> 1/ Location is everything. I'm only a couple blocks from the ocean. This > makes a huge difference. You can test this yourself. I've done it on a > number of occasions. I chose Cook Street driving down towards the > waterfront. Tune into 1610....there's a very weak TIS from Port Angeles > (it's harder to hear now with the Hindi 1600 station, though). As you drive > down Cook St, one will see a big rise in signal strength from the flea > powered station across the Strait. This is the ocean enhancement that is > very well known. There's a huge difference even a few miles inland. That's > why so many (most) DX sites around the world are on the ocean! > > 2/ Antenna: I have some pretty big large diameter corner fed (see Bruce > Conti's website for more details) loops. My best DU one is a good 50 to 60' > high and some 75' or so horizontal...lots of gain from that puppy. The W > array is only a little smaller. In most circumstances, it far surpasses the > ALA 100, and even that one, as good as it is, still has a diameter around 40 > or more feet. > > 3/ Just keep on trying. For several years now, I've started in mid to late > August and listened almost every morning from about 30 minutes before sunrise > to a few minutes past. It pays off as you get to know the frequencies. Keep > the PAL list handy as it's invaluable to look up who the stations may be. >
Let's not forget the psych factor. I have a friend in Halifax and Cape Breton in Nova Scotia who insisted that he simply could not hear TA's from his Atlantic ocean perch... Not possible. Cannot hear a thing. Phone him up one evening. Told him to tune his 7600G to 621, 756, 1017, 1089 and 1215 and tell me what he hears. He received London on 1089... armchair. And insisted that it couldn't be England... practically even after the station ID! -- .......................................................................................... Colin Newell - Editor - CoffeeCrew DOT Com --- Victoria, British Columbia - Blog - Coffee DOT BC DOT CA DXer DOT CA and Bob Harris DOT Com ------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
