I enjoyed a vacation on the Gulf Coast in mid-December. On a couple of nights, I scanned the dial for AM stations that were coming in. Pass Christian is about 40 miles northeast of New Orleans on the Gulf of Mexico. The first night I listened, I was getting more AM stations from the west, including Texas. The second night was more from the east, including Florida. I realized I was so far from many of the major Class A stations that they wouldn't come in, other than those in the center of the country.
I used the standard radio in my rental Volkswagon Tiguan, parked only a couple of miles from the coast. This location was great for FM listening. I was hearing FM stations from New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile and Pensacola, since the curve of the Gulf shoreline gives this area line-of-sight to all these markets. But the AM reception was not as good. Unlike times I've done this in other locations, there were a number of frequencies where I really couldn't pull in anything other than unrecognizable hash. I checked all the clear channel frequencies plus the lower regional frequencies.
530....Radio Enciclopedia, Cuba. So-so reception.
540....One night was soft Spanish music, likely XEWA San Luis Potos?*. (Is it still running 150 kw? That would make it Mexico's highest power station currently.) The next night was religious music in English. Not sure what that station is. Other than WFLF Pine Hills-Orlando, at 46,000 watts, there's no other station in the U.S. at night with more than a few hundred watts and none near Mississippi. So who's playing religious music on 540?
550....Talk. Not sure if it was KTSA San Antonio or KTRS St. Louis. Both 5,000 watts.
560....First night hash, second night weak sports. Was it WHBQ Memphis or WQAM Miami? Both are sports stations, powered at only 1,000 watts at night. Memphis is closer.
570....Coast to Coast AM. Fair. Possibly KLIF Ft. Worth at 5,000 watts. It's a Cumulus station but it runs iHeart's Coast to Coast overnight. No clicks from Radio Reloj, Cuba, on this frequency.
580....Hash
590....Spanish music one night, hash the other. The Spanish language station might be XEPH Mexico City, 10 kw at night. There's no U.S. station with a Latino format on 590 anywhere near Pass Christian.
600....Hash
610....First night sports, I'd guess KILT Houston, 5,000 watts day and night. Second night good signal from WIOD Miami. It does traffic every 15 minutes, even overnight, along with Coast to Coast.
620....First night big band clarinet music. Second night Mexican music. I don't think this is KTNO Dallas, since that station is now Spanish Religion and this wasn't religious. The Mexican music might be from XENK Mexico City, 5,000 watts at night.
630....Religion. One night it was Hark the Herald Angels Sing on an organ. It could be Salem Religious KSLR San Antonio with 4,300 watts at night.
640....Mexican music, using the slogan "La Ranchera." Fairly clear. One night a female DJ was talking in Spanish between songs. Not sure what station this is. 640 KTIB in Thibidoux, Louisiana, is powered at 1,000 watts at night but it's a Hot AC station broadcasting in English.
650....WSM Nashville, Classic Country. Fairly strong and clear.
660....Hash
670....WSCR Sports Chicago. Fair to good.
680....First night Classic Country, I assume KKYX San Antonio, 10,000 watts nights. Second night ESPN Sports Talk. I assume WMFS Memphis, 5,000 watts at night. I was surprised both were fairly clear on each night. They weren't battling on the two nights I listened.
690....WQNO New Orleans. Catholic programming. 2,100 watts at night.
700....WLW Cincinnati. Fair to good.
710....Spanish music. Fair to good. It sounded Mexican to me, with lots of horns. But XEMP Mexico City is only supposed to be 1,000 watts at night. Or is it 50,000 watt WAQI Miami? But that's a Cuban-oriented talk station and this didn't sound like Cuban music to me.
720....WGN Chicago. Clear.
730....Mix of Spanish and English oldies. Fair to good. Is it XEX, 60,000 watts in Mexico City? It's supposed to be a sports station, but maybe overnight it plays music.
740....KTRH Houston. Fair to poor.
750....WSB Atlanta Talk. Fair signal.
760....Hash with some Latino music. I'm surprised that I didn't get a hint of WJR Detroit, since I got Chicago and Cincinnati so well.
770....Talk one night, hash the next. I heard a bit of Red Eye Radio the first night, which could be KKOB Albuquerque, a Cumulus station.
780....WBBM Chicago. All news. Clear.
790....CBS Sports Radio, which is likely WMC Memphis. 5,000 watts.
800....Religious AC. Clear signal. I think XEROK Ciudad Juárez is all Spanish now, so who is doing religious music in English on 800? New Orleans has a Christian station on 800 but that's a daytimer. PJB3 in Bonaire can't be easily heard in the U.S. anymore, right? (I used to hear this station in the New York area when it was a half million watts. Most nights it was CKLW Windsor with Bonaire occasionally. But that was decades ago, and others have said PJB3 no longer runs enough power to reach the U.S.)
810....Hash
820....WBAP Fort Worth. Red Eye Radio. Fair reception.
830....Spanish Religion. It used the slogan "La Voz de Paz." Fair to good. Could it be KGLA just outside New Orleans? But that's only 750 watts at night. Wikipedia says it's Spanish but not religious.
840....WHAS Louisville. Talk. Clear.
850....Hash one night, with a little KOA Denver getting through. Next night it was traditional Religious music. Not sure who that was.
860....Hash
870....WWL New Orleans. Best AM station in the area.
880....Hash
890....WLS Chicago. So-so. Some Mexican music bleeding in.
900....XEW Mexico City. Spanish light rock. It now runs 100,000 watts, although it had been 250,000 watts until a few years ago. Fair signal.
910....Hash
920....Hash
930....Hash
940....XEQ Mexico City, Mexican music, mixed with WYLD New Orleans Black Gospel. XEQ is 30,000 watts, WYLD is 500 watts at night. Neither station was strong.
950....Radio Reloj, Cuba. Weak but I could hear the time clicks.
960....Hash
970....Spanish Talk. Fair to good. Maybe XERFR Mexico City? It has a Spanish news/talk format and runs 50 kw by day, 4,000 watts at night. The only American station within a few hundred miles is KSYL Alexandria, LA, but that's talk in English.
980....Religion. Fair. Maybe WYFN Nashville, 5,000 watts.
990....Talk with a female host. Fair signal. This could be WGSO New Orleans, but it's only 400 watts at night. No sign of XET Monterrey, 20,000 watts day and night.
1000....Spanish Religious music. Fair signal. Some of what I think is WMVP Chicago underneath. Not sure what the Spanish Religion station is. Mexico City has XEOY running 20,000 watts at night but that's a has a contemporary hits format.
1010....Hash and faint sports talk. Maybe that's WJXL Jacksonville Beach, 30 kw at night.
1020....KDKA Pittsburgh. Weak.
1030....Hash
1040....WHO Des Moines. Clear first night. Weak the second night with Spanish music underneath.
1050....Spanish music. This is likely XEG Monterrey, 100,000 watts.
1060....First night Spanish music, likely XEEP Mexico City, 20,000 watts nights. Second night it was Black Gospel music, likely WLNO New Orleans. It's directional away from Mississippi but has a nighttime power of 5,000 watts.
1070....Hash
1080....KRLD Dallas. So-so signal. I could hear Clark Howard's syndicated show which KRLD runs overnight.
1090....KAAY Little Rock. Good signal. The station identified as "Singing News Radio," the name for its Christian music and teaching format.
1100....Hash. No hint of WTAM Cleveland, just as I didn't hear WJR Detroit either.
1110....Spanish MOR music. Weak signal. No sign of KFAB Omaha. XERED Mexico City runs 50 kw at night but Wikipedia says it's currently silent. Unless it's back on with Spanish MOR?
1120....KMOX St. Louis. Strong signal.
1130....KWKH Shreveport. Strong signal.
1140....Mexican music. Weak signal. This could be XEMR Monterrey. 50,000 watts.
1150....Hash
1160....Hash. KSL Salt Lake City is too far away.
1170....KFAQ Tulsa. Good reception.
1180....Hash. I didn't hear any Spanish, even though Cuba has high-powered stations to jam Radio Mart?* on 1180.
1190....WMEJ in Bay St. Louis, one town away.
1200....WOAI San Antonio. Strong signal.
1210....Talk. Fair to strong. Could this be KGYN Guymon, Oklahoma? A talk station with 10,000 watts. WPHT Philadelphia is too far away.
1220....Hash
1500....Hash
1510....WLAC Nashville, Talk. Strong signal. I heard Fox News at the top of the hour. WLAC is owned by iHeart, so it's a Fox affiliate.
1520....KOKC Oklahoma City, Talk. Strong signal. Some classic country came in underneath one night. That's likely KRHW Sikeston, Missouri, 200 miles north of Memphis, at 1,600 watts after sunset.
1530....Oldies. One night it was Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, next night it was What Am I Gonna Do With You by Barry White. It's not WCKY Cincinnati, which is ESPN Sports. Could it be XEUR Mexico City, 50kw days, 1 kw nights? According to its Wikipedia page, it plays English-language 70s, 80s and 90s music. There really aren't any other U.S. stations with more than flashlight power at night anywhere near me.
1540....Mexican music. Fair signal. KZMP Dallas is 750 watt at night. XESTN Monterrey is 500 watts at night. KGBC Galveston is 250 watts at night. They all play some form of Mexican music but I don't know which one I heard.
1550....Hash mixed with Black Gospel music. Baton Rouge has a Black Gospel station on 1550 but WPFC is supposed to drop its power to only 42 watts at night.
1560....KGOW Houston. Fair signal. Vietnamese programming. 15,000 watts at night.
1570....XERF Ciudad Acuña (about 200 miles west of San Antonio). Good signal. 100,000 watts day and night.
1580....Sports talk. Fair signal. Likely KXZZ Lake Charles, LA, a CBS Sports affiliate. 1,000 watts and about 200 miles west of Pass Christian.
I used the standard radio in my rental Volkswagon Tiguan, parked only a couple of miles from the coast. This location was great for FM listening. I was hearing FM stations from New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile and Pensacola, since the curve of the Gulf shoreline gives this area line-of-sight to all these markets. But the AM reception was not as good. Unlike times I've done this in other locations, there were a number of frequencies where I really couldn't pull in anything other than unrecognizable hash. I checked all the clear channel frequencies plus the lower regional frequencies.
530....Radio Enciclopedia, Cuba. So-so reception.
540....One night was soft Spanish music, likely XEWA San Luis Potos?*. (Is it still running 150 kw? That would make it Mexico's highest power station currently.) The next night was religious music in English. Not sure what that station is. Other than WFLF Pine Hills-Orlando, at 46,000 watts, there's no other station in the U.S. at night with more than a few hundred watts and none near Mississippi. So who's playing religious music on 540?
550....Talk. Not sure if it was KTSA San Antonio or KTRS St. Louis. Both 5,000 watts.
560....First night hash, second night weak sports. Was it WHBQ Memphis or WQAM Miami? Both are sports stations, powered at only 1,000 watts at night. Memphis is closer.
570....Coast to Coast AM. Fair. Possibly KLIF Ft. Worth at 5,000 watts. It's a Cumulus station but it runs iHeart's Coast to Coast overnight. No clicks from Radio Reloj, Cuba, on this frequency.
580....Hash
590....Spanish music one night, hash the other. The Spanish language station might be XEPH Mexico City, 10 kw at night. There's no U.S. station with a Latino format on 590 anywhere near Pass Christian.
600....Hash
610....First night sports, I'd guess KILT Houston, 5,000 watts day and night. Second night good signal from WIOD Miami. It does traffic every 15 minutes, even overnight, along with Coast to Coast.
620....First night big band clarinet music. Second night Mexican music. I don't think this is KTNO Dallas, since that station is now Spanish Religion and this wasn't religious. The Mexican music might be from XENK Mexico City, 5,000 watts at night.
630....Religion. One night it was Hark the Herald Angels Sing on an organ. It could be Salem Religious KSLR San Antonio with 4,300 watts at night.
640....Mexican music, using the slogan "La Ranchera." Fairly clear. One night a female DJ was talking in Spanish between songs. Not sure what station this is. 640 KTIB in Thibidoux, Louisiana, is powered at 1,000 watts at night but it's a Hot AC station broadcasting in English.
650....WSM Nashville, Classic Country. Fairly strong and clear.
660....Hash
670....WSCR Sports Chicago. Fair to good.
680....First night Classic Country, I assume KKYX San Antonio, 10,000 watts nights. Second night ESPN Sports Talk. I assume WMFS Memphis, 5,000 watts at night. I was surprised both were fairly clear on each night. They weren't battling on the two nights I listened.
690....WQNO New Orleans. Catholic programming. 2,100 watts at night.
700....WLW Cincinnati. Fair to good.
710....Spanish music. Fair to good. It sounded Mexican to me, with lots of horns. But XEMP Mexico City is only supposed to be 1,000 watts at night. Or is it 50,000 watt WAQI Miami? But that's a Cuban-oriented talk station and this didn't sound like Cuban music to me.
720....WGN Chicago. Clear.
730....Mix of Spanish and English oldies. Fair to good. Is it XEX, 60,000 watts in Mexico City? It's supposed to be a sports station, but maybe overnight it plays music.
740....KTRH Houston. Fair to poor.
750....WSB Atlanta Talk. Fair signal.
760....Hash with some Latino music. I'm surprised that I didn't get a hint of WJR Detroit, since I got Chicago and Cincinnati so well.
770....Talk one night, hash the next. I heard a bit of Red Eye Radio the first night, which could be KKOB Albuquerque, a Cumulus station.
780....WBBM Chicago. All news. Clear.
790....CBS Sports Radio, which is likely WMC Memphis. 5,000 watts.
800....Religious AC. Clear signal. I think XEROK Ciudad Juárez is all Spanish now, so who is doing religious music in English on 800? New Orleans has a Christian station on 800 but that's a daytimer. PJB3 in Bonaire can't be easily heard in the U.S. anymore, right? (I used to hear this station in the New York area when it was a half million watts. Most nights it was CKLW Windsor with Bonaire occasionally. But that was decades ago, and others have said PJB3 no longer runs enough power to reach the U.S.)
810....Hash
820....WBAP Fort Worth. Red Eye Radio. Fair reception.
830....Spanish Religion. It used the slogan "La Voz de Paz." Fair to good. Could it be KGLA just outside New Orleans? But that's only 750 watts at night. Wikipedia says it's Spanish but not religious.
840....WHAS Louisville. Talk. Clear.
850....Hash one night, with a little KOA Denver getting through. Next night it was traditional Religious music. Not sure who that was.
860....Hash
870....WWL New Orleans. Best AM station in the area.
880....Hash
890....WLS Chicago. So-so. Some Mexican music bleeding in.
900....XEW Mexico City. Spanish light rock. It now runs 100,000 watts, although it had been 250,000 watts until a few years ago. Fair signal.
910....Hash
920....Hash
930....Hash
940....XEQ Mexico City, Mexican music, mixed with WYLD New Orleans Black Gospel. XEQ is 30,000 watts, WYLD is 500 watts at night. Neither station was strong.
950....Radio Reloj, Cuba. Weak but I could hear the time clicks.
960....Hash
970....Spanish Talk. Fair to good. Maybe XERFR Mexico City? It has a Spanish news/talk format and runs 50 kw by day, 4,000 watts at night. The only American station within a few hundred miles is KSYL Alexandria, LA, but that's talk in English.
980....Religion. Fair. Maybe WYFN Nashville, 5,000 watts.
990....Talk with a female host. Fair signal. This could be WGSO New Orleans, but it's only 400 watts at night. No sign of XET Monterrey, 20,000 watts day and night.
1000....Spanish Religious music. Fair signal. Some of what I think is WMVP Chicago underneath. Not sure what the Spanish Religion station is. Mexico City has XEOY running 20,000 watts at night but that's a has a contemporary hits format.
1010....Hash and faint sports talk. Maybe that's WJXL Jacksonville Beach, 30 kw at night.
1020....KDKA Pittsburgh. Weak.
1030....Hash
1040....WHO Des Moines. Clear first night. Weak the second night with Spanish music underneath.
1050....Spanish music. This is likely XEG Monterrey, 100,000 watts.
1060....First night Spanish music, likely XEEP Mexico City, 20,000 watts nights. Second night it was Black Gospel music, likely WLNO New Orleans. It's directional away from Mississippi but has a nighttime power of 5,000 watts.
1070....Hash
1080....KRLD Dallas. So-so signal. I could hear Clark Howard's syndicated show which KRLD runs overnight.
1090....KAAY Little Rock. Good signal. The station identified as "Singing News Radio," the name for its Christian music and teaching format.
1100....Hash. No hint of WTAM Cleveland, just as I didn't hear WJR Detroit either.
1110....Spanish MOR music. Weak signal. No sign of KFAB Omaha. XERED Mexico City runs 50 kw at night but Wikipedia says it's currently silent. Unless it's back on with Spanish MOR?
1120....KMOX St. Louis. Strong signal.
1130....KWKH Shreveport. Strong signal.
1140....Mexican music. Weak signal. This could be XEMR Monterrey. 50,000 watts.
1150....Hash
1160....Hash. KSL Salt Lake City is too far away.
1170....KFAQ Tulsa. Good reception.
1180....Hash. I didn't hear any Spanish, even though Cuba has high-powered stations to jam Radio Mart?* on 1180.
1190....WMEJ in Bay St. Louis, one town away.
1200....WOAI San Antonio. Strong signal.
1210....Talk. Fair to strong. Could this be KGYN Guymon, Oklahoma? A talk station with 10,000 watts. WPHT Philadelphia is too far away.
1220....Hash
1500....Hash
1510....WLAC Nashville, Talk. Strong signal. I heard Fox News at the top of the hour. WLAC is owned by iHeart, so it's a Fox affiliate.
1520....KOKC Oklahoma City, Talk. Strong signal. Some classic country came in underneath one night. That's likely KRHW Sikeston, Missouri, 200 miles north of Memphis, at 1,600 watts after sunset.
1530....Oldies. One night it was Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, next night it was What Am I Gonna Do With You by Barry White. It's not WCKY Cincinnati, which is ESPN Sports. Could it be XEUR Mexico City, 50kw days, 1 kw nights? According to its Wikipedia page, it plays English-language 70s, 80s and 90s music. There really aren't any other U.S. stations with more than flashlight power at night anywhere near me.
1540....Mexican music. Fair signal. KZMP Dallas is 750 watt at night. XESTN Monterrey is 500 watts at night. KGBC Galveston is 250 watts at night. They all play some form of Mexican music but I don't know which one I heard.
1550....Hash mixed with Black Gospel music. Baton Rouge has a Black Gospel station on 1550 but WPFC is supposed to drop its power to only 42 watts at night.
1560....KGOW Houston. Fair signal. Vietnamese programming. 15,000 watts at night.
1570....XERF Ciudad Acuña (about 200 miles west of San Antonio). Good signal. 100,000 watts day and night.
1580....Sports talk. Fair signal. Likely KXZZ Lake Charles, LA, a CBS Sports affiliate. 1,000 watts and about 200 miles west of Pass Christian.
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