Canton, OH. Quick daytime bandscan

[cyberdad]

Canton Ohio tonight. I get here once or twice a year, but tonight I'm in a different hotel, which is far more noise-free than my usual spot up the street. So....I got out the SRF 37 this afternoon, and here are a few highlights.

570: WKBN, fair
580: Something here with a fair-weak signal, but didn't hang around long enough to ID
640: WHLO, strong local
700: WLW. weak
740: CFZM, fair-weak
760: WJR, fair-weak
820: Columbus, OH fair-weak
850: Cleveland-good, but not super-strong
1060:WILB, Local a few blocks down the street from me. 15kw blew out the middle of the diaL
1100:WTAM: Very good....strong enough to "shrug off" WILB
1150: WCUE, semi-local good
1220: WKNR (or whatever)-very good
1260: Cleveland-fair
1300: Cleveland-fair/poor
1350: Local: Very good
1420: Cleveland: Fair-Good
1480: Another local 15kw blowtorch. Very good
1520: Local fair-good
1590: WAKR, local-very good.

This was a detour on my way to Florida. Savannah, GA tomorrow. I'll post if I'm able to find anything of interest. Suggestions/requests always welcome.

 

[Buckeyes2001]

If the station on 580 was a talk station, it was probably WCHS/Charleston, WV. Another possibility is WHP/Harrisburg, PA. I would think some daytime skywave would have to be present to get either of them from Canton but this is the time of year for that.

 

[cyberdad]

If the station on 580 was a talk station, it was probably WCHS/Charleston, WV. Another possibility is WHP/Harrisburg, PA. I would think some daytime skywave would have to be present to get either of them from Canton but this is the time of year for that.

It was a talker. Charleston is a little less than 200 miles south of Canton, so I'll assume WCHS was it.

Also, I should've mentioned in my original post that I had both WTVN 610 and the 880 from Columbus. Both weak, but clearly audible. For whatever reason, 820 was a little stronger than these two.

 

[jd]

1060:WILB, Local a few blocks down the street from me. 15kw blew out the middle of the diaL

There's an interesting story about that one, concerning blanketing interference. Seems that when they increased power they got complaints from a nearby condo association:
http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=15560

The problems with TV's and telephones were taken care of, but the false security and fire alarms required some extra attention:
http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=21146

So WILB establishes some good will and gets a nice letter for the public file...

 

[Icangelp]

If the station on 580 was a talk station, it was probably WCHS/Charleston, WV. Another possibility is WHP/Harrisburg, PA. I would think some daytime skywave would have to be present to get either of them from Canton but this is the time of year for that.

It was a talker. Charleston is a little less than 200 miles south of Canton, so I'll assume WCHS was it.

Also, I should've mentioned in my original post that I had both WTVN 610 and the 880 from Columbus. Both weak, but clearly audible. For whatever reason, 820 was a little stronger than these two.

No CKLW?

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I'd think KDKA 1020-AM from Pittsburgh might come in there. Also, Cincinnati's WCKY 1530-AM would, too especially after dark. Maybe that local at 1520 might effect it somewhat.

 

[Buckeyes2001]

WWVA 1170 should be strong there unless WILB was putting an image on 1170

 

[cyberdad]

No CKLW?

I had a very weak signal on 800, which I assume would have been CKLW. Similar for 1020 and KDKA. I was looking for both of them, as well as WWVA...which I did not hear.

I probably could've heard these in the car on the freeway. But not in the hotel room on a walkman....albeit a good little radio, and albeit with the hotel located on top of a hill.

 

[cyberdad]

I spent the following night in Savannah, GA. After a long drive followed by a great dinner with Mrs. Cyberdad, I didn't have time for more than a casual pass through the AM dial. We were staying about 12 miles outside of town at an I-95 hotel. A few obserbations....

Much to my surprise only one Savannah nighttime signal made it out to the freeway on the outskirts of town. That was 630 WBMQ. 47 watts and barely audible over the mess despite a path through the swamps.

Best nighttime skywave signal...by far....was WBT. WJR, WHAS, WWL, and KMOX also pretty good. What was surprising was that WSM, WLW, and WSB were all either very weak or missing entirely.

The usual New York stations were reasonably strong. Even WOR. Chicago was weaker. WSCR and WLS buried by the Cubans. WGN was the strongest. WBBM weaker, WMVP weaker still.

Oddity: CJBC was alone on 860 and had a good signal. Meanwhile, on 740, CFZM was barely audible....fighting with what I presume was KRMG. For those unaware, CJBC and CFZM are diplexed on the same tower about 18 miles west-northwest of downtown Toronto.

Tonight, and for the next two weeks, I'm on St. Petersburg Beach/Treasure Island. I haven't gotten into any serious DXing yet. And, as I've said earlier, I think gar and others have had the neighborhood fairly well covered. I don't want to be redundant and repeat what's already been posted/discussed.

If I turn up anything that I think is new or unusual, I'll post in a new thread. But I will leave you with one "tidbit". On the balcony yesterday shortly after we arrived at about 1:30pm, I did spend a few minutes with the Eton E-10. I was able to null the local 860 and snag a very weak WWL. I also caught R. Reloj on 570 with the local there nulled. Looking forward to seeing what else develops as the next two weeks unfold.

 

[crainbebo]

I think you need to keep trying 640, and 1700. XEPE has been popping up once in a while.

-crainbebo

 

[cyberdad]

I've been getting Cuba on 640. Under WHLO in Canton. Alone at night in Savannah. And day/night so far here in St. Pete Beach.

XEPE may be another story. As is, in very limited listening, I've been getting a surprisingly strong R. Rebelde day/night on 1620. I originally went there yesterday afternoon looking for Pensacola. I've yet to determine if Pensacola is getting covered up or just missing entirely.

I'll try to figure that out over the coming days. And I'll keep after 640 and 1700....thanks for the suggestion.

 

[radioman148]

Cyberdad,

Always appreciate your road DX reports. Keep 'em coming when you can and enjoy your trip.

 

[drt]

Welcome to the Suncoast! Mr and Mrs Cyberdad!Of course, you probably saw little or no sun once you landed today! Yesterday was 68 - 80, today didn't break 73 (which was this morning before the strong coldfront came through) and as you probably know tomorrow won't get about 65!

Back to radio, I'm probably about 6 or 7 miles e.s.e. of Treasure Island and as far as 640 goes, it is a strong Cuban signal day and night; 640 trips the scan feature of my current car radio (and the last car as well) and if you get 4 or 5 miles north toward WDAE 620's IBOC interference, that is about the only alternative I've heard on 640, but with the right conditions right on the beach who knows?

1620 has been Radio Rebelde (sp) for about the last two years, they either signed on then or did a power increase.

I would be interested in how well (or bad) you receive WGES 680 at night, their tower is in extreme n.e. St. Petersburg beyond the Derby Lane Dogtrack. They used to be 500 watts night, but now are only 125 watts at night and I've noticed that near St. Pete College and the Publix just north of there on 66th St. N, WPTF 680 Raleigh gives them some serious interference on the car radio; here near downtown, I can sometimes here WPTF underneath WGES's Spansh language format. (I believe there current format is Spanish religion and sports - they change formats quite a bit, but remain Spanish language).
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I just found out Monday that I will be in Canton, Oh, the last half of September and our group will be staying at the McKinley Grand Hotel (320 Market Ave S); I hope you can tell me that you've stayed there and have had some good dx'ing experiences there! if you have stayed there, would there be any section of the hotel that is better for dxing?.... or to avoid?.... normally I have some choice as to room location within reason.

Will be anxiously awaiting your reports from Treasure Island, and if you make it to to Passe-a-Grille (southern tip of St. Pete Beach,), I have the discovered the daytime dx'ing there is somewhat better, at least for trying to get WWL 870 as you are a little further from WGUL 860 and it is easier to null 860's splatter, of course at that location due to WRXB 1590, you can forget about anything on 1580 or 1600.

drt,
st. pete

 

[foreverchanges1975]

cyberdad: In Memphis I always get a weak WCBS and have very rarely recieved WFAN (it's covered up by something in Spanish or a very occasional KTNN) and they're on the same stick.

 

[cyberdad]

Thanks for the welcome, drt.  We got here to the suncoast on Wednesday, so we got a little sample of the resort weather before it crashed yesterday morning (Thurs).  Hasn't put a damper on the fun, however.  We've been enjoying our stay and visiting our friends.

To respond to your post.  640 is the strongest Cuban here where I am 24/7.  WDAE has a massive signal on 620, but the Cuban 640 is strong enough to break through whatever splatter there is.  I'm a little surprised that the 640 from The Villages seems to be completely absent.

As for WGES on 680, the nighttime signal here is pretty good.  Better than I expected, actually.  But I still can hear WPTF underneath along with something in Spanish occasionally popping in. 

As for Canton, I haven't stayed downtown.  I believe the McKinley Hotel was a Marriott for a time, and is now once again an independent.  If you're staying downtown and have a choice in the matter, I highly recommend dinner at Bender's Tavern....a 100 year old restaurant loaded with atmosphere.  It can get a little pricey, but the food is excellent. Well worth it. 

As for DXing, you might be better off downtown than where I usually stay on the north side (where our friends live).  As I alluded to in our earlier post, there are actually a couple of transmitters up there....which don't help matters.  That's on top of noise in the hotel.  I'm not sure what you'll wind up with at the McKinley, but your best bet is to see if you can get an upper floor...away from elevearator/ice machine, etc.  Even if the building blocks incoming signals, you can sometimes improve your luck greatly by situating yourself and/or placing the radio near a window. 

Finally, Radioman....thanks, as always, for the kind words. Unless I'm responding to specific questions here, I'll launch a new thread within the next couple of days to post any and all highlights that turn up here in Treasure Island/St. Pete Beach.

 

[charlestondxman]

Talking about your Savannah stop, I am surprised not even 1290 came through up there. There is a big difference between WBT here and in Savannah. Sometimes we are subject to skywave cancellation.

 

[drt]

Thanks for the welcome, drt. We got here to the suncoast on Wednesday, so we got a little sample of the resort weather before it crashed yesterday morning (Thurs). Hasn't put a damper on the fun, however. We've been enjoying our stay and visiting our friends.

To respond to your post. 640 is the strongest Cuban here where I am 24/7. WDAE has a massive signal on 620, but the Cuban 640 is strong enough to break through whatever splatter there is. I'm a little surprised that the 640 from The Villages seems to be completely absent.

As for WGES on 680, the nighttime signal here is pretty good. Better than I expected, actually. But I still can hear WPTF underneath along with something in Spanish occasionally popping in.

As for Canton, I haven't stayed downtown. I believe the McKinley Hotel was a Marriott for a time, and is now once again an independent. If you're staying downtown and have a choice in the matter, I highly recommend dinner at Bender's Tavern....a 100 year old restaurant loaded with atmosphere. It can get a little pricey, but the food is excellent. Well worth it.

As for DXing, you might be better off downtown than where I usually stay on the north side (where our friends live). As I alluded to in our earlier post, there are actually a couple of transmitters up there....which don't help matters. That's on top of noise in the hotel. I'm not sure what you'll wind up with at the McKinley, but your best bet is to see if you can get an upper floor...away from elevearator/ice machine, etc. Even if the building blocks incoming signals, you can sometimes improve your luck greatly by situating yourself and/or placing the radio near a window.

Finally, Radioman....thanks, as always, for the kind words. Unless I'm responding to specific questions here, I'll launch a new thread within the next couple of days to post any and all highlights that turn up here in Treasure Island/St. Pete Beach.

 

[cyberdad]

Talking about your Savannah stop, I am surprised not even 1290 came through up there. There is a big difference between WBT here and in Savannah. Sometimes we are subject to skywave cancellation.

1290 was there, but getting completely pounded. I was surprised by this and the other local signals because the path from the city proper and my hotel on the far outskirts of town appeared to be all swamps. And yes, WBT was a monster....none of the other skywaves were even close.

 

[gar hi]

Cyberdad, I hope you get a chance to make it out to Honeymoon Island in Dunedin.

It's one of the best daytime AM DXing spots there is anywhere.

That's where I did all my daytime DXing videos from the Gulf coast.

Because the island is so secluded out on the water and void of any of the typical construstion of populated areas that can interfere with AM signals, you can hear stations there that you can't hear on other Gulf beaches in the area.

Check it out if you have time. It costs a few bucks to get in but it's well worth it!

 

[drt]

Thanks for the tips Cyberdad, this is my third attempt to post a reply, two attempts last night failed (as you may have noticed, one was just a quote and then my screen went blank!).

I do know about windows being a dx'er's friend; I had never thought about elevators and/or ice machines. My worst dx'ing hotel room was back in October in Baton Rouge and interesting enough, I wasn't near the elevators and there were three rooms between mine and the ice machine but there was some electical interference (a loud buzzing sound) that made any dx'ing impossible except for two or three strong local signals and 870 out of New Orleans, all the others 50,000 watt blow torches were unlistenable due to the electrical interference. I had to go to my rental car in the parking lot or drive around to do any dx'ing.

Yes, the hotel I will be staying at used to be a Marriott from what I understand and supposedly has been completely renovated.

Will have to see if I can convince some people in my division to spend the big bucks and enjoy a meal at Bender's Tavern.
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as to dx'ing from this area, I would suspect Honeymoon Island would be a good place, but haven't been there and it is about 25 miles north of Treasure Island.

Also due to what I suspect is skywave/groundwave cancellation of the 880 from Cuba I have discoverd that from about mid November to the end of February, there is usuallya reliable 45 minute window to receive WCBS clearly and this month that 45 minute window is from around 5:30 (still light here but dark in NYC) to around 6:15.

As mentioned in other threads you can pretty well forget about picking up 670 (WSCA?) out of Chicago and WLS due to strong Cuban interference, it is a real bonus when WLS does manage to come in for a few minutes, in spite of Cuba. WBBM is usually reliable but weak in the winter and during the summer, it's not alway receivable.

Enjoy your stay, friends and dx'ing.... and keep posting!
drt,
st. petersburg

I have never heard WVLG this far south; I suppose if the Cuban 640 were off the air for any reason, it might be possible to pick up a wak WVLG (they do get out pretty well for the 930 watt daytime signal and 860 watt night signal)