Daytime AM Band Scan from Tampa

[jd]

I know you have a 1040 nearby (WHBO) but have you checked for anything on 1050? XEQOO in Cancún would be a nice daytime catch; it's listed as 35,000 watts non-directional and well over 500 miles from your area.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

In August 1969, using the most reprehensible AM portable extant (a $15 Philco transistor) I got then-R&B KYOK Houston on 1590 in Clearwater, inland by maybe three miles.

Oddly, ironically, in the aforementioned Norfolk, on a clock radio, same frequency, 1590, WAKR Akron BOOMED in, with no salt-water goosing.

Gar, you *will* be videotaping this excursion, right? LOL

 

[Icangelp]

gar fla. If you are looking for a list of Mexican broadcasters, you might look here. http://www.amfmdx.net/amdx/corazondx.html

 

[gar hi]

I know you have a 1040 nearby (WHBO) but have you checked for anything on 1050? XEQOO in Cancún would be a nice daytime catch; it's listed as 35,000 watts non-directional and well over 500 miles from your area.

I checked and there's way too much strong splatter from 1040.

I'll try at night to see what I can get.

gar fla. If you are looking for a list of Mexican broadcasters, you might look here. http://www.amfmdx.net/amdx/corazondx.html

Thanks. I didn't know thare was so much interest in Mexican station DXing.

In August 1969, using the most reprehensible AM portable extant (a $15 Philco transistor) I got then-R&B KYOK Houston on 1590 in Clearwater, inland by maybe three miles.

During the day?

Gar, you *will* be videotaping this excursion, right? LOL

Oh yeah!

The digital camera I'm using also takes videos of a fairly good quality. I used it for the other DX vids I've made.

I'm bringing an extra memory card and batteries.

 

[radioman148]

>>In August 1969, using the most reprehensible AM portable extant (a $15 Philco transistor) I got then-R&B KYOK Houston on 1590 in Clearwater, inland by maybe three miles.>>

At about what time--do you remember?

 

[gar hi]

The forecast for Saturday looks to have more rain and thunderstorms than usual but not a total wash out.

As of now, my DXpedition is still on and I'm hoping it stays that way.

All along, I figured that if Saturday afternoon has too much thunder and rain, I'll still have the first part of Sunday but some forecasts for Daytona Beach now say rain Sunday morning while others still show it fairly nice until the afternoon.

Even on a typical summer day, I would expect some lightning static to be heard but not enough to get in the way of the reception.

There have been so many times this summer where I've had to change plans in the afternoon because they said there was a good chance of widespread thunderstorms and it ended up pretty nice anyway. That's why I'm in no hurry to change these plans because of what they say.

I'll se how this afternoon and tonight turn out because I really don't want to cancel this. I have till midnight to cancel the reservation but I'm keeping my hopes up.

 

[drt]

The forecast for Saturday looks to have more rain and thunderstorms than usual but not a total wash out.
Hi Gar FLA;

Hope everything works out well for you in your DXpedtion!

I know several stations, you should be able to get w/o any problems, would be the 630 out of Savannah, 1130 out of Hilton Head,SC and WTMA 1250 out of Charleston,SC.

Hope you can receive some NYC stations as well; I suppose WOR 710 is a possibility if the "battle of the airwaves" between 710 WAQI-Miami and Radio Havana doesn't reach that far north. The 880 out of Miami should not be a concern as their tower is actually in Sweetwater (s.w. of Miami) and they are directional and not all that powerful; if anything interfers with you getting WCBS 880; it would probably be the Cuban station on 880.

As far as 810, goes, you are more than likely to get the 810 out of Freeport Bahamas, rather than anything from Puerto Rico.

Good luck and keep us posted.

drt,
St. Petersburg,FL
As of now, my DXpedition is still on and I'm hoping it stays that way.

All along, I figured that if Saturday afternoon has too much thunder and rain, I'll still have the first part of Sunday but some forecasts for Daytona Beach now say rain Sunday morning while others still show it fairly nice until the afternoon.

Even on a typical summer day, I would expect some lightning static to be heard but not enough to get in the way of the reception.

There have been so many times this summer where I've had to change plans in the afternoon because they said there was a good chance of widespread thunderstorms and it ended up pretty nice anyway. That's why I'm in no hurry to change these plans because of what they say.

I'll se how this afternoon and tonight turn out because I really don't want to cancel this. I have till midnight to cancel the reservation but I'm keeping my hopes up.

 

[gar hi]

Had to cancel the trip.

It's already raining here like crazy and they keep increasing the rain chances for the weekend to where it will be a good chance of storms any time of day, way above average and not typical of the usual summer time pattern.

I have the worst luck.

I guess I should wait until we're into the dry season.

 

[radioman148]

Had to cancel the trip.

It's already raining here like crazy and they keep increasing the rain chances for the weekend to where it will be a good chance of storms any time of day, way above average and not typical of the usual summer time pattern.

I have the worst luck.

I guess I should wait until we're into the dry season.

I've had the same undependable weather issues on my visits to Florida in the past.
Your best bet is to wait until November at the earliest.

 

[purpledevil]

gar fla: If you're looking for an AM catch from Texas, I'd recommend either 1030 KCTA/Corpus Christi or 1560 KGOW/Bellaire(Houston). Both are 50kw, reporters have caught KGOW as far north as Illinois, and east toward MS. I can personally verify KCTA as far east as N.O. on a regular basis. KCTA is a daytimer only, KGOW drops to 15kw at night with their new nighttime authorization. KTRH is an enigma. What used to be the Gulf Coast blowtorch like WWL, now has issues making it Beaumont. I'm not sure what happened to KTRH over the years, but it certainly doesn't have the power it did in its heyday.

 

[gar hi]

gar fla: If you're looking for an AM catch from Texas, I'd recommend either 1030 KCTA/Corpus Christi or 1560 KGOW/Bellaire(Houston). Both are 50kw, reporters have caught KGOW as far north as Illinois, and east toward MS. I can personally verify KCTA as far east as N.O. on a regular basis. KCTA is a daytimer only, KGOW drops to 15kw at night with their new nighttime authorization. KTRH is an enigma. What used to be the Gulf Coast blowtorch like WWL, now has issues making it Beaumont. I'm not sure what happened to KTRH over the years, but it certainly doesn't have the power it did in its heyday.

Last spring, I went out to the Gulf to see what I could get during the day and used the car radio.

1030 was one of the stations I had looked for but what I heard was a Spanish station (I think from somewhere in Florida) and a lot of splash over from our local station on 1040.

Maybe KCTA was there in the background but I just couldn't hear it.

If you see their signal map at Radio Locator, they have an amazing signal that really gets out into the Gulf.

Unfortunately, the car radio is non directional and it makes it hard to null out the locals.

Here's the video I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM7MaeyYuq4


Now that I have the Sangean PR-D5 portable, I have to try that again sometime.

 

[vibe]

I've gotten KCRA from Englewood FL (80-90 mi S of Tampa) about 1 hr after local sunrise and at local sunset during the winter. But no other times so the catch doesn't count in my opinion. My better half and I have never been to Cedar Key (about 2 hr N of St. Pete). There's some local sightseeing ops including a State Museum so a trip to enjoy the local sights and do some DXing from a motel room is in order this winter or next.
I guess one can do this from a good car radio but the Bose, although not the strongest radio in the world, is highly directional.
FWIW-I tried DX ing the NYC 'clears" during midday from St. Simons Is GA (60 mi or so S of Savannah) but no success.

 

[gar hi]

There's mostly land that the NYC signals would have to travel over at St. Simons, so I wouldn't expect you'd get any daytime signal there.

 

[drt]

the 103 your heard could have very well have been the Spanish language/music station out of Oveido,FL (an Orlando suburb); from my 2nd listening post (where I am now - near U.S. 301 and State Rd 50); 1030 comes in fairly well during the day with their recent power increase)

As you discovered, receiving Texas stations from anywhere in Manatee, Pinellas or southern Pasco county along the coast is probably a big challenge due to the splatter from all the locals; as suggested in a previous post, Cedar Key should be good, but if you're squeezed for time, I think you would have to go to at least Hudson Beach in northern Pasco county.

Here, where I am now in extreme eastern Hernando county midway between Dade City and Bushnell, WWL 870 from New Orleans barely comes in, even on a good car radio, but then west of I-75 (heading toward the coast); the reception really starts to improve. 1060 from where I am now, I receive the station from Brevard county. (not sure if it's in Cocoa Beach or Melbourne or none of the above!).

And the 640 you receive in Tampa is from Cuba, at home in s.e. St. Pete (near the USF Bayboro campus) 640 from Cuba comes in like a local and when I scan on my car radio, the normally stops at 640.

Where I am now, not a trace of Cuba during the day, just a good clear signal of WVLG out of The Villages; amazing what a differnce 73 miles can make.

drt