• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

1590 AM

Summer AM DXing is more interesting than I thought!

Right now at 8:30 just after sunset, I'm getting the Cuban or WZAB on 880 depending on which way I turn the radio and not even a trace of WCBS.

First time I've ever observed that.

:eek:


On 660, WORL is booming in and no WFAN at all.


:eek:
 
Hurricane has no direct impact; however, many stations use their day-time facilities at night to provide information to populace.
 
Watt Hairston said:
Hurricane has no direct impact; however, many stations use their day-time facilities at night to provide information to populace.
Another indirect effect is when a strong Tropical Storm or hurricane hits Cuba and there are power failures in Cuba; thus temporarily taking some of the strong Cuban stations off the air. (

In the past, when this has happened, I've been able to pick up WCBS 880 and WLS 890 when the Cuban stations are off the air or using lower power. Tropical storm Emily is expected to be over s.e. Cuba and central Cuba Thursday and Friday, so that might be a time to see if any of the high powered Cuban stations will be off the air or on reduced power. Also might be able to pick up 790 out of Miami more clearly w/o Radio Reloj ticking away in the background.

drt
st. petersburg,fl
 
drt said:
Watt Hairston said:
Hurricane has no direct impact; however, many stations use their day-time facilities at night to provide information to populace.
Another indirect effect is when a strong Tropical Storm or hurricane hits Cuba and there are power failures in Cuba; thus temporarily taking some of the strong Cuban stations off the air. (

In the past, when this has happened, I've been able to pick up WCBS 880 and WLS 890 when the Cuban stations are off the air or using lower power. Tropical storm Emily is expected to be over s.e. Cuba and central Cuba Thursday and Friday, so that might be a time to see if any of the high powered Cuban stations will be off the air or on reduced power. Also might be able to pick up 790 out of Miami more clearly w/o Radio Reloj ticking away in the background.

drt
st. petersburg,fl

I just don't want "Emily" coming here (or actually going anywhere to destroy). I live in a mobile home!
 
cd637299 said:
I just don't want "Emily" coming here (or actually going anywhere to destroy). I live in a mobile home!

I don't want Emily to come to Florida or Cuba, but that being said, if it does and knocks out any power in Cuba, then that might present some dx'ing opportunities.

If their power grid is like some of Progress Energy's power grids, then sometimes just a lightning strike can knock out the power for hours at a time.

Good luck CD, the good thing is most of the latest computer models show Emily straying more to the east (not good for the Bahamas) and if it becomes a hurricane, would be no more than a category one, which is bad enough. Don't mind tropical waves or depressions, but anything more than that is going to cause some damage.

---------------
Back to topic :1590 here is a very strong WRXB gospel day and night. (5,000 watts day directional and 1,000 watts night directional - licensed to St. Pete Beach with tower array in s.w. St. Petersburg), when I go anywhere very far north at night (i.e.: Largo or Clearwater)1590 does sound like a graveyard. I've picked up WPSL(Port St. Lucie) in eastern Hillsborough county on the outskirts of Tampa just before sunset; their signal does get out.

drt,
st. petersburg,fl
 
Pittsburgh, of course, had WZUM for half a century (WPLW at times) before a mix of problems caught up with that AM 1590 and put it off the air once and for all last year.

The station I don't get on AM 1590 is WAKR, interestingly enough. I've had two stations battle on that frequency here during the day in recent months:

(1) WGGO, Salamanca, NY, ESPN Radio, 5 kw-day, 14 w-night.
It shouldn't reach St. Mary's, PA. I could get it in McKeesport, PA.

(2) WHGT, Maugansville, MD, religious, 15 kw-day, 58 w-night. Serves Hagerstown as a local affiliate of the Fundamental Broadcasting Network out of North Carolina.
Its "figure 8" day signal isn't supposed to reach Cumberland, MD.
 
I listened to KLIV / 1590 in San Jose, California. Today it is an all news station. Back in the 1960's and 1970's it was top 40 rock-n'-roll. They were in the competition with KFRC & KYA San Francisco. Their signal was weaker than the powerhouses to the north, but I still tuned them in. They played more surfin' music and played lesser known local bands.
 
In regards to KVGB, they operate at 5 kw, directional at night from south of Great Bend with a pattern that goes mostly towards the north-northwest. One of the nulls on their pattern at night protects WAKR, which creates a situation where KVGB can be heard at night in Wyoming but not in a town 10 miles east of Great Bend. On the back side of the pattern there is a minor lobe that goes SSE and can be picked up upwards of 25-30 miles out at night. Their NIF at night is around 3.4 mv/m, which I believe is about the second best NIF in Kansas (behind KSAL in Salina and 20's era WIBW in Topeka.)
 
WZUM in Carnegie, PA, just outside Pittsburgh. Was Catholic programming and then Gospel.
Only ran about 25 watts directional at night. Went dark about a year ago when the owner
quit paying their bills and the township from which they leased tower space in a town park
had them evicted.

I suspect most of the stations operating on 1590 at night were similar, which I guess
made them an almost sort-of graveyard.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom