DXpedition #2 - Marais Temps Clair Conservation Area, Black Walnut, MO

Marais Temps Clair Conservation Area is one of the most serene conservation areas in the St. Louis region. Located in the farming community of Black Walnut, between Orchard Farm and Portage des Sioux, MO, it is also about half way between Saint Charles and West Alton. I chose December 29, 2018 to go on a DXpedition to Marais Temps Clair. The temperature hovered around 32 degrees Fahrenheit (zero Celsius); I made sure I dressed warmly.

As was the case with the November DXpedition to Babler State Park, a General Electric Superadio III was used for AM broadcast band DX. A Tecsun PL-600 was used for the shortwave broadcast bands, along with the 20-foot longwire that came with the radio. Since the folding table didn't fit on the passenger side of the 2002 Chrysler Voyager I was driving, I put the PL-600 on the front passenger seat and the Superadio III in back of the steering wheel. The pictures below show the receivers on the front passenger seat before starting the DX session, and the shortwave antenna clipped to the car radio antenna.

Sunset skip conditions prevailed on the AM broadcast band when I started tuning prior to 1600 CST (2200 UTC). The areas coming in were other parts of the Midwest, as well as the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario. On the shortwave bands, conditions favored the Americas. The place where I set up my listening post, the parking lot of the conservation area office on Island Road a mile from State Road H (Highway H), was just a few miles from the three-tower array of KHOJ (1460 kHz), located on MO 94 in Boschertown. 

At 1600 CST (2200 UTC), KHOJ was running day pattern with 12,000 watts. The adjacent channel interference covered up 1450 and 1470, but was able to hear DX on 1440 kHz and semi-local WJBM on 1480 kHz. At 1630 CST (2230 UTC), KHOJ switched to night pattern with 210 watts. With the listening post in a null toward Peoria, I was able to hear the usual mix on 1450 kHz; WMBD was fighting it out with WVOL in suburban Nashville on 1470 kHz. On 1460, WKAM Goshen, IN was heard underneath KHOJ. WBGZ 1570 kHz Alton, IL was in like a local both on 1,000 watts day power and 74 watts night power. Like with my home QTH in Hazelwood, the conservation area is in a null of KFNS 590 kHz Wood River, IL toward Omaha. Sure enough, KXSP was heard underneath KFNS. The adjacent channel digital interference from KFUO 850 kHz Clayton, MO covered up 840 and 860, but I was able to hear WCCO 830 in Minneapolis and WWL 870 in New Orleans. 

On the shortwave bands, the U.S. and Cuba were the dominant countries. I did hear the Canadian Forces aviation weather station CHR on 6754 kHz USB from the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, ON around 2320 UTC, giving the weather for airports in Canada and Europe with a very good signal. I wrapped up the session around 1730 CST (2330 UTC), leaving for my home QTH as the snow flurries started falling.

As is the case with Babler State Park, the noise floor at Marais Temps Clair is nonexistent, although the adjacent channel interference from the St. Louis stations was a tad stronger. The place is also perfect for a sunrise DXpedition, as well as daytime and evening DXpeditions. The area is open from 0400 to 2200 local time.

AM RADIO LOGBOOK

570 kHz WNAX Yankton, SD noted at 1704 CST (2304 UTC) with local ads, "570 WNAX" ID into regional news. A good to fair signal was noted over KLIF.

580 kHz WIBW Topeka, KS at 1605 CST (2205 UTC) with local ads, "WIBW 580 and 104.9" ID into a talk program. A fair to poor signal was noted, mixing with WILL and adjacent channel interference from KFNS 590.

720 kHz WGCR Pisgah Forest, NC at 1608 CST (2208 UTC) with Southern Gospel music, Eastern time check, "Gospel Carolina Radio" ID into another music set, fading before 1615 sign-off. A good signal was noted over WGN with adjacent channel interference from KWRE 730.

740 kHz CFZM Toronto, ON at 1709 CST (2309 UTC) with Oldies and Adult Standards, "Great Big Zoomer Hits" mention. A good signal was noted over KRMG.

800 kHz CKLW Windsor, ON at 1714 CST (2314 UTC) with weather forecast into a review of weather events in Ontario during 2018. A good signal was noted over KQCV.

880 kHz KRVN Lexington, NE at 1617 CST (2217 UTC) with The Joe Kelly Show and Lexington area ads. A fair signal was noted over WIJR and WCBS.

990 kHz CBW Winnipeg, MB at 1630 CST (2230 UTC) with Country and Folk music, talk about text messages, "CBC Radio One" ID. A fair signal was noted over other stations.

1030 kHz WBZ Boston, MA at 1635 CST (2235 UTC) with Eastern time check, "WBZ News Radio 1030" ID, local news item and local ads. A good signal was noted over KCWJ, KFAY and KTWO.

1060 kHz KYW Philadelphia, PA at 1637 CST (2237 UTC) with sports report, mention of "Sports Radio 94 WIP", "KYW News Radio" ID, promo for Traffic on the Twos into local ads. A good signal was noted over other stations.

1480 kHz KCZZ Mission, KS at 1653 CST (2253 UTC) with sports talk and highlights, "ESPN Deportes" mention and local ads in Spanish. A fair to poor signal was noted, mixing with WJBM and WLMV.

1660 kHz WQLR Kalamazoo, MI at 1657 CST (2257 UTC) with local ads, "1660 the Fan, WQLR Kalamazoo" legal ID at 1700 (2300). A good signal was noted over KWOD.

SHORTWAVE LOGBOOK

5025 kHz CUBA Radio Rebelde CMBA Bauta, Ciudad de la Habana at 2158 UTC (1558 CST) with Salsa music, ID into a newscast in Spanish A fair signal was noted.

5040 kHz CUBA Radio Havana Cuba at 2307 UTC (1707 CST) with ID into commentary in Spanish. A fair signal was noted.

6090 kHz ANGUILLA Caribbean Beacon at 2233 UTC (1633 CST) with a sermon by Pastor Melissa Scott. A good signal was noted.

9265 kHz UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WINB Red Lion, PA noted at 2240 UTC (1640 UTC) with light vocal Christian music and a brief sermon in English. A good signal was noted.

9330 kHz UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WBCQ Monticello, ME at 2244 UTC (1644 CST) with The Overcomer with Brother R.G. Stair (some DXers call him Brother Scare). A good to fair signal was noted.

9720 kHz CUBA Radio Havana Cuba noted at 2245 UTC (1645 CST) with Music With a Message, focusing on Cuban revolutionary songs. A very good signal was noted.

DXpedition #1...Babler State Park, Wildwood, MO

The weather was just perfect for a DXpedition on November 24, 2018. This is the first DXpedition I've undertaken in 37 years of DXing. After taking a one-mile hike and taking 140 scenic pictures (photography is another hobby of mine) and having a picnic lunch, it was time to hit the dials.

Babler State Park is located about 25 miles west of downtown St. Louis in the city of Wildwood. The parking area from where I DXed is on the western end of the park, toward Wild Horse Creek Road. Access is through Babler Park Drive (State Road BA) off Missouri 109. 

The picture below is of the two receivers I used on the DXpedition. For the AM broadcast band, I used my trusty General Electric Superadio III with a built-in ferrite rod antenna, which I bought in 1994. For the shortwave band, I used a Tecsun PL-600, which I bought in 2017.

(G.E. Superadio III, Tecsun PL-600)

The picture below is the shortwave antenna I used. I attached the 20-foot longwire that came with the PL-600 to the car radio antenna on the 2002 Chrysler Voyager. 

The noise floor was non-existent where I set up my listening post. When I turned on the Superadio III around 2:15 p.m. local time (2015 UTC), I found that the adjacent channel interference from the St. Louis stations was significantly reduced versus my shack in Hazelwood. The digital sidebands from KFUO 850, the last remaining AM station broadcasting in Hybrid Digital (HD), were noticeably less, allowing me to pull in DX on 820, 830 and, after 3:00 p.m. (2100 UTC), 860 and 870. Chicago AM stations were coming in with good to fair signals; WSCR 670 was at semi-local strength. It was around 2:45 p.m. (2045 UTC) that signals from stations in the Great Lakes region were rolling in. The biggest surprise was WMKT 1270 (see the logbook later in the blog entry). Before I packed up around 4:00 p.m. (2200 UTC), Southern stations began to come in. 

DX was even coming in with a few of the lower-powered St. Louis stations after 3:00 p.m. (2100 UTC). During that hour, WBAA West Lafayette, IN was coming in under WGNU on 920. The park is in a null of WSDZ 1260 toward the west; KSGF Springfield, MO was coming in at equal strength with WSDZ after 2:30 p.m. (2030 UTC).

On the shortwave bands, conditions were good toward the Americas, Europe and Africa. The biggest surprise I had was WWVH from Hawaii taking out WWV on 15 MHz. WWV was in like a local on 10 MHz. I didn't check the Ham or utility bands during the DXpedition. I'll make sure I check these bands on a future DXpedition. The only piece of Amateur Radio equipment I had was a tri-band Yaesu VX-5 (6 meters, 2 meters and 70 cm) handheld transceiver and a Diamond dual-band magnetic-mounted antenna.

Babler State Park is an excellent place for a daytime DXpedition less than 40 minutes from downtown St. Louis. Take a radio and/or antenna with you on your next day trip to this part of the area locals call West County.

AM RADIO LOGBOOK (All times Eastern...for local time, subtract one hour)
Equipment: General Electric Superadio III, built-in ferrite rod antenna

600 kHz WMT Cedar Rapids, IA at 1655 with Mayo Clinic Radio, local ads, The Family Minute with Mark Merrill, "This is Newsradio 600 WMT Cedar Rapids, an iHeart Radio Station" legal ID into Fox News Radio. A fair signal was noted over WREC; no adjacent channel interference from KFNS 590.

640 kHz WCRV Collierville, TN at 1627 with local ads, mention of the Bott Radio Network in a promo, Christmas programming promo, weather forecast for the Memphis area. A fair signal was noted over WOI; no adjacent channel interference from KYFI 630.

710 kHz KCMO Kansas City, MO at 1631 with local ads. A fair to poor signal was noted.

750 kHz KBNN Lebanon, MO at 1529 with Dave Ramsey and local ads. A fair signal was noted with second adjacent channel interference from WEW 770.

750 kHz WNDZ Portage, IN at 1632 with a Christian teaching program in Russian. A good signal was noted over KBNN.

760 kHz WJR Detroit, MI at 1633 with Michigan State University football play-by-play. A fair signal was noted with adjacent channel interference from WEW 770.

800 kHz KREI Farmington, MO at 1549 with a health talk show and local ads. A fair signal was noted; alone on the frequency.

900 kHz KFAL Fulton, MO at 1552 with Country music, "Real Country 900 KFAL" ID. A fair to poor signal was noted.

930 kHz WTAD Quincy, IL at 1532 with University of Illinois football play-by-play and local ads. A fair signal was noted over KWOC.

1000 kHz WMVP Chicago, IL at 1543 with Northwestern University football play-by-play. A fair signal was noted with minor adjacent channel interference from KXEN 1010.

1080 kHz WNWI Oak Lawn, IL at 1602 with news in Polish. A fair signal was noted over WRYT.

1110 kHz WMBI Chicago, IL at 1604 with Contemporary Christian music and "Radio Moody" ID in Spanish. A fair signal was noted with adjacent channel interference from KMOX 1120.

1200 kHz WRTO Chicago, IL at 1519 with sports talk in Spanish. A good signal was noted with minor adjacent channel interference from KQQZ 1190.

1270 kHz WMKT Charlevoix, MI at 1640 with local ads, college football scores and "1270 AM and 102.3 FM WMKT" ID. A fair to poor signal was noted, mixing with KIIK and other stations.

1330 kHz WRAM Monmouth, IL at 1607 with a Country-style Christmas song, weak calls into a Country selection. A fair to poor signal was noted with no adjacent channel interference from KSIV 1320.

1370 kHz WSPD Toledo, OH at 1648 with local ads into a health talk show. A fair signal was noted over KDTH and WCCN with adjacent channel interference from KXFN 1380.

1470 kHz WMBD Peoria, IL at 1612 with Bradley University basketball post-game show, local ads and "1470 and 100.3 WMBD" ID. A good signal was noted with adjacent channel interference from KHOJ 1460.

1580 kHz WHLY South Bend, IN at 1616 with local ads in Spanish. A fair to poor signal was noted over KTGR.

1610 kHz CHHA Toronto, ON at 1621 with pop music and announcements in Spanish. A fair to poor signal was noted with adjacent channel interference from KATZ 1600.

SHORTWAVE LOGBOOK (All times UTC...for local time, subtract six hours)
Equipment: Tecsun PL-600, 20-foot longwire antenna

6070 kHz CANADA CFRX Toronto, ON at 2108 with discussion, local ads and "In-Depth Radio, News/Talk 1010" ID in English. A fair signal was noted.

7310 kHz ROMANIA Radio Romania International at 2143 with talk on Romanian and European literature in English. A good signal was noted.

9690 kHz SPAIN Radio Exterior de España at 2015 with play-by-play of a soccer match in Spanish. A good signal was noted. 

11900 kHz SÃO TOME É PRINCIPE Voice of America relay at 2041 with a discussion in Hausa. A good signal was noted.

15000 kHz HAWAII WWVH Kehaha, Kauai at 2035 with time signals, announcement at 2036. A good to fair signal was noted, taking out WWV.

15140 kHz CUBA Radio Havana Cuba at 2034 with commentary in English. A very good signal was noted.

15580 kHz BOTSWANA Voice of America relay at 2026 with a discussion in English. A fair to poor signal was noted.

Missouri and Illinois DXpedition Sites

As a member of the International Radio Club of America (IRCA), I've read about the DXpeditions along the Oregon and Washington coasts, most notably at Rockwork and Grayland. I'm also a member of the North American Shortwave Association (NASWA), and read about the DXpeditions to Gifford Pinchot park in eastern Pennsylvania. So, I thought to myself: "What are some good DXpedition sites in Missouri and Illinois?" I was thinking about a day-long DXpedition, where I would depart from my suburban St. Louis location in the morning with two or three portable receivers, a handheld transceiver and one or two antennas, and DX the AM and shortwave broadcast bands.

One of the criteria I have considered is distance away from high-powered AM transmitter sites. That would rule out Horseshoe Lake State Park between Collinsville and Granite City, IL, which is extremely close to the St. Louis AM sites, especially 50,000-watt blowtorch KMOX 1120. It is my honest opinion that a good site for a day-long DXpedition should have its only nearby AM stations being 1,000 watts or less during the day within five to ten miles of the site.

None of the city or county parks inside the I-270/I-255 loop would be a good site for a day-long DXpedition. The only parks in St. Louis County that would meet the criteria are Queeny Park near Town and Country; a St. Louis County park with entrances off of Weidman and Mason Roads. I've taken part in a Field Day and a St. Louis Metro ARES Resource Evaluation Test at the park in the past. Another park that meets the criteria is Babler State Park off MO 109 in Wildwood. I visited there with my Boy Scout troop (Troop 739, Hazelwood, MO). With both sites, the nearest AM stations are KLPW 1220 Union, MO (1,000 watts day/126 watts night), KRAP 1350 Washington, MO (500 watts day/84 watts night) and KHOJ 1460 St. Charles, MO (12,000 watts day/210 watts night). The St. Louis AM stations have very good signals into these parks during daylight hours. If an overnight DXpedition is your plan, camping facilities are available by reservation at Babler State Park. 

On the Missouri side, there are two state forests in Warren County for a day-long DXpedition. Reifsnider State Forest near Warrenton and Wright City and Daniel Boone State Forest, between Warrenton and Hermann, have camping areas. At both sites, the nearest AM station is KWRE 730 Warrenton, MO (1,000 watts day/120 watts night). If you stay into the night, KWRE signs off at 1900 (7:00 p.m.) local time. I camped at both sites while I was in the Boy Scouts. Another good DXpedition site is in Lincoln County; Cuivre River State Park near Troy has camping facilities available by reservation of you want to make an overnight DXpedition of it. The closest AM station to the park is KYRO 1280 in Troy (660 watts day/70 watts night).

South of St. Louis, there are two state parks in Iron County: Elephant Rocks State Park near Pilot Knob and Taum Sauk Mountain State Park between Ironton and Lesterville. Another one is Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park in Reynolds County, near Lesterville. This is the area that many of my ancestors grew up in at the turn of the 20th Century. Camping is available at Taum Sauk Mountain and Johnson's Shut-Ins. In St. Francois County, St. Joe State Park between Bismarck and Park Hills also offers camping by reservation, as well as Washington State Park near Potosi and De Soto. The nearest AM stations to these parks are KREI 800 Farmington, MO (1,000 watts day/150 watts night), KFMO 1240 Park Hills, MO, KJFF 1400 Festus, MO and KYLS 1450 Fredericktown, MO (all 1,000 watts day and night).

Over in Illinois, Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge is spread out in Calhoun, Jersey and Greene Counties in Illinois. The refuge areas in Calhoun County are accessible by ferry from Grafton, IL or St. Charles, MO, or take the roundabout way through Hardin. Maps of the site are available through the Web site. Two places to set up are in the Calhoun Division near Brussels and the Gilbert Lake portion of the refuge across from Pere Marquette State Park. It's also an excellent place to observe and photograph wildlife, especially birds. No camping facilities are available there, so you're limited to a daytime DXpedition.

Pere Marquette State Park in Jersey County, is on the Great River Road (IL 100) north of Grafton. Information on camping at Pere Marquette is available on the Web. The park also has three picnic shelters; more information is at this link. In both cases, the nearest AM stations are the aforementioned KYRO 1280, as well as WJBM 1480 Jerseyville, IL (500 watts day/32 watts night) and WBGZ 1570 Alton, IL (1,000 watts day/74 watts night). I have taken pictures of the fall colors and a late summer sunset.

Check out the Web sites for more information. 

Pattern Changes, Power Cuts, AM Daytimer Sign-Offs

One of the first things a beginning AM (medium wave) broadcast band DXer should know is when your local stations either: A) cut from day power to night power (in some cases, vice versa), B) switch from day pattern to night pattern, C) a combination of A and B, or D) signs off the air for the day (regardless of whether it's sunset at the local station or the dominant station, or at midnight local time). Just as important is when the station A) increases (or cuts) from night power to day power, B) switches from night to day pattern, C) a combination of A and B, or D) signs on the air for the day (regardless of whether it's local sunrise or sunrise at the dominant station or 0600 local time).

As I write this, in the month of July, in the St. Louis area, daytime-only AM stations sign on at 0545, and sign off at 2030 Central time. For the full-time stations that operate with different power levels or patterns day and night, 0545 is when the station changes from night to day power/pattern, and 2030 is when the opposite happens. Some stations sign off one hour after sunset. Two of my locals, WEW 770 kHz in St. Louis and KFUO 850 kHz in Clayton, sign off one hour after sunset, to coincide with sunset at KKOB in Albuquerque, NM and KOA Denver, CO, respectively. Some stations sign off one hour before sunset, like KMMJ 750 kHz Grand Island, NE (to coincide with sunset at WSB Atlanta, GA) or WPEO 1020 kHz Peoria, IL (to coincide with sunset at KDKA Pittsburgh, PA). One daytimer that signs on one hour before sunrise is KCTA 1030 kHz Corpus Christi, TX (to coincide with sunrise at WBZ Boston, MA). There are also a few stations that switch to night pattern after sunset. WYLL 1160 kHz Chicago, IL switches from day to night pattern one hour after sunset, to coincide with sunset at KSL Salt Lake City, UT. Two stations change from day to night pattern three hours after sunset: WCKY 1530 kHz Cincinnati, OH (to coincide with sunset at KFBK Sacramento, CA) and WFME 1560 kHz New York, NY (to coincide with sunset at KNZR Bakersfield, CA). 

The period two hours either side of sunrise and sunset are prime hours to pull in DX. Depending on how far you are from the local station and the direction of the band opening, you can be able to pull in DX; the conditions are called sunrise skip and sunset skip. For example, KXSP 590 kHz Omaha, NE starts coming in behind a nulled KFNS Wood River, IL at least 45 minutes before sunset. My listening post is in a null from KFNS toward KXSP. The transmitter site for KFNS is located in Cottage Hills, IL, near Wood River. An hour before sunrise, the aforementioned KCTA 1030 kHz takes out WBZ and the other nighttime dominant on 1030 kHz, KFAY Farmington, AR. An hour after sunrise, stations to the west can make it in, like KBRL 1300 kHz McCook, NE, KTWO 1030 kHz Casper, WY or KRCN 1060 kHz Longmont, CO. Before sunset, I can hear stations from the East, Mid-Atlantic and Deep South, for instance. On a given day in that time period, WHO 1040 kHz Des Moines, IA could be taken out by WPBS Conyers, GA (which broadcasts primarily in Korean), WDZ 1050 kHz Decatur, IL (an ESPN Radio affiliate) could have its signal overtaken by WEPN New York, NY (on the Spanish equivalent, ESPN Deportes). After sunset, stations to the west with sunset times one hour later than St. Louis could make it in.

From 1988 to 1992, I lived on the Cherokee-Cobb County line in northwest Georgia, 25 miles northwest of Atlanta. Metro Atlanta has worse ground conductivity than St. Louis, so many Atlanta signals are inaudible at night. Two hours before sunset, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast stations start to come in, like WFAN 660 kHz New York, NY, WBT 1110 Charlotte, NC or WPHT 1210 kHz (then WCAU, later WOGL) Philadelphia, PA. Starting at sunset, Midwestern stations start coming in, such as WHB 810 kHz Kansas City, MO (then KCMO), KTRS 550 kHz (then KUSA) and KXFN 1380 kHz (then KGLD) St. Louis, MO, after WDUN Gainesville, GA and WAOK Atlanta, GA changed patterns. The farthest west I could get at sunset was eastern Kansas (notably KNSS 1330 kHz, then KFH, in Wichita). WCNN 680 North Atlanta, WQXI 790 and WAEC 860 Atlanta directed their night signals away from the Woodstock area (where I lived), so signals can come in from Memphis, TN and Pittsburg, KS at sunset. One night, I even nulled out WSB 750 after sunset to pull in KBNN (then KJEL) Lebanon, MO.

Turn on your radio starting at two hours before sunrise and monitor until two hours after sunrise. Repeat at two hours before sunset, and monitor until two hours after sunset. These time periods are excellent to pull in DX on the AM broadcast band.