations Logged to date...I just can't force myself to start from scratch with the ULRs. When things are hopping with E-Skip....you gotta bag 'em as quick as you can, and the RDS/HD Capabilities of the Big Rigs make it so much easier to ID Stations!! I have a 50 Foot Tower and a HUGE FM Beam, an APS-14, 14 Element FM Beam ...which also helps pull in the DX. Looks like we may both be sitting stagnant on AM over the Summer....and we'll get back to the Dials in Late August or September........ Have Fun with the FM DX!! 73...ROB VA3SW Robert S. Ross London, Ontario CANADA
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Richard and Rob,
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You guys have both had phenomenal Ultralight DXing results recently, and certainly are deserving of a break. With 1000 AM stations heard on ULR's, you both are entitled to a leisurely, relaxing summer (and I know that Rob shivered with me through the winter, too, chasing NDB's outside in the freezing cold). But it may surprise you both that summer is the most productive time for both AM and Longwave DXing here. A weird quirk in propagation makes summer the best time to chase South Pacific AM and Longwave DX on Pacific Ocean beaches, and I wish that you could both experience the thrill of how the bands miraculously change from static-filled wastelands into DXing paradises for a few short hours around sunrise on high cliffs overlooking the Pacific surf. If you hit it just right, Australia and New Zealand can both boom in like locals, right in the middle of July and August. When John Bryant first told me about this, it sounded like science fiction... but if anything, he was understating the excitement. The new FSL antennas (high gain and highly portable) have made Ultralight radios pretty competitive DU-DXing machines on their frequency of choice, and unlike multi-element arrays or beverages, they can be set up on the highest of cliffs. Recently-developed models have the gain of a 9-foot box loop crammed into one cubic foot of space, with a "footprint" of only one cubic yard (on their 5' PVC bases). I wish that both of you could enjoy at least one of these Summer Supercharged DXing sessions... you might change your attitude about the season :-) 73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Ross <va3sw@...> To: ultralightdx <ultralightdx@...> Sent: Tue, May 1, 2012 8:05 am Subject: [ultralightdx] ULR DX Season winding down......... On 2012-04-30, at 7:33 PM, RichardA wrote: Rob: I wouldn't worry much about me. My favorite time day for DXing is around sunrise, but it's about that time year when the sun is up before me. Usually at the end of the day I too tired to DX and fall asleep bu sunset. So until August I won't be doing much AM DXing until August. Hopefully their is lots of e-skip and tropo this year to fill the gap. Good DX. Richard. Same here Richard............I won't be doing much AM BCB DXing with the ULRs as the FM/TV Season is just starting to get going here. Once the E-Skip and Tropo starts going Crazy......I find it hard to pry myself away from that!! I don't use the ULRs for FM DXing however. With 2,154 FM Stations Logged to date...I just can't force myself to start from scratch with the ULRs. When things are hopping with E-Skip....you gotta bag 'em as quick as you can, and the RDS/HD Capabilities of the Big Rigs make it so much easier to ID Stations!! I have a 50 Foot Tower and a HUGE FM Beam, an APS-14, 14 Element FM Beam ...which also helps pull in the DX. Looks like we may both be sitting stagnant on AM over the Summer....and we'll get back to the Dials in Late August or September........ Have Fun with the FM DX!! 73...ROB VA3SW Robert S. Ross London, Ontario CANADA
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Hi Gary,
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You have a delightful and accurate way of describing the excitement of DU DXing! Besides the potential for reception of Australia and New Zealand, summer time DXing from the Washington and Oregon coast has the advantage of much more pleasant weather. It makes up for the misery of the cold, drizzle, and sometimes sideways rain when DXing at Pacific Northwest beaches in the winter and spring. I have DXed every month of the year multiple times at the coast since I started going on DXpeditions in 1987-88. In my opinion, every month has potential for DX; it's a non-stop "DX season". Even when the solar cycle is not favorable (like right now), there's always hope that an interesting or unusual DX catch will surface. If not, well, you can try antenna experiments, compare different receivers, or investigate other radio related pursuits. BTW Gary, wish me luck next week as I return to Grayland on the 6th through the 9th. Your 7-inch FSL antenna will be part of the DXpedition supplies :^) Guy Atkins Puyallup, WA USA
--- In ultralightdx@..., D1028Gary@... wrote:
> A weird quirk in propagation makes summer the best time to chase South > Pacific AM and Longwave DX on Pacific Ocean beaches, and I wish that > you could both experience the thrill of how the bands miraculously > change from static-filled wastelands into DXing paradises for a few > short hours around sunrise on high cliffs overlooking the Pacific surf. > If you hit it just right, Australia and New Zealand can both boom in > like locals, right in the middle of July and August. > > When John Bryant first told me about this, it sounded like science > fiction... but if anything, he was understating the excitement. The new > FSL antennas (high gain and highly portable) have made Ultralight > radios pretty competitive DU-DXing machines on their frequency of > choice, and unlike multi-element arrays or beverages, they can be set > up on the highest of cliffs. Recently-developed models have the gain of > a 9-foot box loop crammed into one cubic foot of space, with a > "footprint" of only one cubic yard (on their 5' PVC bases). I wish that > both of you could enjoy at least one of these Summer Supercharged DXing > sessions... you might change your attitude about the season :-) > > 73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)
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Thanks Guy,
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Yes, chasing South Pacific AM-DX in the middle of summer probably sounds pretty weird-- at least until someone tries it out (and gets hooked). Strangely enough, both the Ultralight AM-DXing distance record (from North America) and the Ultralight NDB-DXing distance record (worldwide) were set during this type of bizarre DXing on the west coast-- right in the middle of summer. <<< Besides the potential for reception of Australia and New Zealand, summer time DXing from the Washington and Oregon coast has the advantage of much more pleasant weather. It makes up for the misery of the cold, drizzle, and sometimes sideways rain when DXing at Pacific Northwest beaches in the winter and spring. >>> Well, your dedication to set up in the Grayland yurts during all kinds of foul weather probably gives you a unique perspective on coastal DXing, Guy. As I recall, you even went through an earthquake in one of the recent Grayland sessions. Fair-weather DXers (like me) could probably learn a lot from your determination. <<< I have DXed every month of the year multiple times at the coast since I started going on DXpeditions in 1987-88. In my opinion, every month has potential for DX; it's a non-stop "DX season". Even when the solar cycle is not favorable (like right now), there's always hope that an interesting or unusual DX catch will surface. If not, well, you can try antenna experiments, compare different receivers, or investigate other radio related pursuits. >>> Yes, last year the Solar Cycle usually didn't cooperate very well with our DXpedition agendas, did it? It's always been the luck of the draw, but recently the deck seems stacked against us. Fortunately South Pacific DX is less dependent on solar cooperation than Asiatic TP propagation (according to Chuck, and other experts). <<< BTW Gary, wish me luck next week as I return t o Grayland on the 6th through the 9th. Your 7-inch FSL antenna will be part of the DXpedition supplies :^) >>> Thanks for taking the 7" FSL along, and good luck in Grayland next week, Guy. You certainly can't do any worse than we did in our May 2008 (one-night) Dxpedition, when we received nothing except curious stares from the clam diggers :-) 73, Gary
-----Original Message-----
From: thinkdx <dx@...> To: ultralightdx <ultralightdx@...> Sent: Wed, May 2, 2012 11:04 am Subject: [ultralightdx] Re: ULR DX Season winding down......... Hi Gary, You have a delightful and accurate way of describing the excitement of DU DXing! Besides the potential for reception of Australia and New Zealand, summer time DXing from the Washington and Oregon coast has the advantage of much more pleasant weather. It makes up for the misery of the cold, drizzle, and sometimes sideways rain when DXing at Pacific Northwest beaches in the winter and spring. I have DXed every month of the year multiple times at the coast since I started going on DXpeditions in 1987-88. In my opinion, every month has potential for DX; it's a non-stop "DX season". Even when the solar cycle is not favorable (like right now), there's always hope that an interesting or unusual DX catch will surface. If not, well, you can try antenna experiments, compare different receivers, or investigate other radio related pursuits. BTW Gary, wish me luck next week as I return t o Grayland on the 6th through the 9th. Your 7-inch FSL antenna will be part of the DXpedition supplies :^) Guy Atkins Puyallup, WA USA --- In ultralightdx@..., D1028Gary@... wrote: A weird quirk in propagation makes summer the best time to chaseSouth Pacific AM and Longwave DX on Pacific Ocean beaches, and I wish thatsurf. If you hit it just right, Australia and New Zealand can both boom innew FSL antennas (high gain and highly portable) have made Ultralightof a 9-foot box loop crammed into one cubic foot of space, with athat both of you could enjoy at least one of these Summer SuperchargedDXing sessions... you might change your attitude about the season :-)
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Chris C.
Hi Gary,
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Could you explain a bit what the 'quirk' in propagation actually is, that allows for TP receptions during the summer? Does it have anything to do with the winter conditions in the Southern Hemisphere? AS far as summer conditions go, I still tune the MW band and see what's out there. I suppose there's less to hear, but I still try to hear whatever the propagatoin will allow.... Chris
--- In ultralightdx@..., D1028Gary@... wrote:
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Hi Chris,
<<< Could you explain a bit what the 'quirk' in propagation actually is, that allows for TP receptions during the summer? Does it have anything to do with the winter conditions in the Southern Hemisphere? Thanks for your interest in summer season DXing of South Pacific stations here on the west coast. You are correct-- this propagation "quirk" occurs because of winter conditions in the Southern Hemisphere during the time when we have our local summer. Although here in the Northern Hemisphere the months of June, July and August are typically a dreary time of static-filled AM and Longwave bands, the opposite is going on in the Southern Hemisphere areas of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands at this time. They have great AM and LW band conditions during our summer.The propagation "quirk" occurs because during June, July and August, our local sunrise times coincide exactly with the South Pacific sunset times, and AM and LW propagation between the two very distant areas is suddenly enhanced greatly (for about an hour). Because there is a direct ocean path between the two distant areas, a west coast DXer can get an even greater propagation boost to the South Pacific by heading for a Pacific Ocean beach at this time (around 1200 UTC, or 0500 local time) and enjoying an all-salt water path to these distant areas. This combination of DXing advantages allows us to sort of "tap into" the great winter DXing conditions in the Southern Hemisphere at the time, and the signal strengths of these distant "DU" (or "down under") stations around our local sunrise can be astonishing. The same DXing phenomena can be experienced at West Coast inland locations like Seattle, Renton and Puyallup during the months of July and August, but the South Pacific station signal strengths are nowhere near as strong as they are right on the ocean beaches. For example, during a July 2010 trip to Lincoln City, OR (right on the beach), two long-range South Pacific stations on 738 kHz (Tahiti in YL French, and 2NR in Grafton, Australia) were in an unforgettable battle, pegging the PL380's signal-to-noise display at the maximum of 25 (MP3 posted at http://www.mediafire.com/?eea954j14dmzalm ). 73 andGood DX, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA) -----Original Message----- From: renton481 <renton481@...> To: ultralightdx <ultralightdx@...> Sent: Thu, May 3, 2012 7:27 pm Subject: [ultralightdx] Re: ULR DX Season winding down......... Hi Gary, Could you explain a bit what the 'quirk' in propagation actually is, that allows for TP receptions during the summer? Does it have anything to do with the winter conditions in the Southern Hemisphere? AS far as summer conditions go, I still tune the MW band and see what's out there. I suppose there's less to hear, but I still try to hear whatever the propagatoin will allow.... Chris --- In ultralightdx@..., D1028Gary@... wrote: on ULR's, you both are entitled to a leisurely, relaxing summer (and Isummer is the most productive time for both AM and Longwave DXing here.South Pacific AM and Longwave DX on Pacific Ocean beaches, and I wish thatsurf. If you hit it just right, Australia and New Zealand can both boom innew FSL antennas (high gain and highly portable) have made Ultralightof a 9-foot box loop crammed into one cubic foot of space, with athat both of you could enjoy at least one of these Summer SuperchargedDXing sessions... you might change your attitude about the season :-)before me. Usually at the end of the day I too tired to DX and fall asleepbu sunset. So until August I won't be doing much AM DXing until August. Hopefully their is lots of e-skip and tropo this year to fill the gap.DX. Summer....and we'll get back to the Dials in Late August or September........
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ferrite61 <dxrx@...>
Chris :o)
Tuning around in the summer months does have its rewards. For some reason some local area stations on off-channels do better late at night. Early nite before 10PM EDT is a wash-out, but around midnight to 4AM things get better. MHO is that the local electric load decreases, and generally better propagation occurs. Paul S. in CT --- In ultralightdx@..., "renton481" <renton481@...> wrote: [edited for reply to this general point] AS far as summer conditions go, I still tune the MW band and see what's out there. I suppose there's less to hear, but I still try to hear whatever the propagatoin will allow....
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Chris C.
Hi Gary,
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Thanks for the info. I was aware that late winter / early spring was supposed to be a good time to catch DU's, but wasn't aware of the summertime phenomenon. I haven't heard a DU on any of my MW rigs (still dusting off some of the equipment, and just got into this ultralight thing), but I did catch KORL in Hawaii during the summer once a long time ago (on my DX 160), so I'm sure it's possible to get TP DX that time of year. Chris
--- In ultralightdx@..., D1028Gary@... wrote:
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