Winter E-Skip?

When I am in my Subaru and not chasing AM DX at sunrise, the car radio is usually tuned to WLNG on 92.1 Mc, which is transmitting about 55 miles away in Sag Harbor on Long Island. Although I am on the fringe of WLNG’s coverage area, I enjoy listening to the station because it is old school AM radio and features a DJ, Rusty Potz, who I grew up listening to when I was a teenager. (Hear WLNG for yourself on their website).

And since I am on the fringe, I am very familiar with the ups and downs of WLNG’s signal as I drive around my neck of the woods. And this morning, those ups and downs were not normal; in places where WLNG’s is normally solid, I heard other stations competing with LNG’s signal.

At 1350 UTC, I clearly heard the station identification of WLHR. I had no idea where WLHR was located and when I looked it up, I was surprised to discover that it was located in Lavonia, Georgia, 744 miles to my southwest!

Shortly after the station identification, conditions returned to normal. 

WCNW

Sunrise AM DXing with the stock radio in my Subaru this morning added WCNW into the log at 1155 UTC. The Fairfield, Ohio station was broadcasting the local weather report while transmitting 1 kW on 1560 kc, 635 miles to my WSW.

WSBV signed on at the top of the hour and took over 1560, but I could still hear WCNW under WSBV.

A Thousand Miles Away (Almost)

I logged three new AM radio stations. Two with the CC Skywave barefoot and one with the stock radio in my 2007 Subaru.

With the CC Skywave, I heard WNBH Monday evening local time, 2320 UTC on 1340 kc transmitting 1 kW from New Bedford, Massachusetts, 105 miles to my East.

Also heard WFTH Monday evening local time, 0000 UTC on 1590 kc transmitting a mere 19 W from Richmond, Virginia, 373 miles to my southwest.

In the Subaru this morning during my commute to work at 1140 UTC (sunrise was at 1133 UTC), I heard KXEL on 1540 kc transmitting 50 kW from Waterloo, Iowa, 4 miles short of a thousand miles to my west. KXEL was loud and clear for about 5 minutes broadcasting the local weather forecast. The KXEL logging is the best AM DX from the Subaru and is in the top 5 for best AM DX overall.

4 new loggings with the CC Skywave

Four new loggings with the CC Skywave barefoot on February 21:

0230 UTC - 1560 kc - WFSP - Kingswood, WV - 1 kW - 386 miles WSW - S1 to S3 - 1960 oldies

0329 UTC - 1600 kc - CHHA - Toronto, ON - 6.25 kW - 354 miles NNW - S4 - Spanish language

0359 UTC - 1490 kc - WKVT - Brattleboro, VT - 1 kW - 86 miles N - S1 - station identification, nothing else!

2327 UTC - 1560 kc - WTNS - Coshocton, OH - 1 kW - 473 miles WSW - S0 to S2 - country & western music

The CC Skywave continues to impress me. I am also enjoying the absence of WQEW on 1560 allowing me to log 3 new stations on that frequency.

WSBV on 1560

 

On the Ultralight DX radio list, Rob, VA3SW, mentioned that WQEW, 1560 kc in New York City was sold and has been off the air this week, so I began monitoring 1560 to hear what I could hear.

I heard nothing much on the radios at home the past two evenings, but Thursday morning during my dawn commute, I heard a very weak station playing gospel music on 1560, but it was too weak to identify.

This morning, listening to nothing on 1560 while sitting at a traffic light at 7 AM, gospel station WSBV signed on loud and clear (S-7 signal) with the Star Spangled Banner out of South Boston, Virginia, transmitting 2.5 kW, 464 miles to my southwest.

The Dawn Patrol captures CJAD

The WA1LOU Dawn Patrol was successful today logging one new station during my morning commute: CJAD on 800 kc from Montreal, 250 miles to my north. I heard CJAD right at sunrise, so I am not sure if they were transmitting with nighttime power (10 kW) or daytime power (50 kW).

Also heard the following stations that I had previously logged:

• WLW – 700 kc, Cincinnati
• WGN – 720 kc, Chicago
• WJR – 760 kc, Detroit
• WLAD – 800 kc, Danbury, CT
• WGY – 810 kc, Schenectady, NY
• CJBC – 860 kc, Toronto (CJBC was very strong; it sounded like a local.)

Hug a radio!

Hug a radio because today is World Radio Day!

On the way to work, I tuned the car radio to 860 kc and listened to a French language station during the entire 35-minute commute. The station faded in a couple of spots and another station – an English language station playing 1960s-era oldies – came up on the frequency and competed with the French language station.

I was unable to identify either station. The French language station was likely the already logged CJBC from Toronto; the English language station was likely the already logged WSBS from Great Barrington, Massachusetts because their weather forecast concentrated on New England.

I love the sound of Canada in the morning

My morning commute is around local sunrise (6:50 AM today), so listening to the stock radio in my 2007 Subaru Outback Sport has been interesting. I logged one new station (WQOM), which I mentioned in my previous post and I would not be surprised if I logged more new stations.

This morning, I heard the following stations loud and clear during my 35-minute commute; they were already in my log, but it was interesting to hear them nonetheless:

• CKLW – 800 kc, Windsor, Ontario
• WGY – 810 kc, Schenectady, New York
• CHML – 900 kc, Hamilton, Ontario
• CKNX – 920 kc, Wingham, Ontario

Very cool!

Success to the North

I added another station while hanging around the graveyard frequencies Thursday evening at 2300 UTC: WSNO on 1450 kc transmitting 1 kW from Barre, Vermont, 179 miles north. Using the CC Skywave receiver barefoot, I heard WSNO's signal at an S-1 level for about two minutes before it disappeared in the cacophony typical on the graveyard frequencies.

Next morning, as I began my morning commute, I caught a rare new one while mobile: WQOM on 1060 kc transmitting 2.5 kW from Natick, Massachusetts, 89 miles east-northeast. It was a very brief reception of a traffic report as I drove out of WQOM's coverage area of the moment. Equipment used was my 2007 Subaru Outback Sport's stock radio and antenna.

Sunday dawn, I heard a lot of interesting stations on my barefoot CC Skywave, but only one new one: the station identification of WTWN on 1100 kc transmitting 5 kW from Wells River, Vermont, 180 miles north-northwest. Interestingly, while on vacation in that area, I have driven by WTWN's studios on Route 302 many times, but this was the first time I actually heard the station on the air.

WCTC

I'm still hanging around the graveyard frequencies and last evening (2256 UTC) I caught WCTC on 1450 kc transmitting 1000 watts 110 miles to the southwest in New Brunswick, NJ. I heard WCTC again this morning just before sunrise ― both times an S-1 signal heard using the CC Skywave receiver barefoot.

2 for 1 on 1340

Source: NECRAT.us

I have been listening to the graveyard frequencies the last few days trying to pull something intelligible out of the nightly stew in 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450 and 1490 kc. Actually, I skip 1240 because there is a local station there broadcasting right wing malarky 24/7 (no intelligence to be found there), so I stick to the other five graveyard frequencies.

About three minutes before midnight UTC, a station came up out of the muck on 1340 with a weather forecast for the "Champlain Valley," which means the station was in upstate New York or Vermont. As the top of the hour approached, the station started fading into the muck and then a station id from another station (WMDR) popped up followed by the station id of the fading Champlain Valley station, WIRY.

Wow! Two new ones for the price of one.

WIRY is in Plattsburg, New York, transmitting 940 watts 212 miles to my north.

WMDR is in Augusta, Maines, transmitting 1000 watts 246 miles to my northeast.

The CC Skywave barefoot was the receiver.

From the Graveyard: WMRC

Monday evening, I logged a new one on a graveyard frequency, WMRC on 1490 kc. Transmitting 1 kW from Milford, Massachusetts, 83 miles to my east-northeast, it did not move the S-meter much at 2242 UTC. In fact, the only thing I received from its broadcast was the station identification on my CC Skywave receiver.