[HCDX]: IRCA's AM DX NewsFlash - 3/8/00
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[HCDX]: IRCA's AM DX NewsFlash - 3/8/00
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WELCOME TO IRCA's AM-DX NEWSFLASH - March 9 2000
Vol 5 No 49
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IRCA's web site... check it out!!
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/5792/
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Will be heading out to RI this afternoon, so I?m getting this done a day
early... next week, back to normal
Deadline for next issue = Thursday, March 16 2000 @ 1400 UTC
Send all contributions to me @ philip_bytheway@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"**" denotes that the tip/info/etc. came from the IRCA egroup, and you
must be a member of IRCA to subscribe to the egroup at
http://www.egroups.com
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CONVENTION - MEETING INFO (corrections/additions welcome)
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DecalcoMania member Kenneth Hawkins is hosting a DecalcoMania get-
together in the St Louis area the week of 3/25-6/00. Let him know right
away if you are interested. Kenneth M Hawkins, 2207 Britian Wy, St
Charles MO 63304-8766. Phone: 636 498-0123 or 1-800-845-0618 (PIN #03).
email: bumperstix@xxxxxxxxxxxx DecalcoMania is a radio promotion
collector club, so there may or may not be any DXing involved.
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2000 IRCA Billings, Montana Convention Information:
The International Radio Club Of America Convention will be held August
25, 26, and 27, 2000 in Billings, Montana. Your convention hosts will be
John and Nancy Johnson. A registration form will appear in IRCA's "DX
Monitor" soon. Non-IRCA members may register by mail providing your name
and names of those attending, mailing address, days you plan on being in
Billings, and confirmation that you have made reservations at the
Quality Inn. The advance registration fee will be $35.00 which includes
the Saturday night buffet. Please make out your registration fee check
to "John C. Johnson" and send it to John and Nancy's home address, 265
Waterton Way, Billings, MT 59102-7755 by July 31, 2000.
The convention will be held at the Homestead Quality Inn located at
2036 Overland Avenue in Billings. This is just off I-90 on Billings?
west end. Take Exit 446 and follow King Avenue West to Overland Avenue.
A map is available on the internet, or write to John or Nancy. This is
the same location as the 1993 IRCA convention. Their phone number is
406-652- 1320. You may call their national 800 number at 800-228-5151
for reservations, but please make sure you mention the Billings
Homestead Quality Inn and the "2000 IRCA Convention" for the special
rates. Our special rates are $55.00 for singles, $72.00 for doubles, or
$59.00 for their twin suites. Cut off date for special rates is July 15,
2000. Homestead Quality Inn provides free shuttle service from Logan
International Airport and the Greyhound Bus station.
Airlines serving Billings include Delta, United, Big Sky, Northwest,
and Horizon. If Alaska Air serves your area, please check their
connections on Horizon. Greyhound Bus service is available to Billings.
The banquet will be at the Old Country Buffet. This will be an all-
you-can-eat buffet featuring their regular Saturday night menu of
(subject to change) Carved Ham, Carved Roast Beef, Fried Chicken, Baked
Chicken, BBQ Ribs, Spaghetti, Penne, Fried Fish, Baked Fish, Corn on the
Cob, Chicken and Dumplings, Macaroni and Cheese, French Fries, a
complete salad bar, and a complete dessert bar.
Tours will be scheduled with as many Billings radio stations as
possible. The tour of KTVQ will include watching the production of their
Friday night 10:00 newscast. More details will be provided as tours are
confirmed.
Do you like to eat and shop? The convention is being held in the heart
of the largest shopping area in Montana. Restaurants within easy walking
distance of the convention site include Fuddruckers, Dennys, Outback
Steakhouse, Jade Palace, Burger King, Taco Johns, Perkins, Red Lobster,
Olive Garden, and Gussicks. Within two miles you will find Pizza Hut,
Subway, Dairy Queen, Wendys, Arbys, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Applebees, Dos
Machos, Fuddruckers Express, Golden Corral, Old Country Buffet, and
Cactus Creek Steak Outfitters. The largest mall in Montana, Rimrock Mall
is just 2 miles from the convention. Many national big box stores are
within 2 miles including, but not limited to, Costco, Wal-Mart Super
Store, ShopKo, Target, Big K-Mart, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Old Navy, and
OfficeMax.
Billings is located within a days drive of many vacation tourist
attractions including, but not limited to Yellowstone National Park,
Little Big Horn Battlefield, Glacier National Park and Mount Rushmore.
Start making your plans now to attend this years convention! If you
were at the 1993 Billings convention you will want to return for more of
the same fun. If you missed the 1993 Billings convention now is your
chance to attend. If you have access to the internet, check out the
convention web site at: http://pages.prodigy.net/john_johnson/irca2000
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CPC DX tests
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CPC Chairperson (IRCA) - Lynn Hollerman - gmhollerman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
3/26/00 Sun - 0000-0030 - 1150 - WELC - Welch WV (NRC)
4/ 1/00 Sat - 0515-0600 - 1110 - WTBQ - Warwick NY (McLean)
Sunday, March 26, 2000 - WELC-1150, Welch, WV will conduct a DX test
from 12:00 - 12:30 am EST. WELC will be using 5 kW, ND. All that is
known about programming is that there will be Morse code IDs.
Reception reports may be sent to:
Mr. John Sidote
WELC AM/FM
P.O. Box 949
Welch, WV 24801
(Arranged by Blaine Thompson for the NRC CPC.)
Saturday, April 1, 2000 - WTBQ-1110, Warwick, NY will conduct a DX test
from 5:15 - 6:00 am EST. The test will feature novelty music and code
IDs.
Reception reports may be sent to:
Mr. Rob McLean
WTBQ-AM
62 N. Main St.
Florida, NY 10921
E-mail: am1110@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
WWW: http://www.wtbq.com
(Arranged by Rob McLean of WTBQ.)
Also, if you hear a test, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know, via either
e-mail or in rec.radio.shortwave! And if you send a reception report to
a station, please remember to include return postage with your report...
CPC RESULTS & INFO
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HOT STUFF
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Lee J Freshwater 414 SE 3rd St, Ocala, FL 34474
FAX 352-732-7223 E-mail ENGWTRS@xxxxxxx
The F.C.C. has started putting CALL LETTER changes in their computer
data base...We will include them here as time and space permits.
A COMPLETE LIST IS AVAILABLE AT :
http://members.aol.com/bcblogbook/main.htm
PREPARED ON 3/5/00
CALL SIGN CHANGES
NEW CITY AND STATE FREQUENCY FORMER
CALL * CALL
KWOK OLYMPIA, WA 910 KAYO
KXXL WICHITA FALLS, TX 990 KTUB
* The F.C.C. does NOT list the frequency in their database. I have
tried to suppliment this with information from my own database,, so look
it over "carefully" before you change anything in yours.
We have put this information in order of frequency rather than location.
Send any suggestions, changes AND corrections to the above E-Mail
address.
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Get in line NOW for your copy of the latest IRCA ?AM SLOGANS LIST?.
Completely revised by IRCA?s own Rich Toebe to 2/00 and includes X-Band
stations as well. This 24 page ?DX Aid? can be yours for only $5.00
through the IRCA Bookstore. Non-IRCA/NRC members... add $1.00.
Overseas... add $0.50.
IRCA Bookstore, 9705 Mary NW, Seattle WA 98117-2334
(all checks payable to Phil Bytheway)
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Robert Wien ? San Jose CA - rjwmail@xxxxxxxxx
Colorado Springs News: Colorado Springs
?Citadel-owned talker KVOR (1300 AM) and nostalgia KTWK (740 AM)
will swap frequencies March 23. KVOR will move to 740 AM and KTWK will
take the 1300 AM spot.
General manager Jim Arthur says the 740 AM frequency is clearer and
will provide KVOR listeners better sound. In making this move, the
station is ending its 76-year history at 1300 AM. When it went on the
air as KFUM in 1924, it was the first radio station in Colorado Springs
and only the fifth in the Western United States. Along with the
frequency change, KVOR will change its name from "Newstalk 1300" to
"Newsradio 740."?
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INDIVIDUAL LOGGINGS
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Mark Connelly - Billerica MA - MarkWA1ION@xxxxxxxxxx
Homepage: http://members.aol.com/MarkWA1ION/weblink.htm
Receiver: Drake R8A
Antenna system: cardioid array of Active Whip and Broadband Loop on car
roof; Superphaser-1 Phasing Unit
Logs from Cape Cod in parallel with the BADX Rockport outing:
I did a quick listening session from the town landing site near the
Route 28 / Tar Kiln Road intersection in South Orleans, MA. I listened
from 2245 UTC on 4 MAR through 0030 UTC on 5 MAR. Trans-Atlantics were
better at the beginning of the session, Latin Americans towards the end.
At no time could I say that it was auroral, except perhaps on the bottom
of the dial in a few brief spurts.
Logs in summary follow. A more thorough report will be issued later.
4 MAR 2000 / 2245-2359: Algeria-891, UK-909, Algeria-981, Spain-1044,
Spain-1575, Spain-1584 (Ceuta het not noted), UK-1089, Spain-1134, UK-
1215, Saudi Arabia-1521, Belgium(t)-1512, France-1467 loud, Guinea-
1385.91, St.Pierre-1375, Spain-1359, Libya-1251, Spain-1224, France(t)-
1206, Morocco-1044, Canaries-Spain-1179 huge !, Spain-1071, UK-1053,
Portugal-1035, Canaries-1008, Spain-954, Spain-855 local-like, Italy-
846, Puerto Rico-870, Cuba-840, Canaries-Spain-837 (Azores-836 het
behind), Spain-801, Spain-792, Switzerland-765 loud, Guyana(t)-760 in
jumble w/Brazil/Colombia, Cuba-759.77 bad het, Germany-756, Spain-738
5 MAR 2000 / 0000-0130: Anguilla-690 blasting over Brazil/Colombia/
Venezuela (no Montreal), Spain-684, Cuba-660 crushing WFAN !, Morocco-
612, St. Kitts-555, Spain-774, Venezuela(R. Coro)-780 mix CFDR, Neth.
Antilles-800 good (now 100 kW instead of 500 kW ?), St. Kitts-830,
Spain-1602
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**Pat Martin ? Rancho Mirage CA - mwdxer@xxxxxxxxx
1300 KPTL NV, Carson City, now Rock Oldies,ex NOS, with ID // 102.9
Lake Tahoe at 0400 EST 3/3. (PM-CA)
1490 KBAS AZ, BULLHEAD CITY, good on top with NOS format and many "K-
Star" IDs, local weather at 0530 EST 3/3. (PM-CA)
1490 KICO CA, CALEXICO, good briefly with "Radio Unica" IDs and ID on
the hour at 0559.55 EST 3/3 "KICO en Calexico",then buried by
KBKO's ID.(PM-CA)
1490 KBKO CA, SANTA BARBARA, topped channel with SS and "KBKO Santa
Barbara" over KICO at 0559.56 3/3.(PM-CA)
Hammarlud SP-600JX, EWE antenna / 3 foot loop
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**Bill Harms ? Elkridge MD - wharms@xxxxxxxxx
NRD-525, 3 foot high air core loop, 150 foot longwire.
630 CFCO ON, Chatham. 1/30 0100 ID, ?CFCO Precision Weather.? The
forecast was clear and cool. Good through WMAL. (WJH-MD)
920 CJCH NS, Halifax. 1/29 1903 News and Sports and local ad. Good
over QRM. (WJH-MD)
920 WKVA PA, Lewistown. 1/29 2000 ID and CNN News. Over all. One of
my closer unheards. (WJH-MD)
920 WWIT NC, Canton. 2/12 1720. ID as ?Rock and Roll rolls on
WWIT? into a song. Good over all. (WJH-MD)
960 WAAK NC, Dallas. 1/29 0816 Spot for a ?Blue Grass Revival? and
ID. Fair to good with strong interference. (WJH-MD)
980 WONE OH, Dayton. 2/3 1657-1707 Finally a new station on his
channel. Over a nulled WTEM and an UI talk station. Song -
?Young Love.? ID by Female as ?You are listening... best of
the original hits on AM 9-80 WONE Dayton Springfield and AM 13-40
(WIZE) Springfield into ABC Network News. (WJH-MD)
1000 CKBW NS, Bridgewater. 2/6 1830-1839. Numerous IDs such as
?Serving Three Counties with one great radio station. Hometown
CKBW? and ?93.1 FM, 94.5 FM, 1000 AM. This is the South
Shore?s Super Station CKBW? and, weather and local ads. Oldies.
Good over all. (WJH-MD)
1070 WSCP NY, Sandy Creek. 2/6 2021:30-2026. A couple of local ads
and C & W song ?The Way I Feel About You.? It looks like
another daytimer ?extending? their broadcast hours, nyuck
nyuck! (WJH-MD)
1110 WJML MI, Petoskey. 2/5 1636. ID ?JML into song ?Green River?
by CCR. This was followed by ID as This is the station that
brought back... Oldies... Northern Michigan... WJML.? Into song
?Downtown? by Petula Clark. (WJH-MD)
1130 KWKH LA, Shreveport. 2/10. 1822. Not needed, but a welcome
infrequent visitor here with ID by man into local ad. Good over
WBBR. (WJH-MD)
1160 WBOB KY, Florence. 2/6 0839:30-8:42. Ad for local machinery
dealer and Noxema. ID as ?Get inside the game with 11-60 Bob
the Sports Leader? Surprisingly strong! (WJH-MD)
1160 WMVI NY, Mechanicsville. 2/6 1742:30 Start of sign off. Popped
in with ID by as ?welcome to WMVI.? (WJH-MD)
1360 WPTT PA McKeesport. 2/13 1752 Local ad, ID, and Mike Gallagher
Talk Show. Good under semi-nulled WWLG. (WJH-MD)
1370 WKMC PA, Roaring Spring. Listened to the channel from 0830 to
1637:30 2/13 for an ID from this station (YES, I listened for the
ID for over eight hours! Am I crazy or dedicated?) I heard a
weak station with standards but it was never strong enough for a
clear ID. Finally I heard a singing ID at 1631:30 this was
follwed by songs by Patty Page, Johnny Mathis, and Roberta Flack.
1370 WLTC NC, Gastonia. 2/15 2125 Female announcer talked about
?happenings? in local churches. Ood over all. (WJH-MD)
1380 WGUS SC, North Augusta 2/1 2059:45-2100. ID into CNN News. Fair
but atop the mess. Heard frequently since. Almost a pest!
1390 WKLP WV, Keyser. 2/15 0649. ID by Male announcer as ?This is
WKLP, Keyser 13-90 AM? into weather forecast. Good over all.
(WJH-MD)
1410 WLVV AL, Mobile. Local ads, music, Gulf Coast Weather, and ID.
Good through KQV. (WJH-MD)
1450 WILM DE, Wilmington. 1/30 1:28:30-1:50:00. Clear Morse code IDs
and not much else through a strong WOL. (WJH-MD)
1460 WIFI NJ, Florence. 2/1 0659:45 Legal ID by Female announcer ?14-
60 WIFI (Florence)? and nothing else with lots of QRM. (WJH-MD)
1510 WLGN OH, Logan. 1/31 1720. Popped in and out with an ID by a man
as ?WLGN.? (WJH-MD)
1540 WADM IN, Decatur 1/31 1806. Heard ID as ?15-40 WADM? by male
announcer and nothing else. (WJH-MD)
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BROADCAST BAND LOGGINGS FROM
SHAWN M. AXELROD & WAYNE MCRAE
E-MAIL: saxelrod@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
DX'ING FROM VALHALLA BEACH MB
RECEIVERS: 2- ICOM ICR-70
ANTENNAE: 2- MFJ 1026 PHASING UNIT 6 WIRES WEST/ SOUTH/ NORTHEAST
UNID'S AND UNID HELP
990 UNID 03/04 2100- Very weak in CBW phased null with Newsradio
ID.(VAL-DX)
1160 UNID 03/05 0805- Weak u/KSL and WSCR with Gospel music.(VAL-DX)
TIS & OTHER STUFF
530 WPLX284 CO Denver -03/05 0700- Poor signals with a loop tape giving
call signs and saying it was run by Colorado Department of
Transport. NEW! (VAL-DX)
1610 TIS IL ? -03/04 2115- Very poor with I Dot info. (VAL-DX)
1610 TIS WI ?? -03/04 1905 - Fair signals with a loop tape saying
This is Highway Advisory radio for the Wisconsin Department of
Transport. No info just the ID loop. Which location is this? NEW!
1610 TIS KS ? -03/04 1919- Poor signals with info from the National
Weather Service and travel highway information for the Kansas
Turnpike. Many locations not sure which this was.(VAL- DX)
REGULAR LOGGINGS
740 WMIN WI Hudson -03/04 1850- Good signals with Mexican music
program.(VAL-DX)
780 KKOH NV Reno - 03/04 2056- Fair signals with talk programming
u/WBBM (VAL-DX)
860 CKSB1 MB Ste Rose du Lac -03/04 1813- Good signal mixing just out
of sync with CKSB2 with French programming//1050 (VAL-DX)
860 CKSB1 MB St Lazare -03/04 1813- Good signal mixing just out of
sync with CKSB1 with French programming//1050 (VAL-DX)
870 WKAR MI Lansing -03/04 1824- Good signals with a mix of English
and Spanish talk and Mexican music full ID on the hour.(VAL-DX)
1100 WMBI IL Chicago -03/04 1543- Poor signals with Spanish language
programming and ID (VAL-DX)
1290 KOWB WY Laramie -03/05 0006- Fair signals with University of
Wyoming Basketball and several ID in phased CFST null. (VAL-DX)
1480 WTDA WI Madison -03/04 1600- Good signals with Dual ID for 1670
and 1480 (VAL-DX)
1570 WFRL Il Freeport -03/04 1840- Fair signals under CKMW with NOS
music.(VAL-DX)
1570 WKBH WI Holmen -03/05 0640- Fair signals in phased CKMW null with
ESPN programming. (VAL-DX)
1670 WRNC GA Warner Robbins -03/04 1746- Poor signals with country
music u/WTDY.(VAL- DX)
1690 WMDM MD Lexington Park -03/04 1740- Poor in KDDZ phased null with
NASCAR programming.(VAL-DX)
TRANS ATLANTIC DX
189 Iceland Rikisutvarpid Gufuskalar March 5 0140 Poor signals with
music. Only TA heard all DXpedition.(VAL-DX)
PAN-AMERICAN DX
990 Mexico XET Monterrey March 5 0200 Poor signals u/CBW in phased
null with Mexican music and talk.(VAL-DX)
1630 Mexico XEUT Mexicali March 5 0111 Fair signals in a KCJJ phased
null with Mexican music and Spanish talk NEW!!(VAL-DX)
COMMENTS
Well it was quite the trip. We arrive d to find not much snow and
some large pools of water on the fields. The walk was easy for March
when the snow is usually knee deep or better. We had to be careful
putting out the wires trying to avoid the large pools of water. Most
wires were put out not in anything resembling a straight line but het it
was worth it. Wayne got 12 new ones I got 3 new ones. The real treat was
XEUT on 1630. Now I have heard every station in North America on the
Exband (not counting TIS's).
The Phasing units worked wonders on the long wires helping us null
down even local pests like CBW to reveal DX. These little boxes are
worth every penny we spent on them.
The weather was wonderful no heavy parkas or boots. The lack of snow
lead to a problem on Sunday morning. We awoke to clear skies at 05:00
but by 07:30 there was a thick fog and we could only see 200-300 feet.
We went out to wind up the antennas and had to stay close by so we would
not loose each other on the fields. Also discovered that the warm air
had melted more snow and we found many sections of the wires in frozen
water or melted into the snow. Had to chip some sections out of the snow
or break the ice to free up the antennas. That was OK but this lead to a
never encountered problem.
We have only once before and that was in the fall NEVER in winter ran
out of snow. The snow melted too much Saturday leaving large areas of
stubble. We had to drag the toboggans over the stubble fields to get
back to the cars safely parked at the farm. This certainly made it easy
to find the muscles in your legs and back that had not been used too
much of late. We made two runs each across the field 1200 feet each way
to take back the equipment...but it was better than waist deep snow
where it took 2 of us to pull a toboggan.
Drove home slowly in dense fog for 50 miles but it was worth every
second for those new stations. And that is really what is all about is
it not???
DX'peditions in Manitoba are not for the faint hearted. YOU HAVE TO
LOVE THIS HOBBY.
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**Nigel Pimblett ? Medicine Hat AB - ntp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
891 FIJI 1350 UTC, 4 March. After a very mediocre MW season, was
astounded to find this one at a very good level, and completely
in the clear, with a program of Indian music. Stayed at a good
level until a fairly quick fade out around 1415. Opening was
limited to this one station, with no other Pacific signals even
producing any audio.
Kenwood R-5000, 300 metre beverage
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HELP WITH
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QSLs
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**Pat Martin ? Rancho Mirage CA - mwdxer@xxxxxxxxx
1230 KTHR NM, GALLUP , rec friendly verie letter in 12d from: George
M. Malti-President along with bumper sticker. Address: P.O. Box
420, or 405-407 So. Second Street, Gallup NM 87305 (PM-CA)
1550 KUAT AZ, TUCSON rec. QSL letter in 16d from: Lyle E. Kesterson-
Radio Program Manager. Address: University of Arizona, Tucson AZ
85721 (No street address or Box number given). (PM-CA)
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MISC ITEMS
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**Pat Martin ? Rancho Mirage CA - mwdxer@xxxxxxxxx
Since we moved to Rancho Mirage here in the Coachella Valley, I also
have RFI troubles. They come and go. I did find that a lot of the noise
was coming in on the power lines. So after installing the EWE antenna
and 4 fround rods in the ground, lots on #12 copper wire between them
and a ground from the SP-600 chassis to the grounds outside, and also
tying that to the center conducter on the outlets, that has helped. Then
I tried one of those inexpensive RFI outlet boxes from Radio Shack and
so far I have cut the noise by more that 50%. When we return next
November, I plan on working on the noise more, maybe a call to Edison.
Pacific Power in Oregon is very good on fixing noise problems. So I also
would start by phoning the local power company.
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**Richard Toebe ? Davis CA - richtoebe@xxxxxxx
KJQI-1510 format change/ RFI
"The Joy of San Francisco", KJQI-1510, actually licensed to San
Rafael, has now become "K-Mozart" with classical and operatic music.
Noted on car radio during homeward commute; no actual call letters given
on the hour (what is with this poor practice, anyway?). No mention of
the FM side. So, I don't yet know if the calls were changed.
Haven't had much to send along as far as DX is concerned. When we
first moved to Davis, I mentioned how quiet the neighborhood was
electrically. Now everybody's moved in, and the noise level increased
only slightly until a few weeks ago when suddenly I've got this horrible
RFI. It's there 24/7. It sounds like a modulating hum, varying in pitch,
coupled with ticks similar to a clock, very regular. The worst
interference is centered on the upper 700 kHz range, and varies in
intensity up through the 1100s; it's not a constant improvement as you
move away from the 700s, but some frequencies are better than others
(1120 and 1190 are pretty bad) and once you get past 1200, does seem to
improve, it's almost gone in the 1400-1700 range. It does not seem to be
a problem in the Shortwaves, at least above 5 MHz. At first I thought it
was my next door neighbor as I would be able to reduce it a great deal
if I pointed the antenna away from their house, but I've actually
figured out a couple of days ago that it's emanating from the power
lines in my house, and is especially strong coming from the electrical
service box right outside my garage, next to the electric meter. I've
been able to trace where the electrical lines in the house go, hi. (I
used my Sony 2010 with the gain turned way down to track this down; when
I null the electrical box at a distance of 6 inches, the RFI goes away
almost fully!) My next move, I think, is to contact PG&E, the electric
utility.
Has anyone else had this problem?
**Dennis Gibson - dcgibson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rich - PG&E (or as I liked to call them when I was a kid "P)eople G)et
E)lectrocuted") should have someone on staff who specializes in tracking
down RFI. If they are not cooperative, a letter to the Public Utilities
Commission usually works wonders. A ham friend of mine who used to live
in Southern California had horrible RFI on the HF bands and Southern
California Edison jerked him around until he wrote to the PUC. They had
a sudden change in attitude and resolved the problem quickly. Good luck.
Robert Wein ? San Jose CA - rjwmail@xxxxxxxxx
1510 now KMZT? (K-MoZarT)? See below... Published Saturday, March 4,
2000, in the San Jose Mercury News
?The price of station's popularity Fans of traditional programming say
KDFC has gone to `classical lite´
BY LESLEY VALDES
Mercury News Classical Music Writer
Mozart helped make radio history last month when a classical station
tied for the top rating of music stations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In fact, KDFC (102.1 FM) became the first classical station in the
country to capture the top music spot in quarterly Arbitron ratings --
which are similar to television's Nielsens. It's never happened, not
even in the three bigger markets of New York, Los Angeles or Chicago.
KDFC's success is good news for Salt Lake City-based Bonneville
International, which bought the signal three years ago.
But critics contend the station's popularity has come at the cost of
a switch in programming to ``classical lite.´´ They are disturbed about
its implications for the few remaining classical stations struggling to
survive in a radio market so competitive it´s likened to Silicon Valley
real estate.
``We had to get off Planet Art,´´ KDFC program director Bill Lueth
said. ``We´re playing music for the way that our listeners use the
radio. Our research shows that people use classical music to relax.´´
KDFC and its sister station KOIT (95.6 FM) have used similar formulas
for success -- except that KDFC plays light classical music and KOIT,
light rock -- to push stations playing hip-hop and other urban sounds,
KYLD and KMEL, from the top music spot.
Talk radio station KGO (810 AM) has been the overall ratings leader
in the Bay Area for 22 years. KDFC and KOIT tied for No. 2 in the recent
Arbitrons, each getting 4.5 percent of the market or an average of
560,000 listeners per week.
KDFC's popularity is based on a predictable formula, Lueth said.
``People need something to count on.´´
During drive time, KDFC plays short pieces -- Mozart symphonies and
excerpts or movements of longer works. It chopped its playlist from
20,000 CDs to 2,000, and repeats favorite works.
``I was asked to design a new approach -- to find out how people use
classical music on the radio. Programmers who think they know what
people need to listen to, run radio like a museum,´´ said Lueth. Based
on listener surveys, the station dropped vocal music, including
broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera. That provoked an outcry from
listeners -- who were considered too much of a niche market.
``We have to go with the majority,´´ said Rik Malone, evening host
and assistant program director. Return to competition
But this listener alienation brought competition back to the
classical dial. KMZT (1510 AM) began broadcasting a mix of classical CDs
and syndicated orchestral concerts from 6 a.m. to midnight. The new
station pursues a traditional format with opera and vocal music, said
Los Angeles-based owner Saul Levine. Levine is familiar with classical
radio in the Bay Area. Two years ago, he was forced to sell KKHI-FM
because it was losing money with a traditional classical format.
``The climate´s really changed,´´ said Levine, who has received
dozens of faxes from listeners happy for the new station. ``I wish
people had cared so much before. But now, they realize what they´ve
missed.´´
The reason KDFC went ``light´´ -- and why so many family-run stations
have dropped off the dial in the past two decades -- is a tale of the
bottom line. The 1996 Telecommunications Act allowed companies to own
more stations -- both in individual markets and across the country. The
result was a feeding frenzy for radio stations.
``It´s definitely real estate of the air,´´ Malone said.
As stations changed hands, they often changed formats in an effort to
find more listeners. This led to the demise of family-owned classical
stations in Philadelphia and Detroit and the ``dumbing down´´ of former
industry leader, Chicago´s WFMT.
Sales price zoom
Last month, Miami's longtime classical and jazz station, WTMI, was
sold to Cox Broadcasting for $100 million. When it last sold in the
'80s, its sale price was a then-unprecedented $1 million. Its current
revenues are $4.5 million a year. ``At that (sale) price there -- and
with those revenues -- there is no chance the station will remain
classical,´´ said Lueth, who consulted on its new programming but said
he disagrees with its switch from light classical to classical-with-
Celine Dion. In San Francisco, Bonneville bought KDFC for $45 million in
1997. Its previous owners, Brown Broadcasting, had bought the station
for $13 million in 1993.
When Bonneville bought the station, its revenues were hovering
between $4 million and $5 million. Today, it's breaking $10 million in
gross revenues.
``It´s a totally outrageous market,´´ said Levine, who said he was
offered $300 million for the classical station he has run in L.A. for 30
years. His Mount Wilson Broadcasting is privately owned. ``Our profits
are modest, we´re not in it for the bottom line,´´ said Levine. He
maintains classical music is -- and has to be -- a niche market.
``All the buying and selling has definitely affected the numbers of
stations out there -- and their programming,´´ Malone said. ``There used
to so many stations.´´
There are only three dozen commercial classical stations left.
Another 150 public stations broadcast varying amounts of classical
music; many are shifting to talk and news formats as KQED did 9 years
ago. It's not all about programming, Lueth said. ``What really punched
us to the top,´´ he said, was KDFC´s first television ad, which ran from
October through December. It features an attractive woman, who says:
``Admit it. When you think of classical music you think stuffy or old
fashioned... but KDFC´s for real people not music professors.... It´s so
comfortable you´ll want it on all the time.´´
That enraged some longtime listeners, including William Meredith,
director of the Beethoven Society at San Jose State University. He
mailed copies of the promotion to the American Musicological Society and
started a protest campaign. ``It was demeaning and anti-intellectual.
KDFC´s programming, which I call `Top 80,´ has further marginalized
classical music in the Bay Area,´´ Meredith said.
Lueth disagreed. ``KDFC is still the most sophisticated listening
audience on the dial, it´s no longer appealing to just people with music
degrees.´´
Lueth holds two music degrees. But he cited the lack of music
education -- and shorter attention spans -- for making listeners
unwilling ? and perhaps unable -- to appreciate traditional classical
music programming.
Protect an art form
But Bill O'Connell, Lueth's predecessor at KDFC and now programmer at
WCLV in Cleveland. said the lack of music education is one reason
classical stations should continue substantive programming. ``Refuse to
remove the challenges from the mix,´´ he said. ``It is irresponsible to
an art form that was never meant to be commodified.´´
Malone said, ``We sympathize with people who are missing some things,
but if we play all things for all people, we wouldn´t be on the air.´´
Lueth agreed, ``We are not a service industry, we´re a business. Radio
isn´t an art form, it´s an entertainment medium.´´
Contact Lesley Valdes at lvaldes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or at (408) 920-5640
More on KMZT...
More on New Classical Station: Believe me, I'm not such a diehard
KDFC fan that I don't welcome more classical stations. I do. Several
more would be great -- after all, how many flavors of adult
contemporary, which is pretty insipid to begin with, do we have or need?
But this week's story in an S.F. daily about the rebirth of a daytime-
only Marin classical station at 1510 AM called KMZT, "K-Mozart," left a
few important details out. This is, of course, where the old KKHI was
before L.A-based owner Saul Levine dumped it two years ago, switching to
an elevator-music-type format called KJQI.
The KDFC-haters will, of course, flock to KMZT (the Chron called it
the "anti-KDFC"), now that Levine has announced that he'll carry the
Metropolitan Opera live on Saturdays, which KDFC understandably declined
to do and which unleashed a flurry of indignant and cheap-shot letters
at Lueth and KDFC. I love the way the Chron put it this week: "the
growing dissatisfaction among KDFC among serious (italics mine)
classical listeners persuaded Levine to take another whack at the
market."
The Chronicle, like the Examiner, also has its classical music critic
covering classical commercial radio; this shows the importance the S.F.
dailies attach to radio. (At least the Chronicle guy, to give him
credit, finally reported KDFC's high ratings -- a big radio story
already a month old.)
It appears that those "serious" classical listeners either have short
memories or are not fully informed about Levine.
First of all, Levine, who also owns classical KKGO (105.1 FM) in El
Lay, abandoned classical music once here. What makes them think he won't
do it again, even though he told the Chron "we can go for some time
without making money"? And well-placed sources have told me that not
only did Levine pull the plug on KKHI in 1998, he locked the staff out ?
and fired them by fax.
And given KDFC's remarkable recent Arbitron finish as the Bay Area's
No. 1 music station, Levine's decision to "take a whack at" classical
again with yet another satellite-delivered operation seems just a tad
opportunistic.
And I'll bet most of those "serious" listeners aren't aware of what
happened to KKHI's priceless classical library a few years ago when CBS,
which bought the old KKHI 95.7 frequency, sold the KKHI call letters to
Levine.
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Hard-Core-DX Staff - staff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
HARD-CORE-DX EXPANDING TO THE WEB
The World's best community for DXers is getting even better. Together
with the Nordic Shortwave Center, the Hard-Core-DX list is launching a
top notch DX web site. "By joining forces we are able to offer all DXers
better information", says Hard-Core-DX list manager Risto Kotalampi.
The Hard-Core-DX list started as one of the earliest hobby lists back
in 1995. It soon grow into an fast, informal, and highly informative DX
channel. "I hoped for fast DX news, and got a unique DX community as
well", says Risto Kotalampi. "We now have more than 500 Dxers
subscribing to the list. The discussions is very lively and, thanks to
the members good sense and some moderation, this makes the list one of
the best sources for DX news."
A mailing list still lacks the major strengths of the Web:
continuity, in-depth analysis and constant availability. "So how can one
better serve this knowledgeable, and demanding, community than by
offering a unique Hard-Core-DX.com web site", says Hermod Pedersen,
manager of the Nordic Shortwave Center web, established in 1995. The
Nordic Shortwave Center focuses on breaking DX news, with an addition of
in-depth information on Latin American DXing and receiving antennas. All
of this is to be incorporated into the Hard-Core-DX.com.
At the core of the new joint venture will still be the popular
mailing list. "We are not going to change anything about the mailing
list. It belongs to its members", explains Risto Kotalampi. "What we
hope to achieve is to give everybody a DXing community on the web as
well. We have no resources of making these things ourselves, it is all
those members who make it what it is."
Thus the material on both the Hard-Core-DX mailing list and the Hard-
Core-DX.com web site is offered free to everybody, without any other
obligation than proper credit. "We offer a platform, a community. You
bring what you have to share. It will give us all lots of news and lots
of knowledge."
Go have a look at: http://www.hard-core-dx.com/
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Publications
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IRCA Foreign Log #10 is NOW available from the IRCA Bookstore for
$10.00 US. Overseas, add $2.00 US for airmail delivery. This edition
contains ALL the SDXM DXWW-E and DXWW-W tips from 9/96 to 7/99... almost
three years of material! All collated and in frequency order by TA, PA
and TP for each DXWW column.
2000 M STREET RADIO DIRECTORY (9th Edition)
The IRCA Bookstore is proud to announce that the 'M Street
Corporation' has agreed to offer a discount on their 2000 'M Street
Radio Directory' to DXers ordering through the IRCA Bookstore. The
Directory contains a complete listing of over 15,000 radio stations
(AM/FM, US/Canada) including the following information: facilities,
ownership, formats, LMAs, station personnel, phone numbers (and FAX),
addresses, ratings, as well as information on almost 400 radio markets
in the US and Canada. Stations are listed by location (complete info),
frequency (frequency, call, location, power and pattern) and call (call,
frequency, location) and market (frequency, call, location, rating,
format). It also includes a former call reference (old call, location
and current call). Major network information (addresses/phone
numbers/etc) and several interesting radio articles are included as
well.
The price to US and Canadian DXers ordering through the IRCA
Bookstore is $40.00 post paid (UPS address required). The book is
expected to be out by February 2000 (usual disclaimer on date 'cause we
can't be sure!). Retail will be $72.00.
Europe - add $5.00 for surface, $19.20 for airmail delivery.
Australia/New Zealand - add $5.00 for surface, $27.25 for airmail
delivery.
IRCA Bookstore, 9705 Mary NW, Seattle WA 98117-2334
(ALL checks payable to Phil Bytheway)
M Street web site is: http://www.mstreet.net
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AM RADIO LOG 20th Edition
This annual edition contains 321 pages, 8 1/2" x 11" size, 3-hole
punched, loose-leaf format. Radio station listings from the United
States and Canada including up to the last minute information on the new
stations in the Expanded band (1605-1705). Each station listing consists
of its location, frequency, call, format, network affiliation, station
address, station slogan, day and night transmitter powers. There are
cross-references by city and by call letter.
To order, contact the Publications Center. If you are in the NRC or
IRCA your price is $16.95 if not, the non-member prices of the AM Radio
Log are as follows:
U.S. & Canada US$22.95
Latin America US$24.00
Europe US$25.00
All Others US$28.00
Send all orders to:
National Radio Club
Publications Center
Box 164, Dept W
Mannsville NY 13661-0164 USA
NY residents add appropriate sales tax. Price listed is "postage paid"
to your location. Checks should be made payable to NATIONAL RADIO CLUB,
INC. The National Radio Club is a non-profit radio club devoted to the
medium wave DX hobby. We are not a business. Sorry, no COD or Net
Account orders accepted.
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GEOMAGNETIC INDICES
Geomagnetic Summary February 29 2000 through March 6 2000
phil bytheway - Seattle WA - fokker_d8@xxxxxxxxx
Tabulated from email status daily
2/29 219 8 2 low-mod quiet-active -
3/ 1 233 16 3 moderate quiet-active -
2 213 13 1 mod-high quiet-active -
3 204 5 2 mod-high quiet-unsettled -
4 200 4 1 low-mod quiet-unsettled -
5 220 9 3 low-mod quiet-unsettled -
3/ 6 222 13 3 low-mod quiet-unsettled -
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The AM DX NewsFlash is sent (almost) weekly from Raytheon in Mukilteo WA
All contributions will be used
Comments regarding content are appreciated
With your submission, please include as a minimum:
Your name, location and email address
Tell your email friends about "AM DX NewsFlash"
To receive this email newsletter, send your email ID, name and
location to philip_bytheway@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Folks whose bulletins are returned twice in a row are dropped from the
list. If your email address changes, please let me know!
Information appearing the NewsFlash can be quoted provided the original
author and "IRCA's AM DX NewsFlash" are given proper credit.
Soft copies of the latest IRCA BookStore and Reprint Updater are
available from: philip_bytheway@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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IRCA DUES STRUCTURE
DXM-printed DX MONITOR (21x/year), SDXM-"soft" DX MONITOR (35x/year)
WORLD - SDXM $10.00
USA - DXM $20.00, DXM/SDXM $25.00
Canada - DXM $22.00, DXM/SDXM $27.00
Overseas surface - DXM $23.50, DXM/SDXM $28.50
Airmail (Central America, Caribbean) - DXM $35.00, DXM/SDXM $40.00
Airmail (Europe, North Africa, Middle East) - $38.00,
DXM/SDXM - $43.00
Airmail (rest of the World) - $41.00, DXM/SDXM $46.00
To join the IRCA, send the appropriate dues to: IRCA HQ
PO Box 1831
Perris CA 92572-1831
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If you note any AM changes (call, format, slogan, etc), please send them
to the NRC Log coordinator (Wayne Heinen) @ nrclog@xxxxxxx
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END of 3/8/00 IRCA's "AM DX NewsFlash"