On the evening of September 19, 2020 (UTC September 19-20), I took my radios to Howell Island Conservation Area. This particular conservation area is in two counties; the parking lot is in Saint Louis County (in the city of Chesterfield), while Howell Island itself is in Saint Charles County (near the city of Weldon Spring). A causeway across the Centaur Chute in the Missouri river connects the Saint Louis and Saint Charles County sides of the conservation area; however, access was closed due to flood damage in the spring, which confined my activities to Saint Louis County. The area is also on the final approach to Spirit of Saint Louis Airport.
I set up my listening post on the far western end of the parking lot, toward the biking and hiking trail going through the area. Lashing the mast to one of the posts supporting a gate that keeps motor vehicles out of the main part of the area, I was able to stretch my portable longwire to the full 30-foot length. Monitoring started around 1830 CDT (2330 UTC) and went all the way to 2145 CDT (0245 UTC 9/20). As usual, I used a General Electric Superadio III for AM (MW) broadcast band DX, and a Tecsun PL-600 LW/AM (MW)/SW/FM receiver connected to the aforementioned 30-foot portable longwire antenna for shortwave DX. Band conditions at sunset and into the early hours of darkness favored the U.S. East Coast and the Midwest, while all continents were heard on shortwave except Africa and the Middle East.
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| The longwire antenna fully extended at Howell Island. |
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| The radios inside the minivan, with logbook. |
AM BROADCAST BAND LOGS (All times CDT; for UTC, add five hours; for EDT, add one hour.)
600 kHz WSJS Winston-Salem, NC - 9/19 2109 noted with college football scores and highlights, "Fox Sports Radio" mention and local ads. A good to fair signal was heard with adjacent channel interference from KFNS 590.
660 kHz WFAN New York, NY - 9/19 2116 noted with New York Yankees baseball play-by-play and local ads. A good to fair signal was heard with adjacent channel interference from WSM 650.
710 kHz WEKC Williamsburg, KY - 9/19 1851 noted with Southern Gospel music until sign-off at 1900. A fair to poor signal was noted, mixing with WOR.
710 kHz WOR New York, NY - 9/19 1840 noted with a medical talk show, ads mentioning numbers in Area Code 212, "WOR, WAXQ-HD2 New York, an iHeart Radio Station, the Voice of New York" ID at 1900 into local news. A fair to poor signal was heard, mixing with WEKC, becoming good to fair after WEKC signed off.
740 kHz CFZM Toronto, ON - 9/19 2128 noted with Oldies format, "Zoomer Radio" ID and DJ talking about the music. A good signal was heard over KRMG.
740 kHz KRMG Tulsa, OK - 9/19 2129 noted with local ads, mention of 102.3 FM, "KRMG Tulsa" ID into local news. A fair signal was heard through CFZM.
790 kHz WKRD Louisville, KY - 9/19 1904 noted with local ads into talk on college football, including scores and highlights. A fair to poor signal, mixing with WMC and WVWZ.
790 kHz WVWZ Ashland City, TN - 9/19 1918 noted with Country music, "The Bear 103.9-dot-com" mention into local ads. A fair to poor signal was heard, mixing with WKRD and WMC.
820 kHz WVSG Columbus, OH - 9/19 1920 noted with talk on youth ministry and promos, lost at 1930 power cut/pattern change. A fair signal was heard, mixing with WBAP.
950 kHz WORD Spartanburg, SC - 9/19 1932 noted with ESPN promo into NASCAR race coverage. A fair signal was heard, mixing with KWOS and WWJ.
1030 kHz WBZ Boston, MA - 9/19 2017 noted with local ads mentioning Boston phone numbers in Boston and New England, into The SHP Financial Retirement Show. A good to fair signal was heard with adjacent channel interference from KDKA 1020
1360 kHz WSAI Cincinnati, OH - 9/19 2042 noted with local ads, "Fox Sports Radio" mention, "Fox Sports 1360 Cincinnati" ID in promo. A good to fair signal was heard, mixing with WKMI and other stations.
1410 kHz WING Dayton, OH - 9/19 2047 noted with Cincinnati Reds baseball play-by-play, local ads. A good to fair signal was heard, mixing with WHLN and WIZM.
1560 kHz WFME New York, NY - 9/19 2059 noted with Family Radio promo, lost at 2100 pattern change. A good to fair signal was heard over KGOW and WGLB.
1570 kHz WBGZ Alton, IL - 9/19 2102 noted with local news and ads. A fair to poor signal was noted, mixing with other stations.
1610 kHz CHHA Toronto, ON - 9/19 2055 noted with Latin American pop music, "CHHA 1610 AM, Radio Voces Latinas" ID into ad for the sales department. A good signal was heard.
1690 kHz WMLB Avondale Estates, GA - 9/19 1943 noted with Oldies format, legal ID after 2000. A fair to poor signal was heard, mixing with WVON.
SHORTWAVE RADIO LOGBOOK (All times UTC; for CDT, subtract five hours, for EDT, subtract four hours.)
4055 kHz GUATEMALA Radio Verdad TGAV Chiquimula - 9/20 0110 noted with a sermon in Spanish. A fair to poor signal was heard.
4765 kHz CUBA Radio Progreso via Bejucal, Ciudad de la Habana - 9/20 0112 noted with brief commentary, ID into contemporary music in Spanish. A fair signal was heard.
4875 kHz BRAZIL Radio Roraima ZYG810 Boa Vista, Roraima - 9/20 0122 noted with commentary and pop music in Portuguese. A poor signal was heard.
4885 kHz BRAZIL Radio Clube do Pará ZYG362 Belém, Pará - 9/20 0021 noted with pop music, ID and promo in Portuguese. A fair to poor signal was heard.
5010 kHz UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Family Radio via WRMI Okeechobee, FL - 9/19 2350 noted with Christian teaching and vocal music in Spanish. A good to fair signal was heard.
5025 kHz CUBA Radio Rebelde CMBA Bauta, Ciudad de la Habana - 9/20 0030 noted with brief commentary into pop music in Spanish. An excellent signal was heard.
5050 kHz UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WWRB Morrison (Manchester), TN - 9/20 0026 noted with anti-Halloween sermon in English. An excellent signal was heard.
5505 kHz USB IRELAND Shannon VOLMET - 9/20 0000 noted with weather reports for various European airports, "This is Shannon VOLMET, Shannon VOLMET" ID in English. A good signal was heard.
5930 kHz AUSTRIA BBC relay Moosbrunn - 9/20 0040 noted with commentary in the Dari language. A fair signal was heard.
6105 kHz FRANCE NHK World-Radio Japan via Issoudun - 9/20 0205 noted with tail end of news, brief music into feature in Japanese. A very good signal was heard.
6180 kHz BRAZIL Radio Nacional da Amazônia ZYE365 Brasilia, D.F. - 9/19 2344 noted with commentary in Portuguese. An excellent signal was heard.
6185 kHz MÉXICO Radio Educación XEPPM México, D.F. - 9/20 0212 noted with a discussion in Spanish. A fair to poor signal was heard.
6604 kHz USB NEWFOUNDLAND Gander VOLMET - 9/20 0156 noted with weather reports for various Canadian airports, "This is Gander Radio out" ID at 0159 sign-off. A good signal was heard.
6754 kHz USB CANADA CHR Canadian Forces Base Trenton, ON - 9/19 2354 noted with weather reports for various Canadian airports, "This is Trenton Military, Trenton Military" ID in English. An excellent signal was heard.
7305 kHz UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Vatican Radio via Greenville, NC - 9/20 0153 noted with homily from Pope Francis and commentary in Spanish. An excellent signal was heard.
7420 kHz ROMANIA Radio Romania International via Galbeni - 9/20 0134 noted with Classical music and commentary in Romanian. A good signal was heard.
9710 kHz CHINA China Radio International via Kashgar - 9/20 0055 noted with brief commentary in Portuguese, traditional Chinese and pop music, interval signal, ID in multiple languages into news in Spanish. A good to fair signal was heard.
11780 kHz BRAZIL Radio Nacional da Amazônia ZYE365 Brasilia, D.F. - 9/19 2340 noted with local ads into contemporary music in Portuguese. An excellent signal was heard.
13840 kHz NEW ZEALAND Radio New Zealand Pacific via Rangitaiki - 9/20 0010 noted with commentary in English. A fair signal was heard.
