Sarasota (Siesta Key) Vacation Loggings

[BobOnTheJob]

With record cold weather, might as well DX on the rental car radio. I had fellow DXer Andy Bolin from Illinois on the cell phone barking out "check this" & he was there to compare & verify what I heard & didn't hear.

530--Beautiful Music with female announcer in Spanish. I understand that no one has positively ID'd this one as the stream doesn't match the ID. Has anyone positively confirmed what this is?

700--WLW and something Spanish both weak but equal

740--Positively ID'd Toronto,ON...best catch

760 & 890--No Chicago. Heard same Spanish programming on both frequencie.

780 & 1000--Heard Chicago on both frequencies

1120--KMOX ID'd

1130--2 News Talkers equal strength. One was carrying Clark Howard Sunday at 8PM. No ID's from either. I'd heard that Omaha's DA was not working Saturday night...was trying for Omaha, but unable to ID

 

[BRNout]

With record cold weather, might as well DX on the rental car radio. I had fellow DXer Andy Bolin from Illinois on the cell phone barking out "check this" & he was there to compare & verify what I heard & didn't hear.

530--Beautiful Music with female announcer in Spanish. I understand that no one has positively ID'd this one as the stream doesn't match the ID. Has anyone positively confirmed what this is?

700--WLW and something Spanish both weak but equal

740--Positively ID'd Toronto,ON...best catch

760 & 890--No Chicago. Heard same Spanish programming on both frequencie.

780 & 1000--Heard Chicago on both frequencies

1120--KMOX ID'd

1130--2 News Talkers equal strength. One was carrying Clark Howard Sunday at 8PM. No ID's from either. I'd heard that Omaha's DA was not working Saturday night...was trying for Omaha, but unable to ID

530 is Cuban; it's been heard in various locations throughout the eastern US, though I have only heard it once or twice (weakly in the background) from the Chicago area.

700 could be CMOC Isla Juventu, Cuba - 10 kw ND.

740 Toronto is a great catch!!

760 is WJR Detroit, not Chicago. Not getting 890 WLS is no shocker - they're usually the weakling of the bunch (at least in modern times).

Your last entry is confusing because KFAB is 1110 and not 1130 - and I don't think there are any Clark Howard affiliates on 1130. But, WBT 1110 carries that show during the evening and should be dominant on that frequency in Sarasota.

How many Radio Reloj signals do you get down there? I could get 570 all day and night......

 

[BobOnTheJob]

With record cold weather, might as well DX on the rental car radio. I had fellow DXer Andy Bolin from Illinois on the cell phone barking out "check this" & he was there to compare & verify what I heard & didn't hear.

530--Beautiful Music with female announcer in Spanish. I understand that no one has positively ID'd this one as the stream doesn't match the ID. Has anyone positively confirmed what this is?

700--WLW and something Spanish both weak but equal

740--Positively ID'd Toronto,ON...best catch

760 & 890--No Chicago. Heard same Spanish programming on both frequencie.

780 & 1000--Heard Chicago on both frequencies

1120--KMOX ID'd

1130--2 News Talkers equal strength. One was carrying Clark Howard Sunday at 8PM. No ID's from either. I'd heard that Omaha's DA was not working Saturday night...was trying for Omaha, but unable to ID

530 is Cuban; it's been heard in various locations throughout the eastern US, though I have only heard it once or twice (weakly in the background) from the Chicago area.

700 could be CMOC Isla Juventu, Cuba - 10 kw ND.

740 Toronto is a great catch!!

760 is WJR Detroit, not Chicago. Not getting 890 WLS is no shocker - they're usually the weakling of the bunch (at least in modern times).

Your last entry is confusing because KFAB is 1110 and not 1130 - and I don't think there are any Clark Howard affiliates on 1130. But, WBT 1110 carries that show during the evening and should be dominant on that frequency in Sarasota.

How many Radio Reloj signals do you get down there? I could get 570 all day and night......

Yep WJR is Detroit on 760. And I did mean 1110 on the Clark Howard catch. I understood that when KFAB was non-D on Saturday night, the IBOC was wiping out KMOX 120 miles east of St Louis. I'll try & spin the dial & count the clock signals...in the past, there have been several. Have you successfully ID'd the 530? It's here at least as well during the day, so that pretty well narrows it to something in Cuba.

 

[gr8oldies]

I was in First Phone school in Sarasota in 1980 and loved DXing from Lido and Siesta. Then, WLS would blast in around sunset. I could hear XEW on 990, WOWO and lots of northern stations. Cubans were still high powered and pests

 

[BobOnTheJob]

I was in First Phone school in Sarasota in 1980 and loved DXing from Lido and Siesta. Then, WLS would blast in around sunset. I could hear XEW on 990, WOWO and lots of northern stations. Cubans were still high powered and pests

I've noticed that WLW, WLS & some others in the lower half of the dial blast in right around sunset nere & then gradually get weaker as the evening goes on. In the past, WOWO was a flamethrower here...1530 from Cincy still is. Wish I could get an ID out of that 530 that plays the easy listening music. It's good day & night here...guess I'll have to try the wife's patience as I try to catch some kind of ID from it. Love Siesta Key...just wish that the record cold had picked a different time to roost here!

 

[radioman148]

I was in First Phone school in Sarasota in 1980 and loved DXing from Lido and Siesta. Then, WLS would blast in around sunset. I could hear XEW on 990, WOWO and lots of northern stations. Cubans were still high powered and pests

I've noticed that WLW, WLS & some others in the lower half of the dial blast in right around sunset nere & then gradually get weaker as the evening goes on. In the past, WOWO was a flamethrower here...1530 from Cincy still is. Wish I could get an ID out of that 530 that plays the easy listening music. It's good day & night here...guess I'll have to try the wife's patience as I try to catch some kind of ID from it. Love Siesta Key...just wish that the record cold had picked a different time to roost here!

I was on the southeast coast of Florida (near Miami) years ago a few times. While DXing there during various times of the year I noticed that WLS & various other stations from the northern states would come in very well around sunset and then later on get clobbered. My guess is during the fall & winter months that the darkness to the north sets in much sooner than to the south. In the spring & summer the opposite is true.
When in Florida once in May I had a much tougher time getting any northern stations at all.

 

[gr8oldies]

Sunset in Florida seems to be close to Ohio..don't know if there is appreciably more daylight in FL. I spent a night in Miami and the radio dial made it seem like I was in Cuba. No northern signals at all.

 

[cyberdad]

What you had on 530 was Radio Enciclopedia.  10kw outlet for a Cuban radio network which has been discussed in other threads here. 

This station has been rather widely heard over much of the eastern and southern U.S., as well as in Ontario and Quebec Canada.  I can pick it up just about every night at my location northwest of Chicago (with CIAO from Brampton, ON nulled). I'm also able to pick it up (faintly) all day long on the gulf coast beach where we vacation on the Florida-Alabama border....aka the Flora-bama (inside joke)  ;D

Anyway, the format is instrumental music interspersed with brief "facts" presented by female announcers.  It's a pretty good listen, if you like soft music, although they pick up the tempo during morning hours.  They also have a 128kbs stream, but the last time I tried it, there was an extremely annoying hum in the background.

 

[swfl]

I was in First Phone school in Sarasota in 1980 and loved DXing from Lido and Siesta. Then, WLS would blast in around sunset. I could hear XEW on 990, WOWO and lots of northern stations. Cubans were still high powered and pests

I've noticed that WLW, WLS & some others in the lower half of the dial blast in right around sunset nere & then gradually get weaker as the evening goes on. In the past, WOWO was a flamethrower here...1530 from Cincy still is. Wish I could get an ID out of that 530 that plays the easy listening music. It's good day & night here...guess I'll have to try the wife's patience as I try to catch some kind of ID from it. Love Siesta Key...just wish that the record cold had picked a different time to roost here!

I was on the southeast coast of Florida (near Miami) years ago a few times. While DXing there during various times of the year I noticed that WLS & various other stations from the northern states would come in very well around sunset and then later on get clobbered. My guess is during the fall & winter months that the darkness to the north sets in much sooner than to the south. In the spring & summer the opposite is true.
When in Florida once in May I had a much tougher time getting any northern stations at all.

 

[swfl]

I was in First Phone school in Sarasota in 1980 and loved DXing from Lido and Siesta. Then, WLS would blast in around sunset. I could hear XEW on 990, WOWO and lots of northern stations. Cubans were still high powered and pests

I've noticed that WLW, WLS & some others in the lower half of the dial blast in right around sunset nere & then gradually get weaker as the evening goes on. In the past, WOWO was a flamethrower here...1530 from Cincy still is. Wish I could get an ID out of that 530 that plays the easy listening music. It's good day & night here...guess I'll have to try the wife's patience as I try to catch some kind of ID from it. Love Siesta Key...just wish that the record cold had picked a different time to roost here!

I was on the southeast coast of Florida (near Miami) years ago a few times. While DXing there during various times of the year I noticed that WLS & various other stations from the northern states would come in very well around sunset and then later on get clobbered. My guess is during the fall & winter months that the darkness to the north sets in much sooner than to the south. In the spring & summer the opposite is true.
When in Florida once in May I had a much tougher time getting any northern stations at all.

You are correct. In the winter months the days are longer in Florida than they are in the northern states. A good example is the month of December. In Ohio sunset is around 5PM or even a bit earlier. In Florida sunset is around 5:45PM. The summer is just the opposite. The days are a bit shorter in Florida than in the northern states. Another thing to remember is that sunset in Florida is a bit different from the east coast to west coast. Sunset is a bit later on the west coast. The difference is just enough that in many cases the "official" sunset time set by the FCC is a few minutes later for the stations on the west coast.

 

[gar hi]

740--Positively ID'd Toronto,ON...best catch

That's amazing considering that here in Tampa, all I can ID is WYGM Orlando which booms in most of the time and rules the frequency and also KTRH from Houston which is in the background.

On another thread here, I mentioned hearing a third weaker mystery station on 740 too that I couldn't ID and wondered if it could be KCBS but now that I hear your report, maybe I've been hearing the Toronto station?

 

[BobOnTheJob]

740--Positively ID'd Toronto,ON...best catch

That's amazing considering that here in Tampa, all I can ID is WYGM Orlando which booms in most of the time and rules the frequency and also KTRH from Houston which is in the background.

On another thread here, I mentioned hearing a third weaker mystery station on 740 too that I couldn't ID and wondered if it could be KCBS but now that I hear your report, maybe I've been hearing the Toronto station?

Toronto plays a lot of music...I'd probably call it Adult Standards if I had to put a name on it. Good announcers & it appears to be live. It was mixed with another signal...I must be just far enough away and/or Orlando's directional pattern may send less this way. At home in Indiana, Toronto is a flame thrower on most nights.

 

[frankberry]

760 would be WLCC, Brandon (Tampa) 10kw day 1kw night.

 

[drt]

760 would be WLCC, Brandon (Tampa) 10kw day 1kw night.

760 -WLCC Brandon/Tampa is a Spanish language station with what I would call a regional Mexican format; from where I am near the waterfront on the fringes of downtown St. Petersburg, I can null out WLCC and get a weak WJR 760 out of Detroit.

For the visitors to Longboat Key, 880 WCBS from November through February usually comes in best from about an hour before local sunset to about an hour afterwards, when Radio Reloj out of Cuba usually (but not always) takes over. Radio Reloj also causes considerable interference to WLS Chicago and to a lesser extent also WWL 870. (as well as many other stations too numerious to mention)

Local sunrise times for west coast Florida stations in January is 7:30am and sunset is 6pm; except for 1520 out of Indian Rocks, which as a daytimer signs off with their brokered religion program anytime from 6:45 - 7:30 this month. (guess the fines from the FCC nearly two years ago didn't help them remember when to sign off!)

btw- WSDV 1450-City Island/Sarasota has their IBOC hash machine on 24/7 again.

drt

 

[jd]

Local sunrise times for west coast Florida stations in January is 7:30am and sunset is 6pm; except for 1520 out of Indian Rocks, which as a daytimer signs off with their brokered religion program anytime from 6:45 - 7:30 this month.

The question I'd about that is whether the station, WXYB, is using their daytime power of 600 watts past sunset. They do have post-sunset authority which allows them to operate with greatly reduced power until two hours past sunset. That's with 21 watts from 6 until 6:45 and then with 24 watts until 8.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

I did verify that 530 is Radio Enciclopedia. Note that their stream runs about 2-3 minutes behind their air signal.

 

[drt]

Local sunrise times for west coast Florida stations in January is 7:30am and sunset is 6pm; except for 1520 out of Indian Rocks, which as a daytimer signs off with their brokered religion program anytime from 6:45 - 7:30 this month.

The question I'd about that is whether the station, WXYB, is using their daytime power of 600 watts past sunset. They do have post-sunset authority which allows them to operate with greatly reduced power until two hours past sunset. That's with 21 watts from 6 until 6:45 and then with 24 watts until 8.

My guess is that WXYB is staying with the 600 watts until they finally decide to sign off, which can be mid-sentence in that brokered religion program. I'm probably about 18 - 20 miles s.e. of them and my signal meter reading of them remains the same after local sunset. In December, one evening, they were on the air until almost 8, even though the local sunset for December in their location should have been 5:45; I rounded off their sign off times, but they have signed off at odd times, i.e. mid-sentence at 7:09pm; or 7:51pm or as early as 6:30. I suppose it's possible, that they have been belately reducing their power and in my location, I just assumed they had signed off; nonetheless there is a problem, whether intentional or an ongoing problem with a timer.

The FCC fined them in mid 2008 for remaining on the air with 600 watts 24/7; they got the fine reduced after saying they were having transmitter problems and it wouldn't turn off.

drt

 

[drt]

Local sunrise times for west coast Florida stations in January is 7:30am and sunset is 6pm; except for 1520 out of Indian Rocks, which as a daytimer signs off with their brokered religion program anytime from 6:45 - 7:30 this month.

The question I'd about that is whether the station, WXYB, is using their daytime power of 600 watts past sunset. They do have post-sunset authority which allows them to operate with greatly reduced power until two hours past sunset. That's with 21 watts from 6 until 6:45 and then with 24 watts until 8.

It is now 8:26pm and WXYB is still on the air; the last two i.d.'s I heard were at about 4 minutes past the hour and they i.d. d themselves as their sister station, WPSO 1500; I could go on, but this station is a trainwreck as so many levels, it deserves a thread of it's own. Songs cut off in the middle, minutes of dead air at a time etc etc.

The last time I checked the FCC website several months ago, it did not mention any post sunset authority for 1520, but I am aware that the FCC website is not always up to date.

drt

 

[gar hi]

BobonTheJob, thanks for starting this thread!

Remember how I said I was surprised you got 740 from Toronto down here?

Well, I guess my problem was that I never was looking for it because I automatically assumed it was directional because of WYGM and I was too focused on turning the radio in the other direction to hear what I was getting from out west.

I was scanning the AM band tonight and had my radio facing north when I passed 740 and heard in the background of WYGM the kind of old music that
CFZM Toronto is supposed to play.

I was able to ID them by going to their online stream which is about 45 seconds to a minute or so behind.

Here's some video of my catch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EFKuDkywPk


Looks like I already got my New Years resolution wish I mentioned in the other thread to get a Canadian station in Florida!

 

[ScottBurns]

I have done some of my best DX'ing on the beach in Siesta Key. I have actually found the fall - after the rainy season, when the humidity subsides a bit - to be the best time to DX in the Sarasota area. Perhaps the white sand has good conductivity?

In all seriousness, I have caught some amazing stations in Siesta Key. In November of 2006, I DX'd a bunch of Keys stations. That was the only time I had ever picked up the Keys from Florida's West coast. A year later, I DX'd FM stations all along the Gulf Coast - from Houston to New Orleans to Mobile. I even picked up some Mexican stations that my limited Spanish knowledge disallowed me from identifying.