DXpedition #6 - Lincoln Shields Recreation Area, West Alton, MO

For my sixth DXpedition, I decided to give a different place a try. This time, I decided to give the Lincoln Shields Recreation Area a try. I've taken pictures from this area in the past, but I often wondered how DX would be at this location. It didn't take me long to find out!

On the afternoon of October 4, 2019, I took my radios there. Lincoln Shields Recreation Area is operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, located in West Alton, MO at the southern end of the Clark Bridge along U.S. Highway 67. The area is within sight of downtown Alton, IL. Temperatures were in the upper 60s Fahrenheit under mostly clear skies; just four days before, the mercury was in the mid-90s Fahrenheit. A breeze was blowing in from the Mississippi River, some 20 yards to the north of where I set up my listening post.

I set up on the southern end of the asphalt parking lot, lashing the 10-foot high mast of the 30-foot longwire to a sign post with a "Bike Route" sign. A second mast, five feet high, was set up on the passenger side sliding door of the 2002 Chrysler Voyager I was driving. Once again, I brought my Tecsun PL-600 for shortwave DX and my General Electric Superadio III for AM broadcast band DX. The longwire was connected to the Tecsun. I began monitoring shortly after 2100 UTC.

On the AM broadcast band, late afternoon band conditions favored the Midwest. Stations were not only noted from Missouri and Illinois, but also from Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio and Oklahoma. I discovered that I could put a tight null on the 20,000-watt day signal of WSDZ 1260 Belleville, IL in the late afternoon hours. I could hear several AMs carrying Game 2 of the National League Division Series between the Saint Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves from the Cardinals' radio network. The biggest surprise of the afternoon turned out to be WING 1410 kHz Dayton, OH. I had expected WIZM La Crosse, WI to be dominant on the channel. The closest transmitters were of KFNS 590 and WBGZ 1570.

This was the first DXpedition where I heard at least one shortwave relay station from each continent. So many pleasant surprises were noted, including KBS World via Gimje, South Korea on 11810 kHz, Radio Free Asia via Dushanbe on 9875 kHz and Radio Brasil Central on 11815 kHz. Conditions were fair in the late afternoon all the way to the 49 Meter band, with 60 Meters from as far south as Brazil in by 2300 UTC. I finally wrapped up monitoring at 2340 UTC, five minutes before sunset.

General Electric Superadio III for AM broadcast band DX, Tecsun PL-600 for shortwave DX.

Clip mount for the center insulator supporting the longwire before adding the RG-6QS cable.

Longwire antenna for shortwave DX at sunset.

AM BROADCAST BAND DX (All times CDT)

  740 kHz WVLN Olney, IL - 10/4 1736 noted with local ads mentioning phone numbers in Area Code 618. A fair signal was noted with adjacent channel interference from KWRE 730 kHz.

1100 kHz WTAM Cleveland, OH - 10/4 1743 noted with talk on Las Vegas, "WTAM" ID and mention of the station's Web site. A good to fair signal was noted; alone on channel.

1170 kHz KFAQ Tulsa, OK - 10/4 1821 noted with local ads, promo for The Pat Campbell Show, "Talk Radio 1170" ID, promo mentioning Tulsa, into sports talk show. A good signal was noted over KBOB and KJXX.

1400 kHz WGIL Galesburg, IL - 10/4 1638 noted with Game 2 of the National League Division Series. A fair signal was noted through KJFF.

1410 kHz WING Dayton, OH - 10/4 1702 noted with "ESPN 1410" ID, "From the Buffalo Wild Wings Studios, this is WING" mention into sports talk. A fair signal was noted over WIZM.

1450 kHz WKEI Kewanee, IL - 10/4 1755 noted with Game 2 of the National League Division Series. A poor signal was noted through other stations with ACI from KHOJ 1460 kHz.

1470 kHz WMBD Peoria, IL - 10/4 1701 noted with local news, "WMBD" ID. A good signal was noted with ACI from KHOJ 1460.

1500 kHz WBRI Indianapolis, IN - 10/4 1724 noted with The New Believers Christian teaching program, "AM 1500 WBRI and 96.7 FM" ID into USA Radio News. A fair signal was noted over KSTP and WPMB.

1510 kHz WCAZ Macomb, IL - 10/4 1642 noted with Classic Country format, "Classic Country WCAZ" ID. A fair signal was noted over WLAC.

1520 kHz KRHW Sikeston, MO - 10/4 1644 noted with Classic Country format, "Country Legends 98-9 and 1520 KRHW" ID. A fair signal was noted over WHOW.

1660 kHz KWOD Kansas City, KS - 10/4 1648 noted with local spots, promo mentioning Missouri State sports into Fox Sports Radio. A good signal was noted, alone on channel.

1690 kHz WVON Berwyn, IL - 10/4 1649 noted with "The Talk of Chicago, WVON" ID and several promos. A good signal was noted, alone on channel.

1700 kHz KBGG Des Moines, IA - 10/4 1654 noted with Des Moines traffic report and local ads. A good signal was noted, alone on channel.

SHORTWAVE LOGS (all times UTC)

4885 kHz BRAZIL Radio Clube do Para ZYG362 Belem, Para - 10/4 2317 noted with commentary in Portuguese. A fair to poor signal was noted.

5010 kHz UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Deutsche Welle via WRMI Okeechobee, FL - 10/4 2227 noted with tail end of commentary in Spanish into "Fidelio" interval signal. A fair signal was noted.

5025 kHz CUBA Radio Rebelde CMBA Bauta, Ciudad de la Habana - 10/4 2218 noted with classic Cuban vocal music and commentary in Spanish. A fair signal was noted.

5040 kHz CUBA Radio Havana Cuba via La Habana - 10/4 2216 noted with light vocal music and commentary in Spanish. A fair to poor signal was noted.

6175 kHz  ALBANIA China Radio International relay via Cerrik - 10/4 2233 noted with traditional Chinese music until 2255, commentary in Portuguese. A fair signal was noted.

6195 kHz BOTSWANA Voice of America relay Mopeng Hill - 10/4 2110 noted with African hi-life music and talk in English. A fair signal was noted.

6950 kHz USB UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (PIRATE) Radio Free Whatever - 10/4 2304 noted with rock music, DJ (Dick Weed?) talking about Liam Gallagher and Oasis, mention of other pirates and various food and drink, off at 2310. A good to poor signal was noted.

7350 kHz CHINA China Radio International via Kasgar - 10/4 2301 noted with news in English. A fair to poor signal was noted.

9445 kHz INDIA All India Radio via Bengaluru - 10/4 2133 noted with traditional Indian music and commentary in English. A fair signal was noted.

9620 kHz TURKEY Voice of Turkey via Emirler - 10/4 2131 noted with Middle Eastern music and description of the song played in English. A fair signal was noted.

9875 kHz TAJIKISTAN Radio Free Asia via Dushanbe - 10/4 2334 noted with discussion in Tibetan. A fair signal was noted.

10051 kHz USB CANADA Gander VOLMET - 10/4 2158 noted with aviation weather reports for various Canadian cities. A good signal was noted.

11810 kHz SOUTH KOREA KBS World via Gimje - 10/4 2209 noted with news and analysis in English. A fair to poor signal was noted.

11815 kHz BRAZIL Radio Brasil Central ZYE440 Goiania, Goias - 10/4 2312 noted with pop music and local ads in Portuguese. A good signal was noted.

11820 kHz SAUDI ARABIA Saudi Radio International via Riyadh - 10/4 2213 noted with the Holy Qu'ran program in Arabic. A fair signal was noted.

11880 kHz AUSTRIA Adventist World Radio Africa via Moosbrunn - 10/4 2121 noted with a Christian teaching program in English. A fair signal was noted.

12095 kHz ASCENSION ISLAND BBC World Service relay - 10/4 2118 noted with talk on human versus artificial intelligence in English. A very good signal was noted.

13840 kHz NEW ZEALAND Radio New Zealand Pacific via Rangitaiki- 10/4 2335 noted with pop music, talk and "RNZ National" ID in English. A fair to poor signal was noted with ACI from WWCR on 13845 kHz.

15370 kHz CUBA Radio Havana Cuba via La Habana - 10/4 2124 noted with news analysis in Spanish. An excellent signal was noted.