Nighttime AM DXing during a power outage

[gar hi]

Just before 11 last night, the power went out and I could hear a bang sound off in the distance a couple seconds later that was probably the transformer blowing closer to downtown Hilo.

So I thought it was perfect opportunity to do some AM DXing on my C Crane Skywave which I've now had for a while but never had a serious chance to listen to AM because of all the annoying background noise, especially where I used to live where the solar power system made it nearly impossible to hear anything on AM even outside.

I have it mainly for Shortwave.

Even though it's the worst time of year for nighttime AM listening, it was like hearing AM on my much larger Sangean PR-D5 I had for years.

All the mainland regulars were there and listenable and there was something to be heard on most all frequencies, even if very weak.

The power was restored about an hour later and now I highly recommend this small solid radio for it's AM reception.

 

[r388yh]

I thought you were going to recommend knocking out the AC power in our neighborhoods.

Have you tried an indoor tunable loop antenna for nulling out local noise? It increases received signal strength as well. I happen to have a Terk "AM Advantage" antenna that works quite well just by placing it next to a cheap transistor radio.

 

[gar hi]

I had the Terk AM Advantage loop when I lived in Florida and it just magnified the noise when I used it indoors.

The reason I got it was for daytime AM DXing outside and it worked quite well!

On Honeymoon Island which is in the Tampa Bay area, I could hear KTRH from Houston in the middle of the day in summer under WYGM.

 

[MarioMania]

I hate noice on AM, It got worst

Could you hear Japan, China on 9 KHz?

 

[Gregg.]

Even though it's the worst time of year for nighttime AM listening, it was like hearing AM on my much larger Sangean PR-D5 I had for years.

All the mainland regulars were there and listenable and there was something to be heard on most all frequencies, even if very weak.

Why is June the worst time of the year for nighttime AM listening? Too many thunderstorms? The night is so short?

And what are the mainland regulars heard in Hawaii? (Honolulu is 2,600 miles from Los Angeles.) I assume the 50,000 watt stations on the West Coast. But how far into the mainland do stations travel? Do you hear some from the Mountain Time Zone such as KOA 850, KSL 1160 or KKOB 770?

 

[davideduardo]

Why is June the worst time of the year for nighttime AM listening? Too many thunderstorms? The night is so short?

It involves the polarization of the ionosphere and the inclination of the planet and other science related stuff I don't really understand.

And what are the mainland regulars heard in Hawaii? (Honolulu is 2,600 miles from Los Angeles.) I assume the 50,000 watt stations on the West Coast. But how far into the mainland do stations travel? Do you hear some from the Mountain Time Zone such as KOA 850, KSL 1160 or KKOB 770?

When I was PD of KTNQ in LA, we used to get phone calls from listeners in Hawai'i. Anywhere on the eastern side of any of the islands could hear our equivalent of about 250 kw aimed at them.

Once, when our overnight talk host said something negative about Miss Hawaii, a candidate for Miss Universe. He got several dozen calls from Hawai'i criticizing him!

 

[Mediafrog+]

Why is June the worst time of the year for nighttime AM listening? Too many thunderstorms? The night is so short?

Storm noise is a big factor in the summer. It’s a year round issue in tropical areas of the world, which is why many AM stations used shortwave to supplement their coverage area in those regions. FM eliminated those problems.

In winter the lower sun angles and long nights reduce the lingering effects of ionospheric “D-layer” absorption. And it’s always seemed that mediumwave frequencies propagate better in colder temperatures.

Opposite effects can be seen on shortwave, where higher frequencies do poorly at night during the winter, though daytime reception is actually improved.

 

[gar hi]

I hate noice on AM, It got worst

Could you hear Japan, China on 9 KHz?

I didn't think of switching to the 9 kHz mode but 774 from Japan is easy to hear most nights after around 11 pm in summer or at least it was years ago when I was first in Hawaii and the background noise wasn't quite as bad as it is now.

I mentioned in the past how the property where I lived in Mountain View had solar power which made the background noise horrible after the solar had an upgrade to the system a few years ago which made hearing AM at night almost impossible anymore, even if the power went out late at night on days where it didn't get enough charge.

The apartment complex where I now live in Hilo isn't quite as bad but it's still not a good place to hear AM which is why I was excited when we lost power.

I've also noticed that even going outside to try to hear AM isn't much better than being inside these days.

 

[gar hi]

And what are the mainland regulars heard in Hawaii? (Honolulu is 2,600 miles from Los Angeles.) I assume the 50,000 watt stations on the West Coast. But how far into the mainland do stations travel? Do you hear some from the Mountain Time Zone such as KOA 850, KSL 1160 or KKOB 770?

The nighttime regulars are KMJ, KFI, KNBR, KKOB, KSFO (formally KGO) but absent some nights, KRVN which often fights it out with the 880 in Honolulu, KNX which is the strongest of the 50 kw stations here, KSL, KFBK which sometimes has WCKY in the background.

Those are the strongest stations but there are weaker regulars that often get listenable such as KEAR which used to be KFRC, my favorite station whenever I'd visit my brother on the Bay Area in the 70's until they ended their top 40 format the summer of 1986 when I heard the transition to a big band music format but they kept Dr, Don Rose on in the mornings, though he was more mellow and no longer did his usual funny comedy routine.

As for 850 here, I couldn't hear much of KOA due to a local in Hilo on 850 and not at all now that I'm in Hilo.

When I first got here and KSFO was on 560, it was a good nighttime regular.

 

[MarioMania]

I didn't think of switching to the 9 kHz mode but 774 from Japan is easy to hear most nights after around 11 pm in summer or at least it was years ago when I was first in Hawaii and the background noise wasn't quite as bad as it is now.

I mentioned in the past how the property where I lived in Mountain View had solar power which made the background noise horrible after the solar had an upgrade to the system a few years ago which made hearing AM at night almost impossible anymore, even if the power went out late at night on days where it didn't get enough charge.

The apartment complex where I now live in Hilo isn't quite as bad but it's still not a good place to hear AM which is why I was excited when we lost power.

I've also noticed that even going outside to try to hear AM isn't much better than being inside these days.

When I lived in Vallejo, I don't now when I got 774 from Japan at night weak

The nighttime regulars are KMJ, KFI, KNBR, KKOB, KSFO (formally KGO) but absent some nights, KRVN which often fights it out with the 880 in Honolulu, KNX which is the strongest of the 50 kw stations here, KSL, KFBK which sometimes has WCKY in the background.

Those are the strongest stations but there are weaker regulars that often get listenable such as KEAR which used to be KFRC, my favorite station whenever I'd visit my brother on the Bay Area in the 70's until they ended their top 40 format the summer of 1986 when I heard the transition to a big band music format but they kept Dr, Don Rose on in the mornings, though he was more mellow and no longer did his usual funny comedy routine.

As for 850 here, I couldn't hear much of KOA due to a local in Hilo on 850 and not at all now that I'm in Hilo.

When I first got here and KSFO was on 560, it was a good nighttime regular.

Can you get 740 KCBS?

 

[gar hi]

In all my many attempts even with my best radio, I've never heard KCBS here.

There's a station from Maui on 740 with another station in the background too sometimes but it's definitely not KCBS.

KCBS has a very directional signal that favors north-south but not west.

 

[radiofan2023]

In all my many attempts even with my best radio, I've never heard KCBS here.

There's a station from Maui on 740 with another station in the background too sometimes but it's definitely not KCBS.

KCBS has a very directional signal that favors north-south but not west.

I once got it in the Iowa City area at night a few years ago, but just at the TOH ID.