What Do You Hear On 540 kHz Now?

[davideduardo]

Not sure who the Mexican station is.

Generally, the Mexican station you would hear is XEWA, San Luis Potosí, SLP, México with 150 kw.

However, it appears that XEWA is one of the 85% of all Mexican AMs that are in the process of migrating to FM; the AM will not be relicensed.

Eventually, following the drop dead period, there will be only two AMs left in the state of San Luis Potosí, and none in the city of the same name.

The 540's in Tijuana, Comitan de Dominguez, Chis. (on Guatemalan border serving the Mayan language community) and Tlalmanalco, Edo. de México (outside Mexico City) appear to be the only Mexican 540's that will remain. The Mexico City and Tijuana stations can not move to FM due to lack of channels. The Mayan station is one of a handful serving remote indigenous populations that are not easily covered by FM.

 

[KE4KLS_Radio]

Daytime in central Maryland it's a very weak WWCS from the Pittsburgh area with "Fox Sports". If I drive one county over then WGOP from Pocomoke City, MD begins fading in with a "Timeless Favorites" oldies format. Nighttime here is usually a AM 540 soup with nothing standing out. Sometimes I can make out Spanish talk and urban gospel music.

The urban gospel station is likely WYNN Florence, SC:

http://radio-locator.com/info/WYNN-AM

 

[mimo]

When I lived in southeast Iowa, XEWA was the dominant 540 at night with CBK being the weaker. It was easy to separate the 2. Aimed at the south, southwest, north or northeast, it was always XEWA. Aimed northwest or southeast, it was CBK. I've even heard them up in Toronto and here in Ottawa. Right now I'm not getting anything at all.

 

[1L6E6VHF]

Continuing my observations of 540, I note that WDAK was again dominating the channel shortly after 0600 EST here. They aren't supposed to go to daytime 4kW power until 0645 in March, so I wonder if they are being compliant.

During the day, WRDT's IBOC rules the channel, but I was able to catch a weak but audible signal from 530 CIAO Brampton ON, even though their daytime pattern only sends about 150 mV/M@1km in the direction of Detroit's East Side where I was listening.

A strange surprise was around 6 in the evening. I suspect that CBEF may still be intermittently using 540 with greatly reduced power, as I heard French with a format that almost perfectly resembles what I had been hearing from Premiere Chaine before they signed off. Around 7, I heard what sounded very much like an American NPR station in the noise, along with the Christian country and Regional Mexican I had heard the previous evening (which I suspect is from USA as this is long before sunset at San Luis Potosi).

Another odd unID at 1900 EST was an adult standards station on 570.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Not sure who the Mexican station is.

Generally, the Mexican station you would hear is XEWA, San Luis Potosí, SLP, México with 150 kw.

However, it appears that XEWA is one of the 85% of all Mexican AMs that are in the process of migrating to FM; the AM will not be relicensed.

Eventually, following the drop dead period, there will be only two AMs left in the state of San Luis Potosí, and none in the city of the same name.

The 540's in Tijuana, Comitan de Dominguez, Chis. (on Guatemalan border serving the Mayan language community) and Tlalmanalco, Edo. de México (outside Mexico City) appear to be the only Mexican 540's that will remain. The Mexico City and Tijuana stations can not move to FM due to lack of channels. The Mayan station is one of a handful serving remote indigenous populations that are not easily covered by FM.

If you are right, it should settle my XEWA or KDFT question for daytime Houston reception.

 

[boombox]

Here in W. WA (Puget Sound area) I get CBK fairly regularly during the winter months (once getting it around 2 p.m.) and sometimes XESURF Tijuana, which broadcasts religious programming (Radio Zion) from Mexico. Also a couple weak TIS's from time to time.

I logged XEWA once back in the 80's, and I might have heard it a couple weeks ago (programming matched a Mexican station, but wasn't readable, even with an external loop).

CBK isn't as strong as it used to be. Have their facilities changed any over the past few years?

 

[ddsparxx]

In northern VA, I get very weak WGOP Pocomoke City, MD east of the Chesapeake Bay with the adult standards format, mixing in weaker WWCS near Pittsburgh. At night, it's a rather quite mish-mash with WFLF Pine Hills, FL on top, I may also gotten WETC, near Raleigh, NC, when I hear Spanish, and WYNN Florence, SC. I may also gotten some 540 station playing some vocal music sung in a foreign language early pre-dawn morning hours but not sure what that is. Sounded more like easy listening than Spanish/regional Mexican.

 

[dave73]

During the daytime, I only hear WAUK Jackson, WI. At night, I either get WAUK, or splatter. All from Gary, IN.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Regarding the CBK facility, I don't believe that they have moved or changed the licensed facility. Bill Dulmage has an excellent site with histories which I will check. Several Class I-As have worked on the main tower and use an auxiliary 1/4 wave tower on the site. Sometimes this goes on for months, with reduced signal and fading at night. These backups were standard at one time, as Class I-As were part of a defense communications strategy, and often still are in the US, as primary EAS stations. Many of these are far away from central cities, and auxiliary facilities were set up to try to survive the most unthinkable disasters.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Since the licensed tower is just barely more than 1/4 wavelength, that's probably not why it's weaker. Maybe they are running a lower power auxiliary transmitter while working on the 50 kW transmitter.

 

[robotique]

So because of this thread, I checked out this frequency last night. Here in the Boston area I typically receive WLIE Islip NY and WWCS Canonsburg PA. Well last night....I logged three new ones! Here is what I logged from 03:20 UTC to 04:00 UTC:


540 WLIE Islip NY
540 CBT Grand Falls-Windsor NFLD
540 WFLF Pine Hills FL
540 WGOP Pocomoke City MD

 

[1L6E6VHF]

One other thing I notice - two recent mornings, just before sunrise (about 0700 EST), I've had CBK in SE Michigan. Not strong, but steady and all alone on the channel.

 

[EddieTheRapFan]

Here in Buenos Aires, I get a weak signal of LRA14 Radio Nacional de Santa Fe, around 450 kilometres away from me.

 

[K6JHU]

I get KNMX, Las Vegas. But that is a local here