AM DX...what are your best 'catches?'

[ChrisNH]

It's that time of year, when all sorts of interesting signals pour into your car radio antenna. Just as interesting is the collapse of nearby signals while DX comes through marvelously before sun-up and after sun down.

My best-ever DX capture was at my (then) home in Concord, Massachusetts. One evening I pulled in KSL in Salt Lake City. I even got them to send me a QSL card.

These past several evenings during my commute, up here in southern New Hampshire, CBC 1070 in Moncton has been booming in. A few weeks ago while in Columbia, MD on business, WBZ was booming in as well...even before sun-down.

Sometimes I'll hear stations with Spanish/Mexican music very faintly. Not sure where they are because they just keep playing music. It is rather rare to hear music on AM, of any kind!

Chris

 

[martin1945]

I haven't done much DXing lately. However, I used to get KSL on a rare occasion (1976). I also used to snag Cuba (Havana?) on 650. They would overtake WSM (Nashville). Due to the disappearance of clear channel frequencies here in the US, these long distance catches are more difficult to receive. And even if one should be lucky enough to pull in one of these stations, trying to identify them is more difficult than in the old days because most of them are satellite broadcasts with little or no local announcements.

 

[raccoonradio]

Night-time of course but one night at 3 am last year I picked up KOA 850 Denver when WEEI was
off temp./technical situation

WBAP 820 Texas
(night, during a snowstorm--maybe blizzard of '78)

daytime, across the water: CHSJ St John NB 700 (before they moved to FM) would come in like
a local in Gloucester

 

[HHH]

From Natick, I have caught:

Trans World Radio (PJB) Bonaire, Netherlands Antillies in the Caribbean on 800 kHz. They were broadcasting with 500KW (!) until a few years ago. They used to override CKLW completely on some nights.

Radio Reloz (I think that's how you spell it) from Venezuela on 1100 kHz when WTAM (WWWE then) went off on Sunday nights. They were another super power station running at least 100KW.

Many years ago (1970s) I once got KFI, Los Angeles on 640 while driving on the New York thruway in upstate New York in a quiet area away from any city. It was very late (like 3 AM), an exceptional night when lots was coming in, and there were no other 640s on at night back then. KFI faded in for about a minute, then would fade out for two or three.

Was once (in the 1980s) on the beach at Fort Lauderdale, Florida around midnight or so listening to Norm Nathan from WBZ clear as a bell.

640 is all cut up today. PJB powered down. WBZ is still strong, but they put a station in Puerto Rico on 1030, and I also seem to get these
other stations under BZ when I travel way out there.

Oh well. Between all these cutups, and now HD, long-distance AM DX-ing is pretty much a thing of the past. But, as mentioned, almost no one is local overnight anymore anyway.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

There is a general DX and Reception board on this site.

Keeping this thread in the Boston topic to DX'ing in greater Boston and nearby New England areas, or DX'ing Boston area stations from elsewhere, from the Boston area I faintly heard KSL many years ago, but not anymore. I heard WOAI San Antonio years ago back when WKOX was still a daytimer on 1190. I've faintly heard WWL New Orleans in the past.

I'm sure that some of the off (American) frequency heterodynes that I hear at night are powerful foreign stations, but I haven't listened long enough to get ID's. I often hear a time clock clicking down the seconds on 570 mixing with WMCA (or whatever it is now) in New York, I think I read that may be from Cuba.

The farthest I've heard a Boston area station was of course WBZ, coming in well at night about a hundred miles south of Nashville, TN. I also heard it loud and clear, in AM stereo at the time, sitting inside a terminal at the Detroit airport, in the middle of the metal/concrete building. I wasn't even near any of the windows.

 

[NO DAG]

In The Green Mountain State...
WWL 870 New Orleans
WCCO 830 Minneapolis
WCBM Baltimore on 680 Directional
KMOX 1120 St Louis
WDFN 1130 Detroit (Very Directional)
Getting KSL is a great 'get'.. Wow !!
Chicago stations are easy gets, as is WSM Nashville, WSB in Atlanta.. I've heard Cuban stations before overpowering American frequencies in response to "TV Marti"..

 

[pqgeorge]

I actually picked up KGU/760 from Hawaii back in 1971. I was able to notch out WJR for a brief moment while vacationing in New Hampshire. During a selective fade, I got a legal ID from KGU. Timing was just right, just before 2:00 AM local. In 1978, I got KFI in Los Angeles just before sunrise while living in the Berkshires. They were running Top-40 at the time. Some of other domestic catches included WJJD, KSL, WIOD, WLS, WMAQ, WSB (pretty much most of the former Clear Channel stations)

In 1974, I was getting YVOZ/1200 in Caracas, Venuzuela ("Radio Tiempo") pretty clear, one cold fall night using a Philco/Ford car radio (I still have it!). CMQ/640 was frequent visitor back in the early 70's as was XERF/1570. Back in the winter of '79, one of my favorite catches was CKLQ/1570 from Brandon, Manitoba that just took over the channel for an hour or so. The ID came through loud and clear..... "You're in Q Country, 15-70, CKLQ!". Another real killer signal was on the now late 1580, CBJ/Chicoutimi, QC. They used to keep their carrier on with an all night test tone. That signal was heard well into the midwest and the southwest on a good night.

Boy, at one time, that unique DX I heard in the 60's and 70's was quite an experience that will never be duplicated again.

 

[DG02816]

Adding some of my catches; these when still in Rhode Island and/or MA:
530 Radio Vision Cristiana, Turks&Caicos, duking it out with CIAO, Brampton Ontario. These 2 were nightly visitors in W. Warwick and Providence RI.
540 XEWA San Luis Potosi, in the null of then WLIX Islip LI. At the time the 220 watts WLIX had at night got out quite well.
640 RFO, Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, would be in, mixing with the Cuban on the frequency. Anothedr Mexican blowtorch can be found on 730: 100 kW XEX in the null of CKAC Montreal.
PJB on 800 would knock the daylights out of CKLW. One night when I had my Radio Shack TRF, I nulled 940 Montreal, hearing a good level ID from XEQ in Mexico City. I've heard CBA 1070 Moncton as well. When I was working for WBSM New Bedford, there was one night where ZDK-1100 from Antigua popped up out of the mess. WJJD was also a frequent visitor on 1160 years go between sunset in RI and Salt Lake 1540 has given me ZNS Nassau on a car radio under auroral conditions. I can fondly remember listening to CKLM with their French Top 40 on 1570. And who can forget CBJ owning 1580??

 

[JIBGUY]

My best catches, as a kid in northern New Jersey (1965) was KICY in Nome, AK, and KFYR in Bismarck, ND. Only nabbed those two once each. Both were only 5,000 watts.

Most interesting tower sites visited:

PJB-800 Bonaire: dozens of towers.. the 800 towers mixed in with tons of short-wave stuff (1977). My 2005 visit: only 4 huges guyed towers in a parallelogram shape. Have tasty photos of both times. When I also visited the studios of PJB-800, I was told thaqt they only broadcast at nighttime. Their particular interest was South America, a very religious continent.

Turks & Caicos Islands, 2007. On north end of Grand Turk, a crumbling-looking tower site. Two tall towers aimed northwest. I also visited Provo and South Caicos where there were no towers. Could those rusty things on Grank Turk be Radio Christiana? No signage there.

And what about 1610 on Anguilla.... 50kw beaming north..... Gene Scott, I think. Nice towers, but a heavy hum on the signal as if no one had tuned the xmtr in 20 years.

ZBVI-780 Tortola BVI... Old guyed tower on the edge of the Sir Francis Drake Channel on ocean water. Waves lap up against the tower base on a breezy day. Licensed for 10,000 watts, but 10 years I was told they only use 4,000 watts on weekdays (to penetrate business buildings), and 1,000 watts on the weekends; to save on electricity.
Pretty much a time-rental station for local people now, since 6 FM's have popped up there in last 15 years.

AM radio in St Maarten? Little old PJD2 - 1340 (or is it 1300). 1kw. Little tower on the side of the hill hasn't been painted in 20+ years. Nice brown tower.

In the southern Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao), one gets ALL of the coastal Venezuela stations, and they all sounded real good. Hot stuff! The best USA station reception there is continuously WHAS-840.

The list goes on and on....

 

[FM AM]

There is a general DX and Reception board on this site.

Keeping this thread in the Boston topic to DX'ing in greater Boston and nearby New England areas, or DX'ing Boston area stations from elsewhere,
The farthest I've heard a Boston area station was of course WBZ, coming in well at night about a hundred miles south of Nashville, TN. I also heard it loud and clear, in AM stereo at the time, sitting inside a terminal at the Detroit airport, in the middle of the metal/concrete building. I wasn't even near any of the windows.

I've also picked up WBZ in Naples, Florida as well as Tulsa, Oklahoma.

 

[Blackroc]

Daytime this time of year you can occasionally get WWWT 1500/DC as early as 3:15pm

WWKB 1520/Buffalo at about the same time and stronger.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Occasionally, just after sunrise, "WIZZradio" 1520 in Greenfield, MA comes in for a short time just north or west of Boston instead of KB.

Daytime this time of year you can occasionally get WWWT 1500/DC as early as 3:15pm

WWKB 1520/Buffalo at about the same time and stronger.

 

[DG02816]

WIZZ would do that as their major lobe goes almost due east from what I see from the FCC's pattern plot.

 

[raccoonradio]

I've been getting WIZZ too. Also have been known to get WEGP 1390 Presque Isle ME (was
running ad for Pats game and made references to "The County" as in Aristook, etc. They run Howie Carr.
25kW day signal being tested.

http://www.wegp.net

 

[Retro]

I just noticed this thread after starting one as well. KMOX in St. Louis is probably the furthest AM that I ever received. I have also picked up several stations in Chicago plus WSB in Atlanta and WSM out of Nashville as well.