As was suggested in my "Looking for Help" thread a couple of weeks ago, let's take a look at something that was fairly popular for those of us who don't mind dating ourselves by talking about how it was "back in the day" when numerous AM stations shut down during the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning for transmitter maintenance.
Obviously, with regular signals off the air....both local and out-of-town....there were DX opportunities aplenty. So the question here for those who made it a point to see what they could discover with blocking signals removed is, "what sticks out in your mind as some of your most memorable DX experiences when blocking signals were removed?"
For myself, I didn't spend all that much time perusing temporarily blank spots on the dial. In the mid-late 1960s, most of them here in the Chicago area were just that....blank We had four "1-A" clears that had all of North America to themselves. So if WMAQ or WGN went off, you didn't hear much of anything on 670 or 720, etc. Although it did make snagging WNBC or WOR a much easier task (unless they were also off). Although in the case of WMAQ, a couple of times for me having them out of the way did open the door for KNBR.
A few others....
WIND (560) shutting down typically resulted in a very weak KWTO a few times. I repeatedly tried for WHBQ and WFIL, but never heard either.
WTMJ (620) seems to have been on all night more often than not. But when they went missing, it was usually CKCK. Once when WTMJ was off for a few seconds for a pattern change, WJDX was there with an ID (although that was one day at sunset....not a Monday morning).
WCFL (1000) being off on Monday morning was pretty much a guarantee that XEOY would be in.
As for out of town signals....
When WSM (650) went off on early Mondays, as often as not they'd leave the carrier on and broadcast a tone. I kept checking 650 to see if they'd also shut off the carrier. If they did, I always tried for KORL, but never heard them.
My most common experience with the out of town signals, as I posted a few weeks ago, had to do with WCKY and WLAC. If they were both off, I could get a clean and very listenable KOMA. KOMA was already a regular, but tough to listen to for entertainment because of splatter from 1510 and 1530.
As for me being out of town, myself....
At college in southeast Iowa, I often tried 920 after midnight for WOKY. They sent a minor lobe "spike" to the southwest on their 1kw night pattern. Eventually, I heard them several times. Usually on top, if not alone. Normally CKCY from Sault Ste. Marie was the blocking pestt. But they were usually off on Monday mornings.
KELI (1430) from Tulsa was another frequent visitor on Monday mornings with both WIL (St. Louis) and WIRE (Indianapolis) usually off.
But KXLF (1370) from Montana probably the most unique regular. Monday mornings it was typically there and alone. Any other day during the hours of darkness, it was lost in the slop.
Finally, my most unusual experience during those days in Iowa was hearing WVON (1450) one Monday morning. 250 watts at 200 miles. But not my catch...
I had been sitting on a train next to an African-American student who was telling me he knew you could pick up all manner of distant stations at night. "But for some reason not WVON'. It was a slice of home for him and his roommate that they both missed. So I explained to him what the problem was, and told him it was probably a lost cause. I forgot about it for a few weeks. Then one Monday morning, I got a knock on my door. It was him and his roommate who wanted me to come down to their room and hear something. The something, of course, was WVON. Fading, fighting, but on top most of the time. I was really impressed and I told him so. Not only with the catch, but with their keeping after it.
Shows how much I knew. Two of the most determined, if non-hobbyist, DX-ers ever!
Obviously, with regular signals off the air....both local and out-of-town....there were DX opportunities aplenty. So the question here for those who made it a point to see what they could discover with blocking signals removed is, "what sticks out in your mind as some of your most memorable DX experiences when blocking signals were removed?"
For myself, I didn't spend all that much time perusing temporarily blank spots on the dial. In the mid-late 1960s, most of them here in the Chicago area were just that....blank We had four "1-A" clears that had all of North America to themselves. So if WMAQ or WGN went off, you didn't hear much of anything on 670 or 720, etc. Although it did make snagging WNBC or WOR a much easier task (unless they were also off). Although in the case of WMAQ, a couple of times for me having them out of the way did open the door for KNBR.
A few others....
WIND (560) shutting down typically resulted in a very weak KWTO a few times. I repeatedly tried for WHBQ and WFIL, but never heard either.
WTMJ (620) seems to have been on all night more often than not. But when they went missing, it was usually CKCK. Once when WTMJ was off for a few seconds for a pattern change, WJDX was there with an ID (although that was one day at sunset....not a Monday morning).
WCFL (1000) being off on Monday morning was pretty much a guarantee that XEOY would be in.
As for out of town signals....
When WSM (650) went off on early Mondays, as often as not they'd leave the carrier on and broadcast a tone. I kept checking 650 to see if they'd also shut off the carrier. If they did, I always tried for KORL, but never heard them.
My most common experience with the out of town signals, as I posted a few weeks ago, had to do with WCKY and WLAC. If they were both off, I could get a clean and very listenable KOMA. KOMA was already a regular, but tough to listen to for entertainment because of splatter from 1510 and 1530.
As for me being out of town, myself....
At college in southeast Iowa, I often tried 920 after midnight for WOKY. They sent a minor lobe "spike" to the southwest on their 1kw night pattern. Eventually, I heard them several times. Usually on top, if not alone. Normally CKCY from Sault Ste. Marie was the blocking pestt. But they were usually off on Monday mornings.
KELI (1430) from Tulsa was another frequent visitor on Monday mornings with both WIL (St. Louis) and WIRE (Indianapolis) usually off.
But KXLF (1370) from Montana probably the most unique regular. Monday mornings it was typically there and alone. Any other day during the hours of darkness, it was lost in the slop.
Finally, my most unusual experience during those days in Iowa was hearing WVON (1450) one Monday morning. 250 watts at 200 miles. But not my catch...
I had been sitting on a train next to an African-American student who was telling me he knew you could pick up all manner of distant stations at night. "But for some reason not WVON'. It was a slice of home for him and his roommate that they both missed. So I explained to him what the problem was, and told him it was probably a lost cause. I forgot about it for a few weeks. Then one Monday morning, I got a knock on my door. It was him and his roommate who wanted me to come down to their room and hear something. The something, of course, was WVON. Fading, fighting, but on top most of the time. I was really impressed and I told him so. Not only with the catch, but with their keeping after it.
Shows how much I knew. Two of the most determined, if non-hobbyist, DX-ers ever!
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