Re: Back from DX'ing on PEI

[Dan Strassberg <dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net>]

At 03:42 PM 7/23/97 +0000, you wrote:
>
>Where does 1550 fit into this scheme?  CBE is a class A station....
>
Well, 1550 is certainly a channel I left off my list. I think it's a
Mexican/Canadian clear channel. CBE is a Class A station, and along with
KNZR Bakersfield on 1560, is the only Canadian or US Class A I can think of
that isn't 50 kW full-time. Did I include 1580? That's a Canadian clear but
I don't think it's a Mexican clear. If I were, I don't think there could be
a 50-kW full-time station on 1580 in Santa Monica. CBJ is a Class A, I believe.

There is an anomaly that I can't explain about 1550 however: Back before the
rules were relaxed, the US stations that were allowed on Canadian clears had
to be at least 650 miles from the nearest point of land in Canada and had to
deliver no more than 5 microvolts/meter groundwave and 25 microvolts/meter
10% skywave to the Canadian border. A good example is KCBS, whose TX in
Novato is north of all of the major population centers in the Bay area and
whose night pattern is quite strongly directional to the south.

But the AM 1550 in SF is directionalized to the NORTH (hence the TX south of
SF). The station comes in very well in Washington and Oregon (and I think
British Columbia) at night. That station may be protecting the Mexican
border or a station in Mexico. I can't think of another Mexican/Canadian
clear channel on which the older US full-time stations don't all protect the
Canadian border. I think that there is now at least one newer AM 1550
fulltimer in WA or OR. And locally, don't forget the AM 1550 north of
Hartford. I'm pretty sure that does protect Canada at night. But the AM 1550
in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area does not seem to.

- -------------------------------
Dan Strassberg (Note: Address is CASE SENSITIVE!)
ALL _LOWER_ CASE!!!--> dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net
(617) 558-4205; Fax (617) 928-4205

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