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2014 in Review

cyberdad

cyberdad

I have an idea for you guys. Let's do what we often see in the media at this time a year. Take a moment and review the highlights or highlight of your DX year. Your best catch(es), most satisfying or rewarding accomplishment(s), or whatever. I'll go first with my two highlights. Both from my road trip to the West Coast at the end of summer. And the end of the dial...the lower end.

First was CBK on 540 and my drive across Canada. Toyota Camry standard-issue car radio. I had the daytime signal all the way from western Minnesota to British Columbia just past the Alberta border in the Rockies. Including the entire day's drive....nearly ten hours....from Winnipeg to Medicine Hat. I can't remember another "all day" AM signal of that duration in more than 35 years of business and personal travel.

Next, a little over a week later, was snagging R. Enciclopedia on 530 at my wife's brother's house in the Mojave desert about 70 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Someone here suggested I try for it. I thought it was a far-fetched idea. I "whiffed" repeatedly, night after night. But then, around 10 or 11pm one night of Labor Day weekend, there it was. No positive ID, but alone, female announcer in Spanish, and instrumental "elevator" music. It was in for about 20 minutes. No trace of it when I tried again a couple of times later. On the SRF37, a nice little radio but hardly a big-time DX machine.

This is small potatoes compared to all I've read about what you guys have accomplished. So let's hear 'em again. Your finest moments of the past year!
 
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I got Y100.1 WZJZ from Ft. Myers all the way to Brooksville, FL (interfering with adjacent 99.9 WXJB :( ) Funny thing is... I used a car radio to pick the signal up because I am too young to have a DX machine... :( The distance was 124 miles from the transmitter. That's very far for a DX amateur like me. :D
 
Copying from posts into the FM DX Watchdogs group:
Finally a decent tropo opening in East Tennessee this summer.(including hearing some of my hometown Ohio stations.) Highlights: WNKE, 104.1, Portsmouth, Ohio, mentioning all 3 WNKU relays, Little Steven's Underground Garage at 4. Tentative on WGTZ, Eaton, Ohio (hard next to local 93.1) heard an ad for Ohio Online Academy, and a positive ID on WFCJ, Miamisburg, Ohio
WUHU, 107.1, Bowling Green, KY. Had 97.9 WSIX, Nashville like a local. UNID on 98.3 with African American, pro-Democratic Party talk show and several mentions of Alabama, over weak semi-local WMTY.. Nothing seems to fit. Also WQXE, "Quixie 98-3", Elizabethtown, KY. Nash 103.3 (WKDF), then to the Memphis area with WXMX, 98.1, Millington, TN "Max Rock 98.1, Maximum Rock for Memphis". 104.1, WALR, Kiss FM with 70s Temptations songs "Shoe Shine Boy" and "Masterpiece" and a giveaway. Local 93.9 translator WDVX was wiped out by WMEV, Marion, VA "93.9, FM 94" (why not just FM 93.9?). Several semi-locals seemed to be wiped out by just hash, iBoc or not. Highlight of the morning, "Arkansas 103.3" KWOZ, Mountain View, AR with a sales promo for all stations in the group. Amazing to get 103.3 fairly clear with WIMZ next door. iBoc apparently off.

Eskip into Canada including PEI July 6: (UNID) Any ideas on my classical simulcast 95.5/98.3 around 11am eastern? I was getting Nova Scotia and PEI at that time. Espace Musique or CBC Radio 2?
The Valley's Hit Country KYCK Crookston/Grand Forks, ND 97.1

92.3 French "Radio Canada", 89.9 Canadian w/ mentions of Nova Scotia, remote from some event with female DJ, weather "high of 25", into Naked Eyes "Always Something There to Remind Me". over and under local WDVX (Knoxville TN). Song would match http://www.899thewave.fm/playlists.php
 
After a few years of not getting any good tropo during our spring time season, (either the conditions weren't so good or my timing wasn't good) I finally got a good couple of mornings of distant tropo.

Here's WYAV from Myrtle Beach @477 miles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z3dKqT4tzQ


I wasn't able to get much E Skip this last season but at least I got my own record for shortest E Skip catch @ 665 miles. It was even dominating our local low power station heard trying to struggle in the background.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCDNYarlpAU
 
My primary DX interest is DTV, and overall a not really good year. E skip was particularly disappointing, with no new logs, and the fewest stations noted (approx 7) during my five years of DTV E-skip DXing. Tropo was better, but still sub-par in number of openings, although there were a few good ones. Overall 15 new DTV stations logged in 2014, bringing total to 256. Among the highlights....,.

A new "most distant" DTV Tropo log, WFXB-43 Myrtle Beach, SC at 598 miles.

http://youtu.be/bKNVDHBHtkg

Also the same night, although not a new log, I had WPDE-15 Florence, SC in quite nicely at 591 miles.

http://youtu.be/amwaiobsdQY

I had a new state, West Virginia, with WTAP-15 Parkersburg, at 437 miles.

http://youtu.be/eT3M5KmnSF0

And during that same opening, WWHO-53 Chillicothe, OH for a new log at 507 miles.

http://youtu.be/dWgZKQU3Kgc

On FM I managed 100 new logs in 2014, the most in a year since 2011, due mostly to having more time to DX. Nothing spectacular logged, but 77 of the FM logs were via E-skip, the most distant being KQRQ-92.3 Rapid City, SD at 1487 miles.

Hoping for a gangbuster year of DX in 2015!
 
Not having done too much DXing this year because of moving -- four different places -- most of the highlights for this year have been vicarious ones, from reading this board plus the newer one.

Also made quite a few new friends. So in 2014 it was fun, reading about the DXing exploits of those in distant places. That surrogate form of 'distant communications' was very much in stride. It was a great substitute, sort of like being on the sidelines or on the DL, but still enjoying the virtually-daily teamwork accomplished along the way, in this grand, often misunderstood hobby. I hope to be more up-and-at-em for 2015.

Best of the Holidays to you folks, and great post, Cyberdad !
 
Thanks, Steve. Here's hoping you'll be able to stay put in 2015 and get more time to be "up-and-at-'em!" Cheers!
 
2014 was more or less a bust here. Not as good as previous years. Got a couple new radios (PR-D5, G2, Sony ICF-38), and the PR-D5 is a great performer (probably a hair better than my Superadio, and excellent selectivity, but the narrower bandwidth sometimes makes it more difficult to ID a station, especially on a GY frequency, so I sometimes switch around), but the conditions have been mediocre this year compared to the past couple of years.

On the AM band, I've been hearing the same 300 stations most evenings. Not that I'm complaining -- I also actually listen to many of the stations at night, as opposed to just tuning around, so that makes up for it.

On shortwave it's been a mixed bag. I always love to hear stations from Central and Southern Asia, as well as the Mideast, and I've been able to log CRI in Spanish and English broadcasting to Europe from Kashgar, in far western China, several times, with the G2 off the whip. Pretty cool.

Lately the auroral and semi-auroral conditions on the AM band have made for interesting DX sessions. I suppose in some ways they have made up for the decrease in long haul DX conditions. Got a couple new California stations (as well as a couple Calif. tentatives) and R. Progreso as a tentative on 640 khz. So the DX seasons this year haven't been a complete bust.
 
2014 has been a great year for me DX-wise, AM and FM.

After moving to Yakima in December 2013, AM and FM conditions have gotten way better. I have logged over 100 new FM stations via E-skip this year, and several new via meteor scatter. New states overall were WI, OK and ID (tropo), new province of Ontario with a log of CFOB-93.1 Fort Frances ON on 7/15/14 - where I got several new MB MN ON WI stations, WIAL 94.1 being a new state and new station from Eau Claire, WI; and KQYB-98.3 Spring Grove MN logged at 1,422 miles.
I also heard XHECS-97.3 Chihuahua CHI, a new record for FM at 1469 miles, with Imagen Radio programming. Heard on 5/25/14, first opening of the year.
Closest log heard via Ms this year was KNCQ-97.3 Redding, CA. 428 miles!

AM has been absolutely wonderful this year. I had just over 500 stations on the west side - now that number is at 669. I've logged over 150 new AMs this year including several new Cubans, WBCN-1660 in NC, 1250 KBRF-MN on 2200 watts, several new AZ, CA (and 1230 KPRL during aurora at over 760 miles); XEMW-1260 SON 250 watts; other new Mexicans, and more. New states include AR, NC, KS and new Mexican states Distrito Federal, Sonora, Mexico (state) and Jalisco. Have also confirmed KBCV-1570 MO and big gun 700 WLW in Cincinnati which I could never get on the west side. Cuba comes in almost every night now, I have the two Minneapolis/St Paul 50KWers at bigger levels than ever before some nights, and KQWB-1660 ND has become a pest on non-auroral evenings. The 3 foot loop helps a lot!

-crainbebo
 
Y100/WZJZ-FM from SWFL recieved 126 miles away from it's transmitter site in Ft. Myers to Brooksville, interfering with adjacent 99.9 XJB... I used a car radio for this, because I am too young to have the BIG DX equipment... :(
 
The lack of a Cascade barrier, plus the extra thousand feet in elevation definitely did help your DXing, Crainbebo.

Eastern Washington is definitely a better area for DXing North America than west of the Cascades.

Long ago when I took my Superadio with me to Cheney on a road trip, I heard WJR, WLW, and I think maybe a couple other stations farther east. Just off the radio's own antenna. Readable signals, too.
 
No big dramatic DX events for me this year, but I did pull in a few signals I'd never had before, such as WWJ Detroit, WINZ Miami and KTNN Window Rock, AZ. Some of the Alberta 50K AMs have been easier to get, one or two of them I heard for the first time this year in eastern Iowa. Happy new year to everybody!
 
icybluelake said:
No big dramatic DX events for me this year, but I did pull in a few signals I'd never had before, such as WWJ Detroit, WINZ Miami and KTNN Window Rock, AZ. Some of the Alberta 50K AMs have been easier to get, one or two of them I heard for the first time this year in eastern Iowa. Happy new year to everybody!
Click to expand...

Hearing WINZ in Iowa is a good catch. I've never heard it here in Northern Illinois. Any special time or conditions that were favorable for that? I'd like to try for that one.
 
That sure is a good catch.

Hearing any Florida AM station anywhere up north is not easy, unlike the reverse where so many northern stations can always be heard here at night.

In New Jersey around dusk, I could sometimes hear 690 WAPE Jacksonville for a short time until they switched to their nighttime pattern and then they were gone for the night.

Then I had only two other Florida catches up there and they were also dusk only catches. The old WRBQ 1380 around sunset before their non directional 5kw signal went directional. Heard that in stereo too on my little Sony AM Stereo Walkman. Only a one time thing.

Years earlier down at the shore around sunset, I got 790 WFUN Miami on the car radio and that was a one time only catch too.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the one time I got 610 WIOD Miami in Bethlehem, Pa with WIP in nulled, which was strange because they both were coming from about the same direction.

That was an accidental catch at night when I was actually hoping to maybe hear KFRC San Francisco which I now realize would have been virtually impossible.
 
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gar fla said:
That sure is a good catch.

Hearing any Florida AM station anywhere up north is not easy, unlike the reverse where so many northern stations can always be heard here at night.

In New Jersey around dusk, I could sometimes hear 690 WAPE Jacksonville for a short time until they switched to their nighttime pattern and then they were gone for the night.

Then I had only two other Florida catches up there and they were also dusk only catches. The old WRBQ 1380 around sunset before their non directional 5kw signal went directional. Heard that in stereo too on my little Sony AM Stereo Walkman. Only a one time thing.

Years earlier down at the shore around sunset, I got 790 WFUN Miami on the car radio and that was a one time only catch too.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the one time I got 610 WIOD Miami in Bethlehem, Pa with WIP in nulled, which was strange because they both were coming from about the same direction.

That was an accidental catch at night when I was actually hoping to maybe hear KFRC San Francisco which I now realize would have been virtually impossible.
Click to expand...

To me, it was FAIRLY easy as I actually LIVE IN FLORIDA! I DX'ed superpowered (but not grandfathered, that rhymed ;)) CHR/Top 40 WZJZ-FM Y100.1 from Ft. Myers from 125 miles away from it's transmitter site in Ft. Myers. Despite "someone" faked it's demise on Wikipedia in August this year and still hasn't even answered... the "pitch-shifting on weekends" station is powerful than rival WXKB which can only reach to Bradenton, due to interference with classical translator of WSMR in the same frequency as B103.9. I used a car radio (no offense) as I was too young to use the big DX equipment. :( Sorry... Please put this in this topic I tried 2 times but didn't put it on... PLEASE RADIODISCUSSIONS!!!!! PLEASE!!!
 
gar fla said:
That sure is a good catch.

Hearing any Florida AM station anywhere up north is not easy, unlike the reverse where so many northern stations can always be heard here at night..
Click to expand...

I've heard WAPE here in northern Illinois a few times, before sunset, but not the subsequent occupant(s) of JAX' 690. I also used to hear the Miami 1700 on a regular basis when it was the only occupant of the channel after it first came on. That's about it. So the WINZ catch is a very impressive accomplishment.
 
The only Florida stations I've heard in Northern Illinois are the old WSUN back in the 60s, the 1700 in Miami when it was the only occupant of that frequency, and the 820 near Tampa one early morning when they went to 50KW at sunrise. This was in the 90s when they were sports talk.
 
I didn't log the time of night I heard WINZ, but it was evening, probably late evening, I'd guess 9 or 10ish. There may have been foggy conditions; there was one night that week. I can't remember if it was that night. However, I don't recall fog making a great deal of difference in AM reception to the degree it does on FM. I leave that to more technically knowledgable folks.

What is it about Florida stations not making it far up north, particularly when we northerners hear Cuban AMs quite often? Is it just that Cuban radio engineers have so focused their nighttime signals on reception in North America?
 
Cuba took all their directional signals non-directional at the beginning of the revolution, and installed high power transmitters when they were being subsidized by the Soviets. At one time, they relayed Radio Moscow in English on 600 from 3pm-midnight (maybe after) for North American reception. Cuba apparently ran a short-lived Radio Free Dixie aimed at blacks in the south, but never has aired Radio Habana Cuba international programming on medium wave. By contrast, Florida's nighttime directional patterns tend to favor fish. I used to hear 1380 Tampa (in the 70s as WLCY) cutting through the din in Ohio frequently but it was the only one. During Hurricane Hugo, 690 (at the time WPDQ) was on high power all night to relay information to the Charleston area and was widely heard. In Tennessee I've had a little better luck, 690 Jacksonville is a frequent visitor at sunset, as is 600 and even sometimes WZNZ Atlantic Beach, and the Tampa area's 820 when I'm not getting Columbus.
 
Howdy gang, long time no post! Like Steve, I haven't been able to much DXing, over 2014. We've moved a couple times as well, having put our big ol' ex-hotel on the market and it selling much more quickly than we anticipated! We've bought a place in Prescott ON and I am within walking distance of the St. Lawrence River. Our new -well...over 100 year old- place is relatively noise free, except for my ever noisier computer equipment. Our new location means that some of my favourite fringe FM stations (in particular, CFMX 'The New Classical 103.1' and CJRT 'Jazz 91') no longer make it to my AntennaCraft. However, an evening walk down to the river does wonders for the MW side of things, though I've yet to TADX down there. Besides my trusty old Realistic DX-440 and my (good performing) Sangean PR-D5, I've added a Grundig S450DLX to my collection. Now with us pretty much settled in and the holidays wrapping up, hopefully, I'll be able to make timely reports on what's to be heard out there in DX land!

~BG
 
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