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AM DXing Season

M

MarioMania

How long is the AM DXing season last?

My Goal is to try to catch some Hard one's like the Chicago AM's

I'm going to be in West Sacramento in December for 2 weeks

660 - WFAN NY Prob not a chance
670 - Tough one to get WCSR with KBOI
700 - Like a Graveyard here in Vallejo, Don't know in Sac, Try to get WLW
720 - WGN hard one cuz KDWN Las Vegas
770 - WCBS NY again KKOB
780 - WBBM again KKOH get's in the way in Reno
850 - WKNR try before they switch to night pattern, But still daylight here in CA and have to cope with KOA
870 - WWL NO thought one KRLA
1000 - WMVP try to null out KOMO
1200 - WOAI SA Caught it in Vegas 2 years ago, try to get it here

That's about it, All my AM DXing will be in West Sacramento, CA with my Grundig YB 400PE and my Grundig YB Porsche 200
 
Best try will probably be WBBM 780 u/ KKOH, and KFAB 1110. They do good for the distance in winter.

-crainbebo
 
MarioMania said:
How long is the AM DXing season last?

My Goal is to try to catch some Hard one's like the Chicago AM's

I'm going to be in West Sacramento in December for 2 weeks

660 - WFAN NY Prob not a chance
670 - Tough one to get WCSR with KBOI
700 - Like a Graveyard here in Vallejo, Don't know in Sac, Try to get WLW
720 - WGN hard one cuz KDWN Las Vegas
770 - WCBS NY again KKOB
780 - WBBM again KKOH get's in the way in Reno
850 - WKNR try before they switch to night pattern, But still daylight here in CA and have to cope with KOA
870 - WWL NO thought one KRLA
1000 - WMVP try to null out KOMO
1200 - WOAI SA Caught it in Vegas 2 years ago, try to get it here

That's about it, All my AM DXing will be in West Sacramento, CA with my Grundig YB 400PE and my Grundig YB Porsche 200
Click to expand...

I have no idea how the AM band sounds in Central California, but 780 looks like KOH might plaster the frequency, from their Radio Locator coverage map; but WBBM could possibly be audible underneath the talk on KOH if conditions are good enough.

870 -- KRLA is to the south, KLSQ is SW -- those stations could be nulled, maybe you could get WWL that way.

670 -- don't rule out WSCR, several of us here in WA have heard them underneath KBOI. You just have to wait until the Red Eye Radio guys are talking (i.e. no music), you may hear WSCR speech underneath. I think I've heard it maybe three or four times over the past year that way, and one time was good enough to ID it. Maybe get a loop to boost the radio.

1200 -- my guess is WOAI would be audible at least once, it's sometimes just audible here in WA underneath CJRJ when conditions are good.

700 -- KALL in Utah might be in the way, but you might be in one of the weak spots in their pattern (several lobes, acc. to Radio Locator). WLW still may be audible underneath if conditions are good enough.

Also, they're not Chicago stations, WHO 1040, KMOX 1120 and KFAB 110 may probably be audible. WJR 760 has made it up here in WA, it may be audible underneath KFMB if you null it. It would be worth a try, anyway.
 
But when KMZQ in Vegas is on day power at night - they boom straight in. Right under KBOI.

WHO might be possible as well as WOAI. Just watch for KYAA on 1200 khz.

-crainbebo
 
radioman148 said:
Give WLS--890 a try. You can attempt to null KDXU in St George, UT from Sacramento and you may have a shot at WLS.
Click to expand...

I agree that WLS may be the best one to try for.

It was a nighttime regular when I would visit my brother in northern California in the 70s and early 80s. After that, the clear channels started to get other stations added.

My last memory of hearing WLS out there was in early '83 in Palo Alto on my portable Panasonic AM/FM radio that was sitting on the kitchen table right after sunset and the signal was good.

The thing to consider is that even though there are closer stations now on 890, the signal of WLS still has to be getting out there just as strong but you just can't hear it.

So you should be patient and listen as often as you can for as long as you can and with the right timing of a fade of the closer stations and a good skywave from WLS, you may hear it.

I'm sure you can hear it in the background anyway but it's too faint to ID.
 
gar fla said:
I agree that WLS may be the best one to try for.

It was a nighttime regular when I would visit my brother in northern California in the 70s and early 80s. After that, the clear channels started to get other stations added.

My last memory of hearing WLS out there was in early '83 in Palo Alto on my portable Panasonic AM/FM radio that was sitting on the kitchen table right after sunset and the signal was good.

The thing to consider is that even though there are closer stations now on 890, the signal of WLS still has to be getting out there just as strong but you just can't hear it.

So you should be patient and listen as often as you can for as long as you can and with the right timing of a fade of the closer stations and a good skywave from WLS, you may hear it.

I'm sure you can hear it in the background anyway but it's too faint to ID.
Click to expand...

WLS used to put a great signal into California on many nights. My last memory of hearing it out there unimpeded was around 1985-86.
At that time KDXU signed off at midnight MST.
I think if you can null KDXU which would be to your southeast from Sacramento, and you have a decent radio & antenna you've got a chance at WLS.
 
WLS might be a tough one out west because of the station on 890 in St. George, Utah. Believe it is 50 kw at night.
 
I've gotten WLS once in the 6 years of AM DX that I have done (shortly in 2005, then 2007-present). It just decided to fade up one lucky evening with an ID for "WLS" under CJDC. Killing it here is CJDC Dawson Creek, KDXU at times, and sometimes even KYWN Meridian ID (which just came back on the air with family-friendly Mexican music). That same night I picked up KTZN 550 Anchorage AK on 5kw.

-crainbebo
 
I agree that WLS may be the easiest Chicago target if you can null KDXU. I've heard them on the Bayshore freeway between SFO and San Jose. I've also heard them several times in the LA and San Diego areas.

Don't rule out WGN...I've heard them under KDWN in the Marina district of San Francisco (under KDWN). WHO is another station I've heard all over California...and on a relatively frequent basis. WWL should eventually be doable, and you might also want to take a shot at WCCO and WHAS. KMOX has been suggested, but as good as they get out, has always been tough for me personally on the West Coast. Yet KFAB, adjacent to KMOX, should be fairly easy.

The only Chicago station on your list that I'd consider to be more or less impossible is WMVP. The nighttime signal is pretty much shot by the time it gets to the Mississippi River. WKNR would be even tougher....even the daytime signal doesn't go west all that well. It's pretty rough by the time it gets to Toledo, which is about 100 miles away. And at night it's even worse.
 
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KOA has some competition - to the north it's KHHO Tacoma; to the south it's XEZF Mexicali, BCN. WKNR would likely never make it to CA....

Another one to try is 1180. Cuba gets out really well on that frequency - I've heard Radio Rebelde twice from WA.

-crainbebo
 
From about 12 miles E/NE of San Diego, I've heard:
530 Radio Enciclopedia (?) Cuba - heard music a week or two ago, recognized Godfather theme music
720 WGN - once several years ago when KDWN was off for maintenance
780 WBBM - once several years ago, got lucky nulls on 760 KFMB (radio had poor selectivity) and KKOH
820 WBAP - usually only after midnight when (I think) Mexicali signs off
830 WCCO - once several years ago when nulling KLAA and conditions were probably good
840 WHAS - heard this past January under mega-blowtorch KXNT while listening to Dave Ramsey - http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fbM6qSyEZbU - this was my distance record to the east (1575 VOA Thailand has overall record) until Cuba 530 eclipsed it.
btw 850 KOA is a regular here. a few nights ago they were a blowtorch, splattering on top of KXNT. XEZF is faintly audible midday here.
870 WWL - several times when conditions are good, competing with KRLA
900 XEW - possible with good selective radio when nulling local 910 KECR
1040 WHO - semi-common with local KURS silent
1080 KRLD - several times several years ago, not since KNX turned on IBOC, was already tough between them and XEPRS
1110 KFAB - now and then over/under KDIS
1130 CKWX - heard once within the last year or so when local KSDO was off
1200 WOAI - a few times, competing with KYAA
1500 KSTP - now and then, when the Bay Area station isn't too pesky.
 
I think WHO 1040 is just a Reg for me, Comes in, Comes out

When WKNR 850 goes to day pattern, I see if I can hear anything at 5 am here in Vallejo
 
Last night I was on 720, I think I heard something really faint under KDWN...

But it's also hard I'm getting small spatter from KCBS's HD Sideband ..But not as bad on 730..730 is the worst
 
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