Grayland DXpedition October 2018
-- THE  CASA  SEA  ESTA  DX  EXPERIENCE --

 

It was a pleasure to DX from Casa Sea Esta, but we set up too close to the residence and its QRM. (Click pics for larger view)

   Beach DKAZ                        DX Table                       Casa Sea Esta and DKAZ


Casa Sea Esta lower deck (LEFT), Vactrol controller (CENTER), Bruce reviewing DX recorded files (RIGHT) (Click pics for larger view)

   Lower Deck of Casa Sea Esta                                                              Vactrol controller                                                             Bruce reviewing files after DX


3-Day Kp Index covering the DXpedition


 K7WV Mediumwave Results
KHz Country Station City Date UTC Comments MP3
549 AUSTRALIA 2CR ABC Central West Orange 10/13/2018 1100 ABC fanfare and "ABC News" at TOH // 567, 657, 702; weak  
558JAPANJOCR CRKKobe10/15/20181400String of lively Japanese commercials to time PIPs at TOH 
558 S. KOREA HLQH KBS-2 Yeong-Il 10/14/2018 1403 Up-tempo pop song // 603, fair  
560 ALASKA KVOK Kodiak 10/15/2018 1418 "KVOK in Kodiak" following country song, fair   KVOK
567 JAPAN JOIK NHK-1 Sapporo 10/15/2018 1410 Piano music and JJ talk // 594, 666  
567 AUSTRALIA 4JK ABC NW QLD Julia Creek 10/13/2018 1100 ABC fanfare and "ABC News" at TOH // 657, 702  
570 HAWAII KUAI Eleele, Kauai 10/15/2018 0800 "KUAI Kauai's Country an Ohana Broadcast Station"   KUAI
576 AUSTRALIA 2RN ABC National Sydney 10/13/2018 1000 ABC fanfare and ABC News, fair  
585JAPANJOPG NHK-1Kushiro10/15/20181417Female announcer // 594 and at equal strength 
590 HAWAII KSSK Honolulu 10/14/2018 1431 Musical KSSK jingle between songs   KSSK
594 AUSTRALIA 3WV ABC W. Victoria Horsham 10/13/2018 1200 ABC fanfare, news by male announcer  
594 JAPAN JOAK NHK-1 Tokyo 10/15/2018 1200 Time pips and man with "NHK News"  
603CHINACRIDongfang10/14/20181400CRI interval signal/ ID tones at TOH, poor 
603 S. KOREA HLSA KBS-2 Seoul 10/15/2018 1431 Instrumental interlude with Korean announcement // 558 fair   HLSA
612 AUSTRALIA 4QR Brisbane 10/14/2018 1000 ABC fanfare and ABC News, poor with QRM  
620 ALASKA KGTL Homer 10/15/2018 1400 "KGTL AM 620, FM 100.1" at TOH   KGTL
621 TUVALU T2U2 Funafuti 10/15/2018 0858 Fair with "Island music" and woman talking through TOH   T2U2
621 AUSTRALIA 3RN ABC National Melbourne 10/13/2018 1000 ABC fanfare and "ABC News" at TOH // 657, 567  
630CHINAUNID CNR2various10/15/20181430CNR2 chimes, "Guangbo diantai Jingji zhi sheng" at BOH  CNR2
630 AUSTRALIA 4QN ABC North QLD Townsville 10/13/2018 1100 ABC fanfare and ABC news at TOH  
640 ALASKA KYUK Bethel 10/15/2018 1400 "KYUK your public radio station" by female announcer, all alone   KYUK
650 ALASKA KENI Anchorage 10/15/2018 1417 "on Newsradio 650 KENI" after local traffic report   KENI
650 HAWAII KPRP Honolulu 10/15/2018 0800 "You're listening to the new 650 KPRP AM Honolulu", good   KPRP
657N. KOREAPyongyang BangsongKangnam10/14/20181400Up-tempo martial music, KK announcement and time pips  PBS
657 NEW ZEALAND STAR Wellington 10/13/2018 1300 slow music // 909 but weaker  
657 AUSTRALIA 2BY ABC W. Plains Byrock 10/13/2018 1100 ABC fanfare and ABC news at TOH  
666 AUSTRALIA 2CN ABC Canberra Canberra 10/14/2018 1100 ABC fanfare at TOH, weak  
666 JAPAN JOBK NHK-1 Osaka 10/15/2018 1410 Piano music and JJ talk // 567, 594  
670 ALASKA KDLG Dillingham 10/15/2018 1400 You're listening to KDLG Dillingham also heard on KNSA Unalakleet"   KDLG
670 HAWAII KPUA Hilo, Hawai'i 10/14/2018 1000 "KPUA 670 your source for news, sports and information"  
675JAPANJOVK NHK-1Hakodate (likely)10/15/20181417Female announcer // 594, 666, briefly fair 
693 JAPAN JOAB NHK-2 Tokyo 10/15/2018 1258 English lessons // 702, 774  
700 ALASKA KBYR Anchorage 10/15/2018 1422 Glenn Beck Show rebroadcast, fair   KBYR
702 JAPAN JOFB/JOKD NHK-2 Hiroshima/Kitami 10/15/2018 1259 English lessons // 693  
702 AUSTRALIA 2BL ABC Sydney Sydney 10/13/2018 1000 ABC fanfare followed by news with female announcer, fair  
702 CHINA Jiangsu RGD Nanjing 10/15/2018 1424 with CC talk by woman  
711S. KOREAHLKA KBS-1Sorae10/14/20181401All alone, man reading news in Korean // 864 
729 AUSTRALIA 5RN ABC National Adelaide 10/13/2018 0930 ABC Fanfare and ABC News  
729 JAPAN JOCK NHK-1 Nagoya 10/15/2018 1449 Good with man speaking // 594  
738 AUSTRALIA 2NR ABC N. Coast Grafton 10/13/2018 1200 ABC fanfare, news by male announcer  
738 TAIWAN BEL2 Baisha 10/15/2018 1330 Woman speaking CC // 1143  
747 JAPAN JOIB NHK-2 Sapporo 10/15/2018 1410 "Hello everyone welcome to Enjoy Simple English", good  
750 ALASKA KFQD Anchorage 10/15/2018 1400 TOH musical jingle "KFQD Anchorage"   KFQD
756CHINACNR-1Harbin (likely)10/15/20181359Female vocalist into male announcer speaking rapidly // 981 
760 HAWAII KGU Honolulu 10/15/2018 0900 "KGU Honolulu The Reason"  
774 AUSTRALIA 3LO ABC Melbourne Melbourne 10/13/2018 1000 ABC fanfare and ABC News  
774 JAPAN JOUB NHK-2 Akita 10/15/2018 1410 "Hello everyone welcome to Enjoy Simple English" excellent   JOUB
780 ALASKA KNOM Nome 10/15/2018 1400 "KNOM AM - FM in Nome, it's Six O'Clock"   KNOM
790ALASKAKCAMGlennallen10/15/20181359"This is KCAM Glennallen the Voice of the Copper River Valley"  KCAM
792 AUSTRALIA 4RN ABC National Brisbane 10/13/2018 1000 ABC fanfare followed by news with female announcer, fair  
810 CHINA Zhejiang RGD Hangzhou 10/15/2018 1424 CC announcements by woman, fair   ZRGD
819 N. KOREA KCBS Pyongyang 10/15/2018 1259 instrumental music in 3/4 time, KK announcement and time pips   KCBS
819 AUSTRALIA 2GL ABC New Eng NW Glen Innes 10/13/2018 1000 ABC fanfare and news by woman announcer, poor  
828 AUSTRALIA 3GI ABC Gippsland Sale 10/14/2018 1200 ABC fanfare and news, poor  
828 JAPAN JOBB NHK-2 Osaka 10/15/2018 1412 English lessons with JJ comments about a visit to Kawagoe, good  
830 ALASKA KSDP Sand Point 10/15/2018 1300 "KSDP Sand Point and K201DA King Cove, Alaska"   KSDP
830 HAWAII KHVH Honolulu 10/14/2018 0900 "KHVH Honolulu an I-Heart Radio Station"   KHVH
837 AUSTRALIA 4RK ABC Capricornia Rockhampton 10/13/2018 1000 ABC fanfare and news, weak  
837CHINAHarbin RGDHarbin10/14/20181400Announcement, (late) time pips (5+1), "Xinwen" ID by male  Harbin RGD
846CHINAUNID RGDFuxin / Luyuan10/14/20181359Apparent commercial by rapidly speaking man just prior to TOH 
846 JAPAN JOCP NHK-1 Koriyama 10/15/2018 1435 Woman with call-in man on phone in JJ // 594  
850 ALASKA KICY Nome 10/15/2018 1400 Non-stop contemporary Christian music, no IDs, in for hours, loud   KICY
855 S. KOREA HLCX MBC Jeonju 10/14/2018 1300 MBC chimes at TOH, poor  
855 AUSTRALIA 4QO ABC Wide Bay Eidsvold 10/14/2018 1200 ABC fanfare // 828  
864 S. KOREA HLKR KBS-1 Gangneung 10/15/2018 1416 Loud, all alone with Korean talk and music clips  
873 JAPAN JOGB NHK-2 Kumamoto 10/15/2018 1410 "Hello everyone welcome to Enjoy Simple English", good  
873 N. KOREA KCBS Sinuiju 10/14/2018 1406 Operatic singer and orchestra // 819 fair, under JOGB  
882CHINAUNID RGDShenyang (likely)10/14/20181300Time pips, CC time anouncement, several commercials, poor  
890 ALASKA KBBI Homer 10/14/2018 1000 "You're listening to KBBI AM 890 Homer", good   KBBI
891 AUSTRALIA 5AN ABC Adelaide Adelaide 10/13/2018 0930 ABC fanfare followed by news with female announcer  
900NEW ZEALANDSTARDunedin10/13/20181331Slow music with female vocalist // 657, poor 
900 HAWAII KMVI Kahului, Maui 10/13/2018 1000 "Maui's ESPN Radio Station KMVI Kahului"  
909 NEW ZEALAND STAR Napier-Hastings 10/13/2018 1300 Music // 657 but stronger  
909 JAPAN JOCB NHK-2 Nagoya 10/15/2018 1448 Woman speaking // 774  
918 CHINA Shandong RGD Jinan 10/14/2018 1255 CC commercials and announcements, fair   SRGD
918 JAPAN JOEF YBC Yamagata 10/15/2018 1422 "YBC" ID over background music, fair   YBC
920 ALASKA KSRM Soldotna 10/15/2018 1359 "This is the One; KSRM Soldotna-Kenai-Homer", ABC news TOH   KSRM
930 ALASKA KTKN Ketchikan 10/15/2018 1328 "You're listening to KTKN's Michelle O'Brien", loud   KTKN
936 CHINA Anhui RGD Hefei 10/14/2018 1334 Woman in CC speaking over wooden flute music, fair  
936 JAPAN JOTR/JONF Akita / Miyazaki 10/15/2018 1433 Distinctive music "All Night Nippon" show // 918, 1197, 1215, 1242  
940 HAWAII KKNE Waipahu, Oahu 10/13/2018 0630 "All Traditional Hawaiian all the time AM 940"   KKNE
945 CHINA CNR-1 Jiaohe 10/14/2018 1452 Woman and man in CC, fair to good // 981   CNR-1
954 JAPAN JOKR TBS Tokyo 10/15/2018 1447 Woman in JJ with "TBS" ID, fair  
963 JAPAN NHK-1 synchros various 10/15/2018 1419 "Konbanwa..." (good evening) // 594  
963 CHINA CRI "Radio Kitaya" Huadian 10/14/2018 1400 CC traditional music and CRI tones at TOH, excellent   CRI
972 S. KOREA HLCA KBS Dangjin 10/15/2018 1359 Frequencies and "Hanminjok" prior to time pips, excellent  
981 CHINA CNR-1 Changchun 10/15/2018 1400 Commercials, time pips "Guangbo Diantai" by female // 945   CNR-1
990 HAWAII KIKI Honolulu 10/15/2018 0500 "KIKI Honolulu" at TOH  
990 FIJI Gold FM Naulu 10/15/2018 0631 "Here's another...Gold FM Sound Continues" between songs, fair   GoldFM
990 JAPAN JORK NHK-1 Kochi 10/15/2018 1424 Poor, under KIKI // 594  
999 CHINA Aihui RGD (likely) Aihui 10/15/2018 1337 Chinese talk by female, briefly fair, no parallels  
1008AUSTRALIA4TABBrisbane10/14/20181059Greyhound racing results and payouts, briefly good  4TAB
1008 JAPAN JONR ABC Osaka 10/14/2018 1431 Screenplay or acting segments in JJ  
1008 CHINA UNID RGD various
10/15/2018 1412 Rapid CC talk, man and woman, no //'s found (not CNR-1), Fair   RGD_1008
1017 CHINA CRI Changchun 10/15/2018 1400 CRI interval signal / jingle TOH, fair  
1017 TONGA A3Z Nuku'alofa 10/13/2018 0701 Solid, play by play sports match in Pacific language no TOH ID   A3Z
1020 ALASKA KVNT Eagle River 10/15/2018 1400 "KVNT 1020 AM" by male briefly over many station IDs   KVNT
1026 AUSTRALIA 4MK Mackay 10/13/2018 1101 "Saturday Night Classics on 4MK" by male announcer   4MK
1035 NEW ZEALAND Newstalk ZB Wellington 10/14/2018 0900 "Newstalk ZB News" read by male announcer, fair  
1040 HAWAII KLHT Honolulu 10/14/2018 0800 "KLHT Honolulu" at TOH   KLHT
1044 CHINA CRI Changzhou 10/15/2018 1416 JJ program with woman speaking  
1044 AUSTRALIA 5CS Port Pirie 10/14/2018 1200 Presumed w/ oldies, "Never Rains in S. California", etc. not // ABC   5CS
1053 JAPAN JOAR CBC Nagoya 10/15/2018 1500 CBC jingle and spoken ID, TOH chime, good   JOAR
1053CHINAUNID RGDShenyang/Jilin10/15/20181400String of commercials to time pips, time announcement by female  UNID RGD
1062 AUSTRALIA 4TI ABC Far North Thursday Island 10/14/2018 1200 ABC fanfare at TOH, weak  
1062 S. KOREA HLKQ KBS-1 Cheongju 10/14/2018 1332 KK spoken over insrumental music, briefly good  
1071 AUSTRALIA 4SB Kingaroy 10/14/2018 0900 With ID "This is 1071 4SB" and into oldies pop, briefly fair   4SB
1071 JAPAN JOFK NHK-1 Hiroshima 10/15/2018 1400 Man reading news // 594  
1089 JAPAN NHK-2 Sendai 10/15/2018 1329 female talk // 774  
1098 MARSHALL ISL V7AB Majuro 10/13/2018 1129 Loud,"Island music", brief Marshallese talk and Anthem at 1131   V7AB
1107 S. KOREA HLAV MBC Pohang 10/14/2018 1300 Weak MBC chimes at TOH  
1110 HAWAII KAOI Kihei, Maui 10/14/2018 1000 "12 Midnight; KAOI Kihei 1110 AM, 96-7 and 96-5 west side"   KAOI
1116 AUSTRALIA 4BC Brisbane 10/14/2018 1200 "Brisbane's News Source…4BC", fair   4BC
1125 JAPAN JOOC NHK-2 Obihiro (likely) 10/15/2018 1434 "Thanks for tuning in...See you next time" // 774 English lessons  
1125NEW ZEALANDRadio SportNapier-Hastings10/14/20180727EE announcer // 1503, 1KW 
1134 JAPAN JOQR Tokyo 10/15/2018 1437 "Bunka Hoso" ID and string of commercials, strong signal   V7AB
1134 S. KOREA HLKC KBS-3 Hwaseong 10/14/2018 1400 Completely on top of JOQR with "HLKC" call ID  
1143 TAIWAN BEL3 Baisha 10/15/2018 1400 Instrumental music to TOH, time pips, ID, news in CC // 738   BEL 3 Taiwan Fisheries
1143 S. KOREA R. Free Korea nr Seoul 10/14/2018 1400 Korean announcement with ID at TOH  
1143 JAPAN JOBR KBS Kyoto 10/15/2018 1453 Rapid fire JJ talk by excited man and woman  
1152 JAPAN JOPC NHK-2 Kushiro 10/15/2018 1423 English lesson // 774  
1152 AUSTRALIA 6PNN ABC Newsradio Busselton 10/15/2018 1500 "This is BBC World Service" at TOH and BBC News after chime   6PNN
1161TAIWANBCC CountryZhuangwei/Miaoli10/15/20181400BCC chimes at TOH, poor  BCC Country Netwk
1161 S. KOREA HLKU MBC Busan 10/15/2018 1300 MBC chimes at TOH, poor  
1170 S. KOREA KBS World Radio Gimje 10/14/2018 1300 Loud with "KBS World Radio" ID in EE and CC   KBSworld
1179 JAPAN JOOR MBS Osaka 10/15/2018 1436 good with man and woman back and forth in JJ, commercials  
1188 JAPAN JOKP NHK-1 Kitami 10/14/2018 1426 Man speaking // 594, fair  
1197 JAPAN JOWL STV Asahikawa (likely) 10/15/2018 1432 JJ talk by female and gong is struck // 1440, poor  
1206 CHINA Yanbian RGD Yanji 10/15/2018 1414 3-language ID including "Hello, welcome to Yanbian"   YRGB
1215 CHINA CNR-7 Zhujiang 10/15/2018 1300 Fanfare and "Guangbo Diantai" then "Huaxia zhi Sheng" at TOH   HuaxiaZhiSheng
1215 JAPAN JOBO KBS Maisuru 10/15/2018 1433 "All Night Nippon" // 918, 936, 1197, 1242  
1215 NEW ZEALAND Newstalk ZB Kaikohe 10/15/2018 1338 EE call-in guest discussing Australia and Syria  
1224 JAPAN JOJK NHK-1 Kanazawa 10/15/2018 1444 Man with monologue in JJ // 594, briefly good  
1230ALASKAKIFWSitka10/15/20181430"The Sound of Sitka; AM 1230 KIFW"  KIFW
1233AUSTRALIA2NC ABC NewcastleNewcastle10/14/20181027Woman interviewing man in English // 738 
1240HAWAIIKEWEKahului, Maui10/15/20180700"This is the Spirit of Hawaii; KEWE AM Kihei 1240 AM & 95.5 FM"  KEWE
1242 JAPAN JOLF Nippon Hoso Tokyo 10/15/2010 1430 Start of "All Night Nippon Music 10" with Ryoko Moriyama, good   JOIR
1251 CHINA CNR-1 Harbin (Shangzhi) 10/14/2018 1300 Commercials and time pips (5+1) at TOH  
1260 JAPAN JOIR TBC Sendai 10/15/2018 1439 Good and all alone with JJ talk, J-Pop song   JOIR
1270HAWAIIKNDIHonolulu10/15/20180658"KNDI 1270 AM Honolulu, Hawaii", Tagalog speaker  KNDI
1278 JAPAN JOFR RKB Fukuoka 10/15/2018 1452 with woman announcer in JJ, poor  
1287 JAPAN JOHR HBC Sapporo 10/14/2018 1400 Commercial, musical "HBC" jingle / ID, TOH chime; loud   HBC
1296 JAPAN JOTK NHK-1 Matsue 10/15/2018 1417 Monologue by woman // 594  
1305 CHINA Jinan RGD  Jinan 10/14/2018 1300 "Big Ben" chimes TOH with "Beijing Time" ann following   JRGD
1314 JAPAN JOUF OBC Osaka 10/15/2018 1429 Ad for J-pop music album, "Radio Osaka" ID by male  
1323 CHINA CRI "Radio Kitaya" Shuanghyashan 10/14/2018 1400 Good with traditional music, and IDs in CC and RR after TOH   CRI
1330 ALASKA KXXJ Juneau 10/15/2018 1301 "The greatest hits of all time KXJ" musical jingle; again at 1432   KXXJ
1332 JAPAN JOSF Tokai Hoso Nagoya 10/15/2018 1500 Local commercials with Tokai Hoso mention, time pips, next show   Tokai
1341CHINAHeilongjiang RGD (?)various10/14/20181441CC woman with translations of English clips (EE lessons?) Not CNR1  CC_UNID
1350 JAPAN JOER RCC Hiroshima 10/15/2018 1440 Show with excited man and woman, sound clips  
1359 CHINA CNR-1 synchros various 10/15/2018 1430 Music and two pips at BOH, then news // 945, 981  
1368 CHINA Jixi JGD Jixi 10/14/2018 1401 "Jixi Renmin Guangbo Diantai" following piano music   JIXI_RGD
1377 CHINA CNR-1 Xingyang 10/14/2018 1437 Man and woman back and forth // 945, 981, fair to good  
1386 JAPAN JOQC NHK-2 4 possibilities 10/15/2018 1412 English lessons with JJ comments about a visit to Kawagoe, good  
1386 S. KOREA HLAM MBC Mokpo 10/14/2018 1400 MBC chimes at TOH, poor   HLAM_MBC
1404 JAPAN JOVR SBS Shizuoka 10/15/2018 1451 "All Night Nippon" with discussion // 1242, 1332, not // 1287 HBC  
1413 JAPAN JOIF KBC Fukuoka 10/15/2018 1433 "All Night Nippon" // 918, 936, 1197, 1215, 1242  
1422 JAPAN JORF Yokohama 10/15/2018 1430 Excited woman with "Radio Nippon" ID   JORF
1431 JAPAN JOZF GBS Gifu 10/15/2018 1453 Traditional song, comments not // "All Night Nippon" (has to be GBS)   JOZF
1440 KIRIBATI TK31 Tarawa 10/15/2018 0758 Woman in Pacific language with underlying music, on top, fair   TK31
1440 JAPAN JOWF STV Sapporo 10/15/2018 1432 JJ talk by female and gong is struck // 1197, good   JOWF
1467 JAPAN UNID NHK-2 Hakodate, etc 10/14/2018 1453 English lessons // 774, fair  
1476 CHINA CNR-8 Tonghua 10/14/2018 1441 Presumed with woman in Korean followed by pop music   CNR-8
1494 JAPAN JOYR Okayama 10/15/2018 1500 Man and woman open the next show, rapid fire JJ  
1500 HAWAII KHKA Honolulu 10/14/2018 0700 "KHKA Honolulu" at TOH, fair to good   KHKA
1503 NEW ZEALAND Radio Sport Wellington 10/15/2018 1100 Fox Sports relay, "Radio Sport" ID TOH  
1503 JAPAN JOUK NHK-1 Akita 10/15/2018 1430 Man speaking // 594, fair  
1512CHINAUNID (likely JGG)Jinan10/14/20181436CC female monologue, apparent stage performance w/ live audience 
1512 JAPAN JOZB NHK-2 Matsuyama 10/15/2018 1434 English Lessons // 774 "We're so happy you tuned in today"  
1540 HAWAII KREA Honolulu 10/14/2018 1400 MBC chimes, "KREA Honolulu 1540 on your AM dial"   KREA
1548 AUSTRALIA 4QD Emerald 10/15/2018 1100 ABC fanfare, "ABC News" by female announcer  
1566 S. KOREA HLAZ FEBC Jeju 10/15/2018 1500 Fanfare and man reading schedule in CC at TOH, very good  
1570 HAWAII KUAU Haiku, Maui 10/13/2018 1000 "Keep it tuned to KUAU Haiku, Maui 1570 AM"  
1575 JAPAN AFN Misawa 10/15/2018 1229 "Now, for your family, today's hit music starts now...AFN The Eagle"   AFN Misawa
1575 THAILAND VOA Ban Phachi 10/15/2018 1429 With "Yankee Doodle" theme after announcement  
1584 NEW ZEALAND R. Hauraki Napier-Hastings 10/13/2018 1100 Presumed with continuous rock oldies, poor  
1593 CHINA CNR-1 Changzhou 10/14/2018 1425 Men in discussion in CC, briefly good  
1602JAPANNHK-2 synchrosvarious10/15/20181413English lessons with JJ comments about a visit to Kawagoe, fair 
1611 PHILIPPINES DWNX Naga City 10/13/2018 1202 Tagalog talk; Bruce got the positive ID several minutes later   DWNX
 


Antennas at dusk



Grayland DXpedition Oct 2018:
 My 10th Grayland DXpedition. I attended the 3-night DXpedition at Casa Sea-Esta, the furnished rental house just a short walk from the old Grayland Motel, with veteran DXers Chuck Hutton and Bruce Portzer. This was a new experience for us due to the Grayland Motel closure, but fellow DXer Bill Whitacre has been getting great results for years from here. We set up the 160-foot DKAZ out back in difficult terrain and used a vactrol (which I provided) for the first time which definitely proved beneficial. DKAZ orientation was our usual 270°. Propagation was not as great as expected on MW or LW. Not a shut out by any means, but something more was expected during "bottom of the cycle" conditions. Indeed the DU station counts fell short and the 53 JA's similar in number to the 2015 DXpedition results. 2016 was better and 2018 should have been better still. Unfortunately there was also a lot of QRM as we set up too close to the house, as confirmed by Bill Whitacre (who was in communication with Bruce), and sets up on the beach side of the berm with a 400' lead-in coax. We didn't have anywhere near that length and had to suffer the consequences. Even so there were some real surprises such as 17 Alaskans on Day 3 (only), 990 Gold FM from Fiji, 1575 AFN Misawa with the best ID I've ever heard, a robust 1440 Kiribati and an excellent signal from 1098 V7AB. Good and numerous China (at least 30, more than the number of Australians received) and decent South Korea (4 MBC affiliates) helped to make up for fewer Hawaii/Australia/NZ than is typical. For the first time in many a DXpedition the reliable New Zealand 1630 Khz beacon "TM" was not heard. LW was unimpressive with a half-dozen of the more prominent Pacific Beacons like AI 320 and PNI 366 being audible. LW DGPS yielded just two Aussies (of the expected 6). I did not even bother to report those to NDBlist or DGPSlist but will post a list here later. Upon listening to the MW recordings for logging purposes, the results proved to be somewhat better than my original impression, and the QRM less overwhelming (we did learn to turn off switches all over the house which made the 2nd and 3rd nights noticeably better), resulting in some good audio clips to be posted with the log above. We have already produced a combined 3-DXer log that Chuck reported to the DX community HERE. I have found many additional stations in my files since, though, and posted them above. Bruce had solid IDs from DWNX on 1611 but I cut that recording a couple minutes short and missed out on that ID. Note to self: longer TOH recordings!

On a related note, as urged by Bill Whitacre, we visited the new owners of the Grayland Motel and they are almost done refurbishing the last of the cottages, which look nice inside and out. They are renting those out using Airbnb. The Motel section, now called the Breakwater Inn, is now projected to be ready for guests in Spring 2019. They seemed pleased to have DXers stay there and no objection to erecting antennas during their stay as long as they are not left behind. The new owners are electrical contractors and are totally re-doing the electrical setup themselves so we will have to assess noise at the site with a tryout DXpedition, when they open in later in 2019. I expect that there may be a new era of DXpeditioning from there as long as they keep room rates reasonable. Otherwise the quite luxurious Casa Sea Esta is available.


Casa Sea Esta

MW Highlights

As mentioned above I was most pleased with the 17 Alaskans on the third morning, not heard for many years going back to when we were still working with the excellent BOG at 305 degrees, and our DKAZ was only at 270° (I was amazed so many were catchable with that orientation). 1230/1240 Khz "Graveyard" stations in from both AK and HI. Also 53 JAs was not bad at all and similar to the last two Grayland DXpeditions in 2015 and 2016. New ones for me were  JOZF 1431, JORK 990 and JOBO 1215. As Chuck mentioned in his comments of our submitted 3-DXer log, 4 MBC affiliates (10 KW) from South Korea is noteworthy and a pretty good result. It was an educational experience (and fascinating) attempting to ID the numerous China stations received this time. AFN 1575 "The Eagle" had the best ID I have heard yet, and Kiribati and Gold FM were first timers for me as well, and quite robust. V7AB 1098 was local-like for hours, much better than 1017 Tonga (which blew away every other Pacific at the Rockwork cliffs in August). The South Australia oldies station 5CS 1044 was a first-time logging for me too, and a surprise given the subdued DU propagation we encountered this time. The only Tagalog I definitely heard on my recordings was on 1611 (Bruce had solid DWNX IDs there a few minutes later). Chuck had a 'new one' with Bombo Radyo on 1044.

As a J-Pop and anime fan I couldn't help but enjoy the content of many Japanese stations such as Tokai this recording from 1134 JOQR Bunka Hoso with Nana Mizuki singing "Hideki no Hana". Nana Mizuki is an idol known for her anime opening theme songs and "Nadeki no Hana" is track 4 of her new CD single "Never Surrender". You can hear samples of the 4 tracks here: NEVER SURRENDER. Hideki no Hana is the opening theme for the anime Ken en Ken: Aoki Kagayaki. It is always a joy to listen to the Japanese DX stations!
 


Location

Grayland, Washington, 0.36 mile (585 mtrs)North of Grayland Beach State Park
Coordinates: 46.799237 -124.097870

GPS Coordinates: N 46 47.954 W 124 05.872
Maidenhead Grid Square CN76wt
81GT
Google Maps Satellite View
64.5 miles / 107.8 km north of Rockwork 4 DXpedition site
866 feet (264 mtrs) from Breakwater Inn (former Grayland Motel)
 


My Equipment:

Perseus SDR (one only)
Dell "2 in 1" 11.6-inch netbook (Win 10) 500 GB internal SSD. (Now upgraded to a 2TB internal SSD)
Samsung 500GB external backup SSD
Wellbrook FLG-100LN broadband amplifier modules
60 feet (18.3 meters) of #18 multi stranded copper wire, jacketed (Deployed as a rear-fed flag)
16 and 20 foot segmented fiberglass "Wonderpoles" and weighted (with concrete) tip-resistant stands
150 feet RG8X coax with BNC connectors
Single tuning control
(9-turns) Vactrol with indoor and outdoor modules, and AC and DC power supplies (Used on DKAZ)
250 feet CAT III wire containing 6 internal jacketed wires for vactrol
Stakes and ropes for tying down poles (if necessary)
Reflective marker tape to tie to wires for visibility to hotel guests, etc
The 160-foot DKAZ was constructed onsite by Chuck with assistance from Bruce and myself, using Chuck's weighted poles.


Links:

Excel spreadsheet of K7WV MW results for inclusion in master logs, incorporation into multi DXer DX reports, etc.
My earlier LW/MW DXpedition in 2018...Rockwork Cliff DXpedition August 2018
Bill Whitacre used a 160' DKAZ @ 287° at Casa Sea Esta (Grayland) for these February 2019 results

Gary's writeup in SWling Post: Top 10 Signals Rockwork DXpedition 2018

Rockwork 2020 DXpedition K7WV results Latest: complete
Rockwork 2019 DXpedition K7WV results

Rockwork 2018 DXpedition K7WV results

Rockwork 2017 DXpedition K7WV results

Rockwork 2016 International DXpedition K7WV results
Rockwork 2015 II DXpedition K7WV results
Rockwork 2015 I DXpedition K7WV results

Grayland DXpedition October 2020 K7WV results Latest: complete
Grayland DXpedition September 2019 K7WV Results

Grayland DXpedition October 2016 K7WV Results

Grayland DXpedition October 2015 K7WV Results

Identifying Chinese Radio Stations Useful reference for this DXpedition (33 China + 3 Taiwan stations in)
Pacific Asia Log (PAL) The essential reference for the West Coast MW DXpeditioner. Published quarterly by DXpedition partner Bruce Portzer

K7WV Main Radio Page