AM Frequency of the Week 530

[crainbebo]

TIS city here in Yakima WA - WQMZ999 Parker WA (near Wapato) and WPVW565 Selah WA at equal levels. Below both, WPVW567 Ellensburg and what might be the TIS with weather info at the Hanford nuclear site.
I have heard both Cubans but they are both one-timers.

 

[cyberdad]

And that points out the effect of large distances: Cuba is about 800 miles from East to West, so conditions may favor one area over another. In other words, the comparison is about the same as Chicago to New York City.

Definitely fits the description for the Cuba 530s in the Chicago area. If Cuba is in, it's almost always Enciclopedia. Rebelde has been rare, but occasionally doable.

 

[DarrenVision]

How wide is CHLO

 

[cyberdad]

Forgot to mention this under the heading of :"Other Locations"....

When Iwas going to London once or twice every year, 531 was the only MW frequency where where you could hear Germany 24/7. Not during daytime in the hotel where I normally stayed, but in the little park across the street (Grovesnor Square). I'd go out there on nice days with my Realistic DX-375, and it would always be there.

 

[dlf1]

I was at a Trade Show on Cape Cod in 1999 and the 530 from the Turks and Caicos boomed in at night. I read somewhere that a subsequent Hurricane took out the station and it was never rebuilt.

Here in Canyon Lake, TX nothing by day. Radio Enciclopedia will show up sometimes at night.

 

[wildthangjim]

Forgot to mention this under the heading of :"Other Locations"....

When Iwas going to London once or twice every year, 531 was the only MW frequency where where you could hear Germany 24/7. Not during daytime in the hotel where I normally stayed, but in the little park across the street (Grovesnor Square). I'd go out there on nice days with my Realistic DX-375, and it would always be there.

Nowadays, 531 is dominated by the high-powered Algerian (I guess the German is no longer there). It used to put in a local-strength signal to the old Arctic SDR, I heard them in Perth AU when I lived there, and DXers in Massachusetts and elsewhere on the east coast have heard them. I assume it would be strong in Grosvenor Square!

 

[CADXER]

Nowadays, 531 is dominated by the high-powered Algerian (I guess the German is no longer there).

The German is long gone from the airwaves. I did hear the Algerian on 531 here in Chicago back in 2005.

Speaking of the split frequencies. As noted above Turks & Caicos used to be on 535 before they moved to 530. Another station on 535 that used to be easy catch in Chicago area was Radio Free Grenada from St. George, Grenada with 20 kW of power.

 

[jim-satx]

From DFW, Texas: Same as @wildthangjim - starting at sunset, it's some combination of Enciclopedia and Rebelde. Enciclopedia is usually dominant and sometimes Rebelde is absent altogether.

This is basically my experience as well in northwest San Antonio. Enciclopedia often has a very listenable signal, and it’s rare that Rebelde is on top.

Driving in or near to Austin, I used to hear a TIS on 530. I don’t recall hearing it in recent years.

 

[ente]

South Mississippi:

Day:
Radio Enciclopedia comes in within 5-10 miles of the coast
Night:
Radio Enciclopedia and sometimes Rebelde

 

[DXingRadio]

Central Maryland

Days: Nada.

Nights: Usually Toronto's CHLO and Cuba's Enciclopedia fighting it out.

Retro: For a time around 2010 the owner of shortwave WWRB operated a airport beacon, LYQ, on 529 KHz. Easy to hear on a car radio tuned to 530.

 

[gr8oldies]

I'm checking out the Boca Raton SDR and I'm only hearing Radio Enciclopedia. Wondering if the Rebelde transmitter near Guantanamo might be off the air or re-commissioned.

 

[cyberdad]

Nowadays, 531 is dominated by the high-powered Algerian (I guess the German is no longer there). It used to put in a local-strength signal to the old Arctic SDR, I heard them in Perth AU when I lived there, and DXers in Massachusetts and elsewhere on the east coast have heard them. I assume it would be strong in Grosvenor Square!

It's been ten years since I've been in London, so I'm not surprised that the Gerrman is on 531 is long gone. I kind of suspected that when, come to think of it,, I haven't been hearing it on the European SDRs,

As for the signal, I wouldn't describe it as strong. Weak during the day. Better at night but still only fair at best. Perhaps some convergence going on. I've never heard the 531 from Germany inside the hotel during daytime. Only in the park (Grosvenor Square),

I don't remember hearing Algeria on 531 in London, but surely it must be there. I either wasn't paying attention, or I've simply forgotten, I definitely have heard the Algerian blowtorch on 891'

 

[CADXER]

It's been ten years since I've been in London, so I'm not surprised that the Gerrman is on 531 is long gone. I kind of suspected that when, come to think of it,, I haven't been hearing it on the European SDRs

As far as I know there are no longer any German radio stations broadcasting on Long Wave and Medium Wave. According to the MW Masts the 531 German station left the air in 1995. As it is a lot of countries in Europe are abandoning those broadcast bands.

 

[pclover]

Here 520 is from Cuba but it's very tricky to get it here. Was music. When I do it's often very weak.

Using a active loop antenna outside into a SDRplay RSPdx.

 

[davideduardo]

Here 520 is from Cuba but it's very tricky to get it here. Was music. When I do it's often very weak.

Using a active loop antenna outside into a SDRplay RSPdx.

I think you mean "530" as there is nothing on 520. And in Cuba, there are two 530's, far apart on the island: Rebelde and Enciclopedia.

 

[davideduardo]

I'm checking out the Boca Raton SDR and I'm only hearing Radio Enciclopedia. Wondering if the Rebelde transmitter near Guantanamo might be off the air or re-commissioned.

Remember, Guantanamo is over 500 miles from Miami and on the far southern side of the Sierra Maestra mountain range.

 

[pclover]

I think you mean "530" as there is nothing on 520. And in Cuba, there are two 530's, far apart on the island: Rebelde and Enciclopedia.

Oops, Yep I meant 530. Not sure how I got 520?

 

[cyberdad]

Here 520 is from Cuba but it's very tricky to get it here. Was music. When I do it's often very weak.

Using a active loop antenna outside into a SDRplay RSPdx.

Welcome to the board!

Yep! As David said, I think you meant 530.

R. Emciclopedia. Is pretty much all soft instrumental music. A little more uptempo during the day than at night. All-female announcers who occasionally interrupt the music to dispense Encilopedic "facts". The format makes the station easy to identify.

I see from your profile that you're located in Santa Cruz, CA. So hearing R. Enciclopedia there is a pretty nice catch. A number of years ago, I heard it in the Southern California desert one night...on a Sony Walkman SRF-37. I've been back to SoCal numerous time after that, but haven't heard R. Emciclopedia since.

 

[gar hi]

Though I've never heard Radio Enciclopedia with any of my radios here on the Big Island, I've heard it often on the Hawaii SDRs.

When I was in Tampa, it had a good listenable signal all day all year and was actually weaker at night most of the time.

And then a couple years before I left, there was also another Cuban station on the same frequency that was not as strong as Radio Enciclopedia in the day but sometimes would dominate at night.

 

[gr8oldies]

Though I've never heard Radio Enciclopedia with any of my radios here on the Big Island, I've heard it often on the Hawaii SDRs.

When I was in Tampa, it had a good listenable signal all day all year and was actually weaker at night most of the time.

And then a couple years before I left, there was also another Cuban station on the same frequency that was not as strong as Radio Enciclopedia in the day but sometimes would dominate at night.

That's the Radio Rebelde transmitter in Guantanamo. (I have heard it flipped to Radio Bayamo briefly, a few years ago)