AM DX logs here!

[Boombox]

I heard XEROK, Juarez, Mexico tonight (10/7) on 800 khz., around 0550 UTC. I heard some guy talking a long time, it sounded like he was selling something, mentioned an address and telephone number for Juarez and said it was in Juarez, Chihuahua.

It was on top of the frequency on the bearing roughly NW-SE (an Oregon station and a Canadian station were on the other bearing). I haven't logged this station in a long time. If it's on the frequency when I tune across it, it's buried if it's in there. Tonight it was blasting in, impossible to miss.

Ridgescan: yes, I'm on the West Coast, in the Pacific NW.

[eriepascannist]

I tried some sunrise DX this morning and came back with two mysteries! Ridge, you'll be pleased to hear that I made recordings of them this time! I'm learning!

My first mystery was about 10:15Z on 1680 Khz. Normally this freq is quiet for me here, but this morning there was some sort of foreign music station going on there. The signal was fairly strong considering, and it had the freq all to itself. I won't even try guessing at the language as you all know how awful I am at that from my last mystery, so listen to the recordings and you can be the judge. The first recording here was made about 10:15Z when I first discovered the station:
http://nickonnature.files.wordpress....eign_music.mp3

This second example was made about 10:45Z when I came back to this freq, and the station was still there:
http://nickonnature.files.wordpress....ign_music2.mp3

I kept checking back, and there was never any talking, never any commercials, just song after song. As you can hear in both recordings, there was simply a long pause before the next song would start. They were playing all sorts of music, upbeat, slow, etc., but all were in this same language. Good music, though, I thought!

My other mystery was on 920 Khz about 10:49 Z. There is a religious station on that freq a lot of the time, and I never listened long enough to ID it. But today, as I was skimming past the Sunday morning sermon, I noticed faint but clearly audible morse code in the background. You can hear it in my recording, sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker, but definitely CW. It then stopped a little ways into the recording, the religious station came in louder, and I heard nothing else. I nulled the religious station as much as I could (not in the recording) and there was nothing else there that I could hear.

Listen here:
http://nickonnature.files.wordpress....terious_cw.mp3

I can understand the foreign station, but morse code on an AM broadcast station seems sort of weird. I considered that it might be a station signing on for the day, but it was at precisely 10:49Z (6:49 AM here), and it seems unlikely to me that at such an odd time as that a station would come on.

If sunrise DX is always this mysterious, I'll do it every morning!!

[ridgescan]

The 1st one was Spanish music-in case you don't have this it's a good tool (enter your location at top)
Radio Stations in San Francisco, California.

the CW I think as best as I could copy said "CQCQCQ NOAA..." but I am probably wrong.
Keep them coming-fun post!

[eriepascannist]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE, BrailleNote))

Thanks, Ridge! I thought maybe Spanish but then at other times it didn't sound like it to me; but I've never been good at distinguishing one language from another. I guess it could be out of Cuba, as a bunch of their stations just list as "various." As for the CW, we have an Noaa relay station on 1610 but that's it as far as I know. I don't know if the transmission ended after the CW or if I just lost it, but I parked there for a while and never heard it again.

On second thought, that music sounds VERY similar to my previous mystery on 710. Like I said the language sounds Spanish for both, but the music doesn't. Could be the same station, and then for sure it would be Cuba I think.

This is why I love DX!!!!

[majoco]

I was just listening on speakers so it wasn't quite clear. The CW reads CQ CQ CQ DX AA1B (or D?) K

That's a ham operator call.

AA1B is in Easthampton MA, AA1D is in Hollis, NH so if either are near to you, it's just a bit of cross-modulation or breakthrough.

[ridgescan]

That sounds more accurate.

[eriepascannist]

Actually both of those locations are several hundred miles from here, in the 300-400 range I'd guess. Maybe my homemade loop is better than I thought!

[majoco]

Hmmm - that's probably a bit too far. I'll dig out the headphones an listen to the audio a bit more closely...


How about AA1N in Coventry, RI? Is that any closer?

[eriepascannist]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE, BrailleNote))

I thought so too. Thanks for all your help Majoco.

[Boombox]

Hello Erie,
I think your UNID Spanish station is WTTM in the Philadelphia area.

I'm 90 percent sure the language in your sound clips is Spanish. The music sounds like Spanish oldies and romantica music. WTTM is a Spanish format station, at least from what they say on their website.

A DX Tip: Next time you listen to 1680, try to concentrate on the talk station, the one you can just hear in back of the music station's signal. Sometimes if you listen to a weak station that's behind a strong station you can ID it, and sometimes it's even better DX.

WTTM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Home

Boombox

[eriepascannist]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE, BrailleNote))

Thanks! I did notice that talk station, but at the time I was trying to get an ID on the Spanish people. Seems like the 1600's stations don't always follow the rules like ID'ing each hour, or maybe that's just me, but they seem to be tough ones. Philly does make more sense than Cuba though.

Do they have a weaker power translator or sister station on 710 kc? I had a station on there some time ago that was playing very similar music, but I didn't record it and it was way down in the mud. I wonder why 1680 didn't show up on my queery on the Canada/us stations web site for Spanish stations though...

[eriepascannist]

Never mind- I see it now. Wonder what I did wrong before. Oh well, thanks again Boombox.

[kilokat7]

I heard a new one this morning at 1200 UTC. Not a distance record by any means, but anything from Montana is rare for me, this being only the second station I've heard from MT:

590 KGLE Glendive, MT. 1000w day/ 111w night mixing with local WKZO, weak but clearly pronounced call letter ID given at the top of the hour and then into SRN News, all while WKZO was blasting a song by Eminem (Happy B-Day today). KGLE new log!

[k9rzz]

That is a great catch! Very nice.

[Boombox]

I heard WWL, New Orleans, earlier this evening, their signal peaking through KFLD, Tri-Cities WA, and a couple others (including a ranchero station from Las Vegas) at 0840 UTC. Approx. 2000 miles.

I hadn't logged them in years... either wasn't DXing the AM band, or not monitoring that particular frequency if I was DXing....

[karldotcom]

KMIK 1580 is being heard all over from LA to Seattle to Chicago...


Radio Disney Tempe Arizona 50kw

[ridgescan]

Frisco too

[k9rzz]

Originally Posted by karldotcom

KMIK 1580 is being heard all over from LA to Seattle to Chicago...


Radio Disney Tempe Arizona 50kw

How do you know?

[kilokat7]

Originally Posted by karldotcom

KMIK 1580 is being heard all over from LA to Seattle to Chicago...

Radio Disney Tempe Arizona 50kw

I caught them here too about two nights ago, clear under CKDO. I haven't checked tonight, but if anyone needs to log Arizona then this might be your best chance!

[karldotcom]

Originally Posted by k9rzz

How do you know?

I am on the IRCA mailing list and a couple different people commented on the KMIK signal.