AM Radio Reception in Puerto Rico

[Richinald]

Hello,

We would like to receive if possible, feedback from listeners of Puerto Rico, for reception of Radio 1270 AM broadcasting from Aruba.
Radio 1270 AM is mostly at the moment simulcasted with the co-owned FM station ' Mi FM 107.5' , Radio 1270 AM also carries local programming: sports, talkshows, and music variety programs.
There was recently during broadcasts of the World Series Baseball, a call came in from Puerto Rico reporting receiving the broadcast from Radio 1270 AM, when the station was broadcasting the World Series Baseball.

If there can be more listeners that can confirm receiving the broadcast of Radio 1270 AM in Puerto Rico, would be very appreciated.

Most of the programs are broadcasted in Papiamento (the local language) English, Dutch and Spanish.
Call letters from AM are: Radio 1270 , and for FM are: Mi FM 107.5

 

[DavidEduardo]

Hello,

We would like to receive if possible, feedback from listeners of Puerto Rico, for reception of Radio 1270 AM broadcasting from Aruba.

Speaking from DXing experience, anything from Aruba is DX-quality reception, and very unusual. There are PR stations on 1260 in Ponce (with synchronous repeaters on the western end of the island) and 1280 in Arecibo so the places where 1270 might sneak in would be very limited.

 

[Richinald]

Hello David Eduardo,

Thank You for the reply and information regarding the AM broadcast from Aruba.
Currently we have two AM stations in Aruba that is Radio 1270 AM (co-owned with 'Mi FM' 107.5 FM) and Voz di Aruba 1320 AM (co-owned with 'Canal 90' 88.9 FM)
I think on that day that the phone call that came at the station, from Puerto Rico during the broadcast of the world-series games on 1270 AM, the weather conditions were very clear, that the broadcast was received in Puerto Rico.
Some years ago the people at 1270 AM, received a QSL card and air-check tape from Germany, that picked up the broadcast late at night.
Also there was an similar broadcast report some years ago for Voz di Aruba 1320 AM, from Spain, that people reported receiving the broadcast late in the night, with a QSL card and air-check tape.
Both stations are running around 1 KW to 1.5 KW.
Regards,
Richinald

 

[Gregg]

Aruba looks like its about 450 miles from the southwest corner of Puerto Rico, 500 miles from San Juan.

It's all salt water between the two islands but that's still a long distance for a 1000 watt radio station high up on the AM dial.

My Spanish is limited but when I was on vacation in the San Juan area, I heard Cuba (Radio Reloj) on a regular basis at night and WFTL West Palm Beach 850 sometimes at night about 1000 miles away. They're 50,000 watts by day, 24,000 watts by night. From the Virgin Islands, WVWI, a talk station at AM 1000, and a few FMs can also be heard, day and night. The Virgin Islands stations, WOS0 Talk 1030 San Juan, 1190 Religion WBMJ San Juan and WFTL at night were the only English radio I heard.



Gregg
[email protected]

 

[B Lewis]

On a slightly different subject:

I haven't been to Puerto Rico in years. However, when I was there and in The USVI, I could hear Cuba very clearly. Even here in North Carolina, I receive Radio Reloj on 570, Radio Rebelde on 670 (even with WPTF-AM on 680 from Raleigh), and Radio Progreso on 640 on a very regular basis.

You may remember in the late 80's, when there was a 'Radio War' between Cuba and the United States. In retaliation for the sign-on of Radio and TV Martí, Fidel pumped his '50 KW' transmitters up to something like 250KW and overpowered many US AM stations during night hours. On a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC; I remember hearing Rebelde that summer (during the day) like it was a local station.

 

[gr8oldies]

The Cuban high power transmitters were in place way before Radio Marti. They ran English Radio Moscow on 600 around 1980

 

[DavidEduardo]

The Cuban high power transmitters were in place way before Radio Marti. They ran English Radio Moscow on 600 around 1980

Very true. The NARBA-compliant transmitters went in in the mid-60's. Most were Czech manufactured Soviet specials with rather unique Svetlana tubes (they tried to sell me on them for my stations in Ecuador) in 60 and 120 kw variants, plus one 300 kw monster that moved around the dial and apparently ended on 1160 and then 1180 (Radio Américas and of course, Marathon). Since Cuba abrogated NARBA in the early 60's, it could put whatever it wanted on the air.

 

[DavidEduardo]

The NARBA-compliant transmitters

Sorry, I meant to say "NARBA non-compliant" since Cuba began breaking the treaty quite soon after Castro came to power.

 

[Ai4i]

Off topic, but DavidEdwardo just reminded me of a question I have been meaning to ask him for a long time.
Why do you suppose Castro never programmed high power stations across the dial in English with music and talk programming to attract a US audience? Isn't there a line about attracting flies with honey? Yes, their gov has done it on a small scale, but never anything truly big.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Off topic, but DavidEdwardo just reminded me of a question I have been meaning to ask him for a long time.
Why do you suppose Castro never programmed high power stations across the dial in English with music and talk programming to attract a US audience? Isn't there a line about attracting flies with honey? Yes, their gov has done it on a small scale, but never anything truly big.

That's a good question, but I think the answer is mostly political. Castro early on began encouraging and supporting revolution in the rest of Latin America, but never really promoted his ideology in the US.

In 1965, the station I then owned in Ecuador suffered an armed and violent takeover by guerillas who were supporters of Castro and who used the station to broadcast a brief message about rebellion. That was only 5 years after Castro came to power in Cuba and illustrates the rapid spread of his "popularity" among the socialist movements in Spanish speaking countries.

I'd guess that since Castro and his backing of guerilla movements was financed by Russia, he was on the Soviet leash. The Russians likely felt they would handle the rest of the world, but that Castro could be their mouthpiece in Latin America. Since even Castro's transmitters came from the USSR, he'd likely follow their orders.

 

[cd637299]

The closest English blaster from Cuba in my grown-up lifetime was the AM 600 relay of Radio Moscow in 1980 (150 kW?). I believe they used 1040 as well, at the time Boynton Beach's 1040 was WYFX; but I never seemed to hear any jamming too well here.

Am I correct?

cd

 

[Gregg]

I wonder who decided to put English-language Radio Moscow on AM 600 in Cuba? As David Eduardo says above, Castro was interested in spreading his philosophy in Latin America, not the USA, so that's why he didn't blast an English-language Radio Cuba toward the mainland. But I suppose someone in Moscow "asked" him to re-transmit Radio Moscow (in English) on a signal that hit a good deal of the U.S., at least in the South. And since Moscow was paying a lot of Cuba's bills, they got AM 600. I remember hearing it quite clearly while working a few months in Virginia in the early 80s.

Funny thing. My cable system now carries RT around the clock. That's the English language news station Russia Today. Since they run almost no commercials I assume they're fully funded by the Russian government. My cable system also carries CCTV9, the 24 hour Chinese all-news channel in English. I think they may also carry the Chinese all-news channel in Spanish. Maybe someday they'll carry Al-Jazeera English as well if Qatar is willing to pay the right price?


Gregg
[email protected]

 

[Ai4i]

Right about 1040.
They should have used their traditional "Cuban Clear" borderblasters.
Always good to have as many sources of international news as possible, especially from countries with diverse perspectives.
We absolutely loath jamming.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Right about 1040.
They should have used their traditional "Cuban Clear" borderblasters.

The "clears" were really shared channels, and the Cuban broadcasters did not like running non-directional since Cuba is so narrow and soooo long. The CMQ (Goar Mestre's station) net used E-W directionals in all but the smallest facilities, and there was not much power to push to the north, as it did not make sense to waste it. Of course, by the mid-60's Fidel had some of the bigger Czech 60 kw and 120 kw transmitters, and all the engineers who knew directionals were working at AMs in Miami.

As to "diverse perspectives" I have trouble considering propaganda based mostly on lies and distortions to be a perspective. I know too many folks in Miami who had their relatives or parents killed before their eyes by Castro's thugs or who had relatives or friends die in Combinado del Este just for having a different opinion or being gay or being creative to be able to believe anything the Castro government says or said. And having my noonday DJ attacked and left near death in the studio (at HCRM1) so some Castro followers could swear and cuss at the "oligarchy" does not make me like the concept of "my way or death" Castro peddled.

 

[radiocph]

I was in San Juan, Puerto Rico in Dec 2001 for a conference. I took my Sony ICF-2010, a World Radio TV Handbook, and a Select-A-Tenna along (got a few weird looks going through Airport Security, but no biggie)

During the day, other than the locals, I heard one of the ZNS stations from the Bahamas, with religious programming. Also Gene Scott's Anguilla stations on 690 (1610 was silent for some reason) and 6090 (which was just about the only thing I heard on shortwave in my hotel room.)

At night, stations from Venezuela more or less swamped the dial. I tried to pick up stations in Colombia and Brazil, but all the "good" frequencies either had a Venezuelan or a local squarely upon them.

I heard Cuba on 600 and 640 kHz, but the signal wasn't particularly strong. Surprisingly, I didn't hear Radio Reloj all over the band as I did back in the 1980s on trips to Mississippi....

I also picked up USVI (forget the frequency) with football games and US ads. An ad for Amtrak train service sounds real funny when you're sitting on an island....

I did hear WSM-650 from Nashville, rather weakly. But that's was the only statesider I could hear clearly enough to identify.

Nothing really exotic, no Haiti, no DR, no Guadeloupe, etc. Even PJB on Bonaire was a no-show (to save money, TWR by then had switched from the big 500 kW omnidirectional to a 150 kW, directed toward South America).

 

[radiocph]

The closest English blaster from Cuba in my grown-up lifetime was the AM 600 relay of Radio Moscow in 1980 (150 kW?). I believe they used 1040 as well, at the time Boynton Beach's 1040 was WYFX; but I never seemed to hear any jamming too well here.

Once in 1980, while visiting rural Mississippi, I heard the Radio Moscow relay on 600. (I was tipped off to in a Popular Electronics article, I think it may have also been listed in a WRTH supplement)

It was rather neat, hearing stuff one normally hears only on shortwave, right on the everyday AM band. Of course it would have been better if the frequency was clear--I remember having to dig under two or three regional stations to hear it.

640, on the other hand, usually came in very well. (Nothing but KFI, and I think TGW in Guatemala City fading in and out over it....)

My guess is the Radio Moscow relay on 600 got a low Arbitron rating.

Now back in the 60's there was the "Radio Free Dixie" stuff, but that was before my time....

 

[cd637299]

@Mr. Hobbs:

I wouldn't be surprised if your USVI station was WVWI 1000, which behaves like most news/talkers here. In fact, when I was there on vacation in 2004, they were carrying Atlanta Braves baseball! Ah the comforts of home, even far away.

cd

 

[chrish]

When I traveled to Puerto Rico in during the late 70's early 80's I remember listening to Country 1050 WHN, it came in loud and clear, I recollection of
driving in old San Juan hearing the Kendalls "Heavens just a sin away". Those GM Delco radios were fantastic.

 

[DavidEduardo]

When I traveled to Puerto Rico in during the late 70's early 80's I remember listening to Country 1050 WHN, it came in loud and clear, I recollection of
driving in old San Juan hearing the Kendalls "Heavens just a sin away". Those GM Delco radios were fantastic.

Somehow driving in Old San Juan makes me thing more of Willy Colón's "Calle Luna, Calle Sol" on Z-93 than of steel guitars on WHN.

Interestingly, just a bit inland... 4 to 5 miles in Hato Rey or 6 to 7 in Guaynabo, WHN was not an easy or frequent catch. It was either Venezuela or Colombia on 1050.