Another post on the HF/MW/LW Equipment forum regarding getting started in AM DXing got me wondering about many States others may have logged on the AM band. Myself, only 32 over a lifetime of casual listening. This is with a variety of receivers from pocket portables to communications sets. Have yet to log the West coast from my Michigan QTH while Alaska and Hawaii are probably out of reach.
How many States have you logged on AM Broadcast Band DX?
- Thread starter WA8ZTZ
- Start date
Good question…over MANY years these are the states see map attachment but all done from the northeast so I was not centrally located like you. I may have missed a state or 2. I did not check my old logs for this. On a few trips to California, Illinois, and Hawaii I logged some interesting stuff but not included in my map.
California was again done many years ago(KFI LA and another which slips my mind but done around 2am eastern) Texas was WFAA Dallas and my best east coast WAPE Jacksonville FL now WOKV. WHO DesMoines Iowa was also one of my lucky ones.
Now it is difficult to get as many stations because smaller stations now have nightime authority on many of the former clear channel (not the station owner) frequencies
California was again done many years ago(KFI LA and another which slips my mind but done around 2am eastern) Texas was WFAA Dallas and my best east coast WAPE Jacksonville FL now WOKV. WHO DesMoines Iowa was also one of my lucky ones.
Now it is difficult to get as many stations because smaller stations now have nightime authority on many of the former clear channel (not the station owner) frequencies
Your post raises an interesting question. When I was young, I logged a number of AM broadcasters during summer nights into an improvised logbook. I wish I knew what happened to it.
KSFO always came in like it was across town.
Happy DXing!
KSFO always came in like it was across town.
Happy DXing!
a29zuk
Member
Used to underline the stations received in "White's Radio Log" back in the '70s. Used the Vane Jones "North American Radio Guide" in the early '80's. Logged over 1300 stations and 43 states from Michigan.
Jim
Jim
13dka
Member
Only 9 (not counting 3 Canadian provinces) so far. But then again, I'm in Germany and tried only a few nights really hard. 
Way back in the mid-'60s, I had nearly all of the 48. I think I had Alaska also. I had a 300-foot-long wire into a BC-348. I'm in Ohio and can't remember what states I missed. I had a lot of Europe also. I QSL'd most of them and had confirmations on most.
K0WWX
Member
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2023
- Messages
- 31
Agree, it became much more difficult after the demise of the clear channel stations. And my QTH in Colorado is not the best place to get a lot of states, because the state count goes up with the smaller states on the east coast, and the big east coast stations are interfered with by all the 1 kW and 5 kW stations on the same frequency along the path.
Having said that, the last time I swept the band, checking every 10 kHz channel, I did 20 states, plus a few stations in Canada and Mexico. But it was essentially all western and midwestern states.
A rough estimation: 29 states, mostly western states, along with a few of the Midwest blowtorches, plus WLW, WSM and WWL. New York was an X-bander, as was Arkansas. I don't recall if I've heard Kansas, which I might have? That would be state #30. I've heard five Canadian provinces (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario).
a29zuk
Member
Awesome! I'm missing Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Idaho. Nevada, and Arizona.
With a postage stamp back yard didn't have room for a long wire antenna. Most of my catches were from using the Realistic 12-655 long range portable.
KFI 640 Los Angeles, KSL 1160 Salt Lake City, and KOA 850 Denver were all pretty regular catches when they were clear channels.
Also from California I snagged KNBR 680 San Francisco and KNX 1070 Los Angeles.
Jim
Lots of interesting replies... even international!
Yes, it is more challenging nowadays with the loss of the truly Claer Channel flamethrowers.
Also, the proliferation of EMI/RFI spewing devices can make DXing miserable.
However, we now have the X-band. Mostly limited to 1kw at night but relatively interference free.
Then there is also the internet that offers streaming of programming that can be used to advantage with parallel copy
aiding in station ID. (Considered cheating by some, but what the heck, for many of us it's just a hobby).
Yes, it is more challenging nowadays with the loss of the truly Claer Channel flamethrowers.
Also, the proliferation of EMI/RFI spewing devices can make DXing miserable.
However, we now have the X-band. Mostly limited to 1kw at night but relatively interference free.
Then there is also the internet that offers streaming of programming that can be used to advantage with parallel copy
aiding in station ID. (Considered cheating by some, but what the heck, for many of us it's just a hobby).
I've got a few pages of logged stations, but I have many instances of more than one station from the same state.
Adding them up, I have 18 States and 4 Canadian provinces. That's going back to 2004. I lost all the logs that I had before that dating back to the 60's. They were on paper and got misplaced.
I've never heard anything outside North America.
Adding them up, I have 18 States and 4 Canadian provinces. That's going back to 2004. I lost all the logs that I had before that dating back to the 60's. They were on paper and got misplaced.
I've never heard anything outside North America.
cistercian
Member
Not that many. NY,IL,PA,GA,KY,OH,VA,MA,Toronto,CAN,TN,LA.
But that was using my 4 foot loop as a crystal set using Balanced armature IEM's and a Dynalec 100K to 16 Ohm transformer.
I look forward to winter to add the other low hanging fruit by moving into the living room so I can point it west.
Germanium diode detector. A gold bonded diode built for IBM for logic use. I have tried many diodes over the years and these are incredible but no datsheet anywhere for them.
I use KZ AS16 IEM which @ 2kc are 144db/v. Best transducers ever for crystal set use...pricey and low impedance but since the transformer was only 15 bucks I am happy. Fairradio sales for the transformer BTW.
And NC. I live in NC. I can drive a PA speaker on a couple of the locals. For listening to coast to coast a 5kw station nearby produces epic grade audio via a 2ft loop and a Shure 50k to XLR transformer to Sennheiser HD26 Pro phones. It's the best sounding AM radio set I have ever used. Reference grade audio. The Sennheiser HD26 phones are apex level cans for AM BCB use. Engineer cans and highly recommended for those who can afford their excessive price. Perfect for program reproduction and sensitive too. I have listened to CBS NY and KDKA PA with them on the 4 foot loop. For local work they are unbeatable. Not HiFi cans. Solid 20hz to 10k+ cans. Enough for AM.
But that was using my 4 foot loop as a crystal set using Balanced armature IEM's and a Dynalec 100K to 16 Ohm transformer.
I look forward to winter to add the other low hanging fruit by moving into the living room so I can point it west.
Germanium diode detector. A gold bonded diode built for IBM for logic use. I have tried many diodes over the years and these are incredible but no datsheet anywhere for them.
I use KZ AS16 IEM which @ 2kc are 144db/v. Best transducers ever for crystal set use...pricey and low impedance but since the transformer was only 15 bucks I am happy. Fairradio sales for the transformer BTW.
And NC. I live in NC. I can drive a PA speaker on a couple of the locals. For listening to coast to coast a 5kw station nearby produces epic grade audio via a 2ft loop and a Shure 50k to XLR transformer to Sennheiser HD26 Pro phones. It's the best sounding AM radio set I have ever used. Reference grade audio. The Sennheiser HD26 phones are apex level cans for AM BCB use. Engineer cans and highly recommended for those who can afford their excessive price. Perfect for program reproduction and sensitive too. I have listened to CBS NY and KDKA PA with them on the 4 foot loop. For local work they are unbeatable. Not HiFi cans. Solid 20hz to 10k+ cans. Enough for AM.
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Being relatively new to this hobby, I haven't logged much compared to some others here, but I think my list of stations I have logged so far is fairly respectable for a beginner:
c
- WA (KNWN 1000 Seattle, KGTK 920 Olympia, KITI 1420 Centralia)
- OR (KEX 1190 Portland, KFIR 720 Albany/Sweet Home)
- NV (KDWN 720 Las Vegas/Henderson, KBZZ 1270 Sparks)
- WY (KRKK 1360 Rock Springs)
- AZ (KTNN 660 Window Rock)
- CO (KOA 850 Denver)
- UT (KSL 1160 SLC)
- MT (KJJR 880 Whitefish)
- Canada (CBK Saskatoon, CJYM Rosetown, both in Saskatchewan, I think one other from BC whose format is comedy and whose call letters I don't remember)
c
Not that many. NY,IL,PA,GA,KY,OH,VA,MA,Toronto,CAN,TN,LA.
But that was using my 4 foot loop as a crystal set using Balanced armature IEM's and a Dynalec 100K to 16 Ohm transformer.
I look forward to winter to add the other low hanging fruit by moving into the living room so I can point it west.
Germanium diode detector. A gold bonded diode built for IBM for logic use. I have tried many diodes over the years and these are incredible but no datsheet anywhere for them.
Well, on my crystal set, 9 States plus Ontario.
Nothing exotic, just a 1N34, the key is the antenna coupler... tweaking it produces results.
K0WWX
Member
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2023
- Messages
- 31
A quick note about the good old clear channel days. Prior to May 1980, other stations on the clear channel frequencies operated by the big 50 kW "blowtorch" stations had to sign off at sundown. Those daytime only stations were known as "daytimers", but at night the big stations had the whole frequency to themselves. In those days, you could sometimes hear east coast stations in Colorado with a cheap AM radio. In May 1980 the FCC changed the rule to only allow a 750-mile protection zone around the transmitter, and the "daytimers" could then stay on the air after sundown.
The FCC ruling really hurt AM Dxing, but it took some time for stations to adapt to the new rule and there were still stations that essentially had the frequency to themselves throughout the eighties and even into the nineties. I can recall listening to Denver Broncos and Denver Nuggets games on 850 KOA in numerous states while traveling in rental cars. You could often even hear KOA inside of hotel rooms on the standard issue clock radio on the nightstand. The KOA promos still call it the "blowtorch of the west". I love the old radios that have the call letters of the clear channel stations like KOA on the dial.
Just an aside, great thread.
The FCC ruling really hurt AM Dxing, but it took some time for stations to adapt to the new rule and there were still stations that essentially had the frequency to themselves throughout the eighties and even into the nineties. I can recall listening to Denver Broncos and Denver Nuggets games on 850 KOA in numerous states while traveling in rental cars. You could often even hear KOA inside of hotel rooms on the standard issue clock radio on the nightstand. The KOA promos still call it the "blowtorch of the west". I love the old radios that have the call letters of the clear channel stations like KOA on the dial.
Just an aside, great thread.
I lived in Sweden for three years back in the 90's and joined a BCBDX club. They had a "house" north of the artic circle and the first time I went up there, I put on the earphones and thought there was no antenna connected!
Then out of "nothing" a signal would appear! It was incredible! KNX out of California was like shooting ducks in a barrel. They were using phased beverages, so you could get "some" good phasing of European stations, but the one of the beverages favored North America. The band plan for Europe helped also. All BCBDX'ing was done from 3:00 am local until sunrise (noon local) during the winter (December).
Was a LOT of fun, but cold and dark!!
Then out of "nothing" a signal would appear! It was incredible! KNX out of California was like shooting ducks in a barrel. They were using phased beverages, so you could get "some" good phasing of European stations, but the one of the beverages favored North America. The band plan for Europe helped also. All BCBDX'ing was done from 3:00 am local until sunrise (noon local) during the winter (December).
Was a LOT of fun, but cold and dark!!
oldradioguy2010
Member
1966, I could not afford a SWL radio, so my folks gave me General Electric clock radio, of course tube.
From So. Cal, Ventura County just hearing KSL or KDWN IN Las Vegas was a big thrill.
For portable, transistor radio was used on vacations to Nebraska.
I felt like a big time radio op.
DW
So. Cal
From So. Cal, Ventura County just hearing KSL or KDWN IN Las Vegas was a big thrill.
For portable, transistor radio was used on vacations to Nebraska.
I felt like a big time radio op.
DW
So. Cal
oldradioguy2010
Member
As a kid. I love working those 50,000 watt nighttime powerhouses
DW
So. Cal
DW
So. Cal
MiCon
Mike
Tsk. Such an unfair question. Factors to consider: radio, antenna, geographic location, local terrain.
Tongue-in-cheek, of course.
I'm in the southwest. Nothing but CA to my west, and nothing but Mexico to my south. That, in itself, limits the number of states that I can log. That being said, I've logged seventeen states. Basically every continental state west of the Mississippi River except SD, KS, MO, AR, and AK. Also, two Canadian provinces and who knows how many Mexican locations. My farthest reception is 1,260 miles. Most of my logs are at night.
I'm using a 33 year old Realistic DX-440 portable with the internal antenna. At my previous location I had a horizontal straight wire antenna in the attic. I haven't had the time to do that at my new location, but based on that previous set-up, I know I can do better with an external antenna. I'm looking forward to logging those five states I'm missing.
Tongue-in-cheek, of course.
I'm in the southwest. Nothing but CA to my west, and nothing but Mexico to my south. That, in itself, limits the number of states that I can log. That being said, I've logged seventeen states. Basically every continental state west of the Mississippi River except SD, KS, MO, AR, and AK. Also, two Canadian provinces and who knows how many Mexican locations. My farthest reception is 1,260 miles. Most of my logs are at night.
I'm using a 33 year old Realistic DX-440 portable with the internal antenna. At my previous location I had a horizontal straight wire antenna in the attic. I haven't had the time to do that at my new location, but based on that previous set-up, I know I can do better with an external antenna. I'm looking forward to logging those five states I'm missing.