WOR New York NY 710 kHz QSL and Audio

New York City skyline from Ellis Island (Photograph Wikimedia Commons).

WOR New York on 710 kHz is one of the more regular stations heard at Fish Hoek during good mediumwave propagation from the U.S.A. The station made it through on the 21st of November 1988 via the FRG7 and 25 metre longwire antenna.

Chief Engineer Paul Stewart kindly verified my reception report with the above QSL card.

An early photograph (circa 1922) showing WOR's transmitter room located on the roof of Bamberger's Department store in Newark, New Jersey (Photograph with kind permission from Tom Ray).

Audio Clip

WOR on 710 kHz was heard with a huge local sunrise peak at 0402 UTC on the 11th January 2011 at Noordhoek via the Sony SRF-M37V ultralight receiver which was inductively coupled to a 220 Metre BOG directed towards North America.

An early photograph (circa 1922) showing the first WOR antenna on top of Bamberger's Department store in Newark, New Jersey, when the station used to operate with 500 watts (Photograph Tom Ray).

Trans Atlantic Reception on an ultralight radio with the internal 2.5 inch ferrite antenna!

WOR New York also made a surprise appearance at Fish Hoek over a distance of 12 550 km - heard on a barefoot Sony M37V Ultralight radio with just the internal 2.5 inch ferrite antenna during the early hours on the 8th November 2009.

Rebuilding WOR Radio from the tip of the mic to the top of the tower

The present WOR twin Harris 3DX50 transmitters with HD rack inbetween, located in Rutherford, New Jersey (Photograph with kind permission from Tom Ray).

A fascinating and detailed account with photographs, by Vice President/Corporate Director of Engineering Tom Ray who was in charge of the rebuilding of the WOR facilities is available here.

WRKO Boston MA 680 kHz QSL and Audio

Sunset across the Charles river with the Boston Skyline in the distance (Photograph Wikimedia Commons).

WRKO Boston MA on 680 kHz is one of the more regular stations heard at Fish Hoek during good mediumwave propagation from the U.S.A. The station made it through with a huge signal on the 21st of November 1988 via the FRG7 and 25 metre longwire antenna.

Chief Engineer Ned Roos kindly responded to my reception report with an informative verification letter.  The Steve Weisman Show was in progress as I tuned in and after seeing my letter, attorney Steve Weisman also kindly ressponded with a WRKO greeting card.

 

Audio Clip

A 1988 recording of the reception of 680 WRKO at Fish Hoek - a remarkable trans Atlantic signal peak over a distance of 12 444 km!

WLS Chicago IL 890 kHz QSL

Welcome to post no. 250 on the Cape Dx Blog !

WLS Chicago, Illinois on 890 khz made it through to Fish Hoek, South Africa on the 11th of November 1988 via the FRG7 and 25 metre longwire antenna.

Chief Engineer Harry Priester kindly verified my reception report with a friendly and informative QSL letter and verification certificate.

An aerial view of the WLS transmitter building (photograph courtesy Bart Shore).

An early photograph showing the WLS transmitter building and antenna on the cover of the 1948 WLS Family Album booklet.

WLS History

The Radio Timeline and WLS History websites are both worth a visit for those interested in the radio station's history.

WHAM Rochester NY 1180 kHz QSL

Rochester Skyline (Photograph Wikimedia Commons).

WHAM Rochester NY on 1180 khz made it through during a dxpedition to Swartriet on the 8th of June 1988 via the FRG7 and 1 km beverage antenna which was directed towards Eastern Canada.

I was fortunate to receive a QSL card from General Manager Jack Murphy in response to my reception report to the station.

Google Earth image showing the close proximity of the Swartriet holiday cottages to the coast. The cottages are situated just north of Saldanha Bay on the west coast of South Africa.

5AD Adelaide SA 1323 kHz QSL and Video

5AD Adelaide SA on 1323 kHz made it through to Fish Hoek on the 13th June 1988 via the FRG 7 and 30 metre longwire antenna.

I received the above QSL card in response to my reception report to the station.

Video

A 1988 Promo for 5AD :

3MP Frankston VIC 1377 kHz QSL and Video

Mediumwave stations from the Australian state of Victoria are not often noted at Fish Hoek so it was a pleasure to hear 3MP Frankston on 1377 kHz back on the 9th June 1988.

I received the above QSL card from Chief Engineer Rupe Macaw.

Video

A 1980 animated TV commercial for 3MP is available here for those interested in a creative radio station promo from a previous broadcasting era.

5MU Murray Bridge SA 1458 kHz QSL and Audio

The rail and road bridges leading into the town of Murray Bridge, South Australia (Photograph Wikimedia Commons).

5MU Murray Bridge SA was heard on their previous frequency of 1458 kHz on the 9th June 1988 via the FRG 7 and 30 metre longwire antenna at Fish Hoek.

Chief Engineer Kevin May kindly responded to my reception report with an interesting letter from their new studio complex - the station had also changed frequency from 1458 Khz to the present 1125 kHz.   

5MU antenna masts (photograph courtesy of David Onley).

Audio Clip

The 5 kw signal from 5MU on 1125 kHz can get through remarkably well at times. The brief recording of the station id was made at 1708 UTC on the 13th April 2007 via the FRG7 and 220 metre BOG at Fish Hoek.

5KA Adelaide SA 1197 QSL - Audio from the 1950's

5KA Adelaide, South Australia on 1197 kHz made it through to Fish Hoek on the 17th April 1988 via the FRG7 and 25 metre longwire antenna - a memorable catch and a South African first.

I received a QSL card and station bumper sticker from Chief Engineer Rod Cranwell who kindly responded to my reception report.

A Brief History

5KA commencing broadcasting on the 25th March 1927 on 1200 kHz. The station changed frequency to 1197 kHz with the introduction of 9 kHz spacing on the mediumwave band in 1978.

5KA left the mediumwave band and converted to 104.7 MHz FM on the 1st January 1990. After a call sign change to 5KKA (branded on-air as KAFM), the station eventually became 5MMM (Triple M Adelaide).

Audio Clip : 1950's 5KA jingle

1950's Philco Tropic Radio (Photograph Gary Deacon).

Visit the archived 5KA Reunion website for a detailed history, early photographs and a treasure trove of 5KA airchecks and jingles.

An early photograph inside the 5KA studio during a visit from a few Australian football players.

Audio Clip : 1954 Adelaide Earthquake on 5KA

On the 1st March 1954, Adelaide experienced an earthquake during the early hours. 5KA announcer Jack Fox was on duty at the time when showers of plaster fell down from the studio ceiling, the lights went out and his cup of tea fell across the record turntable!

The station was down for only three minutes after which the all night announcer was soon back on air :

" ... The whole of the building here - my chair that I'm sitting on absolutely rocked underneath me. I thought the building for one minute was collapsing ... now we continue with our musical programme, if I can find my records under all the plaster that's around the studio here ... "

In the hours that followed, Jack Fox kept up a constant stream of reassurances in between selections of bright, cheerful music which did much to calm many anxious mothers and frightened children!

5KA announcer Jack Fox. 

KNX Los Angeles CA 1070 kHz QSL

KNX Los Angeles CA on 1070 kHz was heard on the 29th April 1988. Another memorable catch, the station made it through over an impressive distance of 16 050 km to Fish Hoek via the FRG7 and 25 metre longwire antenna.

Director of Techical Operations, Erik Disen kindly replied to my reception report with the above QSL.

A Salute To Columbia Square

The historic Columbia Square - the home of KNX from 1938 (until 2005) and the Columbia Broadcasting System's West Coast operations headquarters until 2007 (photograph Wikimedia Commons).

Michael Linder's special audio programme, "A Salute To Columbia Square", is well worth a listen for anyone interested in a fascinating account of the broadcast history of KNX's Sunset Boulevard studios.

The programme, available here (scroll to the bottom of the Air Checks page), includes many interesting archive broadcasts and interviews with pioneers who helped create radio’s Golden Age.

WTIC Hartford CT 1080 kHz QSL

WTIC Hartford on 1080 khz made it through to Fish Hoek on the 11th of February 1988 via the FRG7 and 25 metre longwire antenna.

Engineer Bob Downes kindly verified my reception report with a QSL card.

Historic photograph of reel to reel tape machines inside WTIC Broadcast House (Photogaph Jeff Hugabonne).

Historic photograph of WTIC Broadcast House (Photograph Jeff Hugabonne).

WARV Warwick RI 1590 kHz QSL

WARV Warwick on 1590 kHz was heard at Fish Hoek for the first time (A South African first) on the 17th February 1988 via the FRG7 and 25 metre longwire antenna.

I was fortunate to receive an interesting verification letter from WARV President Bill Blount who kindly responded to my reception report.

The Southeast Lighthouse on Block Island, RI (Photograph Wikimedia Commons).

WJMX Florence SC 970 kHz QSL

It was a pleasant surprise to hear WJMX Florence SC for the first time (A South African first) on 970 kHz on the 9th November 1987. Another memorable catch, the station's 3 kw signal made it through to Fish Hoek via the FRG7 and 25 metre longwire antenna.

I was fortunate to receive an interesting verification letter with detailed information from Engineer Ken Evens who kindly responded to my reception report.

Google Earth Image showing the three WJMX AM Antenna towers - the southeastern tower is 510 ft in height (approximately 1/2 wavelength) and the two other towers are 250 ft (1/4 wavelength) each. The night time antenna pattern of the major lobe towards the south east helped account for the unusual trans Atlantic reception at Fish Hoek.