LW Opening

Sandy Lake Aeronautical Chart (Source: Skyvector.com)

Last night, as I was trying to stay warm in this drafty old house, I read an e-mail on the International Radio Club of America list saying that the long waves were open. So I fired up the ELAD FDM-S2/FDM-SW2, tuned to the LW segment of the radio spectrum and saw more signals on the waterfall display than I have ever seen before.

I managed to log five new navigational beacons all located in the Ontario province of Canada including one in Sandy Lake over 1200 miles away. Here is the complete tally from last night:

📶 YKX on 201 kHz transmitting 200 watts from Kirkland Lake, Ontario, 568 miles to the north-northwest

📶 YYW on 223 kHz transmitting 100 watts from Armstrong, Ontario, 975 miles to the northwest

📶 QN on 233 kHz transmitting 400 watts from Nakina, Ontario, 873 miles to the northwest

📶 ZSJ on 258 kHz transmitting 500 watts from Sandy Lake, Ontario, 1231 miles to the northwest

📶 YEL on 276 kHz transmitting 250 watts from Elliot Lake, Ontario, 583 miles to the northwest

Antenna used was my 80-meter inverted Vee.

And Good DX'ing!

The refurbished Hy-Gain 18 AVT/WB-A vertical antenna at WA1LOU

Two for One in One

Revisiting my December 20 1100Z top-of-the-hour recording turned up three additional new stations for the log including a rare two-for-one logging in one state (two stations on one frequency in the same state).

📶 WHBC on 1480 kHz transmitting 5kw from Canton, Ohio, 446 miles to the west-southwest.

📶 WDJO also on 1480 kHz transmitting 300 watts from Cincinnati, Ohio, 629 miles to the west-southwest.

📶 WAAM on 1600 kHz transmitting 5kW from Ann Arbor, Michigan, 553 miles to the west-northwest.

All were received on my ELAD FDM-S2/FDM-SW2 connected to my 80-meter inverted Vee.

Geminids and WCY?

📡  Easton, Pennsylvania's Mike Schaffer, KA3JAW, wrote, "Geminids meteor shower (MS) from parent object 3200 Phaethon asteroid peaked on December 13 during the 1530 UTC with a ZHR rate of 97. The prediction was 120.

"The majority of analog FM radio stations received via MS was from south-eastern or south-central Ontario, Canada region. No digital HD Radio in-band on-channel (IBOC) using OFDM modulation was decoded.

"No digital ATSC television stations were detected via MS on any of the three bands."

The the typical distance of the stations was 300 to 600 miles from Mike's location.

📶  Meanwhile, I keep monitoring the AM band for new stations. My top-of-the-hour recording at 1100 UTC on December 20 revealed a new logging on the 1400 graveyard channel. The first three letters of the station identification were WCY, but the signal dropped out on the last letter.

Radio-Locator indicated two stations on 1400 with WCY(?) call signs: WCYN in Kentucky and WCYR in Maine. I listened to the recording again and preceding the station identification was a PSA for Maine veterans. So I added WCYR to the log.

Located in Veazie, Maine, WCYR transmits 810 watts, 309 miles to the northeast. Equipment used was my ELAD FDM-2/FDM-SW2 receiver and my 80-meter inverted Vee antenna.

A Very Good Night

I recorded the top of the hour (1000 UTC on November 29) and was very pleased with the results.

WPRX was off the air for some reason. Their transmitter is 2 miles away and although it only transmits 1,000 watts, I cannot hear anything but WPRX on 1120 kHz. With WPRX off the air, I logged KMOX for the first time, the St. Louis powerhouse transmitting 50 kW, 923 miles to the west-southwest.

I also logged three other new stations:

WWLZ on 820 kHz in Horseheads, New York, transmitting 850 watts, 204 miles to the west-northwest.

WTAD on 930 kHz in Quincy, Illinois, transmitting 1,000 watts, 973 miles to the west.

WQWK on 1450 kHz in State College, Pennsylvania, transmitting 1,000 watts, 261 miles to the west-southwest.

All four were received with the ELAD FDM-S2/FDM-SW2 receiver and Hy-Gain 18AVT/WB-A vertical antenna.