[IRCA] Mostly Mexican MW DX to Enid OK, February 14-20, 2014

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

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
    
All times and dates strictly UT. 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

Last week my single post showed up more than once on some lists. I don`t know why, and I am not doing it!

** MEXICO. 620, Feb 19 at 1357 UT, mentions of Chihuahua, as low-banders are about to fade out, so XEBU. Also not quite gone by now are the usual 650, 710, 720 and 730 Spanish stations, no doubt in Chihuahua, Sinaloa. Enid sunrise was almost half a sesquihour earlier at 1314 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 1300, Feb 19 at 1403, XEP, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, with its 37? kW is still in well more than half a sesquihour after Enid sunrise; IDs as ``Radio México Noticias en 1300`` but also mentioning more than once, ``Reportero 970``, apparently referring to a guest reporter. At first I thought it was 960, but more likely from XEJ 970, which by now I can`t hear; indeed both are in the Grupo Radio México. Multi-station groups from the same studios were common in Mexico long before this was allowed in the USA  (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 1430, Feb 15 at 0658 UT, dominant signal is banda music, looping N/S, 0703 UT mentions ``Fórmula perfecta`` and more music. May have dozed during a real ID. NRC AM Log 2013 does not show any likely SS, none of the three Texans. Cantú lists only five (!) XEs on 1430, of which the closest to the south but weakest is:
1430 XEWD La Grande de Cd Miguel Alemán Cd. Miguel Alemán, Tamps. 5,000 150
Further, in about the same direxion are two stronger ones:
1430 XETT Radio Tlaxcala   Tlaxcala, Tlax. 5,000 1,000
1430 XELL Latido + 90.1 FM Veracruz, Ver.  5,000 1,000

IRCA 2013 and WRTH 2014, however show a sixth station on 1430, 250-watt XERAC, La Número Uno en Campeche / Radio Fórmula, Campeche. In the Campeche section, Cantú still has no such station, altho he does include its FM counterpart, 97.3 XHRAC (maybe assumed to have ``migrated`` from AM already?). Anyhow, XERAC looks like the tentative source. I can`t find any affiliate list or anything about Campeche at the Grupo Fórmula site. There is still a remote chance it could be a US station changed format, as the Fórmula brand does exist here.

Conditions somewhat ``auroral`` altho K index at 06 was only 1; WWV:
``Geophysical Alert Message
Solar-terrestrial indices for 14 February follow.
Solar flux 167 and estimated planetary A-index 4.
The estimated planetary K-index at 0600 UTC on 15 February was 1.
Space weather for the past 24 hours has been minor.
Radio blackouts reaching the R1 level occurred.
Space weather for the next 24 hours is predicted to be moderate.
Geomagnetic storms reaching the G2 level are likely.
Radio blackouts reaching the R1 level are expected.``
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 1430, Feb 16 at 0656 UT, much like last night, station with Mexican music is barely atop the heavy QRM of SAHing off-frequency mostly US stations, and looping N/S. Brief break between tunes sounds like ``Radio Sí – algo``; and next break at 0659 UT attempts a real ID, sounds like ``XEOA, 14-30 de AM``, but no such call is listed anywhere. (The real XEOA is 570 in Oaxaca.) 

Closest call, tho from the southwest, per Cantú and WRTH is:
1430 XEOX Exa + 106.5 Cd. Obregon, Son. 5,000 500
And if that were it, would expect national anthem at local midnite. Will have to keep trying, maybe even earlier than 0700 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. 1430, Feb 17 at 0601-0605 UT, I`m back trying to ID the Mexican I have been hearing dominating the graveyard-like pileup. Long choral multi-verse NA is playing so this one must be in the CST zone = local midnite. But then 0605 segué to other music rather than ID.

1430, Feb 17 at 0625, tentative ID as ``XEOX, la Exa``, which would be Ciudad Obregón, Sonora in wrong timezone, so not same station. At 0643, ``Radio X``, so this one or the other one?

1430, Feb 18 at 0115 UT I try again; once more, there is one Spanish station atop the pileup (fortunately, KZQZ is behaving itself, no more 50 kW day power at night from St Louis), and it`s roughly N/S or slightly west of south. Live hyper (but not super-hype) DJ with rapid speech, greets various colonias, mentions Monterrey, ranchera tune; 0120 next break mentions corridos, 14-30, Tamaulipas. 0123 a canned ID, but it`s relatively low-key and smooth, harder to understand. Maybe `La X, 14-30``; then live DJ mentions Reynosa; 0127 plug an event in Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas (that`s way down by Tampico, far from the border). I never hear any produced ads or PSAs.

Finally says ``La Fórmula Perfecta desde Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas`` which makes it XEWD, 5/0.15 kW per WRTH and Cantú, 2/0.15 kW per IRCA log, all sloganing it ``La Grande`` which I don`t hear, and IRCA says with RCN network. Unclear yet whether this ``Fórmula`` refers to the national Fórmula grupo, or just a generic fórmula. CMA is just across the river border from Roma, Tejas. 

Always with a very fast SAH, which leads me to suspect this station is the one most off-frequency compared to the average. No way it`s only 150 watts, yet steadily dominating all the other signals. Suspect but not positive it`s the same one I was hearing around 0700, rather than something deeper into Mexico.

Three years ago as in DXLD 11-11, XEWD was reported from England by Barry Davies with ``"La Arrolladora" slogan; ID spotted by OM Henrik Klemetz who says the name means irresistible women!!!``. I don`t find any other logs of it in DXLD past decade, not even by myself (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1709, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. Trans-Atlantic MW carrier search, Feb 18 at 0130-0136 UT after hearing the tell-tale het from 1521 upon 1520 KOKC, surely Saudi. Tuning up the band on DX-398, internal antenna with offset BFO for easy spotting, found these: 774, 783, 873, 882, 1044, 1053, 1152, 1206, 1215, 1422, 1503, 1512, 1521 kHz. This receiver has a few birdies which I always have to ignore, including around 855 and 1476 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

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