vaum 41 22 APRIL 1974 NUMBER 23 "... I am enclosinn my check f o r 814 - " * f o r another year ' s membership i n the NRC...Keep up the f i n e work you a l l a r e doing a t hrRC HQ.. ." (Chris Lucas, Ft. Gordon, GA)

ON THE INSIDE .......... -Xi . Graveyard DX .... Bob Foxworth .... - Supremacy Ratings Bob Karchevski ..... . DX'ing k s e b a l l Networks Henry W. Fanork ..... - Baseball Network Information Ed Krejny (caribou?) - What Is A Frequency Check --Part I1 ---Tom Sundstrom - The Heath SB-620 Spectrum Analyser and the DX-150A ---Tom Sundstrom

NEW MEMBERS *Arthur E. Child, 1118 de l a Vina St., #6, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 *Pierce White, Jr., 617 Bonham Road, Saluda, SC 29138 *Marvin J. Ervine, 1 0 9 Edgehi l l Road, Roslyn, PA 19301 *Paul R. Mount, 471 Emerson Ave., Teaneck, NJ 07666 *Daye, Kreinberg, 517 Latshmere Dr., Harrisburg, PA 17109 ~omn Mcb$&ck, 275 L i t t l e t o n St., West Lafayette, I N 4 7 9 6 (Re-joins)

*Dahian b. W s s e t t , 241-512 Canonberry Ct . , Oshawa, ON LIG 2Y2 *James T:'Po&e, 11 University St., Apt. 3 , West Lafayet te , IN 47936

A hearty welcome t o the NRC, Gentlemen! Why not drop Ernie Cooper a l i n e soon and introduce yourselves i n a double-spaced Musing?

RENEWALS Messenger, Moore, Craig, Lucas.

NOTES &c FROM NJPC Several of our members have sent enquir ies t o HQ a s t o the paucity of a r t i c l e s of a technica l nature appearing here i n the pages of DX NEWS t h i s year. To paraphrase a b i t , t he f a u l t , gentlemen, is not i n our stars, but i n ourselves... To whit, i n order t o produce copy of a technica l nature, we need a r t i c l e s . Admittedly, severa l a r t i c l e s a r e i n the holding pa t t e rn r i g h t now, due t o minor l o e s t i c a l problems a t HQ, severa l o thers a r e being held pending re-typing a s t he o r ig ina l s were not su i t ab l e f o r o f f s e t reproduction. And still seve ra l more a r e being held due t o page requirements f o r DX NEWS ( i n o ther words, they wouldn't allow f o r an even page count i f they were t o be included i n t h e i r en t i r e ty ) . So, i f you a r e one of the authors whose submissions have not ye t appeared i n DXN, please be pa t i en t , a s they eventually w i l l be printed. For o the r s i n t he contemplative s tage of author- ship, we s t rongly recommend t h a t you contact HQ f o r spec i a l i n s t ruc t ions regarding proper format, layout and preparation of copy f o r photo-offset work.

A l l o rders f o r Reprints, Report Forms and Pa t t e rn Books a re processed wi th in . a week of r ece ip t by HQ Crew. We have r ecen t ly received seve ra l communications indica t ing t h a t a few of our mailings never got through the l aby r in th of the USPOD; i f you do not receive your order within t h ree (3) weeks of mailing, pleake inform u s promptly, s o t h a t a replacement may be sent.

SB/PT f o r N J F C

This Week's holding pattern includes an article by TRS on the Autek Q-Box, one by Foxy on Maritime Canadian Graveyarders, and one by Fish on DX Math. We also have some relevant clippings on hand for next issue, which, we hope, ,,,ill also be a 48- pager.

I editor.. Alan Merriman

03

Technical B r i e f s

DXers i n t e r e s t e d i n propagation and sunspots a r e e s p e c i a l l y advised of an in- t e r e s t i n g a r t i c l e on t h i s t o p i c appearing i n t h e March 1974 i s s u e of Magazine on page 24. Writ ten by Cohen and L i n t z , i t i s t i t l e d , "The Sunspot cycle: Analysis and Predict ion".

While t h e main t h r u s t of t h e a r t i c l e concerns when the sunspot a c t i v i t y w i l l i n c r e a s e aga in , providing good high-frequency communication t h e r e i s a l o t of i n t e r e s t here f o r t h e Medium-Wave DXer. who i s i n t e r e s t e d i n low sunspot counts

The au thors descr ibe an a n a l y s i s of s o l a r a c t i v i t y they c a l l Maximum Entropy S p e c t r a l Analysis . Without g e t t i n g i n t o what t h a t means e x a c t l y , w e ' l l j u s t note here t h a t they b e l i e v e they have found a r e c u r r i n g p e r i o d i c i t y of 179 years i n s o l a r a c t i v i t y t h a t modifies t h e b a s i c l l y e a r p e r i o d i c i t y t h a t i s s o f a m i l i a r t o r a d i o e n t h u s i a s i s t s . The 5-page a r t i c l e d e s c r i b e s i n some d e t a i l how they have a r r i v e d a t t h i s .

The t h i n g t h a t makes t h i s s o i n t e r e s t i n g t o t h e Medium Wave DXer i s the f e e l i n g of t h e au thors t h a t the length of t h e cyc le i n progress i s (or w i l l be) 13 y e a r s , r a t h e r than t h e 11 normally experienced. The minimum of t h e cyc le (during which we would expect t o see a r e p e a t of t h e except iona l ly good long d i s t a n c e propa- ga t ion condi t ions l a s t seen i n 1964-65) i s p red ic ted t o come i n the summer of 1977, a t the l a t e s t . o r a f t e r 1975 a t any r a t e . A t t h e minima smoothed sunspot numbers a r e expected t o be 3 . This compares w i t h ca. 200 a t the maxima. The au thors a l s o f e e l t h a t " the next 40 years may be charac te r ized by r e l a t i v e l y low sunspot ac- t i v i t y a s compared t o t h e a c t i v i t y of t h e l a s t 40 years".

The only re fe rence made by t h e au thors t o low-frequency condi t ions i s the opi.nion t h a t "openings on 40 and 80 meters should improve (during the coming sunspot minimum)".

Several months ago. IRCA pr in ted a f l y e r from an o u t f i t c a l l e d McKay Dymek who market an AM tuner and a t r a n s i s t o r i z e d f e r r i t e rod type sh ie lded antenna which appears t o be very s i m i l a r i n s i z e , concept and opera t ion t o t h e popular Space Magnet antenna marketed by Qorces te r E l e c t r o n i c Labs. McKay Dymek's p r i c e f o r the antenna was i n t h e 3 - f i g u r e range. A b l u r b i n t h e l a t e s t i s s u e of Bi l lboard seemed t o p i t c h the antenna f o r r a d i o s t a t i o n execut ives who wanted t o monitor d i s t a n t s i g n a l s a t n igh t ( t o glean promotional ideas , hunt f o r new a i r t a l e n t e t c ) bu t had l i t t l e t e c h n i c a l knowhaw. Bil lboard says t h a t anyone wanting information about these products from McKay Dymek can c a l l a Larry England a t the t o l l f r e e number 800-854-7769. NRC has not t r i e d t h e i r products and cannot comment on them.

- BF

Editors Note: We have received data on the Dymek antenna from the manufacturer, but have not run same pending receipt of final results of a review being undertaken b y Pete Taylor of KFOG-FM in San Francisco. Pete has notified us that he had some difficulties with the first unit shipped to him, and was awaiting a replacement unit. We hope to have this information for publication in next issue of the one after ....... - R j E

international dx digest P. 0. Box 6 Fairfax. Va. 22030

I

I

1 Phone 703 - 354 - 2135 before 2200 EDT * A l l Times GMT * Deadlines Are Saturday

I

I New s t a t i o n s , changes, schedules, etc..... I

ALASKA - Mt. a s i t i n a Broadcasting Corp. has been gran ted a CP f o r a new s t a t i o n a t Anchorage on 1080 khz, 1OOOO U1. Address on CP is 360 K S t r e e t , Anchorage 99501. * * KFRB Fairbanks has a g a i n been denied permission t o change frequency from 900 t o 820 khz. (Broadcast ing)

AUSTFiALIA - ?he fo l lowing a r e p r o j e c t e d changes/new s t a t i o n s . (NZDXRA) 600 4GY Gympie, ex 1350 720 3MT b e o o , 2 kw. 760 6%' Kununurra, 2 kw 990 8GO Gove, 500 w a t t s 1040 4WP Weipa, 500 w a t t s

1160 7FG Finga l , 1 kw. 1190 6 x 1 m o u t h , 2 kw. 1210 ... Canberra 1570 2k'A Ki lcannia , 100 w a t t s

7SH St. Helens, 100 w a t t s

BRNGUDESH - The new 1000 kw. t r a n s m i t t e r i s due t o be on t h e a i r by t h e end of Apri l . (NZDXRA) Frequency i s 690 khz, I th ink . (ED)

CYPRUS - An agreement has been reached to modernize t h e BBC !&i i n s t a l l a t i o n . A t p resen t 2 100 kw and 1 50 kw t r a n s m i t t e r s a r e used. (1rnC)

GUAM - Trans World Radio P a c i f i c has a p p l i e d f o r a new s t a t i o n a t Agana t o opera te on 770 khz wi th 10000 Ul. (Broadcast ing)

HAWAII - KFOI-1380, Honolulu has appl ied f o r a CP t o move t o 990 khz and i n c r e a s e p e r to 50000/10000 U1. (Broadcast ing)

HOLLAM) - ?here i s a "nunour" i n Holland t h a t Iiilversum I11 i s going t o move t o 674 khz and i n c r e a s e p e r t o 300 kw ( l a t e r t o 500 kw). Permission has supposedly been gran ted by t h e ORTF f o r u s e of t h e frequency b ~ . Holland. (BDXC) * *During t h e week of 1/6/74 t h e h t c h Parl iament decided t o d e f e r t h e i r a n t i - p i r a t e l e g i s - l a t i o n . (IGX)

JORDAN - Two 1200 kw t r a n s m i t t e r s a r e under c o n s t r u c t i o n t o cover t h e Arab World. (1WC)

MALTA - The Deutsche Welle 600 kw IN t r a n s m i t t e r i s due t o be o n t h e a i r by mid 1974. (MAC) Frequency is 1570 khz, I think. (ED)

MONACO - Trans World Radio w i l l have a 1003 kw t r a n s m i t t e r o p e r a t i n g on 1466 khz by mid 1974. (Sunspot)

NIGERIA - The Bst Cent ra l Broadcasting Serv ice a t h u g u i s scheduled on 953 khz from 0603 t o 2305 Z. (Sunspot)

, OMAN - The BBC s t a t i o n on & s i r a h I s land is going t o change frequency from 1l+10/ 1412 khz t o 1320 khz. ( ~ u n s p t )

SUDAN - A 1503 kv t r a n s m i t t e r i s c u r r e n t l y under c o n s t r u c t i o n t o cover Fast and Cent ra l Africa. (MWC)

UNITED ARAB DIIRATES - The Abu Dhabi h d c a s t i n g Serv ice p lans t o change from 809 khz t o 728 khz. (Sunspot) According t o WRTH a power i n c r e a s e t o 750 kw is a l s o planned. (ED)

URUGUAY - A new s t a t i o n is Radio Sarandi d e l Yi i n k r a z n o on 1550 khz. (NZDXM)

And now, what our members a re actually hearing . . . 540 -COLOMBIA Horimnte, Ebgota, a s usual, on the frequency on 3/25 a t 0343.

VEhlEZUEIA b d i o Amammas, Puerto Ayacucho, heard on 1/21 a t 0030 with pop music. (Objio, f i r s t two)

570 -VFXFZUEIA Radio Fmbos, Caracas, w/nx a t 0350 on 3/25 o/R. Bebelde. (Objio) 610 -TRINIDAD & TOBAGO The Voice of -dad and Tobago, Rort of Spain, Six-Ten

Radio s/off a t 0404 on w/prayer and NA. ( ~ b j i o ) 647 -ENCUEID BBC Daventry, 3 0415 tune in , ID, standard BBC chimes, I D f o r

World Service (in EE), into EE programing. Signal apparently peaked as I tuned in, momentarily a good t o excellent signal, but quickly (within 5 minutes) dropped into WSM sideband splash, and not hrd in l a t e r checks. 1 Stronger than usual carr iers (for t h i s season, anyway) on 1602, 1457, a f a r others 0400t but a l l seemed tc lack audio. This ou t le t not heard i n several years. (Sundstrom)

650 -HAWAII KORL Honolulu weak, but a l l alone 4/1 MM w/telephone talk show 0830- 0904. IDed as *The Radio Station f o r the People, KORL, Honolulun. (Horie) 1

-llFXEUm Bdio Girardot, b racay , s/off w/NA, announcing t o be back on the a i s a t 10cX), on 3/25. off 0357. (Objio)

780 -BRITISH VIRGIN ISIANDS ZBVI Wadtown, 2/27 W/EE news audible thru Cuban 0205+ s/off 0209, national anthem 0210-1 1 , and carr ier off. Peaking a t good leve l thru s/oz^f o/&ban, no sign of h'BE2-1. A counts 0/20. New, never was able t o hear something o/the &ban before w/auroral openings. (Sunds Lrom )

820 -COLOMBIA HJB) La Voz del H o CRuca, C a l i 4/e, f i r s t hearc! W/SS 0335 , taped slow male SS song 0357, wcman spoke 0359, then march t o 0400 when disappeared. F i r s t Soutn American, tnx PT. i F ~ u n t )

830 -COLOHBB Radio vision, ~ede1I.i; w/one hour dram endiry a t OL!5 on 3/25, heard a f t e r HIJB s/off. (Objio)

-DOMIMICAN FDUBLIC R. HIJB, Santo bmingo no l o w e r i n operation or. the week- end as usual. now d o f f a t OLM. (obiin \ , - -~ - - , --- .--e--,

834 -BEUZE %dio '~el ize, Belize City very good with a woman reciting poetry a t 0335 on 3/25. IOb.iio)

-PANAM HOOLBO, &dio kbertad well atop the channel 3/25 0510-0600 w/quiet mx program. IT& a t ObOO as b d i o Ubertad, Cadena kc iona l . Gavs address as Apartado h s t a l 4950, Parasma 5. Best ever hrd here, so reported. (Freeman)

-ST LUCU Ftadio Caribbean, Castries 3/20, noted i n FF w/ ID 0000, then into nx in Special Fnglish. bod si-1 o / 4 ~ w/no WHAS only lasted 5 minutes, then 4VEF took over w/a super signal f o r balance of early evening. (Sndstrom)

-PAWLHA Radio Reforma. Chitre, w/local mx a t 0420 on 3/25, veq- good w/hdio Qarin off. (Objio )

-VENEZUEA Oldas Populares, Caracas, a t 0317 on 3/25 u/pop songs. (Objio) -PAM@% Onla Popular, Panama, w/local mx a t 0325 on 3/25. (Objio ) -COL~I~fBIA Ia Voz de la Victor, Ebgota, SMng a t 0320 on 3/25, rarely heard here, WSTX S t . Croix and YVLR R. k r a c a y always on the frequency. (Objio)

- m I C O XFD Hexicall, BC logged 3/30 0300-0330. Mr 0300, IGX sFlm 031 5, ID as "XYD, potente y dinamican mx mostly ballads i n SS. Very mugh w/KUPB. (Gleason)

- b t E I C O XERH), b d i o Red, Mexico DF new call, slogan f o r old XERCN. b t e t h i s , and 1470 as evidence that Mexican RCN is almost to ta l ly gone, (KT- owned k? X E V P owners, IDsdio Programs de Mexico). (Gleason) I s th i s , by chance in EE nod, o r s t i l l SS? (ED)

-lf%XICO Vernon's unid is probably *I8 R M, Bdioramam, i.e. XERM, Mexicali, EC, 24 hours. New slogan confinned by info fmm Qeason. As soon as I can get it a l l integrated, a newer edition of the Mexiglenn l ist w i l l be published by NRC. (Hauser)

- m U E I A YVOZ Caracas, good s i g on auroral n i t e W/SS song, announcer said "Venezuelan 0335, then into song w/heavy beat. 4/8 tm to PT. (Mount)

- W U E Z A b d i o Continental, E l Tocuyo, heard IDing a t 0230 on 2/39 Pop songs. -VEXDZEU h d i o Apolo, Tuxmero, heard off frequency, IMng a t 0228 on 2/3 W/ ads, easily Beperable from 1320. ( ~ b j i o , last two)

-COSW RICA Cadena Rnlsora Columbia, Uberia, w/m a t 0206, very good -8 at 0207 on 3/9. (Objio)

-MEXICO XBHG Mexicall, BC has new f o m t of Ranchera and Nortena and now ID as HRadio chi to" w/typical R. m c h i t o jingle. Heard UP 0200 on 3/30. Few ads, only mention of Mexicali w a s on dedications- ,Severe XE31F on also. S/of f 0202. (Qeason)

1L60 -COLOMBIA B d i o Nuevo Continente, Ebgota with religious music a t 0435 on . - 3/25. (Objio)

1470 - W C O XEBBC Tijuana, BC heard 3/30 0300 w/soul mx, W/US disc jockeys and promos f o r 7 day a week progrsmming. Very messy signal, apparently a l ink problem such as XEXN often has from relaying prograorming from US to Mexico. Asked f o r mail to P.O. B3X 181330, Los Angelas 40018. (season)

1475 -MALAYSIA Kota Kinabalu presumed the one heard MM 4/1 1102-1135; mostly m- man announcer, whestern-style mx; occasional male announcer also. Strong steady signal. Tuned in too l a t e f o r IS a t 1100; no chimes or other IMng characteristics a t 1130; language sounded l i k e the Tagalog heard here back i n the f a l l . (Pejza)

* 9 VERDICATIONS * * 990 -MEXICO XET Monterrey, NL v/l on f/up f o r 12/73 report w/~ermant from Ing.

Jesus Orozco A., Gerente, Apartado 203. (Gleason)

1010 -MKXICO XEVK Torreon, Goah. "Fadio FeLicidad* v/l f o r f/up on November 73 report from Juan Bosco Lopez Torres, Corente, a t Apsrtado 505. leaso on)

1 140 -MEXICO XEXF Leon, Cto. "IBdio Bajio" v/l f o r f/up on 12/73 report from Grlblr.0 miroga de l a Hoz, Gerente a t Apartado 562. Fnclosed 3 post cards,

-MEXICO -XEB lbnterrey, NL v/l on f/up of 11/73 report from Alberto b t r a d a 'Torres, Gerente a t Ave. Madero Ote. 1110, Apartado 2747. Returned my stamp,

sent special delivery and registered. Says night p e r s t i l l 350 watts, and 10000 watts days. (Gleason, l a s t two)

1265 -ST KITS Radio Paradise QSL i n as others. Correct address i s P.O. B3X 423 (not 428 as has been sometimes l i s ted) . reem em an)

1385 -PHOENIX ISIANDS WXLE Canton Is. Report from early December was sent t o Kentron address and went unanswered. Follow up was sent t o Robert G. Gray, Captain USAF, Pacific A i r Forces, Frequency Manager, CINPACAF (DCOSA), AFQ San Francisco 96553. This brought innoediate QSL. The address came from D C A via Jim Critchett. Thanks to both! Since t h i s freq was formerly used by an miwetok (Marshall I s ) WRTS stat ion, I seized an opportunity t o talk w/a G I who returned i n the spring of 73 from one year of service on the is- land. He reported tha t the only radio a t tha t time came from a one watt FM relay there on ENwetok Atoll. The radio building was s t i l l there, but had been stripped of equipment. Many other buildings had been sent t o Canton Island, apparently about 1971. A t present there a re approximately 35 per- sons on Ehivetok who a re cleaning up the island so tha t it can eventually be returned t o the b r s h a l l e s e who vere evacuated before the bomb tests .

(Freeman)

1390 -MEXICO XEOR Fieynosa, Tamps. f a s t special delivery v/l from FeUx Carza Pena, Cerente, a t Apartado 134 for ray report covering very random de ta i l s of 3/15 reception during 6 hours. (Qeason)

1560 -PUERTO RICO WRSJ Bayamon, "'Radio San Juan* the announcer R e i d d o ~ a n t i a o sent a post card thanking me f o r r e g r t , said manager would be writing v $ ~ . card come in 10 days. (Gleason)

The reporters f o r th i s issue . . . Clarence FFEEMN - Yreka, California Dave GLEASON - Scottsdale, Arizona ~ ~ ~ A / u R R , Sanserino loop Glenn HAUSER - Stillwater, Oklahoma H@160, SM2, 100 1 longwire b g e r S HORIE - Missoula, k n t a n a H+18OAC, 758 longwire PBul MOUNT - Teaneck, New Jersey Cesar ORIPO - Santo bmingo, Dominican RepubUc HFr30, I' loop, 601 longwire Father Jack PEJZA - SBn Diego, California SPb4, Sanserino loop Tom SUNDSTRDM - Willingborn, New Jersey HC+150 w/S%620 & 342, HQl4OX, DXlSOA, BDXC - Benelux DX Club /longwire W C - Medium Wave Circle NZrmAA - New Z e a W DX Radio Association -pot - Bil let in of Finnish DX Club 73, CUIN14. m R T ! ! ! ! ! !

-

Zm

s-

-

m~

.*

mr

nE

O

a-gw>5

3 9

- *

85

:; -5:

2 A

-

hC

Y

Or

d:

gE

;

NC

Y PC

01

al

EO

h

m*

P,

ao

o

g

~C

GN

C -4

zs d

oll

v) m

lr~::E

i :

uw

nr

m

-d

OX

Qh

-.

m

ko

om

o

C

via

lNr

n0

P,+

WQ

El

d -.+a

0

1 ..o

bc

lrl

SE

OQ

B

Q

05

-4

c

.*

rl

kO

?r

l ;

0 0a

.AM

+

k

j*

C

Ed

k

Bb

,I

o

ao

em

~ I

r1

oo

Fi.4

0

k k

N

(r

am

*

m al

aJ o

ar

lo

o .a+

2

g sii2;za; c

ot-

wo;:

m"

Y

:0

ma

Z.

~2

$

+..I Q

.~

)rn

a

4m

aZ

Zn

.. .. .d

a* 0

-5

a

89

$ H

i2 $

44

~

na

is5

a~

i; d

0-

$

.

- -

om

u

lh

!2

n*

a

a

wm

c -

.gw

- tn

04

-

'? 0 n -4

EO

hQ

:M

(r

e

c-

m

PC

-Q-&

I O

alr

l ul

2 b,

10

"

0 2

nd

0 m

*

ON

m

ma

o (r

1 01

: *?

?2

5

0%

P ;z;" Lrl 8

3&

.: *%

a a

lia

gE

m9

fu

m

mm

(r

.4

ta

ma

l

al

*+

PC

4

m -

al

k"

4P

"O

0

;62

6&

k

m

m50

-a;( a

ex

%_

2

I aag

&a

?-

* 2 &

"J;

rl

O,$:

'2 g

.a

PC-

.A 0 a

rl

+ZS?G h

a

5-- .. $

E

rn

UlX

>

oo

gu

o

hmw

s 2 z 1

0 $9

g3g- a

0

oo

og

0

0 1

:> I

0-a

la

(

om

4

2

d -4

0 H

o

o

~m

E

0 0

.4

.2E

2 2

5

& 32$g$

k

0

00

00

O

'UL

oW

Otn

13

aJ

qM

00

r

lY

rl

dd

4

8S

ligj~

~

Ei s;zd!'3a

8 gg

8 k

-

k

Y

kt. al

$.> " *a -

ms

r

lo

m

g \

Ph

w

n

mm

a

c m

.,

., ,

C

u

W'O

0

0

cr'0

a

og

o

+

m

krw

,anm

::: k

s

C

Q r

-

0 .3

k

-.

Id

0

"J

*

tile

a% C

a m

0 V

)

MN

Mlcd

dC

2

go

$%

$

o

rn

.3

~-

m

.4

M

c

B

0

oa

a 0

u

*v

i a c

4

8

:3 2:!2

2 k

-

m

sM

5 Eb n

5

Ern

- al

E

fl 5 z

-.

.

al .4

0

C n

o-

*\-g

E

0-

+?2 EL8

Mr

la

s

.3

\0

u

)d-$

l

al

0

Cd

cn

F

rl 0

"

m .* 0

. bO

;g:z al

WC

M

b (

r&

C

0

a

E*

vi

C

c

Om

@

H

3r

?

$ g 2 ;?

0

00

0

0,

wm

w

,N

,em

m

rl

rlrl*

euneet & evenlng 1000 W Y AL 3/19 Clear i n WCFL n u l l 1952 t o 1959 s/off. NO s ign of WOV a s

i n t h e past . (DS) W O V AL 4/4 On emerg. broadcast due t o tornadem. Poor i n WCF'L n u l l

2235-2315+. Usually b e t t e r than t h i e a t SSS ( H W ) 1110 WCBR KY 4/4 Pnerg. broadcast due t o tornados. Audiable during KFAB

fades i n mT n u l l , some SSers. Best copy 2250-2310 (HWB) 1170 WLE NY 3/24 S/off hrd. 1901 i n t h e c l e a r (MK) 1190 .ANN la, 3/17 O/u WmO 1800-1830+ w/ R&B s t u f f . (JF) 1220 *ZSD VA 3/22 Floated a t o p WGAR/CKCW mess 1944 f o r s/off-No SSB. Long

wanted here ( J W ) Does BGK o m p a r t of t h i s station??--ltlR8 1230 WCWA OH 3/16 In good w/ CKW 1803-1821 (JF) 1250 WAG NC 3/23 Fhded i n u/ WDVA-Wl'AE w/ weak s/off-no SSB. Fair f o r a I

5 0 W . s ta t ion . (JMP) A very queer recept ion (JS) 1440 WQCB PA 3/22 w/reli 1340-1405 w/lflILM sp lash (DS) 1490 WOPA IL 3/13 w/sports scores 1925, f a i r u/CHYM (JF) 1500 WGIC OH 4/4 w/emergency operat ions following tornado, noted 2100+

and seemed t o be 24-hours t o a t l e a s t 4/8, personal messages and p leas f o r food, c lo th ing , e t c , l ists of those known dead and still missing. Grin. ( JS & H\VB)

WINO KY 4/4 a l s o w/emergency broadcasts mixing w/lYGIC, noted 2035- 2205 s /o f f , s i m i l i a r items a s WGIC, not on 4/5 (JS & HWB)

1530 WRBX NC 3/24 LBd: 1930 w/ s /off (MI

10 1410 KERN CA 3/25 i n well a t times, I D 0135 & 0152 (PKH) Does t h i s one

ever ver i fy? (JS) + KCOL CO 3/25 heard s /off 0200 u / b i g OC, c a l l e d s t a t i o n , sked i s 0800-

0200 d a i l y (PKH) Log s e z NSP. Log l i e ! ! (JS) KWBB KS 3/25 sure t h i s is the one w/OC most of MM, they do t h i s a l l

the time and never I D (PKH) Shame, t h r i c e shame (JS) KBHL NE 3/25 on ET w/ID 0132 (M) CKSL ON 3/25 i n o/u KQV most of AM noted reveral spo ts promising

de l ivery anywhere i n western Ontario (JMF') Delievery of what? 826 (JS)

1420 Unid ?? 3/23 s t rong OC 0100+ (JWB) Probably WHK (JS) And speaking of WHK, they a r e now C&W of a l l th ings i n case anyone c a r e s (JS)

Unid GA 3/22 weak & buried i n s l o p (echh-JS) w/0643 promo f o r Atlanta Braves home opener (CCB) Wesley s e z i t 's WRBL. I don't ca re (JS)

Unid ?? 3/20 TT noted 0114 -0121, KPEL FC l i s t e d but W W B S M made I D tough (DS)

WBSM MA 3/23 u/OC w/tele-talk 0200-0400+ (JWB) Unid ?? 3/23 w/FF programming, l i t t l e t a l k , no I D on hour (JrnB)

Must be CKTL PQ (HWB) 1440 WBW NC 3/24 s h o r t ET/OC o/WAJR 0030-0034, two IDS (DS) 1450 W I L M DE 3/25 ET/TT 0031-0100, o f f a i r 0100-0300, then R&B (DS)

KlRPM KO 3/4 DX copied bes t 0115-0118 (PICH) 838 WIBM M I 4/8 on t o p 0340-0344 w/RR and contes t promo (HWB) WHIS MI 3/25 r a r e here, topping f r e q a l l MM w/W (JMP) 4/8 on top

0346-0355 w/sports and Psa (HlVB) 1440 WOHkl VA 4/8 ET 0222-0236 o f f , had RR w/DJ, wx, e t c , very RS l i k e ,

only one mention of " test ing", very s t range i n t h a t they were using 'WILH j ingles . (JS)

1460 Unid ?? 4/1 s t rong I k TT, DF e/w 0010 tune i n t o 0012 end of TT, was s t ronger than WBirSIZlli R: which s t a r t e d 0014:30 (TRS)

4 WOK0 NY 3/25 w/another MM ET/TT 0045 (JMF') CJOY ON 3/23 a l l alone w/nx 0200-0210 (JWB)

1490 WDXB TN 3/22 on top w/RR 0147-0200+ (JF) WHSL NC 4/1 s t r o n g w/spot 0420, i n t o bir thday promo, wiped out by

WEJC-1500 TT, l a t e d heard NC nx, assume them again (GF) , 1500 Unid ?? 4/1 weak u/WDEE/WToP ET and KSTP TT 0405-0410 w/nx & s p o r t s ,

no c l e a r I D but programming indicated could be CKAY (GF) Yes, i t wuz them (HIVB)

1510 lPMEX MA 3/18 w/ID 0210 during ET/TT/OC (TRS) +I530 WCKY OH 4/1 s l i g h t modification i n SP, gave s/off f o r SP 0100-0445,

Log s e z 0430 (TRS) X N I W 1PI 3/18 copied s /off 0218, 3/25 had good s i g a t s /off 0209, then

l o s t t o WCKY ET (PKH) 1540 Unid ?? 4/1 ET/TT/OC, DF WSW/ENE us ing var iab le TT and sweeps, t e a r i n g

up KXEL thru 0200 s /o f f , noted 0115-0210+, no IDS ( T R S ) 1550 Unid ?.? 3/17 weak but alone 0350 w/UPI Nx, l o s t copy 0355 from 1540

and 1560 FX sp lash (CGE) 1560 WDXR KY 3/20 noted s /off and SSB 0102, o f f AN again? (DS) They a i n ' t

been AN f o r many moone (JS) 3/26 noted s/off 0104, l e f t s t a t i o n w/CBS Nx, KPM: o r XEVIP (ELK) Has t o be VIP (JS)

WMIC MI 3/16 w/SSB & s/on 0602 u/-, mantion of FM 97.7 (CGf3) WSW MD 3/17 s/on 0615, mention of F'M 104.1 (CGB) I W G K 5 W I 3/25 DX i f on, not heard (TRs) 3/25 DX not heard here (MK)

3/25 DX not noted (DS) 3/25 DX no s i g n (JWB) a e s s what? It wasn't on (JS)

1570 m L OH 3/18 DX 0124 w/voice & CW IDS (MK) 3/18 DX 0115-0129 weak -/much QRM, ran jazz, TT, slow CW I D and voice IDS (;WF)

WKOL NY 3/17 heard c a l l , power and PSA power mentioned i n 0600 s/on + WBUZ NY 3/22 heard 0700 and 0730 w/WS ne t (CGB) (Cm) 1580 KLQU LA 3/17 weak 0439 w/RR, I D and TC (Cm) 4/1 0336 ET/ID then

i n t o RR, followed by OC (GF) W'IWX IL 4/1 garbled I D 0341, couldn ' t f ind i n my Log, not updated from

old c a l l , s a i d RS resumed 0615 (W) Noted TT/OC 0325 4/1, off w/ID 0341 o/u KUlU ET (JS)

r*=O WGOE VA 3/25 noted 0235 =/ talk pro- on drugs giving Richmond fane number. (DS) Did you c a l l ? (JS)

11 1590 \WOE NC 3/17 poor 0605, heard c a l l i n announcement ( ~ a )

WNOS NC 3/22 w/ s/on 0600, only c a l l l e t t e r s heard (CGB) WACA SC 3/22 o/\t'I$OS 0600 w/ s/on, mentioned "at t h e HIGH point of

the d i a l " (CGB) I ' v e been t h e r e (JS) 1600 :WST \W 3/13 a top 0605 w/ s/on ( C a )

+ WKWF F'L 3/22 j u s t made it u/fading KATZ f o r 0530 s/on (PKH) Log s e z 24 hours (JS) Chan~e

And so, with the end of t h i s DDW we ask t h e musical quest ion " W i l l we have more Unids than I D S next i s sue?" We have s e r i o u s l y considered renaming t h i s s e c t i o n DGWD f o r Domestic Guess Kho Digest. Now, the names of those who a r e guessing along with the r e s t of you. (JS)

CONTRIBUTORS: PK: Peter Kemp, Bethel, CT; equipment unknown JWB: Jow Brauner, Punxsutawney, PA; SX99, longwire DE: Don Egcert, Bowling Green, KY; equipment Unid JF: Je f f Falconer, Cl inton, ON; ICenwood 9R59DS, Sbfl GF: Geoff Ffox, N . Olmsted, OH; SX62A, SM1 i\DF: B i l l F a i t , Cleveland, OH; Al l ied 2660, 15-foot longwire ( shor twi re?) PKM: Paul i lar t , Ft Worth, TX, SX28A, homebrew a l t a z , Fisher 90T, SE.11 PK: >hrk Kats, Brookline, PIA; H0180, +foot a l t a r JEIP: J i m Poterba, Yardley, PA; AQ200, SF11 DS: Dave Smut, New Cas t le , DE; IIrZ180, Sbl2 TRS: Tom Sandstorm, Willingboro, NJ; HQ150, SbE, DX150, Ii(.!140, LW, 831 BV: Brian Vernon, Leaf Rapids, PB; DXlSO, longwired ELK: Zdward Krejny, Ptiddleburg Pro jec t s , OH; HU180, loop, IIQ-815 EAT: &nil A. Tishman, Fanork F a l l s , NII; SX913, EAT-1 UGK: Rig George ICowolski, akdia, PA, SDS834 1~473: \fes Boy, Gi ra rdv i l l e , OH, IIQ180, 2-foot a l t a z longwire JS: Je r ry S t a r r , Hubbardtown, OH, I I U l B O , 4-foot loop, v e r t i c a l beverage AF: Alfonso Oedoya, Gringo, FW, IiiD20-20, Coors beverage

Since i t ' s 0430 w e ' l l wrap i t up f o r now. Remember: Happiness is a warm . worm. Send i n a l l your s t u f f , w e ' l l be s t reak ing back i n th ree weeks. Fare thee well good fr iends. 816 t o a l l -See you a l l middle of MAY..

W FI # RADIO 'THC MIGHTY FIVE"

C O ~ T orrlcc DIU\WCR *m" KISSIYYCC. FLORIDA 31741

73 and a l l t h a t ,

' ~ e s . & j e r ry

UPDATEF? TO THE CP LIST DATED 4/5/74--A11 from t h e grea t ELK.. 600 KINC CA Is c a l l f o r Independence CP 850 KEYX TX Is c a l l f o r IIouston CP--ex: KGGH 1560 JSKAA SD Is c a l l f o r Aberdeen CP

And he quest ions i f t h e 900 Pent icton & 1380 lrloncton CPs have been scrapped?? I th ink they were, but c a n ' t f i n d def ina te CRTC i n f o here t o confirm. Further he lp appreciated.. HWB

8 8 N. FRANKLIN STREET WILKES-BARRE, PA 1 87 1 1

TEAM AmxICAN LEAGUE:

Feed S t a t i o n S t a t i o n s on Net

Announcers

DX'ing Basebal l Networks f o r fun and p r o f i t , H.W.Boyd Chuck Thompson

B i l l 0' Donne11 Balt . Or io les

Baseball networks o f f e r DXers a chance t o hear s t a t i o n s t h a t normally wouldn't be heard with regu la r programming. The biggest advantage i n such Dung is t o DXers i n t h e e a s t and midwest. When teams from these a r e a s play night game. on t h e r e s t coas t t h e network of ten operates beyond 1AM.

These networks a r e very s i m i l a r and operate i n t h e same b a s i c manner. The feed s t a t i o n is usua l ly a 50Kw 1-A s t a t i o n a s WJR 760-KDKA 1020-ICMOX 1120-WCAU 1210-etc. Sometimes t h e feed s t a t i o n is a secondary 50Kw c l e a r channel s t a t i o n a s WBAL 1090-WHDH 850-WHN 1050-etc. In a few cases a 5KW reg iona l s t a t i o n with good coverage is used--KMBZ 980-KABC 790-etc.

Most s t a t i o n s on the network operate on reg iona l o r l o c a l channels. Qui te o f ten t h e r e w i l l be s e v e r a l s t a t i o n s on t h e same c l a s s IV channel with the same basebal l game. S t a t i o n s along t h e network a r e usua l ly i n an a r e a not served by the main feed s t a t i o n .

Major sponsors of these games a r e beer companies and reg iona l au to o u t l e t s . These sponsors w i l l o f ten buy out 2-3 innings of each game, and t h e commercial runs on t h e e n t i r e network. During t h e game t h e r e w i l l be s e v e r a l "cut-aways" t o al low l o c a l s t a t i o n s t o run a l o c a l commercial. The c o m e r c i a l s always run a t t h e end of each ha l f inn ing of play un less play is delayed f o r some reason. Normally only enough commercials a r e so ld f o r a 9 inning game. When t h e games go t o e x t r a innings t h e network may not run any other commercials. But w i l l still give "cut-aways" s o t h e l o c a l s t a t i o n can run commercials o r PSAs.

The FCC requi res t h a t s t a t i o n IDS be given a s c lose a s poss ib le t o the t o p of t h e hour. For s p o r t s broadcast t h i s is changed t o + or - 5 minutes of the top of t h e hour. IDS fol low t h e cue "...we pause 10 seconds f o r s t a t i o n i d e n t i f i c a t i o n on t h e ???????? baseba l l network" The a c t u a l ID may be before o r a f t e r a commercial, and sometimes i n t h e middle of an inning.

A s i m i l a r cue is given near the .ha l f hour but t h i s is not a l e g a l ID. This is a c t u a l l y a 60 second cut-away t o a l low t h e l o c a l s t a t i o n t o run a l o c a l commercial. There is of ten an ID following t h e c o m e r c i a l , but it 's r e a l l y more of a promo than anything e l se .

Features from t h e network include t h e pre-game and wrap-up shows a i r e d before and a f t e r the game. The wrap-up of ten includes interviews with one o r members of t h e team. Not a l l s t a t i o n s along t h e network c a r r y w i l l a i r these features .

It i s suggested that you l i s t e n t o s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t innings of severa l d i f f e r e n t games from s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t s t a t i o n s . This w i l l provide a much b e t t e r understanding of how these networka operate. After a while you w i l l be ab le t o i d e n t i f y the networks by t h e announcer's voices , o r names of members of the teams.

An exce l len t source of information on baseba l l games is i n your l o c a l newspaper. Here y o u ' l l f i n d schedules, s t a r t i n g times, and t h e s t a r t i n g pi tchers . Checking the wr i te up of t h e games of t h e previous day you can f i n d t h e b a t t i n g order of most teams. This rill a l s o provide t h e names of pinch h i t t e r s , designated b a t t e r s , and r e l e i f p i t c h e r s of t h e d i f f e r e n t teams.

The a c t u a l DXing can be done is s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t ways. You can l i s t e n t o t a l l y t o t h e ne t rork s t a t i o n you r a n t t o ident i fy. Or you can use your 1

regu la r t a b l e r a d i o t o monitor t h e feed s t a t i o n . In t h i s fashion you can c r o s s check t h e network with t h e un iden t i f i ed s t a t i o n t o see i f they a r e running the same commercia1,etc. It won't t ake long u n t i l you develop r myste- of your o m f o r baseba l l network Dung.

I h r i n g t h e s u r e r DX News rill car ry list. of such networks. Often a list a Ye- o r s o old can be used a& t h e e t a t i o n e on these networka seldom c h n s e . Thusly t h e lists i n l a s t years DX New w i l l be about 85% correct .

The f o l l ~ r i n g list should a l s o be a n a d d i t i o n a l a i d i n your baseba l l ne t rork DXing.

Ned Martin-Jim Voods Boston Red Sox

Cleve . Indians Det ro i t T igers - - N.Y. Yankees

Joe Tate-Herb Score

Ernie Barwell-Paul Carey

Phil Rizzuto-Prank %sser- B i l l White

Texae m g e r s

Cal if . Angles

WBAP 820

KF(PC 710 Dick Enberg-Don Drysdale- Dave Niehaue

Chicago White Sox Barry Caray-Bill Wercer

Kansas Ci ty Royals

Denaie k t t h e r s Buddy B l a t t n e r

Ui lwaukee Brewers Merle Harmon-Bob Uecker

Xinnesota Twins WCCO 830 Herb C a r n e a l - I a r q Calton

Oakland Ath le t ide

* * * * * * * * NATIONAL WGUE:

LOU Boudreau-Vince Lloyd Chicago Cubs

Montreal Expos (RE)

(FT) Dare Van Horne-Russ Taylor Jacquea Doucet

Claude Raymond

CITF 600 CKAC 1570

N.Y. &kts Linsey Nelson-Ralph f i n e r Bob m h y

Philadelphia P h i l l i e s Byrum Saam-Barry Kalas

Rich Ashburn

P i t t sburgh P i r a t e s Bob Prince-Nellie King

St , Louis Cardinals Jack Buck-Mike Shannon

Atlanta Braves Milo Hamilton-Ernie Johnson

Cinc inna t t i Reds & r t y Brennnrann-Joe N u x h a l l

Houston Astros Gene Elston-Loel Passe

Los Angelos Dodgers Vince Scukly-Jerry Doggett

San Diego Padres J e r r y Coleman-Bob Chandler

S a n FYancisco Giants A l Michaels-Art Ec-

I n t h i s p o r t i o n of n o r t h e a s t e r n Ohio s e v e r a l o f t h e s e n e t w o r k s c a n b e h e a r d . The most c o m o n o n e s a r e St. L o u i s - C i n c i n n a t t i - a n d P h i l a d e l p h i a , Next would b e Cleveland-Detroit-Pittsburgh-Milmukee-Atlanta-and b o t h of t h e New Y o r k ' C i t y networks.%ntreal-Baltimore-Kansas C i t y - a n d B o s t o n are n o t uncommon.

So far I h a v e n ' t h e a r d a n y t h i n g f rom t h e T e x a s R a n g e r s n e t w o r k b u t s u c h r e c e p t i o n s h o u l d b e p o s s i b l e . I a l s o h a v e h o p e s o f c a t c h i n g someone f rom a w e s t c o a s t s t a t i o n . P e r h a p s i n t h e e a r l y f a l l when t h e s k i p s t a r t s t o come back.

h n y o f t h e t e c h n i q u e s u s e d i n DXing b a s e b a l l n e t w o r k s w i l l b e u s e f u l t o you i n DXing similar forms o f b r o a d c a s t s . E v e r y y e a r a b o u t March e a c h s t a t e h a s a h i g h s c h o o l b a s k e t b a l l p l a y o f f t o f i n d t h e s t a t e champ. O r t r y DXing t h e c o l l e g e b a s k e t b a l l t o u r n a m e n t s arouiid C h r i s t m a s e d c h y e w . You can u s e s i m i l a r t e c h n i q u e s DXng t h e many t e l e t h o n s e a c h y e a r * o r f o r e l e c t i o n s .

It 's u p t o you t o u s e t h e s e t i p s t o d e v e l o p y o u r own b a s e b a l l n e t w o r k DXing skill. With a l i t t l e p r e p e r a t i o n you can a d d many new s t a t i o n s t o y o u r l o g s d u r i n g t h e s u e r months. Good l u c k gang...

I A. .Above is J s v e r i e o i I. -: ., . >,. ,I> .,:" .

WCBY WFYC WHGR WNIL WHLT WDMJ WAGN WMBN WMTE WwAm WPLB WS JM WTCM WA TZ WHTC WKLA w m I Q WNBY WBRN WIOS WLRO WTIQ WSHN WTVB

Cheboygan Alma Houghton Lake N i l e s Hunt ingtor marquette menominee Petoskay Maniatee Cad i l l ac Greenv i l le St. Joseph Traverse C i t y Alpena Hol land Ludington I r o n mountain Newberry B i g Rapida Tams C i t y Whi teha l l Nanist ique Fremcnt Coldwater

NEW YORK YANKEES

P h i l Rizzuto Frank messer B i l l White

570 *WNCA NY New York

(NO f u r t he r i n f o r m t i o n ava i lab le)

TEXAS RANGERS

D ick Risenhoovor B i l l N e r r i l l

S c h l i t z 7-11 Stores

820 *WBAP TX F o r t Worth

(NO fur ther i n f o r m t i o n ava i lab le)

APlERICAN LEACUE-WEST - - CALIFORNIA ANGELS

D ick Enberg Don Drysdele Dave Niehaue

Standard O i l o f C a l i f o r n i a Anheuser-Buach Continental A i r l i n e s

Chevrolet

610 KAVL 620 KNGS 71 0 *KMPC 970 KCHV

1230 KPRL KWTC KXO KLAV

1240 KStpA 1340 KFBR

KSFE 1400 KTUC

KVOY 1440 KPRO 1450 KTIP 1560 KPlrlC 1590 KBBQ

Lancaster Hanf ord Los Angales Coachella Paso Robles Barstow E l Centro Lae Vegas Santa maria Nogales Needles Tucson Y urn R ivers ide P o r t e r v i l l a Bakers f ie ld Ventura

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Harry Caray B i l l mercer

General Finance Loans Chevrolet Zen i th Radio D i s t r i b u t o r s

670 *WWQ I L Chicago

(There i s no network)

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Buddy B la t t ne r Danny matthera

Dodge Amoco F a l s t a f f Beer Guy's Fooda

WIBW KOWH KGGF KmA

*KmBZ KIND KBLR KTNC KIUL KNEm KWHK KO KD KWNS KRNO KSEK

Topeka Omaha Cof feyv i l le Shenandoah Kansas C i t y Independence Bo l i va r F a l l s C i t y Garden C i t y Nevada Hutchinem C l i n ton P r a t t marahal l P i t t sbu rg

KGFW KGNO KAMO KNCK KAY5 KVOE KULY KOKO KKOY KARE KDmO KDRO KDSN KECK KABI KLEX KNIM KVGB

Kearney Dodge C i t y Rogers Concordia Hays Emporia Ulyasea Warrensburg Chanute Atchieon Carthage Ssda l ia Deniaon L inco ln Abi lene Lexington Maryv i l l e Greet Bend

MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Nerle Harmon Bob Uecker

S c h l i t z Brewing Company m & m/mars American Dai ry Assoc ia t ion F i r s t Federal Savings & Loan Mc Donalds Oscar Meyer American motors

580 WKTY 620 *WTNJ 710 WDSM 810 WYYS 910 WDOR

WHSM 960 WTCH 980 WPRE 990 WNNO

1220 KOUR 1230 WCLO

WXCO 1240 WIBU

WONT 1260 WWIS 1290 WCOW 1310 WIBA 1320 KmAQ 1350 WPDR 1380 WBEL 7400 w a x 1430 WBEV 1450 KFIZ

WRCO 1470 WBKV 1490 W I G l O

La Croese mllmaukee Super ior Tomahawk Sturgeon Bay Hayward Shawano P r a i r i e du Chien Wisconsin D e l l s Independence Janesv i l l e Waeau Poynatte manitowoc Black R iver F a l l s Sparte madieon maquoketa Portage South B e l o i t Eau C l a i m Beaver Dam Fond du Lac Richland Center West Bend msdford

17 1570 WAPL W I Appleton 1590 W I X K W I New Richmond

WSWW W I P l a t t e v i l l e

mINNESOTA TWINS

Herb Carneel La r r y Calton

midwest Federal Savings & Loan Foreman & Clark C lo th ing Northwestern B e l l Telephone Clover leaf Da i r i ea Western A i r l i n e s

WNAX KS JB KDAL

*WCCO KWAD WHO KILR KSOO KGHS KMRS KTRF KWNO KPRN WMf G KDLR KBRF KROX KVOX KGLO KDLM KVBR KGPC KBRX KLPm KEYL WHLB WBIZ KRWB KBmW WELY KVCK KGCA KEHG KGCX KOZY KXRA KFAV KRAD KLCR

Yankton Jamestoa Dulu th minneapolie Wadena Des Moinee E e t h e r v i l l e Sioux F a l l a I n te rna t i ona l F a l l e Morr is Th ie f River F a l l e W inona Park Repide Hibbing D e v i l s Lake Fergua F a l l s Crooketon moorehead mason C i t y D e t r o i t Lakes Brainerd Grafton OINeil l N inot Long P r a i r i e V i r g i n i a Eau C la i ra Roseau Breckenridge E 1~ Wolf Po in t Rugby Fosston Sidney Grand Rapid8 Alexandria mayv i l le East Grand Forks Algona

OAKLAM) ATHLETICS

18 Jon m i l l e r

19 L i t t l e Rock Po r tagev i l l e Effingham St. Louie B r a z i l Sparta B loomington Hopk insv i l le Lebanon J o p l i n Ponca C i t y S t u t t g a r t Har r isburg Otturnwa F l a t River Je f fe rson C i t y Pr inceton S p r i n g f i e l d Charleston Waynesvil le Arkansas C i t y Poteau Benton Keokuk F o r t Smith B a t e s v i l l e H e r r i n Bed f o r d Salem Helena Heber Springs Enid Champaign F o r t Dodge Columbia Sikeaton Pocahontas Kemnee V incennee Padueah Clarksdale K i r k e v i l l e Shawnee Carmi Peoria New Albany Paragould Danv i l l e Cairo Geneseo Jacksonvi l le Canton Bo l i va r B r i nk ley Robinsm Marked Tree Duquoin

!d on Page 30 ............

KLRA AR KMIS MO WCRA I L

*KMOX NO WWCM IN WHCO I L KJBC I L WHOP KY KLWT mo KODE MO WBBZ OK KWAK AR WEBQ I L KBIZ I A KFMO mo KWOS mo WRAY IN KGBX RlO WEIC I L KFBD MO KSOK KS KLCO OK WCBL KY KOKX I A KWHN A R KBTA AR WJPF I L WBIW IN KSmO NO KFFA A R KAWW AR KCRC OK WDWS I L KVFD I A KFRU mo KSIm m0 KPOC A R WKEI I L WAOV IN WPAD KY WROX MS KIRX MD KGFF OK WROY I L WMBD I L WNAU ffi KDRS AR WDAN I L WKRO I L WGEN I L WJIL I L WBYS I L WBOL TN KBRI AR WTAY I L KPO\ A R WDQN I L

900 CKTS Qua Sherbrooke 1350 CHOV Ont Pembroke

CKLB Ont Oshawa

Coca-Cola Sun O i l Sears, Roebuck and Company 1370 +KEEN CA San Jose

l e ) MONTREAL EXPOS (French)

800 WCHA 850 WEEU

1150 WDEL 1210 +WWU 1220 WJUN 1230 WBPZ 1270 WLBR 1340 WERE 1360 WPPA 1400 WEST

WICK WRAK

1420 WCOJ 1450 WFPG 1480 WISL 1490 WGAL

WMRF

Chambereburg Reading Wilmington Phi ladelphia Mexico Lock Haven Lebanon Wilkes-Barre P o t t s v i l l e Easton Scranton Wil l iamsport Coatesv i l le A t l a n t i c C i t y Shamokin Lancaster Leuistown

(No f u r t h e r in format ion ava i lab

NATIONAL LEAGUE-EAST --- CHICAGO CUBS

Jacques Doucet Claude Raymond

(Sponsors same as Eng l ish network) Vince L loyd Lou Boudreau

550 CHLN 630 CHLT

CJLA 730 +CKAC 900 CJBR

CK JL 970 CKCH

1240 CSF 1280 CKCV 1320 CJSO 1350 CJLM 1370 CFLV 1400 CJFP 1420 CJNT 1450 CHEF

CHRT

Pus Three Rivers Que Sherbrooke Rue Lachute Que Montreal Que Rirnouski Qus St. Jerome Que H u l l Que Cabano Que Quebec Que Sore1 Que J o l i e t t e sue V a l l e y f i e l d Que R iv ie re du Loup Que Chicout imi Que Granby Que St. Eleuthere

Oak Park Federal Savings G. Heileman Brewing Company met ropo l i tan Buick Dealers Ka ro l l ' e Me's Wear The Walgreen Company

720 *WGN 930 WTAD 980 WITY

1050 WDZ 1110 WHYT 1230 WSAL 1240 WTAX 1250 WGL 1300 WAAC

WBLG 1350 WIOU 1400 WGIL

WBAT WROZ

1460 WKAN 1490 WFKY

WON1 1580 WCCR 1590 WNTS

Chicago Quincy Danv i l l e Decatur Nob lesv i l l s Loganaport S p r i n g f i e l d F o r t Wayns Terre Haute Lexington Kokomo Galeeburg N a r i m Evansv i l le Coehen F rank fo r t Owensboro Urbana Ind ianapo l is

PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Bob Pr ince N e l l i e King

P i t tsburgh Brewing

1020 *KDKA PA Pi t tsburgh NEW YORK ETS

(No f u r t h e r in format ion ava i lab Lindsey Nelson Bob Murphy Ralph Kiner ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Jack Buck Mike Shannon Bob S t a r r

Household Finance Corporat ion Ba l l an t i ne Beer Chryelsr-Plymouth Dealers o f New York Da i ry lea Long Is land L i g h t i n g Company mONTREAL EXPOS

(English)

Anheuser-Busch Chevrolet Sun O i l Company Laclede Gas Company Steak n ' Shake Cot ter Hardware General Finance Corporat ion

1050 *WHN NY New York Dave Van Home Russ Taylor (No f u r t h e r in format ion ava i lab le)

OTKeefe B r e m r i s s American motors Electro-Holms Stereo & TV S w i f t Naet Producta Lo to Quebec Steibarg's Supermarket Chain Pepei-Cola Texaco

PHILADELPHIA WILLIES

Byrum Saam Harry Kalas R ich ie Aehburn

WELO WREC KVMA KCmC WAKO WTAD KWOC KFVS W r n Y KAY L

Tupelo Nemphis Magnolia Texarkana Lawrencevi l ls Quincy Poplar B l u f f Cape Girardeau Sp r i ng f i e l d Storm Lake

Schmidt's Beer Tasty Baking Company nV\B Pa in ts Gino'a Hamburgere Chrysler-Plymouth Dealers Gi rard Bank o f Phi ladelphia

600 +CFCF Que Montreal 620 WVNT VT Bu r l i ng ton 800 CJBO Ont B e l l e v i l l e

Successful Long-Distance Reception on t h e Class-IV Channels

- by Bob Foxworth There a r e s i x channels on the medium-wave Broadcast Band t h a t represent some

of the most challenging and demanding DX oppor tuni t ies avai lable t o the MW DX en- thusiaat . mese frequencies a re known a s the b c a l Service, o r Class IV assignment channels ( c l a s s IV s t a t ions being exclusively assigned t o these frequencies). They a r e a s follows: 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450 and 1490 ki loher tz . Tnese are s e t as ide i n the U.S.A, Canada, Mexico and a few Caribbean locat ions (e.g. Puerto Rico) and Bermuda e tc . f o r fu l l t ime s t a t ions (operating day and night) with low power, t yp ica l ly 1000 wat ts day and 250 wat ts night, with nondirectional antenna. A few exceptions t o t h e power ru l e ex i s t , t h e reader i s advised t o consult t he "NRC Domestic b g " of the National Radio Club, o r "Broadcasting Yearbook" f o r more spec i f i c data. Canada, typically,has begun placing s t a t ions w i t h up t o 10,000 wat ts and d i r ec t iona l antennas beaming Northward on some of these frequencies. CHYM i n Kitchener, Ont. (on 1490 khz) i s one such, using 10 kw power, and has been i n o p e ra t ion f o r severa l years now. But these a r e the great exception t o the ru le .

W e r countries, such as Braz i l and Japan, and Western Europe's 1484 and 1594 khz assignments, f o r example, provide f o r low power l o c a l service, with many s t a t i o n s on the same channel. However, North America with i t s much greater number of pr ivate radio s t a t ions has a need f o r s i x such channels, and each one has more s t a t i o n s on it. There are , then, more s t a t i o n s audible a t night from any given location, a t any one time and on any one Class-IV frequency. This r e s u l t s i n such in ter ference that it is o f t en very d i f f i c u l t t o pick out a readable s igna l from the interference. T5is congestion i s so acute that there have been instances of DXers i n o ther pa r t s of t h e world wri t ing U.S.-based DXers and asking t o have sent t o them, tapes of how these frequencies sound a t night! Such i s t he cu r ios i ty t h a t surrounds these strange frequencies.

DXing the graveyard frequencies, as these channels a r e popularly known i n the DX cammunity, i s a t once predictable, and f u l l of surprises. The slang name, "grave yard" i s generally thought t o r e fe r t o the close geographical spacing of s t a t ions assigned t o any one frequency. Looking a t a map showing s t a t i o n assignments is akin t o looking a t rows of headstones, t he s t a t i o n s a r e jsmmed i n so close together. We w i l l not touch on daytime DX i n t h i s a r t i c l e , since daytime and DXing a r e gen- e r a l l y mutually exclusive. About t h e only th ing t h a t would recommend daytime DX on these channels i s (1 ) if one of your loca l s breaks down and i s o f f the a i r j o r (2) i f unusual weather conditions cause enhanced reception from an area 100-125 o r so miles d i s t an t . Ei ther condition would allow t h e DXer t o log, by groundwave, a semi- l o c a l s t a t i o n t h a t o rd ina r i ly would be ju s t t oo weak t o hear normally. Weather con- d i t i ons t o watch f o r include high winds (blowing clown power l i n e s t h a t feed your l o c a l s t a t i o n ) and sustained heavy r a i n f a l l , causing a marked increase i n ground conductivity f o r a day o r so.

The consistent l i s t e n e r w i l l discover t h a t ce r t a in s t a t ions , usually i n the 150 t o 300 mile range from the receiver s i t e or, a single-hop E o r F layer skip a t moderately high angle, w i l l be heard most of ten at night on these frequencies. Most Class IV s t a t ions use towers of about 160 t o 200 foot height, o r greater. These provide a reasonable amount of r ad ia t ion a t high angles. The tower height w i l l depend on the frequency, and whether It i s s e r i e s o r shunt fed, generally. One-half o r 5/8 wavelength a r e seen often. There i s no di f ference between a guyed o r self-supporting tower. Tne f a c t t h a t these assignments a r e at the high-frequency end of t h e broadcast band helps, too. There a r e approximately 175 s t a t ions assigned t o each one of the s i x frequencies i n the cont inenta l 48 s t a t e s , and these assign- ments a r e v i r t u a l l y a l l occupied, at l e a s t i n the Fast. Mileage separation t o ad- jacent co-channel assignments, mostly, determines how closely s t a t ions can be f i t t e d i n together. There a r e s t a t ions on the same frequency a s l i t t l e a s 70 miles apar t , although more l i k e 90 o r 100 i s t he norm.

Obviously i n Western s t a t e s with sparse populations, t he re w i l l be geographical gaps i n t h e s i t i n g of these s t a t ions , bu t not so much a s one might expect.

About 14 years ago, Class IV's were s t a r t i n g the process of increasing t h e i r daytime power. They had been operating with 250 wat ts both day and night, and i n v i r t u a l l y a l l cases with non-directional antennas. I n 1959, thanks t o a ru l ing by the FCC, Class I V s t a t ions were allowed t o increase t h e i r daytime power t o 1000 wat ts . Assuming t h a t a l l s t a t i o n s took advantage of t h e new higher power, t he i n t e ~ ference each caused the other would remain constant. I n other words, the distance from the desired s t a t i o n a t which in ter ference reached a ce r t a in l e v e l would re- main the same a s it was formerly. I n pract ice th ings did not qui te work out t h a t way, and a few s t a t ions found it necessary t o i n s t a l l la rge r e s i s t o r s i n t h e i r antenna leads t o reduce the rms f i e l d (the s igna l s t rength) t o a ce r t a in value, o r i n some cases, s t a t ions had t o go t o the unheard-of s t ep of operating w i t h d i r ec t iona l antennas during the daytime, and re turning t o non-directional operation with 250 wat ts a t l oca l sunset. S ta t ions l i s t e d a s "U-5" i n t h e NFiC Domestic Log

. a re examples of t h i s type operation. Incidenta l ly there a re s t i l l a few s t a t ions on Class I V frequencies s t i l l using 250 watts day and night. The FCC has not re- quired these s t a t ions t o increase t o 1000 wa t t s bu t the great majority of them did so because of competitive economic pressures and the need t o ge t t h e i r day- time s igna l out f a r the r . Some of the s t a t ions i n the West, i n l i t t l e towns of 4000 people, m d with no r ad io competition f o r 60 miles i n a l l d i rec t ions , simply have no reason t o spend a l l t h a t money t o increase power. Most of these s t a t ions a re l i t t l e &man operations, anyway and don't even have the money t o spend!

The 100 wat ters a re ju s t about gone, though. The FCC has urged them t o go t o 250 watts, a t l ea s t , and stopped issuing new l icenses f o r 100 wat ters s e v e r ~ l years ago. I believe t h a t XDOL, EloJave, Calif . on 1340 was the l a s t s t a t i o n t o have come on the a i r with 100 wat ts ( they a r e now 500/250 watts) . When I began DX- ing i n the l a t e 1950's there were a s I r e c a l l between 15 and 20 10Gwatters s t i l l ac t ive . WCMC-1230 i n Wildwood, N.J. was the c loses t t o me then, and they were heard by me severa l times, of course with nowhere near enough d e t a i l t o send a good repor t on. The old-timers who were ac t ively DXing i n the 1930's can t e l l you some REALLY i n t e re s t ing s t o r i e s about 100 wat ters on graveyard frequencies!!

A p o l i t i c a l lobby group has t r i e d and f a i l e d twice i n the past three years Bo get t h e Commission t o allow Class IVs t o use 1000 wat ts a t night. It i s predic table t h a t they w i l l t r y again, especia l ly now (ea r ly 1974) t h a t the makeup of the Com- mission leadership i s turning over so f a s t . It i s speculative what kind of impact, technical ly , such a s t ep would have on la te-night DXing. Obviously, t h e years-long changeover period t h a t took place when the i n i t i a l 1000 wat ts was granted would not again occur, a s a l l s t a t ions already have the needed 1 kw t ransmit ter . Since the companies such a s Gates, RCA, Col-lins etc.would not again expect t o be able t o s e l l thousands of new t ransmit ters , l i k e they did the l a s t power boost, it then seems doubtful t h a t they would lobby f o r a night time power boost. But time w i l l t e l l .

As we said, there a r e some 175 s t a t i o n s on each frequency. However, perhaps d only 25 o r 30 o r so a re a l l -n igh t operations; most s t a t ions signing o f f a t midnight o r 1 AM o r so. So it follows t h a t a f t e r midnight i s t he time when the DXer would f ind the c l ea res t reception conditions. A t t he same time, there a r e a l o t l e s s s t a t ions t o t r y for , so a balance i s reached.

* The experienced DXer w i l l f i nd t h a t recept ion opportunities can, t o a f i r s t

approximation, be broken down i n t o f ive times of day. We'll look a t them here.

1. Daytime. See comments i n the 3rd paragraph about unusual weather, o r wait f o r the next so l a r ec l ipse . ( I t may be a long wait ).

2. Sunset ~ k i p / & r l y evening. LSS t o 7 o r 8 p, depending on season. I n summertime, extend t h i s time through the evening hours.

3. Midnight t o about 0115. Signoff hour f o r s t a t ions i n your timezone. 4. Deep Night. 1 t o 5 AM. The fewest s t a t i o n s are on the air. 5. Early morning. Catch 6 AM sign-ens w i t h high power; SunRise Skip.

Of course, these c r i t e r i a a r e equally va l id f o r DXing on the Regional channels. Timeperiods 3 and 5 can produce the most remarkable f reak receptions, depending on localized in tense skip conditions. However such skips a re qu i t e rare , and must be d i l i gen t ly and systematically sought out. Timeperiod 4 provides the most con- s i s t e n t reception from the single-hop A l l Nighters, while these same s t a t ions a r e l o s t i n t h e jumble i n Timeperiod 2 (before midnight).

Some examples of single-hop regular s t a t ions heard at the author 's monitoring point on suburban Long Is land (20 miles e a s t of N.Y.C.) during Timeperiod 4 are:

1230 khz: WERI, WITH, WNOR, sometimes CHVD. A l l under semilocal WAS. 1240 khz: Blocked by WGBB (tower 7.1 miles d i s t an t ) . With WGBB looped out

genera l ly WBAX i s heard most often. No consis tent r e s u l t s here. 1340 khz: WOOK, sometimes WAIR, under semilocal WNHC. 1400 khz: WWOC, WLLH. 1450 khz: WOL, CFJR, WWSC. 1490 khz: WPOR, WTXL.

It is in t e re s t ing t o note t h a t s t a t ions s l i g h t l y c loser t o t h e receiving point than these examples, e.g. WIIH on 1450, WFPG on 1450, WBCB on 1490, which a re reported a s nuisances by DXers i n the Central New Jersey area a re impossible t o hear a t t h i s location. The cause i s undoubtedly the distance being too f a r f o r groundwave reception, but close enough so t h a t t he tower would have t o r ad ia t e a t a very h i @ angle r e l a t i v e t o the horizon, probably i n the a rea of 60' o r maybe greater. This high angle radia t ion obviously i s not occurring i n these cases. The s t a t ions i n the l i s t above generally const i tu te the most dependable loggings made i n t h e (4) Timeperiod, 1 t o 5 AM. By dependable we mean, the s t a t i o n may fade up long enough t o be iden t i f i ed ( e i t h e r by c a l l l e t t e r , advertisement of a place-name, d i s t i n c t i v e format e tc . ) once a night, o r perhaps a couple of times i n a 2-hour l i s t en ing ses- sion. These s t a t ions can usually be heard a t some time each night t h a t Dung i s done. They a r e not heard f o r long periods of time, generally. On r a r e occasions t h e DXer might experience reception f o r 20 o r 30 minutes of a s ingle s t a t i o n hun- dreds of miles away, dominating the channel. Such experiences a r e t h e s tu f f t h a t the DXing hobby i s made of.

A note about ident i fy ing s t a t ions by t h e i r d i s t i n c t i v e format. One of the most challenging s i tua t ions I have been faced wlth i s t ry ing t o tape-record a complete, or de t a i l ed ID from CFJR, Brockville, Ontario (1450 khz). I can usually I D t h i s s t a t i o n i n the jumble ju s t about any night I t r y DXing. They do a phone-in t a l k format and t h e i r announcer sounds remarkably l i k e Howard Nelson of WEE1 i n Boston i n accent, speaking inf lec t ion, pacing e tc . Taping a c a l l - l e t t e r ID i s hard t o do, a s they don't ID very often. I have managed t o tape a couple of j ingles (without mention of the c i t y o r frequency) and some Public Service announcements f o r l o c a l events, and one weak-signal tape sounding l i k e t h e i r c a l l l e t t e r s . But, of a l l t h e times I have heard them c lea r ly and strongly, i t ' s j u s t been jabber, jabber, i s n ' t t he pr ice of (eggs, meat, bee r ) awful, and how's your uncle.. . persistance, j u s t l i k e i n a SAH oscilloscope, i s a useful th ing f o r a DXer t o have. More on t h i s l a t e r .

At the top of t h e page, we gave some examples of generally-heard s t a t ions , i n the New York City area, on the Graveyards. An example of how much more "open" the band conditions a r e i n t h e West i s provided by a comparable l i s t of s t a t ions t h a t dominate i n the San Francisco BaJr area, i n ea r ly 1974: 1230-KRIZ, Phoenix, Az. 1240-KMBY Monterey. 1340-KMAK and KTST. 1400-KBMI "metro Las Vegas" a t 550 miles, hlong with KXrV a t 750+ miles. On 1450 i t ' s KONE, Reno and KOWL Tahoe on 1490; these on a Monday morning. Needless t o say, any reception of 500 t o 750 miles i n the East on a Monday Morning i s a notable event. Another example of t h i s is provi- ded by the reception of the DX Test from KOKO, Warrensburg, Mo on 1450 t h i s pas t season. This Test went c l ea r ly t o such locat ions a s Texas, Manitoba, Colorado bu t faced extremely rough going i n the East. Pa r t i cu la r ly upset t ing t o the author was the f a c t t h a t he recorded the code IDS on a broadcast car t r idge and mailed it t o the s ta t ion. Even knowing exact what t o l i s t e n f o r wasn't enough t o p u l l them in!! ( b p e f ~ l l y w e ' l l have & shot a t t h i s s t a t i o n i n ea r ly 1975 OK ~ r u c e ? )

I f you have a l o c a l s t a t i o n (and t h i s appl ies t o any s t a t i o n up t o 5 kw o r so ) it i s b e t t e r t o be only 5 miles o r so away, than f a r the r , so t h a t it i s heara by groundwave only. The skip angle would be j u s t t oo high f o r any meaningful s Q - wave re turn , and w i t h a good t i l t a b l e Altazimuthally-mounted loop you can n u l l t h d pesw l o c a l r i g h t i n t o the hash. WGBE-1240, a t 7 miles, can be knocked i n t o obli- vion with niy NRC loop. I was able t o get excel lent copy of t h e WOCB DX t e s t i n May 1972, and good copy of the WFTN DX t e s t t h a t same year, both with WGBB on the a i r . During the daytime I can hear WWCO, Waterbuy, Conn, and maybe a t r a c e of WOCB, with WGBB nulled). However, WAS-1230 i s f a r enough away so t h a t I ge t a mix of GW and s-ave, and they a r e a l o t harder t o dea l with by looping. Do not misun- derstand these comments and move next door t o t h a t pesky local , a l l b e t s a re o f f .

DXing the Class I V channels has, i n an opera t ional sense, a remarkable similar- i t y t o Television DXing. Members of the WTFDA have read Bob Cooper's graphic des- c r ip t ions of s i t t i n g i n f ron t of a blank TV screen a t 6 AM while doing meteor- s c a t t e r DXing and waiting f o r a 5 o r 10 second b u r s t of video once every 3 minutes o r so. O r , t he reader may consider descr ip t ive accounts of sporadic-$ reception with strong s ignals suddenly snapping i n and out, going from s-9 t o zero l i t e r a l l y i n the b l ink of an eye. There i s a remarkable analogy t o Graveyard DXing here, ex- cept t h a t the desired s igna l i s i n a jumble of background noise ins tead of being i n a signallno-signal condition a s i n TV. But t h e s i m i l a r i t i e s a r e there , a s f a r a s the DXers' behavior i s concerned. A s M l a r l y large devotion of time i s requibed t o make Graveyard DXing successful. When I have t r i e d it, I ' ve found it necessary t o s i t i n f ron t of the receiver f o r long s t r e t ches of time l i s t en ing t o a jumble of signals, none of which i s strong enough t o produce a c l ea r ly readable s igna l (al- though it would be perfect ly copiable i f on a c l ea r channel by i t s e l f ) . The object i s t o wait f o r t h a t sudden fade-in of a s igna l t h a t produces readable audio, and hopefully with an iden t i f i ca t ion added a t t h a t time. I have monitored freqilencies t h a t a re not blocked here by semilocals on groundwave, such a s 1450 and 1490 khz f o r periods of 15 o r 20 minutes a t a time, l i s t e n i n g t o a hash of audio, only t o have a strong readable s igna l surge a top and be c l ea r ly understood f o r a few se- conds, o r a minute, and then drop i n t o t h e mud again. Probably the most e f f ec t ive way of dealing with t h i s i s t o have a tape recorder running continuously on the frequency you a r e working a t t he moment, wai t ing f o r something t o bubble t o the surface. I f your machine has a footage index counter, you log the elapsed footage, time of day, and a b r i e f descr ip t ion of what you heard t h a t i s worth saving o r analyzing l a t e r . I f t he frequency i s j u s t a jumble of unreadable audios, and a long s t r e t c h of tape has passed, you can h i t rewind and go back t o a point rna,ybe 30 f e e t pas t t he l a s t th ing you heard worth saving. I n o ther words, i f you heard someone give c a l l l e t t e r s a t 250 f e e t elapsed, and nothing fur ther , and you've been taping continuously and you're now up i n t h e 400 o r 500 f e e t range, rewind back t o 270 o r 280 on t h e footage d i a l and begin recording again. Keep doing t h a t u n t i l you get some more salvageable audio on tape. Maybe t h i s time, i t ' s a t 310 f ee t . Make 340 replace 280 a s your new point t o rewind back t o , when you s t a r t recording...of course there i s always the r i s k of missing something des i rable while rewinding, but you WILL be recording about 95% of the time, so your r i s k the re i s minimal. With some pract ice doing t h i s , you can get an e n t i r e n ight ' s DXing telescoped onto ' a s ingle 7'inch r e e l of tape, comprising -$hour's recording time a t 7 s i p s (which i s used exclusively here) .

It i s easy t o f a l l i n t o the hab i t of t y ing yourself down t o monitoring any ( one frequency, excluding t h e others. I do not know i f it i s more productive t o

pick 2 o r 3 Graveyard frequencies and keep switching back and f o r t h between them, o r j u s t t o pick one t h a t seems the c l ea res t , o r even t o ju s t spot-check them from time t o time while looking f o r other th ings on Clears, Sp l i t s o r Regionals. This i s a technique t h a t each DXer w i l l have t o experiment with and develop on h i s o r he r own. Concerning the question of monitoring seve ra l Graveyard frequencies at the same time, t he obvious answer i s t o have seve ra l receivers i n operation, each s e t t o one of the channels of i n t e re s t . This i s not a s simple a s it seems, though, f o r t he DXer soon f inds t h a t t h e momentary and sporadic nature of reception of c l ea r s igna l s makes it necessary t o have a tape recorder running simultaneously on the

24 output of EACH receiver i n order t o catch anything t h a t might come along. Certain- ly none of us i s mentally a g i l e enough t o au ra l ly l i s t e n t o 3 receivers, each tuned t o a d i f f e ren t Graveyard frequency, and s o r t out t he s ignals i n the mind! It follows, therefore t h a t t he tapes so obtained would have t o be played back, one a f t e r t he other, a t some fu tu re time, t o see what ( i f anything) usable i s recorded on them. Worse yet, you cannot even use a high-speed f a s t forward t o screen them... t h e scanning must be done a t normal speed. So it would seem t h a t t he re i s no r e a l way t o thoroughly monitor severa l receivers i n t h i s fashion. The l imi t ing f ac to r i s not money needed t o buy a multi-receiveritape setup, but TIME... jus t plain, simple time t o process the information so obtained. Of course we could suppose t h a t any DXer with money enough t o buy a l l t he paraphernalia needed f o r a multi- frequency monitoring se tup could afford t o qu i t h i s job, thereby generating t h e time needed t o u t i l i z e it, but t h a t ' s j u s t conjecture. One way around t h i s might be f o r t he well-heeled DXer t o buy a bunch of receivers and a 8-track Scully o r Ampex o r 3M recording s tudio machine from somebody who has upgraded t o 16-track. Roll a tape on Mondw morning from 0100 t o 0500. Put t he tape i n storage and then ca re fu l ly scan the DX b u l l e t i n s t o see i f anyone reported anything unusual on t h e frequencies you taped t h a t morning. I f so, ge t t h e tape out and check it over t o see i f you got t he s t a t i o n recorded. I f so...do you log i t ? Did youl'hear" i t ? In t e re s t ing questions t h a t I am not prepared t o give answers to . However, these ideas a r e merely the l o g i c a l successor t o t h e common pract ice of r o l l i n g a tape "blind" on a s ingle frequency (using a two-track machine, w i t h WWV on the second t r a c k ) and checking t h e tape hours o r even days l a t e r t o see what came through on it. I don't know t h a t t h i s i s so d i f f e ren t than taping t h e output of- recei - ve r s a t once, but I am not endorsing.i t a s a v i ab le technique f o r boosting one's t o t a l s even though t h e systems aspects, t he mechanical aspects of it i n t e r e s t me. m e n of course the re i s always t h e poss ib i l i t y of using instrumentation recorders t h a t have bandwidths greater than a megahertz, t o record, d i r e c t l y from RF, t h e e n t i r e Broadcast Band i n one pass. (see t h e "Monday Morning Tape Recorder" i n an Apr i l Fool's DX News severa l years ago...it j u s t might be made to,work, i f t h e user can f igure out how t o circimvent the eye-popping cost of such a machine, and get a broadband, high-gain preamp t o dr ive it. Maybe Joe Worcester w i l l design such a get-up f o r us).

Sometimes it seems t h a t summertime evenings a r e very good f o r t h i s kind of DXing, more so than i n the winter. This i s evidently due t o more se lec t ive skips taking place, allowing a s ingle s t a t i o n t o dominate f o r a while. Apparently i n the winter, w i t h i t s b e t t e r propagation, many s t a t ions a r e heard a t t he same time, and none of them c lea r ly due t o the mutual in ter ference they cause. To me t h i s i s j u s t a subjective fee l ing, bu t It s t i l l goes without saying t h a t some summer ev'enings and nights can provide remarkable receptions of s t a t ions a few hundred miles away. I r e c a l l severa l times i n the summer when, walking home from the t r a i n s t a t i o n a t night, with a hand-held Sony portable, I would hear upsta te N.Y., Mass. or New Hampshire s t a t ions a top the channel. 1230 khz always seemed t o be a good b e t f o r me while "operating portable" t h i s way.

A f a i r indicat ion of ju s t what kind of propagation t h e l i s t e n e r i s experien- cing on a given night can be had by tuning t o one of the Class I V frequencies. B e r e a re nights when the channel sounds c l ea r and snappy, and other nights when the impression of sound i s a dul l , bland mix of noise. Sometimes t h e impression i s t h a t of ''white noise" (bes t described a s t h e sound of a FM tuner tuned t o a blank spot on t h e d i a l , o r perhaps, something l i k e the roar of a wa te r fa l l ) . On nights l i k e t h i s I f ind it very hard t o pu l l any recognizable sound out from a l l t h a t noise, and usually don't pursue it fur ther . Other nights - t he "clear and snappy" ones - a l s o provide many s ignals on each frequency but t h e impression i s of a mix of d iscre te , separate s ignals and the l i s t e n e r almost has the f ee l ing t h a t he can reach out i n h i s mind and pick out one s igna l and follow it. Sort of l i k e being i n the middle of a crowded room with many people speaking a t once, and mybe a couple of phonographs playing, and i f you concentrate hard enough you can acquire j u s t one voice and s t a y with it, and mentally block out a l l the other voices. I do not know why t h i s e f f e c t should show up one night and not the next. Most of t he time, t he impression i s of "dul l and bland". Who knows more about t h i s ?

25 Use of a good receiver i s an important a id t o successful long-distance recep-

t i o n on the Class IV frequencies. Since the l i s t e n e r i s t ry ing t o ex t r ac t one audio s igna l from a mix of o ther audio s ignals , a moderately wide bandwidth and a good AF or, output s tage on the receiver a r e probably the b e s t a t t r i b u t e s one would look f o r i n a receiver. Mechanical f i l t e r s , a c rys t a l f i l t e r , o r a &-Multi- p l i e r operated i n the "peak" mode a re a l l not desirable. A l l they w i l l do i s t o make the audio sound muddy unnecessarily, and w i l l not be needed f o r RF se lect iv i tg purposes. (There i s an exception t o t h i s of course, i f one i s DXing from Europe and t ry ing t o copy the North American frequencies, he w i l l l i k e l y have a loca l European jus t a few khz away that w i l l have t o be notched out, o r blocked out by use of a MF or an Xtal f i l t e r . Similarly, a DXer here i n the Sta tes may be t r y i n g t o l i s t e n to , say 1240 khz, and there may be a h e t from a Caribbean s t a t i o n on

,, 1241 khz. A Q-Multiplier i n the "null" mode i s by f a r t h e most e f f ec t ive way of deal ing w i t h t h i s . Careful adjustment of t he "nul l" pot, and the tuning adjustment '' w i l l notch the loudest h e t s i n t o inaudibi l i ty , while s t i l l leaving the r e s t of the 1 channel unaffected, w i t h f u l l audio f i d e l i t y .

RF s e n s i t i v i t y i s not important f o r DXing t h e CLass I V frequencies; i n fac t , reduced s e n s i t i v i t y frequently proves t o be more desirable. One of t h e most h e l p f u l th ings the DXer can do i s t o tu rn the Automatic Volume Control switch OFF, and t u r n t h e RF Gain (or s e n s i t i v i t y ) control down jus t t o the point where s igna l i s being heard comfartably, with t h e Audio gain control l e f t where it usually i s s e t . The reason f o r t h i s i s t h a t the mixture of numerous ca r r i e r s , each of them a t very s l i g h t l y d i f f e ren t frequencies ( a l l of them typ ica l ly w i t h 10 hz of each other and o f t en much c loser than t h a t ) and a t random phase t o each other creates a com- pos i t e s igna l s t rength t h a t is varying i n random fashion. The s igna l s t rength may change i n milliseconds over 20 db back and fo r th . I f t he AVC system attempts t o follow t h i s rapid changing i n s igna l strength, it generates d i s to r t ion i n t h e audio output, which i s t he l a s t th ing we need. Switching the AVC off and reducing the RF gain makes the s igna l sound much cleaner, and when a s ingle s t a t i o n fades i n a top t h e channel it w i l l be in s t an t ly noticeable i n t h e audio output.

I f one were t o graph the . ins tantaneous s i g n a l s t rength present on a Class IV channel a t night a s a function of time, it would look much l i k e the graph below.

A One s igna l W o s ignale Three signelm 2 Oravemrd (10+ s i g s )

, I ( E Z A H ~ L E S - NOT TO =.+&a) I . . l . L

Time (seconds) " 1 2 3 4 5 sec. There i s a mathematical technique knnwn a s Fourier Analysis by which such a wave- form can be broken down i n t o i t s component s ine waves. Such a procedure could t e l l you how many s ignals were present on t h e channel. As the re would be no way i t o iden t i fy who those s ignals belonged to, t h a t I s , what s t a t ions they were, there , i s no p rac t i ca l bene f i t of such analys is f o r t h e average DXer, although there may

I be some i n t e r e s t i n s t a t i s t i c a l s tudies of how many s ignals a r e received on a given night, and r e l a t i n g such t o t a l s t o geomagnetic phenomena. Any such work t h a t i s

i' already done o r i n progress i s not known t o t h i s author.

An in t e re s t ing question i s t h a t of whether t h e Graveyard DXer should use a loop or a wire antenna. In my experience, loops, including both t h e Altazimuthally mounted NRC Loop, and the Space Magnet-type of f e r r i t e shie,lded loop, a re of only f a i r value i n nul l ing s t a t ions on Class IV frequencies ( w i f h t he exception of nearby locals , described a t the top of the four th page i n t h i s e t i c l e ) . 'lnney do help a l o t i n reducing splash from an adjacent-channel local , bf course. There a re times when a loop w i l l prove t o be of value, of course. A t the same time, do not dismiss

t he potent, ial t h a t a good longwire antenna has. The author put up an outdoor wire between 40 and 50 f e e t long, running roughly East-West, and found t h a t it i s qui te sens i t i ve t o s ignals from the Northeast. Fortunately, N w England l i e s i n t h a t di- rec t ion and t h a t i s one of my f avor i t e DX t a r g e t areas. m wire antenna has brought me qui te a few c l ea r receptions of low-parer s t a t i o n s i n New England t h a t were not i den t i f i ab le , with t h e loop i n any se t t i ng , on a p a r a l l e l operated receiver. The equipment i n use i s a Technical Materiel Corp GPR 9 - X X D receiver with the long- wire fed through the antenna coupler described i n DX News i n 1966 (Reprint A-5). At the same time, a Hammarlund HQ-150 i s driven by the Altazimuth loop. B e r e have been numerous occasions when si-als have been copied on t h e longwire setup t h a t could not be picked out of the jumble while simultaneously monitoring the same f re- quency with the loop setup. One of the most consistent examples of t h i s e f f e c t i s , reception of WPOR, Portland, Maine on 1490 who a r e always heard much b e t t e r and more eas i ly with the longwire setup than anything the loop can produce. Inciden- t a l l y , t h e loop i s s t i l l working! While many DXers have permanently given up using outdoor wire antennas, now t h a t t he loop and f e r r i t e rod antenna i s established, they may do wel l t o consider r e ins t a l l i ng one, j u s t t o have avai lable f o r compari- son purposes. They may be a s surprised a s I was. Probably the most acceptable trade-off between maximum f l e x i b i l i t y and coverage, and t h e a b i l i t y t o handle it, i s t o use two receivers, one with a loop and one with a wire antenna. A B i n p u t switch box can be made up t o feed e i t h e r receiver output t o the tape recorder in- put. The setup can be made a s f l ex ib le a s your imagination and ingenuity permit.

The se l ec t iv i ty i n points t h a t s ignals a re received from on the Class I V f re- quencies i s amazing. There i s a much more even competitive aspect, t o t h i s type of DXing, a s a l l the s t a t ions a re operating with the same power and the same kind of antenna - there a re no b i g monster s t a t ions beaming down your th roa t every night, such a s WFEA-1370 is heard here. DXing a frequency such a s 1370 here i n the evening i s no fun because you know you w i l l hear WFEA, WSAY and WSPD i n t h a t order. Night a f t e r night a f t e r night. I f WFEA i s heard exceptionally we l l then you know some th ing from up t h a t way might mater ia l ize on one of the Class I V frequencies. Such receptions provide a good marker. This s e l e c t i v i t y i s even more remarkable f o r people DXing the Class IV's from outside the U.S. Richard Wood, when he was DXing from t h e Hawaiian is lands , noted most of the time t h a t the frequencies were of ten dominated by s t a t ions l i k e KGFJ-1230, KMBY-1240, KIST-1340, KPAT-1400 (now KRE) and KDE-1490. However a t other times, s t a t ions i n the Central Pla ins s t a t e s would be heard strongly by him. Richard heard qui te f a r i n to the East, including such s t a t e s a s Michigan and Tennessee and a s I r e c a l l h i s f a r t h e s t reception was a f re- quency check from WAZ~1490, Hazleton, Penna. --heard i n Hawaii! Richard f e l t t h a t h i s most l i ke ly poss ib i l i t y f o r logging New Jersey, i n Hawaii would be WONE on 1400. Had he remained the re another season, I think he could have heard them. Inci - dentally, WON0 was heard by one "Brother A l " (whose l a s t name escapes me, an IRCA member) i n Cal i fornia a few years ago. The New Zealand DXers repor t occasionally equally fasc inat ing reception of W-call Graveyarders.

I n the old days, when the author began DXing i n the l a t e 19501s, reception conditions were much d i f f e ren t than today. There were many fewer a l l -n ighters . I r e c a l l one time i n March of 1959 when W J X N i n Jackson, Miss. was the only s t a t i o n

'

on .the a i r f o r about an hour and a ha l f on Monday morning on 1450 khz. During t h a t time, on 16 March 1959 KYOR i n Blythe, Cal i f was heard by t h e author i n New Jersey. They were t e s t i n g during the sked time f o r a DX from K X G Montana t h a t never showed up. Several Eastern DXers heard KYOR. That was qui te a f e a t even then. Of course 3 t would be even more so today!!

Despite the discouraging number of a l l -n ight s t a t ions i n operation nowadays, occasionally some r e a l l y good DX can be heard on the Class IV's. It can be e i t h e r Regular Schedule sign-offs, o r DX Tests o r Equipment Tests, I n n a r l y a l l cases, it can come a s a r e a l surprise. The key t o success, a s i n a l l aspects of Dung, i s put t ing time and patience i n t o it, y o u ' l l ge t back what you devote t o it. You don't even need a fancy receiver o r antenna - Graveyard DXing i s one o f t h e most forgi - ving aspects of DX and even a bedroom clock radio can give good r e s u l t s so don't l e t lack of a g iant communications r x s top you. Report your r e s u l t s t o DA News!-30

Summary of th ings t o remember when DXing t h e Class I V Channels.

1. Be Wt ien t . Remember t h a t you w i l l generally have readable audio from any one s t a t i o n a r e l a t i v e l y small percentage of the time. These incidents of usable s ignal can appear suddenly, l a s t anywhere from a few seconds t o severa l minutes and drop out suddenly, with the s ignal fading i n t o t h e jumble again. Be pre- pared t o pick up t h e maximum i n f o m t i o n avai lable during these openings.

2. Use a tape recorder. Keep it running a s much of the time a s possible and per- f e c t the technique of periodic rewinding so a s t o get t h e maximum information on the tape. The DXer w i l l f ind numerous instances of having a s t a t ion slowly become readable on a crowded frequency. Later playback of the tape frequently provides addi t ional reception t h a t occurred before t h e point the s ignal was f i r s t perceived on t h e o r ig ina l reception. This happens when there a r e severa voices being heard on the channel, and the DXer was l i s t en ing t o the "wrong" one. Another important use of t he tape recorder i s f o r l a t e r rechecking and analyzing of marginal reception. Ca l l l e t t e r s w i t h consonants tha t sound simi l u r , county names, s t r e e t names (was the s tudio located on Main Street , o r on Wayne S t r ee t ?? ) can go by very quickly on the o r ig ina l reception. Repeated playbacks of t he tape of t h e reception can often c l ea r up the mystery. While pu r i s t s argue about the merits of taping a s an a id t o DX, it remains t h a t taping has become a nearly universally accepted a id t o hearing and ident i fy ing s t a - t ions . (This a r t i c l e does not address i t s e l f t o the v a l i d i t y of tepes a s ver i - f ica t ions , however). A t h i r d major advantage of the tape recorder: as an a id t o sending reception reports. A b r i e f sign-off announcement w i l l be much more effect ive , fo r ve r i f i ca t ion claim purposes, if it i s taped and a tape sent t o the s t a t ion a s pa r t of t h e repor t . This brings up a couple of paints : Now tha t t he DXer i s using a tape recorder, he w i l l need another one. Vhy? Well, when you send off t ha t taped repor t , remember t h a t you w i l l l i k e l y not get the tape back. So, help your chances a l o t here by TELLING the s t a t i o n t o KEEP the tape. This implies a second recorder so t h a t you can duplicate the tape, keep t h e o r ig ina l f o r your tape f i l e (you DO keep a tape l ibrary , don't you?) and mail off the duplicate with your report , never t o be seen again. The prepayment of return(&xTil~) postage i s j u s t about too much t o bother with anyway. Use the 3-inch r e e l s t ha t f i t i n a business envelope. Always make the tape 7$ ips (19 cm/sec) and i n one direct ion only. Use clean, blank tape. I f stereo, record on both channels.

3. Keep an up to -da te f i l e of l i b ra ry a ids . This includes the NFC Domestic Log, with a l l updaters. (Xerox them and keep with your log, if copying i n the data i s too much). Have a recent Broadcasting Yearbook, a s an a id fo r identifying telephone exchanges and area codes quickly, and a recent copy of Standard Rates and m t a Services ' "Spot Rates". The individual s t a t e m p s with the counties