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I'm going to Hawaii...with my CC Radio

E

EastBay

OK, so I'm not bringing any professional DX gear with me as I'm going out there for business, but at least the good 'ol CC Radio is portable. I haven't been out to Hawaii for over 20 years and never tried to DX anything when I was there last, so this will be my first shot at seeing what my little radio can do.

I'm expecting to get some obvious catches like KNX, KOMO, WOAI, etc, but was wondering what else I should shoot for. Also, what's the best time to catch west coast stations- early evening? I'm hoping to catch some stations from the far east as well, but I might not be able to stay up that late.

Any thoughts? I'm looking forward to this!
 
EastBay said:
OK, so I'm not bringing any professional DX gear with me as I'm going out there for business, but at least the good 'ol CC Radio is portable. I haven't been out to Hawaii for over 20 years and never tried to DX anything when I was there last, so this will be my first shot at seeing what my little radio can do.

I'm expecting to get some obvious catches like KNX, KOMO, WOAI, etc, but was wondering what else I should shoot for. Also, what's the best time to catch west coast stations- early evening? I'm hoping to catch some stations from the far east as well, but I might not be able to stay up that late.

Any thoughts? I'm looking forward to this!
Click to expand...

Last year I heard KOKC, Okla City & 1170 from Tulsa. Those were my farthest mainland catches.
KNX is easy & you should be able to start hearing it & KTNQ right at Hawaii sunset.
If you are up real late try for 1116 in Brisbane, Australia. Heard it several times last trip.
Good luck & good DX!
 
If I were to go to Hawaii, aside from the great catches that are available at night, the first thing I'd want to do is see if I could maybe get even a trace of either 680 KNBR or 640 KFI during the day.

Odds are probably against it for being more than 2000 miles but it is a complete saltwater path and the frequencies are at the lower end of the dial too.

Someone else here said they tried and got nothing but I don't know exactly where they were in Hawaii. Being on the east side of the big island would give you the best chances. My brother I've recently reconnected with lives near Hilo and I asked him to see what he can hear on 640 whenever he gets the chance to go down to the beach (680 would be out of the question due to the 670 in Hilo). He has one of those big Grundig radios and I'm still waiting on his results whenever he gets the chance to try.

I'd say that even if you got a barely audible signal or anything other than an empty frequency on 680 or 640, it would have to be from California and you'd have to be right at the beach too.

We've already seen here in this forum how good a 50kw signal can be at 775 miles during the day with a saltwater path, so maybe at least a trace of a signal can still be heard at three times that distance?
 
KFI and KNBR are definite first choices. I probably won't be on the east side of the Big Island, but I did plan on going to the southern-most point on the island (indeed the southern-most point in the US) to see what I could find there. I'll let you guys know what I come up with...if anything.

Radioman- thanks for the tip on 1116 in Brisbane- I'll try that one for sure (it'll be early, but I'll try).
 
EastBay said:
KFI and KNBR are definite first choices. I probably won't be on the east side of the Big Island, but I did plan on going to the southern-most point on the island (indeed the southern-most point in the US) to see what I could find there. I'll let you guys know what I come up with...if anything.

Radioman- thanks for the tip on 1116 in Brisbane- I'll try that one for sure (it'll be early, but I'll try).
Click to expand...

1116 in Brisbane is definitely doable. The earliest I ever heard it was 11PM Hawaiian time, but most of the time I got it 4 or 5AM. I've heard it several times & on two different trips to Hawaii. You will also hear the far east--Japan & Korea around midnight.
As far as getting a groundwave daytime signal from the mainland I've briefly tried a couple of times from the east side of Oahu with no luck. Of course there are Honolulu stations next to KFI & KNBR.
In all honesty I'd be shocked if you could hear an actual groundwave signal from the mainland.
Don Mussel who has lived in Kauai has stated he's never heard one.
 
Personally I'd be interested to know what you hear on 1580. The stations in CA & AZ shoot 50kW west or SW, and there's also the Hermosillo Mexican on 1580 with 50k non-directional I believe. 1580's a total mess!

You might get Vancouver on 1040 among other frequencies.

Any Far East catches will be likely well after midnight, after darkness falls in Asia & Australia.

If the CC has 1 kHz steps, that's a must, because of the spacing on other continents.

If the ABC Australian in Queensland on 1548 kHz is still around, they may be the strongest. It was heard in Florida in 1970 or so (not by me...shucks).

Keep us posted, por favor.

cd
 
Don Mussel who has lived in Kauai has stated he's never heard one.
Click to expand...

Do you know exactly where on the island he was listening from? Was it a ways inland or right on an eastern facing beach?

The eastern facing beaches of the big island are 300 miles closer to the mainland. I don't know if that distance would make any difference.


EastBay, another one to try for at night is KVNS 1700 from Brownsville, Texas. That station really can get out far at night. If you hear oldies, it's them.
 
gar fla said:
EastBay, another one to try for at night is KVNS 1700 from Brownsville, Texas. That station really can get out far at night. If you hear oldies, it's them.
Click to expand...

Hey, gar fla, thanks for your tip! I'm catching KVNS for the first time right now (from 1780 miles to the north east)!

And EastBay, have a great trip and good luck trying to make some cool catches, especially Asia & Australia.

~BG
 
gar fla said:
Don Mussel who has lived in Kauai has stated he's never heard one.
Click to expand...

Do you know exactly where on the island he was listening from? Was it a ways inland or right on an eastern facing beach?
Click to expand...
He lives on a farm in a very open area, but I don't know if it's near the water.

EastBay, another one to try for at night is KVNS 1700 from Brownsville, Texas. That station really can get out far at night. If you hear oldies, it's them.
Click to expand...

In Hawaii ESPN near San Diego comes in very well on 1700 during my trips there.
 
Hey, gar fla, thanks for your tip! I'm catching KVNS for the first time right now (from 1780 miles to the north east)!
Click to expand...

Hey. Good to hear! That's always a fun station to listen for because they play the old time AM radio format and that makes them easy to pick out. That's why it's a good one to listen for in Hawaii.

That reminds me of another possible nighttime station for EastBay to listen for in Hawaii. I always liked to listen to KFRC 610 when I was out in the Bay Area for my visits during the 70s and early 80s when they played top 40. They seemed to have a strong signal for a 5kw station and I think their stick is located right on the bay near Oakland or Berkeley.

Of course now they are KEAR with a religious format but when I used to listen to the old KFRC, I always wondered how far they got out at night. You may want to look for that one too at night, EastBay.

And hey, since they are so low on the dial and have a fantastic groundwave signal, you may try to see if anything shows up on that frequency during the day too.
You never know.
 
travisl5678 said:
Some weaker SF stations to try
KNEW 910
KKGN 960
KMKY 1310
KTRB 860
KFAX 1100
KSFO 560
Click to expand...

On my last trip to Hawaii I heard KNEW, & KMKY.
KTRB is pretty strong each night into the Islands & KFAX is as strong as any mainland signal.
 
gar fla said:
That reminds me of another possible nighttime station for EastBay to listen for in Hawaii. I always liked to listen to KFRC 610 when I was out in the Bay Area for my visits during the 70s and early 80s when they played top 40. They seemed to have a strong signal for a 5kw station and I think their stick is located right on the bay near Oakland or Berkeley.
Click to expand...

Yea, for a 5kW station it does travel far; I've picked it up in SoCal well into the morning (like 11am)...I was near Lancaster at the time.

As for the rest, you guys are awesome! I'm printing this thread so I can sit on the south side of the Big Island and give all these a try. And yes, the CC does have 1k tuning, though I'm not sure how good the selectivity is...never had a chance to try for any overseas catches with it until now.

Hey Gar, is that PR-D5 you have really good for AM? Basically, is it better than the CC Radio? The specs look like it should be great even without an external AM loop. I love my CC but I'd like to get something a bit better without going way overboard.
 
I shoulda said it sooner, but it would be a real real help to get either the Select-a-Tenna or the Terk AM antenna. I know with my SaT, all you have to do is place it about 6" from your radio. No wires needed. I believe the Terk works the same way.'

These antennas may not be cheap, but they sure amplify your radio. Stations will boom in that you might not hear without them.

cd
 
EastBay said:
gar fla said:
That reminds me of another possible nighttime station for EastBay to listen for in Hawaii. I always liked to listen to KFRC 610 when I was out in the Bay Area for my visits during the 70s and early 80s when they played top 40. They seemed to have a strong signal for a 5kw station and I think their stick is located right on the bay near Oakland or Berkeley.
Click to expand...

Yea, for a 5kW station it does travel far; I've picked it up in SoCal well into the morning (like 11am)...I was near Lancaster at the time.

As for the rest, you guys are awesome! I'm printing this thread so I can sit on the south side of the Big Island and give all these a try. And yes, the CC does have 1k tuning, though I'm not sure how good the selectivity is...never had a chance to try for any overseas catches with it until now.

Hey Gar, is that PR-D5 you have really good for AM? Basically, is it better than the CC Radio? The specs look like it should be great even without an external AM loop. I love my CC but I'd like to get something a bit better without going way overboard.
Click to expand...

All I can say is the Sangean PR-D5 has been great for me for AM. I've never had personal experience with the CC radio.

One thing I know is that the Sangean PR-D5 has the same sized internal AM antenna as the GE SuperRadio which is very popular for AM DXing.

It also has the adjustment for the 9k step.

The Terk AM Advantage loop does make a noticeable difference in pulling in very weak daytime signals.
 
gar fla said:
EastBay said:
gar fla said:
That reminds me of another possible nighttime station for EastBay to listen for in Hawaii. I always liked to listen to KFRC 610 when I was out in the Bay Area for my visits during the 70s and early 80s when they played top 40. They seemed to have a strong signal for a 5kw station and I think their stick is located right on the bay near Oakland or Berkeley.
Click to expand...

Yea, for a 5kW station it does travel far; I've picked it up in SoCal well into the morning (like 11am)...I was near Lancaster at the time.

As for the rest, you guys are awesome! I'm printing this thread so I can sit on the south side of the Big Island and give all these a try. And yes, the CC does have 1k tuning, though I'm not sure how good the selectivity is...never had a chance to try for any overseas catches with it until now.

Hey Gar, is that PR-D5 you have really good for AM? Basically, is it better than the CC Radio? The specs look like it should be great even without an external AM loop. I love my CC but I'd like to get something a bit better without going way overboard.
Click to expand...

All I can say is the Sangean PR-D5 has been great for me for AM. I've never had personal experience with the CC radio.

One thing I know is that the Sangean PR-D5 has the same sized internal AM antenna as the GE SuperRadio which is very popular for AM DXing.

It also has the adjustment for the 9k step.

The Terk AM Advantage loop does make a noticeable difference in pulling in very weak daytime signals.
Click to expand...
I can also vouch for the PR-D5. It is an excellent stock receiver for DXing, albeit a bit large and heavy by modern portable receiver standards. I believe it to have excellent nulling, as it handles strong signal adjacent channels pretty well.

1530/WCKY, a 50KW station is about 5 miles from my house, and at night WCKY throws a lobe in my direction. On most nights, I am still able to null WCKY enough to hear both 1520 & 1540.
 
KVNS has been heard here a few times at 2021 miles. I also tentatively logged it in Yakima sunday night while a bunch of Midwest stations were coming in.

-crainbebo
 
crainbebo said:
KVNS has been heard here a few times at 2021 miles. I also tentatively logged it in Yakima sunday night while a bunch of Midwest stations were coming in.

-crainbebo
Click to expand...

I had a good signal from KVNS (although a couple of others were mixed in) and was rather surprised to find that it transmits at only 8.8kW (before it switches to night power). It's got a good reach!

~BG
 
Did you happen to get them at critical hours before they powered down?

Even with their nighttime power of only .88 kw, they should be an easy catch when the conditions are right.

They now have an official website and regular DJs too. There's something about hearing oldies on AM radio that's been lost with FM.
 
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