On September 2, 2021, I took my DX receivers to Lincoln Shields Recreation Area at West Alton, MO. This is located on the Missouri approach to the Clark Bridge, which carries U.S. Highway 67 into Alton, IL. This was the site of DXpedition #6 on October 4, 2019. I took along my General Electric Superadio III for AM (MW) broadcast band DX, as usual; I took along my Sangean ATS-803A for shortwave DX instead of the usual Tecsun PL-600. I brought my MFJ-1022 active antenna for the shortwave bands.
This DXpedition allowed me to find out what was happening with my ATS-803A, which had been acting up in recent weeks. The shortwave logs were way down as a result; the nine-volt battery that powers the active antenna ran down on this DXpedition. I tried something new on this DXpedition: logging aeronavigation beacons on the longwave band. These beacons broadcast Morse Code characters in AM mode. This DXpedition was a largely AM (MW) broadcast band DXpedition. Monitoring began around 1645 CDT (2145 UTC), wrapping up around 1930 CDT (0030 UTC September 3).
Reception conditions on the AM (MW) broadcast band favored the Midwest before 1800 CDT (2300 UTC), with stations from the Mid-Atlantic states to eastern Kansas in around sunset. Shortwave reception conditions favored Europe, Africa and the Americas, while reception conditions on longwave favored Missouri and Illinois. There's a local beacon on the longwave band: CVM on 263 kHz from Saint Louis Regional Airport in Bethalto, IL. The Longwave Beacons list has the location as Alton, IL. After I returned to the shack, I replaced the battery on my MFJ-1022 and replaced the two AA-cell batteries on the memory backup of the ATS-803A.
Temperatures were in the lower 80s Fahrenheit (27-29 degrees Celsius) throughout the DXpedition under partly cloudy skies, with a light breeze along the Mississippi River.
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| The receiver setup for DXpedition #23. |
AM (MW) BROADCAST BAND LOGBOOK (All times CDT. For EDT, add one hour; add five hours for UTC.)
580 kHz WILL Urbana, IL - 9/2 1718 noted with "WILL AM 580 and FM 90.9" ID, station promo, underwriting announcement into All Things Considered. A fair signal was heard with adjacent channel interference from KFNS 590 kHz.
670 kHz WSCR Chicago, IL - 9/2 1725 noted with talk on baseball and football, "The Score" slogan ID, promo for the Audacy phone app into a CBS Sports Radio update. A good signal was heard, alone on the channel.
700 kHz WLW Cincinnati, OH - 9/2 1835 noted with local ads, iHeart Radio phone app promo, EDT time check at 1837, "700 WLW" ID into talk on college football. A good signal was heard with ACI from KSTL 690 kHz.
740 kHz WVLN Olney, IL - 9/2 1842 noted with local ads, mention of phone numbers in Area Code 618 into The Scott Jones Show from CBS Sports Radio. A fair signal was heard with minor ACI from KWRE 730 kHz.
820 kHz WVSG Columbus, OH - 9/2 1847 noted with Catholic Answers Live; also heard on KHOJ 1460 kHz. A fair to poor signal with digital ACI from KFUO 850 kHz.
1040 kHz WHO Des Moines, IA - 9/2 1730 noted with "News Radio 1040 WHO" slogan ID into local news. A fair signal was heard; alone on the channel.
1040 kHz WPBS Conyers, GA - 9/2 1850 noted with talk program in Vietnamese. A good signal was heard over KGGR and WHO.
1080 kHz WNWI Oak Lawn, IL - 9/2 1851 noted with vocal music in Polish. A fair signal was heard over WRYT.
1130 kHz KWKH Shreveport, LA - 9/2 1856 noted with high school football play-by-play and local ads. A good signal was heard over WISN with ACI from KMOX 1120 kHz.
1140 kHz WRVA Richmond, VA - 9/2 1857 noted with local ads, station promo, "News Radio WRVA" slogan ID. A good to fair signal was heard over WVEL.
1150 kHz KSAL Salina, KS - 9/2 1901 noted with local ad, Kansas City Royals promo into Royals baseball play-by-play. A fair signal was heard over WGGH and WHBY.
1170 kHz KFAQ Tulsa, OK - 9/2 1903 noted with talk on college football from the Touchdown Radio Network. A good signal was heard, alone on the channel.
1200 kHz KYOO Bolivar, MO - 9/2 1905 noted with Country music, "Your Country 99" slogan ID. A good to fair signal was heard over WOAI and WRTO.
1230 kHz WJBC Bloomington, IL - 9/2 1659 noted with weather forecast, legal ID into CBS News at 1700. A fair to poor signal was heard in a WHCO null.
1290 kHz WIRL Peoria, IL - 9/2 1701 noted with traffic report, "102.7 FM, 1290 AM and now 93.3 FM HD2" mention, "WIRL Peoria" jingle legal ID, "Super Hits WIRL" slogan ID into Oldies format. A fair signal was heard, alone on the channel.
1340 kHz KSMO Salem, MO - 9/2 1803 noted with local ad and weather forecast. A fair to poor signal was heard, mixing with KXEO and WSOY.
1350 kHz WSIQ Salem, IL - 9/2 1705 noted with weather forecast, PSA for the Marion County Department of Health, "WSIQ" ID. A fair to poor signal was heard over KRAP.
1490 kHz KTTR Rolla, MO - 9/2 1712 noted with a Contemporary Hit Radio format, "We play songs for everybody, Hot 104-9" slogan ID. A fair signal was heard over KBUR.
1610 kHz CHHA Toronto, ON - 9/2 1828 noted with promo, "CHHA 1610 AM" ID and local ads, all in Spanish. A fair signal was heard with ACI from KATZ 1600.
1650 kHz KCNZ Cedar Falls, IA - 9/2 1710 noted with talk on football mentioning local high schools, A fair to poor signal was heard, alone on the channel.
SHORTWAVE RADIO LOGBOOK (All times UTC. For CDT, subtract five hours; subtract four hours for EDT.)
9265 kHz UNITED STATES WINB Red Lion, PA – 9/2 2151 noted with Christian teaching program in English. A good signal was heard.
11780 kHz BRAZIL Radio Nacional da Amazônia ZYE365 Brasilia, D.F. – 9/2 2237 noted with commentary in Portuguese. A good to fair signal was heard.
11975 kHz MALI China Radio International via Bamako – 9/2 2157 noted with news analysis in French. A fair signal was heard.
17855 kHz SPAIN Radio
Exterior de España via Noblejas – 9/2 2147 noted with a cappella vocal music
and interview in Spanish. A very good signal was heard.
LONGWAVE BEACON LOGBOOK (All times CDT. For UTC, add five hours; add one hour for EDT.)
227 kHz FZ Saint Louis, MO - 9/2 1841 noted with "FZ" ID in Morse Code. A fair signal was heard.
326 kHz SU Chesterfield, MO - 9/2 1840 noted with "SU" ID in Morse Code. Beacon located at Spirit of Saint Louis Airport. A fair to poor signal was heard.
329 kHz AAA Lincoln, IL - 9/2 1835 noted with "AAA" ID in Morse Code. A fair signal was heard.
350 kHz CP Cahokia Heights, IL - 9/2 1838 noted with "CP" ID in Morse Code. Beacon located at Saint Louis Downtown Airport (Parks Airport). A fair signal was heard.
382 kHz SP Springfield, IL - 9/2 1839 noted with "SP" ID in Morse Code. A fair signal was heard.
385 kHz JD Belleville, IL - 9/2 1836 noted with "JD" ID in Morse Code. A fair signal was heard.
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