A quick listen last night showed 530 being washed over from the IBOC interference from local 550 KFYI, so I couldn't hear if Turks and Caicos or Cuba was coming through. I went to 570 kHz and heard the time beeps of Radio Reloj from Cuba. I then went to 1180 kHz and heard what I thought was Cuba coming in pretty strong. A quick check on 5025 kHz confirmed that I was hearing Cuba. My very limited spanish skills allowed me to tell that there was a lot of talk about Ike.
I was worried that Ike had clobbered Turks and Caicos enough to wipe out RVCI on 530 kHz, but a check of their audio on the internet at least showed that they were still broadcasting their religious format. This whole HD AM station IBOC stuff really screws things up when it comes to DXing. Sometimes I get lucky on the weekend and KFYI turns the IBOC off at night - but not last night. Grrrrrr.
It looks like Ike will make its way through Cuba and then into the Gulf of Mexico, possibly landing along the Texas/Louisiana border. Hopefully it won't be disasterous. And I'll continue to monitor the radio at night to hear what I can about this storm.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Hurricane Gustav
With Hurricane Gustav heading toward New Orleans last week, I decided to listen to 870 AM, WWL, New Orleans, LA, to hear what they were saying about the conditions. It had been a while since I had listened to them, and wasn't sure if the conditions would be good enough to pick them up very well. Fortunately, they were pretty dominant on 870, with some fading in and out from ESPN Radio, which I checked on the web to be KJMP, Pierce, CO.
To my surprise, I thought I was hearing Morse Code flashing every minute underneath WWL. I know those beeps are from Radio Rebelde in Cuba. They are a Cuban broadcaster on several frequencies, and their broadcasts always have a time beep, followed by a Morse Code "RR" flash at the top of every minute. Sure enough, checking my resources, Radio Rebelde does broadcast on 870 via CMDT, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. I usually only hear Radio Rebelde on rare occasions here in Chandler on 570 (CMDC, Santa Clara, Cuba). On a hunch, I tried 570 and the "RR" beeps were there. No dialog or Spanish speaking - just the beeps.
When conditions are this great, I know I can always try to hear another Cuban station that I've heard here in Chandler, 1180 CMBA, Radio Havana Cuba. There is another Spanish station on 1180 that interferes, but I did hear what I thought was the Cuban underneath that one. One way to check with Radio Havana is to go to 5025 kHz on SW, and sure enough, I was hearing the same thing on 1180.
Usually when I want to gauge how well long distance radio listening is going to be for the night, I go to 530 kHz, where there are only two stations that you can hear in Chandler broadcasting on that frequency. One is RVCI from Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean, which has religious programming in Spanish. The other is a Cuban station which I think is Radio Havana Cuba. This night I only heard one station broadcasting older songs - and I wasn't sure which station it was.
Anyway, it was a great night for AM DXing - at least toward the Caribbean, which surprised me since the hurricane was between me and them, it was summer, and the monsoon is still here. I didn't check the space weather or geomagnetic field information, but I'm guessing conditions were perfect. With the sunspot cycle at a low point still, I'm thinking that this winters DXing may be about the last good spell for a while. I'm getting excited to gear up for this DX season, and will be posting more of my logs as I go forward.
To my surprise, I thought I was hearing Morse Code flashing every minute underneath WWL. I know those beeps are from Radio Rebelde in Cuba. They are a Cuban broadcaster on several frequencies, and their broadcasts always have a time beep, followed by a Morse Code "RR" flash at the top of every minute. Sure enough, checking my resources, Radio Rebelde does broadcast on 870 via CMDT, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. I usually only hear Radio Rebelde on rare occasions here in Chandler on 570 (CMDC, Santa Clara, Cuba). On a hunch, I tried 570 and the "RR" beeps were there. No dialog or Spanish speaking - just the beeps.
When conditions are this great, I know I can always try to hear another Cuban station that I've heard here in Chandler, 1180 CMBA, Radio Havana Cuba. There is another Spanish station on 1180 that interferes, but I did hear what I thought was the Cuban underneath that one. One way to check with Radio Havana is to go to 5025 kHz on SW, and sure enough, I was hearing the same thing on 1180.
Usually when I want to gauge how well long distance radio listening is going to be for the night, I go to 530 kHz, where there are only two stations that you can hear in Chandler broadcasting on that frequency. One is RVCI from Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean, which has religious programming in Spanish. The other is a Cuban station which I think is Radio Havana Cuba. This night I only heard one station broadcasting older songs - and I wasn't sure which station it was.
Anyway, it was a great night for AM DXing - at least toward the Caribbean, which surprised me since the hurricane was between me and them, it was summer, and the monsoon is still here. I didn't check the space weather or geomagnetic field information, but I'm guessing conditions were perfect. With the sunspot cycle at a low point still, I'm thinking that this winters DXing may be about the last good spell for a while. I'm getting excited to gear up for this DX season, and will be posting more of my logs as I go forward.
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