Can't wait for AM DX Season!

[SomeRadioGuy]

Bar none the two best signals I had was Talk Sport 1089 UK and MR4 Hungary on 1188khz from this past winter.

Talk Sport 1089kHz was in for 15 minutes at an incredibly listenable level! Here's my audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h0qOCPxIr4srPPoF1DvwFtT6Iyrid3mk/view?usp=sharing

The only thing better last winter was Hungary's 400KW 1188kHz public broadcaster with classical music.. it only lasted about 10 minutes, but it was so strong I was excitedly conducting my own orchestra in my front driveway. Good thing it was about 9am on a Sunday and no one was driving around town that early or they'd think I was weirder than I already am.

Here's the MR4 Hungary 1188kHz audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1caLbQ2yoimIMrePU2g8uuK6guXaIabIq/view?usp=sharing

Now, bar none the BEST log I had was 7ZR 936kHz Hobart, Tasmania Australia 10kw, directional with a bit of a null towards me at a distance of 8000 miles. This log landed me on Australian national TV via Skype about a week later!

Here's my log from March 24th. At 1400UTc, you can't mistake what you hear in this signal for anything else: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rmVXYj6tmkDfSqmXxg9NdcOGYOTMeDAG/view?usp=sharing

About 22 seconds in on this clip from 1406UTC listen for "low of 15, top of 21.. ABC Radio Hobart in this clip: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18kq22kKzglmUUMVUgZ8BBW9KSBfJE8vE/view?usp=sharing

For anyone wondering, I use a CCrane Skywave (non SSB model) and 2 Gary DeBock 5" tunable FSL antennas (look them up on youtube)

Paul Walker
Program Director for KSKO 89.5 McGrath, Alaska
www.kskopublicradio.com
(Heard on a number of other stations.. WHGM, KLMI, KXXX, WVIG, WFGA, etc

 

[crainbebo]

Will be interesting to see if the solar cycle conditions result in more auroral conditions this winter. I'm at over 800 stations heard on AM and it's difficult to find new ones nowadays unless TP conditions are spectacular, the east is wide open, or aurora conditions are blotting out everything nearby except for sheer groundwave (or I'm up at 5:30 in the morning to look for any sunrise DX from flea power stations in MT or CT going to daytime power). FM has been more than fun these past few weeks in WA state, but FM Es is non-existent in the Great White North!

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Will be interesting to see if the solar cycle conditions result in more auroral conditions this winter. I'm at over 800 stations heard on AM and it's difficult to find new ones nowadays unless TP conditions are spectacular, the east is wide open, or aurora conditions are blotting out everything nearby except for sheer groundwave (or I'm up at 5:30 in the morning to look for any sunrise DX from flea power stations in MT or CT going to daytime power). FM has been more than fun these past few weeks in WA state, but FM Es is non-existent in the Great White North!

The extreme darkness in december and january make all the difference here.. or most of it.. doesnt6 start getting light out till 10am or so... and its dark by 430pm.

All my TA/TP reception is in the morning.. whereas, for the lower 48.. its night time, esp. on the east coast.

My night time is all lower 48 stuff

 

[radioman148]

It will be interesting to see what next season brings us. Last year the Arctic SDR was practically dead.

 

[cyberdad]

Bar none the two best signals I had was Talk Sport 1089 UK and MR4 Hungary on 1188khz from this past winter.

Talk Sport 1089 has been a nighttime stud everywhere I've been in Europe. (Mostly Germany, France, and Italy). For that matter, they're probably the strongest signal in Central London. Stronger even than the BBC blowtorch on 648 (which IIRC actually has its transmitter some distance removed from the city.)

 

[boombox4]

I'm guessing next winter will be a little bit better at times than this past one for most of us. I don't expect real good conditions until 2023 or so. But one can always hope.

 

[radioman148]

Talk Sport 1089 has been a nighttime stud everywhere I've been in Europe. (Mostly Germany, France, and Italy). For that matter, they're probably the strongest signal in Central London. Stronger even than the BBC blowtorch on 648 (which IIRC actually has its transmitter some distance removed from the city.)

Last season when the Arctic SDR was virtually dead, Talk Sport 1089 was often one of the only stations that could be heard.

 

[schmave]

Talk Sport 1089 has been a nighttime stud everywhere I've been in Europe. (Mostly Germany, France, and Italy). For that matter, they're probably the strongest signal in Central London. Stronger even than the BBC blowtorch on 648 (which IIRC actually has its transmitter some distance removed from the city.)

Is that the London station you've mentioned that's pretty directional to the southeast?

 

[radioman148]

Is that the London station you've mentioned that's pretty directional to the southeast?

I think that's 1548AM Gold, used to be known as Capital Gold. I'll let Cyberdad elaborate on that.

 

[cyberdad]

Is that the London station you've mentioned that's pretty directional to the southeast?

Radioman is correct. 1548 is 97kw directional to the southeast, AFIK, 1090 is not directional. They don't really need to be because first of all they have a bunch of relays, and secondly....as has been mentioned here and elsewhere....they have a massive nighttime signal.

As for the London 1548,..... They blast into France and Germany at night, and I've heard them on daytime skywave in Bonn, Germany. Going in the other direction, one of our favorite getaway spots when our daughter was living in England was the scenic town of Broadway, 98 miles northwest of Central London (and a world apart). The 1548 day signal there is very weak. For all practical purposes, audible, but not comfortably listenable. And at night, 1548 in Broadway sounds almost like a graveyard channel. But not to worry...,.the programming, "Capital Gold," was also on a network of lower-powered relay stations. I'm not sure what the current format is, but I'd guess those relays are still there. Networks like Talk Sport and Capital Gold are relatively common in the UK.

 

[asugeorge1]

Radioman is correct. 1548 is 97kw directional to the southeast, AFIK, 1090 is not directional. They don't really need to be because first of all they have a bunch of relays, and secondly....as has been mentioned here and elsewhere....they have a massive nighttime signal.

As for the London 1548,..... They blast into France and Germany at night, and I've heard them on daytime skywave in Bonn, Germany. Going in the other direction, one of our favorite getaway spots when our daughter was living in England was the scenic town of Broadway, 98 miles northwest of Central London (and a world apart). The 1548 day signal there is very weak. For all practical purposes, audible, but not comfortably listenable. And at night, 1548 in Broadway sounds almost like a graveyard channel. But not to worry...,.the programming, "Capital Gold," was also on a network of lower-powered relay stations. I'm not sure what the current format is, but I'd guess those relays are still there. Networks like Talk Sport and Capital Gold are relatively common in the UK.

1548 AM in London, UK is still an oldies station, but now known as simply “Gold.” From their playlist online, they actually play more “oldies” than Capital Gold did, which was the greatest hits of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s with mostly 70’s music. I used to listen to their “Breakfast” show all the time and loved the hosts they had. The playlist now is mostly 60’s and 70’s, but unlike Capital Gold, some 50’s songs are in the mix.

When I was last in Europe (which was 10 years ago now), 1548 AM from London was always a regular night-time favorite for me when I was traveling in Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Croatia, Russia and Italy along with the now sadly defunct AFN blowtorch from Germany on 873 AM. Before the days of streaming in the early to mid 2000’s when I was there, 873 AM was always nice to hear when traveling in Europe because it was an American English station, not a British English radio station like you normally would hear on the radio at night in Europe. My favorite programming was when AFN would broadcast Major League Baseball all across Europe in the summer months on 873 AM. Nothing felt better than when I was in Russia blasting a New York Yankees - Boston Red Sox game on my portable radio on the streets of St. Petersburg (I believe it was a live broadcast of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball with Jon Miller on the call). Looking back, probably not the smartest thing to do, but I just thought it was so cool that I could listen to my favorite sport from my home country on a portable radio halfway across the world! Sadly, from what I have heard, the 150KW AFN blowtorch from Germany on 873 AM is no longer around.

 

[crainbebo]

AFN shut off all of their MW stations in Europe years ago, 873 went off in 2012 or 2013. That AFN station was loud and clear all over western Europe at night. They still have MW in Asia, Tokyo's 810 The Eagle with 50KW, an Okinawa station on 648, and three on 1575 in Japan are active as are a couple of LP stations in South Korea.

 

[cyberdad]

AFN shut off all of their MW stations in Europe years ago, 873 went off in 2012 or 2013. That AFN station was loud and clear all over western Europe at night.\

873 was deinitedly an easy nighttime catch for me in London. A go-to.....especially stuff like NFL playoffs and NCAA March madness

 

[boombox4]

AFN shut off all of their MW stations in Europe years ago, 873 went off in 2012 or 2013. That AFN station was loud and clear all over western Europe at night. They still have MW in Asia, Tokyo's 810 The Eagle with 50KW, an Okinawa station on 648, and three on 1575 in Japan are active as are a couple of LP stations in South Korea.

Long, long ago, I once heard Radio 810's SW relay in the 49 meter band. Then NHK clobbered it with a het -- this was before I had a radio with good selectivity. I forget which frequency it was. I think they took that relay off the air in the early 1990s some time.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

AFN shut off all of their MW stations in Europe years ago, 873 went off in 2012 or 2013. That AFN station was loud and clear all over western Europe at night. They still have MW in Asia, Tokyo's 810 The Eagle with 50KW, an Okinawa station on 648, and three on 1575 in Japan are active as are a couple of LP stations in South Korea.

Never heard AFN 648 Okinawa when in Galena 5 years ago or here in McGrath.. too clsoe to KUYK and KENI. Have heard 1575 Japan semi regularly but not very well in Galena and 810 was heard daily in Galena. I havent heard either in McGrath

 

[gr8oldies]

AFN shut off all of their MW stations in Europe years ago, 873 went off in 2012 or 2013. That AFN station was loud and clear all over western Europe at night. They still have MW in Asia, Tokyo's 810 The Eagle with 50KW, an Okinawa station on 648, and three on 1575 in Japan are active as are a couple of LP stations in South Korea.

I swear I didn't dream this.....but while monitoring the Eschende SDR I heard NPR Berlin. I believe 1107.
On the Eschende SDR, 1548 is usually a mix of "Gold" and Forth 2.

 

[gar hi]

I can't wait for AM DXing season either but I also decided to order a Sangean ATS-405 for shortwave DXing.

It has many more features than the Grundig G8 I used to have.

The CB skip isn't happening as much at all as I thought it was, so this will be the perfect alternative.

Here's a review of the radio. This guy does extensive reviews too.

 

[boombox4]

You should be able to hear a lot of Asian stations during morning (and probably the evening, too). When SW DX conditions were hopping early last decade I was hearing all sorts of Asian and SE Asian activity on the 40 meter ham band and 41 meter SW band, and I'm sure some of it still is receivable closer to Asia.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

You should be able to hear a lot of Asian stations during morning (and probably the evening, too). When SW DX conditions were hopping early last decade I was hearing all sorts of Asian and SE Asian activity on the 40 meter ham band and 41 meter SW band, and I'm sure some of it still is receivable closer to Asia.

I do... China, Japan and South Korea boom in......ive heard a 100 watt relay from Japan a few times. 50KW AM's in Sapporro Japan are heard every day

The big guns..200.. 500kw..1mw... boom in from china