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"Love 1600"

C

C414B

Guest
I remember thirty years ago growing up in Tyler catching a station that called itself "Love 1600" from Del Rio (IIRC). Just did a quick search to see if I could find that station and the frequency is a Mexican station just across the river from Del Rio.

Does anyone have any information about Love 1600? Has it always been a Mexican station who ran English programming back then? Does this sound remotely familiar to anyone???

Help......
 
DavidEduardo has put up old Vane Jones directories on www.amlogbook.com .....looking at Jones' North American Radio-TV Station Guide 1981 edition, I do see XEAE on 1600 outta Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico, across the Rio Grande from Del Rio.

I find it interesting that XERF had 250,000 watts on 1570 at that time, yet 1600 co-exists. I'm not sure if the AM radios I had back then were so selective :)

cd
 
Thanks for the info. That must be the same station. I don't recall hearing a legal ID...just surmised Del Rio from the spots I heard.

I do know this....as a 10-year-old lad, I was pretty stoked hearing a station from that far away. I know it's small grapes now, but thought it was pretty big back then. Funny thing is, I caught that DX on a nondescript receiver with internal antenna. Absolutely nothing in terms of a "good" DX-catching setup.
 
XERF-1570 was Love 1600 for a time back in the 1980's when an attempt to revive the 250KW operation was made. IIRC someone with a strong interest in CCM was trying to make it happened.
 
317C50KW said:
XERF-1570 was Love 1600 for a time back in the 1980's when an attempt to revive the 250KW operation was made. IIRC someone with a strong interest in CCM was trying to make it happened.
Click to expand...

Well then, if that's true, what about the "real" 1600? XERF really carried a load of signal back then; that could have been what our OP heard; but the real 1600 would have an issue with that---no?

BTW now that my memory is jogging me, wasn't XERF actually "Love 16"?

Edit: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XERF-AM about Love 16, but of course it's Wikipedia.

cd
 
IIRC-- XERF was 250,000 watts at night only. They ran 20,000 watts or 50,000 watts daytime. And I believe XEAE 1600 ran 1 kw daytime.

I remember Love 16, too. Back before digital tuners AM and FM stations did rounding. 1570 became 16 and 94.7 became FM 95.

AM 1290 in Mexico City still calls itself Radio 13.
 
I can fill in a bit. "Love 16" was actually XERF 1570 in Ciudad Acuna, across from Del Rio, Texas.

Blanca Larson was the General Manager at the time. When I left Del Rio, Blanca managed the shopping mall in Del Rio, Plaza del Sol. Blanca, when I knew her, had a great head on her shoulders and was quite successful in business.

Mike Venditti was the engineer that got the station back to 250,000 watts. Mike found the frequency for the station I manage. I'd call Mike, who passed away from cancer, a genius in engineering.

If I remember correctly, Blanca's Dad (Gonzalez...cannot recall the first name) owned XERF at the time and as I uunderstand it, the Mexican Government had been trying to buy the station. I understand he got the title of Mexican Consulate in Del Rio once he sold the station.

Paul Kallinger, Sr. was still involved, likely recording late night breaks as "Paul Kallinger, your friend along the way". Paul ran a small furniture store that was on my account list. His son was the morning man at the station I sold for at the time. Both were exception people to know.

The format, from when I listened, was a combination oof Top 40 hits and Contemporary Christian hits here or there. It was a 'major market sound' for the market.

The format was short-lived as the station sold to the Mexican Government not long after.
 
bturner said:
Mike Venditti was the engineer that got the station back to 250,000 watts. Mike found the frequency for the station I manage. I'd call Mike, who passed away from cancer, a genius in engineering.
Click to expand...

Venditti once told me that XERF was so powerful that it made his eyes water to just look at the tower. :eek:

That was before RF exposure rules. I had a good laugh at the time (at his expense), but in retrospect, its likely that working there was a cancer risk. :-\
 
Iused2nothat said:
Venditti once told me that XERF was so powerful that it made his eyes water to just look at the tower. :eek:
That was before RF exposure rules. I had a good laugh at the time (at his expense), but in retrospect, its likely that working there was a cancer risk. :-\
Click to expand...

I knew a couple of owner/operators who lived on the tower site. Granted they only ran 1kw. But considering they were exposed to it pretty much 24/7, the fact they both lived long healthy lives is at least anecdotal evidence that those of us who worked air shifts next to the transmittter may not have too much to worry about.
 
fredcantu said:
Iused2nothat said:
Venditti once told me that XERF was so powerful that it made his eyes water to just look at the tower. :eek:
That was before RF exposure rules. I had a good laugh at the time (at his expense), but in retrospect, its likely that working there was a cancer risk. :-\
Click to expand...

I knew a couple of owner/operators who lived on the tower site. Granted they only ran 1kw. But considering they were exposed to it pretty much 24/7, the fact they both lived long healthy lives is at least anecdotal evidence that those of us who worked air shifts next to the transmittter may not have too much to worry about.
Click to expand...

O.T.
Fred 1kw <> 250kw. That is probably not what is wrong with you.
Border blaster engineering was not for the faint-of-heart. Luis Roa told me the story of sticking his head into the 18,000 volt line while walking around inside XEG's water cooled 150kw transmitter. He said it took about a year to learn to use a knife and fork and to talk again.
"XEG, Fort Worth 11, Texas"
 
Mike Venditti told me that if a flock of birds flew over the XERF towers they fall from the sky. I bet all that RF was really something.
 
Sounds like the prudent thing would be to shut off the power before you poke around inside any transmitter.
But there's a difference between RF exposure and near-electrocution by contact.
I was talking about being exposed to close proximity RF for long periods of time.
 
Thanks for the info (and the memories!). It's been fun reading them.

Glad to know I wasn't imagining things, too. ;D ;D ;D
 
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