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. 

Adopting a DX Handle

Back in the earliest days of the DX hobby, a number of DXers adopted DX handles, similar to the handles later used by Citizens' Band operators. I read about this subject in the National Radio Club's 50th anniversary book, published in 1983. A DXer's handle usually reflected the location, philosophy or even a regular occupation away from the dials. These were most widely used from the 1920s to World War II to sign reports to radio stations or DX publications.

Legendary 20th Century DXer Carleton Lord, for example, used the handle "Count de Veries", in reference to counting verifications from radio stations, called QSLs in Ham Radio parlance. Pat Reilley's handle was "Truant Officer", in reference to his regular occupation. Stanley Wilkins used the handle "Grafton Phantom DXer", referring to his home base of Grafton, Massachusetts. Later on, Tom Farmerie used the handle "Grafton Phantom DXer II". Some of the handles reflected the nature of DXing at odd hours, such as "Snoozer" (Carroll Weyrich), "Night Owl" (Clyde Ritter) and even "Up Paul Knight". Others referred to the brand of radio they used, such as "Arcy A. Victor" (Roy Licari) and the "Zenith DXer" (Hank Tyndall). Even one DXing couple used handles, "Sleepless Knight" (Bill Fallender) and "DX Trix" (his better half, Cele). One lady DXer, Charlotte Geer, used the handle "The Dialist".

Obviously inspired by the DXers that came before me, I thought to myself: "How can I, a 21st Century DXer, who started in the hobby during the last fifth of the 20th Century, adopt a DX handle?" As a Citizens' band operator, I used the handle "Alligator Junior". So, I thought of a number of handles before coming up with the handle I sign my IRCA columns and observations (called "musings" in NRC and NASWA, "forums" in IRCA). The first part of my DX handle is the area of the St. Louis metro area I live in. The city I live in, Hazelwood, MO, is part of the Florissant Valley; the area also includes parts of Florissant, Ferguson and Berkeley. "Dial Twister" is inspired by early DXer Warren Carpenter's handle. Thus, my DX handle, the Florissant Valley Dial Twister.

Think about the area you live in, the brand of radio you use for your DX pursuits, your occupation away from the dials, the hours you keep in your DX pursuits or even your favorite DX activity when deciding your DX handle.

Joining the "HD Radio" Generation

For a number of years now, I have spoken out against the technology known ad Hybrid Digital Radio, also known as "HD Radio". I'm still thoroughly convinced that it doesn't work on the AM side; however, it does have a future on the FM side of the dial.

Over the past week, I took delivery of an Insignia NS-HDRAD2 FM analog/digital receiver; I got it on sale for $35 from Best Buy's Web site. The main reason was for general program listening, not for DXing; the addition of a Hybrid Digital receiver has opened up a whole new world for me. I'm discovering new audio streams; I've been mostly listening to KWMU's HD2 Jazz channel (carrying NPR's Jazz 24 format), since St. Louis no longer has a full-time Mainstream Jazz station on analog FM. My former station, WSIE 88.7, flipped to Smooth Jazz last year, going head-to-head with Hip 96.3, on KNOU 96.3's HD3 channel. KWMU also has Classical music from Minnesota Public Radio on their HD3 channel (it's also on the HD3 channel of sister station WQUB 90.3 Quincy, IL). There are 20 presets on this receiver; I set six analog channels on the presets: KDHX 88.1 (Variety), KCFV 89.5 (Variety), W232CR 94.3 (News/Talk, simulcast of WBGZ 1570), K236CS 95.1 (Urban Gospel, simulcast of WSDZ 1260), K275CI 102.9 (Catholic, simulcast of KHOJ 1460), and 96.7, a channel I use a whole-house FM transmitter to monitor selected receivers in the shack.

I've found other interesting streams on the HD2 and HD3 channels. KNOU 96.3 also has a Classical-formatted HD2 channel, run by the Radio Arts Foundation. This one is also on an analog FM channel, K297BI 107.3. KLJY 99.1, the local Contemporary Christian station, runs a Christian CHR format on their HD2 channel; it's also available on three analog channels, K270BW 101.9, KPVR 94.1 and KHZR 97.7. KSHE 94.7's HD2 channel features Classic Rock, while the HD3 channel is Classic Hits. KFTK-FM 97.1 features two streams: the Adult Standards format of "Red" on their HD2 stream, while the Pre-Teen format of Radio Disney is on the HD3 stream. I've also found CBS Sports Radio on KYKY 98.1's HD3 channel. AM stations are simulcast on two HD streams: the HD3 stream of KEZK 102.5 (KMOX 1120) and the HD2 stream of KPNT 105.7 (KFNS 590). WIL 92.3 features what sounds like an Americana format on their HD2 channel. The only stations that don't use either an HD2 or HD3 stream are Radio One's stations, WFUN-FM 95.5 (Old School 95.5)and WHHL 104.1 (Hot 104). iHeart Radio's FMs use at least one HD stream, two of Hubbard's three stations (WXOS 101.1 and WARH 106.5) use HD2 and HD3 channels. CBS and Emmis' FM stations use two HD streams besides their main HD1 hybrid channel. None of St. Louis' FM HD stations use an HD4 channel; the closest one I know of that uses an HD4 channel is WPBG 93.3 Peoria, IL (the HD4 channel relays WMBD 1470).

The digital streams on my radio sound similar to FM Stereo. Some of the formats available on the HD2 and HD3 streams were once on analog stations. The music on KSHE's HD3 channel used to air on KIHT 96.3 as "K-Hits 96 FM", before the station became Now 96-3. The Adult Standards format on KFTK-FM's HD2 channel was once on 104.1 as WRDA, while the Pre-Teen format on the HD3 channel was once on WSDZ 1260. The format on KYKY's HD3 channel used to be on WGNU 920. 

My experience at KDHX 88.1 in 2015 changed my mind about Hybrid Digital Radio on FM. KDHX was once an HD station; a return to Hybrid Digital with HD2 and possibly an HD3 channel may be in their future plans. However, it has not changed my mind about Hybrid Digital Radio on AM; I think that AM should return to the C-QUAM standard for stereophonic broadcasting. It only takes dropping a few lines of "HD" codec to convert an AM station from "HD" to C-QUAM AM Stereo. Some AM/FM receivers that feature Hybrid Digital Radio can also decode C-QUAM AM Stereo.

I thought I would never buy a Hybrid Digital receiver; I'm glad I waited for the prices to come down.

To Count or Not to Count a Call Letter Change?

One of the biggest debates in the world of DXing is whether or not to count a call letter change as a separate station. There are reasons for and against counting a call letter change.

In my experience, the reason I have for counting a call letter change is that regardless of whether or not the said station has a new owner, the philosophy, programming policies, air talent (if they have any) and/or type of programming offered with the call change. Usually, a call letter change is connected with a format change; occasionally, it would also be connected to an image change if they stick with the same format. If, for instance, KXFN 1380 returns to its original call of KWK and broadcasts a different format from its previous sports talk format; say, for instance, a brokered ethnic format, then I would count that as a separate station. Even if that station changed calls and retained the sports talk format, I would still count that as a separate station. Numerous DXers won't count call changes on the AM (medium wave) broadcast band; this is the only band where I count call letter changes. In my log, it is marked with a "CC" in the parentheses. In my chronological and frequency logs, it's noted this way: "KWK Saint Louis, Missouri (CC)". In my geographical logbook, organized by state, I would mark the log this way: "KWK-1380 Saint Louis (CC)" That way, DXers can take note of the call letter change when looking at a printout of my logbook, and take that away from my totals if they don't count call letter changes in their own logs. A city of license change on AM is marked with "CLC". For example, if I logged KSTL 690 from Saint Louis, MO, and since I last logged it, the city of license was changed to East Saint Louis, IL, I would mark the second log in my chronological and frequency logs this way: "KSTL East Saint Louis, Illinois (CLC)". In the geographic (by state) log, I would mark the second log this way: "KSTL-690 East Saint Louis (CLC)".

However, I do not count call letter changes on FM, TV (analog and digital) and NOAA Weather Radio, in accordance with the standards set up by the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association, the primary DX club dedicated to VHF and UHF DX. In the view of many DXers, it's the physical plant of the station they're concerned with. It's the same transmitter site; many times, it's the same studio location (if the station is part of a multi-station deal in that same market). Programming policy and philosophy, air talent (if that applies) and type of programs aired do not count. So, for example, if KNOU 96.3 Saint Louis, MO and KPNT 105.7 Collinsville, IL trade places on the dial, I would not count these stations separately if they switched frequencies (96.3 would be counted as KNOU, not as KNOU and KPNT, for instance). It may get murky with digital TV, however; I have logged digital channel 19 in Des Moines, IA as WHO-DT. I also have WHO-DT logged on digital channel 13. Would I count digital 19 separately if I logged KDMI? I would also count a city of license change; for example, I've logged WWF44 162.500 with the transmitter in both Fort Payne, AL and nearby Henagar; it's the same with WXL47 162.400, having logged the transmitter in both Dexter and Bloomfield, MO.

While I adhere to one standard for FM, TV (analog and digital) and NOAA Weather Radio DX, I have pretty much set my own standards for logging AM (medium wave) broadcast band DX. I'm sure you have your own standards, when it comes to counting or not counting call letter changes.

2015: The E-Skip Season That Almost Wasn't

This year's E-skip season almost didn't happen. The few E-skip openings I had in May didn't get above the 50 MHz (6 Meter) Amateur Radio band. Only one reached low-band VHF analog TV: that was on May 8 to Ciudad Juarez, noting XEPM-TV Channel 2 with it's "Tu Canal" slogan at 2027 CDT (0127 UTC). It's interesting to note that 2015 marks the last E-skip season with Mexico in analog format, as they are expected to go all-digital at the end of the year. The rest of the month was pretty much a dud; so much so that I did much of my DXing on the AM broadcast band. I compensated for the lack of E-skip by adding KCOL 600 Wellington, CO on May 2, KCKN 1020 Roswell, NM and WIBQ 1230 Terre Haute, IN on May 21, KFIZ 1450 Fond du Lac, WI on May 25, ending the month with KIIK 1270 Waynesville, MO for a call letter change (ex-KOZQ) on May 31.

By the middle of June, I was about ready to throw in the towel on the E-skip season. The opening on June 13 only reached Channel 2, this time to Monterrey (XEFB-TV). On June 17, everything broke loose with an opening that reached 162.400 MHz to Texas. On digital TV, I logged my first low-power digital television station on low-band VHF and via E-skip when I logged KXDA-LD 5 Durant, OK at 1120 CDT (1620 UTC). At 470 miles, it's the shortest E-skip reception at my Hazelwood, MO monitoring station since I started my digital TV logbook in September 2005. 

I relogged XHPN 3 Piedras Negras, Coahuila...possibly for the last time before the digital transition in Mexico is completed. A new analog TV station was logged when XHCJ 4 Sabinas, Coahuila was logged with programming from the Azteca 13 (Trece) network at 1141 CDT (1641 UTC). 

On the FM side, I added two new Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex stations to my logbook. At 1115 CDT (1615 UTC), KLIF-FM 93.3 Haltom City, TX was noted with Dallas/Fort Worth ads, "Hot 93-3" ID and a Hip-Hop format. AM broadcast band DXers will recognize the call on 570 kHz in Dallas. The only one I got a decent recording of was KTCK-FM 96.7 Flower Mound, TX at 1132 CDT (1632 UTC) with local ads, "Sports Radio 1310 AM and 96.7 FM, The Ticket" ID and sports talk. KTCK-FM is the 50th FM station to be logged from the Lone Star State. The only other new station added to the log was KKBQ 92.9 Pasadena, TX with Houston area ads through KKID and KROM at 1242 CDT (1742 UTC). I also had re-logs of KMTH 98.7 Maljamar, NM, KTCL 93.3 Wheat Ridge, CO and KATC 95.1 Colorado Springs, CO (with its new slogan, "Nash FM"). On the NOAA Weather Radio bands, the Lone Star State became the 23rd state logged in the band between 162.400 and 162.550 MHz. WXJ98 162.400 Del Rio, TX was noted at 1127 CDT (1627 UTC) with weather conditions for southern Texas. WXK52 162.400 Midland, TX was noted at 1204 CDT (1704 UTC) with the severe weather outlook and conditions for southwestern Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

The next day, the E-skip activity shifted toward New England and upstate New York. At 1121 CDT (1621 UTC), WRGB 6 Schenectady, NY was noted with a CBS News Special Report on channel 6.1, while This TV was noted on 6.2. It's the third time I've pulled in WRGB since the digital conversion was completed. Signals on channels 2 and 3 lit up the signal meter on the digital tuner, but couldn't decode, not even with PSIP information. The only other station that decoded was WACP 4 Atlantic City, NJ. While the time said 10:11 a.m., it was really logged at 1138 CDT (1638 UTC). Here's a video capture of WACP:

This opening would only reach 102.1 MHz. Among the re-logs were WBOS 92.9 Brookline, MA, WOKQ 97.5 Dover, NH (only the second time noted), WAMC-FM 90.3 Albany, NY, WAIO 95.1 Honeoye Falls, NY (last logged as WFXF), and WSLP 93.3 Saranac Lake, NY. The new stations logged were: WNTK 99.7 New London, NH with Rush Limbaugh, taking out WXAJ (Springfield, IL's "Kiss FM", licensed to Hillsboro) at 1212 CDT (1712 UTC). WNTQ 93.1 Syracuse, NY was noted at 1221 CDT (1721 UTC) with "93-Q" ID, local ads and a Contemporary Hit Radio format. WZUN 102.1 Phoenix, NY (Syracuse market) was noted at 1226 CDT (1726 UTC) with local ads and a Classic Rock format, mixing with WIBV (Mount Vernon, IL). WZUN is the 20th FM station to be logged from the Empire State. WCIZ 93.3 Watertown, NY took out WSLP at 1239 CDT (1739 UTC) with an Adult Contemporary format, "Z-93" ID and the community calendar.

The opening on June 20 only reached 93 MHz to Florida and Cuba. WEOW 92.7 Key West, FL was the only FM re-log, along with Channel 2 from Havana and Channels 3 and 5 from Santa Clara. The only non-Cuban signal noted on analog TV was XEPM-TV 2 from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. All of these re-logs were between 1100 and 1200 CDT (1600-1700 UTC). Tropospheric enhancement masked the maximum usable frequency; FM signals from northern Illinois and northern Indiana took over by 1230 CDT (1730 UTC).

The opening on June 23 would only reach Channel 5 to northern Mexico, with only XEPM-TV 2 and XEJ-TV 5 from Ciudad Juarez making it in. E-skip would make its last stand for 2015 on June 29, adding WERO 93.3 Washington, NC at 2011 CDT (June 30 0111 UTC) with a "Bob 93-3" ID, local ads and a Contemporary Hit Radio format, briefly taking out WTRH and WPBG. After that, it would be all tropo, which will be saved for another blog entry.

There have been two total duds of E-skip seasons since I returned to Hazelwood, MO 23 summers ago: 2002 (only three FM and four analog TV stations added to the logbook, all but K59GP 59 St. Charles, MO via tropo) and 1995 (with only one analog TV station, CBFT 2 Montreal, QC added via E-skip; all the rest of the new FM and TV stations logged that year were via tropo). I hope 2016 will be a better E-skip season than 2015...one thing I will be curious to know is how many Mexican TV stations will be operating in digital on the low bands.