[HCDX] St. Lucia DX Report
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[HCDX] St. Lucia DX Report
During the first week in December, I had the good fortune of taking a
business trip to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Since the area is
full of exotic DX stations, I brought along my Sony 7600D and circa-1980
Radio West loop, plus a cassette recorder and a digital walkman. The
7600D was ideal for this type of trip, thanks to its small size,
external antenna jack, fine tuning control, tape output jack, and decent
sensitivity/selectivity. Living in the northwestern US, I rarely ever
hear any medium wave DX from Latin America, so I was definitely looking
forward to the trip.
My hotel was in an area called Rodney Bay, near the northern tip of the
island. It was on a small peninsula and about 50-100 yards from the
water, so I had a mostly unobstructed saltwater path from the northeast
to the southwest. The hotel's major drawback was the steel frame
construction, and the builders had done a great job bonding the
structural steel to the ground system. The end result was that if you
were more than a few feet from the window you could only hear the AM/FM
locals. Fortunately, my room had a small patio, so I spent my evenings
DXing outside while the temperature dropped to the mid-seventies. Time
was rather limited, since I was only there for 2-1/2 days and had to
take time out for meetings, meals, sleep, and sightseeing. However, the
results were still pretty good.
Daytime DX included stations in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and most of the
islands in between, plus PJB-800. I logged 16 countries during the day;
of course it helped that I was surrounded by a bunch of small island
nations. Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of time during the day so
many daytime signals remained unidentified. The strongest daytime
signals were (in order) 1.St Lucia-660, 2.Dominica-740, 3.YVQE-720,
4.Dominica-590, 5.Martinique-1310, 6.St.Kitts-830, 7.St.Kitts-555,
8.Barbados-900, 9.YVSY-1470, 10.YVRS-1020, using a quasi-scientific
method of seeing how far I could get from the window before the station
disappeared.
As expected, most channels were full of Spanish speaking stations at
night. As a general rule, stations heard well during the day would
dominate their channel at night (until they signed off anyway). Some
frequencies, like 1540, had a very dominant station that pretty much
covered all potential interference. Others, such as 1280, were like US
graveyard channels, with several stations fighting it out. Still
others, including 1270, 1350, 1440, and 1450, had a strong buzz from
whoever was off frequency, making it hard to identify much of anything.
Many stations signed off around midnight, reducing the interference
level quite a bit and revealing other stations that couldn't be heard
earlier in the evening. The effect reminded me of DXing after midnight
on Monday mornings in the late 60's and early 70's, when many US &
Canadian stations had silent periods. I didn't hear any Brazilians and
only one station from the Guianas, but they were in the one direction
that didn't have a coastal enhancement effect. No Central Americans
were heard, either, and only one tentative Mexican. Cuba and Hispanola
were surprisingly hard to hear - I only logged 4 Cubans, 2 Dominicans
and a tentative Haitian. In retrospect, more Cubans were probably there
and just went unnoticed. There were, in fact, a lot of channels with
good signals on them that I never nailed down simply due to lack of
time. Overall, I heard somewhere between 27 and 30 countries, depending
on how you feel about a couple tentative logs.
The US stations weren't hard to pick out, since they were usually in
English (though some were in Spanish). I think I heard around 15
states. The easiest regular band station during the evening was
WSAI-1530 in Cincinnati, which had no co-channel interference to speak
of. KYW in Philadelphia was putting up a good fight against the LA
stations on 1060, and several expanded band stations had good signals.
The US was easier to hear after midnight, when stations as far away as
Fort Worth (WBAP) and Chicago (WGN WBBM WLS) were heard. The strongest
US station after midnight seemed to be WRVA-1140 in Richmond.
The highlight for me was hearing a few Trans-Atlantic stations. Vatican
Radio-1530 had the best TA signal. Most of the others were from
somewhere near the Mediterranean, except for Ireland-567, which really
blew me away. It would be interesting to know how TA reception was in
Europe and the eastern US/Canada at the time - I have absolutely no way
of knowing if the TA opening was good, bad, or average by local
standards.
Overall, this was a pretty exciting DX adventure, though not nearly long
enough. I'm surprised there aren't more DX reports from this part of
the world, since it's close to the eastern US and it's a popular tourist
destination. Maybe the islands' reputations as romantic getaway spots
are too incompatible with late night DX sessions ("You're not bringing
your radio? are you, dear?"). Any of the other islands in the area
would probably offer similar DX opportunities. I was able to hear quite
a bit of interesting DX on a relatively modest setup. Someone with a
communications receiver and a K9AY or Kiwa loop antenna could probably
hear all sorts of exotic stuff, especially on the eastern side of one of
the islands, where you'd have a direct shot at Africa and Brazil.
Now for the loggings:
530 TURKS & CAICOS, 2304 12/5 loud signal w/some Grenada-535 splat.
Not hrd during day.
535 GRENADA, fair-good days & nights. Good w/funeral anmts 2303 12/5.
550 PUERTO RICO, Ponce, WPAB, 2307 12/5 RCR promo & Radio 5-50 ID in SS
good.
555 ST KITTS, Basseterre, good days w/Zed Eye Zed IDs. Seems to be AN
(still on 0617 12/7)
560 VENEZUELA, Pto Ordaz, YVRH, 2133 12/6, man & woman alternating
w/what sounded like news, woman gave Radio Nacional de Venezuela ID,
mixing w/Guyana. Noted //1240 at 2147 recheck.
560 GUYANA, Georgetown, 2159 12/6, good w/BBC Caribbean report, then
woman w/news "compiled in the newsroom of the Guyana Broadcasting
Corp". Promo about advertising on GBC 2202.
567 IRELAND, 0623 12/7 fair w/easy listening vocals, male ancr in EE
w/Irish accent. A couple of clear "Radio One" IDs, then news 0630.
This one was a major surprise and probably my best catch.
570 USA, Asheville, WWNC 0624 12/7, atop w/ID "the stn that's first for
nx, wx & your all time country favorites, WWNC", then cw song.
570 DOM REP, Sto Domingo, R Cristal, 0307 12/6 apparently the one
w/list of stations in Dominican cities, including Santiago, La Vega, La
Romana, & others I couldn't decipher. Poor but briefly atop, then
faded.
570 CUBA, 0409 12/7, Reloj ticker fair in jumble
585 SPAIN, Madrid, 0636 12/7 fair w/SS talk, sounded like news pgm,
w/distinctive musical riffs. Strong enough to recognize words like
buenos dias & noticias, inflection was much more sharp and staccato
than Latin American Spanish. Fair until 0645 then faded.
590 DOMINICA, Roseau, has moved here from 595, good signal day &
night. Has anmts & ads in EE & French patois. Off by 0305 12/6,
leaves OC on AN.
600 VENEZUELA, Cumana, YVQB, 1120 12/5 noted w/many "R Popular" IDs
during talk pgm, Also a couple ments of Sucre. Not sure if that's the
name of the show or a relay of someone else.
610 TRINIDAD, Port of Spain, 2200 12/5 good w/Hindi pgm, then "This is
NBN, National BCing Network, 610 AM, 91.1FM, 98.9FM & 100FM", then time
check & news. Weak days in 660 splatter, i.e. 1738 12/6 w/Hindi mx &
EE anmts
612 UNID, hets here & 621 around same time 567 & 585 were in 12/7. Too
much splatter to get audio. No other hets noted, so the opening was
apparently confined to the low end of the dial
620 ANTIGUA, St Johns, Radio ABS fair-good days & evening but suffered
from 660 splatter
620 UNID, 0411 12/7 ID as Radio Estrellas Dias or something
phonetically similar, then ancr started talking about Supermercado
Funda (?). Doesn't match anything listed.
640 GUADELOUPE, no sign of them, could only hear YVQO when I nulled
local 660 splatter. Probably either off the air or using drastically
reduced power. DXLD reports they have been off due to the staff being
on strike.
660 ST LUCIA, Radio St Lucia, 0359 12/6 s/off, to return at 5 a.m.,
then St Lucia NA. Mentioned FM freqs of 97.3 north and 97.7 south.
Leaves carrier on AN w/noticeable amount of power line hum. Now the
only AM station on the island. Sideband splash noted from 610 to 680
an estimated 8-10 miles from xr site. Format is typical of other
stations in the area; a mix of different types of regional mx w/some
light rock/r&b/cw songs.
670 VENEZUELA, Caracas, YVLL, 0416 12/6 good w/political talk, which
sounded like a presidential address or something similar (can't say for
sure due to my very limited knowledge of Spanish). Was
//640/750/880/920/1020/1040/1050/1070/1090/1110/1120/1220/1240/1260/1340/1470/1580
and probably a bunch of others. Speech apparently ended 0454, when
everyone suddenly signed off. Unfortunately I missed the s/off anmts
except maybe the one on 1340, but it was interesting to hear different
versions of the Venezuelan NA as I tuned down the dial. Not sure why
they were airing the speech this late, other than many stations were
running sports play-by-play earlier that evening.
680 VENEZUELA, Cumana, YVQR, 1846 12/6 SS talk w/mentions of Cumana, no
definite ID
680 UNID, 2312 12/5 someone atop w/Radio le Rey mention, not sure if
ID, name of pgm or what.
690 ANGUILLA, Caribbean Beacon, good signal with tedious religious
talks any time I tuned here day or night, never had the interest to
wait for an ID. This station gets my vote for the world's most boring
programming.
700 VENEZUELA, Pto Ordaz, YVPQ?? 0500 12/7 what sounded like a Radio
Sur ID, then ad w/ments of Venezuela
705 ST VINCENT, fair days w/typical island type programming. Never
really checked their s/off time
710 USA, Miami, WAQI, 0402 12/7 long SS promo w/many Radio Mambi IDs,
also "WAQR Miami-Ft Lauderdale" ID in EE, seemed to go on forever.
Finally went into talk show 0405, which opened with a few bars of
"Theme from a Summer Place".
720 USA, Chicago, WGN 0516 12/5 good w/call ID & Business nx
720 VENEZUELA, Porlamar, YVQE 1137 12/5 full-blown ID w/Oriente slogan,
call, city, state, etc, then string of local ads. Also 2206 12/5
monster signal w/R Oriente ID. Third strongest signal during the day
after 660 local & Dominica-740.
730 TRINIDAD, Port of Spain, 2203 12/5 news, local ad, sports (US
Basketball scores) & ID. Strong but some YVQE-720 splatter. Good at
other checks during evening 12/5&6. Not hrd during day due to 720/740
splatter & local terrain blockage. Seems to run BBCWS all night.
Nighttime QRM from a couple of SS stns I never identified.
740 DOMINICA, the second strongest daytime signal after the 660 local.
Uses "Caribbean Voice of Life" slogan, mostly Christian mx in various
Caribbean styles, also nx from unid US network & a few canned
religious pgms. Announcers spent most of their time asking for money
to keep the stn going - appeared to be the equivalent of pledge week
like on NPR/PBS, rather than something they do all the time. Didn't
check s/off; WRTH lists it as 0100, which is probably correct.
740 PUERTO RICO, San Juan, WIAC, 0123 12/7 strong w/Radio Puerto Rico
ID during sports broadcast
740 UNID, 0521 12/5 Xmas greeting w/mention of Venezuela, Guyana, &
Armonias or similar sounding name, possibly listed YVNQ R Caroni.
750 COLOMBIA, Medellin, HJDK, 0403 12/6 assume this was the one w/many
ments of Colombia during ad
750 VENEZUELA, Caracas, YVKS, 0101 12/5 strong w/RCR ID & mentions of
Caracas (pronounced cah rah CAHS)
760 PUERTO RICO, Mayaguez, WORA, 0409 12/7, atop w/promo for Super
Kadena Noticias & ad for a place in Bayamon.
760 USA, Detroit, WJR, 0410 12/7 "?.JR news" hrd way u/WORA
770 COLOMBIA, Bogota, HJJX, 0525 12/5 dominant o/2-3 others w/"Radio
Sucesos RCN" & "RCN Bucaramanga" IDs. RCN Bogota ID good during nx
2319 12/6.
774 UNID, 2320 12/6, TA carrier w/bits of audio. Spain?
780 USA, Chicago, WBBM 0408 12/7 atop w/traffic report
780 BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, Roadtown, 0158 12/6 "Zed BVI, the AM
Advantage" ID & ads, then Reggae Christmas song "Santa Claus, Do You
Ever Come to the Ghetto?", s/off by woman 0201, then brief hymn and
GSQ. Good daytime signal in St Lucia
790 BARBADOS, Bridgetown, good daytime signal, also good nights w/minor
QRM, owned by a Catholic church group so has a fair amount of religious
content. Still on 0510 12/7 so probably AN.
800 NETH ANT, Bonaire, 2004 12/5 w/CBN nx in EE, various religious
PSAs, fair signal all day. Unimpressive night signal; the new antenna
system mustn't put much power to the east. Trans World Radio ID by
woman 2328 12/6, then EE relig pgm.
800 CANADA, Windsor, CKLW, 0406 12/6 good w/Canadian ads, then talk
show
810 UNID, strong signal here both evenings 12/5&6 starting a couple
hours after LSS. Mostly SS songs w/no anmts, at least whenever I
checked. Had women reciting the rosary just after 0200 both nights,
also noted religious talks a couple of times. Very strong, almost
local-like. At the time I thought it was Bogota, but now I'm not sure.
810 PUERTO RICO, San Juan, WKVM, 1958 12/5 fair w/nx in SS, WKVM ID in
SS by man 2001, then short song w/call letters given a couple times
820 VENEZUELA, unid, 2230 12/5 woman ancr w/"La Musica Venezuela"
mention, then harp mx
820 USA, Fort Worth, WBAP 0407 12/6 ID in passing mixing w/SS stns.
830 ST KITTS, R Paradise seems to be AN as was still on 0534 12/5 &
0510 12/7. Good signal during day.
837 UNID TA het 0125 12/7
840 USA, Louisville, WHAS, 0536 12/5 o/1-2 SS stns w/call ID &
teletalk, local nx 0430 12/7.
840 ST LUCIA, R Caribbean International is silent, called station & was
told "we're not on AM any more", now only on FM 96.5 & 101.1
840 PUERTO RICO, Yabucoa, WXEW, 1202 12/6, R Victoria jingle & Xmas
greeting, then YL DJ w/ SS rock mx
860 UNID 0540 12/5, bagpipe-like mx then man talking in low monotone
for a couple of minutes, not sure if EE or SS, then inst jazz o/unid
SS. Probably the same station w/interesting chime & flute mx 0515
12/7. Format suggests non-commercial/non-religious stn, possibly at a
University. Any ideas?
860 VENEZUELA, 2225 12/6 either YVOL or YVYE, RCR ID & nx very strong
//750
860 DOMINICA, listed in WRTH but no sign of them, just a weak SS stn
here during the day. Should've been easy given the blowtorch signals
from 590/740. Probably no longer exists.
860 VENEZUELA, San Cristobal, YVOL 0703 12/7 promo with several R
Mundial IDs in the jumble
860 USA, Dunedin, WGUL, 0706 12/7, barely above the noise floor w/wx &
call ID, into Perry Como song
870 USA, New Orleans, WWL 0543 12/5 probably the one w/Monday night FB
postgame show o/u unid SS
870 VENEZUELA, Pto La Cruz, YVRU 1150 12/5 good w/Popular ID & nice
Venezuelan harp mx
870 UNID, 0433 12/7 someone w/ TCs & "(unreadable)?8-70" IDs after each
song
880 USA, New York, WCBS 0551 12/5 call ID & "39 degrees in Central
Park" hrd u/YVYM
880 VENEZUELA, Pto Ordaz, YVYM, 0549 12/5 good w/lively SS mx & Mundial
ID o/WCBS. 0658 12/7 strong w/list of network affiliates including R
Venezuela - Caracas (790), Tricolor - Barquisimeto (990), Mara Ritmo -
Maracaibo (900), Mil Ochenta - Maracay (1080), R Barinas - Barinas
(1190), R Carupano - Carupano (1110), R Bolivar - Cd Bolivar (1010), R
Allende? - Nueva Esparta (?), Ondas del Caribe - Estdo de Falcon
(1150), R Vallencia - Vallencia (1220), Mundial 8-80 - Pto Ordaz
(slogans/cities are as copied over the air, I added the freqs based on
published listings).
882 UNID, TA het 2333 12/6 & 0130 12/7
890 USA, Chicago, WLS, 0410 12/6 ID & time check atop freq w/some
Barbados-900 splatter
890 UNID, 0517 12/7 someone playing SS covers of 60's soft rock songs
like "1-2-3 Red Light" o/u WLS.
890 CUBA, 0656 12/7 good o/WLS, woman w/1:56 TC, mentioned "Recuerdos
de los Cubanos" & "RC", then nx
895 ST KITTS & NEVIS, 1202 12/5 string of local & other island ads, ID
as "The Powerhouse of the Eastern Caribbean, VON Radio", fair
w/Barbados-900 splatter. 0202 12/7 just missed s/off anmt but caught
part of the St Kitts NA, some of which vaguely resembles the US anthem
900 BARBADOS, seems to run BBCWS AN. Good-strong day & night.
910 VENEZUELA, Caracas, YVRQ 0022 12/6 good o/u unid SS teletalk w/R-Q
ID.
920 VENEZUELA, Porlamar, YVQX, 1845 12/6 good w/ "Nueva Esparta, AM
920, la frecuencia de noticias" ID. Also 0025 12/6 w/ID & short song
about themselves, good atop channel.
940 VENEZUELA, Cantaura, YVRU, 2335 12/5 strong w/Radio Fe y Alegria
ID, same thing 0420 12/7
960 VENEZUELA, Maturin, YVRB, 12/5 2355 good w/R Monagas ID, then faded
960 CUBA, R Reloj, 0414 12/6 dominant w/ nx, distinctive clock ticks,
"Reloj" ID tone & morse "RR" every minute
970 VENEZUELA, Barcelona, 2356 12/5 R Mundial ID mixing with others
1000 VENEZUELA, Moron, YVNM, 1208 12/5 fair w/"Mil AM" slogan
1000 VIRGIN ISLANDS (US), WVWI, undoubtedly the one w/network talk
shows in American EE weak all day u/Venezuela. Too weak to tell much
more.
1020 VENEZUELA, La Asuncion, YVRS, 2022 12/5 strong w/varied SS mx,
ments of Margarita & Porlamar during ads
1030 PUERTO RICO, San Juan, WOSO 0458 12/5 strong w/Jim Bohannon show &
"Total Radio WOSO" ID in EE
1040 PUERTO RICO, Moca, WZNA, 2149 12/5, local ad, Notiuno jingle,
ancr said "somos la noticias", then nx
1044 UNID, 2341 12/6 TA carrier hetting 1040/1050, bits of audio but
nothing definitive
1050 VENEZUELA, Caracas, YVKA, 0030 12/6, RNV (which sounds like RNB) ID
atop the heap
1050 USA, New York, WEVD, 2244 12/6 talk show & "Newstalk 10-50 WEVD"
amid jumble of LA stns
1053 MOROCCO (tentative), 2150 12/5 het against jumble of LAs on 1050,
male talk surfaced 2358-2402, nothing ID'able at TOH, then gone. Again
2233 12/6 w/"mid-east" music (to use the term loosely), man & woman in
unid lang, then faded, back at 2249 w/possible Koranic recitations,
still there 2256 w/definite AA talk. Woman spoke just before TOH, then
brief mx or news sounder 2300 & different woman in AA w/what sounded
like news.
1060 USA, Philly, KYW, 0600 12/5, legal ID, "all nx all the time"
slogan & time tone, good o/weak QRM
1060 PUERTO RICO, Juana Diaz, WCGB, 2015 12/5 probably the one w/TC &
ads w/prices in dolares
1070 COLOMBIA, Bogota, HJCG, 0535 12/7 good o/unid US talk show w/Radio
Santa Fe ID, into LA pops
1080 VENEZUELA, YVQJ or YVNR, 0539 12/7 TC from Observatorio National
in Caracas, SS DJ then mx.
1090 VENEZUELA, Caracas, YVSZ, 0732 12/7 good w/list of stns in
network, Union Radio ID into nx by woman
1090 USA, Baltimore, WBAL, 0104 12/5 call ID & contest promo fair but
dominant, then U of MD basketball.
1100 ANTIGUA, 0400 12/7 "Zed D K" jingle after 6 time pips, then
continued w/usual Caribbean mx, possibly AN.
1110 VENEZUELA, Carupano, YVQT, 1952 12/5 loud w/elaborate R Carupano
ID, then lively SS mx. Great signal all day & night
1120 VENEZUELA, unid, 0351 12/6 vocal version of Venezuelan NA at
tune-in, obviously too late to ID it. Dominant o/another SS & presumed
KMOX. Tried the following night but whoever it was stayed on late for
the political speech (see 670). Odd s/off time in any case. 3 stations
listed.
1120 UNID, 0344 12/7 someone w/lively pop mx mostly o/KMOX & another
SS, seemed to give IDs in middle of songs, but haven't able to decipher
them yet.
1130 USA, New York, WBBR, 0326 12/6, traffic report for New York o/unid
SS
1134 SPAIN (tentative), 2249 12/6 woman talking, too weak to ID
language. Still there 2255 recheck. Definite Spanish talk 2304.
1140 MEXICO(?), 0543-0550 & 0715-0728 12/7 unid stn w/Mariachi &
Ranchera mx, delivery very typical of Mexican stns. Have several anmts
on tape, but haven't found an ID yet. Tape available if someone wants
to have a go at it. XEMR Monterey the most probable Mexican listed.
1140 VENEZUELA, Porlamar, 0102 12/6 LV del Caribe, long elaborate ID
w/many ments of 24 hrs, i.e. "Porlamar, LV del Caribe, con musica y
noticias las 24 horas del dia". Hrd this anmt at least one other time,
but for some reason all I could hear after about 11 pm was a loud WRVA
& a couple of unIDs. Had one of the strongest daytime signals in St.
Lucia and excellent signal at night. Maybe they aren't AN yet but will
be soon.
1140 USA, Richmond, WRVA, 0351 12/6 loud w/ads, Coast-to-Coast talk
show, "Newsradio 1140 WRVA" ID, seemed to be mixing w/Porlamar OC.
Possibly the strongest US stn after midnight.
1150 UNID, 0558 12/7 possible Suceso ID, chopped up by OC &/or low hets
1160 ANTIGUA, CRL good day & night w/religious programs. Never checked
further. Leaves OC on all night after s/off. Seemed already off (OC
only) 0217 12/7
1160 UNID, someone's NA 0559 12/7, weak u/CRL OC, possible s/off
1170 USA, Wheeling 0559 12/7 atop w/legal ID, likely the one hrd earlier
w/canned religion
1180 USA, Marathon, 0600 12/7 good w/Radio Marti ID
1190 PUERTO RICO, San Juan, WBMJ, 0100 12/6, ID in SS for WBMJ San Juan
& WIVV Viques, then SS relig pgm
1200 UNID, 0601 12/7 ID sounding like Radio Orloncion, didn't sound at
all like listed Dimension (YVSF) or Revolucion (Cuba)
1210 VENEZUELA/PUERTO RICO, 1858-1901 12/6 confusing mix of YVZT & WHOY
at about equal strength. YVZT w/R Anzoategui ID & ments of Barcelona,
WHOY w/R Hoy ID & ments of Puerto Rico
1230 VENEZUELA, Caucagua, YVNT, 2143 12/6 echo-chamber ID as R
Barlevento after SS hip-hop song. Good at first but gradually faded.
1240 VENEZUELA, Punto Tumatey, YVNV, 0240 12/6 Radio America ID &
mentions of Venezuela good-strong, apparently either a program name or
alternate slogan for RNV. Radio Nacional ID & nx //560 2148 12/6.
0555 12/7 loud w/RNV ID & list of stns in the network.
1270 CUBA, Camaguey, 0450 12/7 Reloj poor in jumble, only recognizable
parts were the morse "RR" every minute & occasional clock ticks
1270 UNID, someone off freq creating a loud growl 2334 12/6
1280 USA, New York, WADO, 0230 12/6, briefly surfaced w/"WADO 12-80 AM
New York" ID in EE during SS talk, then faded into jumble of several
other stns.
1280 PUERTO RICO, Arecibo, WCMN, 0237 12/6, atop w/SS ID "WCMN 12-80 la
Grande de Arecibo" then song
1280 VENEZUELA, 2359 12/6 someone w/song about Venezuela, not sure if
long jingle or a real song. Two YV's listed.
1280 HAITI, Port-au-Prince, R Citadelle (tentative), 0005 12/7 definite
French talk surfaced for a couple minutes, then faded into jumble
1280 COLOMBIA, 0007 12/7, someone surfaced w/ads & Xmas greetings,
possible ID as "Super de Colombia". HJTK?
1300 NETH ANTILLES, St Martin, 1209 12/5 local nx in Carib EE, PJD2 ID,
then local ads, fair. Also tried for Eustasis-1120 & Saba-1410, but
nothing hrd (both use low power)
1310 MARTINIQUE, Ft de France, RFO was dropped from WRTH listing a few
years ago, but is still on the air. Semi-local signal (about 25 miles
away), very low modulation level & has a tone in the background all the
time. Probably AN. Local pgm w/ads 1159 12/6, then R Martinique ID &
nx. Noted off 1220 12/6 but back on at recheck that afternoon.
1330 USA, New York, WWRV, 0154 12/7 bizarre sermon w/fiery EE preacher
& SS translator alternating back & forth a few words at a time. Figured
out who it was when he said something about Radio Vision, which
prompted me to check 530 for a //, sure enuf they were. Mixing
w/jumble of other stations.
1340 VIRGIN ISLANDS (US), Charlotte Amalie, WSTA, 2011 12/5 community
bulletin board pgm w/many St Croix & St Thomas items. The only USVI
stn I definitely ID'ed, aside from tentative on WVWI-1000
1340 VENEZUELA, Caracas, YVNE, 0454 12/7 apparently the one w/ tail end
of s/off anmt, then vocal NA
1350 UNID 2355 12/6 someone off freq, creating a loud growl. "Quality
Car Wash" ad in SS surfaced 2356, possibly WEGA.
1370 COLOMBIA, Bogota, HJKX, 2358 12/6, atop w/R Mundial ID, mention
of "Bogota, capital de Colombia"
1370 PUERTO RICO, Viques, WIVV 2140 12/5 & other times religious pgms
in American English. Didn't wait for ID but nothing else fits.
1380 VENEZUELA, Pto Cabello, YVNG, 0224 12/5 good w/SS rock mx & Ondas
del Mar ID
1400 GRENADA, Harbor Lights, 2121 12/5 and many other times, strong
w/religious pgms, never waited for definite ID. Off before 0300 12/6 &
just an OC 0141 12/7, so seems to s/off early
1410 UNID, 0211 12/7 "?la (something) mismo?" ID?? Fair but atop at end
of song.
1420 PUERTO RICO, Ponce, WUKQ, 2135 12/5 SS atop w/Puerto Rico
mentions. Probably WUKQ. Het from 1422.
1430 PUERTO RICO, Cauguas, WNEL, 0609 12/7 strong w/ Notiuno ID
1430 VENEZUELA, Pto La Cruz, 1152 12/6 local ads, TC, then man w/nx. R
Bahia ID 1850 12/6.
1440 UNID, Loud growl (a few hundred Hz het) here all evening 12/5 &6.
Cleared up some time after midnight. If I'd had more time I could have
nailed down the offender's s/off time.
1450 UNID, loud growl (a few hundred Hz) here all evening 12/5 & 6
making it hard to decipher anything else. Noticed it was gone when I
checked around 0600, not sure when the culprit signed off.
1470 VENEZUELA, Carupano, YVSY, 1215 12/5 loud w/R Vibracion ID &
Cumbia mx. Strong signal day and night. Still on 0610 12/7 so
probably AN
1480 PUERTO RICO, Fajardo, WMDD, 1945 12/5 long string of ads for
Fajardo businesses, then "(something) 14-80" jingle into mx
1490 PUERTO RICO, Ponce, WLEO, 1939 12/5 tuned in during "?onca, 14-90
AM" ID, then several Puerto Rico ads
1500 VENEZUELA, Cumana, YVRZ, 1847 12/6 "Dos Mil" ID & mentions of
Cumana. Good signal all day.
1500 USA, Washington, WTOP, 0139 12/7 call ID, traffic report & wx
u/YVRZ
1512 UNID, Screamer het 2138 12/6, never produced audio despite many
rechecks and very little 1510 QRM.
1520 PUERTO RICO, San Juan, WVOZ, 1148 12/6 soft SS vocals & La Voz ID.
1521 SAUDI ARABIA, 2030 12/5 first noted as a het, male talk surfaced
2123 but not enough to ID the language. Remained a het most of the
evening. Surfaced again 2056 12/6 w/Middle Eastern mx (male vocal),
easily separable from 1520, anmt by man in Arabic 2100 seemed to match
ID listed in WRTH, then mx fanfare & talk. Good level 2105 recheck
w/male talk.
1530 VATICAN CITY, 2110 12/5, Vatican Radio IS, then SS rlgs pgm to
2130, woman w/Radio Vaticana ID, then IS & PP pgm. Fair-good signal.
Again 2109 12/6 fair w/IS & "Radio Vaticana, programa espanol" ID.
This was far and away the easiest TA. 1530 was essentially a QRM free
channel until WSAI faded in.
1530 USA, Cincinnati, WSAI, 2252 12/5 ID & Christmas song, noted later
w/U of Kentucky basketball, plus various other times w/adult standards.
Had the frequency pretty much to themselves both nights.
1539 UNID TA het around sunset 12/6. Way too much ZNS1 QRM to get any
audio.
1540 BAHAMAS, Nassau, ZNS1, 0045 12/5 "National Voice of the Bahamas"
ID during "Night Time Serenade" pgm. Strong most of the time at night
w/only traces of weak QRM.
1548 UNID, TA het around sunset 12/7. Kuwait??
1550 VENEZUELA, Los Teques, YVMW, 0206 12/6 fair but dominant w/R
Metropolitana ID
1560 PUERTO RICO, Bayamon, WRSJ 0209 12/6 good w/"NCN" ID during
Christmas greeting, then SS monologue
1570 DOMINICAN REP, Sto Domingo, HIAJ, 2301 12/5, R Amancer
Internacional ID after religious pgm. Dominant.
1580 VENEZUELA, Cumana, YVTK, 2026 12/5 good w/promo for "Radionovelas
de Manzanares", sounded like they were giving previews of coming
shows. Good signal all day.
1580 VENEZUELA, 0016 12/6 & various other times, someone //YVRQ-910.
Also 2134 12/6 w/Venez NA & start of a sporting event //910. Generally
dominant all evening w/1-2 other stns sometimes mixing, better signal
than 910 most of the time. Signal strength suggests YVTK, which was in
well all day. The other 2 listed YV's are pretty far away.
1580 UNID, 0601 12/5, ID sounding like "R Patris?AM Central", didn't
have tape running at the time
1580 UNID, 2106 12/5 unid SS talk w/3 decending chimes repeated in
background
1590 PUERTO RICO, Guyama, WXRF, 2049 12/6 possible ID giving PO Box in
San Juan
1600 PUERTO RICO, Bayamon, WLUZ, 2045 12/6 Puerto Rico ads & mention of
Bayamon.
1602 UNID TA het from well before to well after sunset 12/5&6, but never
heard any audio.
1610 ANGUILLA, Caribbean Beacon, religion day & night. See 690 for
additional comments.
1660 USA, 2326 12/5 good o/unid US stn w/many R Unica IDs. I thought I
had something really exotic until they said R Unica & Nueva York in the
same breath! Note that the Argentine is listed as R Unidad, a
potential source of confusion. Unid w/adult standards in background.
1680 USA, 2332 12/5 sports talk, not //1700, fair signal. Apparently
WTTM Princeton, NJ
1690 USA, Lexington Park, WPTX, 2329 12/5 I assume this was the
Talkradio net stn here, good w/network ads & PSAs, but dead air where
local anmts should've gone.
1700 USA, Miami Sprs, WAFN 2328 12/5 probably the one w/sports talk at
good level
FM Bandscan:
I also managed to check out the FM band a couple of times. Here's what
I heard in the way of locals (it's quite different from the published
lists).
94.5 "The Wave, St. Lucia's New Rhythm & Soul"
96.5 Radio Caribbean International (Southern part of the island), not
heard but is here per phone call to station
97.3 Radio St. Lucia //660AM/97.7FM (Northern half of the island)
97.7 Radio St. Lucia //660AM/97.3FM (Southern half of the island), not
heard but is here per signoff announcement
100.1 Helen FM, also ID's as "Radio 100" and "The One"
100.3 Helen FM, //100.1 not heard but listed on their web site
101.1 Radio Caribbean International (Northern part of the island) //96.5
103.5 Helen FM, //100.1 not heard but listed on their web site
105.3 Radio Koulibwi, ID's as "The Hot One" and "Rocking the Caribbean,
Hot FM"
I also heard a couple of weak French stations (probably Martinique) on
99.5 and 102.0, as well as weak religious stations (probably on other
islands) on 91.8 and 102.5, and probably could have found some more if
I'd spent more time on FM.
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