DXpedition #15 - August G. Beckemeier Conservation Area

For my fifteenth DXpedition on August 21, 2020 (UTC August 21-22), I decided to try another conservation area. This time, I selected the August G. Beckemeier Conservation Area in Chesterfield, MO, about 20 miles west-northwest of downtown Saint Louis. Located on Olive Boulevard (Missouri Highway 340) between Missouri Highway 141 and Ladue Road, it's a 54-acre site with a hiking trail. For the first time, I set up at a picnic table instead of inside my vehicle. The table had plenty of room for all of my radios, my logbook and reference materials. 

The monitoring setup at Beckemeier Conservation Area.

Once again, I brought my General Electric Superadio III for AM (MW) broadcast band DX, and my Tecsun PL-600 for shortwave DX. Instead of my homebrew 30-foot portable longwire, I brought along an MFJ-1022 active antenna, powered by a nine-volt battery. I checked out this piece of equipment before adding it to my DXpedition equipment list. The MFJ-1022's performance rivaled that of the homebrew longwire above 3 MHz. I also brought my Whistler WS1040 handheld digital scanner; I heard EMS calls from the City of Saint Louis on the 700 MHz band, along with police, fire and EMS calls from Lincoln, Warren and Saint Louis Counties in Missouri, along with Calhoun County, the City of Wood River and the ambulances from Alton Memorial Hospital in Illinois, as well as the Missouri Highway Patrol on the MOSWIN digital radio system (on high-band VHF) and the Illinois State Police on the STARCOM 21 system (on the 800 MHz band). I also checked the NOAA Weather Radio bands; in addition to local KDO89 on 162.550 MHz, I heard WNG728 Bellflower, MO on 162.425 MHz, KXI70 Jerseyville, IL on 162.450 MHz and WWF75 Bourbon, MO on 162.525 MHz. 

I found this place an excellent area for a DXpedition. I began monitoring around 1835 CDT (2335 UTC), wrapping up around 2030 CDT (0130 UTC). Sunset skip conditions on the AM (MW) broadcast band favored the Midwest and Mid-South, although I logged one from North Carolina and one from Texas. Shortwave band conditions favored the Americas, Europe, East Asia and the Pacific.

AM (MW) BROADCAST BAND LOGBOOK (All times CDT; for EDT, add one hour, add five hours for UTC.)

  600 kHz WMT Cedar Rapids, IA - 8/21 1905 noted with local ad, disclaimer mentioning iHeart Radio, "News Radio 600 WMT" ID into talk format. Good to fair signal with adjacent channel interference from KFNS 590.

  680 kHz WMFS Memphis, TN - 8/21 1915 noted with local ads, including one mentioning Olive Branch, MS into sports talk from ESPN Radio. Fair to poor signal with ACI from KSTL 690.

  800 kHz KREI Farmington, MO - 8/21 1919 noted with local spots into The Joe Pags Show. fair signal over CKLW.

  830 kHz WUMY Memphis, TN - 8/21 1922 noted with light Christian music, mentions of "Esperanza" and "Buenas Nuevas" in Spanish. Fair to poor signal, mixing with WCCO; digital second ACI from KFUO 850.

  900 kHz KFAL Fulton, MO - 8/21 1925 noted with local ad, Classic Country format, "Your Home for Classic Country" slogan. Good to fair signal over CHML.

  930 kHz WTAD Quincy, IL - 8/21 1934 noted with local ad, "Talk Radio 930 WTAD and 103.3 FM" ID into The Mark Levin Show. Good to fair sugnal over KWOC.

  960 kHz KCGS Marshall, AR - 8/21 1943 noted with contemporary music, "You're listening to Flashback on KCGS Radio" mention. Good to fair signal, mixing with KMA and KZIM.

1020 kHz WPEO Peoria, IL - 8/21 1858 noted with the end of a Christian talk program, local ads, "The Word" mention, "WPEO Peoria" legal ID into SRN News at 1900. Good signal over KDKA.

1110 kHz WBT Charlotte, NC - 8/21 1904 noted with weather forecast, mention of 99.3 FM, local ad, "WBT" ID in ad. Fair to poor signal, mixing with KFAB; ACI from KMOX 1120.

1180 kHz WGUE Turrell, AR - 8/21 1952 noted with a Regional Mexican format, "La Jefa" ID and local ads in Spanish. Good signal over WHAM.

1210 kHz WMPS Bartlett, TN - 8/21 1954 noted with a trivia show talking about Johnny Weissmuller, "Sunny 103" ID. Good signal over KGYN and WPHT.

1240 kHz WHBU Anderson, IN - 8/21 1958 poked through with mention of 103.7 FM and a local ad. Fair to poor signal, mixing with other stations.

1370 kHz KCRV Caruthersville, MO - 8/21 1850 noted with Country format, "We're AM 1370 KCRV" ID. Good signal, mixing with WLLM; ACI from KXFN 1380.

1570 kHz WBGZ Alton, IL - 8/21 2027 noted with The Clark Howard Show and local ads. Fair to poor signal, mixing with WBGX and other stations.

1610 kHz CHHA Toronto, ON - 8/21 2024 noted with promo mentioning Toronto in heavily accented English. Good signal, alone on the channel.

1650 kHz KFSW Fort Smith, AR - 8/21 2020 noted with Southern Gospel format, "98-7 the Cross" ID. Fair to poor signal, mixing with KCNZ.

1690 kHz WVON Berwyn, IL - 8/21 2012 noted with talk on domestic violence, "The Talk of Chicago, 1690 WVON" ID into promo. Good signal over WPTX.

1700 kHz KBGG Des Moines, IA - 8/21 2006 noted with Kansas City Royals baseball play-by-play, "1700 the Champ" ID and local ads. Good signal over KKLF.

1700 kHz KKLF Richardson, TX - 8/21 2005 noted with Mexican music, local ads in Spanish. Fair to poor signal, mixing with KBGG.

SHORTWAVE RADIO LOGBOOK (All times UTC; for CDT, subtract five hours, for EDT, subtract four hours.)

5130 kHz UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WBCQ Monticello, ME - 8/22 0046 noted with talk on COVID-19 and China in English. A good to fair signal was heard.

5505 kHz USB IRELAND Shannon VOLMET - 8/21 2348 noted with weather reports for various European airports, "This is Shannon VOLMET, Shannon VOLMET" ID in English. A fair signal was heard.

6070 kHz CANADA CFRX Toronto, ON - 8/22 0027 noted with local ads, "News/Talk 1010" ID, traffic report and local news headlines. A good to fair signal was heard.

6754 kHz USB CANADA CHR Canadian Forces Base Trenton, ON - 8/21 2345 noted with weather reports for various Canadian airports, "This is Trenton Military" ID and UTC time check in English. A good signal was heard.

7260 kHz TURKEY Voice of Turkey via Emirler - 8/22 0056 noted with Turkish music, "La Voz de la Turquia" ID in Spanish. A fair signal was heard.

9395 kHz UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Radio Prague International via WRMI Okeechobee, FL - 8/21 2335 noted with news and a feature on Czech railroads in English. A very good signal was heard.

9605 kHz UNITED STATES OF AMERICA KBS World via WHRI Cypress Creek, SC - 8/22 0105 noted with commentary and contemporary music in Spanish. An excellent signal was heard.

9690 kHz SPAIN Radio Exterior de España via Noblejas - 8/22 0116 noted with commentary in Spanish. A very good signal was heard.

9760 kHz ROMANIA Radio Romania International via Galbeni - 8/21 2341 noted with commentary and a feature in Spanish. A good signal was heard.

11780 kHz BRAZIL Radio Nacional da Amazônia ZYE365 Brasilia, D.F.- 8/22 0120 noted with pop music and ID in Portuguese. A good to fair signal was heard.

13840 kHz NEW ZEALAND Radio New Zealand Pacific via Rangitaiki - 8/22 0118 noted with ID and contemporsry music in English. A good to fair signal was heard.

15590 kHz THAILAND Radio Thailand International via Udon Thani - 8/22 0001 noted with news headlines, promo into news in detail in English. A good to fair signal was heard.

15730 kHz CUBA Radio Havana Cuba via Bejucal - 8/22 0008 noted with commentary and ID in French. A good signal was heard with distorted audio.

DXpedition #14 - Sioux Passage County Park

On the evening of August 5, 2020 (UTC August 5-6), I took my radios to Sioux Passage County Park for my 14th DXpedition; it was the third one to Sioux Passage. Once again, I brought my General Electric Superadio III for AM broadcast band DX, along with my Tecsun PL-600 and homebrew 30-foot longwire antenna. 

Temperatures were in the mid-70s Fahrenheit, dropping to the low 70s with a breeze blowing from the Missouri River. I had to move my listening post three times during this DXpedition. I originally set up in the parking lot, but there were a few individuals in a Dodge Charger driving like maniacs, which forced me to move to an area five yards from the south bank of the Missouri River at the confluence with the Pelican Island Chute. I began monitoring around 2330 UTC (1830 CDT). I was at that location for about an hour, before a park ranger told us to move further away from the river. I had to take down my longwire, move the listening post back into the parking lot, and finish my shortwave DXing with the PL-600's telescoping whip antenna. That made me realize that I'll have to put a vertical shortwave antenna on my shopping list. I concluded my monitoring around 0120 UTC (2020 CDT).

Sunset DX conditions on the AM (MW) broadcast band favored the Midwest and Mid-South, while shortwave conditions favored Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, the Pacific and East Asia. 

AM BROADCAST BAND LOGS (All times CDT; for EDT, add one hour, for UTC, add five hours.)

  980 kHz WYFN Nashville, TN - 8/5 1953 noted with light Christian music and brief talk before fading out. A fair to poor signal was heard, mixing with KSGM.

1050 kHz WDZ Decatur, IL - 8/5 1922 noted with Chicago Cubs baseball play-by-play and local ads. A fair signal was heard over KSIS.

1070 kHz KFTI Wichita, KS - 8/5 2006 noted with a Classic Country format, "Classic Country 1070" ID. A fair to poor signal was heard, mixing with other stations.

1180 kHz WUMY Turrell, AR - 8/5 2011 noted with a Regional Mexican Format, "La Jefa 99.3 FM" ID in Spanish. A good signal was heard over WHAM before power was cut at 2015.

1270 kHz WXGO Madison, IN - 8/5 2017 noted with local ads into Cincinnati Reds baseball play-by-play. A fair signal was heard, mixing with other stations.

1270 kHz WQTT Marysville, OH - 8/5 2017 noted with local spots into Cincinnati Reds baseball play-by-play; the latter echoing behind WXGO. A fair to poor signal was heard, mixing with other stations.

1690 kHz WVON Berwyn, IL - 8/5 1913 noted with local ads, station promo, "The Talk of Chicago, 1690 WVON" ID. A good signal was heard, alone on the channel.

Portable longwire antenna setup on the third Sioux Passage DXpedition.

SHORTWAVE LOGS (All times UTC; for CDT, subtract five hours, for EDT, subtract four hours)

  4885 kHz BRAZIL Radio Clube do Pará ZYG362 Belém, Pará  - 8/6 0101 noted with news in Portuguese. A fair to poor signal was heard.

  5010 kHz UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WRMI Okeechobee, FL - 8/6 0103 noted with Contemporary Christian music in Spanish, station promo in English. A fair signal was heard.

  5025 kHz CUBA Radio Rebelde CMBA Bauta, Ciudad de la Habana - 8/6 0110 noted with contemporary music and brief commentary in Spanish. A very good signal was heard.

  5085 kHz UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WTWW Lebanon, TN - 8/6 0051 noted with ID, "Instant Request" mention into Oldies. An excellent signal was heard.

  6050 kHz ECUADOR Vozandes Media HCJB Quito, Pichincha - 8/5 2350 noted with Christian music and a Scripture reading in the Shuar language. A fair to poor signal was heard.

  6180 kHz BRAZIL Radio Nacional da Amazônia ZYE365 Brasilia, D.F. - 8/5 2340 noted with pop music and ID in Portuguese. A good signal was heard.

  7250 kHz CHINA China Radio International via Urumqi - 8/5 2355 noted with commentary in Spanish, traditional Chinese music until 2359 sign-off. A fair to poor signal was heard.

  7375 kHz ROMANIA Radio Romania International via Tiganesti - 8/6 0000 noted with frequency schedule into news in English. A very good signal was heard.

  9420 kHz GREECE Voice of Greece via Avlida - 8/6 0041 noted with traditional Greek music and talk in Greek. A good signal was heard.

11815 kHz BRAZIL Radio Brasil Central ZYE440 Goiânia, Goiás - 8/6 0011 noted with news analysis in Portuguese. A fair to poor signal was heard.

13840 kHz NEW ZEALAND Radio New Zealand Pacific via Rangitaiki - 8/6 0030 noted with news in English. A fair to poor signal was heard.

14670 kHz CANADA CHU Ottawa, ON - 8/6 0008 noted with time signals, "CHU Canada" ID in French, UTC time check in French followed by a UTC time check in English at 0009, ID in English followed by UTC time check in English, followed by French at 0010. A fair to poor signal was heard.

15230 kHz CUBA Radio Havana Cuba via Quivicán - 8/5 2335 noted with commentary and vocal music in Spanish. A fair signal was heard.

15540 kHz KUWAIT Radio Kuwait via Kabd - 8/6 0024 noted on past 0000 sign-off with light vocal music and commentary in Arabic. A fair to poor signal was heard.

The receiver setup for the third Sioux Passage DXpedition.