Rockwork 4 Ocean Cliff-- Freakish NZ Propagation


Gary DeBock
 

Hello All,
 
During the recent one-week DXpedition to the Oregon coast sheer cliff "Rockwork 4" (about 10 miles south of Cannon Beach) the daily propagation to several New Zealand AM stations seemed completely "locked in" every morning, with  extremely stable reception, no fading-- almost as if the stations had ground wave propagation. Once sunrise enhancement started around 1200 they were always there, never allowed any Aussie QRM on their frequencies, and all stuck around until the DU propagation collapsed around 1330 daily. The bizarre regularity of these (and other) New Zealand stations almost made it seem like the Cliff was a separate piece of Kiwi real estate.
 
Posted below are several MP3 links for these ultra-stable NZ signals, with each one covering several minutes. For anyone on the west coast who hasn't heard New Zealand on AM, a trip to "Rockwork 4" should provide instant success!
 
567- RNZ (50 kW, Wellington) -- 1215 UTC 7-27-13 (1.8 MB file)
 
603- Radio Waatea (5 kW, Auckland) -- 1252 UTC 7-22-13 (1.2 MB file)
 
765- Radio Kahungunu (2.5 kW, Napier-Hastings) -- 1225 UTC 7-26-13 (1.8 MB file) 
 
783-Access Radio (10 kW, Wellington) -- 1247 UTC 7-21-13 (1.6 MB file)
 
73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)
7.5" loopstick Tecsun PL-380 + 12" FSL antenna