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XEROK AM 800?

K

kilokat7

I think I picked up XEROK (Juárez, Mexico) on AM 800 a little bit ago but I'm having trouble getting a positive ID. Can anyone tell me their current format and slogan? Had a bilingual Spanish/English religious program at 10:00pm EST, and just before that a program in Spanish with mentions of Mexico and Columbia (seemed family orientated from what I could understand). Fairly decent signal into Michigan at times. I'm having trouble finding current station info on the net and couldn't locate a live stream to compare with.

Strange CKLW isn't dominating 800 here. Also managed to hear WKZI Casey, IL. (250 watt religious station @ 284 miles distance) and also had WHOS Decatur, AL. (215 watts night power @ 594 miles distance).
 
Its most likely XEROK 800 AM from Cuidad Juarez (El Paso TX). Its a regular here at night in San Antonio, TX. I never really listen to it long enough to determine a format, but I always hear some sort of spanish music. I think it is them because I used to listen to XEROK 80 way back in 1974/75 when they were a top 40 Border Blaster. At the time I thought XEROK 80 was a local station, since they played a much better Top 40 selection than our sorry locals and due to its signal strength. But when I heard weather reports concerning El Paso, TX, I realized that I had actually DXed by accident and have been hooked ever since. At the time I used to also get WLS 890 AM Chicago and WSB from Atlanta, all on my brand new Soundesign AM/FM alarm clock radio using only the power cord and built in ferrite rod for antenna!
 
kilokat7 said:
I think I picked up XEROK (Juárez, Mexico) on AM 800 a little bit ago but I'm having trouble getting a positive ID. Can anyone tell me their current format and slogan? Had a bilingual Spanish/English religious program at 10:00pm EST, and just before that a program in Spanish with mentions of Mexico and Columbia (seemed family orientated from what I could understand). Fairly decent signal into Michigan at times. I'm having trouble finding current station info on the net and couldn't locate a live stream to compare with.

Strange CKLW isn't dominating 800 here. Also managed to hear WKZI Casey, IL. (250 watt religious station @ 284 miles distance) and also had WHOS Decatur, AL. (215 watts night power @ 594 miles distance).
Click to expand...

My first bet on religion on 800 would be Trans World Radio, Bonaire. It's all religion... XEROK is Radio Cañón and regional Mexican in format, althogh it could have some religion on it. XEROK reduced power about 15 years ago, and is now running 50 kw, not the olde 150 kw. TWR is 100 kw and still widely reported, despite its power decrease. Rumor has it that XEROK is running quite a bit les than the 50 kw to save power.
 
Trans World Radio on 800

Thanks for the replies. I got a positive ID tonight, in Spanish, on this station - "Radio Trans Mundial" (aka PJB Bonaire). Very nice signal here. This was 0200 UTC, then into the same EE/SS bilingual religious program that I heard last night at the same time called "You Want me to do What?"

During the commute to work this morning, I parked the radio on 800 and was rewarded with the local news and weather from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan via CHAB at 8am EST with a great signal. Fun stuff!
 
1st of 5 said:
Its most likely XEROK 800 AM from Cuidad Juarez (El Paso TX). Its a regular here at night in San Antonio, TX. I never really listen to it long enough to determine a format, but I always hear some sort of spanish music. I think it is them because I used to listen to XEROK 80 way back in 1974/75 when they were a top 40 Border Blaster. At the time I thought XEROK 80 was a local station, since they played a much better Top 40 selection than our sorry locals and due to its signal strength. But when I heard weather reports concerning El Paso, TX, I realized that I had actually DXed by accident and have been hooked ever since. At the time I used to also get WLS 890 AM Chicago and WSB from Atlanta, all on my brand new Soundesign AM/FM alarm clock radio using only the power cord and built in ferrite rod for antenna!
Click to expand...

Then XEROK must lose a good deal of juice between SA and here in Houston. It's not an easy catch here, but maybe I am not listening at the right times. It's always pretty weak, and not because KBME/790 is right next door.
 
If XEROK 800 is 50kw, how is it that it could be heard almost clearly out here in Southern California, specificly San Diego, Blocking out XESPN.

Did I mention that I use Sony Walkman SRF-59.
 
Dnajera31 said:
If XEROK 800 is 50kw, how is it that it could be heard almost clearly out here in Southern California, specificly San Diego, Blocking out XESPN.
Click to expand...

A 5 kw non-directional station from Ciudad Juárez on 640 frequently overrides KFI in the Redlands/ Calimesa / Banning area along the 10 Fwy. So for a 50 kw station to kill tiny XESPN is hardly unusual. XESPN barely gets coverage of parts of the San Diego market, and nowhere does it have a particularly good signal.
 
How long ago did XEROK reduce their power?

I *may* have heard them exactly once back in the 1965-1977 DX era, all of the listening on Long Island. Nighttimes, after WLAD CT and WTMR Camden went off, it was CKLW and Bonaire, with the occasional Quebecois around sunset. A station with XEROK's wattage should have been there more often.

And for all their power plus the often-amenable conditions that favor South reception, XERF/XEG/XEW/XEX weren't all that frequent or as loud as logic says they should've been. Was the audio processing to blame? XEWA 540 and little XEVIP 1560 came in more faithfully and often.
 
Steve Green NEPA said:
How long ago did XEROK reduce their power?

I *may* have heard them exactly once back in the 1965-1977 DX era, all of the listening on Long Island. Nighttimes, after WLAD CT and WTMR Camden went off, it was CKLW and Bonaire, with the occasional Quebecois around sunset. A station with XEROK's wattage should have been there more often.
Click to expand...

XELO /XEROK ran 150 kw into the early 90's, but often turned down due to the problems with the power grid which could not keep up with a growing Juárez, and thus could not power the very old high level plate modulated floor furnace of XEROK.

In the 60's. McVeigh-managed XELO definitely ran 150 kw, as the station did not even run daytime most of the time. When XEROK was born (early, early 70's with CE Bruce Earle... one of the great AM engineers) the revenue model was selling night advertising to regional accounts; the El Paso revenue was, and is, very limited.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Steve Green NEPA said:
How long ago did XEROK reduce their power?

I *may* have heard them exactly once back in the 1965-1977 DX era, all of the listening on Long Island. Nighttimes, after WLAD CT and WTMR Camden went off, it was CKLW and Bonaire, with the occasional Quebecois around sunset. A station with XEROK's wattage should have been there more often.
Click to expand...

XELO /XEROK ran 150 kw into the early 90's, but often turned down due to the problems with the power grid which could not keep up with a growing Juárez, and thus could not power the very old high level plate modulated floor furnace of XEROK.

In the 60's. McVeigh-managed XELO definitely ran 150 kw, as the station did not even run daytime most of the time. When XEROK was born (early, early 70's with CE Bruce Earle... one of the great AM engineers) the revenue model was selling night advertising to regional accounts; the El Paso revenue was, and is, very limited.
Click to expand...
As late as the eighties, XEROK & PJB Bonaire used to have strong signals on 800KHZ here in Southwest Ohio. As I recall, a weak CKLW was the only obstacle they had to overcome.
 
Hey guys:

Does anybody know the exact date 800 XELO changed from Spanish to Top 40 as XEROK X-ROCK 80? Can find that info anywhere.
Top 40 lasted on there till Monday March 12, 1979 when it changed to Country 6AM-7PM, Religous 7PM-3AM Spanish 3AM-6AM.

Thanks for your help.
Tommy C.
 
thebeach33445 said:
Hey guys:

Does anybody know the exact date 800 XELO changed from Spanish to Top 40 as XEROK X-ROCK 80? Can find that info anywhere.
Top 40 lasted on there till Monday March 12, 1979 when it changed to Country 6AM-7PM, Religous 7PM-3AM Spanish 3AM-6AM.

Thanks for your help.
Tommy C.
Click to expand...

This article may help: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XEROK-AM

I thought X-ROCK was still playing Top 40 at night into the early 80s as I thought I remembered hearing them in Northern Illinois at that time.
Of course my memory of the date could be wrong.
 
Here in the Kansas City area, I rarely hear XEROK. They must now be running at a reduced power. When I moved here 15 years ago, they were a regular nighttime visitor. The strongest Mexican signals I receive are XERF and XEG.

Bob
 
Back around 1970 when I first started DXing, I sent a reception report to then-XELO. I received a "Record Roost" postcard as pictured in this link, along with a florescent green antenna ball. I wish I still had that stuff...

http://mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com/2009/09/xelo-and-border-blasters.html

I remember the change to XEROK as being in 1971-72. When I got my first car in 1973, they got one of my presets on the AM-only radio (this was in Tulsa Oklahoma). The other out of town station on preset was WLS.
 
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