It was true Kiwi Magic for a second straight session after 1300 this
morning as New Zealand pounded in with some of its best propagation ever.
Numerous obscure Kiwi stations came out of the noise to join the parade, which
resulted in the best-ever signals for 594-Star and 738-Magic, and the best
recent signal from 756-RNZ. Its parallel on 567 also managed its best signal
since the classic tower demolition a few years back. 1017-Tonga rounded out the
session with more beautiful island music at an S9 level (which seems to have
become a trend recently).
Craig and I drove up to the Cliff in the predawn darkness around 1140
(0440 local time) only to find both the Rockwork 4 and 5 turnoffs completely
jammed up with RV's, trucks and cars. As such we headed for Rockwork 6, which
not only has the highest elevation but also plenty of space. There were several
RV's parked there, but we had no trouble setting up our FSL's on the south end.
Like yesterday the session seemed a little slow to get untracked until
around 1250, when the rare 531-More FM got into an S9 snarl with PI, finally
pushing the Samoan signal down into the noise for a nice recording (featuring
three ID's). The Kiwi floodgates swung wide open around 1300, with the obscure
639-RNZ and 738-Magic showing up with some strength. 594 and 963-Star were also
much stronger than usual, and even 576-Star in Hamilton drowned out the Oz big
gun 2RN. Craig's 5" Frequent Flyer FSL was doing a great job overall but seemed
unable to tune in 531, which was delivering a lot of Kiwi snarl drama this
morning. After replacement with the latest-model 3.5" ferrite rod FSL (photo
below) he got in on all the 531 action-- presumably including More FM's potent
rock music. Overall it was another great session, and convincing proof that
enhanced DU-DX propagation isn't limited to Rockwork 4.
531 More FM Alexandra, NZ Notoriously rare 2 kW Kiwi station dominant over
PI at 1247 with short, choppy ID's at 14 seconds (male), 15 seconds (female)
and 3:27 (female). On the west coast this modern rock station has only been
heard at the Rockwork Cliff complex
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/p2et4xa8e602y0ocbzuongxziw7xafrc
567 RNZ National Wellington, NZ Potent S9 signal (its best since the old
classic tower demolition) with Hindi-accented English conversation at 1320
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/kbx6rp6asp7v89hb08yhknjfp5cklhre
594 Star Timaru/ Wanganui, NZ Best ever signal from these Christian format
synchros with vocal music // 657 at 1326
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/j80d4a3hbktpk5284v2tr26sq284faf2
603 R. Waatea Auckland, NZ Beautiful Maori music // 765 at 1317
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/lf63vi0b6gmoj73rwi772yorgjew4cg3
738 Magic Christchurch, NZ Best signal ever (through San Francisco
splatter) with "That Will Be the Day" // a weaker 702 at 1256
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/rwvk30s2izjadez7vrcxbuqdyubxvvf0
756 RNZ National Auckland, NZ Amazing signal only 70 miles (and 6 KHz)
away from the 50 kW Portland pest KXTG-- solid rock attenuation at its finest
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/vnlf4hoe57crowj83sm5n2kdnnegw7e8
963 Star Christchurch, NZ Best recent signal with vocal music stronger than
657 parallel https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/bxu7xpnt8zze7oc9x3eg15f9790kf7hi
1017 A3Z Nuku'alofa, Tonga More beautiful island music at 1250 from this
new Rockwork cliff "Big Gun"
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/1l1xkyix03o7onoxsmr1wa2tsivqxr8s
73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock (DXing with Craig Barnes at the Rockwork 6 ocean cliff near
Manzanita, OR, USA)
7.5" loopstick CC Skywave SSB + XHDATA D-808 portables +
15" and 17" TSA-unfriendly FSL antennas
This morning's session photos at Rockwork 6 are posted at
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/exthrjjmdfmtphpsl8wvs8sogy3bdqu1 (me) and
https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/xigucktp07306guw0fh3e4ep49f4qepb (Craig)
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