HUGE aurora with 4 new logs here 3/11/2012

[crainbebo]

With the big aurora conditions going on, I received four new logs tonight, all CA!!

960: KNEW Oakland, CA; 925 area code mention and end of MarketWatch news. New #441, 670 mi, 5kw. Have caught this callsign before, but on 910 before it switched to KKSF.

1230: KWG Stockton, CA; with EWTN/Immaculate Heart Radio programming // 1240 KNRY Monterey, CA, 760 miles, also caught. NEW #442, 668 mi, 900w!! Also tentative 1400 KVTO Berkeley, CA with Chinese talk, but no IDs.

1340: KOMY La Selva Beach, CA; ID "KOMY" at 2100 PDT under likely KEWE w/ FSR. NEW #443, 734 mi, 850w.

1260: KSFB San Francisco, CA; with EWTN/IHR // 1230 KWG and 1240 KNRY. NEW #444, 683 mi, 1kw over OPEN OCEAN!! Looking at the RL maps, looks like 100w-or less, is pointed N! The big juice is into the ocean! WOW!!

-crainbebo

 

[fybush]

1260: KSFB San Francisco, CA; with EWTN/IHR // 1230 KWG and 1240 KNRY. NEW #444, 683 mi, 1kw over OPEN OCEAN!! Looking at the RL maps, looks like 100w-or less, is pointed N! The big juice is into the ocean! WOW!!

-crainbebo

The RL maps are coverage maps, not pattern maps. This makes a big difference where salt water is concerned.

In the case of KYA - er, KOIT - um, I mean, KSFB these days - it's a nondirectional signal. You've got the same kilowatt aimed at you that's aimed in every other direction. RL's coverage map shows a huge blob going out into the ocean because that kilowatt carries much better over saltwater than over land.

But that's all groundwave, anyway, and at your distance from San Francisco you're getting the first skywave hop. You're better off with the polar patterns shown at FCCInfo.com or the NRC pattern book for anything skywave; the RL coverage maps aren't especially useful for that purpose.

 

[davideduardo]

You're better off with the polar patterns shown at FCCInfo.com or the NRC pattern book for anything skywave; the RL coverage maps aren't especially useful for that purpose.

As an NRC member since 1958, let me second the vote on the pattern book.

"National Radio Club Antenna Pattern Book - 6th Edition - Order Item APB Check It Out!

Totally redone, 238 pages with both Daytime and Nightime patterns for stations in the U.S.A., Canada and parts of Mexico! Three hole punched and updated through November 1, 2005. This book is designed to be used with the AM RADIO LOG. Mexican stations can be cross referenced with the IRCA Mexican Log. The Antenna Pattern Book, fits in a 1" three ring binder."

It's available to non-members for $23 at http://www.nrcdxas.org/

The NRC log is the best DX-oriented list of stations, and includes a lot of useful info beyond power and frequency.

 

[crainbebo]

I'll use FCCInfo from now on. Thanks Scott.

Here's a bandscan from last night, showing all the 50kw Rocky Mtn stations vanished...
530 WSDOT TISs
540 Burien WA TIS
550
560 maybe KSFO
570 KVI Seattle
580
590
600
610 bleed
620
630 KCIS Edmonds
640 KXPA hetrodyne
650 KSTE Rancho Cordova, CA
660
670 (no KBOI at ALL!)
680 KNBR San Francisco, CA
690 maybe CBU
700
710 KIRO Seattle
720
730 CHMJ Vancouver, BC-all groundwave N
740 KCBS San Francisco, CA
750 KHWG Fallon, NV (250w??)
760 weak KFMB San Diego, CA
770 KTTH Seattle
780 KKOH Reno, NV weak, weak, weak
790 unid ABC News, KGMI? KABC?
800
810 KGO San Francisco, CA
820 KGNW Seattle
830
840 unid talk, KXNT?
850
860 KTRB San Francisco, CA
870
880 KIXI Seattle
890
900
910 KKSF San Francisco, CA
920
930
940 KYNO Fresno, CA
950 KJR Seattle
960 KNEW Oakland, CA -was new #441 in this aurora
970
980 weak station here, either CKNW on GW or ???
990
1000 KOMO
1010 weak carrier-KIQI?
1020
1030 KMAS Shelton
1040
1050 KBLE Kirkland-no sign of KTCT due to local
1060 weak carrier-KTNS?
1070 KNX Los Angeles, CA
1080 talk show-likely KSCO Santa Cruz, CA
1090 KPTK Seattle
1100 KFAX San Francisco, CA
1110
1120 KZSJ San Jose, CA
1130 CKWX Vancouver, BC-groundwave only
1140
1150 KKNW Seattle
1160
1170 no sign of KLOK.
1180 KLAY Tacoma
1190 KEX in and out, or was it? Maybe even KXMX?
1200 KYAA Soquel, CA
1210 KMIA Auburn
1220 no sign of KDOW
1230 KWYZ Everett/KWG Stockton, CA-new #442/others buried
1240 KNRY Monterey, CA/unid SS (KCVV Sac?)/a woman talking, etc.
1250 KKDZ Seattle
1260 KSFB San Francisco, CA-new #444
1270 unid with Bill Cunningham (Sunday Night), KBZZ? Faded out later
1280 KFRN Los Angeles
1290 KPAY Chico, CA
1300 KKOL Seattle
1310 KMKY Oakland, CA
1320 KCTC Sacramento, CA
1330 unid-KLBS? KWKW?
1340 KOMY La Selva Beach, CA-new #443/FSR likely KEWE Redding area
1350 KSRO Santa Rosa, CA
1360 KKMO Tacoma
1370
1380 KRKO Everett, WA
1390
1400 KIHH Eureka, CA/tent. KVTO Berkeley, CA with Chinese
1410 CFTE?
1420 KRIZ Seattle
1430
1440 unid weak-KVON Napa?
1450 KSUH Puyallup, WA/others buried couldn't ID
1460 KARR Kirkland, WA
1470
1480
1490 KBRO Bremerton, WA
1500 KSJX San Jose, CA
1510
1520 KKXA Snohomish, WA
1530 KFBK Sacramento
1540 KXPA Bellevue
1550 KZDG San Francisco
1560 KZIZ Renton, WA
1570
1580 SS-KBLA? Still haven't gotten ID
1590 KLFE Seattle
1600 unid down in the noise-GW KVRI?
1610
1620 KYIZ Seattle
1630
1640 KDIA Vallejo
1650
1660 KXOL? SS music
1670
1680 KNTS Seattle
1690 didn't check
1700 didn't check

-crainbebo