[IRCA] Domestic MWDX to Enid OK, February 20-27, 2014

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

All times and dates strictly UT [5 hours ahead of `ELT`]. Rx: mostly DX-398 with internal antenna only; or Sony SRF-59 as specified; Nissan stock caradio as specified; FRG-7 with E/W longwire as specified
  
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
  
All my MW DX reports starting August 2011 are archived in this forum with open access:
http://forums.wtfda.org/showthread.php?6543-MW-DX-from-Enid-OK-by-Glenn-Hauser/page20
  
These logs are in four sections, Canada [if any], Oklahoma [if any], rest of USA, unidentified, separated by ======= Within each, they are in frequency order
 
** OKLAHOMA. On an unID, the question arose whether KSIW 1450 Woodward OK might have flipped away from sports. Not when I check it on caradio; at 90 miles away I can barely hear it on groundwave, but Feb 25 at 1917 UT, sports talk and WWLS ID in passing. It`s getting a boost from defacto powerline beverage radiation I happen to be stopped under; otherwise it`s about as weak as co-channel KGFF Shawnee OK at the same distance, which is playing Elvis and gives its own ID at 1924 UT. The two make a SAH of 220/minute = three and two-thirds Hz. Possibly there is an even weaker third station in the mix, the under-powered KWHW Altus OK. On a portable second radio I am also comparing 1450 to WWLS 98.1 and to KWPN 640, all of which mostly ID as ``WWLS, The Sports Animal``. 1450 definitely not // 640, 98.1 definitely not // 640, but maybe 1450 // 98.1 but far out of synch.

Then I check the website http://www.thesportsanimal.com --- nothing there about the several stations around OK relaying it. No hits with direct internal searches on KSIW, or separately on 1450. 

There is, however, a link to Babe of the Day, like WCKY and several other sports radio stations, WWLS feeling the responsibility to proffer soft porn to its ``animals``, adding a much-needed visual aspect: here, bare butts are OK but not breasts.

You may wonder how an FM station in OK, 375 miles from the nearest bend of the Mississippi near Greenville, could have a W- call? 640 was originally a grandfathered legacy call WNAD, at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, which stupidly sold off its educational AM station to commercial interests. It became WWLS on Dec 7, 1981. At some point, the city of license shifted north a notch to Moore. I don`t know the real story, but it would seem the new owners convinced the FCC that in view of its history, this station deserved to retain a W-call. That lasted until April 4, 2012, when it changed to KWPN. Meanwhile, the same owners had acquired the 98.1 FM facility and made it WWLS-FM on Oct 23, 2006. It took another 5.5 years for the AM side to be demoted to KWPN (not KEPN as I misrecalled in my original report: I never can remember the calls since it still non-IDs as ``WWLS``, and I avoid listening to stupid sportstalk as much as possible). Also, 640 remains
 infested with IBOC, but only during daytime, and sometimes turned off unpredictably.

Meanwhile, it would take several years for OU to get back into the public radio field, and by then, no full-power FM channels were available (or affordable), so KGOU became a class-A on 106.3, and had to add another one on 105.7, KROU in Spencer, just the other side of OKC, in order to cover the city adequately. Despite its low power, 105.7 would make it to Enid if it were not for a local translator on 105.5 which KGOU has refused to challenge; meanwhile, further-flung towns like Woodward get their own OU relay station, KWOU 88.1, 23.5 kW ERP, which needs some tropo enhancement to make it to Enid vs another station in Moore, 50 kW KMSI, Oasis Network (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. Regarding my ``Sports Animal`` monitoring concerning KSIW 1450 Woodward, along with WWLS-FM 98.1 The Village [OKC], and KWPN 640 Moore (mostly? separate with ESPN net), and my finding nothing about affiliates on the website http://www.thesportsanimal.com --- Larry Russell in Michigan, MARE Tipsheet points out that there is a different `Sports Animal` in eastern OK: 

``1550 KYAL Sapulpa OK 2:30am Sports. Heard mention of OSU & website: http://sportsanimalradio.com/ Website lists 2 FMs at top of
page & 2 AMs way down at bottom of page, including AM-1550 Tulsa. [AM doesn't matter anymore.] rare catch. 2/17 (Russell)``. 

The other AM on the site is 1490 Muskogee, i.e. KBIX, which Bruce Winkelman, driving near the site, has repeatedly found to be silent, last report from late December. No Babe gallery on the Tulsa version!

Not clear whether these also simulcast local animalistic sports talk out of OKC, but maybe not, considering civic rivalries. Another one is KPGM 1500 Pawhuska/Bartlesville, i.e. closer to Tulsa, but not sure to which group it may affiliate, nor do I care except for the purposes of DX identification (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 1640, Feb 20 at 2056 UT, I check local KZLS Enid again on its second day of all(?)-talk format. Running a string of PSAs, which means unsold commercial time; looks bad --- and they keep going until 2101.5 UT, meanwhile dual audio duel after 2100 UT from the Blaze Network news! (That`s a thing of the wacko Glenn Beck.) Finally goes to a real commercial, probably from the network, for Allegra, but that`s cut off incomplete; 2103.5 UT, apparent local ads for beyourownbuilder and a concrete company. 2104.5 UT, ``Discover Oklahoma Minute with Dino Lalli`` PSA of upcoming events. 2105.5 UT music fill. 2106 UT hard rock intro to the Schnitt show. KZLS certainly does not have its new far-right act together.

We were wondering what would be on KZLS after 8 pm = 0200 UT, as missing from the talkshow list: UT Friday Feb 21 after that hour, I am still hearing music; at 0245 it`s ``On Broadway``, 0250 string of PSAs, 0254 still IDing in this daypart as ``KZLS, the True Oldies Channel``. So that will confuse DX listeners. I assume they will eventually change this too to talk, and there could be no better pickup than the rational, middle-of-the-road `Jim Bohannon Show`, which is much in need of an OK outlet, i.e. at 9 pm-midnite = 0307-0559 UT. But no doubt it`ll be another rightwing extremist. Tonight there is more TOC after 0307.

As we already discovered last night, `Red Eye Radio` is now on 1640 after 0607 UT, but still also on 1520 KOKC. The RER affiliate list
http://www.redeyeradioshow.com/common/page.php?pt=Red+Eye+Radio+Affiliates&id=301&is_corp=0
still doesn`t show KZLS, just KOKC and one other OK station, a Woodward FM.

Also it`s still unknown what will happen on the weekends, but we may safely assume some silly ballgames will continue to pre-empt whatever (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 1640, Sunday Feb 23 at 1349 UT check, KZLS Enid is playing music suitable for True Oldies format; haven`t checked it till now over the weekend, but total conversion to talk format is obviously not yet complete, just gabbing weekdays except 0200-0600 UT, I think (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 1640, Feb 23 at 2104 UT check, KZLS Enid/OKC ending `news` from Glenn Beck`s Blaze network, but this being Sunday, 2105 UT onward to True Oldies Channel music. I checked the Blaze talkshow lineup and none of those were on the publicized KZLS weekday schedule. After 0605 UT Monday, back to talk, with `Red Eye Radio`, from WBAP; see also 1650 log (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 1520 KOKC & 1640 KZLS, Feb 25 at 0650 UT check are running same trucker ad, but probably not synchronized, both still with `Red Eye Radio`. KOKC has been reported with a 5 kW STA because of damage to their 50 kW transmitter, but I can`t really tell any difference here (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 1640, Feb 27 at 0646 UT, KZLS Enid is in dead air except for periodic blaaaps! as some audio including music is attempting to break thru, probably a lost commercial, as then followed by a trucker ad in normal modulation (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 1650, Feb 24 at 0638 UT, after noting that 1640 KZLS is back to talk after midnight Monday morning with anti-government `Red Eye Radio`, same show also heard on 1650 a few seconds later. No 1650 stations listed at 
http://www.redeyeradio.com/Stations.php
which I got direct with a Google search, but outdated and should be removed, so back to current homepage 
http://www.redeyeradioshow.com/
which leads to a totally different station finder with a map, which goes right to a single 1650 entry:
KWHN 1320 AM / 1650 AM Fort Smith AR
KYHN 1320 AM           Fort Smith AR
where they are obviously still confused (like a year ago? when I checked), as the 1650 station is KYHN, not KWHN, and RER is surely not on both 1650 and 1320; and furthermore of course, 1650 is really in OKLAHOMA. Thus one may conclude that RER station list adds but does not remove ex-affiliates (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 1650, Feb 26 at 0647 during `Red Eye Radio`, KYHN Sallisaw is running 25 seconds behind same on 1640 KZLS, which in turn is about 5 hateful words behind 1520 KOKC (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

======================

** U S A. 810, Feb 21 at 0700 UT, dominant signal is KLVZ Brighton-Denver CO including one legal ID and several more with promo variations on ``Where Love Lives``. Allegedly 430 watts at nite vs 2200 day; night pattern does have a little lobe SE toward us, while day pattern goes SW.

As usual, nothing from WHB Kansas City, our daytime dominator, since at nite it has a tight figure-8 to the NNW/SSE. I was checking 810 due to recent reports of WQIZ, 5 kW daytimer in St George SC, on the air at night QRMing WGY in the East. Which reminded me that I don`t think I`ve ever heard historic WGY Schenectady in OK, despite its class I-A status of 50 kW non-direxional day and night, supposedly requiring everystation else to protect it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1020, Feb 21 at 0654 UT, semi-local KOKP Perry OK unusually has some Spanish in its null with norteña music, so is it from northern Mexico? No! Soon ID at ``La Nueva 10-20 --- de Omaha``. (It`s been ``new`` for quite a while now.) This is how I would normally hear it around sunrise once 50 kW day power is going, not 1.4 kW night power. Pattern for both is an ellipsoid tangent to and aimed due west from KMMQ Plattsmouth NE, so we should not be getting much signal day or night to the SSW. Usually at night, KDKA makes it in the KOKP null (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1190, Feb 23 at 0704 UT, ``11-90 AM, NBC News and your classic country favorites`` non-ID, dominant signal roughly east/west. No clear match in the 2013 NRC AM Log, but I`m 99% sure it`s KQQZ St Louis MO market, cheating: 10000/22 watts U4, De Soto MO/Belleville IL, with day pattern at night to the SW. It is C&W, and with NBC News, a.k.a. ``Hot talk and kool killer country``, http://kqqz1190am.com/ 
The classic country angle is more obvious here: https://www.facebook.com/kqqz1190am
Previously heard mostly around sunrise. More about KQQZ (and KZQZ 1430) in DXLDs 13-36, 13-44 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1440, Feb 22 at 0500-0506 UT, tried for the underpublicized DX test from WFNY, 1440, Gloversville in upstate New York, not expecting to hear it, especially if on 0.5 kW night power N/S rather than 5 kW ND day facility. And indeed not heard: 1440 dominated by an ESPN station, presumably usual WGEM Quincy IL in same direxion; and also by some Spanish, presumably KTNO The Metroplex TX, even tho it`s allegedly only 350 watts at night.

WFNY test was not a no-show, as Steve Francis in Alcoa TN reported ``code heard at midnight!`` DXers in NJ, and even IL and NE also heard the code (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1510-, Feb 24 at 0630 UT, ESPN station significantly off-frequency to low side, making audible het against understation WLAC, and het wavers slightly. It was ever thus with KCTE, Independence MO, nominally 10 kW daytimer. No ID caught but others have been reporting this daytimer cheating again, so I have no doubt. ``WLAC.com`` also audible under after local weather at 0634 UT. I was also hearing the het last night and figured this was it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1510-, Feb 24 at 2120 UT, on caradio, even in the daytime I can hear the het caused by off-frequency KCTE, Independence MO, as well as two audios mixing weakly; presumably another peripheral, KNNS, Larned KS, 1 kW daytimer.

And Feb 25 at 0649 UT, sportstalk making audible het with 1510.0 stations, primarily WLAC; and the DF fits, so it`s 10 kW daytimer KCTE, not only off-frequency, but again illegally on air at night (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1710, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1509.8 approx., Feb 26 at 0649 UT, KCTE Independence MO for at least the fourth night is on the air illegally after daytime with sportstalk, and far out of frequency tolerance, big het upon poor WLAC. 

Did not hear any ID at 0700 UT; omitted? It`s one thing for the automation failing to turn off transmitter at sunset (tho humans in charge should have noticed immediately); quite another for program feed still to be going into it and out of it when supposed to be off the air completely (and there is no known FM simulcast), making this less likely to be unintentional (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1710, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1510, Feb 27 at 0648 UT, no het upon WLAC, but plenty of CCI, as KCTE MO must have finally decided to quit broadcasting illegally at night, and far out of frequency tolerance. But we`re sure there will be a recurrence (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 

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