GRAVEYARD DX (1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450, 1490)

[kudzooter]

Frequency checks were actually spread out all through the week, during those 12mid-6am hours (depending on the station's time zone). They used the ubiquitous 1000-cycle tone to allow the checker (mostly, Commercial Radio Monitoring Company, Kansas City) to be able to home in on the signal and give them their exact frequency. The National Radio Club's "DX News" regularly listed the scheduled f/c's for stations, as well as arranging special 30-minute or 1-hour "Courtesy Programs" to allow their members to log and verify stations that were otherwise pretty nearly impossible to catch.
My best 'graveyarder' back in my early 1950s DXing days was a 100-watter on (I believe) 1340 from Middletown NY, hauled in on my Zenith Trans-Oceanic in StuttgartAR. Think the CLs were WALL, but that was 55+ years and a lotta brain damage ago, hi!

 

[gar hi]

@gar: If you tried to null WFIL to get WQAM, you might only end up with WGAI in NC. Or not

cd

Maybe but not likely because they have a null in that direction and send most of their signal SE in the direction of Elizabeth City and Kill Devil Hills.

I'd sure like to know exactly what could be heard.

 

[fangio28]

Re: Middletown, NY call was and still is WALL!
Good goin' kudzu!

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Back in the 50s, there were very few All-nighters. Monday morning 12-6
was a time for "frequency checks" where an out-of-town monitor would
check a station's exact frequency over a 15-minute period.
DXing from NJ from 1951-1956, I verified KNOG (1340) Nogales, AZ (2131
miles); KPRW (1340) Pasco, WA (2285); KBLI (1490) Blackfoot, ID (1953);
& KBRO (1490) Bremerton, WA (2412) because the GYs were wide open.
I was hardly alone, many DXers had similar results.
I particularly remember barely hearing WSKI (1240) Montpelier, VT on a
DX test, then reading where they were heard simultaneously in NEW ZEALAND by several DXers! Oh, and my loggings were on a 5-tube Hallicrafters S40B
with a longwire (120') antenna, nothing else!
It was the golden age of DXing!

I generally wish I was younger, but talk like that almost makes me wish I was born prior to '53.

 

[travisl5678]

Haha, I'm 13 and couldn't believe there was a time when one could hear a Chicago station on the west coast.
My Graveyards
1230: KWG Stockton 50 mi 1kw
1240: Day only: KRJY Sacramento 60mi 1kw
1340: Jumble, day and night 1kw
1400: KVTO Berkeley about 25 miles 1kw
1450: KEST San Francisco about 30 mi 1kw
1490: KTOB Santa Rosa 65 mi 5kw
1450:

 

[317C50KW]

One of the AM DX clubs (NRC) maintains a database of AM graveyard achievements. They divide these as pre-1960 and post-1960. The graveyarder closest to me has been logged at a distance of nearly 1100 miles to the northeast of it's transmitter site. It was after 1960, though I don't know exactly when.

I like DX challenges but GY's always give me a massive headache!

 

[radioman148]

Haha, I'm 13 and couldn't believe there was a time when one could hear a Chicago station on the west coast.
My Graveyards
1230: KWG Stockton 50 mi 1kw
1240: Day only: KRJY Sacramento 60mi 1kw
1340: Jumble, day and night 1kw
1400: KVTO Berkeley about 25 miles 1kw
1450: KEST San Francisco about 30 mi 1kw
1490: KTOB Santa Rosa 65 mi 5kw
1450:

Not only could you hear Chicago on the west coast, but you could go coast to coast. In the early 60s in Seattle I heard Chicago, NYC, Boston & Philadelphia. Also in the 60s I heard WABC & WCBS in LA. As late as the early 80s I picked up WCBS in Southern California.
The good ole days of DX were exactly that.

 

[gar hi]

I can vouch for that as I've heard WCBS and WCAU in Northern California in the late 70s.

I also listened for WNBC on 660 at the time and even though I never heard actual voices from a signal, I did often hear what sounded like slight fading of some kind of signal with that familiar hum that's heard from the TV.

 

[asugeorge1]

Haha, I'm 13 and couldn't believe there was a time when one could hear a Chicago station on the west coast.
My Graveyards
1230: KWG Stockton 50 mi 1kw
1240: Day only: KRJY Sacramento 60mi 1kw
1340: Jumble, day and night 1kw
1400: KVTO Berkeley about 25 miles 1kw
1450: KEST San Francisco about 30 mi 1kw
1490: KTOB Santa Rosa 65 mi 5kw
1450:

Not only could you hear Chicago on the west coast, but you could go coast to coast. In the early 60s in Seattle I heard Chicago, NYC, Boston & Philadelphia. Also in the 60s I heard WABC & WCBS in LA. As late as the early 80s I picked up WCBS in Southern California.
The good ole days of DX were exactly that.

Here in Phoenix, you can still pick-up WBBM and WGN from Chicago, but you definitely need some patience and luck. The problem with “Radio 720”, WGN is that there is a lot of interference from KDWN out of Las Vegas. If you null it out and have a selective enough radio, WGN can actually come in pretty clear at times. WBBM “News Radio 78” is a bigger problem because there is a lot of spill-over interference from 770 KKOB out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. A very selective radio helps, but there is also a lot of interference from other stations on 780. There’s a small station out of Sedona on 780 that interferes sometimes, there’s a Mexican station on 780 that messes things up and, finally, the big trouble-maker is KOH out of Reno, Nevada. In the winter-time, WBBM is easier to pick-up and I actually heard it earlier tonight driving around Phoenix. Always nice to hear “WBBM news time is …”

You know you have WBBM coming in because it always seems to have a lower tone than the other stations on 780. I wonder why that is?

 

[BRNout]

Here in Phoenix, you can still pick-up WBBM and WGN from Chicago, but you definitely need some patience and luck. The problem with “Radio 720”, WGN is that there is a lot of interference from KDWN out of Las Vegas. If you null it out and have a selective enough radio, WGN can actually come in pretty clear at times. WBBM “News Radio 78” is a bigger problem because there is a lot of spill-over interference from 770 KKOB out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. A very selective radio helps, but there is also a lot of interference from other stations on 780. There’s a small station out of Sedona on 780 that interferes sometimes, there’s a Mexican station on 780 that messes things up and, finally, the big trouble-maker is KOH out of Reno, Nevada. In the winter-time, WBBM is easier to pick-up and I actually heard it earlier tonight driving around Phoenix. Always nice to hear “WBBM news time is …”

You know you have WBBM coming in because it always seems to have a lower tone than the other stations on 780. I wonder why that is?

Yep, I've tried to dx Chicago signals from Salt Lake City a number of times in recent years and have basically had no luck. WSCR is tough because of KBOI, then KLTT from the Denver market. WGN is clobbered by KDWN which really could not be nulled out successfully from that area. WBBM is clobbered during the early evening by KKOH Reno; later it's almost always KAZM from Sedona, which has an impressive signal to the north with a mere 250 watts. WLS is a non-starter because of the dominance of KDXU.

However, go just east of the valley - to a place like Park City that's east of the Wasatch Front - and you CAN pick up the likes of WGN, WBBM and (with a little luck) WSCR. WLS is still very tough because of KDXU. The farthest west that I got a whisper of WLS was Evanston, WY (78 miles NE of SLC). And, even there, it was barely readable and crushed by multiple other signals. Meanwhile, at the same time, WGN was dominating 720 and WBBM was coming in well too.

 

[radioman148]

Here in Phoenix, you can still pick-up WBBM and WGN from Chicago, but you definitely need some patience and luck. The problem with “Radio 720”, WGN is that there is a lot of interference from KDWN out of Las Vegas. If you null it out and have a selective enough radio, WGN can actually come in pretty clear at times. WBBM “News Radio 78” is a bigger problem because there is a lot of spill-over interference from 770 KKOB out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. A very selective radio helps, but there is also a lot of interference from other stations on 780. There’s a small station out of Sedona on 780 that interferes sometimes, there’s a Mexican station on 780 that messes things up and, finally, the big trouble-maker is KOH out of Reno, Nevada. In the winter-time, WBBM is easier to pick-up and I actually heard it earlier tonight driving around Phoenix. Always nice to hear “WBBM news time is …”

You know you have WBBM coming in because it always seems to have a lower tone than the other stations on 780. I wonder why that is?

Yep, I've tried to dx Chicago signals from Salt Lake City a number of times in recent years and have basically had no luck. WSCR is tough because of KBOI, then KLTT from the Denver market. WGN is clobbered by KDWN which really could not be nulled out successfully from that area. WBBM is clobbered during the early evening by KKOH Reno; later it's almost always KAZM from Sedona, which has an impressive signal to the north with a mere 250 watts. WLS is a non-starter because of the dominance of KDXU.

However, go just east of the valley - to a place like Park City that's east of the Wasatch Front - and you CAN pick up the likes of WGN, WBBM and (with a little luck) WSCR. WLS is still very tough because of KDXU. The farthest west that I got a whisper of WLS was Evanston, WY (78 miles NE of SLC). And, even there, it was barely readable and crushed by multiple other signals. Meanwhile, at the same time, WGN was dominating 720 and WBBM was coming in well too.

My how things have changed. In the 60s all four Chicago clears were easily heard up & down the west coast almost everynight. In addition WLS could be heard into the late 80s on my visits to Southern California (KDXU signed off at midnight). In those days WLS always had the best skywave of any of the Chicago stations.
My farthest capture of Chicago was hearing both WBBM & WLS in Hawaii in November 1978.

 

[crainbebo]

Haha, I'm 13 and couldn't believe there was a time when one could hear a Chicago station on the west coast.

I've heard WBBM 780 Chicago, WJR 760 Detroit, and WCKY 1530 Cincinatti, OH here in Bothell, WA.

-crainbebo

 

[radioman148]

Haha, I'm 13 and couldn't believe there was a time when one could hear a Chicago station on the west coast.

I've heard WBBM 780 Chicago, WJR 760 Detroit, and WCKY 1530 Cincinatti, OH here in Bothell, WA.

-crainbebo

Didn't you once get WLS or am I mistaken?

 

[travisl5678]

I certainly wouldn't forget if I picked up WLS

 

[asugeorge1]

I certainly wouldn't forget if I picked up WLS

I've picked up WLS-AM here in the suburbs Phoenix, but, again, like WBBM and WGN, it takes a lot of patience and luck. It is possible to pick up WLS if you null out KDXU and point your radio toward Chicago.

Now I wouldn't be able to do this if I lived in the heart of Phoenix. If I did, both locals 910 AM and 860 AM run IBOC and it filters over to 880 AM and 890 AM. Stupid HD radio!

 

[crainbebo]

I did get WLS back in September, as well as 550 KTZN Anchorage, AK.

-crainbebo

 

[radioman148]

I did get WLS back in September, as well as 550 KTZN Anchorage, AK.

-crainbebo

I thought so.

 

[gar hi]

I certainly wouldn't forget if I picked up WLS

I spent a lot of time in your area during the late 70s and early to mid 80s (Vacaville, Fairfield, Palo Alto) and in those days WLS had a good listenable signal most of the time at night and would start to come in around sunset.

I even heard them in AM stereo out there when they first started using it.

 

[BRNout]

I certainly wouldn't forget if I picked up WLS

I spent a lot of time in your area during the late 70s and early to mid 80s (Vacaville, Fairfield, Palo Alto) and in those days WLS had a good listenable signal most of the time at night and would start to come in around sunset.

I even heard them in AM stereo out there when they first started using it.

But that was back before KDXU powered up on 890. Now they own that frequency in the southwest. Not to mention KLFF muddying the waters a bit along CA's central coast. Granted, if I was able to dx night after night, perhaps I'd get lucky. But so far, no luck on WLS west of the Continental Divide or so. Came in fine though in Cheyenne and Casper, WY.

 

[kudzooter]

GarFla, about this time of year in 1968 I was doing the afternoon drive show on 56/WHBQ, Memphis. I was reading a live commercial with my earphones on "air monitor" one afternoon when it was time to flip to our nighttime DA. Imagine how less-than-powerful I felt as I suddenly heard a WQAM jingle in my earphones!