One of the greatest Es openings I've ever been a part of. A few weak spikes around 9:30AM (PT) developed into a 2-hour extravaganza over several states, an MUF well over FM, and *record-breaking* double-hop confirmed...TWICE! This was all logged mobile in a few spots on the Pioneer Supertuner, including a 'honey hole' to the northwest of Selah where local translators and even some full-power locals fade out enough for Es signals to take over. I even confirmed Es on some of those channels.
9:30AM (PT) - Friend in rural NV starts logging SD and ND to 107 mhz. Out to car.
9:31AM - 101.5 KRMQ Clovis, NM; ID 'Big 101.5'. Relog, 100KW at 1243 miles. MUF was up to 103.3
9:32AM - 96.3 KKOB-FM Albuquerque, NM; 'on KKOB' mixed with country station, likely relog KHEY El Paso. Relog, 17.5KW at 1075 miles.
9:32AM - 100.3 KPEK Albuquerque, NM; commercial for Happy Days Motor Company in Albuquerque. Relog, 22.5KW at 1075 miles.
9:36AM - 96.7 KMDZ Las Vegas, NM; ID 'Mix 96', classic hits so it wasn't KNMB in Capitan. NEW #797, 6.5KW at 1100 miles. Heard in Ellensburg 5/25/20.
9:39AM - 97.7 KLVO Belen, NM; strong with RDS 'Radio Lobo 97.7'. Relog, 98.4KW at 1085 miles.
9:40AM - 97.1 KBCQ Roswell, NM; ID 'Hot 97' and ad for some bar and grill with a happy hour promotion. NEW #798, 100KW at 1246 miles. New overall!
9:44AM - 96.7 KWMX Williams, AZ; weather forecast 'from the 96.7 the Wolf weather center.' NEW #799, 10.5KW at 905 miles. New overall!
9:45AM - 93.9 KINT-FM El Paso, TX; RDS 'La Suavecita', big signal. Relog, 96KW at 1266 miles. Presumed 95.5, 96.3, 93.1 and 97.5 also in from El Paso, but all relogs and not needed. Also had a 101.1 oldies station for a good 20 minutes or so, Jackson 5 'ABC', etc. probably unneeded KVLC Hatch NM. No sign of Juarez 98.3 or KPRR-102.1.
UNID pop station on 100.7 also noted likely KLVF Las Vegas NM
9:58AM - 95.9 KSSR Santa Rosa, NM; heard for at least 20 minutes mixing sometimes with unid pop station (Taos?), several KSSR IDs, community calendar mentioning Pecos Theater in Santa Rosa, SRN news. Relog, 50KW at 1154 miles.
10:00AM - 90.9 KSJE Farmington, NM; TOH ID. NEW #800 in Yakima! 15KW at 933 miles, new overall.
UNID 91.3 with Native Voice One news (either Tuba City or Ignacio CO) not able to ID this one
UNID 93.5 with jazz music and no RDS, presumed the Taos NM non-comm station, no ID
10:10AM - 93.9 KRTN-FM Raton, NM; in for at least a half-hour with 'Enchanted Air' IDs and classic hits via satellite. Relog, 26KW at 1076 miles.
10:17AM - 93.3 KOBQ Albuquerque, NM; RDS 'THE Q'. Relog, 20KW at 1075 miles.
10:18AM - 94.1 KZRR Albuquerque, NM; promo for concert at Buffalo Thunder Resort. Relog, 19.5KW at 1075 miles.
10:18AM - rolled down to 92.7 and found an UNID with Clay Travis & Buck Sexton. I'm pretty sure this was K224FE Grand Junction CO w/ KNZZ-AM, no RDS noted, faded before BOH. Would have been new in Yakima, heard in Ellensburg 7/1/21
10:28AM - 102.9 KVWE Amarillo, TX; RDS 'Sports Star'. Relog, 100KW at 1246 miles. Also had two UNIDs on 102.3 - pop music with muffled audio, and 'Red Solo Cup' by Toby Keith - latter assuming KSPK CO
10:30AM - 106.7 KNKI Pinetop, AZ; huge signal with Fox Across America, ID "I-Talk 106.7." Relog, 61.42KW at 1028 miles.
10:31AM - 106.3 KPAN-FM Hereford, TX; with the Trading Post show, small-town radio at its finest. 806 area code mentions, a yard sale on Texas Street this Saturday, etc. NEW #801, 30KW at 1247 miles. New overall! Looked for Borger TX on 106.7, and Pinetop AZ was solidly on top. A pop station noted on 105.9 (Hobart OK?), no ID.
10:33AM - 107.9 KZRK-FM Canyon, TX; The Morning Rock promo, ID 'Amarillo's Rock 108.' NEW #802, 100KW at 1243 miles. New overall!
10:39AM - 104.3 KQFX Borger, TX; Spanish music, RDS "La Poderosa." NEW #803, 100KW at 1249 miles. Heard in Ellensburg 7/7/20, from the Manastash Lake area 18 mi to the west.
10:40AM - 98.9 KKMG Pueblo, CO; ID '98-9 Magic FM,' into 'Fast Car' Luke Combs. Relog, 57KW at 963 miles.
10:41AM - 93.5 KALQ Alamosa, CO; local ads for Alamosa, weather forecast, Q93.5 IDs. NEW #804, 2.8KW at 981 miles. New overall!
10:45AM - TENTATIVE 94.7 KRKS Denver, CO; with Christian teaching program, most likely target, but no ID. Would be 886 miles
Moved spots to the Wenas Valley, 10 mi NW of Selah. I pulled off on the side of the road where the ridge blocks just about every translator from Yakima and even some full-power FMs are degraded. This became a 'honey hole' for DX, and where I broke records.
10:58AM - 88.9 KNGM Guymon, OK; full TOH ID for KJIL, mentioning KZZW, KJHL, KJLJ, etc. Weather forecast with Dan Holliday, RDS. This has NOT been heard since the KOLU translator signed on in 2015! Relog, 25KW at 1197 miles.
11:03AM - 88.5 KJLJ Scott City, KS; // to 88.9, local KYVT severely degraded and KJLJ pounded right through them! This is my first-ever Es log on 88.5 from Yakima, and ironically, was my first from Ellensburg, 7/7/20, over the K-LOVE translator in town! NEW #805, 25KW at 1138 miles.
11:04AM - 90.9 KJHL Boise City, OK; // 88.5, 88.9, KJIL CCM programming. Relog, 10KW at 1151 miles.
11:10AM - 93.9 KZRD Dodge City, KS, and several other Dodge City FMs likely in, did confirm this one via RDS 'La Mexicana.' Relog, 100KW at 1192 miles. Didn't bother with 95.5/97.3/98.1 and IDing those as I knew they were western KS and relogs.
Double hop begins!
11:12AM - **94.1 KQXY-FM BEAUMONT, TX** ID 'Q94' as I tuned in to the channel!! I didn't believe it at first, but a few minutes later I went back to 94.1 and found an ad for Market Basket. Then an ad for the Upside app. There are NO Market Baskets in Amarillo or Albuquerque, where more-likely 94.1's are located. This blows the previous record (KWTX-97.5 Waco TX) to shreds! DOUBLE HOP, NEW #806, 100KW at 1826 miles!!! But wait...there's more
11:18AM - **95.1 KYKR BEAUMONT, TX**, amazingly strong signal with country music and slam-dunk "Kicker 95.1" ID. This beats KQXY by just a few miles. NEW #807, 100KW at a record-breaking 1,830 miles!!!! š² Once again, no yagi, no preamp, no massive antenna setup needed. This was in a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe, pulled over on the side of the road, with the Pioneer Supertuner and a 10dB FM booster. It shows that historic DX CAN happen on a car radio! I will be remembering this moment for years to come.
11:20AM - 89.7 KEPC Colorado Springs, CO; song match on RDS to playlist, Christine & The Queens. NEW #808, 10KW at 965 miles. Heard in Ellensburg 6/26/20.
11:21AM - 94.7 KSKU Sterling, KS; various local ads for places in St. John and Hutchinson KS. NEW #809, 50KW at 1269 miles. Heard in Ellensburg 6/16/21.
11:28AM - 90.5 KZNA Hill City, KS; promo for supporting HPPR, ridiculously-strong signal. NEW #810, 100KW at 1161 miles. Heard in Ellensburg 7/19/21.
11:29AM - 90.1 KZNK Brewster, KS; same promo as 90.5. NEW #811, 90KW at 1094 miles. New overall
11:34AM - 95.3 KWKN Wakeeney, KS; ID for The Cowboy, promos. NEW #812, 100KW at 1161 miles.
Audio is coming soon, I can't wait to share it with all of you!
*edited - forgot to add one more new Es log
9:30AM (PT) - Friend in rural NV starts logging SD and ND to 107 mhz. Out to car.
9:31AM - 101.5 KRMQ Clovis, NM; ID 'Big 101.5'. Relog, 100KW at 1243 miles. MUF was up to 103.3
9:32AM - 96.3 KKOB-FM Albuquerque, NM; 'on KKOB' mixed with country station, likely relog KHEY El Paso. Relog, 17.5KW at 1075 miles.
9:32AM - 100.3 KPEK Albuquerque, NM; commercial for Happy Days Motor Company in Albuquerque. Relog, 22.5KW at 1075 miles.
9:36AM - 96.7 KMDZ Las Vegas, NM; ID 'Mix 96', classic hits so it wasn't KNMB in Capitan. NEW #797, 6.5KW at 1100 miles. Heard in Ellensburg 5/25/20.
9:39AM - 97.7 KLVO Belen, NM; strong with RDS 'Radio Lobo 97.7'. Relog, 98.4KW at 1085 miles.
9:40AM - 97.1 KBCQ Roswell, NM; ID 'Hot 97' and ad for some bar and grill with a happy hour promotion. NEW #798, 100KW at 1246 miles. New overall!
9:44AM - 96.7 KWMX Williams, AZ; weather forecast 'from the 96.7 the Wolf weather center.' NEW #799, 10.5KW at 905 miles. New overall!
9:45AM - 93.9 KINT-FM El Paso, TX; RDS 'La Suavecita', big signal. Relog, 96KW at 1266 miles. Presumed 95.5, 96.3, 93.1 and 97.5 also in from El Paso, but all relogs and not needed. Also had a 101.1 oldies station for a good 20 minutes or so, Jackson 5 'ABC', etc. probably unneeded KVLC Hatch NM. No sign of Juarez 98.3 or KPRR-102.1.
UNID pop station on 100.7 also noted likely KLVF Las Vegas NM
9:58AM - 95.9 KSSR Santa Rosa, NM; heard for at least 20 minutes mixing sometimes with unid pop station (Taos?), several KSSR IDs, community calendar mentioning Pecos Theater in Santa Rosa, SRN news. Relog, 50KW at 1154 miles.
10:00AM - 90.9 KSJE Farmington, NM; TOH ID. NEW #800 in Yakima! 15KW at 933 miles, new overall.
UNID 91.3 with Native Voice One news (either Tuba City or Ignacio CO) not able to ID this one
UNID 93.5 with jazz music and no RDS, presumed the Taos NM non-comm station, no ID
10:10AM - 93.9 KRTN-FM Raton, NM; in for at least a half-hour with 'Enchanted Air' IDs and classic hits via satellite. Relog, 26KW at 1076 miles.
10:17AM - 93.3 KOBQ Albuquerque, NM; RDS 'THE Q'. Relog, 20KW at 1075 miles.
10:18AM - 94.1 KZRR Albuquerque, NM; promo for concert at Buffalo Thunder Resort. Relog, 19.5KW at 1075 miles.
10:18AM - rolled down to 92.7 and found an UNID with Clay Travis & Buck Sexton. I'm pretty sure this was K224FE Grand Junction CO w/ KNZZ-AM, no RDS noted, faded before BOH. Would have been new in Yakima, heard in Ellensburg 7/1/21
10:28AM - 102.9 KVWE Amarillo, TX; RDS 'Sports Star'. Relog, 100KW at 1246 miles. Also had two UNIDs on 102.3 - pop music with muffled audio, and 'Red Solo Cup' by Toby Keith - latter assuming KSPK CO
10:30AM - 106.7 KNKI Pinetop, AZ; huge signal with Fox Across America, ID "I-Talk 106.7." Relog, 61.42KW at 1028 miles.
10:31AM - 106.3 KPAN-FM Hereford, TX; with the Trading Post show, small-town radio at its finest. 806 area code mentions, a yard sale on Texas Street this Saturday, etc. NEW #801, 30KW at 1247 miles. New overall! Looked for Borger TX on 106.7, and Pinetop AZ was solidly on top. A pop station noted on 105.9 (Hobart OK?), no ID.
10:33AM - 107.9 KZRK-FM Canyon, TX; The Morning Rock promo, ID 'Amarillo's Rock 108.' NEW #802, 100KW at 1243 miles. New overall!
10:39AM - 104.3 KQFX Borger, TX; Spanish music, RDS "La Poderosa." NEW #803, 100KW at 1249 miles. Heard in Ellensburg 7/7/20, from the Manastash Lake area 18 mi to the west.
10:40AM - 98.9 KKMG Pueblo, CO; ID '98-9 Magic FM,' into 'Fast Car' Luke Combs. Relog, 57KW at 963 miles.
10:41AM - 93.5 KALQ Alamosa, CO; local ads for Alamosa, weather forecast, Q93.5 IDs. NEW #804, 2.8KW at 981 miles. New overall!
10:45AM - TENTATIVE 94.7 KRKS Denver, CO; with Christian teaching program, most likely target, but no ID. Would be 886 miles
Moved spots to the Wenas Valley, 10 mi NW of Selah. I pulled off on the side of the road where the ridge blocks just about every translator from Yakima and even some full-power FMs are degraded. This became a 'honey hole' for DX, and where I broke records.
10:58AM - 88.9 KNGM Guymon, OK; full TOH ID for KJIL, mentioning KZZW, KJHL, KJLJ, etc. Weather forecast with Dan Holliday, RDS. This has NOT been heard since the KOLU translator signed on in 2015! Relog, 25KW at 1197 miles.
11:03AM - 88.5 KJLJ Scott City, KS; // to 88.9, local KYVT severely degraded and KJLJ pounded right through them! This is my first-ever Es log on 88.5 from Yakima, and ironically, was my first from Ellensburg, 7/7/20, over the K-LOVE translator in town! NEW #805, 25KW at 1138 miles.
11:04AM - 90.9 KJHL Boise City, OK; // 88.5, 88.9, KJIL CCM programming. Relog, 10KW at 1151 miles.
11:10AM - 93.9 KZRD Dodge City, KS, and several other Dodge City FMs likely in, did confirm this one via RDS 'La Mexicana.' Relog, 100KW at 1192 miles. Didn't bother with 95.5/97.3/98.1 and IDing those as I knew they were western KS and relogs.
Double hop begins!
11:12AM - **94.1 KQXY-FM BEAUMONT, TX** ID 'Q94' as I tuned in to the channel!! I didn't believe it at first, but a few minutes later I went back to 94.1 and found an ad for Market Basket. Then an ad for the Upside app. There are NO Market Baskets in Amarillo or Albuquerque, where more-likely 94.1's are located. This blows the previous record (KWTX-97.5 Waco TX) to shreds! DOUBLE HOP, NEW #806, 100KW at 1826 miles!!! But wait...there's more
11:18AM - **95.1 KYKR BEAUMONT, TX**, amazingly strong signal with country music and slam-dunk "Kicker 95.1" ID. This beats KQXY by just a few miles. NEW #807, 100KW at a record-breaking 1,830 miles!!!! š² Once again, no yagi, no preamp, no massive antenna setup needed. This was in a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe, pulled over on the side of the road, with the Pioneer Supertuner and a 10dB FM booster. It shows that historic DX CAN happen on a car radio! I will be remembering this moment for years to come.
11:20AM - 89.7 KEPC Colorado Springs, CO; song match on RDS to playlist, Christine & The Queens. NEW #808, 10KW at 965 miles. Heard in Ellensburg 6/26/20.
11:21AM - 94.7 KSKU Sterling, KS; various local ads for places in St. John and Hutchinson KS. NEW #809, 50KW at 1269 miles. Heard in Ellensburg 6/16/21.
11:28AM - 90.5 KZNA Hill City, KS; promo for supporting HPPR, ridiculously-strong signal. NEW #810, 100KW at 1161 miles. Heard in Ellensburg 7/19/21.
11:29AM - 90.1 KZNK Brewster, KS; same promo as 90.5. NEW #811, 90KW at 1094 miles. New overall
11:34AM - 95.3 KWKN Wakeeney, KS; ID for The Cowboy, promos. NEW #812, 100KW at 1161 miles.
Audio is coming soon, I can't wait to share it with all of you!
*edited - forgot to add one more new Es log
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