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AM Frequency of the week: 1540

No map here in the DX den, Bill, amid 5 decades of confusion. But I believe they are 10,000 watts omni, 24/7/52, and are the hemisphere's protected 1540 signal. Or at least they were.

WPTR Albany pulled it away from Nassau at night, as did the huge KXEL.
 
From NW San Antonio:

Day: My local, Radio Jalapeño, KEDA

Sunset: I can get a partial null of KEDA to the NE/SW, in which I can hear a weak XESTN in Monterrey in/out.

Night: There is a bit of skywave/groundwave cancellation when KEDA goes to night power/pattern. XESTN in a bit stronger in its partial null.

Sunrise: XESTN is even stronger in the null when it goes to day power.

DX/Retro: I've only heard KXEL and KZMP a couple of times, and that was at sunrise/sunset when KEDA was off the air. I've heard KGBC a few times at night, but not since the days when it was China Radio International. My best catch on the frequency is KMPC in Los Angeles, which I heard late one night in the fall of 2020 when KEDA was off briefly.
 
cyberdad said:
KMPC (on 1540) can be a tough catch in parts of Los Angeles. LOL
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You're absolutely right about that! I've said this before on another thread but it's interesting that 1540's nighttime nulls are so deep that the station can't be heard 10-15 miles away in portions of both the San Fernando or San Gabriel Valleys. Sacramento's 1530 is occasionally stronger than 1540 in parts of Burbank for example.

On the other hand drive North, East or West, 70, 80 or so miles away from the LA area 1540's skywave is sometimes amazing. They may as well be non-directional.
 
TomasEstefan said:
You're absolutely right about that! I've said this before on another thread but it's interesting that 1540's nighttime nulls are so deep that the station can't be heard 10-15 miles away in portions of both the San Fernando or San Gabriel Valleys. Sacramento's 1530 is occasionally stronger than 1540 in parts of Burbank for example.

On the other hand drive North, East or West, 70, 80 or so miles away from the LA area 1540's skywave is sometimes amazing. They may as well be non-directional.
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Ae a frequent So-Cal visitor for both business trips and to see family and friends, that dovetails with my experiences. Sort of a "now you hear it, now you don't" type of signal. It sounds just fine, then it's gone or vice versa.
 
Northeast New Jersey
Daytime: a mirror/harmonic of very strong WABC

Nighttime: KXEL Waterloo, Iowa
Critical: WNWR Philadelphia
 
One of KKOV's many, many sidebands.......
 
A newie here in NEPA (not an April Fools joke, hi). And maybe a heads-up for a few here.
(I couldn't locate the Post Your Latest DX thread, but found the 1540 one from a month and a half ago instead.)
The alarm on the little Radio Shack-job portable woke me up from a short nap at 7:46 PM. WADK Newport Rhode Island ID'ed, with weather, marine weather, some ad for the White Brick restaurant and a few mentions of 101.1. They were and still are atop the frequency.

Heads-up : They're stll on at 8:25PM.
Sunset here by me, about 250-300 miles west of Newport, was at 7:30.

WADK is a pretty good sounding English-language local station, listed as a 1000-watt omni daytimer. Give 1540 a listen, folks. They're still at it, saying 'It's 6:31'.
No it isn't! It's 8:31!!!!
 
Last edited:
Ooops !!!
Dock me a half a trophy point for my carelessness.
And maybe return it after this latest monitoring impreciseness.

That 6:31 time check I heard when it was 8:31 here was the right time -- Mountain Time.

KXEL, later IDed around 11:00 EDT, is Central time.

Now, I don't presume to've heard anything from the Rockies. But that WAS WADK Rhone Island I heard.
As I mentioned, sunset here in NEPA was 7:30 PM. I'm told that sunset and sunset times are fixed twice a month by the FCC. Such a time 'might' place WADK's sign off at 7:00. That I don't know much about. No station in the US plays the Star Spangled Banner anymore anyway (unless it's the edited :15 second version).
And at 260 miles east of me, halfway to being in Atlantic Time, WADK was on late by a few FCC time quadrants..

Try for them at SSS tomorrow, those of you who need to log a Rhode Island AMer. It's probably the
best time of month for this sort of board-op anxiety. Listen for the mentions of 99.5 and 101.1, plus numerous commercials for seafood restaurants.
 
Steve Green NEPA said:
7:46 PM. WADK Newport Rhode Island ID'ed, with weather, marine weather, some ad for the White Brick restaurant and a few mentions of 101.1.

They're still at it, saying 'It's 6:31'.
No it isn't! It's 8:31!!!!
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Steve Green NEPA said:
That 6:31 time check I heard when it was 8:31 here was the right time -- Mountain Time..
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This is a very long shot, but, what if there was another station afoot? You confirmed WADK at 7:46 EDT, but you heard the time-check nearly 45 minutes later. Perhaps by that time, the ionsophere kicked up a little bit, and KASA Phoneix could've been on 10kw day power. KXEL and KSTP have both been heard in Alaska, and tiny KGAB (500w nights) made it to Finland. Again, very long shot. Or, someone at KXEL tried to run a pre-recorded program, or simply forgot to account for DST? Whatever the case may be, congrats on getting WADK, it sounds like a fun, community focused station!
 
ZantennaG1 said:
This is a very long shot, but, what if there was another station afoot? You confirmed WADK at 7:46 EDT, but you heard the time-check nearly 45 minutes later. Perhaps by that time, the ionsophere kicked up a little bit, and KASA Phoneix could've been on 10kw day power. KXEL and KSTP have both been heard in Alaska, and tiny KGAB (500w nights) made it to Finland. Again, very long shot. Or, someone at KXEL tried to run a pre-recorded program, or simply forgot to account for DST? Whatever the case may be, congrats on getting WADK, it sounds like a fun, community focused station!
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Last I heard, PHx was on a low temporary power. While that might have changed, it is worth checking.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Last I heard, PHx was on a low temporary power. While that might have changed, it is worth checking.
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KASA is currently off the air. I was down in their neck of the desert this morning, tuned to 1540 and found nothing but static.

I thought they had 3 towers. Only two are standing. I'm guessing they are new, because a Google Street View of 15th Ave and Baseline from February 2021 showed no towers.
 
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