Last night I heard Spanish play-by-play of soccer (including "Gooooooollllllllllllll!!!!!") fading in and out on 1710 kHz AM here in NJ. Definitely not the Hudson County TIS! Could it be the "Radio Celestial" pirate from Bronx, NY? They're supposed to be a religious station, but I suppose they could break format to carry a fútbol match...
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Spanish soccer on 1710 AM
- Thread starter kevtronics
- Start date
Maybe It's a Pirate
§15.223 Operation in the band 1.705-10 MHz.
(a) The field strength of any emission within the band 1.705-10.0 MHz shall not exceed 100 microvolts/meter at a distance of 30 meters. However, if the bandwidth of the emission is less than 10% of the center frequency, the field strength shall not exceed 15 microvolts/meter or (the bandwidth of the device in kHz) divided by (the center frequency of the device in MHz) microvolts/meter at a distance of 30 meters, whichever is the higher level. For the purposes of this section, bandwidth is determined at the points 6 dB down from the modulated carrier. The emission limits in this paragraph are based on measurement instrumentation employing an average detector. The provisions in §15.35(b) for limiting peak emissions apply.
(b) The field strength of emissions outside of the band 1.705-10.0 MHz shall not exceed the general radiated emission limits in §15.209.
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COMMENTS:
The FCC does not license AM broadcast stations to use a carrier frequency above 1700 kHz.
If that station on 1710 kHz is subject to FCC jurisdiction, then if compliant, it could not produce a field intensity greater than 15 µV/m in any direction exceeding 30 meters away from its transmit antenna (see clip above).
A MW e-m field intensity of 15 µV/m is well below the ambient r-f noise level at most receive locations outside of a screen room, and could not produce a very useful "broadcast" service to the general public.
So if such transmissions on 1710 kHz are heard at/beyond that range, it is unlikely that the source of those transmissions complies with FCC Rules.
(a) The field strength of any emission within the band 1.705-10.0 MHz shall not exceed 100 microvolts/meter at a distance of 30 meters. However, if the bandwidth of the emission is less than 10% of the center frequency, the field strength shall not exceed 15 microvolts/meter or (the bandwidth of the device in kHz) divided by (the center frequency of the device in MHz) microvolts/meter at a distance of 30 meters, whichever is the higher level. For the purposes of this section, bandwidth is determined at the points 6 dB down from the modulated carrier. The emission limits in this paragraph are based on measurement instrumentation employing an average detector. The provisions in §15.35(b) for limiting peak emissions apply.
(b) The field strength of emissions outside of the band 1.705-10.0 MHz shall not exceed the general radiated emission limits in §15.209.
_______
COMMENTS:
The FCC does not license AM broadcast stations to use a carrier frequency above 1700 kHz.
If that station on 1710 kHz is subject to FCC jurisdiction, then if compliant, it could not produce a field intensity greater than 15 µV/m in any direction exceeding 30 meters away from its transmit antenna (see clip above).
A MW e-m field intensity of 15 µV/m is well below the ambient r-f noise level at most receive locations outside of a screen room, and could not produce a very useful "broadcast" service to the general public.
So if such transmissions on 1710 kHz are heard at/beyond that range, it is unlikely that the source of those transmissions complies with FCC Rules.
The FCC does not license AM broadcast stations to use a carrier frequency above 1700 kHz.
WQFG689 is a licensed station on 1710 kHz:
http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=2826342
But the audio I heard is not from this station, so that's why I said "Definitely not the Hudson County TIS".
WQFG689 is a licensed station on 1710 kHz ...
True -- but that FCC link shows WQFG689 to be a TIS station, not an AM broadcast station. TIS stations are subject to an entirely different section of FCC 47CFR Rules than AM broadcast stations.
FCC TIS stations are permitted a maximum groundwave field intensity of 2 mV/m at a radius of 1.5 km (0.93 miles) from their transmit antenna, which is much less than even the minimum class of an AM broadcast station. Also TIS stations must transmit "... only noncommercial voice information pertaining to traffic and road conditions, traffic hazard and travel advisories, directions, availability of lodging, rest stops and service stations, and descriptions of local points of interest. ..."
So a (legal) TIS station would not be authorized to broadcast a soccer game, no matter what carrier frequency it uses.
But you stated you were listening at night, and the signal faded in and out. So maybe you were receiving skywave from a foreign station not subject to FCC jurisdiction.
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Mexico has several X-band stations, but none are listed at 1710. There is a 1710 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, though. Maybe that's what's coming in/
Mexico has several X-band stations, but none are listed at 1710. There is a 1710 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, though. Maybe that's what's coming in/
It's probably a little early, being summer, but as sunspot cycle 24 drops (its minimum should be sometime in 2020), skywave in the upper broadcast band should improve.
Last night I heard Spanish play-by-play of soccer (including "Gooooooollllllllllllll!!!!!") fading in and out on 1710 kHz AM here in NJ. Definitely not the Hudson County TIS! Could it be the "Radio Celestial" pirate from Bronx, NY? They're supposed to be a religious station, but I suppose they could break format to carry a fútbol match...
Where are you listening from? Radio Celestial has been off the air for a long time now but others along the east coast have reported hearing another unid spanish language pirate. You likely had a pirate or harmonic/image from a strong Spanish language station. I'm skeptical about Argentina since I never see 1710 reported by anyone here in the US, including the big gun DXers along the east coast who seem to do well into other parts of South America.
1710 here in Michigan, late at night, is usually a mix of "CHIM-FM" (Ontario) and "W807" (Chicago area), both are low powered pirates.
Last night I was able to get Radio Reloj from Cuba on 570 kHz strongly enough to hear the announcers, despite being only 23 miles away from WMCA. I don't know about getting Argentina on 1710 kHz, though, since it's at least twice the distance.
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