Kongsfjord - 70°43'N 29°21'E

KONG17 - October 12 to 24, 2007

Participants:

Arnstein Bue, Bjarne Mjelde, OJ Sagdahl, Tore Johnny Bråtveit

Receiver summary:
Arnstein: 2 x Icom IC-R75, 1 x JRC NRD-525G, , 1 x Etón E1, 2 x SDR-IQ (2 TB disk)
Bjarne: 2 x Icom IC-746Pro, Icom IC-703, Etón E1, 2 x SDR-IQ (1.5 TB disk)
OJS: AOR AR7030+, R&S EK895, WJ HF-1000A, WJ-8712P, 4 x SDR-IQ (2.5 TB disk)
Tore Johnny: 3 x Icom IC-R75, 2 x SDR-IQ (1 TB disk)

Weblog

See our updated New Zealand log here!

----- 24-OCT-2007 05:00 UTC -----
The end!

----- 23-OCT-2007 18:00 UTC -----
Some stations - most interesting was CBQC-NT 1230. Also some AUS and NZ during the day but nothing new.

Menu update:

Today:
Main course: Tropical semi-hot vegetarian wok with traces or tuna
 Dessert: Piano jello with vanilla custard

Yesterday:
Main course: Grilled aged sirloin of pork
Dessert: The rest of the assorted cheeses

----- 22-OCT-2007 11:30 UTC -----
Nothing of interest during the night, but late this morning some interesting northwest stations came up. Mentioning KRTA-OR 610, KGHL-MT 790, KPDQ-OR 800, KLAY-WA 1180. 

----- 21-OCT-2007 10:15 UTC -----
Not very exciting last evening and night, nor this morning. But the graveyard frequencies were quite interesting, and stations like KZTS-WA 1230 and KSMA-CA 1240 popped up with an excellent signal in the morning. Even very nice KWSU-WA 1250 managed to sneak by Radio Disney! At the moment the Pacific stations are finding their way back and we have several Japanese stations on unusual frequencies (e.g. HBC on 1449 and 1557). We have been negotiating very hard to get the Russian on 1449 to move away from the frequency, and they have finally accepted. They are now on 1445 kHz giving way for more interesting stations on 1449 (like HBC, and probably others).

OJ is now packed and ready to go home to take care of business. Arnstein, Bjarne and Tore Johnny will stay till Wednesday.

----- 20-OCT-2007 15:15 UTC -----
The conditions are improving. Quite a lot of Alaska now + Australia 1503 and 1548. 

----- 20-OCT-2007 08:30 UTC -----
The conditions are getting worse and worse... Few periods during the night and morning that were acceptable, but now it is very quiet. And for the first day at KONG17 we do not have Samoa, Tonga or Marshall Islands thundering in. We miss them! Still hoping for some improvement in the course of the day.

----- 19-OCT-2007 18:45 UTC -----
Not very much exciting today. We had some good periods on graveyard channels towards North America, but except from that it was not a lot to hear. The common Pacific stations were strong as usual, and we had some stations from New Zealand and Australia as well, but nothing 100% in the log yet.

We had a nice visit this afternoon from Mr. Olav Skår, long time member of the DX Listeners Club of Norway. As a member in one of the prominent whisky clubs in Norway he brought with him an excellent bottle of Highland Park whisky - as he was concerned of the high focus on aquavit... We are now in the correctional phase.

Menu for today's dinner:
Pre-starter: Sticks of fresh parmesan (Brescia parmigiano reggiano)
Starter: Tuna salad with balsamico vinegar
Main course: King crab carbonara
Pre-dessert: Selected cheese
Dessert: Piano jello with vanilla custard

+ what we did not mention before - we now have an excellent espresso machine so we can serve espresso and other espresso-based drinks. 

----- 19-OCT-2007 08:00 UTC -----
The corona hole continues to affect the North American stations and today is worse than yesterday. Nothing exciting at all so far, so we have started sleeping or listening to recordings from the last few days. The common stations are all in place, but they are not as strong as earlier. Surprisingly the graveyard frequencies are alive so our SDR recordings are running. The Pacific stations are also slow to come today, so we are a bit curious on what will come later today... (if anything).

----- 18-OCT-2007 20:30 UTC -----
The North American stations started right after 20:00 UTC! That's early... 
And yes, we did have dinner today too:

Starter: Grilled duckliver paté served on toast and salad.
Wine: Local crowberry wine
Main course: Reindeer steak with garlic and parmesan,  potatoes au gratiné
Wine: Allesverloren, Cabernet Sauvignon, Landgoedwyn (2005)
Dessert: Chocolate pudding and vanilla custard

----- 18-OCT-2007 15:20 UTC -----
We thought that the corona hole hole would have a negative impact: We were wrong.
It was like a cold Corona with lime on a warm summer day...

Some of Australians came our way as well, noting 576, 630 (maybe 2), 702, 774, 1548 + X-band and some tentative stuff.

----- 18-OCT-2007 13:45 UTC -----
We thought that the corona hole hole would have a negative impact: We were wrong.
It was like a cold Corona with lime on a warm summer day...

Seriously: We did notice a slowdown this morning and the conditions towards North America were quite bad. Despite this we got a few nice ones like KKOH-NV 780 and KAPL-OR 1300.

However, after a 7k nice run in rain and gale force winds out to the lighthouse at the northeastern point of Veines, we were back in business. Dressed in a New Zealand rugby T-shirt OJ dialed 1035 to discover that Newstalk ZB were stronger than ever. We quickly confirmed that the "usual ones" were in place, but also some new ones. The two strongest ones, and best loggings today, were both from the South Island, 2YX Radio New Zealand, Nelson 1116 and 3YW Radio New Zealand, Westport 1458. The latter is listed in the Pacific Asian Log (PAL) with only 400 watts! Not bad to cover more than 16.000 km (10.000 miles) with that power!!!

We want to express our thanks to the team at Radio Heritage for providing the PAL - an invaluable tool for serious Pacific DX-ing. Visit them at http://www.radioheritage.net

Mentioning our tools we must not forget KOJE - the ultimate tool for North American DX from the Nordic countries - all maintained by a single man, Mr. Esa Hänninen!!! KOJE is found at http://www.diccons.com/radio/tilastot.htm

----- 18-OCT-2007 13:10 UTC -----
We thought we would not have any more New Zealand today: We were wrong. 
We thought we had the strongest possible New Zealand signals yesterday: We were wrong.
We thought we were busy yesterday: We were wrong... (more later)

----- 17-OCT-2007 23:50 UTC -----
Greetings to our DX-companions in Enontekiö and Lemmenjoki (Finland).
 See http://www.pudxk.blogspot.com/ for details on their excellent loggings!

----- 17-OCT-2007 20:30 UTC -----
Food. Did we forget about food? Absolutely not. But we only had time to cook and to eat, not to write about it... 
Here comes yesterday's and today's menues:

Today:
Starter: Smoked seatrout with fillets of grapefruit, grenadines and rosemary
Main course: Sirloin of reindeer served with pepper and onions wok and rice
Dessert: Arctic cloudberries in whipped cream

Wines: Chablis Vielles Vignes, Gerard Tremblay (2005), Moulin du Laussac, Bordeaux (2006)

Yesterday:
Starter: Lamb curry Veines style (with watermelon and Easter hay)
Main course: Coriander and thyme-baked fillet of wild salmon
Dessert: Piano jello with vanilla custard

Wine: Torre del Falasco, wannabe Valpolicella, Ripasso, Valpantena (2005)

----- 17-OCT-2007 17:00 UTC -----
From the NZ-log so far (KONG17 firsts in bold):

783 2YB Access Radio, Wellington
1008 1ZD Newstalk ZB, Tauranga
1026 1ZK Newstalk ZB, Kaitaia
1035 2ZB Newstalk ZB, Wellington
1080 1ZB Newstalk ZB, Auckland
1107 Radio Live, Taurana
1251 1XG Radio Rhema, Auckland
1278 2ZC Newstalk ZB, Napier
1296 1ZH Newstalk ZB, Hamilton
1332 Radio Sport, Auckland
1341 2ZN Newstalk ZB, Nelson
1377 Radio Sport, Levin
1386 1XOR Radio Tarana, Auckland
1476 1XD Radio Sport, Auckland
1503 Radio Sport, Wellington
1602 2XA Radio Reading Service, Levin

+ about 10 NZ stations that we are pretty sure who are, but where we miss positive identification so far. The most tricky ones are the stations that do not use the English language, since our Maori knowledge is not so good. But everything is safely stored on the hard disks so we will be able to sort out most of this + find more. 

This said - not much from North America last night or this morning.

----- 17-OCT-2007 11:30 UTC -----
It just continues... we have logged more than 20 New Zealand stations by now, and finally the signals are fading down.

----- 17-OCT-2007 10:15 UTC -----
It just continues... New Zealand surfaced already at 09:00 UTC. We can mention the following  from the log: 1ZK Newstalk ZB, Kaitaia 1026, 1XG R Rhema, Auckland 1251, 2ZN Newstalk ZB, Nelson 1341 (first logging from the south island!!!). Much more to come, but we can mention that we are enjoying signals on both 1503 and 1593...

----- 16-OCT-2007 18:45 UTC -----
Quite a day! The Pacific stations came later than yesterday, but stronger than ever. We still have some more research to do, but we believe that we have some quite interesting Pacific loggings to present soon. In addition New Zealand came up with excellent signals on all the old and several new frequencies. We will need a little time to sort this out as well... Finally, a nice Alaska and BC opening with KRSA-AK 580, CFPR-BC 860 and KVAK-AK 1230 worth mentioning.

----- 16-OCT-2007 10:15 UTC -----
Small update... 
We thought we would not have any Pacific today: We were wrong. 
We thought we had the strongest possible Pacific signals yesterday: We were wrong.
We thought we were busy yesterday: We were wrong... (more later)

----- 16-OCT-2007 09:15 UTC -----
The good conditions continue. Started off about 21:30 UTC last night and went quickly inland. Stations from the lakes dominated for the next hours before moving further west. Just a brief shadow of the Pacific stations today. From the log: KNRS-UT 570, WKTY-WI 580, KUGN-OR 590, KXMR-ND 710, WAYY-WI 790, CKJS-MB 810, KDHL-MN 920, KBMZ-MO 980, KRCN-CO 1060, KRLD-TX 1080, KFXX-OR 1080, KRLC-WA 1350. Asia getting stronger now.

----- 15-OCT-2007 16:45 UTC -----
Puuhhh - we are a bit exhausted! Some of us have not slept since midnight, and 100% concentration for 18 hours takes its toll. S9+ on several of the Pacific stations today - for a long time. New Zealand came up early, but so did Australia and the conditions didn't really settle and deepen anywhere. So nothing new - officially - yet. 

But we heard a lot of the "old" stuff like Australia on 576, 630, 684, 1233, 1521 and of course 1548 + everything (?) in X-band. From New Zealand we have 783 (formally tentative), 1035 + maybe some more. One surprise was Guam on 630 - moved from 612. We had expected that this one would be more difficult now, but it put itself on top of everything today. Guam 567 was heard but not very strong, but 801 was S9+. Some of the Australian stations are still on - more than 7 hours later...

We should probably mention a few unusual AK stations as well: KVOK-AK 560, KCHU-AK 770 and KINY-AK 800.

We will have dinner today as well:

Pre-starter: Sticks of fresh parmesan (Brescia parmigiano reggiano)
Starter: Fresh damped asparagus with butter, parmesan and Dijon-mustard
Main course: Slow-roasted leg of lamb with fresh rosemary and sautéed vegetables
Dessert: Assorted cheeses

Wine: Quinta de Saes Reserva, Estagio Prolongado, Dão (2005)

----- 15-OCT-2007 10:20 UTC -----
Yes - it's clear, we are getting New Zealand with good signals as well - Newstalk ZB 1035 was up already at 09:45 and is just getting stronger and stronger...

----- 15-OCT-2007 10:10 UTC -----
Historical signals from the Pacific! Samoa 540, Tonga 1017 and Marshall Islands 1098, Micronesia 4755,25 with incredible signals now!!! In addition Tahiti 738, Kiribati 846, Marshall Islands 1224 are heard + some (yet) unidentified stuff... We'll keep you updated!

----- 15-OCT-2007 09:10 UTC -----
Improving conditions - pretty good during the night. Following noted from the log: An unidentified station with test tones and "CBS Radio Network channel 42" announcements at about 05:00 UTC,  KQNT-WA 590, CISL-BC 650, KEYZ-ND 660, KMAS-WA 1030. Tahiti 738 was early up (06:30Z) but was not good enough for local id. Some other Pacific stations as well, but nothing particular (yet). Hawaii coming through OK though, with nice signals from e.g. KZOO-HI 1210.

----- 14-OCT-2007 17:30 UTC -----
The day has been rather uneventful We did have the common Pacific stations, as well as a good range from Hawaii and Alaska, a decent graveyeard opening and some Australian stations - both inband and X-band. Still, nothing that really excited us. Logs to mention are KIT Yakima WA 1280, 2BL ABC Sydney 702 + a lot more on the SDR recordings (we'll be back on this in 2011).

Now we are into today's dinner:

 Starter: King crab served on grilled watermelon with grilled pine nuts and rucola
Main course: Oven baked filet of cod served with curry rice and chili-woked vegetables
Dessert: Mango souffle with fresh coriander

Wine: Chablis Vielles Vignes, Gerard Tremblay (2005)

----- 14-OCT-2007 09:45 UTC -----
The night was not exiting at all, but during the morning things developed quite well. Good signals from the west coast and Alaska, followed by Hawaii and the Pacific. Some nice Mexicans heard and probably KCHU Valdez AK at 770 with NPR before closing 9Z. Tahiti up at 06:45Z but too weak before going network. At the moment Samoa 540, Tahiti 738, Tonga 1017 and Marshall Islands 1098 are heard with periodically excellent signals. We keep on looking for more!

----- 13-OCT-2007 16:00 UTC -----
Afternoon update: Decent X-band towards Australia with periodically excellent signals on all relevant frequencies from 1611 to 1701 kHz. Started very early, with good signal from 4QD 1548 already at 10:45 UTC.  Presumably Thailand heard on 580 kHz. Some Hawaii and South Pacific stations heard during the day, but nothing exciting. Significant dip in the conditions at 14:00 UTC, but it is now picking up again.

Photos have been requested. Here they are:

We are now preparing for dinner:

Pre-starter: Sticks of fresh parmesan (Brescia parmigiano reggiano)
Starter: Thin slices of Parma ham served with fresh figs and balsamico reduction
Main course: King crab carbonara
Dessert: Selected cheese

Wine: Torre del Falasco, wannabe Valpolicella, Ripasso, Valpantena (2005)

----- 13-OCT-2007 09:45 UTC -----
We heard the Voice of Maldives at 1449 kHz last night - with a very good signal, thanks to the Russian being off. There was also a very brief opening towards North America around 21 UTC last night, but except from this the following night and morning was uneventful. Decent signals through the morning, but nothing exciting. Noted stations are WGY 810, WFNN 1330, KHNC 1360. As we write this the most common South Pacific stations begin to surface.

----- 12-OCT-2007 16:05 UTC -----
The KONG17 team is now installed at the QTH at Veines. We were on schedule at the airport in BVG thanks to overflying one of the other destinations due to bad weather. Bjarne picked us up in gale force winds to bring us to Veines. All equipment is now up running and we had a decent opening toward Australia on X-band with 1548 heard as well.

----- 12-OCT-2007 07:20 UTC -----
KONG17 crew now landed in Tromsø (TOS) and our 4-stop WF932 to Berlevåg (BVG) is on time. We expect 2h30 bumpy ride in the gale force winds around here, but that's what you have to expect traveling in arctic Norway at this time of the year.

----- 11-OCT-2007 -----
Less than 24h before departure. This morning brought a good selection of North American stations here in Trondheim, ranging from the east to the west coast. LEM247 (http://pudxk.blogspot.com) reports about nice conditions as well, so our expectations remains high... All shipped equipment has now arrived in Kongsfjord and is waiting for us!

----- 10-OCT-2007 -----
T -2 days... we are following the development at the other expedition sites as well as the conditions at out home QTHs. The conditions have been very good this fall and we have already made a number of excellent catches. So our expectations for KONG17 are very high!

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