My how MW DX has changed. National Radio Club logs from 1950's

[Icangelp]

This may interest you Florida & Illinois DXers.

Several years ago, I was given some NRC DX News editions from the 50's, and I finally went through one of them.

From a Coral Gables Florida member...
"It is a funny thing: KOA KSL KFI KNX and other West Coasters come in here decidedly earlier than they did in Durham, where I had a good antenna (none here)."
"KSL really booming in."
"KFBK topping WCKY 1530."

From an Illinois member...
"KPOL-1540 (Los Angeles) was heard on AN (all night)."
"KYOS-1480 Merced, Cal. S/off 3:05."
"KRKD (1150 Los Angeles) took care of CHSJ-lx but not needed."

This was from 1956, and I can't evern imagine what it must have been like to DX in the 30's & 40's.

By the way, if you don't already belong, I suggest anyone interested in MW and longwave DX join the National Radio Club (NRC) and the International Radio Club of America (IRCA).

 

[cyberdad]

The Florida reports might still be remotely possible....with really good equipment and absolutely perfect conditions. KFBK is the one that intrigues me. I'm wondering if they were non-directional daytime in 1956 (unlike today). That would make the task of clobbering WCKY a little more do-able (but still rare).

The Illinois loggings would seem to be all but impossible today.

 

[Hoosierky]

I read a few months ago a DX log from the 1930's. A 250 watt AM from Ashland KY on 1310 was heard in Connecticut. That kind of stuff just blows me away!

 

[davideduardo]

I read a few months ago a DX log from the 1930's. A 250 watt AM from Ashland KY on 1310 was heard in Connecticut. That kind of stuff just blows me away!

Even in the early 60's, people in Ohio (myself included) heard 250 watt KIKI from Honolulu; a 250 watt Class IV from Porterville, CA was another I heard.

In the 30's 50 watters from Australia were heard in the US. in the early 60's 500 watters and 1 kw stations from CA, WA and OR were relatively common in OH, PA, VA, etc. People in the east were annoyed that KTFI, with 1 kw in Idaho, stayed on sometimes to 1 AM and made KNDI in Honolulu a challenge to get... it's about the clear frequencies much more than the power!

 

[KR4BD]

I agree about the power issue. Clearer frequencies definitely made the difference! In the early 1960's, all the Class I-A clear channels were really CLEAR at night making coast-to-coast reception of such stations (WLS, WBZ, WCBS, KDKA, WMAQ, WGN, WJR, WSB, WWL, KMOX, WCAU, etc.)possible almost every night. On Sunday nights, after local midnight on the West Coast, virtually all stations went off the air for maintenance until 5 or 6 AM leaving most frequencies VERY CLEAR. From Southern California, I heard many 1 and 5 KW stations from East of the Mississippi during these early Monday Morning hours (WING-1410, WSAI-1360, WRDW-1480, WSMB-1350, WFLA-970, etc.). One of my best loggings was WCIN-1480 at 2 AM from Cincinnati running just 500 watts. I even got a QSL letter from their CE, whose name was Carl Dettmer, if I remember correctly. Hawaiian, Alaska, Japanese and Australian stations were also frequently heard in those days.

 

[gar hi]

This may interest you Florida & Illinois DXers.

Several years ago, I was given some NRC DX News editions from the 50's, and I finally went through one of them.

From a Coral Gables Florida member...
"It is a funny thing: KOA KSL KFI KNX and other West Coasters come in here decidedly earlier than they did in Durham, where I had a good antenna (none here)."
"KSL really booming in."
"KFBK topping WCKY 1530."

Though I'm sure it's nothing like it sounded in those days, KOA is pretty much a regular here in Tampa though it can get a little lost in the mix.

KSL is a semi regular and sometimes comes in good enough to hear fighting with the splatter of our local on 1150.

KNX pops through now and then in the mix but is weak when it does.

And I've once gotten KFI for a few minutes late at night and it was a pretty good listenable signal while it lasted. Never heard KFI here before then or since. The only other time I got it was for a few minutes in New Jersey in the 70s and that was a one and only time thing too.

I have my catches of KOA, KSL, and KNX on video. Didn't have the camera with me when KFI came in here and that was on my little Sony Walkman.

 

[audioguy]

A few years ago before the expanded band really got going, it was quite easy to listen to WJDM anywhere in the midwest. Several times I heard the TIS stations from the DFW airport, plus there were a couple out in California that came in occasionally as well on a GE Superadio. All of those stations ran very low power. Ask any ham operator; it's quite possible to make contacts a thousand miles away on 160m AM running a couple of hundred watts into a decent inverted L.

 

[cyberdad]

On Sunday nights, after local midnight on the West Coast, virtually all stations went off the air for maintenance until 5 or 6 AM leaving most frequencies VERY CLEAR.

What I used to look forward to late on Sunday nights was KOMA morphing from merely "audible" to "very listenable" in the Chicago area when 1520 and the first adjacents cleared.

 

[gr8oldies]

NRC published a 50th anniversary edition in 1983 that had loggin4 back to the 30s

 

[cd637299]

www.amlogbook.com now features pdf's of every page of every Vane Jones Radio-TV Station Guide printed, from 1958 to the 1980s.

Yes, 1958 is kinda late to the game as to this thread, but you can see over the years how each frequency has added stations, and many stations increased power, added night operation, etc.---Compare it to www.radio-locator.com today.

I started seriously AM DXn in 1974, but I don't even bother AM DXn anymore, outside of daytime DXn from remote spots. At night, every frequency is like a graveyard frequency now.

cd

 

[davideduardo]

www.amlogbook.com now features pdf's of every page of every Vane Jones Radio-TV Station Guide printed, from 1958 to the 1980s.

Lee's site is terrific, particularly the AM log. But none of us have more than one of the pre-SAMS issues, which were quarterly for a while and there were perhaps 12 to 16 of them.

The links below have Radex, White's Log and Stevensons going back to 1924, including before and after looks at the AM dial with the FRC and NARBA changes.

http://www.davidgleason.com/Whites_Master_Page.htm

http://www.davidgleason.com/Radex_Master_Page.htm

http://www.davidgleason.com/Stevensons_Master_Page.htm

And other publications with AM lists...

http://www.davidgleason.com/Radio_Archives.htm

 

[Icangelp]

www.amlogbook.com now features pdf's of every page of every Vane Jones Radio-TV Station Guide printed, from 1958 to the 1980s.

Lee's site is terrific, particularly the AM log. But none of us have more than one of the pre-SAMS issues, which were quarterly for a while and there were perhaps 12 to 16 of them.

The links below have Radex, White's Log and Stevensons going back to 1924, including before and after looks at the AM dial with the FRC and NARBA changes.

http://www.davidgleason.com/Whites_Master_Page.htm

http://www.davidgleason.com/Radex_Master_Page.htm

http://www.davidgleason.com/Stevensons_Master_Page.htm

And other publications with AM lists...

http://www.davidgleason.com/Radio_Archives.htm

David.

I just want to let you know how much I appreciate your web site, and that I realize what you are doing takes a great deal of thought, effort and time .

I especially like the the fact that the site is "free" to all.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Some of the younger DXers among us experienced a bit of this in the 90's with the first few
stations in the Extended Band (seemed they could cover half of North America on a kilowatt!)

 

[cd637299]

Indeed. That DXing of the X-band in the 90s was a throwback to the 20s & 30s, I'd think. I caught 2 from California here in FL on their 1k back then. Maybe the best catches for me were the 1640 & 1680 ten-watters at the Dallas-Ft Worth Airport. A DXer in Hawaii caught them too, so I had nothing to brag about.

cd

 

[davideduardo]

Some of the younger DXers among us experienced a bit of this in the 90's with the first few
stations in the Extended Band (seemed they could cover half of North America on a kilowatt!)

In fact, Argentina got some X-banders on prior to US stations being built, and several were heard in the US... and quite clearly, in fact. Considering the fact that the Argentine X Banders were as limited or moreso than US ones, and used rooftop AM radiators with a counterpoise type ground system, that shows that empty channels allow very long distance reception with minimal power levels.

 

[cyberdad]

David.

I just want to let you know how much I appreciate your web site, and that I realize what you are doing takes a great deal of thought, effort and time .

I especially like the the fact that the site is "free" to all.

+1!

 

[davideduardo]

I just want to let you know how much I appreciate your web site, and that I realize what you are doing takes a great deal of thought, effort and time .

I especially like the the fact that the site is "free" to all.

Thank you. The site will be free for some time to come, as it's paid up for the next 8 years... and I am working to give the content to several custodians so it can be preserved.

What started out as just a digitization for my own use of a few Broadcasting Yearbooks is now a significant investment, but then again, radio has given me fun, challenges and opportunities over the last 51 years and this is a tiny "payback."

 

[cyberdad]

Beats the hell out of literally blowing dust from my old Broadcasting yearbooks circa mid-60s (and the attendant boxes of magazines from my subscriptions during the same era). And then there was my old beat up Vane Jones/Sams logbook that probably should've been condemned because of the gross condition it was in....but I never went on a trip without it!

Lost them all in a flood several years ago. So again thanks for bringing those....and so much more....back!

 

[BRNout]

David.

I just want to let you know how much I appreciate your web site, and that I realize what you are doing takes a great deal of thought, effort and time .

I especially like the the fact that the site is "free" to all.

Dittos! Great website David!

 

[gar hi]

Indeed. That DXing of the X-band in the 90s was a throwback to the 20s & 30s, I'd think. I caught 2 from California here in FL on their 1k back then. Maybe the best catches for me were the 1640 & 1680 ten-watters at the Dallas-Ft Worth Airport. A DXer in Hawaii caught them too, so I had nothing to brag about.

cd

What stations did you get from California? I've been hoping to get an X bander from California but still havent heard anything that comes in good enough to ID. Some of them are 10kw too.

I haven't looked recently though because of the time of year.