Dxing Hawaii from the mainland

[radioman148]

After recently Dxing in Hawaii I was wondering if anyone has Dxed any Hawaiian AM stations from the mainland?
Living in the midwest I've never had that opportunity, but I'm wondering how many on the west coast or elsewhere might have done it and which stations you may have heard?

 

[KR4BD]

In the early 1960's, I lived in Riverside, CA (about 50 miles inland from L.A.) and was an avid DXer. I did log these Hawaiian stations on an old 16 tube RCA Model ACR-111 General Coverage Receiver and longwire antenna: KPOI-1380, KGU-760 (before KFMB moved to 760), and KORL-650 (on an early Monday morning after KFI signed off). I also received one station from Alaska during this period: KFAR-660. Today, some of these stations no longer exist or have changed call letters.

 

[davideduardo]

After recently Dxing in Hawaii I was wondering if anyone has Dxed any Hawaiian AM stations from the mainland?
Living in the midwest I've never had that opportunity, but I'm wondering how many on the west coast or elsewhere might have done it and which stations you may have heard?

Between 1960 and 1963 from Cleveland, OH, KORL 650, KULA 690, KGU 760 KIKI 830 (250 watts), KAIM 870, 940 with several calls, KHVH 1040, KNDI 1270, KPOI 1380 and, if I recall correctly, 1210. All Oahu, interestingly. All, of course, were logged on Monday morning after the sign-off of the dominant station or stations on the channel. For example, once KTFI had gone to bed on 1270, it was quite clear for KNDI if conditions were good enough.

 

[radioman148]

David--that's amazing that you were able to pick up those stations in Ohio. I wonder what kind of radio and antenna you used? I grew up in Illinois and DXed quite a bit, but never came close to receiving Hawaii. My best catch in the early 60s from Illinois was KFI.
Today the best signal on Oahu is the 830 which was 250 watts when you heard it. It's now KHVH running 10KW
and has the best signal through out Oahu.

 

[davideduardo]

David--that's amazing that you were able to pick up those stations in Ohio. I wonder what kind of radio and antenna you used? I grew up in Illinois and DXed quite a bit, but never came close to receiving Hawaii. My best catch in the early 60s from Illinois was KFI.
Today the best signal on Oahu is the 830 which was 250 watts when you heard it. It's now KHVH running 10KW
and has the best signal through out Oahu.

I was using a Hammarlund HQ180, and an altaz box loop. The loop was in an attic crawl space, about 50 feet above ground, and was servo controled for the tilt and tuning capacitor and used a TV rotor to rotate.

 

[radioman148]

Quite a setup. Did you ever pick up Europe?

 

[davideduardo]

Quite a setup. Did you ever pick up Europe?

Europeans were very common in NE Ohio in the early 60's... some could even be heard in the summer... like the Lisboa station on 655 or 1035. Agadir, Morocco on 935 was the most common trans. Atlantic station, of course.

Rome, Vatican, Switzerland, Monaco, many Spaniards, France, England, Ireland, Wales, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, denmark, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Germany (East and West), Poland, Luxembourg, Andorra, were pretty easy. Austria on 1475 was one of the most common from the central European area, as was Zagreb on 1133. Africans like Egypt and Lybia and Senegal were very easy catches, too. Tunisia on 962 a bit harder. I think I had about 85 to 100 verified in all.

 

[radioman148]

Quite a setup. Did you ever pick up Europe?

Europeans were very common in NE Ohio in the early 60's... some could even be heard in the summer... like the Lisboa station on 655 or 1035. Agadir, Morocco on 935 was the most common trans. Atlantic station, of course.

Rome, Vatican, Switzerland, Monaco, many Spaniards, France, England, Ireland, Wales, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, denmark, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Germany (East and West), Poland, Luxembourg, Andorra, were pretty easy. Austria on 1475 was one of the most common from the central European area, as was Zagreb on 1133. Africans like Egypt and Lybia and Senegal were very easy catches, too. Tunisia on 962 a bit harder. I think I had about 85 to 100 verified in all.

Obviously you were in a great spot and had good enough equipment to pick up great DX.

 

[davideduardo]

Obviously you were in a great spot and had good enough equipment to pick up great DX.

I was actually in a moderately noisy urban environment of an industrial city, but conditions were good. If I had the receivers I used later, like an R390 or a Drake R8, it would have been better, I am sure. But the R390 had not yet come on the surplus market, and IC's were near a decade away... so the old hollow state HQ 180 worked great. It moved with me to South America in '64 and brought in lots of nifty DX from the top of the Andes.

 

[radioman148]

Obviously you were in a great spot and had good enough equipment to pick up great DX.

I was actually in a moderately noisy urban environment of an industrial city, but conditions were good. If I had the receivers I used later, like an R390 or a Drake R8, it would have been better, I am sure. But the R390 had not yet come on the surplus market, and IC's were near a decade away... so the old hollow state HQ 180 worked great. It moved with me to South America in '64 and brought in lots of nifty DX from the top of the Andes.

I used a Zenith Trans Oceanic. It had a very good selective tuner for it's day. I got it in 1961 and still have it today.
I never had any kind of elaborate antenna though.
Were you able to pick up any stateside DX from South America? If so, how far north into the US were you able to hear?
I Dxed stateside many times from central & southern Mexico in the 60s & 70s. However, when I tried to do it in the late 80s the frequencies were so crowded I couldn't get anything other than a few stations from southern Texas.

 

[frcradio]

In the early 1960's I heard KORL 650, KIKI 830 and another on 1130.

One late afternoon around 3:30 I heard someone on 850 kHz. reading news copy,

then clearly identified " K H L O, Hilo ". The signal then faded out.

KHLO was listed as running 1 kW. at the time - sure never expected to

hear them with the Sun high in the sky at both ends.

 

[frcradio]

Forgot to say that the previous was received in Los Angeles.

 

[radioman148]

In the early 1960's I heard KORL 650, KIKI 830 and another on 1130.

One late afternoon around 3:30 I heard someone on 850 kHz. reading news copy,

then clearly identified " K H L O, Hilo ". The signal then faded out.

KHLO was listed as running 1 kW. at the time - sure never expected to

hear them with the Sun high in the sky at both ends.

I tried several times in the 70s & early 80s when I was in California to get KORL right before west coast sunrise to make sure I wasn't getting any interference from WSM. Although I heard something I was never able to confirm it.
That's amazing getting Hilo in mid afternoon. I guess you never know about propogation over water.

 

[davideduardo]

Were you able to pick up any stateside DX from South America? If so, how far north into the US were you able to hear?

Easy catches were things on the Gulf of Mexico, or Californians with an almost total saltwater path.

But the fun thing was DXing the graveyards. Montana, MN, OR, WY etc. were common on channels like 1450 and 1400 that were locally clear to me.

Things like KFMB 540 in San Diego and KFRC 610 in San Francisco were regulars, as were things like WMCA in NY (when my 570 station was off for maintenance).

I Dxed stateside many times from central & southern Mexico in the 60s & 70s. However, when I tried to do it in the late 80s the frequencies were so crowded I couldn't get anything other than a few stations from southern Texas.

Back then, the mid to late 60's, except for 570, 590 and 800/810, every channel was clear after midnight for hundreds if not thousands of miles from Quito. I got 250 watt locals from Brazil and Argentina signing on on AST time zone schedules with regularity.

 

[K4WRF]

One cold winter Monday morning in 1983 received KORL 650 on automobile radio at the WSM transmitter site 15 miles south of Nashville, Tennessee while transmitter was down for maintenance. Out of many silent periods, I have never heard them again. Have not heard them in recent history due to station in Colombia remaining on the air around the clock.
w/

 

[radioman148]

Were you able to pick up any stateside DX from South America? If so, how far north into the US were you able to hear?

Easy catches were things on the Gulf of Mexico, or Californians with an almost total saltwater path.

But the fun thing was DXing the graveyards. Montana, MN, OR, WY etc. were common on channels like 1450 and 1400 that were locally clear to me.

Things like KFMB 540 in San Diego and KFRC 610 in San Francisco were regulars, as were things like WMCA in NY (when my 570 station was off for maintenance).

I Dxed stateside many times from central & southern Mexico in the 60s & 70s. However, when I tried to do it in the late 80s the frequencies were so crowded I couldn't get anything other than a few stations from southern Texas.

Back then, the mid to late 60's, except for 570, 590 and 800/810, every channel was clear after midnight for hundreds if not thousands of miles from Quito. I got 250 watt locals from Brazil and Argentina signing on on AST time zone schedules with regularity.

The California's or anything along the coast makes sense, but receiving the graveyards had to be a real kick.
That's truly amazing.

 

[radioman148]

One cold winter Monday morning in 1983 received KORL 650 on automobile radio at the WSM transmitter site 15 miles south of Nashville, Tennessee while transmitter was down for maintenance. Out of many silent periods, I have never heard them again. Have not heard them in recent history due to station in Colombia remaining on the air around the clock.
w/

Receiving KORL in Tennessee was quite a haul. Great catch!

 

[davideduardo]

The California's or anything along the coast makes sense, but receiving the graveyards had to be a real kick.
That's truly amazing.

I could have logged hundreds of graveyarders if I had spent more time DXing... one issue is that I was only about a kilometer from the site of HCRM 570 and HCFV 805, and they killed a big part of the band. What I did occasionally was DX for a few hours after they finished Sunday early AM maintenance, and then I would turn them back on from home via remote control.

 

[radioman148]

The California's or anything along the coast makes sense, but receiving the graveyards had to be a real kick.
That's truly amazing.

I could have logged hundreds of graveyarders if I had spent more time DXing... one issue is that I was only about a kilometer from the site of HCRM 570 and HCFV 805, and they killed a big part of the band. What I did occasionally was DX for a few hours after they finished Sunday early AM maintenance, and then I would turn them back on from home via remote control.

Knowing the exact operating schedules of your local stations was obviously very helpful to you.

 

[davideduardo]

The California's or anything along the coast makes sense, but receiving the graveyards had to be a real kick.
That's truly amazing.

I could have logged hundreds of graveyarders if I had spent more time DXing... one issue is that I was only about a kilometer from the site of HCRM 570 and HCFV 805, and they killed a big part of the band. What I did occasionally was DX for a few hours after they finished Sunday early AM maintenance, and then I would turn them back on from home via remote control.

Knowing the exact operating schedules of your local stations was obviously very helpful to you.

Being able to turn the market's only 3 24/7 stations off to DX occasionally was really helpful. It just meant extending the maintenance period a few hours for my enjoyment. I was most leary of turning off HCFV1 805, though, as it was the favorite station of the all night taxis and busses, so I tried to keep it cooking except for emergencies.