Patrick, Your DU-DXing success on the Oregon coast with the EWE antenna generally set the standard for South Pacific reception, and is what motivated me to originally head for the Oregon beaches in 2011. Oregon has always seemed to have the "inside edge" for DU's propagation-- which is probably why so many DXers are heading for Yachats next month.
As for the 8" FSL antenna's performance at the sheer ocean cliffs at Cape Perpetua and Rockwork last summer, the special cliff-side DU propagation boost was something that was totally unexpected. When low-powered Kiwi stations like 765-Radio Kahungunu and 828-Radio Trackside were pegging the humble PL-380 Ultralight's S/N display, I thought that lack of sleep during the risky DXpedition must be causing hallucinations :-) 73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA) -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Martin <[email protected]> To: Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America <[email protected]> Cc: irca <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, Jun 15, 2013 10:48 am Subject: Re: [IRCA] Guy Atkins compares some 21st Century antennas. >>The FSL antennas were never designed to compete with large, single-loop wire antennas in wide open spaces. Their unique advantage is the ability to provide high-gain, low noise transoceanic reception with a "footprint" of only one cubic yard. No single-loop wire antennas can match them in that aspect. In the special environment of sheer ocean side cliffs, the FSL's apparently tap into a previously unknown cliff-side transoceanic propagation boost, which can boost their performance up to astonishing levels. Last year at both Cape Perpetua (near Yachats, OR) and at "Rockwork" (near Cannon Beach, OR), an 8" FSL was providing S/N pegging reception of 2.5 kW New Zealand stations on a PL-380 Ultralight radio. This setup was used to provide reception of 5 DU's that were not in the Grayland Master Log-- mostly at very strong levels. At the sheer ocean side cliffs, the FSL's also receive some measure of back-side signal rejection, due to the solid rock surfaces (which were blasted out by dynamite). All of the traditional DXpedition antennas will not fit at these special sites, which is why there is currently intense interest in FSL antenna experimentation.<< Gary, I was not down playing your setup you have used on the OR coast. The antenna is very effective and you have logged a lot of great DX. But for me, the EWE out here seems to work the best on what I have tried. I used a K9AY several years back and the EWE outperformed the K9AY. Living in a swampy area where we always have a high water table makes a difference for the good grounds needed for the EWE. John Bryant used to mention that the EWE never worked well in OK. We all use what we can to get the best DX. The DX World has sure changed from the 60s/70s. 73, Patrick Patrick Martin Seaside OR KGED QSL Manager _______________________________________________ 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] _______________________________________________ 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]
