Glenn Hauser, P O Box 1684, Enid OK 73702 wghauser@yahoo.com
This report concerns groundwave and tropo DX only in May and June.
All times and dates strictly UT. Standard boilerplate applies
about my methods and objectives of DXing.
87.9, May 10 circa 1845 UT, Mexmx in $tereo, much like
the open carrier before. No announcements. No doubt a part 15 RF
feeder, may not be relaying a terrestrial station. This time I drive
around the block, and then walkabout with DX-398 eyeing signal meter
and conclude it`s coming from about one block away where a house is
undergoing some construxion or fixing; and can also barely hear it
earily. Strangely enough, most of the construxion workers around Enid
speak Spanish.
DXMAP shows sporadic E between OK and CA up to 96 MHz so at
0240 UT May 16 I hasten to the caradio: of course, nothing unusual
heard until 0256, but I make some nearby notes: at 0242 a distorted
signal I can`t pinpoint to 92.7, 92.9 or 93.1 is concluding an Amber
Alert distorted with 3 tones, and nothing further as if turned off.
All the while a 92.9 was audible under, probably KRQV Tulsa. MAYBE the
nearest 92.7, KWME Welllington KS, was bleeding as I listen further.
On 92.7 itself, too much ACI from 92.5 KOMA. BTW on this caradio,
there is always more ACI splash on the plus than the minus side of any
given frequency. I suspect the digital tuning be slightly misaligned.
89.3, May 16 at 0241 UT, KIEL, Loyal, the R. 74
International 3ABN station must get a bit of tropo boost so it`s
strong enough to muscle aside local 89.1 translator, allowing me to be
sure that KIEL, even with music, is in MONO. This fact is not shown in
the WTFDA Database. That should be in the MODE field, blank in most
cases meaning surely plain old $tereo. Searching on Mono and OK gets
not a single hit tho there are more than 250 in the whole DB.
91.7, May 16 at 2335 during DX bandscan, I notice that
KOSU is in mono. Have not checked thoroughly but likely mono all day
during NPR/newstalk programs. Split personality, after 0000 UT ``The
Spy`` music has stereo turned on. Long ago when I worked at KOSU, I
recall switching stereo to mono going from classical music to NPR
news. FMDB does not show anything but [blank] mode implying always
stereo. It`s not exactly set up to display 50-50.
DXMAP shows Es FM DX between OK and California, May 25 at
1520 UT, so out to the car to check. I never hear any such, but rather
tropo enhanced as far as Kansas City, almost 300 miles, despite APRS
map showing no connexion into Kansas, just some intra-OK blobs not
quite reaching Enid. These tropos may well be obscuring some
E-skippers. Anyway bandscanning I also note some OKies. Approx.
city-to-city distances, not site-to-site, on distancefromto.net
92.1, at 1522, strong signal turns out to be only KFXI with singing
ID, and it`s in MONO even during C&W music at 1547. 100/100 kW from
Marlow OK, usually fringely audible. WTFDA does not mark it MONO! 194
km/121 stmi
94.9, at 1524 $tereo rock, VG signal. This is one of my best ``open
for DX`` frequencies. Soon ID as ``94-9 KCMO``, ``another 50-minute
music marathon``. That`s 100/100 kW CoL Shawnee KS, a KC suburb. And
no -FM suffix despite the AM 710 station plus 103.7 translator. Could
be confusing. So strong it ought to show RDS icon at least, but
nonesuch at 1553 on DX-398 check, holding it out the window. 404/251
99.5, at 1529, $tereo, ``Big Country 99.5``, i.e. KXBL, 100/100 kW,
Henryetta OK, rimshotting Tulsa market, our normal fringer. However
searching the FMDB on that slogan, we see it also applies to K258GZ,
250-watt translator of KALV 1430 Alva OK - no doubt separately
programmed from KXBL. And there is a third one in WV, WBYG. 201/125
92.9, at 1532, ``The River``, i.e. KRQV, 100/100 kW Tulsa; formerly
KBEZ FM The Drive. Hmm, there is a river drive along the Arkansas.
171/106
97.5, at 1537, several Manhattan KS ads, weather, Eagle Radio. Trouble
is, among the 13 stations licensed there, none on 97.5! BTW, there are
zero licensed to Manhattan NY, but two in MT. Eagle in slogan only
hits a Vermont 97.5! This must really be KJCK, 100/100 kW in Junxion
City KS, no Eagle in DB, rather ``Power Hits 97.5``. 307/191
97.3, at 1539, gospel rock; 1557 ``K-Love``. There are very low power
ones in CO, IN, TX and WI, but this must be the full-power 55/55 kW,
and closest, KLRX, Lee`s Summit MO, near Kansas City. 429/266
100.3, at 1542, Kansas Lottery ad, fadeout. Considering PTA above,
100/100 kW, KDVV Topeka; however there is a much closer one, KNZS
14.5/14.5 kW, Arlington, a tiny town not even in my regular Rand
McNally, but in the Large Scale one just WNW of Wichita. 354/220 or
169/105
104.9, at 1543, South Asian language, laughter, f/out. Suspect tropo
extends as far as the TX Metroplex. None such in the DB`s Language
field, in MO, KS, OK, or TX, but for: ``Ethnic`` FUNASIA, KZMP-FM,,
35/35 kW, Pilot Point TX, as heard before. Overcoming OKC station.
344/214
93.7, at 1549, ``Hot 93.7``, rock. Merely KSPI-FM Stillwater OK, 16/16
kW semilocal. Two others are in CT and FL. 80/50
94.1, at 1556, Kansas City-area ads for Memorial Day. Therefore, KFKF,
100/100 kW, Kansas City KS. But which state is it from, really?
Longitude of site is 94-30-24. But searching finds the long. of
Stateline Road is 94°36′26.7″W. Therefore, it is in MISSOURI! 418/260
94.5, at 1552, ad for 573 area code; MA Bank in Macon. 573 is roughly
the eastern third of Missouri, almost border to border IA-AR, except
for greater St Louis. Not Georgia. Macon is in NE MO, midway between
Chillicothe and Hannibal; and midway between Kirksville and Moberly.
Guess what: NO station licensed to Macon; must be KRXL 90/90 kW
Kirxvil. 626/389
96.7, at 1559, ``96-7 & 1310 Sports Radio, The Ticket``, obviously
another Metroplexan heard before, KTCK-FM, 90/90 kW, Flower Mound TX;
on 1310 successor to onetime great classical WRR owned by City of
Dallas. 381/236
95.7, May 25 at 1859 UT on caradio DX bandscan I notice
that local KXLS ``Lahoma`` is OFF. Audiblizes something else JBA
mentioning Bott network. There is one of 140 watts way off in KS, but
this must be K239BT, 250-watt translator of KQCV 800, in The Village,
NW OKC suburb where I dwelt from age 9 to 16. 97 km/60 stmi
107.1, May 25 at 1905, I find one other local signal missing, KNID
``North Enid``. Despite different CoLs, neither plain old Enid, these
are co-owned by Chisholm Trail Broadcasting and from same site west of
Enid. Both are still silent at 2050 & 2230 UT chex. What`s wrong? Not
going to be available for tornado warnings?
90.5, May 25 at 1859-1902, dead air in mono, presumed near-local KGVV
Goltry. Still dead at 2100 recheck; need to notice whether normally in
$tereo. No loss: another gospel huxter. Back on later, in $tereo.
Might have been overriden by local unused part 15 RF feeder? See also
USA for more OKies mixed in DX opening.
89.3, June 9 circa 1645 UT and anytime, KIEL, Loyal, the
3ABN station a.k.a. R. 74 Internationale, remains in MONO only whether
music or talk, and I should add is constantly undermodulated, which
seems odd for an FM station, altho a pervasive problem with AM signals
on SW or MW, presumably because of ageing equipment incapable of full
modulation. Despite my previous reports, WTFDA FMDB still does not
mark it MONO.
91.7, Sunday June 9 at 1659 UT as I am hunting for Es DX,
notice that KOSU is in $tereo music, and indeed ToH ID also branding
as ``The Spy``. On weekdays the rule is mono until 0000 UT with
NPR/etc. news/talk, then $ $py. This is amid a bihour 16-18 UT program
per sked, `Toaster Brunch` of Jamaican music [not to be confused with
low-power 6YC-395 in Kingston or 6YC-648 in Montego Bay]. But there is
more $py on weekends; trouble is, KOSU sked does not make it clear
which are which nor which are mono! `The Spy` is title of specific
local-originated music blox, but also applies to music stuff from
elsewhere. O, this explains that Toaster Brunch is the only
Spy-program outside the overnight blox, along with convoluted history
of The Spy branding from one OK station to another, to another, etc.:
https://www.kosu.org/show/the-spy
I suppose there could be some non-Spy programming with a musical
element, whether or not KOSU master control bother to switch $tereo on
and off. I suppose The Spy deal be financially advantageous for KOSU
as it has endured, despite discouraging public-radio contributors who
would not want any of their money going to support that for which KOSU
has semisold its soul.
101.3, June 9 at 1648 UT, ad for Burlington, in Garden City.
Surely this be KFDI-FM in distant Wichita, our semi-local, but guess
what? WTFDA DB shows in KS one entry besides KFDI-FM with 100 kW, is a
100-WATT CP, 14m high antenna for a NEW station on 101.3 in GARDEN
CITY! Which I am surely not getting, but I wonder if planned to be a
mere booster for KFDI, jumping the gun with local ad for GC??
102.3 FM, June 10 at 2028 UT, another fruitless search for
Es DX on caradio gets something other than KRMG Tulsa here: Country,
``102-3 the Bull`` - that`s KWFS-FM 100/100 kW, Wichita Falls TX.
There are zero 102.3s in KS, and no country 102.3s elsewhere in OK.
93.9, June 12 at 2019 UT, dead air in $tereo, no doubt
semi-local KIMY Watonga. RDS still displays statickly GOSPEL__ /
STATION. Still dead at further chex past 2200. Std remark about how
can a station expect to have any listeners if no one there even
notices when it`s silent? Used to have a translator in Enid on 93.1
which added another level of unreliability.
107.7, June 9 at 1633 past 1700 UT as I am fruitlessly
bandscanning for any Sporadic E, can`t help but notice dead air in
$tereo here, where near-local quality 92/92 kW KRXO OKC should be,
silly sportstalk. Not only on caradio but on DX-398 showing static
RDS: _CHISE___ -- but that may be holdover from another frequency as I
can`t get it again by tuning away and back. A remote possibility poor
KRXO is being supplanted here by yet another idling Part 15 RF feeder,
but why would it not be on a `clear` frequency? 1830 recheck still DA,
and RDS icon does display tho nothing in the RDS window. Depending on
whip angle, seems to be a weak modulated undersignal, but probably
from overload.
Re 92.7, OKC traffic report not // 92.5 KOMA: KOMA does
have a translator on 92.9 to analogize its HD2 called The Edge, per
WTFDA: ``K225BN relays:KOMA-HD2 92.9 OKLAHOMA CITY OK USA 0.2 0.2
267.7 267.7 35-32-51 97-29-30 188C ROCK 92.9 THE EDGE 139270`` --
could the 92.9 have been off-frequency? Not necessarily right on 92.7.
Or is there any way an HD2 of 92.5 might be audible somehow on an old
non-HD analog caradio tuned to the side? And whatever became of
subcarriers? original report: U S A below
93.9, June 13 at 1901 UT check on caradio, KIMY Watonga
is *still* dead air in $tereo, that is about 23 hours since I first
noticed it June 12 at 2019. AND, **still** dead air in $tereo June 14
at 1528, and 2052; and 2215 when I get RDS display of THE_____ /
GOSPEL__ / STATION_. Of course I have not monitored constantly, but no
reason to believe they were ever modulating for the last 51 hours at
least and no telling how long before that.
IMHO, a station so incompetent as to broadcast nothing for such a
stretch deserves to have its license revoked, so something else can
make better use of the spectrum! OTOH, the less gospel-huxtering on
OUR AIR, the better. FYI, spelling $tereo with a dollar sign has no
financial implication, just a convention stemming from the late Bruce
Elving`s FM Atlases, a single $ symbol in listings.
93.9, June 16 at 1649, KIMY Watonga, STILL dead air in
$tereo, now 70 hours since first noted June 13. Standard derision.
UNIDENTIFIED. 93.9, June 16 at 1649 UT as I start caradio bandscan for
Es FM DX going on all around here, turn on already tuned here to hear
some Spanish trying to break thru dead air in $tereo, STILL from KIMY
- but in next 23 minutes not a bit of Es anywhere, and 93.9 SS was
most likely fringe KZRD Dodge City KS. Also at 1651 briefly dead air
in $tereo on 93.1, maybe DX since as soon as that`s gone not much
signal from my usual fringer in KS.
93.9, June 17 at 1950 UT, *still* dead air in $tereo into
caradio, but much weaker than usual; on the way to zero kW too? Now
96+ hours into this futility first noted June 13, from KIMY Watonga.
Streaming still worx via website and a whole buncha platforms, so who
cares about 93.9? Map https://www.thegospelstation.com/ shows a buncha
other FM outlets around OK and TX panhandle, AR and TN. Radio-locator
mentions only one, the long-gone 93.1 in Enid. HQ address in Ada OK,
with 105.1, but which is a mere 75-watt translator of KTGS 88.3, which
is 5.5/5.5 kW in Tishomingo OK. That must really be the net`s
originator, calls matching slogan.
95.7 & 107.1, June 19 at 0139, 0346, 0430, 0519, 0627 UT
chex, Enid stations still dead air but showing static RDS of __KXLS__
and __KNID__; finally resumed modulating by 1452 check. I suspect long
delays in fixing such easy? problems are caused by no CE of their own,
rather having to call upon contract engineer from some other city;
evenmoreso the 93.9 KIMY case, with no local origination, merely a
satellite which cannot even be monitored OTA at HQ.
** U S A. 96.7, June 14 at 1530 UT, ``Sports Radio 96.7 and 1310, The
Ticket`` from DFW Metroplex market is strong enough briefly to unsee
any $tereo icon, i.e. talk format is in mono. FYI, $tereo instead of
mono automatically reduces the full-quieting coverage area of an FM
station; by what percentage? This is 90/90 kW KTCK-FM. NOT flagged as
Mono mode in WTFDA FM Database. Some talk stations stay in $tereo
anyway, since some receivers used to ignore mere mono stations; is
this still a problem? And occasional $tereo music in commercials,
etc., really stands out.
Lacking any sporadic E FM DX, also noticed in this caradio bandscan,
June 14 at 1535 UT, the Bott station on 94.3 west of Wichita in Kansas
is also in mono, i.e. KCVW 100/100 kW in Kingman, not flagged mono in
WTFDA FMDB. Are all Bott FMs in mono? Need to check 95.1 KQCV 100/100
kW ``Shawnee`` = OKC. Searching Slogan field, there are 112 Bott hits
in the DB, many of them translators, not a single one `mono`.
With 100 MHz MUF spike NW of here, another try for Es FM DX,
June 18 from 2235 UT on caradio: no Es but some area obs as far as
Nebraska:
93.5 at 2235, ``weather for Red Dirt (nation?), on My Country 93.5``:
KKDT Burdett KS 95/95 kW, normal fringer; 2239 tone and NWS warning,
f/out. I thought Red Dirt was more of an Okie thing.
93.9 at 2237, KIMY Watonga OK has *finally* resumed modulating after
5+ days of dead air. Plugs Xmas music all during July on one of The
Gospel Station streams.
95.7 at 2238 and still past 2322, dead air in $tereo from KXLS Lahoma
OK, and of course also on co-located sibstation 107.1 KNID North Enid.
We have only two commercial radio clusters here and this one keeps
failing.
93.1 at 2242, ``93.1 The River, Nebraska`s country station`` surpasses
usual Kansan in the way. Probably to do with storm front across
central KS and NE. This is: KRVN-FM Lexington, 100/100 kW, related to
the 880 AM station. 514 km/319 stmi
101.3 at 2245, ``Oklahoma`s best country, K-Law 101`` vs heavy CCI
from Wichita. 100/100 kW, KLAW Lawton.
92.7 at 2248, OKC traffic report in sideband of but not // 92.5 KOMA.
Oops, no such translator listed. Is it really bleeding out of the 92.5
signal? Very distorted.
101.5, I`ve realized that in DX bandscans the last
several weeks, I have not run across any signal at all in Spanish from
KOCD Okeene, R. Salvación which is/was a 14 kW relay of KWDW-LP, 100
watts horizontal only in OKC, shown with a different name, R. Bautista
Calvario. However KOCD is also horizontal only and my caradio has
vertical antenna only. But I used to hear it fringily, so suspect it`s
really silent. Only 50 km/31 miles.
MUF spike to 107 MHz NW of here per DXMAP before 0200 UT
June 23, after a day mostly below 88 since big morning Es opening I
mostly missed; so out to the car for bandscan: nothing much, but 89.5,
an ``open for DX`` frequency except for ACI, has something JBA on it:
I rarely even trace KWGS Tulsa. Seems like ID at 0159, ``This is
CF---`` something and shortly gospelhuxterism mentioning prophecy,
body of Christ, etc. Any clues at WTFDA FM DB? After 0230 it`s
inaccessible, `Bad Gateway`, server overload. So I pull out the final
FM Atlas from 2010y: only 3 stations in western Canada, AB and BC,
none of them with CF-calls. O, WRTH 2024 shows that has not changed
much, nor in SK, MB. Meanwhile DXMAP shows paths between OK and WA,
nexus over WY, grrr.
Next day by 1538 UT June 23, FMDB is back in biz: of the 28 Canadians
on 89.5, the only CF- prefix is in Goose Bay. Is there a marginal
religious 89.5 around here? Yes, 23.5 kW KJCC Carnegie OK which I have
rarely logged; and three further translators in OKC, Elk City, and
Felt at far end of Panhandle. In KS, xltrs in Topeka, Parsons.
Until the Next, Best of DX and 73 de Glenn
