AM Frequency of the week: 800

[cyberdad]

CKLW seems to be having frequent pattern problems that are keeping them on day pattern 24/7. (The CRTC isn't focused on keeping the pattern out of the U.S. They may have slightly tweaked the night pattern but I can't find solid evidence). Texas should be in the null toward XEROK though

As always, I stand to be corrected, but I don't think there's as much concern as there once was on either side of the border when it comes to Canadian stations protecting the U.S (or Mexico).....and vice versa. Especially in cases where the stations involved are more than 1,000 miles apart. I think its safe to say that the CRTC's main priorities include ensuring that stations provide prescribed levels of Canadian programming content for Canadian audiences, along with allocating spectrum space in such a fashion as to serve as many demographic sectors as possible.

Case in point regarding the latter.... When CFZM took over the 50kw signal in Toronto at the time the local CBC outlet migrated to FM, IIRC there were 23 applicants. The CRTC subsequently determined that "50+" was the most underserved demo in the metro area, and assigned the license accordingly.

 

[wildthangjim]

How in the world do you get CKLW in Houston? That shocks me. It certainly shouldn't be happening as, umm, focused as the CRTC is on keeping that signal out of this part of the U.S. let alone any other. A heck of a feat in any case.
When I lived there, it was weak KBME slop, an even weaker XEROK long past its glory days, or nothing.

It was there, on top of the frequency, on my car radio when I checked last night about 8pm CST. It does seem that when I lived in Houston before, 10 years ago, XEROK dominated, so maybe something has changed w.r.t. CKLW's signal. It's not consistently as strong as it was last night, but it's usually there. Thinking back to my youth in Tulsa, XEROK and PJB always dominated, with CKLW the weaker of the 3 I heard regularly.

There's quite a mush of signals on 800 these days, with XEROK, CKLW, and PJB and others, so maybe worth monitoring for a longer period. KBME 790 is a problem, but either my radios are more selective nowadays, or their signal is not as "sloppy" as it once was.

 

[schmave]

All possible.
It's going on 10 years since I lived in Houston but in those days, XEROK was extremely weak if it got to Houston at all. "Mush" is a pretty good word to describe the state of that frequency around Houston then. I lived up near the old Inwood Forest golf course when I first moved to the area and then in League City for the rest of my time down there, so I was always in front of 790's primary lobe.
I'll have to check for CKLW in the next few nights. I live roughly 160 miles south of its array but it throws a formidable null in my general direction day and night.
I'll never forget being disappointed during the first night of a trip to Panama City Beach back in 2004. This was shortly after I'd joined this board and I'd been reading a lot about the history of XEROK and PJB. Everyone else went to bed early as we'd driven straight through from Columbus the night/early morning before, so I took the time to sit out on our balcony with a beer and cigar and DXd. I could look right out over the Gulf from our location. 800 was ... nothing. No XEROK and no PJB.

 

[gr8oldies]

You're welcome, Steve!

Lol Gr8 ! You sounded like Jimmy Cagney with that 'Nevah, evvah, evvah, misstah ....' stuff. Thatnks for t he info and 73!

 

[gr8oldies]

Very interesting stories! One I heard anecdotally (maybe even on this board) was that at one time, the late, legendary engineer Ed Buterbaugh ordered The Big 8 off the air to take field strength measurements of PJB, in hopes the Canadian government would intervene. The studio monitors played PJB's religious fare as though it was in Windsor, while listeners rang the phone off the hook with "WTF?"

I have two stories about PJB.

First, I owned HCFV1 in Quito. It was licensed to 805 kHz in the somewhat odd Ecuadorian system of putting stations on 5 kHz increments. At night, the PJB signal would heterodyne with my station and reduce its fringe coverage drastically. I ended up moving to 810, without the government even noticing!.

A friend, Jaime Solórzano, owed Radio Bucaramanga on 800 in the Colombian city of the same name. Despite his nice 10 kw operation, PJB just destroyed his signal, as Bonaire was just a few hundred miles away. He ended up selling to a national network, which increased power and, of course, wiped a lot of PJB coverage out.

Aris de Icaza, owner of La Exitosa in Panama City, a near 100% salt water path to Bonaire, was similarly affected. He went from 1 kw to 10 kw and pretty much destroyed PJB in much of Central America.

Worst was the 800 AM station in Maracaibo, just a hop from Bonaire. It had to go off the air, eventually buying another station on a much inferior channel.

The PJB people did not care. They arrogantly took a frequency that was in use in multiple locations in the region, and took it over.

While I really liked the nice folks at HCJB in Quito... good radio "neighbors" and kind people who would help another broadcaster in an emergency... I found the TWR organization disrespectful and condescending. Protests by me and by the owners of the other stations mentioned via each nation's state department got a response back that our stations were not properly notified to the ITU and that THEY were the legitimate users of 800. Certainly not a ministry of love.

I agree: they were essentially a pirate.

 

[RyanHoward]

Warminster PA(Philly 'burbs):

Daytime: local WTMR Camden NJ(religious).
Night: WTMR, sometimes overpowered by CKLW or PJB.

 

[DXBob]

@Bob.... I had a coupe of thoughts after your post. First, if you have something to post specific to 790 (or any other channel), you can always bump up an existing old thread. Just do a quick search and "fire away". Others here do it from time to time, and those posts are always welcome. Sometimes they even bring about a more complete and lively discussion than first time around.

Secondly, thanks to CADXER's excellent "post your latest DX here" thread idea, we now have a "catch all" place that's particularly good for posting new developments on any channel, any band, any time.

So, post away, and I'm comfortable in saying we'll all look forward to your contributions.

Thank you very much for your friendly encouragement!

Best,

Bob

 

[cyberdad]

All possible.
I'll never forget being disappointed during the first night of a trip to Panama City Beach back in 2004. This was shortly after I'd joined this board and I'd been reading a lot about the history of XEROK and PJB. Everyone else went to bed early as we'd driven straight through from Columbus the night/early morning before, so I took the time to sit out on our balcony with a beer and cigar and DXd. I could look right out over the Gulf from our location. 800 was ... nothing. No XEROK and no PJB.

I'm 120 miles east of Panama City Beach (at least for another 12 hours before it's back to the real world). Basically on the other end of the same beach. Actually, even with the new version of PJB, 800 at night is one of the quieter frequencies around here.

 

[cyberdad]

Update....

I spent last night at a hotel on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain. About 25 miles north-northwest of New Orleans...actually about two miles inland. I checked 800 three times. Twice in the evening. Once about an hour before local sunrise this morning.

Same result each time. WSHO New Orleans with a good signal. (233 watts nulled to the south). The brackish water of the lake helps all signals from New Orleans, but WSHO at night with its favorable pattern is actually one of the stronger ones. With WSHO nulled, I was hearing two very weak English language signals fading in and out. One was country music, the other was talk. (CKLW?) I couldn't identify either, but country was the stronger (or less weak) of the two. No trace of Spanish, meaning that both PJB and XEROK were missing.

Admittedly a very small sample. Just one night. But in three visits to 800, that's what I heard. Radio was the Sony SRF 37....with which I've had had very good luck in that same hotel. Last time there, I snagged XENK from Mexico City on 620 with a positive ID. One of my best catches of the year.

 

[jim-satx]

From NW San Antonio:

Daytime: Heavy splatter from local 810 KYTY. I'm able to get a tiny null in which I can hear XEZR "La Traviesa" in Zaragoza. The signal is listenable with off-tuning/bandwidth narrowing, especially on my more sensitive radios.

Sunset: PJB comes up and takes over in that null.

Night: When KYTY goes to night pattern, the splatter is greatly reduced. PJB still dominates but is less steady. Aiming NW/SE, XEROK is usually underneath and sometimes comes to the fore. To the NE/SW, PJB is a bit weaker. XEZR can be heard mixing in and sometimes taking over. Also, a weak WSHO often mixes in.

At 9 p.m. CT, TWR apparently switches to its Caribbean or Southern pattern because it drops way down and often out altogether.

From the NW, XEROK now dominates. Aiming more due north, I'll sometimes hear a weak KDDD "The Farm Station" in Dumas, TX, which is my longest in-state logging at 476 miles. Occasionally CKLW will pop in with a listenable signal for a while. Moving to the SW, XEZR is back stronger.

DX: One late night a little over a year ago, I briefly caught a weak KREI in Farmington, MO.

 

[formula72]

Days::Nothing

Nights:::KBFP "Comedy 800". KGO splatter is quite strong, but if I can null it just enough, I can hear it.