Ever liked a station you DXed?

[radioman148]

Oh yes, there were many stations that appealed to me when I was growing up in the Dallas area. Reception was a lot a lot easier back then, so besides the local Top-40's KLIF 1190 and KBOX 1480 in Dallas (and Fort Worth's KFJZ 1270 and KXOL 1360), I always sought out Oklahoma City's KOMA 1520 (home of the "KOMA Kissing Tone") and stations from Little Rock like KAAY, KLRA 1010 (silenced years ago), KARN 920 and even KALO 1250. From St. Louis I enjoyed the Top 40 on KXOK 630, the "full service" programming on KMOX, an occasional visit from KWK 1380 and some good R&B on KATZ 1600. Two Top-40's from Louisiana were on my list, too: WNOE 1060 from New Orleans (with jocks like Dan Diamond and "Long John Silver Bluebeard") and a fun little station from Lake Charles, KLOU 1580.

My absolute DX favorites from that era will come as no real surprise to many: the Big 89 WLS and WLAC 1510. WLS was a fantastic station with great jocks, of course, but it was pretty cautious about breaking new records. On the other hand, I still remember John R. on WLAC playing songs days or weeks before they were on my local stations. Plus you could order them by mail from Ernie's Record Mart in Nashville!

WNOE was a good station in the early & mid 60s. The only problem for me living in the Chicago area was that I could only hear it in the fall & winter around sunset before they lowered their power. KYW cleaned their clock signalwise in the Chicago area.

 

[Nick Gerard]

As a kid in Buffalo, NY in the 60s I enjoyed a show on WCCO called "Honest to Goodness." It was a quiz show where the 2 hosts would call listeners who'd sent in postcards. The question had an increasing jackpot ($8.30, of course) with each incorrect guess.

In 30 minutes they'd only call 3 people, but the banter of the hosts and listeners was a lot of fun to listen to. This was, of course, back in the day of gentle, folksy, big smooth voice MOR banter. I wanted to be those guys.

Every few months they'd have a special DX edition of the show where they'd call folks around the country who'd sent postcards. I had sent mine, but never got a call . Probably just as well. As a 12 year old, I'd probably have frozen from stage fright on that big clear channel 50kw'er!

Nick Seneca

 

[Icangelp]

Like others, I got started AM DXing as a result of my searching for popular music stations.

Along the way, I found the usual midwest and eastern suspects, but I also found a few interesting and unusual music and non-music stations.

1120/KMOX - Started listening in the early '60s. When I started listening, their talk format was unique. As professional as a station can get.
870/WWL - I've enjoyed listening to WWL, partly because Louisiana is so unique. Kind of like our Quebec, but without all the anger and attitude.
1090/KAAY - Lived in Leawood KS for a couple of years in the late 60s, DXed KAAY, and became a steady listener to their legendary underground rock program.
1510/WLAC - One of the first out of town stations I heard as a kid. I tuned in almost every night just to hear a few minutes of "John R" and his music.
1360/WSAI - Chanced upon them while DXing in 1960. Wasn't an easy catch from my Indy neighborhood in the early 60's, but WSAI was the place I could hear the one and only, Ron Brittain and his tulu babies.

I know this thread was started primarily for AM, but also in the 60's, we used regularly tune in XERH/XEHH/XERR on the short waves, partly to hear the "Pepsi Cola" commericials in spanish. The shortwave frequencies relayed the XERH siganal on 1500 or was it 1550 KHZ?

 

[jd]

You had it right the first time. XERH was on 1500 back then.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Some of the skywave DX regulars I listened to in the 1960s and 1970s were WABC, WLS, WCFL, WBZ, WKYC, WOWO, WSAI, WMEE, WING, WLAC, and WAKR.

 

[cd637299]

Per Icangelp's post....KMOX is one of the few 50 kW I-A AMs left that still has quite a reach. I hear it faintly, but somewhat consistent, in south Florida. Can't say the same about many of the others anymore.

cd

 

[radioman148]

Per Icangelp's post....KMOX is one of the few 50 kW I-A AMs left that still has quite a reach. I hear it faintly, but somewhat consistent, in south Florida. Can't say the same about many of the others anymore.

cd

KMOX has a great signal until you get to the far west then KPNW takes over on 1120.

 

[cd637299]

Yeah I suppose KPNW rules WA/OR/CA, even AK/HI (I heard them when stationed near Anchorage). But at least 1120 is not peppered with 2500-watters just outside the 750-mile protection......

Here in south FL, I don't know any NYC I-A's that are listenable anymore, since the FCC eased it all. Sweetwater/Miami has an 880 at night, Lee County has 770 (as does Cuba, ha ha), 660 is unlistenable....720 & 780 in Chicago, and 700 Cincy, *would* behave like KMOX if not for my 1st adjacents here.....

cd

 

[radioman148]

Yeah I suppose KPNW rules WA/OR/CA, even AK/HI (I heard them when stationed near Anchorage). But at least 1120 is not peppered with 2500-watters just outside the 750-mile protection......

Here in south FL, I don't know any NYC I-A's that are listenable anymore, since the FCC eased it all. Sweetwater/Miami has an 880 at night, Lee County has 770 (as does Cuba, ha ha), 660 is unlistenable....720 & 780 in Chicago, and 700 Cincy, *would* behave like KMOX if not for my 1st adjacents here.....

cd

You're right about KPNW being quite strong in Hawaii as I heard it there several years ago.
The great DX days of 40 & 50 years ago are long gone sadly. Here in the Chicago area KFI was an easy & clear catch practically everynight.
Now 640 is like a graveyard here.

 

[mimo]

I was a teen in the 80's in western Canada. AM radio was king. My favourite station from the time I was 10 onwards was Edmonton's 630 CHED. They were a lengendary top 40 station and they rocked until 1993. I lived 3 hours south in Calgary and prefered them over the only local choice at the time, 1140 CKXL. When I moved to Vancouver in the mid 80's I couldn't hear CHED, but Calgary finally got a decent AM hit music station in AM 106, which is now CKMX 1060. By that time my musical tastes were begining to broaden, and Seattle had 2 of the most unique radio stations I had ever heard. We didn't have stations like these in Canada. 1250 KKFX (k-fox) was a soul music station (urban I guess they'd call it now) and it was my daytime station. It was 3 hours away by car but clear enough to enjoy. At night, it was "16 KJET" (1590 actually). They became my favourite station but were almost impossible to listen to in the day. I'd have to turn the radio all the way up and even then it would only fade in a little. I still love the music KJET played, Alternatve during the mid 80's was amazing, and it really shaped who I am today. I had been DXing literally from the time I figured out how a radio worked.

 

[MarioMania]

I used too listen to CKLG 730 (LG73) from Vallejo..like a long time,

 

[Bongwater]

Whilst it is true KPNW does wipe out KMOX in much of the Pacific Northwest, it's effect is more profound in Western Washington and up and down the coast.

East of The Cascades (in Spokane, circa 1998) I could occasionally pick up KMOX 1120 (in the splatter of KFAB 1110, which REALLY came in loud and clear.....) While the dominant station on 770 was KKOB, I once faintly picked up WABC in the very wee hours when KKOB was off the air for some reason, then KUOM started coming in around 4am.......

CJAM/CKMX 1060 during it's CHR/alternative rock days of the late '80s/early '90s was great listening. Boomed in as loud as a local in downtown Seattle (even better as you went further north of Seattle) with little phase shifting. Driving to Eastern Washington overnight was often a blast as I could hear them clear from Point A to Point B almost seamlessly.....

What turned me on to DXing was picking up KFI Los Angeles in the late '70s, early '80s after the then sunset sign off of KGDN (now KCIS) AM 630.

Nobody else I knew DXed AM (an acquired taste I guess.)

It was super cool to blow everybody's minds by "predicting" the next big hits that would be on the radio in the Seattle area a few weeks later (because I caught on quickly that LA stations always seemed to play them long before they became national hits everywhere else, or at least in the Seattle area...) This was at the end of their Top 40 run. And this was actually how I got my first job in a record store.....

Then they went AC and my little "psychic power" was shot.........

 

[radioman148]

Whilst it is true KPNW does wipe out KMOX in much of the Pacific Northwest, it's effect is more profound in Western Washington and up and down the coast.

East of The Cascades (in Spokane, circa 1998) I could occasionally pick up KMOX 1120 (in the splatter of KFAB 1110, which REALLY came in loud and clear.....) While the dominant station on 770 was KKOB, I once faintly picked up WABC in the very wee hours when KKOB was off the air for some reason, then KUOM started coming in around 4am.......
Then they went AC and my little "psychic power" was shot.........

Isn't there a 770 in Seatlle which would kill WABC for you?
I picked up WABC in Seattle in the early 60s when the AM band was all clear at night.

 

[mimo]

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that 770 in Seattle was daytime only for the longest time. Albuquerque always owned the frequency at night.

 

[radioman148]

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that 770 in Seattle was daytime only for the longest time. Albuquerque always owned the frequency at night.

That's true, but I thought he was talking about the 90s. By then I believe 770 in Seattle was on at night.

 

[Bongwater]

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that 770 in Seattle was daytime only for the longest time. Albuquerque always owned the frequency at night.

That's true, but I thought he was talking about the 90s. By then I believe 770 in Seattle was on at night.

770 Seattle was pretty directional at night. It could be faintly heard east of the Cascades sometimes when they went to full power/non-directional at sunrise, but in the middle of the night, it didn't stand a chance against KKOB, which came in FAR louder.......

 

[Smittian]

I was a big fan of KWKH back in the day. Used to listen to Larry Scott do his overnight show back in the '80's. KVOO was another one I'd dial in on purpose. Listened to Jack Buck and Mike Shannon do Cardinals games on KMOX. Even these days, if I'm in the car at night, I may tune in WSM if it's coming in clearly enough.

 

[radioman148]

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that 770 in Seattle was daytime only for the longest time. Albuquerque always owned the frequency at night.

That's true, but I thought he was talking about the 90s. By then I believe 770 in Seattle was on at night.

770 Seattle was pretty directional at night. It could be faintly heard east of the Cascades sometimes when they went to full power/non-directional at sunrise, but in the middle of the night, it didn't stand a chance against KKOB, which came in FAR louder.......

KKOB did have a great signal in the west. I heard it in Hawaii when I was there.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that 770 in Seattle was daytime only for the longest time. Albuquerque always owned the frequency at night.

That's true, but I thought he was talking about the 90s. By then I believe 770 in Seattle was on at night.

770 Seattle was pretty directional at night. It could be faintly heard east of the Cascades sometimes when they went to full power/non-directional at sunrise, but in the middle of the night, it didn't stand a chance against KKOB, which came in FAR louder.......

KKOB did have a great signal in the west. I heard it in Hawaii when I was there.

I agree about KKOB's killer signal. I may only be 7 miles from 760 KFMB, which runs 50kW at night with plenty of juice directed at me (and pretty much totally overloads my Tecsun PL-606 when I couple it to a Select-A-Tenna and utility ground, and with just the internal ferrite still indicates 82dBu at night). Using just the internal ferrite of a Pansonic RQ-SW20 that's about as selective as the Sony SRF-M37W, though, I can usually get a fairly clear signal from KKOB at night. It does help that KKOB & KFMB's headings from me are approximately at right angles to each other.

As for liking a station I've DXed.... I'd say KDIS (when they were C-Quam), and similar-format stations (forget their calls) in Fresno & Denver would make the list. For now, though, I listen to KMIK a lot. Also when I can get it I'll tune in KKDD because they have analog audio out to at least 8 kHz if not wider. (I don't usually hear them midday, though, as KZSB dominates 1290 here, in spite of being 1/10th the power and twice the distance, thanks to a mostly saltwter path.) Speaking of KZSB, I used to like listening to that 500-watt station 195 miles away when they had a nostalgia music format as KZBN.
One FM station I wish I could DX would be KZPO in Lindsey, CA. KVYB clobbers the frequency here, though, and I'd also have to get past Temecula's co-channel.

 

[charlestondxman]

When I was growing up in Charleston, I used to listen to a lot of AM clear channels (especially around 10 years ago or so, when clear channels still had distinctive sounds, instead of the talk and sports that fill almost every one today).

I always listened to WFAN and WCBS to get New York sports and news coverage which wasn't as easy to get before the social media era.

I was a faithful WWL listener (it used to come in clear almost every night here). I used to wake up at 6 o'clock, and listened to their morning show. I remember it with Bob Delgiorno and health expert Mackie Shilstone. WHAS was also distinctive because of their great jingles.

The first DX signal I remember getting was WKQL on 96.9 (over my local) about 1999 or 2000. I remember liking their presentation. When they simulcasted on 600 AM (a very easy get every day here) around 2002, I was a faithful listener.