WGNY-AM 1220

This morning I caught a station on the AM band I've never received before: WGNY-AM on 1220 kHz from Newburgh, NY. Until recently 1220 was pretty effectively blocked by semi-local CHSC in St. Catharines, Ontario. But that station shut down at the end of September leaving the frequency clearer, although it is still partly blocked here by WHKW in Cleveland, Ohio. CHSC's departure made the reception of WGNY possible.

Details: Nov. 8, 2010, 1220-1230 UTC (7:20 local time), playing oldies. Also heard report of current weather conditions, and slogan "Fox Radio" and station URL foxradio.net. Signal fair-poor, mixing with and usually under WHKW. Received on the Kaito KA-1103 portable and also tuned in on the Eton E-100 so I could add the logging to the ultralight log. This is ultralight logging 339.

Mediumwave Loggings

Two new mediumwave loggings this month, one of which also gets to go into the ultralight log.

On the evening of Fri. Aug 17, WTIC on 1080 in Hartford CT went off the air for a few hours for maintenance. WTIC normally dominates this channel at night. I took the opportunity to listen for some new stations and was rewarded with two new ones.

First up was WOAP, Owosso, Michigan, which I heard from 0340 to 0413 UTC (which makes the date Sat. Aug. 28 in UTC terms). They were playing oldies and identified themselves by the slogan "The Big 1080" and referred to themselves as "Michigan's Best". This station is listed as 1 kW, daytime only, so I don't know why they were on the air this late in the evening. Maybe the listing is out of date. This was first logged on the Drake SW8, and then I tuned it in on the Eton E-100 to qualify it as an ultralight logging. This is ultralight logging 338, and is also the 380th station in my Toronto log and the 950th entry in the lifetime mediumwave log (stations logged anytime, anywhere).

After logging WOAP I set things up to record 1080 on the Drake and went to bed. When reviewing the recording, I heard a second new station: WKJK, Louisville KY, which is a 1 kW talk station. Plenty of IDs, talk, and CBS news. This is station number 381 in the Toronto log, and 951 in the overall log.

Update for May 2010

Still catching up on my radio logbook recordkeeping. Here are the highlights from May:

1. Added one station to the ultralight log: WRIE, 1260 kHz, Erie PA, on May 1, 2010 at 0130 UTC. Ultralight count is now 337.

2. Added one new station to the FM log: CHLK-FM, 88.1, Perth, ON, "Lake 88" on May 23, 2010 at 1916 UTC. This was received in Harrowsmith, Ontario (north of Kingston).

3. Did a lot of listening on the amateur bands and logged a bunch of amateur stations.

4. Did one new thing this month. I came across a couple of frequencies used for long-distance air traffic control - 5616 kHz for Gander Radio, and 5598 kHz for New York Radio. Listened for a while and heard them talking with aircraft crossing the Atlantic. This was on May 25 at 0330 to 0400 UTC.

5. Did a bit of shortwave broadcast listening, but didn't log anything particularly noteworthy.

6. Logged two maritime channel markers on May 10 around 0250 UTC: WLO in Mobile, Alabama on 4213 kHz, and TAH from Istanbul, Turkey on 4216.

7. Logged two VOLMET weather stations on May 26: Shannon VOLMET from Ireland on 5505 kHz at 0345 UTC, and RAF VOLMET from England on 5450 kHz at 0350 UTC.

8. Logged several longwave beacons on the afternoon of Sat. May 29 on a Grundig G5 portable, at the Limehouse Conservation Area in Limehouse, Ontario. This was after a hike in the area. Nothing new, but I was surprised to get YGK, 263 kHz, all the way from Kingston, Ontario - surprised as it was probably 300 km in the middle of the afternoon.

February Update - One New Ultralight Logging

The only thing to report for February 2010 is that I added one new station to the ultralight log:

• 910 WSBA PA York - 01-Feb-2010 1250 UTC - ID as "News Radio 910 WSBA". Heard callsign several times. Talk segment with comment by Rush Limbaugh. Mixing with a music station. Sangean DT-400W. Relog in overall log. (Poor).

This puts the ultralight count at 336. This is also new for the Toronto mediumwave log. I'd logged this station before but that was in Kingston, Ontario.

Year End Update

It's the end of 2009 so I figured I'd make one post to catch up on. Here is what I've been hearing lately:

• I added one more station to the ultralight log, bringing the count to 335. This was WORC 1310 from Worcester MA, which broadcasts in Spanish. Logged December 15.
• Did some mediumwave DXing while up in eastern Ontario over Christmas. Added four new stations to the overall log.
• I recently got interested in DXing Navtex stations on 518 kHz. These stations broadcast marine advisory information in a digital format. I set up an old laptop for decoding it and have caught a few new stations. The most noteworthy was OXI in Nuuk, Greenland. I think this is the first radio station I've ever received from that country.
• Did a bit of shortwave DXing too. Most noteworthy things logged: (a) the Royal Air Force Volmet (aviation weather) station on 5450 (SSB) from the U.K., (b) the AFRTS station on 5446.5 kHz (SSB) from Florida, and (c) several frequencies of the Saudi Arabian international broadcaster BKSKA.

And that's it for 2009.

Ultralight Loggings Update

It's time for an update on my ultralight DXing activities. I haven't been spending as much time on it as I was doing this time last year. It has also become a lot more challenging because there are no easy catches left. But I've still managed to add a few more to the log. Used the Eton E-100 for all of these. Ultralight count is now 334.

• 890 WKNV VA Fairlawn - 08-Nov-2009 1703 ELT - Gospel music. Ads. ID as "Joy 890 and ..." some FM frequency. Also heard slogan something like "Today's Southern Gospel Music". 10 kW daytime only. Spotted first on non-ultralight Palstar R30 receiver and then tuned in on the Eton E-100. New. (Fair).
• 970 WZAN ME Portland - 09-Nov-2009 0015 ELT - End of Sunday Night Football broadcast: wrap-up of game. Ads. Callsign IDs with location. Then into some talk show already in progress. Overwhelming normally-dominant WNED. 5 kW. Relog, but first logging from Toronto - previous logging was from Newfoundland in 2007. (Fair).
• 1550 WSRY MD Elkton - 29-Nov-2009 0020 ELT - DX test broadcast on day power of 1 kW. Heard talk and music under dominant CBE, and sweep tones and Morse code IDs: "V V V de WSRY WSRY WSRY WSRY K". Unable to copy the programming but the Morse IDs were clear. New. (Poor).
• 1540 KXEL IA Waterloo - 06-Dec-2009 0115 ELT - Received when local CHIN was transmitting only a silent carrier. Talk show "Midnight Radio Network". Ads. ID for "News Talk 1540 KXEL". 50 kW. (Fair).
• 1630 WRDW GA Augusta - 06-Dec-2009 0204 ELT - Promo saying to log on to wrdw.com. Sports show "Sporting News Radio". Ads, including a spot for a blood donor clinic in Augusta. Mixing with KCJJ, mostly dominant. 1 kW night power. New. (Poor).
• 1250 WARE MA Ware - 06-Dec-2009 1745 ELT - Oldies. Fox news on the hour, weather, and then ID with callsign. Also ID as "Oldies 1250". Then into nostalgia music. Mixing with and occasionally overpowering semi-local CJYE. New. (Poor).
• 1670 CJEU QC Gatineau - 11-Dec-2009 0020 ELT - "Radio Enfant". Children's music. Brief talk at top of hour. French. Brand new - just on the air a day or two. 1 kW. New. (Poor).
• 620 WTMJ WI Milwaukee - 11-Dec-2009 1703 ELT - News, weather, ID. Sunset logging - still on day power of 50 kW. New. (Poor).
• 1470 WLOA PA Farrell - 12-Dec-2009 1655 UTC - Country music. Partial ID on hour. Inaudible most of time under WNYY or under noise. @ approx. 1745 heard ID "Classic Country 940 and 1470". A few minutes later heard a very clear ID "Classic Country WGRP 940 and WLOA 1470". 1 kW day, 500 W night. Initially heard on the JRC NRD-525 but the best ID, with the callsigns, was heard on the Eton E-100. New. (Poor).

I should add that some of these were actually logged on a non-ultralight communications receiver first, and then tuned in on the E-100. I listened on the E-100 long enough to verify that I was hearing the same station, but the actual identification may have taken place on the communications receiver. The details of these loggings are combined from both radios.

Ultralight DX

I'm continuing with ultralight DXing this season, although it is becoming a tough slog. The limitations of my location for this type of DXing are making themselves felt. One of the features of the current crop of ultralight receivers is their superb nulling ability - by simply rotating the radio you can often null out a dominant signal, revealing other stations on the same frequency. This is a feature I cannot make use of from home. My apartment is in a steel frame building so the only way I can get good reception is by sitting by the large window in the living room with the radio's ferrite bar antenna broadside to the window. Rotating the radio causes ALL signals to be nulled out. Another problem here is the bad electrical noise on certain parts of the spectrum. Another is that signals in the upper end of the band (1500-1700 kHz) are badly attenuated by the building's frame. I can overcome these issues by finding a spot outside to listen, but that's not so practical, especially now that the weather is getting colder.

Nonetheless I am still making new loggings. And here is the latest batch, all logged on the Eton E-100:

• 540 KWMT IA Fort Dodge - 23-Oct-2009 0722 ELT - Country music. Ads. IDs. ID on half hour: "True country 540 KWMT" plus location. 5 kW. New to overall log. (Fair).
• 1310 WTLB NY Utica - 26-Oct-2009 0725 ELT - Sports talk. "TLB" ID. Ads for businesses in Syracuse and in New Hartford. 5 kW. (Poor)
• 1380 WSYB VT Rutland 26-Oct-2009 0740 ELT - Talk, Ads, ID: "Here on WSYB". 5 kW. (Poor)
• 1510 WWSM PA Annville-Cleona 27-Oct-2009 0719 ELT - Country music, chatter, IDs. (Very Poor)
• 1440 WCDL PA Carbondale - 29-Oct-2009 0757 ELT - Nostalgia music. ID for WNAK and WCDL. 5 kW. (Poor)
• 1290 WFBG PA Altoona - 01-Nov-2009 1845 ELT - ID: "The Big 1290 WFBG" repeated three times in promo for the Jim Bohannen show. 5 kW. (Poor)

Total ultralight count is now 325.

Ultralight Loggings!

The fall DXing season is here, which means I've returned to mediumwave (AM radio) DXing, largely in the form of ultralight DXing. When I left off last spring I was at 304 stations logged. I'm a bit behind on my recordkeeping, but as of October 14, I had reached 319. Here are the additions up to 319:

• 580 WTAG MA Worcester - 24-Sept-2009 0320 UTC - Talk show. News on half hour. Promo for "Coast to Coast AM" with ID "on News Talk 580 WTAG". 5 kW. Grundig G8. (Poor).
• 990 WXCT CT Southington - 28-Sept-2009 0357 UTC - Spanish. Religious talk. ID on hour "WXCT Southington" in English. Battling with CKGM Montreal. Listed as 80W at night but sounded too strong for that. Grundig G8. New. (Poor).
• 850 WKGE PA Johnstown - 29-Sept-2009 0245 UTC - Monday Night Football. Under WKNR Cleveland and carrying same programming as it - audible as an echo under WKNR. Heard callsign ID slightly after WKNR callsign ID. 10 kW. Grundig G8. New. (Very Poor).
• 990 WNTW PA Somerset - 29-Sept-2009 1040 UTC - Sunrise logging before WDCX Rochester asserted daytime dominance of the frequency. Sports scores, Ads, and "NTJ Morning Magazine" show. WNTW is // WNTJ 1490 and both are on the "NTJ Network". 10 kW. Grundig G8. New (Poor).
• 790 WLSV NY Wellsville - 01-Sept-2009 0350 UTC - Country and western music. ID: "WLSV Real Country" and on the hour as "Your home for real country is WLSV Wellsville." News on the hour. 1 kW day, 41 watts night but sounded stronger than that. Grundig G8. New. (Poor).
• 1300 WGDJ NY Rensselaer - 01-Oct-2009 2330 UTC - ID heard as "on Talk 1300 and Talk1300.com" (which is WGDJ's station website). 5 kW. Grundig G8. New. (Poor).
• 1300 WJMO OH Cleveland - 04-Oct-2009 0355 UTC - Gospel music, under several other stations. Identified by comparing to WJMO's webcast at www.1490wjmo.com. 5 kW. Eton E-100. New. (Very Poor).
• 1690 WVON IL Berwyn - 05-Oct-2009 2258 UTC - Medical ads. ID with location (Chicago). Received in null of local CHTO. Sunset logging when it was still on day power. 10 kW day, 1 kW night. Sony SRF-59. (Poor).
• 1680 WPRR MI Ada - 06-Oct-2009 2250 UTC - Political talk show. Station website given: publicrealityradio.org. Sunset logging so still on day power of 10 kW. Sony SRF-59. New. (Fair to Poor)
• 610 WIP PA Philadelphia - 07-Oct-2009 0325 UTC - Sports talk. ID "WIP Sports Center". Heard under semi-local CKTB. 5 kW. Eton E-100. (Very Poor).
• 970 WBGG PA Pittsburgh - 07-Oct-2009 0350 UTC - Fox sports radio. ID with callsign on hour. Challenging normally dominant WNED for control of frequency. 5 kW. Eton E-100. New. (Poor).
• 940 WGRP PA Greenville - 09-Oct-2009 1055 UTC - Ad for Macy's Columbus Day sale. Slogan "Classic country AM 940 and 1470". Mixing with CINW Montreal. Sunrise logging. 1 kW, Eton E-100. New. (Poor)
• 830 WEEU PA Reading - 10-Oct-2009 2325 UTC - Science call-in show. Break on the half-hour for ads, Accuweather forecast. ID: "Voice of ??? county 830 AM WEEU". 20 kW day, 6 kW night. Post-sunset logging so not sure if they had switched to night power yet. Eton E-100. New. (Poor)
• 1580 WVKO OH Columbus - 13-Oct-2009 2250 UTC - Religious talk. Spot for show "Catholic Connection" "here on EWTN". Weather. ID as "St. Gabriel Radio AM 1580". Callsign ID on hour for WUCO and WVKO in Marysville and Columbus (WVKO is parallel to WUCO 1270, Marysville, OH). Received in null of semi-local CKDO. Sunset logging so still on day power of 3.2 kW. Sony SRF-59. New. (Poor).
• 1700 KBGG IA Des Moines - 14-Oct-2009 2300 UTC - Sports talk. Partial callsign on hour. ESPN network ID "ESPN Radio and ESPNRadio.com". Ads for some Iowa steakhouse and for businesses located in Des Moines. Very weak and often inaudible, and in slop from local CHTO on 1690. Sunset; 10 kW. Sony SRF-59. (Very Poor).

KBGG 1700 is noteworthy because 1700 kHz was the last remaining domestic channel on the AM band on which I hadn't logged anything on an ultralight.

Ultralight DXing - 300 Stations

May was a productive month for ultralight DXing. I reached three milestones I've been working towards:

• 300 stations received.
• 40 stations heard on the "graveyard" (local) channels.
• 6 Canadian provinces logged.

I'm pleased to say that the Ultralight Awards Committee has issued me awards for these three milestones. I'm also pleased to have reached these goals because now I can take a break from ultralight DXing. It has been fun but I need a rest from it!

Here are the latest ultralight loggings:

• 1240 WSKI Montpelier, VT 0802 UTC 04-May-2009 DT-400W
• 1610 CJWI Montreal, QC 0145 UTC 07-May-2009 SRF-59
• 1290 WHIO Dayton, OH 0204 UTC 07-May-2009 SRF-59
• 780 CFDR Halifax, NS 0620 UTC 10-May-2009 DT-400W and E-100
• 1160 WABY Mechanicville, NY 0415 UTC 16-May-2009 DT-400W
• 1260 CKHJ Fredricton, NB 0420 UTC 18-May-2009 E-100
• 1400 WRAK Williamsport, PA 0559 UTC 19-May-2009 DT-400W
• 1400 WBFN Battle Creek, MI 0710 UTC 19-May-2009 DT-400W
• 540 CBK Regina, SK 0502 UTC 20-May-2009 CC-SWP
• 1650 CJRS Montreal, QC 0507 UTC 20-May-2009 CC-SWP

Total ultralight count is now 304. Total Canadian provinces is now 6. And total graveyard frequency stations is now 41. The radios used for these loggings were the Sony SRF-59, the Eton E-100, the Sangean DT-400W, and the new C Crane CCRadio-SWP.

CFDR 780 from Halifax, Nova Scotia yielded province number 5. This was a challenge. I heard country and western music underneath WBBM. Inaudible most of the time, but occasionally it rose up enough to allow me to compare the music with CFDR's webcast at www.780kixx.ca. Every time I checked it for over half an hour the music matched up (the two sounded like they were out of synch, with the webcast lagging quite a bit). I also heard a brief voice announcement once that I couldn't make out, and when I checked the webcast a moment later I heard a 780 KIXX ID in similar cadences. So it seems certain that this is CFDR. Not a new station to the overall log, but this is the first time I've heard CFDR from Ontario. The only other logging I have of this station is from Trinity, Newfoundland in 2007.

Another maritime province station, 1260 CKHJ Fredricton, NB, has the honour of being station number 300. Carries country music and IDs as KHJ Country.

Province number 6 was Saskatchewan, and the station logged for this was 540 CBK SK Regina (CBC Radio One). I've logged this station several times from elsewhere in Ontario, but this is my first logging of it from Toronto. This is also the first new station I heard on my new CCrane CCRadio-SWP, which I bought in February but never used until now. I hadn't used it at night yet, and I took it outside my apartment to give it a spin. CBK was one of the first things I heard. Actually, when I turned on the radio it was on my local CFRB 1010, and as I tuned down from there I heard CBW 990 in Winnipeg coming in. So on a hunch I switched to 540, and there was CBK. I guess the thing works!

And graveyard station number 40 was 1400 WRAK Williamsport, PA.

Recent Ultralight Loggings

Here's the latest batch of loggings of AM stations using ultralight receivers. The radios used here are the Sangean DT-400W, the Sony SRF-59, and the Eton E-100:

• 1450 WMAJ State College, PA 0527 UTC 20-Apr-2009 DT-400W
• 1450 WCTC New Brunswick, NJ 0546 UTC 20-Apr-2009 DT-400W
• 1450 WKIP Poughkeepsie, NY 0838 UTC 20-Apr-2009 DT-400W
• 1450 WTRO Dyersburg, TN 0919 UTC 20-Apr-2009 DT-400W
• 950 WWJ Detroit, MI 0359 UTC 23-Apr-2009 SRF-59
• 1200 WKOX Framingham, MA 0150 UTC 25-Apr-2009 SRF-59
• 1570 WPGM Danville, PA 0229 UTC 02-May-2009 E-100
• 600 CKAT North Bay, ON 0355 UTC 02-May-2009 E-100

Total ultralight count is now 294. Hope to reach 300 soon.

Two of these (WWJ on 950 and CKAT on 600) are stations that I've been trying to log for months because I originally thought they'd be easy catches. Especially WWJ, which is 50 kW and only a few hundred miles from me. They proved to be tough to catch but I've finally logged them.

The four stations on 1450 were all logged from an overnight recording. I've found that's an effective way to DX the local (graveyard) channels as hours can go by between intelligeable IDs, and when they do happen, they're usually weak enough that you have to listen to the ID several times before you can decipher it. With these four, the count of graveyard-channel stations is now 38.

Recent Ultralight Loggings

The latest loggings of AM radio stations on ultralight radios. Total count is now 286. Radios used here: Eton E-100, Sangean DT-400W, and Sony SRF-59:

• 1350 WHWH Princeton, NJ 0240 UTC 04-Apr-2009 E-100
• 1370 WSPD Toledo, OH 0250 UTC 04-Apr-2009 E-100
• 1570 CFAV Laval, QC 0345 UTC 05-Apr-2009 E-100
• 1470 WMBD Peoria, IL 0359 UTC 05-Apr-2009 E-100
• 1570 WNST Towson, MD 1047 UTC 05-Apr-2009 E-100
• 1490 WBCB Leavittown, PA 0631 UTC 06-Apr-2009 DT-400W
• 1490 WDLC Port Jervis, NY 0642 UTC 06-Apr-2009 DT-400W
• 1660 WFNA Charlotte, NC 0157 UTC 08-Apr-2009 SRF-59

More Ultralight Loggings

Not much time lately for radio, but since the middle of March I've found time to log seven more stations for the ultralight log. Total ultralight count is now 278.

• 1270 WCBC Cumberland, MD 2352 UTC 15-Mar-2009 E-100
• 940 WKGM Smithfield, VA 1158 UTC 20-Mar-2009 E-100
• 960 WHAK Rogers City, MI 2335 UTC 21-Mar-2009 E-100
• 830 WCRN Worcester, MA 2333 UTC 22-Mar-2009 E-100
• 790 CMAQ-R. Reloj Pinar del Rio, Cuba 0316 UTC 28-Mar-2009 DT-400W
• 1420 WIMS Michigan City, IN 0359 UTC 02-Apr-2009 DT-400W
• 1690 CJLO Montreal, QC 2345 UTC 02-Apr-2009 SRF-59

Radios used here: Sangean DT-400W, Eton E-100, and the Sony SRF-59.

The Radio Reloj logging on 790 is the fourth Cuban station in the ultralight log. Three of the Cubans I've logged have been Radio Reloj outlets. They're relatively easy to identify because of their regular "RR" IDs in Morse Code, which remain audible when nothing else is.

The Sony SRF-59 has excellent nulling capabilities, and the logging of CJLO on 1690 was made possible by it. I have a local station, CHTO, on 1690, but I was able to null it out almost completely using the SRF-59.

Recent Ultralight Loggings

Pretty much all of my radio listening activity continues to be focused on ultralight DXing. I didn't intend this; it just happened. But I will switch the focus away from this soon. The mediumwave DXing season will be coming to a close in the next month or two, and at that point I may shift to listening to other things over the summer. Of course, mediumwave DXing is still possible during the summer months, but conditions are not as good as during the fall-winter-spring season, so it's a good time to go explore other things. However, I am hoping to reach 300 stations in the ultralight log before the season ends.

Recent additions to the ultralight log:

• 1230 WTSV Claremont, NH 0700 UTC 02-Mar-2009 DT-400W
• 1230 WMPC Lapeer, MI 1003 UTC 02-Mar-2009 DT-400W
• 1600 WWRL New York, NY 0447 UTC 07-Mar-2009 E-100
• 580 CKWW Windsor, ON 0515 UTC 07-Mar-2009 E-100
• 610 CHNC QC New Carlisle 0501 UTC 08-Mar-2009 E-100
• 1590 WGGO NY Salamanca 2045 UTC 08-Mar-2009 E-100
• 1590 WAUB NY Auburn 2100 UTC 08-Mar-2009 E-100

Total ultralight count: 271. Radios used here: the Sangean DT-400W and the Eton E-100.

The two stations on 1230, WTSV and WMPC, were logged from an overnight recording I did. Not a particularly productive one: over 8 hours and only two loggings. But still, it's two more stations on a graveyard frequency (bringing the count of those to 32).

Logging CKWW on 580 was a surprise. It is only 500 watts and is adjacent to the local Toronto station on 590, which is very dominant. But the E-100 has great selectivity, and allowed me to hear it. The Eton E-100 is really an amazingly good little radio. Too bad Eton has discontinued this model.

CHNC 610 is a station I've been chasing for a couple of months. I had thought I'd heard it several times before, faintly under semi-local CKTB. But this was the first time it that it was coming in strong enough to identify with certainty. Easy enough to identify when it's strong enough - it's the only significant French language station on this frequency in Canada. Glad to have caught it - as I understand, it's moving to FM soon.

WGGO and WAUB on 1590 are odd catches - odd that I hadn't logged them before. They're both semi-local (WGGO is audible during the day here). I guess it's because after doing my daytime bandscans on the ultralights last fall, I reckoned that I'd logged all the semi-local stations and haven't listened for any more during the day. Also, the band above 1500 kHz is badly attenuated inside my apartment, so to DX those frequencies I usually have to head outside. Oddly enough, there's another semi-local station on 1590 even closer to me that I haven't heard yet - WASB in Brockport, NY, near Rochester. No hint of that one yet.

Ultralight Loggings for this Weekend

Two more stations added to the ultralight log, this time using the Eton E-100:

• 600 WICC Bridgeport, CT 0500 UTC 28-Feb-2009
• 960 WHYL Carlisle, PA 2328 UTC 01-Mar-2009

Total ultralight count: 264.

600 kHz is a tough frequency for me because it is usually obliterated by slop from local CJCL on 590. But yesterday WICC was coming in strong enough to make it through the interference. So was WCAO from Baltimore (which is already in my ultralight log).

WHYL 960 is an adult standards / oldies station. Usually this channel is dominated by other stations, but tonight WHYL was the strongest one there. This is also a new station for my overall log.

Ultralight DXing Update

Recent ultralight loggings. All received on the Sangean DT-400W. The three stations on 1400 kHz are the result of an overnight recording session:

• 1280 WFAU Gardiner, ME 2354 UTC 16-Feb-2009
  
• 1400 WCCY Houghton, MI 0700 UTC 17-Feb-2009
  
• 1400 WVAE Biddeford, ME 0858 UTC 17-Feb-2009
  
• 1400 WHGB Harrisburg, PA 1032 UTC 17-Feb-2009
  

Total ultralight count: 262. This also brings me to 30 stations heard on the "graveyard" frequencies.

Ultralight Logs - 1340 kHz

A few days ago I did another all night recording of one of the local channels (a.k.a. "graveyard" frequencies), this time 1340 kHz. In AM radio there are six local channels or frequencies - 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450, and 1490. These frequencies are used for stations that provide purely local service, and therefore contain hundreds of low power stations, most operating at around 1 kW. The level of interference is very high and so DXing these frequencies can be a challenge.

I recorded about nine hours on 1340 overnight and spent the next several days reviewing the recording. This yielded seven new stations for the ultralight log, five of which were also new for the overall log. The radio used for this was the Sangean DT-400W. Here's what I heard:

• 1340 WGAW Gardner, MA 0600 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WSTJ St. Johnsbury, VT 0722 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WBRK Pittsfield, MA 0821 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WWNH Madbury, NH 0824 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WMSA Massena, NY 1022 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WENT Gloversville, NY 1145 UTC 02-Feb-2009
• 1340 WIRY Plattsburgh, NY 1200 UTC 02-Feb-2009

Total ultralight count is now 258. Total graveyard frequency count is now 27.

Ultralight Loggings

I've been busy this month and haven't been updating here as I should. Here are all the stations I logged in January 2009 using ultralight radios (the Sangean DT-400W and the Eton E-100):

• 1410 WENU South Glens Falls, NY 2235 UTC 01-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1400 WSLB Ogdensburg, NY 2255 UTC 01-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1400 WAMC Albany, NY 2255 UTC 01-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 950 CKNB Campbellton, NB 2315 UTC 01-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 620 WSNR Newark, NJ 2358 UTC 01-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1590 WONX Evanston, IL 0445 UTC 03-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1510 WRRD Waukesha, WI 1402 UTC 03-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1680 WTTM Lindenwold, NJ 1145 UTC 07-Jan-2009 E-100
• 910 WAVL Apollo, PA 1215 UTC 07-Jan-2009 E-100
• 600 WCAO Baltimore, MD 0650 UTC 18-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1240 WOON Woonsocket, RI 0704 UTC 18-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1110 WGNZ Fairborn, OH 2229 UTC 18-Jan-2009 E-100
• 610 WTVN Columbus, OH 2259 UTC 18-Jan-2009 E-100
• 1240 WHMQ Greenfield, MA 0531 UTC 19-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1240 WVKZ Schenectady, NY 0705 UTC 19-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1240 WRTA Altoona, PA 1022 UTC 19-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1240 WWCO Waterbury, CT 1030 UTC 19-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1500 WGHT Pompton Lakes, NJ 1231 UTC 24-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 1510 CKOT Tillsonburg, ON 1345 UTC 24-Jan-2009 DT-400W
• 560 WCKL Catskill, NY 0708 UTC 28-Jan-2009 E-100

Total ultralight count is now 251.

The logging of CKNB on 950 gave me my fourth Canadian province. I've heard it several times since the initial logging earlier this month.

WOON 1240 in Woonsocket, RI was logged because of a DX test broadcast they did. The broadcast included regular Morse code IDs, which made hearing the station a lot easier. One DXer, Ole Forr, managed to hear this test broadcast from northern Norway!

I also logged four other stations on 1240 (WHMQ, WVKZ, WRTA, and WWCO), all on the same night. This was the result of an all-night recording session. I recently bought a small Sony digitial recorder, and on this night I let it record about nine hours of 1240 kHz. Reviewed it in my spare time over the next several days and heard four new stations. All these were new for the overall log as well.

WCKL 560 was logged one night when they appeared to have accidentally left their signal on their daytime power. This station is 1 kW during the day, but only 43 watts at night. The signal was much too good to be 43 watts. It also sounded like it was slightly off frequency, closer to 561 kHz than 560.

Ultralight Loggings Update

Not a lot of time over the past two weeks for ultralight DXing. Here's what I've added to the log since the previous update. Radios used: Sangean DT-400W and Eton E-100.

• 1370 WELG Ellenville, NY 1245 UTC 20-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1260 WCHV Charlottesville, VA 2245 UTC 20-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 570 CMDC-R. Reloj Santa Clara, Cuba 0805 UTC 21-Dec-2008 E-100
• 1650 CINA Mississauga, ON 2030 UTC 21-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1360 WKYO Caro, MI 2228 UTC 21-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 950 WROL Boston, MA 1245 UTC 30-Dec-2008 E-100

Total ultralight count: 231.

WELG 1370 is a sister station to WKIP 1450. The ID I heard was actually for WKIP. Both stations are located at the same address in Poughkeepsie, NY.

WCHV 1260 was carrying The Kim Komando Show - a welcome change from the political talk shows one hears everywhere. I'd much rather listen to Kim talk about computers. WCHV is simulcast on 94.1 FM.

I didn't hear anything of Radio Reloj on 570 except for its distinctive "RR" Morse code identifier. Radio Reloj is a news network from Cuba and one of its characteristics is that it sends "RR" in Morse code once a minute. Often that "RR" gets through when nothing else does, which was the case here. I heard that "RR" repeated several times over a ten minute interval but didn't hear anything else.

CINA 1650 is a new station in Mississauga that is carrying a South Asian format. They are still currently in the test broadcasting phase. They're authorised to use 1 kW, but given how weak they are at my location in Toronto, I suspect they're currently operating on reduced power.

WKYO on 1360 is an oldies station. I didn't hear much of it except for an ID and a weather forecast. Too weak to hear much else.

WROL 950 is a religious broadcaster. It goes by the slogan "The Spirit of Boston".

This Week's Ultralight Loggings

The latest batch of stations heard on an ultralight radio - in this instance the Sangean DT-400W. Most are from my local region (the northeast) but this set also includes the second Cuban station I've logged on an ultralight, an outlet of Radio Reloj.

• 960 WTGM Salisbury, MD 0404 UTC 13-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 960 CMDJ - Radio Reloj Guantanamo, Cuba 0430 UTC 13-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 960 WEAV Plattsburgh, NY 0430 UTC 13-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1530 WLCO Lapeer, MI 2320 UTC 13-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 880 WRFD Columbus-Worthington, OH 1357 UTC 14-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 920 WYBY Cortland, NY 2157 UTC 14-Dec-2008 DT-400W

Total ultralight count: 225.

Ultralight Loggings for the First Week of December

It's been a productive week for ultralight DXing. Seven new stations added, including one new Canadian provice (Manitoba) and one new U.S. state (Nebraska). The Manitoba logging was made on the Sony SRF-59, while all the others were on the Sangean DT-400W:

• 990 CBW Winnipeg, MB 2358 UTC 02-Dec-2008 SRF-59
• 630 WPRO Providence, RI 0428 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 620 WRJZ Knoxville, TN 0558 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1110 WCCM Salem, NH 2145 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1400 WDNY Dansville, NY 2215 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 1320 WJAS Pittsburgh, PA 2223 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W
• 880 KRVN Lexington, NE 2240 UTC 07-Dec-2008 DT-400W

Total ultralight station count: 219. Total U.S. states: 27. Total Canadian provinces: 3

CBW 990 is a 50 kW outlet of CBC Radio. I picked it while walking home from the subway. I've received this station several times before, but never like thit time. An astonishingly strong signal - I listened to it for ten minutes and it came in solid and steady with almost local quality for most of that time.

Three of these stations are new to my overall log: WJRZ 620, WDNY 1400, and KVRN 880.

KVRN 880 was an interesting catch. I'm not sure but it might be the first station I've ever received from Nebraska on AM. It's certainly the first on an ultralight. I heard it under WCBS. WCBS was dominating the frequency, but under it I could hear country and western music. Occasionally it strengthened enough to make out what was being said. The clincher was hearing a detailed weather report and forecast for the state of Nebraska.

This is a reception I made because of a new listening technique I discovered recently: sit on a frequency that is dominated by one station and then listen in the moments of silence for stations below it. It was my hearing WINS on 1010 below CFRB that made me realize this could work. No station has more of a dominant "presence" at my location than CFRB, so if I could hear another station behind it, it should work for other stations too. So that's how I got KVRN here and WJAS (which is on a frequency with another local station, CJMR).