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Key West

My one and only experience DXing in the Keys was in the spring of 86 on a quick visit to Key West.

Instead of staying on Key West, we stopped at a little mom and pop motel about half way down the keys.

The TV in the room was an older one with just rabbit ears on top.

It was an amazing night for tropo as the Cuban stations were battling it out with the Florida stations.

I even got channel 13 from Tampa.
 
asugeorge1 said:
Also, I bet AM conditions are better now in the Yucatan since there are no more AM stations on the peninsula. I bet if you go now, it's probably a great DX spot for US mainland stations both day and night.
Click to expand...

The majority of AMs are still there, completing a transition period during which the new FMs and the old FMs simulcast. After the drop-dead dates for each station, there will be about 4 AMs left in Yucatan and a couple in Quintana Roo.
 
I was last in Key West in 2008, and I tried, at several times during the day and night, to DX anything from Cuba on FM. I had no luck whatsoever. There was so much buzzing, electrical interference, and nearby station bleed that it was impossible to pick anything up. I wouldn't be surprised if during tropo, it would be easier to pick up Cuban FMs from Marathon than it is from Key West.
 
DavidEduardo said:
asugeorge1 said:
Also, I bet AM conditions are better now in the Yucatan since there are no more AM stations on the peninsula. I bet if you go now, it's probably a great DX spot for US mainland stations both day and night.
Click to expand...

The majority of AMs are still there, completing a transition period during which the new FMs and the old FMs simulcast. After the drop-dead dates for each station, there will be about 4 AMs left in Yucatan and a couple in Quintana Roo.
Click to expand...

I checked Fred Cantu's site....excellent indeed, I've visited before. Lot's of lower powered AMs in the Yucatan aream as you alluded to, but a couple might be worth a try daytime.

XEZ with 5kw on 600 got my attention. 600 used to be home to a major Cuban pest. (At one time a relay of R. Moscow, IIRC). Hopefully that's gone and I can take a stab at XEZ. WVOG in New Orleans has a nice saltwater path signal, but it's only 1kw, and I doubt that's enough to make the hop.
 
I'm pretty sure that you should be able to pick up a few Cuban FM's in Key West. I know that in the lower Key's it is also very easy to pick up the bigger sticks out of Naples/Ft Myers as they too are only about 90-100 miles away as the crow flies. WINK, WARO, WWGR and WRXK are always easy pick ups in the lower Keys and Key West. Several SW Florida AM's are also heard in Key West including WNOG, WNPL, WINK and WCNZ.
 
I have privately sent Cyberdad a list of the most possible Cuban FM stations----too dull a post to print here....but he plans to have a printout of it handy.

Cyberdad, I will say, you can kiss off AM 600. There still is a giant Rebelde there. Also CMBF 590 La Habana would likely bleed on it anyway. I say your best bet for Mexico daytime is Radio Formula Cancun 740, if it's still available.

Anyone notice a lotta stations on 740 mentioned in this thread?

cd
 
I did the DXing right out on the beach under one of the cabanna shacks with the thatched roofs though the DX sucked the drinks served under it were good.
Having lived in Florida for 7 years and being a frequent Key West visitor I too was hoping for something from Florida and Key West but it was not to be.
 
Finally...it looks like my dance card is coming together. Barring something totally unforseen and last minute, I'm in Key West four nights beginning Wednesday (22nd). First night in a hotel, three nights on the boat. Couple of nights in Fort Lauderdale before that.

First, I'm in Greenville, North Carolina this weekend for a wedding....staying in a hotel filled with participants for a college women's softball tournament at East Carolina University here. So the scenery here may keep me a little distracted from DX-ing. At least when Mrs. Cyberdad isn't looking...LOL!

Anyway, last night I was in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, and decided to check out the DX landscape. Good path to the north and northeast, not so much in other directions. The New Yorkers were blasting in....WFAN, WOR, WABC, WCBS, WINS, WBBR, & WQEW. All good. Ditto WBZ, CFZM, and CJBC. Chicago was a different story....WSCR all but missing, WGN obliterated by some local noise source, WBBM and WMVP fair (at best), but WLS was very good. Also very good was WHO...which was a bit of a surprise. OTOH, WLW, WHAS, WJR, WBAP, WSB, WWL, WSM were all weak (although WLAC was a monster).
 
Happy hunting down there, Cyber. I've been to Key West once, but that was a Boxing Day through New Years Eve affair, during my college days...DXing was the last thing on my mind back then, lol!

~BG
 
Tincap said:
Happy hunting down there, Cyber. I've been to Key West once, but that was a Boxing Day through New Years Eve affair, during my college days...DXing was the last thing on my mind back then, lol!
~BG
Click to expand...

Thanks, Tincap. I've never been, although my son and his wife have been several times and really like the place. BTW, I was going to type "KW" in my last post, and then say, "I'm not referring to Kitchener-Waterloo", but I figured nobody'd get the bad joke! Also, congrats on your latest TA catches.
 
Of the places in Florida, Key is one of the few places we really like. Move there in a minute if it weren't at the end of a 120 miles dead end road :)
 
And vulnerable to hurricanes. Not only is it in the direct path od so many Atlantic or Gulf storms but it's low ground and no place to escape from storm surge unless you want to wait in a 120 mile long traffic jam.
 
gar fla said:
And vulnerable to hurricanes. Not only is it in the direct path od so many Atlantic or Gulf storms but it's low ground and no place to escape from storm surge unless you want to wait in a 120 mile long traffic jam.
Click to expand...

.....Which is why their evacuation orders come 3 full days prior to the forecast hit.

cd
 
But even three days out, those storms can change path, even in less than a day.

Remember Charley?

Everyone ends up leaving at once and the highways are one big parking lot and that's anywhere heading out of any surge prone area not kust Key West.

No thanks!

I don't see how people can live in evacuation areas and that's why I've never lived in one.
 
In fact the emergency evacuation plan for Key West states flat out that there is not enough shelter space and not enough time for everyone to evacaute.

Getting back to on-topic, I am not sure that any station in Key West would be capable of remaining on the air after a storm surge. If I remember correctly the government rushed emergency broadcast equipment in after Andrew (further up) for public information.
 
I have heard 94.7 thru WMGE's IBOC the last 2 nights.

Tropo has been muy bien, and Cyberdad could not have picked a much better time.

Oh BTW, NOTE, 94.7 only rins 2.5 hours a day, 7 to 9:30pm, even mentioned on their website, IIRC. I have alerted Cyberdad.

I will be trying for 87.9 Praise FM out of the Caymans the next day or two. I did catch them on Tropo last year.

cd
 
Re: Key Westrere

Hi guys....

Finally made it here yesterday alftenoon. Boat arrives today (long story,won' go into it, so I spent last night in a hotel, which turned out to be noise free.

nothing remarkable on the drive though the Keys, but here's some of what I hreard...

530: R Enciclopedia...strong, butx bad audio
540: infrequent traces of WFLF...veRy weak Spanish in the vackground
560: WQAM makes it here, weak spanish underneath as approaching KW
570: R. Reloj....strong
590: Classical music from Cuba. Fair
600: Cuba
610: WIOD fair most of the way
620: Strong Cuban with lousy audio. No WDAE
640: R Prrgresso strong
670: Miami & Cuba duking it out the whole way
710: Same as 670, butx width an echo
740: No KTRH, very faint Spanish
770: Fort Meyers. Fair
810: Bahamas makes it in.....but barely
870: No WWL. Weak R. Reloj
890: Strong Cuba (R.Rebelde,IIRC)
970: WFLA weak
1020: Cuba (R. Taino?) fair
1030: Basically blank...some weak unidentifiable stuff. Was trying for KCTA
1060: Another Cuban with good signal/bad audio. Baseball
1140: Another Cuba/Miami fight
1180: Ditto 1140 with R. Marti Involved.
1270: Naples. Fair
1380: Tampa, R Disney weak
1480: Naples. Fair
1620: Cuba. Strong...no Pensacola
1660: Sarasota (or wherever) strong

I'm missing a couple, but I'll post more later.




620: Very strong Cuban with lousy audio
 
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