Monday, December 27, 2010

Fox Sports Radio KZQQ 1560


ENOX24 offered some nice highlights and interesting new ones for me.
One of those surprises was KZQQ Abilene TX on 1560 kHz with its brand new Fox Sports format. KZQQ was heard simultaneously with KKAA and even WQEW. Even if KZQQ was badly mixed up with those two dominate stations I was lucky this time to pick up a KZQQ's legal ID right on the top of the hour.
As usual it took many emails to get this verified but finally this evening KZQQ responded with a kind email.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Xmas and a "DX-Rich" New Year 2011


Christmas Greetings from Vaasa!

Yesterday -25 degrees Celsius. Today only -17.

May I wish you all PUDXK-blog followers a very Merry Christmas and a Successful New Year 2011!


73's -jsn-

Monday, December 20, 2010

WINZ Miami FL 940

WINZ was another new one for me on 940 kHz on ENOX24. I picked up WMAC 20 minutes earlier on the same frequency and at the time I noticed another TLK -station fading in and out simultaneously with WMAC. And it did not take long before WINZ announced: "940WINZ.com" .
This one has been on my hunting list for many years. Although WINZ is not the rarest one on 940 kHz it was very nice to finally pick it up.

I emailed e reception report and an MP3 already in Sunday night and I was little bit surpised to have a complite verification waiting for me in my mailbox in Monday morning.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

The Alternative Past - KGRG1-1330

KGRG on 1330 kHz - or KGRG1 as they called themselvs - was heard on ENOX24 on October 31 this year. This day was quite a good day for DXing with many new stations for me.
KGRG1 faded in late in the afternoon some minutes after KMBI's sign on announcement. So two new WA -stations in the same afternoon on 1330 kHz...
KGRG1 played rock music and announced as "The Alternative Past - KGRG1".
Station's program director verified in a week with a kind email. My WA #84.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

WMAC Macon GA 940 kHz - Newstalk 940


WMAC became my #10 GA and my #2 Macon station. This one is a rare one being heard only by LEM296 and ENOX24 in Finland in October this year. On ENOX24 the signal was faint but clear for a short moment at the time when a DJ announced "Newstalk 940, WMAC". Like many other frequencies also 940 kHz has been quite generous channel in the SDR -era. It will be interesting to see what 940 kHz will offer if CJGX leaves AM some day...

Friday, December 17, 2010

Radio Caracol 1260 kHz


WSUA Miami FL "Radio Caracol" on 1260 kHz has been a fairly common catch in Scandinavia during this fall and winter. It was audible also on ENOX24 a couple of times fading in and out under and over BBC on 1260 kHz. The signal, however, was not very loud but it was clear enough to get few nice announcements and other details.
It took several emails before the Station Manager responded with a complete verification in a short email.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Moody Radio on 1330 kHz


KMBI is the AM outlet of The Moody Radio Northwest in Spokane, Washington.
This one has been heard once in a while in Scandinavia but it is definitely not the most usual quest on 1330 kHz.
I picked up KMBI on the first day of ENOX24 on October 31, 2010 in the late afternoon during the KMBI's sign on announcement. This time KMBI was broadcasting at low power (500w) from their Nautel 5kW transmitter and 200 ft tower.
KMBI's chief engineer verified my report in two days. Tnx JUS for the v/s info.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

PUDXK-PreChristmas Meeting & Testing the netSDR at Muhos


It was nice not only to test and do some DXing at Muhos during the weekend 4th - 5th December but also to celebrate 2 x 50 years anniversary of two PUDXK-members (the two Jaris). We started again (like two other PUDXK-meetings) at "Sokeri-Jussin Kievari" at downtown Oulu (at Pikisaari, a small island just near the City Centre) -
http://www.sokerijussi.net/.
At the listening QTH (JPRs DX-QTH Muhos) we had nice weather, some sunshine during the few daylight hours between 10 and 14 local time (sic) and temps around -10 degrees. Only about 5 cm snow, whereas in Southern Finland we got more and more during the week after this weekend, now accumulating to about 1/2 a meter at time of this writing!
Thank You very much for RF-Space letting us to test the proto!
And the full test report can be read at http://kingsvillagedx.blogspot.com/2010/12/pudxk-prechristmas-meeting-testing.html

Saturday, December 04, 2010

WGBW Two Rivers WI 1590

WGBW ran a DX test on October 16, 2010. I'm not sure if somebody in Europe was able to pick up WGBW at the time during the test.
However some days later in the beginning of November WGBW was heard on both LEM and ENOX exactly the same time. Mr. Mark Heller, President of WGBW verified my report and wrote:
"We were resetting the remote control system at the time of your monitoring, actually double-checking the programming of the remote control from the day before, when the daytime power level was momentarily hit.You were lucky to hear this promo.
So, there is your confirmation of WGBW, Two Rivers, WI. Next year, we'll have anew tower site, with 10kw daytime, and hope you can pick up one of our tests while the array is under construction.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

KALE Richland WA 960 kHz

The most usual ESPN Radio affiliate on 960 kHz is CFAC Calgary. It is "always" there when conditions turn to Prairies. So to be able to pick up KALE on 960 kHz has been a distant dream for me but it suddenly turned to be reality on ENOX24.
On one afternoon many rarer west coast AMs came in with a decent signals. KALE was one of those stations and it surfaced on TOH mixing up with CFAC and announcing its legal ID.
KALE's General Manager verified my report in two days.
Tnx JUS for your help again!


Tuesday, November 30, 2010

First Class Radio - WMRC




On November 4, 2010 was a quite good morning for new US east coast stations on ENOX24. One of the most interesting catch for me was WMRC Milford, MA on 1490 kHz. WMRC's signal was pretty clear at the top of the hour when they identified "First Class Radio - WMRC". At the time WBAE clearly dominated this channel but luckily WMRC surfaced just on the top of the hour with legal ID.
Operations Manager verified in 24 hours with a short email including a complete confirmation.

Monday, November 29, 2010

KIHU Tooele 1010 kHz - an Immaculate Heart Radio in Salt Lake City, Utah

KIHU became my first new identified station right after I switched on my NetSDR on ENOX24 last October. I noticed a powerful religious format station audible on 1010 kHz on October 31 around 12:00 UTC simultaneously with CBR Calgary. It didn't take long when this station identified being Immaculate Heart Radio from Tooele and the announcer even announced the call letters "KIHU".
Some days later I got a very kind verification from Immaculate Heart Radio:
"I have had one other report on KIHU from Finland this year and a few others on a couple of our other stations. Our main office is located in Loomis, California and I work at our Reno Nevada station. We have been in opeeration starting in Reno for almost 14 years now so we are rather new at broadcasting. We are also still growing and hope to add several more stations in the near future.It is always a pleasure to hear from someone that hears oone of our stations from so far away. I hope you keep listening and perhaps located some of our other stations."
As The Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, threw the switch to turn on 50,000 watts and Immaculate Heart Radio, the audience gathered cheered and clapped. The announcer said, “This is Immaculate Heart Radio. Live from the Great Salt Lake Region, this is the premier broadcast of Immaculate Heart Radio’s newest radio station AM 1010 for Utah KIHU. A liturgy dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary followed.

Monday, November 22, 2010

WCBY Cheboygan MI 1240 kHz - Big Country Gold

There are plenty of interesting stations on 1240 kHz and on other graveyard frequencies to be checked on ENOX24 files. I came across one of them, WCBY when going thru the signals on 1240 kHz on November 1, 2010.
WCBY was fading in and out for about 2 hours this morning playing country songs. However, I managed to pick only one clear announcement "1240 Big Country Gold. Your station for Classic Country". WCBY's chief engineer verified nicely in 20 hours with an email and a picture of WCBY's transmitters.
Tnx JUS for your help on this one!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Real Country - KOHU Hermiston OR 1360



It was way back in 2004 when I managed to pick up KUIK on 1360 kHz. Ever since I have tried to capture another Oregon station, KOHU Hermiston, on the same frequency. KKMO usually spoils this trying and when KKMO has been seldom away I have heard a couple of times KUIK again on my 335 -beverage.
However on Novemebr 6 this year on ENOX24 both KKMO and KUIK were away and I heard country songs late in the afternoon on 1360 kHz. Luckily the signal got stronger and stronger when TOH got closer. And on TOH a DJ announced nicely: " "We are your Hometown Radio Stations. This is Real Country 1360 KOHU Hermiston-Irrigon-Umatilla".

KOHU's PD verified my report and he also attached a photo of their broadcast property on the Northwest of Hermiston.

Saturday, November 06, 2010

ENOX24 - November 6, 2010




ENOX24 –DXexpedition is coming to its end. It has been an interesting week with many nice catches from NA although conditions could have been better (as always!). It will be definitely interesting to go thru the files and try to get new stations verified…
In a way conditions were quite boring as the same stations and the same areas were heard almost day by day. However, I’m sure that there will be many surprises on the files. Stations from the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii and the Great Lakes –area dominated daily basis. However, ENOX24 first days offered stations from deeper south and the east coast as well.
A couple of nice veries have arrived during the week. A “daytimer” KQNK 1530 verified last night with a short email. KPIO-1570 blessed this hobby and verified my MP3 as wll. Also KOHI 1600 was very excited about my report and recognized easily KOHI on my MP3.

Another main goal for this expedition was testing the brand new RFSpaces’s NetSDR -received coming to the markets later this year. It worked fine and stable, overall performance was very good and it was easy to use. It is great to be able to record the whole AM band for later investigation. The widest usable BW to record is 1300 kHz and you can record this BW direct to your PC’s HD or your external HD as well. Both ways worked well. I used two SV applications simultaneously in the same desktop PC. One SV recorded all the time 1300 kHz BW and with another SV I checked earlier 1300 kHz BW -files with 0.73 kHz resolution. It was amazing! My PC never crashes neither did the NetSDR or SpectraVue –applications.

My special thanks to RF Space and Pieter and Moe for letting me use this NetSDR proto. NetSDR proved to be a perfect receiver also for us hunting the weak AM -signals over the Atlantic in remote and quiet QTHs equipped with long beverage antennas. I think this receiver will be very popular among the serious medium wave listeners and SWLs as well.
Thanks also to LEM –crew. It was fun and useful to exchange SMSs during the week. Thanks to You all for reading this Blog. ENOX24 is signing off.

TuA

Thursday, November 04, 2010

ENOX24 - November 4, 2010


The solar weather has been little unstable lately and this can be heard very clearly on the radio. Not so much to pick up from NA in the nighttime but quite strong signals by WA-, OR- , AK- and HI –dominants in the afternoon. However, this morning gave quite a nice opening to the US east coast mixed up with many Puerto Ricon and Latin American stations. Some interesting stations from the last two days: KOHI-1600, WRTO-1200, WMRC-1490 and KALE-960 (tnx for the hint LEM Crew!)
As for the new receiver netSDR. It has been working greatly together with SpectraVue application nonstop since Sunday without any problems at all. The strong signal handling seems to be very good. I have not observed any serious overloading situations. In this way the new receiver seems to be even better than the previous models.

TuA

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

ENOX24 2.11.2010 - the best day so far

Some the most usual stations from EC and Newfoundland faded in last night as early as 19:00 UTC but they faded away soon. Nothing very interesting in nighttime but this morning and day were the best so far. Many huge signals were noted especially from the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Hawaii.
From today’s logbook: KBIS-1490, KAGO-1150, KWDB-1110 and finally KQNK Norton, KS on 1530 kHz with a complete TOH –ID and Ap Network News .
NetSDR and antennas work fine. Weather outside windy and -6 degrees C.
TuA

ENOX24 - enjoying NA signals and testing netSDR



Strong NA signals daytime but worse overnights. Little boring conditions with lots of strong dominants all the time. Hopefully files will give pleasant surprises later on.
Here are two pictures of netSDR and SpectraVue’s (v. 3.09) display on 1090 kHz with 0.73 Hz resolution when playing back 1300 kHz BW recording.
NetSDR is a very quiet, sensitive and dynamic receiver . It is pleasure to use it.
TuA








Monday, November 01, 2010

ENOX24 started on October 31st in the afternoon

Strong signals from CO and UT and generally from the west coast. During the live DXing I noticed KIHU-1010 and KPIO-1570. Both are new ones for me. The first night was quite poor with only the usual dominants. Hopefully this comin day will offer more...
I have an evaluation unit of RFSpace's brand new netSDR receiver with me for testing. After a couple of hours listening it seems to be truly a great receiver. It records 1300 kHz range and gives 0.73 Hz resolution when playing back recorded files. Great!
Thank you RFSpace and Pieter for letting me test this new super receiver.

TuA

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

ENO22 loggings

The ENOX22 (Sept. 10.-13.2010 and Sept. 17.-19.2010) updated loggings can be found here.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

ENXO23 - 14-15.10

14.-15.10


The evenings could be much more lively - nothing to report from yeasterday.

First stations from the continental U.S. appeared at around 22 UTC, but just the very common ones (WLQV-1500, WWZN-1510, WWKB-1520...). It took another 2 hours, before more stations appeared. At midnight UTC it was worth the whilem to start taking the hobby more seriously. Nothing spectacular at night, though.

At this time of October the peak of the signals seems to take place just in front of UTC and the signals remain fairly decent until 7 UTC, then gradually being dampened by the sunlight. Still, some signals start to stay throughout the noon at this time of the year. Quite nice going in the morning, but without any specific direction.
The strong signal in the morning was KWEI-1260 with its new format ESPN Deportes. The most common Hawaii were strong again in the afternoon with KUAU-1570 being even stronger than the usual "king", KUMU, which also has changed format to ESPN and its call to KHKA.

Some of the more interesting stations identified at the time of listening live were WTTL-1310 and WRTO-1200 in the night and KGBT-1530 in the morning.

One more night and morning to go on ENOX23, then straight to LEM for one more week - hopefully with some OS as well !

Thursday, October 14, 2010

ENOX23 IS ON - HN 12.-17.10.2010

12.-13.10.

After a 13 hour direct drive through blowing snow I arrived at ENOX on tuesday evening (12.10) at around 18 UTC, just to notice that the CME effects were still strongly on. Around 20 UTC the Canadians on 1230 started to come in, first CFFB and a moment later also CHFC. In addition to these, Greenland on 650. Even these with much variation in strength. Dead all night...

However, all of sudden in front of 5 UTC the MW band opened for some 20 minutes with the main emphasis on...Mexico ! The signals were still much affected by the CME with signals quickly coming in strong, only to disappear soon again. But lady luck was with me, as the strongest peaks in the signals centered exactly around the TOH. Since it was the midnight hour in most parts of Mexico, the Mexican National Anthem was heard all over. Some versions only lasted for 2 minutes or so, but the "norm" seems to be the 4-minute version. During that time some signals had time to fade in and out some 2-3 times. It was a gamble with identifications...,on 1080 the National Anthem was accompanied by what I believe to be a provincial one, postponing the "TOH" Id to 7 almost minutes past... Many interesting signals faded unfavorably, but having listened to all recordings from that period, I was still lucky to positively identify 23 stations around this signgle TOH , among them XETO-950, XETUL-1080, XEAU-1090 and XEYZ-1130, which all have not been previously logged in Finland.

In the afternoon, Hawaii and some Alaska started to fade in in front of 13 UTC and continued fairly past 14 UTC. Specifically the upper end was in good shape and KUAU-1570 came in particularily strong for over one hour.

14.10.

The evening of the 13th of October was dead. So was the night - at least on my recordings, which had encountered some unidentified problem and I had nothing on the hard disk. When I woke up, the going was quite good all over the NA continent, accompanied by some MEX. The remains of the CME effect were still there, with signals swinging back and fort. At one time the 297 degree antenna was best for the whole continent ! A coupple of stations identified "live" were WZOE-1490, WGNS-1450, KATE-1450, KIHH-1400, KWEI-1260, XERO-1240 and XESA-1260.

In general it has been somewhat interesting to have the CME-type of disturbance, where the effects of the CME cause dominant stations being cut out on many frequencies and the general recovery from the more significant effects taking place quite rapidly. The past years have been packed with all sorts of Coronal Hole effects, which are very different: even smaller effects seemed to make signals disappear and the lenght of the recovery often was painfully long. This is a lot more fun with "only moderately strong" CME´s !"

Sunday, October 10, 2010

ENOX22 gave me a new TX on 1400 kHz


There was a sharp peak towards NA on Sunday morning, September 19, 2010 on ENOX22.
I was not DXing AM live but I let two IQs roll on the band. Later, when checking the files I have noticed some quite nice stations but all of them had verified me earlier.
However, on 1400 kHz I came across a new TX, that has been heard a couple of times before in Scandinavia but never by me. It was KIUN Pecos that faded in nicely on TOH giving an ad and a legal ID.
Thanks to HN/OJS for the v/s -info. I got this one verified in two hours.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

WIMA Lima OH 1150


WIMA 1150 kHz was heard in Enontekiö on September 12 this year. As everyone knows WHBY and CKOC usually dominate on 1150 Khz nowadays with the east coast and the Lakes region conditions. Also this time they were strongly audible simultaneously with WIMA. Luckily WIMA faded in clearly just before TOH giving legal ID and a short weather forecast in the Reds sport coverage break.

WIMA's board operator (also a ham operator) verified my report with an interesting email. He wrote among other things that: "The audio sample you sent was TOH Reds ID news liner with Kelly Wilson...That truely is an incredible catch. Everyone at the station is talking about this."
WIMA became my 12th verified station on 1150 kHz and my OH #32.

Monday, September 27, 2010

ESPN Deportes 1450 kHz


Some stations really take time to verify...
I have frequently sent reception reports, tapes, cassettes, emails and mp3s since the 1980's to WIIN/WFPG/WKXW/WFPG/WENJ Atlantic City, NJ. Back in October 2007 on ENOX2 I picked up the station once again airing ESPN programming with an unusually loud and clear signal. However, as usual - nobody verified my reception back then.
Finally tonight I succeeded in getting a kind email with a complete verification from WENJ.
OJS, thank you for your contact information!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

ENOX17 and ENOX19

The ENOX17 and ENOX19 updated loggings can be found here:
ENOX17 and ENOX19

Monday, September 20, 2010

WDIA 1070 kHz - The first black formatted station in the US

Probably the best catch I captured on September 12 in Enontekiö was a Tennessee station, WDIA from Memphis on 1070 kHz. It was audible about 10 minutes and came in loud and clear when playing music and when giving an ID you could still hear "WDIA" clearly.
WDIA is 62 years old and still going strong. I got two different emails from two different persons on WDIA. They both verified my report and MP3. Another was an assistant program director and he was so excited that he read my entire email on his "Fun Afternoon Show" live on the radio. Another reply came from a WDIA news anchor and she invited me to visit thei wonderful city of Memphis,Tennessee. The home of the blues and Elvis Presley.

WRWB Huntington WV 1470 kHz

WRWB from Huntington West Virginia on 1470 kHz became my first new catch for this season. It was heard on two TOH IDs in a row on ENOX22 on September 11 this year.
WRWB's program director was quite pedantic when verifying my report and especially the MP3 audio I sent. He wrote me earlier in the week that he will listen to my MP3 very closely during the coming weekend. And he did and he even asked the announcer who was working at the time listen to my MP3 as well. And they both clearly recognize WRWB -ID on the MP3.
So this way WRWB became my third verie from WV.

Albert Lea Radio, AM 1450 KATE

During good Minnesota openings last December on ENOX19 I was waiting for "KATE" identification on 1450 kHz. I never heard it back then. Instead of KATE I picked up WELY with a good legal ID.
So it was quite a big surprise when KATE surfaced on 1450 kHz on Sunday night on September 12 this year. They had a weather forecast and a complete slogan ID. A Carly Simon song was played as well with a loud and clear signal.
KATE's news director verified my report quickly. KATE became my MN #61.



WGAI Elizabeth City, NC 560 kHz - another "Newsradio 560"

Even though I didn't hit the best conditions last October there were some mornings with decent signals on lower AM as well on ENOX17. And sometimes it pays to check files as closely as possible.
It was one of those mornings when I captured WGAI and WGAN simultaneously on 560 kHz. Both stations gave legal IDs on the top of the hour with the call letters and slogan "Newsradio 56".
Luckily WGAN had a male announcer and WGAI was announced by a female announcer. So this time it was easy to identify those stations even if their calls are so close to each other.
WGAI verified with an short email and it became my NC#11.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

WENK Union City TN 1240


1240 kHz was crowded with NA -stations for a couple of hours last Saturday night on ENOX22. It will be interesting to go thru all the files later on.

One of those stations on 1240 kHz was WENK from Union City, Tennessee airing an University of Tennessee football game. I was lucky since just before top of the hour WENK had a commercial break and right after this it gave a full station ID for WENK 1240 and WTPR 710.

Station President verified my report and mp3 in 20 hours. He also wrote:
"WENK AM1240 is part of a three station simulcast. Went on the air in 1946. Operates at 1Kw with one heck of a skywave from time to time."

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

WABB Mobile AL 1480

Last Saturday night offered some very nice stations to pick up on ENOX22. One of those stations was WABB from Mobile Alabama on 1480 kHz. It surfaced just on the top of the hour giving a legal ID. WLMV from Madison, WI dominated on 1480 kHz but luckily WABB was strong enough to get thru a couple of times.
WABB chief engineer verified my hearing and mentioned another report he received from Finland last season.
Again, HN thanks for the contact info.

WBCK Battle Creek, MI 930


WBCK became my first verie this season. It was heard last Saturday night in Enontekiö with many other interesting stations at the time from the US. WBCK played country songs around on the top of the hour and it gave a legal ID very clearly.
I have been hunting this one for many years - so WBCK was a perfect start for the season.The station's operations manager verified kindly with an email message in 10 minutes.
HN - thanks for the contact information.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

ENOX22 opened a new season

The new DX season began on ENOX in Friday night when I arrived in Enontekiö for a short three-night-listening session. This was meant to be mainly antenna maintenance and checking trip but it turned out to be a quite successful mini DXexpedition as well.
NA has been audible in both nights with decent signals between around 23:00-04:30 UTC including strong signals from the dominants especially on the upper side of AM -dial. The most interesting catches so far are KATE-1450, WABB-1480, WBCK-930, WRWB-1470 and WDIA-1070.

Nice weather with sunshine and the high day temperatures around +15 C.

TuA

Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Ag leader - KBUF Holcomb KS 1030

1030 kHz is quite an interesting frequency on the right conditions. Of course WBZ and KTWO dominates the frequency usually but in addition to these two pests there is a bunch of other interesting stations audible every now and then. On ENOX19 last December I was lucky to pick up both KCTA and KBUF and some seasons earlier I got KDUN and KMAS verified from The Pacific Northwest.
I found KBUF when checking the December 11, 2009 files. KBUF identification came thru nicely on the top of the hour simultaneously with KTWO and WBZ. CE verified my report in 24 hours.

QSL-update

A couple of new ones during the summer:


KOBB Bozeman MT 1230
WNRP Gulf Breeze FL 1620
KAOI Kihei HI 1110
KJAM Madison SD 1390
KLSQ Whitney NV 870
KARI Blaine WA 550
KBBI Homer AK 890
WSBB New Smyrna Beach FL 1230
KDMA Montevideo MN 1460
KMOG Payson AZ 1420

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

WFHR Wisconsin Rapids 1320 - Serving Central Wisconsin for 70 Years


A few days ago I went thru some of my ENOX19 -files from back in last December. I came across a new station for me on 1320 kHz. It was WFHR that came clear and loud just on the top of the hour 24:00 our local time. The station ID was followed by the CBS news. Unfortunately the signal faded away after a while and came never back in this night.

WFHR's CE verified my report and MP3 quickly within an hour with a complete QSL -email. In addition to the confirmation he also mentioned: "On a personal note, I lived 18 years in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, there were many Finnish families who immigrated to the area 100-150 years ago to work in the iron and copper mines. Ahonen is a very familiar surname, the family I knew operated the local sawmill and lumber yard."

Saturday, July 17, 2010

ENOX21 loggings

Finally this is the first version of ENOX21 -loggings from February 2010. The list contains a couple of interesting stations. Some SpectraVue -files from this trip are still unchecked.

ENOX21 loggings

Saturday, July 10, 2010

KYNS San Luis Obispo CA 1340

I picked up KYNS 1340 way back in March 2009. KYNS was formerly home of Air America on the Central Coast but when Air America filed for bankruptcy KYNS changed to a liberal talk show programs - including a controversial syndicated gay talk show.
As usual nowadays it took several attempts to get KYNS verified. Finally yesterday KYNS's GM verified my report with a short email message.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

WJML Petoskey MI 1110 kHz - The Talk Of The North

This one faded in early on one night on ENOX19 back in last December. It surfaced as early as 21:30 UTC like many other stations from The Canadian Maritime provinces, the US east coast and the lake district this night. However, it took many months before the station owner replied and verified my report. He was very pleased to get my mp3 audio and it was easy to him to recognize WJML on the file.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

KCSJ Pueblo 590 - The Voice Of Southern Colorado


For several years I have been hunting two Colorado stations that have been captured every now and then by other Scandinavian DX- crews. They are KUBC on 580 kHz and KCSJ on 590 kHz.
During ENOX17 last October I finally picked up KCSJ which faded in and out with KHAR, KUGN and KQNT. Luckily KCSJ had a clear and loud signal just on the top of the hour when the other stations faded out for a while.
KCSJ serves mainly the Colorado Springs area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications.
KCSJ's General Manager verified the report and MP3 audio with a short email yesterday. This one became my CO #31. KUBC remained still to be heard next season...

Friday, April 09, 2010

QSL-update

Greetings from Vaasa!
Hectic, hectic, but every now and then few moments "extra time" to do some serious offline DXing (ie. checking out SDR-files).

Here's the latest:
CKSB St. Boniface MB 1050
KYES Rockville MN 1180
CBGA New Carlisle QC 540
WFOY St. Augustine FL 1240
KTCT San Mateo CA 1050
KTRF Thief River Falls MN 1230
KLAD Klamath Falls OR 960
KPHX Phoenix AZ 1480
WCNZ Marco Island FL 1660
WNYY Ithaca NY 1470
KNML Albuquerque NM 610 my NM #1!
KKGM Fort Worth TX 1630
KVOI Cortaro AZ 1030
KQNT Spokane WA 590

Friday, March 26, 2010

WIZZ Greenfield MA 1520 - The Greatest Music Memories

I have been trying to pick up this one for many years on 1520 kHz. Although I have heard, every now and then, the nostalgia tunes and oldies songs on 1520 kHz around 21:00-23:00 UTC I have never been lucky enough to catch a proper identification - not until now. During ENOX19 last December I finally succeeded in capturing a legal ID “15-20 WIZZ Greenfield” in spite of the WWKB's huge signal around the same time on the top of the hour. At the time WIZZ played the fine NOS tunes including a couple of great Christmas songs like "Jingle Bells Rock".

In addition to the fact that WIZZ was hard to identify for me I had also problems to reach WIZZ with my several mails. When I emailed my report and mp3 by using my regular email server I didn't get any feedback from the station. However, at once I sent my report by using gmail WIZZ's chief engineer verified my report in a few hours...




Saturday, March 20, 2010

Testing the SDR-IP



As there has been earlier posts about the SpectraVue´s approach to listening and measuring the frequencies (see posts on the KingsVillageDX-blog) this is not discussed here rather we try to make a summary of the listening tests by TuA in Lapland, some comparisions by listening to mw-band at Muhos (about 1000 m beverage to the West)on March 5-6th and the analysis of the recorded files by TK afterwards.

General impressions by TuA at ENOX and at Muhos:

TuA tested already IP and compared it to SDR-IQ & 14 during the ENOX DXpedition in Lapland at the end of February. According to these tests no significant differences were found during listening with the IP and SDR-14/IQ but the dynamic range seemed to be better on the IP - there were no problem in clipping with the IP when using amplified antennas (about 1000 m beverages with at least 10-15 dB amplifiers). So when the "clipping lights" were active with the smaller SDRs and the attenuation should be put on (-10 dB ?) the IP had no problem. Tuomo used a dual-core 2.66 Ghz pc, where he had the IP recording at 2 Mhz, one SDR14 doinf the recording + he was listening to the earlier recorded files as well without problems. One strange issue was noted by Tuomo, however - the listening to IP while recording at sample rates of 1.33 Ms/s and 1.143 Ms/s had some problems. According to manufactures it should be ok and the problems should be when using the computer set up there. However, the very same problem occured also at Muhos. Acc. to RF-Space they will check this issue which could be due a “wrong” firmware. Otherwise the tests at Muhos were very simple: we just recorded certain time spans of signals on mw using both the SDR-IP and Perseus receivers at the same time (splitted antennas). The bandwidth was 2 MHz covering the mediumwave bands. Afterwards I listened to a few Top-of-the-hour segments and compared the results.

I tested also IP with my small HP-laptop just to see how it work with minor set-ups. Otherwise a tapletop computer of Pentium4 (2.8 Ghz/1Gb) was used. It took some time to make my small HP-Laptop to begin to work as you have to configure the Ethernet connection. After that it worked but did have some problems as the processor was only a Celeron 1.86 Ghz (1 Gb memory). Also with the P4 2.8 Ghz there was pretty high load when using the IP with 2 Mhz sample rate showing the load around 70-80 %. Usually this big load means problem with USB-connections as it has been noted with the Perseus,but it seems the connection with Ethernet works better. The both computers had XP-operation systems. Afterward listening was done using a tapletop pc dual-dore 3.0 Ghz with 4 Gb memory, which of course has no problems with the load.

The summary of observations at Muhos:

- listening by IP or IQ shows no significant differences when listening with no high RF environment, but using long beverages and/or amplification there are problems with SDR-IQ/14-environment as well as on Perseus (need to use attenuation) while IP seems to work OK without the attenuation
- IP needs a good computer of modern standards, but this is no problem with modern dual core machines (2-3 Ghz speed, 2-4 Gb memory), according to earlier tests by TuA with dualcore 2.6 Ghz pc, a load of about 50 % was noted
- Ethernet connection works flawlessly when configured right and seems to be more reliably than USB
- using modern setups there is no problem using several programs at the same time - however using both the IP and Perseus was not tested now as we did have a bit older pc-setups here
- everything was going OK when recording with the SpectraVue as long as the harddisk was full - just in the middle of morning dxing conditions towards the Western Hemisphere aroud 05.30 utc!
- measuring of exact carrier frequencies was a bit difficult using the P4 2.8 Ghz pc as the 2 M FFTs which is needed for the best resolution did eats a lot of computing power - this can be avoided by listening afterwards by a more powerfull pc - the measurements could be done, but listening at the same time with modest setups is difficult and some stuttering did occur when using the full resolution (at 2 MHz 0.95 Hz)
- trying to listen with full resolution on a HP (Celeron 1.86) was possible, but the load was around 90 % and stuttering did occur
- again it was fun to see all the time the carriers when listening USB/LSB - the fact which has been dissussed earlier compared to Perseus logic not to show the center frequency but sidebands (see earlier posts on blogs)
- it seems the current default file size about 2 Gb means a 4 minute IF-recording (2 Mhz span), which seems to be a bit small although the files can be linked when listening by SpectraVue afterwards – this issue is being developed by the manufacturer though.
By the way, we changed the unit´s small PSU to a bigger one - it seemed the one provided with the unit is not noise-free.


Listening afterwards of recorded spectrum files:

Listening to a IP-file (2 Mhz span) was easy with a Pentium dual-core 3.0GHz/4Gb pc (the load was around 30 %) as was expected.After some comparisions by listening to files at 0200 and 0300 UTC with some common NA and Latin stations some observations were made:

- generally "by ear" there were no differences when listening to stations like CBC 1140, a South American (and Puerto Rico) on 1230 or Boston 1510
- on some channels however, the sound of IP sounded cleaner (like Haiti on 840), although not many comparisions are made so far - this could mean that the dynamic range of the IP seems to be better, overall the DR sounds better on the IP than IQ/14 or Perseus – no measurements, but the IP needed no attenuation
when others did
- Listening with SpectraVue is done as usual either on USB or LSB, but with Perseus it can be done using the AM or SAM when there was no interference near by (for example 1470, but on 1510 it is better to go to LSB)
- on Perseus however you can adjust easily the sidebands of audio spectrum (changing the bandwidth - independently both sides) on the small window as much you want , on SpectraVue it is not that easy as you have the steps of 100 Hz in the band width
- on SpectraVue using USB/LSB you always see the carrier frequency which is not possible on Perseus (measurements has to be done on AM/SAM; the issue widely discussed earlier but not been "corrected" on Perseus yet)
- it seemed the sensitivity of both receivers was rather equal, but this is not the big issue on MW as both are very sensitive receivers
- it sounds that the shape factor of DSP-based bandwith of Perseus is better but that can not easily be confirmed by ear

All in all, both receivers did well on every channel, a conclusion which was already expected beforehand.

Finally I made a file format change by using a nice piece of softaware "sv2perwav" and converted the recorded IP-file (2 MHz span at 02 utc, 4 minutes long file) into a Perseus file. By listening to that the noise blanker, noise reduction and what is most important, the excellent notch of Perseus could be used! There seems to be a bug (?) on this software as it seems to loose the correct time information by not showing the right recorded time on the time bar. As can be seen on the picture(where two processes are going on simultaneously, one demodulating the converted IP-file and another demodulating a Perseus file at the same time on 1580) both receivers shows a bit different frequencies: it seemed that the IP was calibrated showing about 1-2 Hz too much while Perseus showed about 1 Hz too small values depending a little bit where on the band you were. It seemed that IPs “error” was rather same on the different side of the spectrum and Perseus shows a bit different frequencies on the lower and the higher frequencies.


Well, the biggest difference of these receivers is the current price! The IP seems to be more than 2000 euros, so you can get almost 3 Perseus at the prize of it. So from a medium wave dxer´s point of view, the "hobby IP" could have fewer of the options it currently has and just the basics for serious mw-enthusiasts with a bit more developed software with possibly notch and some other usefull features, the Ethernet connection + the ability to record the spectrum (maybe 1.2 MHz is enaugh?) for later analysis. As the manufacturer says the IP is more intended more to business / governmental etc use, not for dxers. RF-Space has informed us that they will be releasing a lower cost option of the SDR-IP with similar high performance later this year using Ethernet, which we welcome of course. They will also look into the current software and develop the demodulators more and some of these improvements have already been done to SDR-Radio software. This program already works with SDR-14/IQ and support the SDR-IP now.

Thank you for RF-Space to let us test the fine IP!

Thanks for the testing team and our host Jari (JPR) and another Jari (JSN) for the food!

73 TK

PS: Want to test a (big) SDR-IP File?
I will have a file available (1,74 Gb zipped, so be prepared for a long download if you do not have fast speeds) for those who want to get the feeling of listening to a 2 MHz IP-file (center frequency 1290 kHz). By using the latest SpectraVue-software (3.07 at the moment) you can listen to it with a modern pc. It is recorded around 03 utc for 4 minutes at Muhos on March 6th and it contains common Trans Atlantic signals and the Europeans on the MW. You can get the link to the file by sending me a personal message to tk (dot) sdxl (dot) org. The file will be available for about 2 weeks.

WNZS Veazie ME 1340


WNZS on 1340 kHz has been a pretty rare catch in Finland. So I was amazed since this one surfaced strongly in the middle of the night on ENOX21. The ID on the half on the hour was loud and clear: "Newsradio 1340, WNZS". Before that WNZS run a couple of local spots and after the ID it had "Dennis Prager Show" programming.
WNZS verified shortly with email and v/s even promised to send me an official QSL card and some photos later on.

KZNW Wenatchee WA 1340 - Fox Sports Radio


KZNW 1340 was one of those stations that faded in just when I was already leaving for home on ENOX21. KZNW is nowadays A Fox Sports -station and it belongs to the Cherry Creek Radio that runs many FM and AM stations in CA, CO, AZ, MT, UT, TX, ND and WA.
KZNW had earlier Spanish Mexican format and it has been heard every now and then in Scandinavia. For me this was the first time to capture KZNW and station's CE kindly verified my report and MP3 -audio.
KZNW became my WA #80.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

KOUU Pocatello ID 1290 kHz was finally heard on ENOX19

KOUU had been on my hunting list for many years. Finally back in last December on ENOX19 KOUU was heard very late in the afternoon, almost in the evening Finnish local time, with a loud and clear signal. KOUU ran it's FM station KZBQ FM 93.7 Country programms and identified almost after every song they played.
My emails and especially MP3s had problems to get thru to the station because of KOUU's effective spam filters. However, finally station's PD received my email and quickly responded with an message including a complete verification.
KOUU became my Idaho #33.

WNYY Ithaca NY 1470 -Progressive Talk


WNYY came in all alone on 1470 kHz on ENOX21 one night. It had a fine TOH ID followed by the CNN News and the "Finger Lakes Forecast". Earlier WNYY was a NOS -station but nowadays it airs Progressive Talk -shows.
The station Manager verified nicely my report and listened to the MP3 I sent. She got me back in a few hours.
It was way back in 2005 when I picked up WNYY with the nostalgia tunes for the fist time. However, the reception was so faint back then that I didn't send any report to the station at the time.

Friday, March 12, 2010

PUDXK Winter Meeting: Meeting the IP !


The test crew is welcoming the sn n:o 0000 SDR-IP here (TuA holding the box) and toasting to this season´s great mw conditions (and the IP) at Muhos.

Impressions of SDR-IP will be reported soon ...

Thursday, March 11, 2010

WGNS Murfreesboro TN 1450 - “Rutherford County’s News Leader“

WGNS 1450 kHz became my third verified station from TN. Tennessee is not very easy state when you think about how many stations can be "easily" heard from this state. The most usual catches are naturally WSM 650 kHz and WLAC 1510 kHz. But after capturing them it is getting quite difficult...
WGNS surfaced on ENOX21 with legal ID following the ABC news: "“Rutherford County’s News Leader, WGNS, Murfreesboro. We cover Rutherford County - ABC News covers the world”. The brand new SDR-IP picked up the signal nicely on the top of the hour.
Station owner verified my report with en email. He mentioned among other things:
"I have been in the broadcast business all of my life, and am still amazed at how medium wave signals skip. Your MP3 recording of a portion of the broadcast is adds also to the wonderment of WGNS' signal making it from the 100-meter self-supporting tower that's in the center of our 105,000 resident city to your home in Finland."

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

KXLE Ellensburg WA 1240


February 27, 2010 was a fine day for NA -dxing on ENOX21. So far I have found a couple of rare AMs from California, a Tennessee station on 1450 kHz and KXLE from Ellensburg, Washington on 1240 kHz.
This was the first time for me to pick up KXLE. I captured a nice TOH ID "This is Newstalk 1240 KXLE, Ellensburg”. A brand new receiver, SDR-IP from RFSpace made its first appearance in Finland on ENOX21 and it did a very good job. Definitely a great receiver! TK will write more about SDR-IP tests soon on this blog.
KXLE's station manager verified nicely my report after listening the MP3 I sent to him.

Monday, March 08, 2010

KVEC 920 kHz - Hometown Radio in San Luis Obispo, CA

Hearing KVEC 920 kHz was a pleasant surprise on ENOX21. I was amazed when it surfaced just on the top of the hour over the dominant KXLY with a complete ID. As far as I know this was the first time this station has been picked up in Scandinavia. The signal was pretty loud and clear and KVEC was heard for a couple of minutes after TOH ID with Fox Radio News.
KVEC's Program Director got excited when receiving my report and mp3 and they played the mp3 -audio live on their talk show next afternoon. PD mentioned that one of the KVEC Talk Show hosts is from Finland.
KVEC verified kindly with three emails.

Sunday, March 07, 2010

KLFF Arroyo Grande CA 890 - a Christian talk station


This was the second time KLFF was heard in Finland. Last October HN picked it up in Lemmenjoki with a huge signal. This time KLFF came in nicely in Enontekiö as well and luckily just on the top of the hour with a complete legal ID. CJDC mixed up wih KLFF later and earlier but actually KLFF was audible about for a half of hour.The station's management verified quickly with an email. KLFF became my CA #60.

Saturday, March 06, 2010

PUDXK Winter Meeting 2010 - "Muhos-Zembalot 2"


It was nice indeed to visit JPRs famous DX-QTH at Muhos on 5-6th March. During this winter meeting we had special guests not only from Finland (HN) but also a brief visit from the USA: the SDR-receiver SDR-IP serial n:o 00000 was tested during the nightly dx-session with some listening, good eating (like flamed salmon for the main course - thanks to the Chef JSN of Wasa) and hot Sauna.
The start of updating this text is done on a train (which seems to be on time now - thanks to the Finland´s railroad company VR) somewhere between Kokkola and Seinäjoki.

To be continued soon, see also KingsVillageDX Blog & DX-culinary-Blog !

73 TK

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

WNEM Bridgeport MI 1250

WNEM faded in and out with "Joy 1250" in Enontekiö when I captured this "Newsradio 1250" signal . The TOH ID was clear and it was easy to record an MP3 and send it to the station. After a few hours WNEM's Vice President answered me with a kind e-mail including a complete verification.
WNEM became my MI #34.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

WCMC Wildwood NJ 1230 kHz

WCMC played Timeless Favorites NOS -tunes at the time I picked up it. It was mixed up with CFFB and CFGN but because of its great music it was easily recognized on 1230 kHz. I had to wait for a verification for a couple of days but after a while President of the Equity Communications LP mailed me back and verified my report and MP3 -audio. Also WCMC was audible very early - I picked up WCMC's first tunes as early as 20:30 UTC one evening on ENOX19.

WNSH Beverly MA 1570

WNSH Beverly on 1570 surface on ENOX19 just a few minutes before it switched to the night power which is only 85 watts. It was 20:59 UTC when I picked up WNSH - so quite early for a coastal US station. WNSH's day power is 30.000 watts and the signal was quite loud for a while. CFAV "The Boomer" tried to beat WNSH and later on it did succeded in doing this.
WNSH's chief engineer verified and attached also the excerpt from their automatic transmitter logs showing the power change at 21:15 UTC (4:15 EST).

Sunday, February 14, 2010

CFGN Port aux Basques NL 1230


During the ENOX19 some stations used to surface quite early in the evening. Especially many stations from Newfoudland and Labrador had the decent signals very early. CFGN on 1230 kHz was quite easy to hear but identifying the station needed a little luck. However, on one evening I managed to pick up CFGN mentions and IDs twice and neither of those IDs were any network IDs on the top of the hour. CFGN in Port aux Basques is a part of Newcap Radio which runs FM and AM stations all over Canada.
When I captured CFGN there were also WCMC Wildwood, NJ and CFFB Iqaluit NU audible at the same time on 1230 kHz.
I have seldom received a QSL on Sunday. However, CFGN emailed me just a few hours ago a kind email. And today is Sunday, February 14, 2010.