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Interesting DX Tonight

D

DX_AR

I came home from church and decided to catch the end of the Cardinals game on the local 800 AM station here in Central AR. I turn on the radio and instead of hearing the game, I hear a station I have never heard before blaring in very clearly. Luckily it was close to the top of the hour so I didn't have to wait long to ID it. Somehow CKLW in Windsor, Ontario was coming in from 700 miles away like the local. It hung around for about 10 minutes and then faded away, but interestingly the local AM KVOM never appeared again...just static.

I think CKLW is a clear channel but not 100% sure? Also not sure how it somehow completely overpowered the local station here but pretty cool catch for me.

Maybe it was just a fluke or some type of "perfect storm" in the atmosphere, but fun nonetheless. Anybody that can explain it more scientifically I would love to hear how that happened!
 
Sounds like the CKLW Day pattern. CKLW is not a Class A, either in Canada or in Region II. It has always been a Class II/Class B. It operates on a "Clear Channel", but it is not a Clear Channel Class A. It was neither a Class I-A or Class I-B at any point in its History. A true clear channel station has 0.5 mV/m 50% protected skywave contour. Class II/Class B are only protected for groundwave service.

CKLW Day Pattern:

https://transition.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/305450-55064.pdf
 
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Sounds like the formerly Big 8 on day pattern. I can remember their top 40 days and living in an area where we got a strong daytime signal but we were in the null toward XEROK in Mexico, as well as CKLW being overpowered by the 525,000 watt pirate station in the carribean (PJB). Sometimes they'd "forget" to go DA-N and we were very happy.
 
gr8oldies said:
Sounds like the formerly Big 8 on day pattern.
Click to expand...

I think that's a very safe bet. CKLW normally doesn't go west (or southwest) very well at night. Here in the Chicago, you can usually hear them during the nighttime but not very well. PJB and XEROK were both usually more reliable. At least for me, unless I was able to null them both. But the day pattern does have a third lobe that would be aimed right at you....and explain why they'd blast into Arkansas if they ever "forget" to do their pattern shift.

(We're on track to have 800 as our "freq of the week" the week after next, so maybe we can talk a little more about the (once) Big 8 then.)
 
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Regarding CKLW, a long time ago I used to be able to hear them just above the noise level during the day in the 70s here in the near north Chicago suburbs. Now not a chance.
 
Back in the late 1960s, I used a Zenith AM-FM Table Radio at my relatives' house three miles from the WJJD site, to DX a few times. I did hear WJR and CKLW, and I think I heard WKNR Keener 13. But the rest from Michigan surprised me-WILS 1320 and WKMI 1360 with just 1 kW Night. They both had minor lobes toward Chicago, which I only later discovered. I was too close to WBBM to hear WSGW, which was heard on Lake Shore Drive before IBOC. WJJD was probably off by then, but I never noticed blanketing or overload with their tube radios.
 
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Schroedingers Cat said:
Back in the late 1960s, I used a Zenith AM-FM Table Radio at my relatives' house three miles from the WJJD site, to DX a few times. I did hear WJR and CKLW, and I think I heard WKNR Keener 13. But the rest from Michigan surprised me-WILS 1320 and WKMI 1360 with just 1 kW Night. They both had minor lobes toward Chicago, which I only later discovered. I was too close to WBBM to hear WSGW, which was heard on Lake Shore Drive before IBOC. WJJD was probably off by then, but I never noticed blanketing or overload with their tube radios.
Click to expand...

I used to be able to get 3 Detroit area stations during the day in the 60s. Before WISN moved to 1130, on a good radio I could pick up then WCAR on 1130 during the day. I already mentioned CKLW, and WJR of course was easy. Regarding WJJD, I was about 6 miles from their transmitter, but they overloaded almost every radio anyone had in my area. I never heard WKNR, but I used to try for 1270 WXYZ. I never heard that one as WWCA in Gary, Indiana was right there.
 
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Thanks for the feedback everyone. It makes sense that what I was hearing was probably their day pattern. I have never heard anything on that frequency other than the local so it was a cool surprise for CKLW to show up.
 
Always fun to get an unusual logging, no matter what the reason. :)

There was an Arizona religious or sports station (can't remember which) that was on day power all night a year and a half ago, the only logging I ever got from Arizona aside from the now defunct KMIK 1580.
 
That was probably KFLT 830 Tucson. 50KW.
 
Speaking of DXing Arizona stations, how often is 1550 KUAZ (50kW, almost 5/8-wave tower, day only, near Tucson) heard in the central states or east coast? It's a regular here around sunrise/sunset near San Diego, frequently overpowering the local 1550 XEBG where I live.

Also 830 KFLT is often heard here, mixing with KLAA. And when it was still on the air, 1580 KMIK would often be one of the strongest skywave signals, even beating out some local grade groundwave. (I think there were only a few local stations that were consistently stronger.) I've even had KMIK overload my radio when coupling it with a long wire, something that normally only would happen if I was about 100 meters or so from the tower with just the portable's built-in antenna.
 
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