Some pretty decent catches from eastern Iowa Dec. 22nd

[icybluelake]

Caught the following from Cedar Rapids, IA on December 22:

560 KLZ Denver (mixed in with WIND Chicago, but still clearly audible)
660 WFAN New York -- not unusual
680 KNBR San Francisco -- first time ever!
690 KTSM El Paso -- have picked this up before, but not recently
690 WISB New Orleans -- this turns out to be not too unusual
960 CFAC Calgary
1060 Spanish language station -- any chance it could have been XEEP? I couldn't verify anything; doesn't count.
1130 WBBR New York
1130 CKWX Vancouver -- first time ever
1150 CKOC Hamilton, ON
1320 WJAS Pittsburgh, PA
1320 -- Chinese language. I haven't IDed this station. When I previously heard it, I thought (hoped) it was CHMB Vancouver. Then I found out that KXYZ Houston now has Chinese language programming at that time of night. Still, having clearly heard CKWX on 1130, I'm hoping that I've caught CHMB, but still have to ID it.

Also heard various other Canadians, including 730 CKDM Dauphin, MB; 920 CFRY Portage la Prairie, MB; have caught these several times before.

The KNBR and CKWX catches were pretty good ones, and I had to pass those along. (KNBR is also a sports station I actually enjoy listening to from time to time online.) Both were pretty decent signals for a while before fading out (and WBBR fading in).

Happy wintertime DXing, and happy 2012.

 

[icybluelake]

Also caught 1090 KMXA Aurora/Denver, CO, on more than one occasion recently, loud and clear. They're a 50K daytime station, supposed to power down to 500 watts at night. I don't think I heard the 500 watt version. Anyone else notice this station booming in at night recently?

 

[cyberdad]

Some good catches there. I've heard most of them in my days in the eastern Iowa area in the late '60s and early 70s. CKWX, CKOC, CFAC, and WJAS being exceptions.

As for 1320, I'm wondering if it might have been CJMR....Mississauga, ON (Toronto area). Assuming they haven't migrated to FM. They're mostly religion, but I believe they also have foreign language stuff. One lobe of their nighttime pattern is to the southeast.

 

[mimo]

It wouldn't be CJMR. They're almost completely south Asian. I also don't see them migrating to FM either in the near future.

When I lived in south east Iowa, I caught all of those stations except KTSM, CFRY and CKDM. Great list, as they're not easy catches all the time.

 

[icybluelake]

When I first heard Chinese on 1320, I thought it was the Mississauga/Toronto station. After checking their site, it does look like mostly South Asian programming, although I thought I had read some time ago they had Chinese language programming there. No longer apparently. I think it's the Vancouver station because I want to think so, haha, but I still need an ID. (DXing in North America just seems a little more exciting when you pick up a signal with Chinese programming, than, say, just another one running George Noory.)

 

[cyberdad]

When I lived in south east Iowa, I caught all of those stations except KTSM, CFRY and CKDM. Great list, as they're not easy catches all the time.

KTSM would be an occasional pest when I'd be going after WTIX. CKDM was semi-regular. And CFRY would sometimes ride in over WOKY and CKCY (Sault Sainte Marie, ON) which were typically the main nighttime contestants for 920 in southeast Iowa. CKCY left the AM band years ago.

 

[BRNout]

Also caught 1090 KMXA Aurora/Denver, CO, on more than one occasion recently, loud and clear. They're a 50K daytime station, supposed to power down to 500 watts at night. I don't think I heard the 500 watt version. Anyone else notice this station booming in at night recently?

Yes, KMXA was pounding in to my location (about 40 mi N of Chicago) on a couple of nights during the past week. A REALLY strong signal; quite a bit stronger than KOA. Though it's in Spanish, I got a positive ID each time.