Month: February 2023

United States

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HPL Communications sells 1490 WBTA/100.1 W261CR/106.1 W291DI Batavia NY to James Ernst’s Majic Tones Communications for $425,000. Ernst has served as an account executive at WBTA since 2014.

GEOS Communications will trade 104.5 W283AE Scranton PA to JMJ Communications for 750 WQOR Olyphant/Scranton and 1490 WAZL/100.1 W261DQ Hazleton PA and $80,000. JMJ’s Catholic programming moved to W283AE on February 1 via Times-Shamrock’s 106.9 WEZX-HD4 Scranton, while WQOR began airing GEOS’ Classic Hits “Gem 99 & 100” programming.

Butron Media Corporation will acquire “Ambiente 1030” WGSF Memphis TN from Flinn Broadcasting for $500,000 minus a $30,000 credit for studio repairs. Ivette Butron’s company also owns Regional Mexican “La Jefa 99.3” 1180 WGUE Turrell AR/99.3 W257CY Memphis.
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/249043/station-sales-week-of-2-24/

Lance Venta, RadioInsight (2023-02-24)

Italy

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Roberto Pavanello informs that, according to a reliable source, Radio Z100 Milano  will be off air on 1350 kHz during night hours, approximately from 0000 to 0800 Italy’s Local time (2300-0700 UTC in Winter 2200-0600 UTC in Summer). This just to allow reception of DX signals from Americas. We keep our fingers crossed…

Antonello Napolitano to A-DX iog (2023-02-23)

Mexico

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It looks like XESPN 800 Tijuana is back on the air, after going off the air in May 2022. At the moment, they’re playing mostly Spanish music and I heard some public information type announcements.  There was a station ID at 9:59 PM on Thursday local time.  Heard via a San Diego SDR.

Liron (2023-02-24)

Italy

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It seems that Radio Z100 Milano has got authorization from authorities to use the frequency of 1350. Tests with no station identification announcements have already been Heard in the North of Italy. If this is confirmed we can say good bye to  one of the most interesting channels on MW which offers the possibility of picking up stations from 4 continents.

Antonello Napolitano to A-DX iog (2023-02-23)

United States

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DX Test from WDFB Junction City KY – 1170 kHz

The Courtesy Program Committee (CPC) of the National Radio Club and International Radio Club of America is pleased to announce another test of Class D (Daytime only) station, WDFB 1170, in Junction City (Danville), Kentucky.

Traffic Manager Cindy Pike explained, “WDFB broadcasts Christian radio to Central Kentucky, and we pride ourselves on broadcasting a great variety of gospel music with some that have been performed live in our studios. This gives the station a unique sound, and it has become a fixture in our community. To ensure that our listeners enjoy the best possible sound, we’ll do some maintenance on our transmitter and audio chain. To my knowledge, this is the first testing we’ve done in almost twenty years.”

The test will feature mainly test tones and Morse Code, but Cindy opted to replace our normal computer-voiced announcement in favor of a more authentic sample of WDFB’s history. The station began in 1985, as a ministry and labor of love by founders Reverend Don and Mildred Drake. While Don Drake has since passed his ministry continues, with Mildred continuing to operate the station daily.

Distant listeners to the test may hear vintage clips of Rev. Don’s music, Mildred’s lovely singing voice or even a short sermon from the past.

The station will also broadcast test tones, Morse Code identifications, long-duration 1 kHz test tones, and voice announcements. The testing will begin at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (05:01 UTC) on Saturday morning, February 25th. The test will last for two hours.

The test will be challenging, with powerful 50 kW stations like KTSB and WWVA dominating the channel in most of the United States. But the station’s last test on November 2, 2002, was widely heard in the US and Canada.

Les Rayburn, N1LF – les@highnoonfilm.com
121 Mayfair Park, Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf
NRC & IRCA Courtesy Program Committee Chairman

Arctic Radio Club mv-eko 20 Feb 2023 via WOR iog (2023-02-22)

United Kingdom

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I notice that for the last few years the WRTH and other listing show talksport as having a 400 Kw Tx at Brookmans Park and 500Kw at Droitwich this is wrong; the powers are 150Kw in both cases  same as when radio 1 used these frequencys; I don’t know where the incorrect figures are from but believe they may be ERP figures rather than true TX power 

Kelly Marie Angel Johnson (2023-02-21)

Spain

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My coleagues of RNE in Sevilla (Andalucía) recently asked for my permission to use the design of the eQSL we use at RNE-Salamanca to produce their own.
They told me that they hold a big number of QSL requests unanswered (some very old) that now will be replied!. They are also planning to establish a email address to this purpose but for now reception reports can be sent to:

Atención: Departamento técnico RNE
Radio Televisión Española
Isla de la Cartuja. Parque del Alamillo
(Edificio RTVE)
41092 SEVILLA
SPAIN

73! Mauricio Molano (2023-02-21)

United Kingdom

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TalkSport‘s submission is here:
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/254052/annex6-talkSPORT-proposed-changes-number-of-transmitters.pdf – it contains some interesting coverage maps.

TalkSport has 22 transmission sites of which five are high-powered and the rest infill.

TalkSport request permission to close the four sites listed “immediately”, but OFCOM have put it out to consultation requiring a response from stakeholders by 23rd March 2023, after which they will make a decision. Additionally TalkSport suggests that the 13 other infill sites will become “unviable in the next two years”.

This would leave a “core network” of the five high-powered transmitters at:
Brookman’s Park, Hertfordshire, 1089kHz, 400kW
Droitwich, Worcestershire, 1053kHz, 500kW
Moorside Edge, West Yorkshire, 1089kHz, 100kW
Westerglen, Stirlingshire, 1089kHz, 100kW
Washford, Somerset, 1089kHz, 80kW

Compared to the high-power sites, most of the 17 infill transmitters are rated at only a few kilowatts, the largest being 18kW. The four that have been requested to close are 1kW each, except Dumfries which is 10kW (all powers are according to the WRTH 2022 edition).

In their submission, TalkSport say this five-site network “will remove AM coverage in Northern Ireland, the Scottish Borders, the North East and East Anglia”, with possible later closure of these five high-powered sites.

OFCOM comment that the Government’s “Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport” recommend that “industry should begin planning for the … migration from AM services to take place some point in the mid-2020s”, so they are consulting (partly) because “holders of other analogue commercial radio licences, and particularly those holding AM licences, might be interested in the approach that we are minded to take in this case”. This “approach” is OFCOM’s provisional decision to permit the closure.

One can infer that this decision will be of interest to TalkSport and others for future AM closures, although each decision has to be made in the light of the specific situation and OFCOM’s statutory duties.

Andrew Brade, bdxc-news via WOR iog (2023-02-21)