What's your best ever graveyard DX catch?

[Steve Green NEPA]

More on WGBB and WTMA and the Aurora ....

Normally, WGBB (its tower just about on the water itself) starts to get chewed up at night as you go west, past the Nassau-Queens line. Well west of there -- and inland -- one night we took WGBB clear into the Midtown Tunnel via the L.I.E.

On the way back it occured to one of us that there might be an aurora at work. The car radio, a 1966 stock Mustang AM, was already set to 1240. We tuned one frequency up, and there was a faint but very steady WTMA. We took THAT all all the way home, at first inland and then south down the Van Wyck, near where we lived. From what I recall, it didn't get noticeably louder as we reached the shore, but perhaps auroral conditions were changing.

Usually at night, it was WTAE Pittsburgh which dominated, sometimes mixing with the thing in New Hampshire (I forget the calls). WTMA became one of those aurual 'beacons'.

 

[Time Traveler]

Re: ?)

Back in the 60's in Southern Connecticut, Cuba on 640 (CMQ?) was very dominant just about every night, and more so during auroral nights. I remember CBN from New Foundland and WHLO from Akron (I think they had a California sunset sign off... or maybe a fixed time like 10 or 11pm.) Then next was KFI... not heard really often, but often enough to be one of the easier California logs, and I believe they were my first.

Back in the late 1980's, in upstate NY, once Oldies station (at the time) WNNZ-Westfield, Ma, reduced power at sunset, WHLO was clearly audible until they changed pattern. By late evening, Cuba was the dominant station in that region...

 

[ddsparxx]

I think I got an early morning (4:30 AM) graveyard DX, though it may not be considered great--WHGB 1400 Harrisburg, PA 107 miles away, I heard an announcer say "ESPN" just above the jumble of mess. It's never heard during the daytime.

 

[ddsparxx]

Decided to wake up this thread...I just heard WHCO AM 1230 Sparta, IL (not too far from St. Louis) 664 miles away in VA. I listened onlinee to confirm the ID. This was this morning at 5 AM EST. The antenna used is a new Quantum QX loop.

 

[K6JHU]

Before the expanded AM band got crowded I ended up listening to a TIS station out of Tampa in LA. 1630 if I remember correctly.

 

[travisl5678]

Is 1430 a graveyard frequency? Then my best catch is KLO in Ugden, UT about 575 miles

 

[pianoplayer88key]

The graveyard frequencies are 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450 and 1490.

 

[crainbebo]

K6JHU, you might have gotten 1640 out of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Tons of people got the 1640 before the X-Band became crowded.

-crainbebo

 

[Buckeyes2001]

I just happened to tune into 1340 here in Vermilion, OH and happen to catch an ID for WBGI/Connellsville, PA!

 

[Buckeyes2001]

Ok...so I try the other graveyard channels and on 1400, I heard someone saying "95.3 and 1400,..." which would point to WHGB/Harrisburg, PA. Weird how I logged 2 graveyard stations both from PA within minutes of each other.

 

[crainbebo]

Very nice. The record for me is KSMX-1240 Santa Maria, CA, logged 3/12/12 during a massive aurora opening to California. I also heard KWG 1230, KNRY 1240 and KOMY 1340 along with other UNIDs.

-crainbebo

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Wicked thread. Several chuckles, too. I especially like the one about the 'hard core DXers'.

The initial premise, though ..... a local GYer just broadcasting an open carrier through which to an ID a record distance station ..... has got to be pretty rare.

The closest I got to that scenario was when the late WPAM 1450 in Pottsville PA ran their last days of programming -- last months, actually -- at very low wattage. We were IN POTTSVILLE, broad daylight, a mile from the WPAM stick, and getting 'The Ticket' 1460 Harrisburg on an F-150 car radio. And WPAM *was* broadcasting, and playing their last offering to Pottsville : Some form of over-processed and splashy Alternative Death Metal.
With WPAM gone, I stand a good chance of hearing the new startup 1450 station from Milford PA, right on the Delaware River ......

@ was it Gar? Who mentioned WMID in Massapequa :
We lived darn near that actual boundary where the coast of New Jersey either blocked or didn't block the water path opening. It literally was a matter of a few city blocks ; the physical door opening ; it was that crucial. WPOW, with towers on Staten Island, and WEVD, with towers on Newtown Creek/East River, used to share the NYC frequency of 1330.
By me, a mile or so inside a legitimate New York City borough, when WPOW 1330 was on the air, 1000-watt WMID was louder than 5000-watt WPOW! And WPOW was licensed to serve New York City!
My buddy, four blocks west, affected by the NJ shore blockage, used to hear WNHC New Haven on top, instead of WMID.

That distinction of yours between water-path reception from Tampa and water-path reception from Daytona Beach is really vivid.

And the DXer who heard KOKC in Hawaii deserves some form of plaque for the wall of the den! :

 

[radioman148]

Wicked thread. Several chuckles, too. I especially like the one about the 'hard core DXers'.

The initial premise, though ..... a local GYer just broadcasting an open carrier through which to an ID a record distance station ..... has got to be pretty rare.

The closest I got to that scenario was when the late WPAM 1450 in Pottsville PA ran their last days of programming -- last months, actually -- at very low wattage. We were IN POTTSVILLE, broad daylight, a mile from the WPAM stick, and getting 'The Ticket' 1460 Harrisburg on an F-150 car radio. And WPAM *was* broadcasting, and playing their last offering to Pottsville : Some form of over-processed and splashy Alternative Death Metal.
With WPAM gone, I stand a good chance of hearing the new startup 1450 station from Milford PA, right on the Delaware River ......

@ was it Gar? Who mentioned WMID in Massapequa :
We lived darn near that actual boundary where the coast of New Jersey either blocked or didn't block the water path opening. It literally was a matter of a few city blocks ; the physical door opening ; it was that crucial. WPOW, with towers on Staten Island, and WEVD, with towers on Newtown Creek/East River, used to share the NYC frequency of 1330.
By me, a mile or so inside a legitimate New York City borough, when WPOW 1330 was on the air, 1000-watt WMID was louder than 5000-watt WPOW! And WPOW was licensed to serve New York City!
My buddy, four blocks west, affected by the NJ shore blockage, used to hear WNHC New Haven on top, instead of WMID.

That distinction of yours between water-path reception from Tampa and water-path reception from Daytona Beach is really vivid.

And the DXer who heard KOKC in Hawaii deserves some form of plaque for the wall of the den! :

I heard KOKC in Hawaii quite a few times and the signal was good enough to listen on the rental car radio.

 

[Buckeyes2001]

I was monitoring 1490 for a bit last night around 11pm Eastern time here in Vermilion, OH and heard a station briefly fade above the hash enough to hear "...Red Sox 2013 spring training..." If this station was near Boston that would put it at over 600 miles from me!

 

[gar hi]

@ was it Gar? Who mentioned WMID in Massapequa :

That was me.

I remember hearing it with a good signal daytime when we'd visit friends there.

Back home in south Jersey much closer but over land about 50 miles away, it was barely audible behind the local Philly station on the same frequency.

That distinction of yours between water-path reception from Tampa and water-path reception from Daytona Beach is really vivid.

At night, the big NYC stations like WFAN, WABC, and WCBS are so mucn stronger at Daytona Beach as compared to here in Tampa.

 

[crainbebo]

There's a whole ton of 1490 Red Sox stns. One in MA, one in NH, three in VT. Unless you hear the ID when the network breaks for station identification, there won't be a way to ID it.

-crainbebo

 

[fldxer]

Here's some of mine from Richmond, VA:
1230- WEEX Easton, PA; WOLS Florence, SC; WTIV Titusville, PA
1240 (w/local)- WRTA Altoona, PA; WHIZ Zanesville, OH
1340 (w/local)- WEPM Martinsburg, WV; WQSC Charleston, SC
1400- WTCY Harrisburg, PA; WEST Easton, PA; WSGA Savannah, GA; WICK Scranton, PA; WFTG London, KY; WGTN Georgetown, SC
1450 (w/local)- WFRA Franklin, PA; CHUC Coburg, ON
1490- WEAG Starke, FL; WLPA Lancaster, PA; WJMO Cleveland Heights, OH; WMRN Marion, OH; WBCB Levittown, PA; WTCS Fairmont, WV

All of these QSL'ed

 

[crainbebo]

Just for people to view, here's all the graveyard logs I have made here in Bellevue, WA.

1230
KWYZ Everett, WA
KOZI Chelan, WA
KSBN Spokane, WA
KVAS Astoria, OR
KBNH Burns, OR
KCUP Toledo, OR
KDYM Sunnyside, WA
KORT Grangeville, ID
KRYN Gresham, OR
KWG Stockton, CA (farthest)

1240
KGY Olympia, WA
KXLE Ellensburg, WA
CJOR Osoyoos, BC
KEJO Corvallis, OR
KQEN Roseburg, OR
KNRY Monterrey, CA
KOFE St. Maries, ID
KRDM Redmond, OR
KWIK Pocatello, ID
KSMX Santa Maria, CA [farthest on any graveyard freq]
KTIX Pendleton, OR

1340
KBNW Bend, OR
KWLE Anacortes, WA
KZNW Wenatchee, WA
KEWE Oroville, CA
KACH Preston, ID
KCAP Helena, MT
KIHR Hood River, OR
KJOX Kennewick, WA
KLOO Corvallis, OR
KOMY La Selva Beach, CA
KQJZ Evergreen, MT
KTSN Elko, NV
KUOW Lacey, WA
KWVR Enterprise, OR
KYLT Missoula, MT

1400
CKGR Golden, BC
CIOR Princeton, BC
KITZ Silverdale, WA
KEDO Longview, WA
KART Jerome, ID
KIHH Eureka, CA
KLCK Goldendale, WA
KNND Cottage Grove, OR
KSPT Sandpoint, ID
KRPL Moscow, ID

1450
KONP Port Angeles, WA
KLBM La Grande, OR
CHOR Summerland, BC
KBFI Bonners Ferry, ID
KBKW Aberdeen, WA
KBPS Portland, OR
KCLX Colfax, WA
KFLS Klamath Falls, OR
KGRZ Missoula, MT
KLZS Eugene, OR [I think?]
KSUH Puyalup, WA

1490
KBRO Bremerton, WA
KRKZ Forks, WA
KEYG Grand Coulee, WA
KTEL Walla Walla, WA
KWOK Aberdeen, WA
KBKR Baker City, OR
KSKR Roseburg, WA
KBZY Salem, OR
KLOG Kelso, WA
KSYC Yreka, CA
KYNR Toppenish, WA

I may have left out one or two but I got most.

-crainbebo

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Great Heavens, Crain -- you must have 450 GY stations alone logged!

Time to update your totals list,

 

[crainbebo]

Nope. That's all the GY stations I remember logging in the past few years.

My best trick (and not cheating)-tune the radio 2khz below (e.g. 1228, 1238) to take out all the mess. I've gotten complete TOH IDs from some of these stations. A few weeks ago I had KONP-WA and KLBM-OR giving off TOH IDs on 1450, both in full clarity above the mess.

-crainbebo