[IRCA] MW DX from Enid OK, March 19-20, 2012

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

All times and dates strictly UT. MW log editors are welcome to excerpt items, reformat and change to favorite timezone if necessary. Rx: mostly DX-398 with internal antenna only; some caradio as specified; above 2 MHz on FRG-7 with 110-foot east-west longwire.

These logs are excerpts from my daily all-band reports, mainly SWBC, also VHF/UHF, sometimes, utility, ham, which may be found in several archives without much delay, such as
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/index.php?topic=Hauser

And compiled weekly along with extensive news from many other individuals and publications in DX LISTENING DIGEST:
http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html

** MEXICO. 710, March 20 at 1226 UT, a fellow speaking Low German, with hymn accompaniment; his accent sounds English rather than Spanish, and he mentions Chihuahua, so here`s another station serving that community. Immediately into Spanish with usual singing ID from XEDP, ``La Ranchera de Cuauhtémoc``, as often heard around sunrise only in Spanish. I wonder if that Plattdeutsch was brief announcement or a full program? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 1020, March 19 at 0526 UT, my semi-local KOKP Perry is in open carrier, dead air, still so at 0554, and nulling it, can barely make out two stations, one in English, one in Spanish.

780, March 19 at 0556 UT, daytimer KSPI Stillwater is also on with unmodulated carrier, as often but not always the case overnight. I was wondering if it might do so during the March 10 WBBM silent period, but no show then. It`s in the same market as KOKP but different ownership. Also no longer hearing the plus/minus 4 kHz spurs, nor when modulating in the daytime, altho I haven`t yet rechecked it on the caradio where the 6-kHz hets against 770 and 790 were obvious.

1520, yet another Okie with dead air, and it`s the biggie, KOKC! What`s going on around here, anyway? Silence March 19 at 1255 UT so I keep listening, and finally cuts modulation on during CBS News at 1302
(Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 660, March 19 at 1241 UT, tune-in to Dineh chanting, quickly KTNN Window Rock ID in English along with some other unknown town on the Res in AZ; Mercedes ad, belying impressions that it`s a poverty-stricken area. I need to be listening at 1230 UT whether they pop onto non-direxional day pattern then instead of 1330 when they are supposed to during March. Both all of adjacent NM and the Navajo Res in AZ observe DST, AFAIK, unlike the rest of AZ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

** U S A. 660, March 20 at 0602 UT after striking out on the Mexican unID sign-off, I can hear Lincoln Financial ad, 0603 KTNN ID and Navajo chanting. Not as strong as around sunrise, but even this much is contrary to nulling output toward New York.

So today I retune in at 1228 UT to catch KTNN switching to full day pattern an hour earlier than legal. KSKY Dallas dominates with K-sky IDs, ad for AMAC auto insurance (Association of Mature American Citizens is trying to peel off farrightwingnuts from ``too-liberal`` AARP; good riddance), apparently amid Bill Bennett`s Morning in America show, or just promos? Mentioned that a few times, but never heard him. 

Anyhow, even with KSKY right-angle nulled, no KTNN at 1230; at 1232 a Spanish station starts to audiblize itself, mentioning some Mexican cities. At 1234 I check the other Navajo station on 880, and it is well audible, see separate log, right back to 660 in time to hear KTNN suddenly appear at 1235 with Navajo chanting and drumming; 1238 ``KTNN AM 660 Window Rock-Gallup`` not a sign-on, but canned ID (they have scads of them, each with a separate second city in rotation), right into national ads in English for Pennzoil, Netflix, then Miss Navajo Nation with ID for this ``Voice of the Navajo Nation, AM 660, KTNN``. Recheck at 1300, KTNN still audible with ID, CNN news. Legal local sunrise for Window Rock AZ in March is 1330 UT until when they should not be skywaving toward us and WFAN, but I enjoy hearing them anyway, full of culture-clashes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 670, March 20 at 1300, local news from Texarkana AR about debit-card scam to beware of; 1302 Historic Washington`s Jonquil Festival, and other quasi-PSAs involving several area codes, ``Southwest Arkansas` News Leader, KWXI,`` Hot Springs ad, plug for an old-fashioned barber shop in Glenwood. Dominating frequency with only a weak SAH when nulled, but fading already at 1303, a semihour past today`s Enid sunrise 1234 UT. 

NRC AM Log 2011-2012 shows KWXI is a 5 kW daytimer at Glenwood, pronounced ``quick-see`` which I did not hear, just the individual letters. Glenwood is closer to Hot Springs than Texarkana, on US 70. Station`s official sunrise in March is 1230 UT, in April 1145. ``Kwixy`` used to be a hot name for rock stations, however legally spelt and some calls were quite imaginative (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 770, March 20 at 1323 UT, KKOB Albuquerque NM in well after non-direxional day pattern starts at 1315 (in March, 1230 UT in April), with M&W chat show, the W giving traffic reports every 10 minutes on the 7s; included brief plug for substation KTBL 1050, which is no more really in Los Ranchos than 770 is, both from downtown ABQ studios, only KKOB entitled ``The Talk Monster!!!!!!`` presumably inspired by Rush (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 880, March 20 at 1234, Navajo talking about Jeremiah; 1243 offering a DVD about astronomy, Navajo talk about Ephesians and Hebrews – as if the Dinehs` ancient religion were insufficient! Is KHAC, Western Indian Ministries` missionary station at Tse Bonito NM next to Window Rock AZ, which I was checking to compare to 660 KTNN, q.v., which did not pop in until 1235. I don`t believe this was on night power 430 watts either, rather 10 kW day power which is not legal until 1330 UT in March. KRVN, beware, let alone WCBS! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1000, March 20 at 1246, ads for ESPN.com in null of KTOK OKC. It seems that WMVP 50 kW Chicago is the only ESPN on 1000, so presumed that. Not often heard here, with a deep null to the west at night, but less so on day pattern in March from 1200 UT; KTOK signal seems weaker than usual lately. It`s not as strong as another OKC 5 kW, WKY 930, but KTOK site is on the S side while WKY is on the N side closer to us (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1060, March 19 at 0540 UT while checking for the 1070 DX from WCSZ, noticed Mexican music from the SW, and not // XEPPM 6185, soon IDed as ``10-60 KIJN``, i.e. the 10 kW *daytimer* gospel huxter in Farwell TX on the NM border. The music did not strike me as religious, but the brazen ID mentioned Jesús; I assume the calls in English signify In Jesus` Name. Signal was as good if not better than the 1060 nullee, WLNO New Orleans with Brother Scare, as if we can`t get enough of him already on SW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

** U S A. Thanks to a last-minute tip from Engineer Al Hajny at WCSZ 1070, Sans Souci SC, via John J. Rieger of dx-midamerica.com via the amfmtvdx at qth.net list (which I also passed on to the DXLD yg), about an engineering test, it was presumably heard here as follows:

UT March 19, aimed E/W on the DX-398 to minimize KLIO 1070 KS, and even more so, IBOC from KRLD 1080 TX, I was getting KNX mixing with a SAH of approximately 8 Hz, then:

0528, tone test, brief sweeps, more tone
0530, lo-pitched tone
0533, medium-pitched tone
0534, higher-pitched tone but less than 1 kHz
0536, higher pitched and now stronger
0539, nothing further heard, tho still SAH so carrier may have remained on.

No IDs heard, but the tip said, ``Hello John, I will be testing WCSZ 1070 tonight, (Monday morning 3/19) non-DA, at various powers from 25kW-50kW mostly. I don't know if you have a place to post this, but I thought I'd pass this along just in case it's useful to you. Al Hajny``

No time was mentioned either, but could have started as early as 0400 UT = midnite EDT. WCSZ is in the Greenville SC market with a Spanish AC format, per NRC AM Log, and night power is normally only 1.5 kW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1070, March 20 at 0435 UT after tip on ABDX list from the engineer at WCSZ Sans Souci SC, tone test again heard 23 hours later. He was going to do it again for DXers but only for half an hour or so from 0400. Were there ever any code IDs? 

Al Hajny of WCSZ said on ABDX, ``This is a "new" MW-50C from KYW. The old transmitter was stripped, along with the ground system and nearly every piece of copper in the place - including 14 gauge copper wires from the light switches up to the fixtures - a few feet in some cases.  Underground lines tied to a truck and yanked out. Wiring up to the tower lights and ring transformers gone. The middle tower is the daytime, the end towers for now are just floating so there is
probably some directivity towards the NNW and SSE.``

Todd Roberts, WD4NGG, said, ``Still hearing the test tone at 12:35 AM EDT. It sounds like a 1 kHz tone but actually it measures 999 Hz = 1 Hz low. Thanks for running the test!`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1480, March 20 at 1252 UT I notice a strong open carrier here, obviously from my nearest station, KQAM Wichita KS, ``The Big Talker``. Cat got your tongue? Left a receiver on 1480 to determine how long dead air would last, requiring all kinds of advertiser refunds if anyone but me notice: talk modulation finally cut on at 1341 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1510, March 19 at 0548 UT, ads with 303 AC, greeting ``mile-high listeners``, denverdentist.com and then a chiropractor; ``15-10, 93.7, we`re Mile High Sports``, 0549 into sports talk. It`s KCKK, Littleton CO, also heard 24 hours earlier dominating 1510, as in my previous report, concluding that they are *not* nulling toward Nashville or Enid as their night and day patterns would require. NRC AM Log shows 93.7 is a mere translator, K229BS (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1660, March 20 at 1307 UT, quick echo between two sports-talk stations, no doubt KQWB West Fargo ND, and KRZI Waco TX, both ESPN. This should happen a lot, but I don`t recall noticing it before (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 660, March 20 at 0559, choral Mexican NA, and unlike 24 hours earlier I am staying tuned for the ID afterwards, but --- nothing after 0601. Was this station axually signing off? FWIW, the only 660 in IRCA Mexican Log shown closing at 0600 is XEACB, Ciudad Delicias, Chihuahua, and the direxion fits. But remember we are in the two sesquiweeks of confusion between US and Mexican DST start dates, except for border cities, which Delicias is not (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 1380, usually I can`t get anything a few miles from local 1390 KCRC splash even when nulled, but March 20 at 1250 ut something in Spanish briefly. Guessing game thru the NRC AM Log 1380 listings starts with KDXE in Arkansas, until I am reminded that KMUS Sperry OK (Tulsa) is allegedly Spanish now too, besides KMWF San Antonio TX market, the only three SS in this region. (Note, I only use ``SS`` when it really means Spanish-speaking, not just Spanish) (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

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