Ever liked a station you DXed?

[Ai4i]

No question about it, nine double oah radio.
WVWA, in the little town of Poundridge, NY.
Here is their not-so-sound story, in sound.

 

[gar hi]

When I was in Tampa, KDVV 100.3 "V 100" from Topeka, Kansas came in on E skip at least 3 different times.

They had a much better selection of classic rock songs than the usual classic rock stations that play the same worn out songs all day like Sweet Home Alabama, Hotel California, Every Breath You Take, Bohemian Rhapsody, Purple Haze, etc.


I'm really going to miss E skip this year. Hawaii is too far from the mainland and the chances of getting a double hop are so slim.

Has anyone ever heard anything via E skip in Hawaii?

 

[Icangelp]

The DX'ing I remember was some years ago and on AM.

I remember in the early 1960's getting a "man on the street show" on WIBC - 1070-AM in Indianapolis around their noon hour. Getting that station from here was basically easy. However, it was interesting to hear such a show then when so much of radio had gotten to DJ's and 45-rpm records. Interviewing passers-by on the street on radio was something from the 1940's into the early 1950's. I always liked the WIBC station break........."This is WIBC - Indianapolis - The Friendly Voice of Indiana. Easy-going and relaxing.

About that same time, I recall being out driving and picking up WCHO - 1250-AM from Washington Court house, Ohio and hearing the announcer giving results of the previous evening's youth baseball scores. The teams were apparently sponsored by local merchants...."Last night in local baseball....Bill's Pizza defeated Joe's Hamburgers, 5-3". Hometown news for the hometown people.

I'm guessing the man on the street show on WIBC was Jim Shelton's "Pick-a-pocket" show.

 

[gr8oldies]

Then there was that WMPO, Pomerantz or wherever that sh***t town is, there buddy!

No question about it, nine double oah radio.
WVWA, in the little town of Poundridge, NY.
Here is their not-so-sound story, in sound.

 

[gr8oldies]

Seriously....of course! Leaving aside the big rockers on the clear channels, my first exposure to Progressive Rock was DXing WRIF, Detroit on a portable from west central Ohio in 1971 or so. I remember hearing (not a comfortable level), WLCY, Tampa on 1380 and WCSC, Charleston, SC in the mess. I later had the opportunity to hear WLCY "like a local" when I was in Florida. I remember WTAR-790, Norfolk which was never strong, but I could hear their Saturday night oldies show come through the mess. I listened to that "like a local" from the Tidewater area one Saturday night in 1982. (it was always fun to hear something from it's local area that you'd DXed. I always wanted to hear WABC from New York in it's top 40 days but that didn't happen.
Shortwave-my Spanish improved listening to Ecos del Torbes on 4980 from San Christobal. There are some examples on YouTube. I remember "Lo Que Esta Noche Recuerda" which may still be on in automated form.

 

[davideduardo]

Shortwave-my Spanish improved listening to Ecos del Torbes on 4980 from San Christobal. There are some examples on YouTube. I remember "Lo Que Esta Noche Recuerda" which may still be on in automated form.

That show is still on, and live.

Although I have not heard much from Venezuela in recent years, in the past automation was not allowed due to the labor union that covers all broadcast employees. Given the nature of the current government, I doubt anything has changed.[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[Ai4i]

Then there was that WMPO, Pomerantz or wherever that sh***t town is,
there buddy!

Then there were also these guys.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Though not a unique format, I've enjoyed picking up WGCO (Big 98.3) in Midway, GA (serving Savannah) and their format playing 60s, 70s & 80s. It's a very comfortable presentation - something that's truly lacking in 21st century radio

It was also a regular in Daytona Beach, FL - once I learned how to put narrow ceramic filters in my radios to reject a local 98.1. I would listen all the way to and from work along highway 92 some days.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I never DX'ed for prestige or QSL cards. Only for the music, which was / is not available locally. So I liked every station I DX'ed. Or I wouldn't bother.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

If I really liked a station, and it was in the realm of regular listening, I would consider buying a receiver and antenna that would allow the greatest chance of hearing it. With all the new noise and FM band overcrowding and IBOC, that becomes more difficult. Even an MR-78 or MR-80 for FM is no longer very useful for first adjacents due to IBOC side bands. And even a 10 watt translator less than 20 miles away can wipe out a full power station in the same general direction. Even an RF-2200 for AM is similarly not as useful because of electrical noise, PSSAs, stations operating at high power, and IBOC. I think most of us are very annoyed with all this, and DXing or listening to stations with unique formats has become less fun. Same with digital TV making it nearly impossible to view stations outside the local market, many not viewable even 20 miles away if even slightly terrain shadowed, and VHF hobbled by low ERP.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

If I really liked a station, and it was in the realm of regular listening, I would consider buying a receiver and antenna that would allow the greatest chance of hearing it. With all the new noise and FM band overcrowding and IBOC, that becomes more difficult. Even an MR-78 or MR-80 for FM is no longer very useful for first adjacents due to IBOC side bands. And even a 10 watt translator less than 20 miles away can wipe out a full power station in the same general direction. Even an RF-2200 for AM is similarly not as useful because of electrical noise, PSSAs, stations operating at high power, and IBOC. I think most of us are very annoyed with all this, and DXing or listening to stations with unique formats has become less fun. Same with digital TV making it nearly impossible to view stations outside the local market, many not viewable even 20 miles away if even slightly terrain shadowed, and VHF hobbled by low ERP.

You just said a mouthful. I would add to that the general lack of diversity on the FM band - unless you are a politically correct minority. Over 55 need not apply. We are obsolete - we don't buy anything - so nobody makes commercials to target us. News to me, I buy lots of stuff, I - and most of the people my age I know - are millionaires with lots of money to spend. Just no commercials advertising to use any more. Unless it is viagra or diabetes stuff. Yeah, right, that sure applies to me - NOT!!! So what we get on the AM and FM dials are increasing numbers of foreign stations, instead of anything we can relate to or want to hear. I'm just biding my time, until the corporate buffoons bankrupt themselves with HD and bland corporate formats, and the foreign rabble compete themselves out of financial viability.

 

[schmave]

I'm actually surprised I didn't respond to this thread back when it was born. In any case, I liked (and like) a good number of stations I DX.
One of the first times I've ever DXd was back around the summer of 1989 when I was looking for a Cubs game on the radio. This was when our local cable system carried WWOR instead of WGN. It was awesome finding WGN radio on the dial, and that's what got me hooked on DXing. I can't say I've ever been a fan of all of WGN's programming because a lot of it is not aimed at me, but I have enjoyed my share of their shows over the years. Same for WSCR/WMAQ, WOWO, WFAN and others.

 

[charlestondxman]

It was also a regular in Daytona Beach, FL - once I learned how to put narrow ceramic filters in my radios to reject a local 98.1. I would listen all the way to and from work along highway 92 some days.

98.3 has now changed formats (a couple years back now) to classic country. I think Savannah alone has 5 full-power country signals (96.5, 102.1, 98.3, 106.9, 92.3).

It does have a very good signal. Easily audible even with a local on 98.1 during much of summer in Charleston.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

On the AM band - I used to like WLS AM stereo. It put a good signal into Houston at night, very little clutter underneath to cause platform motion. On the beach at Galveston, where ground conductivity is high, sometimes it would start coming in the middle of the afternoon (summer). That, of course, is when the station had a music format and I cared to listen.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

98.3 has now changed formats (a couple years back now) to classic country. I think Savannah alone has 5 full-power country signals (96.5, 102.1, 98.3, 106.9, 92.3).

It does have a very good signal. Easily audible even with a local on 98.1 during much of summer in Charleston.

Too bad to hear about the format change. That was a good station. That is one of our problems here in Houston, too. Too many country stations - but no oldies. And all the foreign language stuff you could ever (not) want.

 

[radioman148]

On the AM band - I used to like WLS AM stereo. It put a good signal into Houston at night, very little clutter underneath to cause platform motion. On the beach at Galveston, where ground conductivity is high, sometimes it would start coming in the middle of the afternoon (summer). That, of course, is when the station had a music format and I cared to listen.

That is amazing that you were able to hear WLS during the afternoon in the summer. Winter wouldn't surprise, but summer does.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

You just said a mouthful. I would add to that the general lack of diversity on the FM band - unless you are a politically correct minority. Over 55 need not apply. We are obsolete - we don't buy anything - so nobody makes commercials to target us. News to me, I buy lots of stuff, I - and most of the people my age I know - are millionaires with lots of money to spend. Just no commercials advertising to use any more. Unless it is viagra or diabetes stuff. Yeah, right, that sure applies to me - NOT!!! So what we get on the AM and FM dials are increasing numbers of foreign stations, instead of anything we can relate to or want to hear. I'm just biding my time, until the corporate buffoons bankrupt themselves with HD and bland corporate formats, and the foreign rabble compete themselves out of financial viability.

You said it too! Except that being a millionaire isn't what it used to be. The people you mention who get all the narrow demographic formats targeted to them are often the same people who think being a millionaire (including private sector 401Ks, SEPs and the like) is being extremely wealthy. The narrowcasting demographics you mention also are often headed to government type pensions which, over many years, end up paying out over a million dollars to them. These are the only people who seem to be retiring in their 50s now. Political candidates want to take that nest egg away from the so called "greedy millionaires" who had to provide for their own retirement, so the others will be able to keep their pensions and leave the "rich" with nothing. Add to that the low return on investment on stocks and bonds, near zero bank interest rates, the government and financial community even talking about going to negative interest rates, and making it difficult to "hoard" money, or even take it out of your own accounts. Bill Clinton even said recently that a "global crisis" is just around the corner, and reports say that the "1%" are the ones building underground bunkers. Bill Clinton. What a "right wing wacko".

 

[davideduardo]

You just said a mouthful. I would add to that the general lack of diversity on the FM band - unless you are a politically correct minority. Over 55 need not apply. We are obsolete - we don't buy anything - so nobody makes commercials to target us. News to me, I buy lots of stuff, I - and most of the people my age I know - are millionaires with lots of money to spend. Just no commercials advertising to use any more. Unless it is viagra or diabetes stuff. Yeah, right, that sure applies to me - NOT!!! So what we get on the AM and FM dials are increasing numbers of foreign stations, instead of anything we can relate to or want to hear. I'm just biding my time, until the corporate buffoons bankrupt themselves with HD and bland corporate formats, and the foreign rabble compete themselves out of financial viability.

Aw, Bruce. There is so much wrong here I don't know how to start.

Your recurring theme of calling stations in other-than-English "foreign" is just so bigoted I can't fathom it. Spanish is the original European language in Tejas and precedes the use of English by hundreds of years. Calling it "foreign" is like calling the Francophones in parts of Maine or the Cajun speakers in Louisiana "foreign". Heck, the name "Texas" is the "old Spanish" spelling of modern "Tejas".

Over-55's are not targeted by radio because there is no revenue to be had by doing so. Advertisers on radio do not target 55+ because older generations require more repetition, called "impressions", of an ad to produce a sale. At some point, the cost of the added impressions exceeds the profit on each sale. This is strictly an ROI decision and has nothing to do with whether older people have a greater net worth.

I could give a flying frog whether you need Viagra or not. The fact is that advertisers for drugs generally sell the visual image of the lifestyle improvement using the product can give. They don't show a guy with a woodie; they show a tender moment of a couple with the message that the product makes that moment possible. And that requires a textured, visual image.

As to ethnic or non-English language stations you have to realize that huge percentages of the population want and need those stations in Houston. For an historical reference, go back historically to New York City even in the pre-War years of the late 30's. WOV was the Italian voice of New York's big immigrant community back when the network affiliations were taken and the AFM made doing an all recorded music format impossible. So doing Italian programming was both a service and a good use for one of the independent AM stations; that kind of broadcasting is an honored and productive part of the last 70 years of American broadcasting.

And even today, you have far more station choices in English in Houston than you did in the 60's. With more stations, many will look for profitable niche opportunities. And I remind your that the two fuller signals in Spanish converted to a Spanish language format when the English efforts failed... particularly the old KLOL.

HD is not going to bankrupt anyone. It is a tiny ongoing expense in a market where the big billers do over $20 million a year in revenue. And the ethnic and non-English programmed stations are regulated by the market. As long as they are profitable, they will endure. If there are too many of a kind, the weakest will try something else.

Did I already refer to something being "bigoted"? Well, the use of the term "foreign rabble" is racist, bigoted and obscene.

 

[gr8oldies]

Last I heard it was online probably 6 years ago. They had a show with a live (or recorded) female announcer at 10pm their time; and then what sounded like an automated version of "lo Que Esta Noche Recuerda", with music, ID of the show and automated time checks. I'll have to check it out again though.

 

[gr8oldies]

I do remember!

Then there were also these guys.