[IRCA] NM MW monitoring, + a bit o` TX

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

[FM portions of this report have been deleted for this list] 

License Renewals Granted: for many NM and other southwest AM stations,
including: 1340, KSSR, NM, Santa Rosa (Bill Hale, TX, AM Switch, NRC DX News
Oct 10 via DXLD) 

That`s very interesting, since station has never been on the air during my last
few occasional visits to the town, the latest being Oct 10, 2005 around 2200
UT. No signal on 1340, even right next to the tower; unfortunately I did not
have time to stop and make inquiries, but it was also missing roughly a year
before when I was in Santa Rosa. Of course, I cannot be sure it has never been
on the air in the meantime, but if not, it would seem they could not
legitimately get the license renewed. 

FWIW, KSSR 1340 still appears in the 2005-2006y NRC AM Log, as U1 1000/1000,
not 24 hours, phone 505-472-5777. 

Other Santa Rosa media news: The HAR on 1610 is STILL on, tho I-40 construxion
was completed months ago in that area, but the one on 1650 is gone. Nothing but
the SAME old continuous loop from NMDOT District 4 urging us to arrive alive,
not drink & drive, and implying we are going somewhere else, not a very
welcoming message. 

Other New Mexico media news: In our circuit from Clayton to Springer to Las
Vegas to Santa Fe, no 530 TIS were heard, nor was the 1610 HAR formerly active
in SF around the I-25 junxions. However, on the way out of NM, one 530 was
still to be heard between Tucumcari and San Jon on I-40, and it was now running
the exact same NMDOT-4 loop as on 1610 in Santa Rosa. San Jon once had one of
these, but it grew weaker and weaker and was gone by the time we actually
reached San Jon. 

KNMX, 540, Las Vegas NM, tho commercial, devoted half an hour to an
uninterrupted interview with someone from New Mexico Highlands University,
Thursday Oct 7 at 2000-2030 UT (in English). It also has CNN news on the hour,
or rather 2 minutes after, and sometimes around the half-hour. At other times
it was the usual mixture of English and Spanish, or Spanglish. 

We spent some time monitoring the new 830 station, KMUL, originally in Muleshoe
TX on 1380 with much lower power. This too was Spanish with local YL DJ. They
have a heavily produced ID jingle with reverb which I was never able to copy
clearly but may have included the word ``única``. Right on the NM/TX, MT/CT
border, she gave times in both zones, and both wrong, Oct 9 at 2230 UT as
``32:5`` and ``32:6``, after first getting them an hour off. The signal
disappeared abruptly at 2244 UT which seemed a bit early for local sunset. No
sign-off or goodbyes. Maybe continued on much reduced night power audible only
in neighborhood. We started listening well west of Tucumcari on I-40. At that
time nothing was heard from Clovis` sporadic 680 station, but it was there the
next day at 1445. 

Back to 830, finally at 1454 UT we heard a legal(?) ID in Spanish only for
``KMUL AM 830, Canal Libre``, and at 1458 a multi-city ID in Spanish with a
long string of towns in TX and NM including Muleshoe and Farwell. YL read news
at 1500-1506 UT, but showed her true DJ colors by interrupting the news items
with bits of music, and frequent stumbles. Here is the Radio Locator page about
it: 
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/info?call=KMUL&service=AM 
showing power as 1100/10 watts from city of license Farwell TX, but studios in
Clovis NM, and slogan ``La Original``. Transmitter site is now in NM, WNW of
Clovis. 

Previous items about KMUL and its quest for a power increase to 50 kW days
appeared in DXLD: 5-098, 5-085, and 5-004. I would have guessed they were
indeed running 50 kW now. 

Amarillo`s 1610 relay of VHF NWS weather station has also disappeared. This had
good range around the city and was quite useful to the driver. We happened to
be trying for it just as we passed a road sign still asserting its existence. 

BTW, the Cadillac Ranch just west of Amarillo has a new pink paint job, and
also a pink dumpster at the entrance to discourage all the litter along the
trail we previously encountered (Glenn Hauser, Oct 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST)


		
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