FM DXing

After spending nine months focused on DXing the AM radio band, I decided it was time to turn my attention to the other local broadcasting band, FM. I've never been an avid FM DXer, but I have dabbled in it off and on over the years and find it interesting. I've only logged 270 FM stations in total, mostly ones logged locally or while traveling. But there have been some good DX catches in that time.

I decided to start a new FM logbook beginning June 1, 2009, that will include only stations logged from within the city of Toronto. I began by logging all the local and semi-local stations to produce a map of the band. This effort yielded some interesting results:

• There are about 50 stations here that are strong locals or semi-dominant regional ones. These frequencies are pretty much blocked for DXing.
• There are about another 10 frequencies with weak but semi-regular stations. DXing may be possible on these frequencies under the right conditions.
• There are 100 channels on the FM band, and between the ones that are blocked, the slop from these on adjacent channels, and the weak semi-regulars, there's not a lot of DX-able frequencies left.

So DXing FM from Toronto has its challenges. But I'll see what I can accomplish here.

Some Shortwave Loggings

In late May and June I did some listening on the 31 metre band and logged the following stations:

• 9690 China - China Radio International via Nobeljas, Spain, at 0302 in English with news show. (Good June 13)
• 9700 Bulgaria - Radio Bulgaria, Plovdiv, at 0215 in English to North America with news magazine show. (Good June 3)
• 9735 Russia - Voice of Russia via Montsinery, French Guiana relay at 0225 in Spanish with news magazine "Chronica" (Good June 3)
• 9825 Germany - Deutsche Welle via Sines, Portugal relay at 0325 in German with talk show and news about Opel at half hour. (Fair May 29)
• 9825 United States - WHRI World Harvest Radio, Cypress Creek, SC, at 0454 with religious programming. (Good May 30)
• 9870 Czech Republic - Radio Prague, at 0302 in English. News, weather conditions in Prague. Feature item on unveiling of a statue having something to do with the anniversary of the assassination of Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich in 1942. (Fair May 28)
• 9880 Russia - Voice of Russia, Krasnodar, at 0240 in Spanish with news magazine show. (Poor June 3)
• 9885 United States - Voice of America, at 0455 in English to Africa with news program "Press Conference USA". Sign off at 0500. (Good June 6)
• 9890 Russia - Voice of Russia, at 0147 in English with music program "Kalaidoscope". ID with email and URL. IS and news at 0200. (Very Good May 26)
• 9895 Madagascar - Voice of the People, at 0400. Zimbabwean opposition station carried on R. Nederland's Madagascar relay. Programming in English, Shona, and a third Zimbabwean language. Talk with snippets of African music. Sign on was preceded by at least 15 minutes of silent carrier. To Zimbabwe. (Fair June 6)
• 9925 Croatia - Croatian Radio, at 0203 via German relay with news in English. IDs as Voice of Croatia and as Croatian Radio. (Fair May 26)
• 9955 United States - WRMI (Radio Miami International), at 0259 with Radio Prague IDs in Czech and R. Prague IDs. Then at 0300 WRMI ID and into WRMI programming in Spanish. (Poor June 5)
• 10051 Canada - Gander Radio, Gander NL at 0220 in SSB with aviation weather for Canadian cities - covering Ontario at time of listening (Fair May 29)

Frequencies in kiloHertz. Dates and times in UTC. Radio: JRC NRD-525 attached to random length wire antenna.

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.

National Radio Club

After years as a mediumwave (AM band) DXer, I finally have joined the National Radio Club. The NRC is the oldest and largest mediumwave club in existence, being founded in 1933. During the DX season they publish their newsletter weekly, and it focuses on the kind of timely information that DXers want to get to help in their DXing efforts. The NRC is also the publisher of the best guide available to the AM stations of the United States and Canada. Ultralight DXing has turned me back into an active mediumwave DXer and so I figured that it was time to join the club.

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".

Saudi Arabia on Shortwave

I don't do much shortwave radio DXing any more, but I made one logging this week that's worth noting. On Mon. Dec. 8, 2008 I heard the Broadcasting Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 15380 kHz at 1340 UTC. It sounded like it was carrying a religious program, but since I don't know a word of Arabic, I can't really say.

I'd like to get back into shortwave, but between the lousy conditions due to the solar minimum, the large amounts of electrical noise at my location, the difficulty of putting up an effective antenna here, and the disappearance of one broadcaster after another, it sometimes doesn't really seem worth it.

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.