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XESURF coverage map

fredcantu said:
Radio Zion has one on their website that claims coverage from Santa Barbara to Tijuana.
Your thoughts would be appreciated since the databases still list XESURF as 100 watts on 540.

http://www.radiozion.net/cobertura.html
Click to expand...

It's about 1 kw. At that power, its 5 mV/M would hit somewhere between Oceanside and the Marine base on the coast, and barely half way up the county more inland.

That map would be, maybe, the 0.5 mV/M contour... although the inland coverage is very likely less.
 
DavidEduardo said:
fredcantu said:
Radio Zion has one on their website that claims coverage from Santa Barbara to Tijuana.
Your thoughts would be appreciated since the databases still list XESURF as 100 watts on 540.

http://www.radiozion.net/cobertura.html
Click to expand...

It's about 1 kw. At that power, its 5 mV/M would hit somewhere between Oceanside and the Marine base on the coast, and barely half way up the county more inland.

That map would be, maybe, the 0.5 mV/M contour... although the inland coverage is very likely less.
Click to expand...

Somewhere along the way, Radio-Locator determined that XESURF runs 25kw daytime. They claim they mostly get their information from the FCC database which shows XETIN 540 Tijuana running 100 watts daytime. I know the FCC database only has limited information on Mexican licensed stations.
 
The page at first glance implies that it's the AM coverage area, but I wonder if they have included every market where KNLA-TV shows up on cable? They do have their logo prominent at the top of the page.
 
radio-darn said:
The page at first glance implies that it's the AM coverage area, but I wonder if they have included every market where KNLA-TV shows up on cable? They do have their logo prominent at the top of the page.
Click to expand...

No, it is obviously centered on Tijuana where the transmitter is. It looks like the 0.5 mV/M contour... interesting, since in metros like LA there is nearly no listening outside the 10 mV/m contours of most stations.
 
According to the Wikipedia article on XESURF, in the Info Box (you know, all the technical information, callsign history, etc.), the station broadcasts at 25 kw nondirectional during the day, and 3.5 kw directional at night.
 
When 540 went classical, it doubled power to 1kw at it's single tower, sprouting out of a T.J. grocery store. The contour line on the coverage is a
stylized rendition downplaying the TJ location. It's also what I would consider the fringe level-20 to 100 microvolts, what most car radios would
be able to receive. As for Santa Barbara, ALL of the T.J. stations roll in there due to the water path. Even the 1kw 730 from Ensenada is audible.
Not sure where the 25kw power figure came from. 540 T.J. had a simulcast with a sister station 540 out of Hesperia, which WAS 25kw, beamed
into L.A. That went dark, and then they later signed on 1650 in the L.A. area.

Big 121
 
540 TJ hasn't used the grocery-store roof location for many years now. Their current site is on the ocean, right next to the northernmost toll booth on the toll road to Ensenada.
 
Right, Scott. I was referring to its location at the time of the power increase.... I did see your pic of 540 when you went to Baja.


Big 121
 
Mastaclocksetta said:
According to the Wikipedia article on XESURF, in the Info Box (you know, all the technical information, callsign history, etc.), the station broadcasts at 25 kw nondirectional during the day, and 3.5 kw directional at night.
Click to expand...

Go in there and change it to a 100 Kw...That's how inaccurate Wikipedia can be...
 
Thanks for the insight.
I try to keep up with Mexican radio the best I can, but technical data is pretty much considered proprietary information. Many times the first you'll learn about major changes is when they hit the air.
 
Sorry for bumping an old thread, but... Anyone know what is XESURF's current transmit power in kW, antenna height in electrical degrees, theoretical RMS field in mV/m at 1 km, or at least 2 of those 3? Also is the tower at 32°30'44.88"N 117°6'40.30"W their current tower?
 
You SURE that's XESURF's tower at the coordinates you gave?  I thought that was part of the array for XEWW.  Scott (in an earlier post) said the tower was near the last northbound toll plaza on highway 1D.

As for the other questions, I would like to calculate the field strength of XESURF (as well as several others, most of which I have except maybe XEKAM and XEKT to name a couple) at several beach locations. (Or would it just be easier to take a couple days on the bus (don't have a car now) and go there with my Tecsun radio and read the signal strengths?) These include, but are not limited to the Imperial Beach pier, near Cabrillo lighthouse, Ocean Beach pier, Scripps glider port, San Elijo north end and Oceanside Pier plus maybe a couple spots I don't remember now. I hope to attempt to determine those locations' suitability for early morning TP and DU ultralight DXing.  (I'm wondering if those stations would be too much "pests".)  Speaking of which, anyone know of some 400 foot high cliffs overlooking the ocean between Imperial Beach and Oceanside?  I know of someone that got some very good results off the coast of northern Oregon, including logging an NDB 6.5 miles away with only a ferrite sleeve loop antenna and an ultralight radio, at a similar-height site.
 
Scott Fybush and I found the transmitter for 540 AM at the norte end of the toll both, near the ocean and in sight of the famed bull ring. It's a single stick.

I believe that was at least three or four years ago.
 
Yeah, I found the stick too on google maps. Now I'm just wondering about its electrical height in degrees, transmit power, RMS field in mV/m at 1 km for 1 kW or at its current transmit power (can pick 1 to leave off) so I can calculate their approximate field strength at a few locations.

So how do you go about finding them? Use a portable radio with a built-in loopstick, then when it overloads you know you're close? Also there was another shorter stick somewhat north of that next to what may have been a toll booth at one time (like maybe less than 1/4 mile before the road turned east just south of the border) - any idea what that stick might be?
 
Judging from it's relative strength VS 800, 540 is reading 10db higher.At maybe 1 to 2.5 kw plus lower ground loss, may be the difference. The old data says 43 degree electrical height; could be this tower is close to that.
I looked for the other possible antenna, w/no luck. Do you have coordinates?
Before 540 Xsurf, I used to get KVIP Redding,CA(1kw) morning and evening.
 
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