Another Cyberdad Road Trip

[cyberdad]

This time I'm off to Duluth, International Falls, Winnipeg, and Minneapolis. Commencing tomorrow, July 5.

My DXing agenda is a little different this time. I'm not much of an FM DX-er, but being that it's e-skip and tropo season, I'm intrigued by what I might encounter. Especially on the stretch between International Falls and Winnipeg on Friday (7th). That's over 200 miles with few....if any...local sticks around to "gum up the works". All told, it's about a 5 or 6 hour drive....mostly two lane road, and mostly northwoods wilderness.

I've made this run a number of times before, but it's been at least ten years, and I don't think I've ever done it during FM DX season. Last time I was in the neighborhood during mid-summer, it was the north shore of Lake Superior between Duluth and Thunder Bay in 1994. Then, the FM dial in the car was loaded up with stuff from Georgia and Florida. It didn't hurt matters that the road is perched on a bluff high above the lake.

I'm not expecting much on the AM side, but I'll be listening there as well. My route takes me through Kenora, Ontario, which is one of my favorite DX spots for AM, but this time it'll be mid-day and I'm not expecting July to produce any daytime skywave. Now that Kenora local CJRL/1220 has migrated to FM, I doubt there'll be much on AM mid-day except for CJOB (fair), and CBW (weaker).

As always....suggestions, questions, requests, comments are always welcome. And I'll report anything of note that I hear.

 

[Icangelp]

Have a safe trip, & watch out for the Moose.

 

[K6JHU]

Don't plan on going to the zoo in Duluth

 

[mimo]

I remember when there were stations on the AM dial to hear in Kenora. Besides CJRL (which was a really go0d station in the 80's) You could hear CKY, CKRC, CBW CKSB (1050 which you should still be able to hear) and CFRW 1290, which you should also be able to hear, albeit very weak. The only Winnipeg AM that didn't make it to Kenora was 810.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

While you're on the road, any chance you can see how far stations get out in the daytime? For example if you're taking a northern route, like I-94 (or is it I-90), how far can you hear 540 CBK? (Also I'd be interested in the daytime reach of some of the low-dial stations in the north central US where there's high (~"30") ground conductivity.)

 

[w9wi]

While you're on the road, any chance you can see how far stations get out in the daytime? For example if you're taking a northern route, like I-94 (or is it I-90), how far can you hear 540 CBK? (Also I'd be interested in the daytime reach of some of the low-dial stations in the north central US where there's high (~"30") ground conductivity.)

Excellent point. Try adding to mimo's list KFYR-550 & Bismarck 710. That, and I think you may be surprised how far east you can hear CBK. Then, there's 880 in Brandon & 730 in Dauphin.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

While you're on the road, any chance you can see how far stations get out in the daytime? For example if you're taking a northern route, like I-94 (or is it I-90), how far can you hear 540 CBK? (Also I'd be interested in the daytime reach of some of the low-dial stations in the north central US where there's high (~"30") ground conductivity.)

Excellent point. Try adding to mimo's list KFYR-550 & Bismarck 710. That, and I think you may be surprised how far east you can hear CBK. Then, there's 880 in Brandon & 730 in Dauphin.

The first thing that stops CBK on 540 is in Iowa! CBK comes in at Mt Rushmore during the day...400+ miles IIRC. And KFYR 550 doesn't fade under the overpasses 190 miles east near the MN border. You really have to hear this stuff to believe it. AM rocks in that region.

 

[rfry]

The first thing that stops CBK on 540 is in Iowa! CBK comes in at Mt Rushmore during the day...400+ miles IIRC.

Below using the FCC propagation charts is the result for the CBK installation along a 30 mS/m groundwave path:

Frequency: 540 kHz
Applied Power: 50.00 kW
Inverse Distance Field at 1 mile: 1,392.4 mV/m
Earth Conductivity: 30.0 mS/m, d.c. = 13

Field Intensity Distance
0.150 mV/m 499.7 miles

With a sufficiently low r-f noise environment, a 0.150 mV/m field probably would be enough to stop the autoscan of a decent AM broadcast receive system.

 

[gar hi]

How about trying for the big 50 kw Chicago stations near Minneapolis in the middle of the day?

 

[radioman148]

How about trying for the big 50 kw Chicago stations near Minneapolis in the middle of the day?

I can tell you that several summers ago I heard WGN & WSCR just outside of Minneapolis around 2PM in early August on my car radio.

 

[K6JHU]

Chicago stations in the daytime near Minneapolis, not all that well (if at all). Nightime is a different matter. WLW (while not in Chicago) comes in nicely.

 

[cyberdad]

Thanks, guys....

I'm in Fort Frances, ON tonight....basically just a few blocks from International Falls, MN.

First of all, regarding my bright idea of seeing what might be skipping in on FM during the drive up today (from Wisconsin)... There was absolutely nothing but a handful of locals in the Minnesota northwoods.

As for AM, I was periodically checking 540. I don't think I heard CBK. The channel was pretty empty, but at one point I heard very faintly what seemed to be a couple of stations mixing. This was in Northern Wisconsin. In Minnesota, things went silent....including here in Fort Frances/International falls. So what I think I may have had earlier was the St. Cloud, MN 540 perhaps mixing with WAUK. I'll keep an eye (ear) on the channel tomorrow. CBK is definitely audible in Winnipeg. But most of the 230 miles between my current QTH and there is Canadian shield....rock with lousy conductivity....before finally hitting the deep, rich, prairie stuff about 50 miles (80km) east of Winnipeg.

No trace of any daytime skywave, unless we count WLW in southern Wisconsin. That's not unusual, so I think it was groundwave. I have heard WMAQ daytime in northern Minnesota before 670 flipped to WSCR, but I've never heard a Chicago signal in western Ontario or Manitoba during daylight hours.

As for Winnipeg, the only two stations audible here today were CJOB and CBW. Both weak. CKY used to have a better signal here than either of those....and be audible halfway from here to Duluth. But they've been off for several years. The old CKRC (630) also used to be audible here daytime, but they've been off even longer than CKY. I'll keep an eye (ear) on the other Winnipeg channels.

Finally, the low dial AMs..... The 600 from Jamestown, ND is audible daytime in Winnipeg wih a pretty good signal. Two Fargo stations are also dayime regulars. KFGO (790) and WDAY (970). Not bad for 5kw over 200 miles!

 

[cyberdad]

K6JHU....

Back in the 80s and early 90s, I'd get into Minneapolis about a half dozen times each year on business. IME, most of the big signal Chicago AMs came in almost like locals just about every night. Even 5kw WIND. The exception was/is WMVP 1000, which protects KOMO in Seattle. But even they're usually clearly audible.

 

[mimo]

My grandparents retired in Kenora (just northwest of Keewatin, across the bridge from Kenora) so I was there a lot during the summers. CBK does not make it past the point where the prairies end and the shield begins. That's it's exact fading point. I've never heard it daytime in Kenora. There were no U.S. daytime signals either, and it was a real struggle to get the International Falls FM's as they were really only heard during summer mornings and would then fade, as would the Winnipeg FMs. Back then there were only 2 FM stations, both of which are CBC stations, so FM wasn't listened to by more than a handful of people. 99.5% of all radio listening was AM and I'm sure most of that was to CJRL.

In Canada, CBK makes it from an hour east of Winnipeg to Canmore Alberta. That's 2 and a half days of driving.

 

[cyberdad]

Update....

The FMDX part of the trip has been a complete bust. No skip whatsoever. The best I could do was snag a couple of MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) signals that made it up to Kenora. About 100 miles north of the border, and about 120 miles east of Winnipeg.

And speaking of Kenora, what mimo described was pretty much exactly what I experienced this morning. I was monitoring 540, which was completely blank in Kenora. This was around 10am CDT. It finally appeared....exactly as mimo described...at a point 80km/50mi east of Winnipeg roughly where the shield ends and the prairie begins. I did however hear 3 U.S. stations in Kenora. Very weak KXJB/600 and KNMT/650. Those two were barely audible. But the 740 from Fargo was definitely listenable....if weak. That's a fairly new station, which wouldn't have been around when mimo was living in the Kenora area.

Otherwise, all the Winnipeg signals were present, except 810 and 1570. 1250 from Steinbach was very weak, but CFRY and CFAM (920 and 950) from outside the immediate metro each had respectable signals. CJOB/680 and CBW/990 were the strongest, with CKSB/1050 not far behind.

And finally, someone noted earlier that CJRL on 1220 was a good listen. Happy to report after the move to 89.5, it still is!

 

[wildthangjim]

I remember from visiting Rapid City SD that the 550 in Bismarck had a powerhouse signal, as did the 570 over in eastern SD. Pretty amazing clear signals from both. KOA Denver was pretty solid up there as well.

 

[crainbebo]

KVOX is the only North Dakota AM that has ever been logged here in Western Washington. They sure get out on 940w nights!

-crainbebo

 

[cyberdad]

I remember from visiting Rapid City SD that the 550 in Bismarck had a powerhouse signal, as did the 570 over in eastern SD. Pretty amazing clear signals from both. KOA Denver was pretty solid up there as well.

I heard KFYR just west of Kenora, but not in the town itself. It appeared (very weak) before CBK turned up. As for KVOX, the main lobe of that 940 watts would be aimed right at Seattle.

It's not definite yet, but I'm expecting to be in the Pacific Northwest at the end of next month. If that pans out, I'll certainly look for KVOX. My memory of 740 out there is basically KCBS.

 

[crainbebo]

Well you won't find it, because it won't be winter. In winter I can get KVOX along with CBX and KCBS, in summer it's usually CBX and KCBS only.

-crainbebo

 

[cyberdad]

Well you won't find it, because it won't be winter. In winter I can get KVOX along with CBX and KCBS, in summer it's usually CBX and KCBS only.

-crainbebo

It'll be worth hanging out on 740 just to see if I can snag CBX and positively ID it. I think I've heard it, mainly under KCBS, but never positively IDed. Of course this reflects my relatively limited experience.

Assuming I do the trip next month (about a 60% probability), I'm not sure at this point if Seattle will actually be one of my stops. (I hope it will....its one of my favorite places). Anyway, Vancouver (BC) and Portland would be the definites on my dance card. But when it comes to DX on 740, I'm subject to splatter in both places....from 730 in Vancouver and 750 in Portland.

Back to KVOX, I was really impressed with their signal this past week. Absolutely everything gets out in the world....even graveyard channels routinely get out over 100 miles. But KVOX was seemingly everywhere I went north of a Duluth to Fargo line. Pretty good audio, too. The exception was the area around International Falls, where it disappeared for a while.