Post your latest DX

[cyberdad]

1440 has been a relatively quiet (or should I say "boring") nighttime channel for me. Until, apparently, this week. Yesterday before sunrise, WLWI from Alabama was a first-time catch. Today before dawn, I was hearing Fox sports talk WNFL on 1440 from Green Bay. Weak, but on top for about five minutes. I'm guessing 500-watt night power/pattern, which sends a lobe primarily south. I've heard WNFL here before, but it's rare, and it's been a while. Distance is 155 miles. Radio was the C. Crane Skywave.

Also this morning before sunrise, I was hearing Christian music on 1550. Contemporary, as opposed to gospel or traditional hymns. No idea what this could have been. No ID and R-L as well as the Canada-US station lookup page were of no help. Any thoughts?

 

[radioman148]

New Catch for me between 5 and 6 am CDT yesterday morning (3/26). WLWI 1440 from Montgomery, AL. (ex WHHY). Fair but alone and solid with minimal fading for most of that hour. "Newsradio", I-heart, and ads for local businesses. Probably powered up on 5kw non-directional day pattern. 695 miles. Radio was C. Crane Skywave.

The previous hour produced a second-time catch. KRIB 1490 from Mason City, Iowa. Broke through the slop a couple of times with oldies. Distance 255 miles. 1kw. KRIB is famous for Hosting the "Day the Music Died" concert at nearby Clear Lake, Iowa featuring Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and "The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson. Emcee Bob Hale went on to become one of the "Original 7" top 40 jocks at WLS.

Whenever I hear the call letters KRIB I always think about that "Winter Dance Hop" that Bob Hale hosted. I believe he flipped the coin that decided who had the 3rd seat on the plane. Waylon Jennings lost and didn't get on the flight.

 

[cyberdad]

Whenever I hear the call letters KRIB I always think about that "Winter Dance Hop" that Bob Hale hosted. I believe he flipped the coin that decided who had the 3rd seat on the plane. Waylon Jennings lost and didn't get on the flight.

I've spent a few nights in Clear Lake. It's roughly halfway between Des Moines and the Twin Cities on 1-35. I've never been inside the Surf Ballroom, but I've walked around it and had dinner in the restaurant across the street. The ballroom is still operational, and appears to be very well maintained. The restaurant across the street is also quite good.

I believe you're correct about Bob Hale and the coin flip.

 

[radioman148]

I've spent a few nights in Clear Lake. It's roughly halfway between Des Moines and the Twin Cities on 1-35. I've never been inside the Surf Ballroom, but I've walked around it and had dinner in the restaurant across the street. The ballroom is still operational, and appears to be very well maintained. The restaurant across the street is also quite good.

I believe you're correct about Bob Hale and the coin flip.

Here's a link to a Bob Hale interview where he talks about it.

Bob Hale

UPDATED 9/4/10 BOB HALE I got wind of an honor that is being bestowed upon Bob the other day. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. He also se...

chicagoradiospotlight.blogspot.com

 

[SkyWaveDX]

Hello! Sorry if I'm interrupting a conversation. Just wanted to say hi, and saw you happened to be talking about AM DX. It certainly is fun to do, but lately DX has been the usual. Seems like winter is the primetime for this sort of DX.

 

[radioman148]

Hello! Sorry if I'm interrupting a conversation. Just wanted to say hi, and saw you happened to be talking about AM DX. It certainly is fun to do, but lately DX has been the usual. Seems like winter is the primetime for this sort of DX.

Welcome to the board. Yes, winter is prime time DX and it's over now, but some DX can still be had. For example, cyberdad
and others on this board do a great job digging out DX on some of the more crowded frequencies all year long.

 

[SkyWaveDX]

Oh yes, the more crowded frequencies like Graveyard 1240, i'm familiar with those. Some nights it sounds almost like an ocean of waveforms. Once I recall getting KJAA from Globe, AZ with a clear ID for a few seconds in the midst of traffic. Granted I live in SoCal (Southern California), distance wise it wasn't too spectacular, but it seems the station folks at KJAA were rather impressed that the sig got to reach that far locally when I received their QSL letter

 

[ZantennaG1]

Hello! Sorry if I'm interrupting a conversation. Just wanted to say hi, and saw you happened to be talking about AM DX. It certainly is fun to do, but lately DX has been the usual. Seems like winter is the primetime for this sort of DX.

Glad to see you've crossed over from tne BCB loggers and YouTube! It's a shame what they did to the logs, though.

 

[cyberdad]

Oh yes, the more crowded frequencies like Graveyard 1240, i'm familiar with those. Some nights it sounds almost like an ocean of waveforms. Once I recall getting KJAA from Globe, AZ with a clear ID for a few seconds in the midst of traffic. Granted I live in SoCal (Southern California), distance wise it wasn't too spectacular, but it seems the station folks at KJAA were rather impressed that the sig got to reach that far locally when I received their QSL letter

Graveyard DX obviously isn't for everyone. Since I began DXing during my junior high days in the 1960s, I thought it wasn't for me, either. Until I belatedly discovered it a few years back. I like the challenge, and I also like the variety. Most of the GY channels sound at least slightly different from one night to the next. 1240 being a good example. On a given night at my location (near Chicago) nothing seems to break through. Then the next night, stations are taking turns on top.

FWIW: IME, 1340 is probably the best for stations taking turns on top. 1230 or 1400 the worst for nothing breaking through. .But that said, there are still plenty of variables from night to night on each GY channel

 

[SkyWaveDX]

Graveyard DX obviously isn't for everyone. Since I began DXing during my junior high days in the 1960s, I thought it wasn't for me, either. Until I belatedly discovered it a few years back. I like the challenge, and I also like the variety. Most of the GY channels sound at least slightly different from one night to the next. 1240 being a good example. On a given night at my location (near Chicago) nothing seems to break through. Then the next night, stations are taking turns on top.

FWIW: IME, 1340 is probably the best for stations taking turns on top. 1230 or 1400 the worst for nothing breaking through. .But that said, there are still plenty of variables from night to night on each GY channel

Oh, I never implied graveyard frequencies weren't my thing at all. I actually think it's fun to do sometimes, sort of like a grab bag of sorts. I have quite a few AM IQ files from my SDR that I recorded over the winter whilst hunting for Trans Pacific MW DX. Some of these recording span hours overnight when TP is prime. Perhaps I can glance over 1230 and 1240 on those and see what I find. Granted, I mainly hover around TOTH in recordings for call ID, as just waiting to hear relevant audio pertaining to the station seems a bit time consuming at the moment, and it's just easier to hunt IDs.

 

[cyberdad]

Oh, I never implied graveyard frequencies weren't my thing at all. I actually think it's fun to do sometimes, sort of like a grab bag of sorts.

I didn't take it that way at all. And your "grab bag" comment nails it!

 

[jim-satx]

Had new loggings on three different bands this week.

Early Sunday morning I checked out the FM band and found that there was good tropo coming in from the east. Right before 5 a.m. CT I heard a talk show on 93.5 with a discussion about UFOs followed by a "SuperTalk Mississippi" ID. It was WMPK in Summit, MS, at 508 miles. My radio was a SPARC SHD-T750 connected to the supplied dipole placed over a west-facing window.

I then switched to the weather band on my little CC Skywave and heard a NOAA station in Alexandria, LA (WXK78), which only makes it here on rare occasions. I next tuned to 162.550, the frequency of my local NOAA station, and was able to null the local and hear another station by carefully placing the telescoping antenna horizontal. It turned out to be KIH48 in Bude, Mississippi, with a marine forecast for the Pascagoula area and a station ID. The distance was 492 miles.

Yesterday morning about an hour before sunrise, I was hearing a regional Mexican music station to the NE/SW on 560 mixing with KLVI and XEBJB. Occasionally I would hear an ID that sounded like "La Mandona - 91.5 FM," but I couldn't find anything matching that. After reviewing the recording multiple times, I figured out that it was actually "La Patrona de Escuinapa - 92.5 FM," which maps to XETD in Tecuala, Nayarit, Mexico, 648 miles from me. I heard it on my Sangean PR-D4W with Terk loop. For some reason, XETD is not listed on mwlist.org. I ended up finding it on IFT.org.mx.

 

[ZantennaG1]

Had new loggings on three different bands this week.

Early Sunday morning I checked out the FM band and found that there was good tropo coming in from the east. Right before 5 a.m. CT I heard a talk show on 93.5 with a discussion about UFOs followed by a "SuperTalk Mississippi" ID. It was WMPK in Summit, MS, at 508 miles. My radio was a SPARC SHD-T750 connected to the supplied dipole placed over a west-facing window.

I then switched to the weather band on my little CC Skywave and heard a NOAA station in Alexandria, LA (WXK78), which only makes it here on rare occasions. I next tuned to 162.550, the frequency of my local NOAA station, and was able to null the local and hear another station by carefully placing the telescoping antenna horizontal. It turned out to be KIH48 in Bude, Mississippi, with a marine forecast for the Pascagoula area and a station ID. The distance was 492 miles.

Yesterday morning about an hour before sunrise, I was hearing a regional Mexican music station to the NE/SW on 560 mixing with KLVI and XEBJB. Occasionally I would hear an ID that sounded like "La Mandona - 91.5 FM," but I couldn't find anything matching that. After reviewing the recording multiple times, I figured out that it was actually "La Patrona de Escuinapa - 92.5 FM," which maps to XETD in Tecuala, Nayarit, Mexico, 648 miles from me. I heard it on my Sangean PR-D4W with Terk loop. For some reason, XETD is not listed on mwlist.org. I ended up finding it on IFT.org.mx.

Yahoo, tropo season is finally here! And just around the corner will be E-skip season with the solar cycle on the way up, so it should be a great year!

 

[jim-satx]

Yahoo, tropo season is finally here! And just around the corner will be E-skip season with the solar cycle on the way up, so it should be a great year!

I'm really hoping it will be a great year for e-skip. At the top of my wish list is an opening with an MUF above 160 MHz so I can log a NOAA weather station via e-skip.

 

[cyberdad]

For about ten years, I owned a car....actually my wife's...that had a weather band radio as original factory equipment. That was about the only thing I liked about it. It was a pretty decent radio, and I did get some DX out of it. All tropo, but nothing too exciting. Central Illinois and Indiana was about it. 150 miles or so.

 

[SkyWaveDX]

Had new loggings on three different bands this week.

Early Sunday morning I checked out the FM band and found that there was good tropo coming in from the east. Right before 5 a.m. CT I heard a talk show on 93.5 with a discussion about UFOs followed by a "SuperTalk Mississippi" ID. It was WMPK in Summit, MS, at 508 miles. My radio was a SPARC SHD-T750 connected to the supplied dipole placed over a west-facing window.

I then switched to the weather band on my little CC Skywave and heard a NOAA station in Alexandria, LA (WXK78), which only makes it here on rare occasions. I next tuned to 162.550, the frequency of my local NOAA station, and was able to null the local and hear another station by carefully placing the telescoping antenna horizontal. It turned out to be KIH48 in Bude, Mississippi, with a marine forecast for the Pascagoula area and a station ID. The distance was 492 miles.

Yesterday morning about an hour before sunrise, I was hearing a regional Mexican music station to the NE/SW on 560 mixing with KLVI and XEBJB. Occasionally I would hear an ID that sounded like "La Mandona - 91.5 FM," but I couldn't find anything matching that. After reviewing the recording multiple times, I figured out that it was actually "La Patrona de Escuinapa - 92.5 FM," which maps to XETD in Tecuala, Nayarit, Mexico, 648 miles from me. I heard it on my Sangean PR-D4W with Terk loop. For some reason, XETD is not listed on mwlist.org. I ended up finding it on IFT.org.mx.

Nice work with the tropo. We hardly get that out here in the SoCal deserts. Really, all it is around these parts is "mirroring" signals from as far south as Tijuana, but nothing eastward. That changes when ES comes rolling in, of course.

 

[SkyWaveDX]

I'm really hoping it will be a great year for e-skip. At the top of my wish list is an opening with an MUF above 160 MHz so I can log a NOAA weather station via e-skip.

Solar activity is looking very promising before the start of the ES season. With heightened MUF in general during these latest rounds of solar storms, it's certainly providing Mistress Ionosphere the energy she needs to deliver promising results as of now, and hopefully soon. Perhaps we may see quite a few "VHF-High" ES events this time around now that SC 25 comes into motion.

 

[cyberdad]

New catch this morning (4/1) shortly after 4am CDT. WZAM 970 from Ishpeming in Michigan's upper peninsula, with sports talk and positive ID. On top with a fair-good signal. I'm assuming 5kw day power (as opposed to 52-watt night power). Distance 296 mi. Radio C. Crane Skywave.

 

[cyberdad]

Auroral conditions? Hmm....maybe. Mixed signals (no pun intended) this morning before sunrise.

My "canary in the coal mine" to check for auroral conditions are the Manitoba signals that are usually present, This morning most of them were either weak or missing entirely. WCCO was also weaker than usual. So I thought I might be in for some interesting DX from the south. But then came the "Manitoba Surprise". CFAM was in on for the first time in at least 8 or 9 months. No positive ID, but the classical music (around 4:15am CDT) was unmistakable. Frequent fades, but for the most part holding its own with WWJ and the other "usual suspects". 658 miles. The last 2 or 3 of which are just north of the Manitoba-North Dakota border.

Also north of the border to the east this morning, CFZM was weak, CJBC was barely audible, but CFMB (Montreal) was roaring in on 1280.

Go figure!

 

[ZantennaG1]

Auroral conditions? Hmm....maybe. Mixed signals (no pun intended) this morning before sunrise.

My "canary in the coal mine" to check for auroral conditions are the Manitoba signals that are usually present, This morning most of them were either weak or missing entirely. WCCO was also weaker than usual. So I thought I might be in for some interesting DX from the south. But then came the "Manitoba Surprise". CFAM was in on for the first time in at least 8 or 9 months. No positive ID, but the classical music (around 4:15am CDT) was unmistakable. Frequent fades, but for the most part holding its own with WWJ and the other "usual suspects". 658 miles. The last 2 or 3 of which are just north of the Manitoba-North Dakota border.

Also north of the border to the east this morning, CFZM was weak, CJBC was barely audible, but CFMB (Montreal) was roaring in on 1280.

Go figure!

Congratulations on your Canadian catch!
Auoural conditions would explain Steve's unusual catch, as it would be to the south.