• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Florida-Alabama Gulf Coast area

cyberdad said:
KTIB (Thibideaux, LA) used to be a regular....if you nulled R. Progreso. I'm pretty sure they're off the air....and have been for a couple of years at least.
Click to expand...

Yes, KTIB in Thibodaux was off the air for a fairly long time a few years ago, but a check of FCC correspondence shows they returned to air in 2007. The station debuted a new format called "The Balcony," featuring adult hits sometime last year, if I recall correctly. I've recently heard them around sunset here in East Texas and a few times at night.
 
Zach said:
other changes to note in your neck of the woods are all on FM: The Catholic AM 1230 in P'cola has a translator now on 103.3 and it's got a good signal; I can hear it in Foley with one of my radios.  Goforth has powered up the translator on 101.1 from the TV 44 tower near Seminole, relaying WBHY-FM for the time being.  It's got a huge signal and can probably be heard on the beach as well.  It's eventually going to move into Pensacola proper for WBSR's sports radio format.  Supposedly AM 980 WRNE's translator is on the air from the Cat Country tower on 106.9 but I haven't heard anything there yet.  It's also due to move into town with a more central location, soon.  And WNRP is to pick up a translator on 106.5 that's moving in from Milton.   Dunno the progress of that one.
Click to expand...

Here's what I've come up with so far on these....

The only two I'm hearing are 101.1--weak with the relay of WBHY, and an even weaker signal on 103.3.  103.3 is talk (barely audible), so it could be the Catholic radio translator.  I was also hearing talk on 106.5 (another weak signal), but what I heard didn't match what was on WNRP's AM signal on 1620.

I've also managed to positively ID the source of the '60s oldies I was hearing on 1000 khz.  Indeed it was WYBT from Blountstown, FL.  This proved to be rather difficult.  First there was the matter of the very weak signal.  Then there was the absence of any talk whatsoever.  No jocks, no commercials, no news/weather/sports etc. Basically just music.  At first I thought they could've been running True Oldies Channel or something else off the bird.  But there was no imaging or identifier. 

At one point I thought maybe it was the ghost of WCFL....but no Jim Stagg, Joel Sebastian, Chuck Blore Jingles, episodes of Chickenman, etc., etc., so I ruled that out!  ;D

Seriously, I didn't know what the source was of the programming, but given that it was just music and one female voice, I presumed that it was all internally generated robot stuff.  The last couple of days have been tough for DX lots of atmospheric noise from thunderstorm activity playing havoc with a signal that was fragile to begin with.  Finally, today the noise (and the thunderstorms) abated somewhat.  Then at a little after 1pm, at the conclusion of "Keep on Dancing" by the Gentrys, the recorded female voice came through with an audible "golden oldies, WYBT".  Mystery over.
 
Weather here has been lousy (as Zach and icybluelake can surely attest). But during a break in the action yesterday early afternoon, I was able to get out into an open area and do a bandscan. I'm posting the highlights....omitting the local and semi-local stuff unless there's something of particular interest. Receiver is a barefoot DX-375. Location is the beach on the gulf of Mexico at the Florida-Alabama state line. Florida side of the line by a little less than 100 yards. 22 miles WSW of downtown Pensacola.

530: R Enciclopedia-weak/fair
540: WFLF-weak but steady. No apparent trace of WASG on STA or anything in the wake of their tower being taken down
560: Weak KLVI mixing with weak WOOF
570. R. Reloj-weak No trace of Tampa Bay area station
590. R. Nacional-very weak with WDIZ (fair/good) nulled
600: WVOG-fair/good
620: WDAE-fair/weak
640: R. Progreso-weak. Something underneath (KTIB)
660: WXQW-This one always amazes me. 10kw ND stick, 30 miles away and it's probably a stretch to even call the signal "fair".
670: R. Rebelde-fair/weak. Strongest Cuban daytime
680: WGES-Weak
690: New Orleans. Catholic Radio (at least this week)-fair/good
710: R. Rebelde Chorus-weak under semi-local WNTM (fair)
720: WRZN (or whatever)-weak
740: WMSP-very weak. Something unidentifiable underneat (KRTH?)
800: WSHO-fair
820: Tampa Bay area-weak/fair
870: WWL good (24/7)
890: R. Progreso-barely!
930: Sarasota-weak
940: WYLD-fair
950: R. Reloj-very weak with something (in English) underneath
970: WFLA-weak under semi-local 980 WRNE (good)
990: New Orleans-very weak
1000: WYBT-very weak, but mystery unraveled
1010: Catholic Radio-weak. Haven't IDed yet. Did Tampa sports talker flip?
1040: WHBO-fair. For whatever reason, strongest Tampa area station
1060: WLNO-weak. Weaker than in the past and getting clobbered by local 1070 highly directional blowtorch (good)
1130: WQFX-weak. 1kw daytimer with gospel music and horrendous audio from Mississippi gulf coast.
1150: Tampa Bay-very weak
1180: R. Rebelde "chorus"-weak/fair
1200: WINK-fair/poor...which is actually rather impressive!
1250: Tampa Bay-weak
1280: ESPN Deportes from New Orleans-weak
1300: Tampa Bay- very weak
1340: WTAN-very weak under local 1330 WEBY (good)
1380: Tampa Bay-weak
1420: Tampa Bay-very weak
1510: La Rose, Louisiana-fair
1600: KLEB, fair-good
1620: All semi-local WNRP-fair. No trace of Cuba....even when nulling WNRP
1700: Blank. No KVNS. I was getting a pretty good signal in French Creole from Miami a few days ago before sunset.

I'll try to do another scan at night before we leave on Wednesday. I haven't gotten out to do that yet due to the adverse conditions (and being out with Mrs. Cyberdad). I leave the harsh environment DXing to crainbebo. That's his job...and he has some impressive catches to show for it. I'm too much of a wuss myself! ;D
 
I hereby change my description of myself from "wuss" to "super-wuss"! But obviously there's quite a payoff for what was endured on the expedition. I'm familiar with Cannon Beach, btw. My college roomate has a place there a block away from the waterfront.
 
I've been on the Gulf Coast for a week, and between electrical storms and electrical interference, I've had little DXing success. I'm always struck by the presence and strength of Cuban signals at night, but haven't been able to hear much of them during the day. What about Mexican stations? I remember hearing several in past years; this time I've only heard XEX 730, 1050 Monterrey and 900 Mexico City. No big surprises there. All stations I hear from time to time way up north. I'd expect to hear a lot more at night, and maybe I will, but not so far.

Tampa Bay Area stations waft in over the Gulf wonderfully during the day, and it's nice to learn all about the Rays' own view of their prospects this season, along with news from warmer and sunnier climes. Other than that, Florida stations aren't very familiar to me, and the reception around here is remarkably poor anyway. Which brings me to my main observation about this region, which I notice this year more than ever -- the ground conductivity down here seems not just poor, but abysmal. Wow. Cyberdad, you're right about a station on 660 with a decent stick and 10kW -- the signal is remarkably poor just 30 or 35 miles away. Amazing. Imagine how it would get out if it were sitting in, say, Yankton, South Dakota.

Other than that, standard stuff at night:

530, the great Cuban Encyclopedia
550 Cuba
560 nothing IDed
570 You already know.
580 nothing
590 More Cuba
600 Cuba
610 through 640, haven't noticed much at night but maybe due to bad conditions
650 WSM, surprisingly not so strong!
660 No WFAN! No Mobile!
670 A struggling or absent WSCR, mixed with Cuba
680 Atlanta
690 Cuba again? Can't recall --- this is all New Orleans here during the daytime; no Birmingham or Jacksonville from what I can tell
700 WLW, surprisingly weak or absent
710 Cuba (I'm not likely to hear any WAQI mixed in here, am I? Or Shreveport? Certainly can't hear Mobile here at night)
720 WGN, not bad
730 XEX, always nice to hear
740 weak KTRH; no Orlando or Toronto that I could detect
750 WSB, sounding strangely weaker than it does for me at home in Cedar Rapids, IA
760 no WJR yet
770 WABC occasionally, weakly, and the only New Yorker I've heard this year
780 WBBM -- like a security blanket for me haha
790 can't recall what I've heard here
800 No hint here of Bonaire. Or CKLW or XEROK either
820 WBAP, no surprise
830 Cuba I think
840 WHAS, no surprise
Not sure what I've heard on 850 or 860; not Toronto
870 WWL 24/7 but not nearly as strong as I'd expect nighttime, nor daytime considering the saltwater path
880 no WCBS this year (my other security blanket)
890 all Cuba and NO WLS, which I have heard numerous times in the past
900 I assume I'm hearing Mexico City, occasionally, but haven't IDed it from here this year
....
1050 Monterrey
1060 Not sure what I have heard but it's been interesting and active, and all Spanish
1070 need to ID this -- sound like R&b or black gospel but it's not WSIA
1080 WBAP
1090 nothing
1100 WTAM
1110 nothing yet; hoped to hear Mexico
1120 KMOX
1130 KWKH; no hint of WBBR
1140 I think I'm hearing Cuba but no ID, again hoped to hear Mexico
1150 Baton Rouge, LA
...
1180 Cuba, a loud but choppy signal. I'm pretty sure I am not hearing Radio Marti here, but what might account for the strength and choppiness?
1200 WOAI, no surprise there.
Haven't gone much below 1200, but again hope I can hear more Mexican signals.
 
Tampa Bay Area stations waft in over the Gulf wonderfully during the day, and it's nice to learn all about the Rays' own view of their prospects this season, along with news from warmer and sunnier climes.
Click to expand...

And from here on the west coast of Florida daytime at the Gulf, I can hear stations from the panhandle to and including Texas.

I think the beaches here are one of the best DXing places there is.
 
Gar fla, you can probably hear some of the panhandle stations better than the locals can. Waving hello to you from across the Gulf! Hahaha
 
icybluelake said:
Gar fla, you can probably hear some of the panhandle stations better than the locals can. Waving hello to you from across the Gulf! Hahaha
Click to expand...

If that isn't true....it may not be all that far off. Although the Tampa Bay stations make the hop to Pensacola better than the other way around. The two Pensacola daytime "blowtorch level" statoins, 1070 and 1330, are very directional and not aimed to the southeast.

I finally did my night bandscan last night. Similar results to icybluelake, but here's what I can add.

690: As WTIX this was reliable here 24/7. Now its weaker than before days, gone at night. I usually hear Cuba at night, but weak.
740: CFZM has been in the mix each of the past two nights for me, but not on top.
830: Might be Cuba....but night also be Norco, Louisiana (near New Orleans)
890: I heard WLS break through a couple of times last night, but mostly it's been all Cuba
900: I'm pretty sure you're hearing Mexico City. They've traditionally had a pretty decent signal here.
1000: I had XEOY blasting last night....there seemed to be a very good mid-band path to Mexico. No trace of WMVP,
1050: XEG also blasting....strongest I've heard them in a long time.
1060: XEEP very good (but not as strong as XEOY and XEG). Hadn't heard them for a while. Also good today at sunrise
1080: WBAP? Now THAT'S impressive! ;D. Seriously, I haven't heard KRLD on this trip, but have snagged them in the past.
1090: No apparent trace of KAAY on 5kw STA. They're normally a fairly easy catch here....although the signal isn't anything special.
1150: I'm impressed that WJBO routinely makes it through the nighttime slop, and sometimes surfaces in the daytime mix.
1220: I was hearing instrumental music and Spanish. XEB? It's been so long since I've heard them, I thought they were off.t
1370: WCOA on top....barely. The only "local" regularly audible here at night. No loss. Once great local station, now just canned junk.
1510: WLAC fair/good
1530: WCKY good...(business as usual)
1620: R. Rebelde...pounding Pensacola's WNRP
1700: Good signal from Miami...but KVNS in the background.
 
Such interesting differences we have even though we're all relatively close to one another. Like 1620 for instance. At night it's neither Rebelde or WNRP for me, just an unidentifiable jumbled mess. And I actually heard WLS rather clearly the night before the storms. Usually it's hammered to oblivion. And on 1000 every night I've checked it's been a reasonable to solid KTOK from OKC, not WMVP or Mexico. 900 isn't Mexican for me either. I managed to snag WGOK from Mobile on their paltry 381 watts of night power.

I think 660 could be a better performer if Cumulus took better care of it. It usually is running highly distorted audio or audio with a hum, or nothing at all. I figure they probably treat the hardware as bad as they treat the audio. 660's coverage towards Mobile is much, much better, though, thanks to being close to Mobile Bay.

I also got wind that Robertsdale's 1000 has changed calls from WBZR to WDXZ. New owner bringing back the old Dixie 1000 name? They're supposedly installing new equipment now, so it may be back on air before long. So grab your 1000 logs while you can, they'll probably leave it on all night just like all the other owners have. ;)
 
Interesting stuff -- Zach, some of my catches may have been unique to the one night I got some radio time and maybe not representative of what typically happens around here. And cyberdad, you didn't know that sometimes WBAP sometimes shows up on 1080?? I thought everyone knew about that! (Well, only in my feeble mind...hahaha)
 
icybluelake said:
Interesting stuff -- Zach, some of my catches may have been unique to the one night I got some radio time and maybe not representative of what typically happens around here. And cyberdad, you didn't know that sometimes WBAP sometimes shows up on 1080?? I thought everyone knew about that! (Well, only in my feeble mind...hahaha)
Click to expand...

Well, you used to be able to catch WBAP on 570 on a daily basis! So there would be precedent for any 21st century dial hopping.

Zach: I'll watch for the new Robertsdale 1000 next time I'm down there. I've never noticed them being on all night, as the signal would probably get lost by the time it got to the beach at night. During the daytime, the signal was so-so at best down there.

As for what I'm hearing on 1000 at night I didn't hear KTOK on this trip (that I could ID). XEOY was dominant again last night (Tues), but not as strong as the night before. Same goes for XEG on 1050. I think it may be just a short-lived propagation fluke. Aided by the saltwater path perhaps.

But...last night and before dawn this morning, XEEP from Mexico City was blasting like a local. Absolutely all alone and crystal clear (with good audio) until the Pensacola (Cantonement) 1070 came on and started splattering.

And as far as the local 660 goes, I've suspected all along that the facility is being neglected. I've noticed the lousy audio myself. But when it comes to horrible audio, that 1130 from the Mississippi Gulf Coast is in a class all its own. I think they're using a 1962 Remco Caravelle hooked up to an old Delco car battery with an original equipment microphone. ;D
 
I tried some daytime poking around today, a few feet from the seashore, but to no avail. But Tampa Bay-area stations were all over the place, which I'm sure is fairly typical. But nothing from WTBN 570, WLCC 760, the 860, and nothing from WHFS 1010 although a decent signal from 1040. 620, 680, 820, 970, 1110, 1200 and 1250 were all there and sounding good with the exception of a weak 680.

Nothing from west of New Orleans, but maybe that's typical. All I could hear from Cuba was 1180, no surprise from that one.

Late last night, I pulled in a lot of stations from up north. WSCR was on top of the Cuban 670; WLS was strong with little or no hint of the Cuban 890, WJR, WFAN (which I've heard here before) made it in all right, and WOR! That one surprised me. From the west, KTRH 740 was pretty strong. Still haven't heard Orlando.

540 was interesting -- no WFLA that I could hear, but WDAK Columbus, GA was strong at times (maybe means that they didn't power down?), a signal with pop/top 40 music from somewhere that I couldn't ID. I'm wondering what that might have been. I also heard the Mexican anthem at midnight -- was it San Luis Potosí? If so, that's a first for me anywhere and I'm thrilled, but I couldn't hear an ID.

680 was also interesting: a mix of WPTF Raleigh, what I assume was KKYX San Antonio and WCNN Atlanta.

I heard Radio Reloj on both 860 and 1020, despite all the stations from up north and fewer Cubans than usual.

Also, XEEP 1060 was strong for me too but mixed with Spanish that sounded like a radionovela. XEW 900 and XEG 1050 were there again. I heard Spanish on 1000 but it didn't sound like Radio Mil from Mexico City. No ID.

Overall, good but kind of fickle conditions and maybe an interesting catch or two.
 
I have to say, these threads from folks DXing in my neck of the woods and down around Tampa have really re-kindled a desire for me to do AM DX, something I kinda abandoned for FM. I'll be trying for some of these Mexican signals I had no idea were viable!

icybluelake's 680 report is another oddity. I don't recall ever hearing KKYX or WPTF; for me it's almost always sports WMFS from Memphis.

(off topic: gee, I don't suppose any of these Mexican AMs broadcast in C-Quam stereo, eh?)
 
I didn't ID KKYX, but did hear classic country music and thought it had to be them. Probably, but maybe not. I did ID WPTF, but haven't heard Memphis. I have also heard WCNN from Atlanta. They could just be unusual conditions. Thrilled to hear you're more interested in DXing again -- clearly it's a great region for it.
 
icybluelake said:
WDAK Columbus, GA was strong at times (maybe means that they didn't power down?)
Click to expand...

WDAK was strong in Nashville at the time, too...first time I've heard them here: I suspect your theory is correct!
 
I've wanted to come back to that region for vacation for a while. I'd be lying if the chance to do a fresh round of DXing wasn't a factor as well! It's been nine years and I feel I'd be a lot more educated now.
The lack of hearing anything west of New Orleans in that area during the day doesn't surprise me too much. The path between NO and Beaumont and Houston is almost entirely land. I think KTRH is covered up by the time you hit Baton Rouge. I can't speak to KLVI. When I moved from Houston back to Columbus in November 2009, I drove and my aunt and I carried KLVI quite a ways to the east of Beaumont before my car radio, which has never been particularly good with AM when the engine is on. I don't remember how far east we carried the signal before we switched to WWL.
At night, San Antonio on 680 wouldn't surprise me. Used to hear it all the time at night in Houston with a very good signal.
 
Great stuff guys! My two cents....

680: I used to hear them on the beach at night all the time....but not much lately, and not at all on this last trip. I was mostly getting WCNN with occasional visits from WPTF. I spent last night in Memphis on the way home, and noticed that 680 seemed to be noticably weaker than in the past (my experience going back to the '70s WMPS days). Something going on here? As for San Antonio, I've heard them a couple of times in the past...particularly around sunset while still on day power. Didn't catch them on this trip.

740: These past couple of weeks I was hearing a very weak WMSP from Montgomery, with something barely audible unerneath (presumably KTRH. At night it was a mix of mostly KTRH with Spanish and CFZM underneath. None of these stations was able to dominate the channel for more than a few minutes. I've never heard Orlando day or night.

From west of New Orleans (daytime): I had KLVI mixing with WOOF on 560 during my just-ended stay. Both weak. In the past WOOF has usually been all alone. Also, in the past, I've had KTIB on 640. I know they were off, and then I believe they came back on. Whatever, I haven't heard them for quite a few years....although on this trip, I did hear something under Cuba. Don't know if that was KTIB back on or something else. Finally, I was getting WJBO from Baton Rouge (mixing with Tampa) on 1150. This would be mostly land path, so I was pretty surprised. WJBO was also mostly on top of 1150 at night.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom