[IRCA] MW DX from Enid OK, September 21-26, 2011

[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. Sunrise MW DX Sept 21:

540, Sept 21 at 1158 UT, ``radio noticias`` and ``14 grados en la capital potosina`` so XEWA:
540 XEWA W Radio + FM 103.9 San Luis Potosi, S.L.P. 150,000 150,000

550, Sept 21 at 1203 UT, after NA, ``XEPL, La Súper Estación, 5000 watts, Cuauhtémoc, 24 horas`` all mentioned, so:
550 XEPL La Super Estación Cd. Cuauhtémoc, Chih. 5,000 150

580, Sept 21 at 1157 UT, birthday greeting to someone ``allá en Unión, Coahuila``, and it`s now 22 degrees. Untimed SAH of approx 2 Hz with WIBW. I don`t find a plain Unión, but there is a Villa Unión between Piedras Negras and Sabinas, so per Cantú:
580 XEMU La Rancherita del Aire Piedras Negras, Coah. 5,000 2,500

720, Sept 21 at 1159 UT, phone numbers 4-33-01 y 4-33-02, but only partial ID as ``7-20``. No hits on phones, but likely this:
720 XEJCC Extremo 7-20 Cd. Juárez, Chih. 1,000 1,0000 [sic]

880, Sept 21 at 1208 UT, promo for an afternoon program on a frequency in the 1500s, so apparently a sibling station? mentioned Fórmula, so presumably XEV in Chihuahua, but there are no 1500s in that city: 
880 XEV Radio Fórmula Chihuahua, Chih. 5,000 250

900, Sept 21 at 1217 UT, Radio Vida ID, 6:17 timecheck. Cantú has no 900s with that name, but the only one from probable target area is: 
900 XEDT La Reina Cd. Cuauhtemoc, Chih. 5,000 1,500
and its website http://www.lareina900.com/ still calls it La Reina. Could it be a US station in MDT zone? There aren`t any in TX, NM, AZ, CO, UT

1030, Sept 21 at 1226 UT, ``aquí en Baja California``, announcer greeting people in lots of cities including Ensenada, San Quintín, Tecate, Tijuana, refers to BC as ``Estado 29`` --- its admission number? 1229 `Noticiero La Tremenda``, so:
1030 XESDD La Tremenda Tijuana, B.C. 5,000 5,000
(Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. Sunrise MW DX Sept 22:

580, Sept 22 at 1206 UT, choral NA is still running mixing with WIBW, 1207 singing ID as Radio Lana? No, Radiorama, ergo XEFI Chihuahua again, of the Radiorama group, altho its own slogan is per Cantú:
580 XEFI Radio Mexicana Chihuahua, Chih. 5,000 700 

600, Sept 22 at 1207 UT, ID as XEDPN or fonetically similar, La Ranchera, then promo or opening ``Espacio Infantil`` segment with a countdown. This does not fit anything listed in Cantú or WRTH or Googling. Sure seemed like a 5-letter call. Maybe a recent frequency change? Or network relay, like you hear XERFR 970 IDs all over the R. Fórmula network? Help!

620, Sept 22 at 1205 UT, orchestral NA ending, ID as XEBU, La Norteñita, 620, 10,000 vatios, street address in Chihuahua2. VG signal dominating for a few minutes. Oh oh, disparity in powers; Cantú:
620 XEBU La Norteñita Chihuahua, Chih. 5,000 1,000
WRTH also has 5/1 kW, so increased or mere hype? Again at 1209, noticeable with TC for only 6:07 and later in the same minute 6:08, still not caught up, also slogan ``la grande de Chihuahua``.

800, Sept 22 at 1210 UT, KQCV OKC evidently off, perhaps due to current storm, uncovering two weak SS. XEROK Juárez does not have much of a signal here, still listed 50 kW, and should be good even with KQCV on but nulled. 1217 KQCV cuts back on.

1180, Sept 22 at 1214 UT, ID as XEDCH, La Romántica, with several phone numbers, for requests? Briefly has channel to self, but with KFAQ 1170 IBOQRM. Cantú:
1180 XEDCH La Romántica Cd. Delicias, Chih. 5,000 1,500
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. Sunrise MWDX Sept 23, UT:

600, Sept 23 at 1201, ID as ``XELN, Gómez Palacio, Durango … Radiorama Laguna``. I was hoping to nail down the unID heard yesterday, but instead we have another quandary. (GP is a sister city to Torreón across the state line in Coahuila, and they are really a single market known as `Laguna` for a dried-up lake.) The 600 station there is XEDN, Radio Mexicana per Cantú. I am not positive of the third letter, but it was a two-syllable one, not a D. I don`t find an XELN for any radio station, but it is the longtime call of channel 4 TV in Torreón. Maybe this is a recent shakeup on the local radio dial. Cantú:
600 XEDN La Mexicana Torreón, Coah. 1,000 1,000
BTW, the Radiorama group website, which may well be outdated, http://www.radiorama.com.mx/secciones.php?sec_id=32
also shows Torreón 600 as XEDN La Mexicana, but in a column under their sub-network Megacima.

610, Sept 23 at 1200, rhyming slogan ``G-S, la que más le ofrece`` (or maybe it was ``te``, familiarly) (I am never going to render Spanish letters `fonetically`, as how to pronounce them, and Spanish numbers, is the very least any Anglo, especially a DXer, should learn!). I hear this station often, but not the listed ``La Ley`` name, per Cantú:
610 XEGS La Ley Guasave, Sin. 1,000 500
At 1202, into `Panorama Agropecuario` show, finally referring to Sinaloa, so I knew it was the same station. Same program title is on 650 XETNT at same time, but different show, I think. Mentioned approach of Huracán Hil(l)ary, Cat-4 already, first I`d heard of her.

1100, Sept 23 at 1213, música romántica, ``La Única, Mil Cien AM`` no mention of FM or calls, but must be this, per Cantú:
1100 XENAS Única + FM 96.1 Navojoa, Son. 1,000 500
Had one thousand, eleven hundred to itself briefly. (In Spanish one would not say ``once cientos``), a rather vacant channel despite CO 
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** MEXICO. Sunrise MWDX Sept 26, UT:

550, Sept 26 at 1209, ad with gong for a new Chinese buffet opening Sept 22 in Cuauhtémoc:
550 XEPL La Super Estación Cd. Cuauhtemoc, Chih. 5,000 150

630, Sept 26 at 1156 UT, historical item mentioning Municipio General Escobedo, Monterrey, outro as ``Al Momento``, to be continued an hour later; ``Buenos días, en directo desde la Ciudad de México en la F-B``, promo joint fútbol show with La Invasora 99.7 FM. Cantú:
630 XEFB FB La Estación Que Da Las Noticias Monterrey, N.L. 10,000 10,000
while 99.7 is confirmed as:
99.7 XHSP La Invasora Monterrey, N.L. 50,530
Altho IDing locally, XEFB was taking a program direct from the DF

630, Sept 26 at 1202 UT, another station has taken over 630, Fox fanfare, XEUR-AM, 50 kW, full ID, Grupo Radio Centro. O no, another bad lead. I was quite sure of the call, but the real XEUR is on 1530 in the DF, a Radiorama station. I don`t see any similar call listed on 630. Ahá, they must have said XEQR-AM, which is the original station of Radio Centro on 1030, but relayed on 630 somewhere? According to http://radiocentro.mx/estaciones they have quite a few stations on AM and FM, but except for 93.9 in Los Ángeles, they are all in the DF, not a national network in Mexico.

680, Sept 26 at 1206 UT, NA ending and sign-on mentions Chihuahua, so:
680 XEFO Éxtasis Digital Chihuahua, Chih. 5,000 250

760, Sept 26 at 1205 UT, another late NA, 1206 ID as ``Antena 760, Chihuahua Capital``, i.e.:
760 XEES Antena 760 Chihuahua, Chih. 10,000 1,000

800, distorted signal: see UNIDENTIFIED
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. 800, Sept 26 at 1211, very distorted talk audible in KQCV OKC null, can`t even tell if it`s Spanish or English, but seems to peak SW/NE, pointing to XEROK. Might have been a spur except it`s right on 800 too. Has anyone noticed such a problem with XEROK Ciudad Juárez? There are some little US stations in the opposite direxion, but a bit late for them (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. 890, Sept 26 at 1300, KTLR OKC IDing with its FM translator, on 94.1 which is K231BH, 250 watts (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** OKLAHOMA. Just outside Tulsa to the west on US 412, around 1730 UT Sept 23 on the way to the first annual Tulsa International Film Festival, I had a beacon audible on the caradio tuned to 1100 kHz, ``OWP``. Must be a harmonic from LW. Chex out as William Pogue airport at Sand Springs, listed at 
http://www.dxinfocentre.com/ndb.htm
as on 362 kHz, and this source also has it on 362:
http://www.airnav.com/cgi-bin/navaid-info
Trouble is, third harmonic of 362 would be 1086. To be heard when tuned to 1100, fundamental should have been around 366 or 367, so has it changed, or varied? 

OMG, instead of a harmonic, this must have been a mixing product with nearby KRMG site: 740 + 362 = 1102!

In the same area on 1480 I was hearing a distorted signal // 740 KRMG, i.e. its second harmonic, quite near its 50 kW transmitter site. Perhaps this harmonic is adequately suppressed by the rules, but forget about hearing KQAM Wichita around here which otherwise should have been audible.

600, another anomaly was a mixing product including Spanish on 600. There are so many Spanish stations in Tulsa, and being in motion did not have a chance to search for //, but one explanation I can come up with is 1570 KZLI (Spanish) minus 970 KCFO (English) = 600. Are they at the same site, perchance?

FCC AM Query shows KCFO:
36° 11' 46.00" N Latitude Power: 2.5 kilowatts (kW) Daytime 
96° 02' 22.00" W Longitude (NAD 27)

And for KZLI:
36° 15' 55.00" N Latitude Power: 1.0 kilowatts (kW) Daytime 
95° 42' 37.00" W Longitude (NAD 27)
So no, they are quite a distance apart. Still could be these two in some kind of external mixing.

But here`s another combo, more likely as in the closer neighborhood: 1340 KJMU Sand Springs minus 740 KRMG = 600. Yes, KJMU was in Spanish altho not shown as such in the 2011 NRC AM Log. It`s the one which was briefly duplicated on 1120 KEOR before it went dark again many months ago. It`s beginning to look like KRMG is involved in all these anomalies.

Tulsa also suffers from horrible IBOC noise surrounding 1430, 1300 and 1170, both day and night. At least KRMG is clean on that score!
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** SAUDI ARABIA. 1521, Sept 25 at 0250, 1 kHz het on 1520 stations, surely BSKSA, the prime pilot for TA propagation, on caradio west of Tulsa; had faded by 0300. Or rather, WRTH shows it signs off at 0300; is that correct? Two megawatts from Duba in the northwest corner on the Red Sea (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 880, Sept 23 at 1210 UT, mix of Navajo and English by single OM announcer, including ``TGIF``, ``33 degrees, almost freezing``, ``6:10`` timecheck, i.e. KHAC NM/AZ.

1080, Sept 23 at 1223, nostalgia music, ``All of Me`` in fade of KRLD, and perpendicular to it; prime suspect westward is KGVY Green Valley AZ, NRC-AM Log listed as NOS format, 500-watt PSRA starting at 0800 ELT, but this was 5:23 am MST. Applying ``Eastern Local Time`` to Arizona is nothing but nonsensical. Do PSRAs for them start at 5 am MST since it`s equivalent to 6 am MDT?? I would not think so. As KRLD came back up, fast SAH ensued (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. 1510+, Sept 22 at 1202 UT, sportstalk with het, so KCTE Independence MO is still off-frequency, but is still turning off its transmitter at night, no het when tuned by before 1200 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. Perhaps due to a storm a couple hours earlier, local 1640 KFXY found to be off the air, Sept 22 at 1149 UT, so on the FRG-7 with E-W longwire I concentrate on hearing whatever is uncovered --- a couple very weak signals; must be too late for WTNI; 1151 there is Spanish music with a Cuban tinge, but surely no Cuban propagation or transmission either, but count a SAH amounting to 3.3 Hz; 1156 SAH continues but music stops; 1158 vocal music fades in, seems Spanish, romantic or gospel? 1200 YL announcement, probably ID, but just too weak to copy, drat! However, this was surely KBJA, Sandy UT, the only US station on 1640 in Spanish, per NRC-AM Log 2011-2012, and would have been still on night power of 1 kW. Next check at 1216, KFXY was back on, ``Faith 1640`` blasting away but with modulation dropouts during OKC weather and traffic.

Before that, I also checked adjacent frequencies which didn`t have to worry about KFXY ACI:

1630, Sept 22 at 1150 UT, Mexican music, 1201 full ID by that super-hype locutor as KRND, Fox Farm, Wyoming, http://www.lajotamexicana.com This was generally much stronger than 1650 from Denver. Since they are both typical X-banders, 10/1 kW non-direxional, does this mean that KRND was really on day power?

1650, Sept 22 at 1152 UT, Spanish music here too, 1157 mentions Cristo, and Radio Luz, 1200 ID as KBJD Denver (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

UNIDENTIFIED. Sept 22 at 1218 UT sunrise after chasing Mexicans, reset handheld DX-398 to 9 kHz MW intervals and with usual technique of stepping thru lower channels with slightly mistuned BFO, heard very weak carriers on 702 and 774. 774 looped NW/SE, i.e. our most common Trans-Pacific, JOUB, 500 kW NHK2 Akita, Japan. 702 looped more E/W, so suspect 2BL, 50 kW ABC Sydney, Australia, which other NAm MW DXers have been getting (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

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