Tonight on the Arctic receiver conditions to North America weren't the best but I heard KTLK on top on 1130, WYLL strong on 1160. Two new ones for me anyway, 1500 KSTP and 1390 WGRB. Lots of Europeans I couldn't identify except 1089 sports from the UK. I've got to find a way to stay up later!
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ArcticSDR: CJOB and KBRW mixing on 680 right now. Weak Spain on 774 and no sign of JOUB. Perhaps this is a different receiver and different beverage?
What's the UNID European on 828? It sounds like Eastern European? BBC Wales strong on 882, synchros. CFAM-950 Altona with Classical quite strong tonight, with at least two UNIDs underneath. CJRB-1220 and CHSM-1250 also strong. In my overall Yakima logs, I still need CHSM! The Religious music on 1140 is likely CHRB AB. Think I'm also hearing CHMB-1320 Vancouver BC with Chinese.
EDIT - KOZY Grand Rapids MN is mixing on 1320. 'Here's your KOZY weather forecast'...
What's the UNID European on 828? It sounds like Eastern European? BBC Wales strong on 882, synchros. CFAM-950 Altona with Classical quite strong tonight, with at least two UNIDs underneath. CJRB-1220 and CHSM-1250 also strong. In my overall Yakima logs, I still need CHSM! The Religious music on 1140 is likely CHRB AB. Think I'm also hearing CHMB-1320 Vancouver BC with Chinese.
EDIT - KOZY Grand Rapids MN is mixing on 1320. 'Here's your KOZY weather forecast'...
Is this the Artic SDR that is the one located in Kongsfjord, Norway? I have had difficulty listening to this SDR this year due to the issues with the background noice and electrical interference plaguing many frequencies. Last year, this SDR was fairly clear and I would consistently here KOMO 1000 from Seattle and CKWX News 1130 from Vancouver, BC along with the Alaskan stations. This year, no dice and a lot of static.
I just saw your post and caught the Iranian at 1575 just now. Last night conditions weren't great although WYLL was strong and dominating 1160. KTLK not as strong as usual. I spent most of my time on the Hawaii receiver. Conditions to the midwest were good, WGN rising above KDWN and WBBM at times overtaking KKOH. The Southern California stations were mostly weak. KNX was barely audible when I tried. Very unusual.
1130 CKWX in Vancouver, BC, at 1,867 miles - my furthest non-salt water path AM reception and first time to log anything from BC.
I caught the station on the 14th, just before midnight CT. I'd been checking out 1130 to see if I could turn up anything new. KWKH dominates, and the only other stations I've heard on the frequency are XEYZ and XETOL.
After aiming my CC-2E to the NW to get a partial null of KWKH, underneath I started hearing occasional weak bits of news talk from a man and woman. Eventually I heard the woman say "news in Vancouver." I then found the CKWX stream on the TuneIn app, and sure enough, it matched what I was hearing.
I caught the station on the 14th, just before midnight CT. I'd been checking out 1130 to see if I could turn up anything new. KWKH dominates, and the only other stations I've heard on the frequency are XEYZ and XETOL.
After aiming my CC-2E to the NW to get a partial null of KWKH, underneath I started hearing occasional weak bits of news talk from a man and woman. Eventually I heard the woman say "news in Vancouver." I then found the CKWX stream on the TuneIn app, and sure enough, it matched what I was hearing.
Well THAT was sure fun!
I'm referring to my first "test drive" of the Arctic SDR, after reading what you guys have been up to.
My highlights from about 6:30 - 8:20pm CST. (00:30-02:20 UTC)
R. Progreso (Cuba) on both 620 and 640. I also heard a faint R. Rebelde in the background on 710 but not 670.
WCBS Weak on 880
KTLK Fair on 1130.... Probably the strongest U.S. signal. I presume conditions to North America get better later in the evening
KCJJ Fair on 1630 with positive ID
KBGG Weak on 1700 with University of Northern Iowa basketball.
No Canadians that I could identify. Also...given the success I had with R. Progreso on two channels, I tried for R. Reloj on 570 and 950. I thought perhaps the time pips would come through. No luck this time anyway.
I actually checked out the SDR for about twenty minutes earlier in the day around lunchtime. Loads of Middle East, Russian, and Asian stuff. I was wishing I had crainbebo here with me to help identify some of the latter
Update: No sooner did I post this than I went back to the SDR and found CJOB alone on 680. So much for "no Canadians."
I'm referring to my first "test drive" of the Arctic SDR, after reading what you guys have been up to.
My highlights from about 6:30 - 8:20pm CST. (00:30-02:20 UTC)
R. Progreso (Cuba) on both 620 and 640. I also heard a faint R. Rebelde in the background on 710 but not 670.
WCBS Weak on 880
KTLK Fair on 1130.... Probably the strongest U.S. signal. I presume conditions to North America get better later in the evening
KCJJ Fair on 1630 with positive ID
KBGG Weak on 1700 with University of Northern Iowa basketball.
No Canadians that I could identify. Also...given the success I had with R. Progreso on two channels, I tried for R. Reloj on 570 and 950. I thought perhaps the time pips would come through. No luck this time anyway.
I actually checked out the SDR for about twenty minutes earlier in the day around lunchtime. Loads of Middle East, Russian, and Asian stuff. I was wishing I had crainbebo here with me to help identify some of the latter
Update: No sooner did I post this than I went back to the SDR and found CJOB alone on 680. So much for "no Canadians."
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That is a great catch! CKWX has a monster signal and for whatever reason, 1130 is a pretty empty frequency. The aforementioned KWKH comes in from time to time here in Phoenix, but that is easily nulled by turning the radio north / south. There is a Mexican station that comes in, but a lot of times, CKWX can be heard alone on the frequency. All the nearby 1130’s are daytime only so the frequency stays pretty clear at night. One of the few remaining out there, that’s for sure!
Way to go, excellent catch!
Well THAT was sure fun!
I'm referring to my first "test drive" of the Arctic SDR, after reading what you guys have been up to.
My highlights from about 6:30 - 8:20pm CST. (00:30-02:20 UTC)
R. Progreso (Cuba) on both 620 and 640. I also heard a faint R. Rebelde in the background on 710 but not 670.
WCBS Weak on 880
KTLK Fair on 1130.... Probably the strongest U.S. signal. I presume conditions to North America get better later in the evening
KCJJ Fair on 1630 with positive ID
KBGG Weak on 1700 with University of Northern Iowa basketball.
No Canadians that I could identify. Also...given the success I had with R. Progreso on two channels, I tried for R. Reloj on 570 and 950. I thought perhaps the time pips would come through. No luck this time anyway.
I actually checked out the SDR for about twenty minutes earlier in the day around lunchtime. Loads of Middle East, Russian, and Asian stuff. I was wishing I had crainbebo here with me to help identify some of the latter
Update: No sooner did I post this than I went back to the SDR and found CJOB alone on 680. So much for "no Canadians."
I have the same problem my best language is English, therefore I can't ID so many of the stations.
If you're ever up late at night you can catch the Alaskans on 680 & 820. I did last weekend. I did catch Cuba on 890 with WLS last week. I also caught WWL one night almost in the clear.
890 was all Algeria (891 to be exact). I knew that one from my previous trips across the pond. I was trying for WWL, but didn't hear it. I've heard it before, however, on the Northern Ireland SDR. I was also looking for the Alaskans, but I guess i'll have to stay up later for them.
The monster European was 1089 Sports from London. I had also heard that one on the Stuttgart SDR, not to mention on my SRF-37 Walkman when I used to go to Stuttgart every year as a trade show exhibitor. The BBC 810 from Scotland was also blasting. I think I may have also been hearing WGY underneath it, but I couldn't ID it.
Since it's dark 23 out of 24 hours of the day at the receiver site this time of year, it would appear reception is best wherever else it's dark. I've got to think there's a "sweet spot" time of night for North American reception (as well as European, Asian and Middle Eastern. The operator of the receiver has checked in on one of the radio-oriented Facebook groups.
890 has been tough most of the time. Around 1:00AM CST I heard WLS & Cuba last week. WBBM a few times. It seems that the later at night/earlier in the morning is best for North America reception. Although conditions can vary. I usually use 1130 KTLK as a barometer when I tune in. And yes that 1089 from London is often loud.
And after just checking at 04:50z I'm hearing nothing from North America. Going to the Hawaii receiver now.
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1548 AM is a strong London signal playing Oldies music that I have also heard on the Artic SDR. That station surprisingly gets out pretty far. I wonder if anyone has picked it up in North America?
I looked back over 3 years of the National Radio Club bulletin, and only found the BBC outlet in Bristol reported once. Otherwise, the 1548 reception in North America is all Muldova. In the Midwest, it is the station in QLD, Australia being hear.
There are reports that the station was off air for quite a bit earlier in 2018, and much speculation that they might be turning in the AM license if they are assured it won't just be put up for reassignment again. An AM music station on the top end of the dial is an ugly thing to own.
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Gold is apparently directional away from the north; there are other UK stations on 1548 but with lower power.
That station, "Capital Gold", is 97kw very directional to the southeast. That's why it booms into Germany at night. I've also heard it in Germany via daytime skywave (in Bonn, early March 2001). Going in the other direction, We've stayed a couple of times in the resort town of Broadway, 98 miles northwest from the Capital radio group studios at Leicester Square in Central London. At broadway, the day signal is very weak, but still listenable. At my sister-in-laws' parents' house in Manchester (another 90 miles north), there's another station occupying 1548.
And, of course, no trace of the London 1548 on the Arctic SDR.
"on the plus side"...1548 has one of the better signals in Central London itself. It was never a problem in my usual hotel fronting Grosvenor Square, near the American and other Embassies. Not exactly a noise-free area!