Mexican station under KILT 610

[jd]

Anyone else hearing this? Every so often I've noticed interference around sunrise and this time I was able to ID a station: XEUF in Uruapan, Michoacán, roughly 250 miles west of Mexico City. It's listed as 5,000 day/1,000 night.

 

[schmave]

Where are you? KILT puts a monster signal over the city and southward, but not at all a good signal toward Katy or the north suburbs at night.
I've heard distortion on 610's nighttime signal as close as three miles north of the tower coming in from DFW on I-45.

 

[jd]

At the time I was north of Conroe. Sure, that's in the nighttime null of KILT-AM but this was a fairly strong signal from the Mexican station, so much so that I'd expect it could be heard on the way toward Victoria, let's say. A number of times I've even heard a station in Spanish to the southwest on 59 under KTRH but have never been able to ID it.

 

[Jay Walker]

Seems recently a number of stations south of the border are very lax about day/night power/pattern switching.
In DFW I hear a number of graveyard stations I shouldn't be able to hear. However XEROK and XERF are no where near their signal levels of days gone by... I'd venture to say that they may be as low as 10KW at night.
Cuba still booms in on 570 as I live in a deep null for KLIF 570.
Just my humble opinion, with really nothing to back it up other than casual listening.

 

[jd]

Seems recently a number of stations south of the border are very lax about day/night power/pattern switching.

It really does seem that way. Fact is, the majority of Mexican AM's are non-directional and most of them are supposedly licensed for lower power levels at night. It think it's safe to say that the landscape of the band changes to some degree almost on a nightly basis, with a number of stations being heard north of the border when they really shouldn't be. Give it a night or two and some of those are gone while new ones pop up at other places on the dial.

 

[radioman148]

More & more stations seem to be ignoring their night time power restrictions. At the very least cheating a few hours after sunset.

 

[rocknrollisdead]

Anyone else hearing this? Every so often I've noticed interference around sunrise and this time I was able to ID a station: XEUF in Uruapan, Michoacán, roughly 250 miles west of Mexico City. It's listed as 5,000 day/1,000 night.

I hear interference on 950 around 6pm driving west on the westpark tollroad.

 

[schmave]

At the time I was north of Conroe. Sure, that's in the nighttime null of KILT-AM but this was a fairly strong signal from the Mexican station, so much so that I'd expect it could be heard on the way toward Victoria, let's say. A number of times I've even heard a station in Spanish to the southwest on 59 under KTRH but have never been able to ID it.

On rare occasions I've heard garble under KTRH as close in as the west side of Houston, and I'm talking the West Loop/Westpark area. There should be nothing heard under 740 that close in, given its 200K ERP over the city at night. That tells you just how powerful these stations are down south.
I also can hear QRM (I think that's the right technical term) under 790 in League City at night, including a very very weak Radio Reloj.

 

[fredcantu]

On rare occasions I've heard garble under KTRH as close in as the west side of Houston, and I'm talking the West Loop/Westpark area. There should be nothing heard under 740 that close in, given its 200K ERP over the city at night. That tells you just how powerful these stations are down south.

The physical orientation of your radio will also have a profound effect on th AM signal, too. Portable AM radios have a magnetic core antenna sometimes called a ''ferrite bar.''. They pick up a signal best when the broad side of the antenna core faces the transmitter. Likewise if you turn the radio 90 degrees and either end of the antenna core points at the transmitter it cancels out the signal and picks up whatever signal the broad side is facing. I've used this technique a number of times to pick up a distant signal by turning the radio away from the local station.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Where are you? KILT puts a monster signal over the city and southward, but not at all a good signal toward Katy or the north suburbs at night.
I've heard distortion on 610's nighttime signal as close as three miles north of the tower coming in from DFW on I-45.

You're telling me - KMKI IBOC sidebands tear it up at night over Cypress. Very unpleasant to listen to. I haven't heard any Mexican language interference, unless I throw a null at 610. But KMKI sidebands are horrific.

 

[aunti-terrestrial]

So, to whom does one complain when one is getting a Mexican-language station bleeding under their signal? The FCC? If the signal is blasting from across the border, who regulates that?

 

[elchupacabras]

You're telling me - KMKI IBOC sidebands tear it up at night over Cypress. Very unpleasant to listen to. I haven't heard any Mexican language interference, unless I throw a null at 610. But KMKI sidebands are horrific.

"Mexican" is not a language... in Mexico, they speak Spanish (and Náhuatl and about 30 other indigenous tongues and dialects).

Courtesy of wikipedia.com, here are the other dialects spoken in Mexico and their respective number of fluent speakers:
Náhuatl (Nahuatlahtolli) 1.659.029
Maya (Maaya t'aan) 892.723
Mixteco (Tu'un savi) 510.801
Zapoteco (Binizaa) 505.992
Tzotzil (Batz'i k'op) 356.349
Tzeltal (Batz'il K'op) 336.448
Otomí (Hñähñü) 327.319
Totonaco (Tachiwin) 271.847
Mazateco (Ha shuta enima) 246.198
Chol (Ch'ol, Laktyan) 189.599
Huasteco (Téenek) 173.233
Chinanteco (Tsa jujmí) 152.711
Mazahua (Jñatio) 151.897
Purépecha (P'urhépecha) 136.388
Mixe (Ayüük) 135.316
Tlapaneco (Me'phaa) 119.497
Tarahumara (Rarámuri) 87.721
Zoque (O'de püt) 60.093
Amuzgo (Tzañcue) 48.843
Chatino (Cha'cña) 47.762
Tojolabal (Tojolwinik otik) 44.531
Popoluca (Tuncápxe) 44.237
Chontal de Tabasco (Yokot t'an) 43.850
Huichol (Wixárika) 36.856
Mayo (Yoreme) 34.770
Tepehuano (O'dami) 30.339
Triqui (Xnanj nu´a, Stnanj ni´, Nanj ni´inj, Tnanj ni´inj) 24.491
Cora (Nayeeri) 19.512
Popoloca 18.926
Huave (Ikoods) 16.135
Cuicateco (Nduudu yu) 15.078
Yaqui (Yoeme) 15.053
Kanjobal (K'anjobal) 10.833
Tepehua (Hamasipini) 10.625
Pame (Xigüe) 9.768
Mame (Qyool) 8.739
Chontal de Oaxaca (Slijuala sihanuk) 5.534
Chuj 2.143
Tacuate 2.067
Chichimeca jonaz (Uza) 1.987
Guarijío (Warihío) 1.905
Matlatzinca (Botuná) 1.500
Chocho (Runixa ngiigua) 1.078
Pima (O'odham) 836
Kekchí (K'ekchí) 835
Lacandón (Hach t'an) 731
Jacalteco (Abxubal) 584
Ocuilteco (Tlahuica) 522
Seri (Cmiique iitom) 518
Ixcateco 406
Quiché (Q'iché) 286
Kakchiquel (K'akchikel) 230
Paipai (Akwa'ala) 221
Cucapá (Es péi) 206
Motocintleco (Qatok) 186
Kumiai (Ti'pai) 185
Pápago (Tohono o'odam) 153
Kikapú (Kikapooa) 144
Ixil 108
Cochimí (Laymón, mti'pá) 96
Kiliwa (Ko'lew) 55
Aguacateco 27

 

[elchupacabras]

So, to whom does one complain when one is getting a Mexican-language station bleeding under their signal? The FCC? If the signal is blasting from across the border, who regulates that?

The Federal Communications Commission typically works on a bi-national basis with its Mexican counterpart COFETEL. Enclosed is the url to which you can address your complaint:

http://www.cofetel.gob.mx/wb/Cofetel_2008/quejas

But make sure you have your ducks in a row and your information is accurate. I can tell you that COFETEL does fine violating stations, but I have a hard time believing the station from Uruapan is in violation. I live 300 km from the transmitter and can't hear it at night.

 

[davideduardo]

So, to whom does one complain when one is getting a Mexican-language station bleeding under their signal? The FCC? If the signal is blasting from across the border, who regulates that?

The cross-border coordination dates back to the NARBA treaty, first implemented in 1942. Today, Mexico and the US have a "Comisión Mixta" which sorta' means "Binational Comittee." This group, from the FCC and SCT, coordinates frequency usage that might affect operations in the two nations.

A complaint, however, based on a single station, has to go to the FCC and the State Department jointly as no individual can negotiate with a foreign nation on their own behalf.

We have to keep in mind that most of the nearby nations, ranging from Central America to the Caribbean and northern South America have no agreements of any kind with the US, nor do we with them. So, before claiming Mexican interference, it would be necessary to prove that the station is indeed Mexican and not a 100 kw Colombian or such.

Also, Mexico has some different standards. All daytimers and all day vs. night power switches are uniformly at 6 AM and 7 PM, year round. Mexico does not regulate "Critical Hours" so the times post-sunset in some parts of the US like Texas may see Mexican stations on day facilities for an hour to 90 minutes after their local true sunset. That operation is legal, as the Mexican radio rules and laws allow it.

The stations in Florida and much of the Gulf are afflicted by totally uncoordinated and often high power (up to 300 kw) operations from Cuba, which abrogated NARBA decades ago...