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AM Frequency of the Week 530

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cyberdad

cyberdad

40 miles northwest of downtown Chicago......

This week we turn the page and start over at the bottom of the AM dial. We'll be looking at what used to be known as the 'clear" channels which used to be primarily reserved for high powered stations operating alone or nearly alone on their respective channels at night. The idea being to serve large areas which otherwise might be without radio reception at night. As many, if not all, of you know. 530 is not assigned here in the U.S for commercial use, so it currently can't be placed in any specific category. At least AFAIK. But 530 is by means empty in America.

So here we go!

Days: 530 is blank at my locations, but there are TIS stations around me in various directions. None of which are audib;e for me at the moment.

Mights: Usually CHLO from suburban Toronto.. Only 250 watts, but not much to block it. Weak signal. R. Enciclopedia from Cuba used to dominate 530 here at night,but I haven't heard them on top here for at least six months. R. Rebelde from Cuba used to also pop in occasionally, but not lately.

Other Locations: During our February stay on the Gulf near Pensacola, R. Enciclopedia is audible 24/7, but notably weaker than in past years. Rebelde waas missing entirely. As has been previously suggested, `I suspect that the Cubans may be reducing power....or in some cases shutting down a few transmitters. Enciclopedia is seemingly running less than their (sipposedly) 30kw.

Retro: About ten years ago I snagged R, Enciclopedia at my brother in law's place in the Southern Ca;iformia. On my Sony SRF 37 Walkman. Safe to say they were running at whatever their supposed full power was at that point in time!
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East Tennessee: I could probably stand to give a fresh listen, but generally nothing days (no TISs around me) nighttime reception of Enciclopedia and Rebelde.
Retro/other/SDR hopping: The Central Indiana SDR often brings CHLO, Brampton, ON and I've heard it weakly on a winter day. Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles SDR has Rebelde dominant over Enciclopedia.
 
530 - CMBQ - Radio Enciclopedia - Spanish - 2023
530 - CMBA - Radio Rebelde - Cadena Nacional - 2023

530 - Radio Vision Cristiana - South Caicos BWI - Spanish- Christian 2009 (closed)

kw - Melbourne FL
 
Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: nothing heard these days. The I&M Canal TIS stations (WPNT254) used to be common, but no longer
Nighttime: Radio Enciclopedia or CHLO with the Cuban the more likely lately

DX/RETRO: Radio Rebelde also possible. Last time heard in 2022. Radio Vision Cristiana with 100 kW from Turks & Caicos was easy catch back in the 90's before they went off. Apparently there are plans for them to return back on the air. Ohers heard in the past include TICAL Radio Rumbo from Costa Rica. They started on 525 kHz (easy catch in Chicago), but moved to 530 sometimes in 1982. They are no longer on the air. Also no longer on the air is CJFT Ft. Erie, ON, which was heard frequently back in 1980's. Bunch of TIS stations heard in the past on this frequency (WPNT254, WNIE334, WQHC969), but strangely there none audible during daytime anymore even though they are still listed in the FCC database.
 
Ah, the bottom of the dial. And a bit below, from the southwest suburbs of Chicago.
Thanks to a fault in the power line coming into my house, I can barely get WGN the last 10 days or so, but when all is well ...

520 F9, an aeronautical beacon in Mirimichi, New Brunswick, has made it here several times over the years. It's 125 watts, sending out NB in Morse Code. I first heard it soon after getting an Akai AT-VO4, renowned for its FM section but with a great AM side as well (including an external and thus steerable ferrite rod antenna), starting at 520 and going to 1620. I used it mostly for FM DX, but F9 came in clear as a bell the first time I heard it.

530 Radio Enciclopedia (CMBQ in some listings), Villa Maria, Cuba, with 10 kW when I first heard it in 2018. About a week later, in popped CIAO Brampton, Ont. (now CHLO) with its mix of foreign language programs, punching above its 250-watt weight courtesy the magic of low frequencies and little competition.

I wonder in retrospect if I caught Turks and Caicos or Radio Rebelde over the years, or even TICAL on 525. There was a lot of Spanish I couldn't ID prior to SDRs for direction finding and hearing more clearly what I received with interference.
 
tvnut said:
Ah, the bottom of the dial. And a bit below, from the southwest suburbs of Chicago.
Thanks to a fault in the power line coming into my house, I can barely get WGN the last 10 days or so, but when all is well ...

520 F9, an aeronautical beacon in Mirimichi, New Brunswick, has made it here several times over the years. It's 125 watts, sending out NB in Morse Code. I first heard it soon after getting an Akai AT-VO4, renowned for its FM section but with a great AM side as well (including an external and thus steerable ferrite rod antenna), starting at 520 and going to 1620. I used it mostly for FM DX, but F9 came in clear as a bell the first time I heard it.

530 Radio Enciclopedia (CMBQ in some listings), Villa Maria, Cuba, with 10 kW when I first heard it in 2018. About a week later, in popped CIAO Brampton, Ont. (now CHLO) with its mix of foreign language programs, punching above its 250-watt weight courtesy the magic of low frequencies and little competition.

I wonder in retrospect if I caught Turks and Caicos or Radio Rebelde over the years, or even TICAL on 525. There was a lot of Spanish I couldn't ID prior to SDRs for direction finding and hearing more clearly what I received with interference.
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Turks and Caicos was definite for me in Indiana. I seem to remember them in Spanish with a Nueva York mailing address
 
Nothing in central Ohio by day, and while it's tough to pull anything out at night but I have heard one or both of those Cuban signals here at some point. I know very little Spanish so I couldn't tell you which one I heard.
 
schmave said:
I have heard one or both of those Cuban signals here at some point. I know very little Spanish so I couldn't tell you which one I heard.
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If you hear easy listening or instrumental music than you are hearing Radio Enciclopedia. If you hear lots of talking or live sporting event than you are most likely hearing Radio Rebelde. Good thing with Radio Rebelde is that you can check 600, 710, 1180 and 5025 for parallel programming.
 
tvnut said:
Ah, the bottom of the dial. And a bit below, from the southwest suburbs of Chicago.
Thanks to a fault in the power line coming into my house, I can barely get WGN the last 10 days or so, but when all is well ...

520 F9, an aeronautical beacon in Mirimichi, New Brunswick, has made it here several times over the years. It's 125 watts, sending out NB in Morse Code. I first heard it soon after getting an Akai AT-VO4, renowned for its FM section but with a great AM side as well (including an external and thus steerable ferrite rod antenna), starting at 520 and going to 1620. I used it mostly for FM DX, but F9 came in clear as a bell the first time I heard it.

530 Radio Enciclopedia (CMBQ in some listings), Villa Maria, Cuba, with 10 kW when I first heard it in 2018. About a week later, in popped CIAO Brampton, Ont. (now CHLO) with its mix of foreign language programs, punching above its 250-watt weight courtesy the magic of low frequencies and little competition.

I wonder in retrospect if I caught Turks and Caicos or Radio Rebelde over the years, or even TICAL on 525. There was a lot of Spanish I couldn't ID prior to SDRs for direction finding and hearing more clearly what I received with interference.
Click to expand...
It was once licensed in Niagara Falls buy why the 1000 wattage/250 night
 
In west Houston, TX, starting at sunset, it's some combination of Enciclopedia and Rebelde. Enciclopedia is usually dominant and sometimes Rebelde is absent altogether.
 
I used to hear the station from Turks & Caicos after they moved from 535 kHz down to 530 kHz. Not sure if they're on the air anymore.
 
TXPH97 said:
From DFW, Texas: Same as @wildthangjim - starting at sunset, it's some combination of Enciclopedia and Rebelde. Enciclopedia is usually dominant and sometimes Rebelde is absent altogether.
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And that points out the effect of large distances: Cuba is about 800 miles from East to West, so conditions may favor one area over another. In other words, the comparison is about the same as Chicago to New York City.
 
DavidEduardo said:
And that points out the effect of large distances: Cuba is about 800 miles from East to West, so conditions may favor one area over another. In other words, the comparison is about the same as Chicago to New York City.
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If the station locations are right in MWlist, Enciclopedia is about 500 miles closer to me than Rebelde. That would certainly make a difference, particularly if Rebelde is a weaker transmitter.
 
Northeast Essex County, NJ:
Daytime: mirror of WNSW 1430 ( or ghost frequency) not sure the exact term.
On a better selective radio: Newark Airports TIS station (very weak)
Nighttime: CHLO most likely.
 
CADXER said:
If you hear easy listening or instrumental music than you are hearing Radio Enciclopedia. If you hear lots of talking or live sporting event than you are most likely hearing Radio Rebelde. Good thing with Radio Rebelde is that you can check 600, 710, 1180 and 5025 for parallel programming.
Click to expand...

In that case, it was Enciclopedia.
I heard either Enciclopedia or the Turks and Caicos station during a visit to Merritt Island, Florida in 2009. I am willing to bet it was the former. Whatever it was, the signal wasn't strong but it was present, presumably due to the salt water path.
 
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