AM Frequency of the week: 1620

[cyberdad]

40 or so miles northwest of downtown Chicago....

Day: 1620 is completely blank. Before they went dark, I'd occasionally during winter get the Elkhart, Indiana 1620 via daytime skywave. (About 135 miles)

Night: A "battle of very weak signals". KOZN most likely to be on top, but from Omaha, it's weaker than I'd expect. The other two are talk and Spanish respectively. I suspect WNRP and R. Rebelde, based on what I'm hearing. But I haven't been able to get a positive ID on either.

Other location: This is where 1620 sort of gets interesting. At least for me....

At our usual beach getaway place on the Gulf of Mexico, I'm 23 miles southwest of Downtown Pensacola. That's the location of WNRP's stick. The result, via low ground conductivity land path, is a fair-good daytime signal. But I can null it, and hear Rebelde underneath. At night, WNRP power's down from 10kw to 1kw, and it's "role reversal". R. Rebelde is on top, usually with a good signal, and WNRP is underneath.

I have no idea how much power the Cubans are running on their 1620 foray into the X-band. 10kw would be my guess, but I'm pretty sure they're not powering down at night.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

In the day here, Cyber, it's the Big Zilch. I haven't ID'ed them yet, but I know it's them. They seem to broadcast all-dial-noise/all the time, hi.
In other words, nothing is present on 1620 in the day.

At night I've logged Radio Hollywood WJVA from Indiana. Might that have been the same facility as your Elkhart Indiana catch?
And there was the somewhat-publicized test from KA2XAU. They were from somewhere downstate PA, a nice gift in 1994 on the morning of my birthday, Oct 10. Somewhere in the den's confusion here I have a fairly long air check of it on cassette. Pretty good signal! I don't know what power they ran during the test.

* * * * *

In the retro DX days near JFK Airport, there was no X-band, of course. But I did log a 1620 pirate, WFAT, which played the pop/rock music of the day. I believe they were out of Brooklyn. Wattage unknown. I doubt WFAT ever said what power they ran, or that they felt brazen enough to have some three-tower directional array with blinking lights. Maybe someone else on this forum remembers them.

 

[radioman148]

In the near north Chicago suburbs I used to hear a faint WDND during the day. Now I hear nothing during the day. At night I've heard Omaha, but I haven't spent much time listening on this frequency.

 

[dxho]

From Richmond, VA, I get nothing daytimes, normally. I did snag Radio Rebelde one afternoon in
December. And a TIS from 15 miles away for Richmond city services. Not sure it's still on the air.

Nights, it's usually RR, though I've also heard WDND, WNRP, WTAW, and WDHP.

This is mostly on a Drake R8 and a ~125 outside wire.

 

[FB8614]

Nothing during the day ( usually ) At night KSMH West Sacramento . During winter months I can occasionally hear them in the middle of the day.
- - Fred, Los Angeles ==

.

 

[WCJ]

Orange County, TX Days nothing, nights WTAW, College Station, TX-dominate but when nulling them mixing with WNRP Gulf Breeze, FL & Spanish language probably R. Rebelde.

 

[cyberdad]

In the near north Chicago suburbs I used to hear a faint WDND during the day. Now I hear nothing during the day. At night I've heard Omaha, but I haven't spent much time listening on this frequency.

You nprobably already know this, and I should have also mentioned that WDND is now gone.

 

[radioman148]

Yes I do and you did mention it. I remember hearing them faintly during the day when they were on,

 

[awsherrill]

In the retro DX days near JFK Airport, there was no X-band, of course. But I did log a 1620 pirate, WFAT, which played the pop/rock music of the day. I believe they were out of Brooklyn.

Back in the late 80s, I heard a pirate on 1622 while living in Raleigh NC. Don't remember what they called themselves, but I believe they were somewhere in New Jersey. They were playing some mix of pop and underground music, and they announced an 800 number. So I called it and left a message.

About twenty minutes later I heard my recorded message being played on the broadcast. I guess that makes me an accomplice to unlawful broadcasting, unless the statute of limitations has expired. (At the time, 1622 kHz was officially a remote pickup frequency which was not intended for broadcasting directly to the public.)

Not long after that I got a call from the pirate operator, who seemed to be a decent fellow. I gave him my PO box and got a nice QSL from him.

 

[radioman148]

Back in the late 80s, I heard a pirate on 1622 while living in Raleigh NC. Don't remember what they called themselves, but I believe they were somewhere in New Jersey. They were playing some mix of pop and underground music, and they announced an 800 number. So I called it and left a message.

About twenty minutes later I heard my recorded message being played on the broadcast. I guess that makes me an accomplice to unlawful broadcasting, unless the statute of limitations has expired. (At the time, 1622 kHz was officially a remote pickup frequency which was not intended for broadcasting directly to the public.)

Not long after that I got a call from the pirate operator, who seemed to be a decent fellow. I gave him my PO box and got a nice QSL from him.

Wow, a QSL from a pirate station--that's cool!

 

[CADXER]

Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: WQVU501 the TIS from Bensenville, IL being just 3/4 of a mile from me dominates the frequency. I can null it out and get weak signal from one of the five Lake County TIS's (WQBR256). Most likely the Lincolnshire one. Those get out quite well. I even had a DXer from Finland send me a recording of his catch trying to ID he station. Yes it one of the five stations that he heard. Cyberdad I would think one of those should be an easy catch in Crystal Lake.
Nightime: the Bensenville TIS makes DXing this frequency tough. Nulling them out produces KOZN and sometime WTAW. Radio Rebelde from Cuba also makes an appearance once in a while.

DX/RETRO: WDND before going silent used to be common. I did hear WDHP from Fredrikstad, US Virgin Islands on my car radio about 5 miles from my home thanks to the pesky Bensenville TIS not being audible. And then of course there was Radio New York International, the pirate broadcasting in the international waters off the coast of Long Island, NY back in July of 1987. They were on the air for few days on this frequency and on shortwave before being busted. Both the AM and the shortwave broadcasts were easily heard in the Chicago area.

 

[crainbebo]

Nothing daytime on 1620. At night, KSMH West Sacramento (Catholic) and KYIZ Seattle (with R&B) mix. Radio Rebelde in Cuba is often heard in the winter mixing with the two others. WTAW College Station was logged once.
My most-wanted station here is KOZN Bellevue, NE. I've tried for them for many years and have heard no trace of them. They should be easy at 1,275 miles on 1KW, especially since KFAB is so common at night. Maybe at Omaha sunrise on 10,000 watts?
The others (WDND/WNRP) are even harder to try for.

 

[gr8oldies]

East Tennessee: Pretty much all TISs all the time. It's a big frequency for the Department of Transportation

 

[KenoGuy]

Kenosha, WI- WQBR256 Lake County (IL) Traffic Radio. Decent signal across the state line. Night- KOZN Omaha, WTAW College Station (most common early morning).

Used to hear the South Bend station (WDND, et al) until they went belly-up.

 

[cyberdad]

Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: .....one of the five Lake County TIS's (WQBR256). Most likely the Lincolnshire one. Those get out quite well. I even had a DXer from Finland send me a recording of his catch trying to ID he station. Yes it one of the five stations that he heard. Cyberdad I would think one of those should be an easy catch in Crystal Lake.

I'm about six miles from Lake County, but don't recall having heard one of these here. However, I've heard them at my son's house and elsewhere in Lake County. I'll definitely try again. One issue is that my best radio....the GE SupeII...stops at 1600. Even 1610 is problematic.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

@ Radioman and Awsherrill:

I have a 'somewhat' problematically similar tale to relate regarding miscommunications.
I had gotten my first radio job (news, DJ) at a station in Virginia, near Norfolk. My goofball friends on Long Island eagerly 'helped launch my career' by sending a bunch of fan mail letters to the station.
'Wow! He sounds great! I gotta listen again...' Stuff like that.
Forget the fact that, aside from the occasional, rare sunset catch, the station was virtually impossible to hear on Long Island. What got me hauled before the mast at WDDY Gloucester .... with the PD sighing impatiently .... was that my debut on the air had been delayed a week. And here's this station getting laudatory fan mail from 400 miles away for someone who hadn't even been on the air yet.
We all used to prank each other.

A QSL from a pirate has to be rare. It must take naivete or chimes to send one of those. The only AM pirates I logged back in those days were WEJP Richmond Hill Queens on 730 (I heard their harmonic on 1460 first) ..... WQAN Ozone Park 900 ..... and the aforementioned WFAT 1620. I still count them on my totals list. Heck, they were broadcasting on the same dial with all the other stations.
And some of those AM 'regionals' who -- oops -- operate with illegal wattages at night for high school football games 'count', no?
'Tis the season for that sort of mischief, anyway. I'm not gonna throw back the little ones, licensed or not.

 

[kf4rca]

Days, its usually nothing, but in the winter I can hear WNRP News Radio Pensacola (FLA) as late as 10AM in the morning. And I can hear them all year round at night.

 

[ftballfan]

Did WDND turn their license in? Kind of sad if they did considering they have a CP for a translator

 

[gr8oldies]

I once got a QSL from The Voice of the Purple Pumpkin, (a shortwave pirate in the late 70s or early 80s) by virtue of reporting it to a DX publication.

@ Radioman and Awsherrill:


A QSL from a pirate has to be rare. It must take naivete or chimes to send one of those. The only AM pirates I logged back in those days were WEJP Richmond Hill Queens on 730 (I heard their harmonic on 1460 first) ..... WQAN Ozone Park 900 ..... and the aforementioned WFAT 1620. I still count them on my totals list. Heck, they were broadcasting on the same dial with all the other stations.
And some of those AM 'regionals' who -- oops -- operate with illegal wattages at night for high school football games 'count', no?
'Tis the season for that sort of mischief, anyway. I'm not gonna throw back the little ones, licensed or not.

 

[jeff]

@ Radioman and Awsherrill:

A QSL from a pirate has to be rare. It must take naivete or chimes to send one of those. The only AM pirates I logged back in those days were WEJP Richmond Hill Queens on 730 (I heard their harmonic on 1460 first) ..... WQAN Ozone Park 900 ..... and the aforementioned WFAT 1620. I still count them on my totals list. Heck, they were broadcasting on the same dial with all the other stations.
And some of those AM 'regionals' who -- oops -- operate with illegal wattages at night for high school football games 'count', no?
'Tis the season for that sort of mischief, anyway. I'm not gonna throw back the little ones, licensed or not.

I have been reading the mail on here for a very long time but just had to comment in regard to WEJP. I was an extremely active dxer from Rockaway during the 60s and have the possibly dubious distinction of being WEJPs farthest reception. The station was owned and operated by fellow NRCer Vinnie Cavaseno (who, if memory serves correctly, was one of the "Richmond Hill gang" of NRC members. The other members' names elude me). Other NRC members who were very active in the area at the time were Saul Ash from Far Rockaway, and Lon Berman from E. Meadow.