WWL New Orleans

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WWL New Orleans

Postby Anotherwpgguy » Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:09 am

Interesting look at the daytime over salt water propagation.

Car radio in South Padre Island, TX and listened to WWL 870 with only a bit of static.

Looked it up and the path is 508 miles!

Pretty neat for us radio-geeks.

Regards,
AWG
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Re: WWL New Orleans

Postby jon » Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:03 am

Which would explain why they used to run Spanish programming into Cuba every night when I first started DXing in 1964 (and earlier). Nice salt water path.

They would go from one tower for that, instead of their normal directional pattern to avoid wasting signal into the Gulf of Mexico.
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Re: WWL New Orleans

Postby Neumann Sennheiser » Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:15 am

Just what I was also thinking. It's a straight, unimpeded shot right across the gulf from Havana to South Padre. Do they still operate those ridiculously high-watt sticks out of Cuba?
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Re: WWL New Orleans

Postby jon » Tue Feb 04, 2014 11:14 am

Radio Havana Cuba, the country's "international radio service", no longer broadcasts on medium wave.

Currently, the only transmitters with more than 50KW on medium wave in Cuba are (all 200KW):
710 Radio Rebelde
890 Radio Progreso
1180 not sure which station

This is from an official government list, dated 2009, the first reliable list of Cuban stations in years. It lists several transmitters on 710, of which two are 200KW and three at 50KW, all in different locations in Cuba. And all simulcast.
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Re: WWL New Orleans

Postby Toomas Losin » Tue Feb 04, 2014 11:50 pm

That may not be 200 kW continuously. The last time I heard Radio Progreso on 890 was in 2011 while trying for Australia on 891 and it was very poor. I didn't hear any spanish frequently enough to suggest a 200 kW transmission. Or is it directional away from the Lower Mainland?

I always like hearing WWL. It's like an old friend on the DX dial. The first time I heard it I was so impressed to hear something from New Orleans. At the time I didn't know what it's antenna pattern was like.
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Re: WWL New Orleans

Postby jon » Wed Feb 05, 2014 6:36 am

Here is the link to the information that I used:
http://www.dxing.info/lists/Cuba_AM_2009.pdf

My reading of it is that all the stations are non-directional so that a single tower can handle up to four different frequencies.

On the other hand, although the author talks like everything was in place in 2009, it could well have been a longer term plan. Or they may have ground conductivity issues at the transmitter site you are hearing.

As for WWL, yes, I too always had an attachment to WWL. Both as my first W station heard when I first started DX'ing in 1964. But also as the most distant station I ever got on the little "fresh off the boat" Japanese transistor radio I bought at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair -- the first radio that was mine, not my parents'.
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Re: WWL New Orleans

Postby jon » Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:04 am

Here is what the little radio looked like when it was new (without its slip-on case):

Image
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Re: WWL New Orleans

Postby Eldon-Mr.CFAY » Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:28 pm

Hi Everyone,
Yes I always like tuning in WWL 870 New Orleans over the air. Have heard them long ago many times in Surrey and also in more recent years in Langley. However they have been more difficult to hear in Langley over the last 10 years or more due to other stations like Pasco, Washington on 870. I also listened to them on my Grace Wi-=fi internet radio with streaming during the last big Hurricane down in the New Orleans area, they had excellent coverage of that!!!

Great to read your comments about this Jon and Toomas. In Southern Ontario WWL 870 comes in most nights, some nights its weaker than others. Usually quite good in signal strength though. I can null the fulltime station in ITHACA, New York on 870 here WHCU I think are their calls! Anyway regarding Cubans I have heard quite a few in Southern Ontario including Radio Rebelde on 670 too but as you mentioned Jon those operate with 50 kw. or less except for the frequencies you mentioned. I have heard 710 khz. from Cuba here too. Cuba has quite a few AM stations operating still at 50 kw. or less!!! A lot with the Radio Rebelde programming though.

Yep WWL 870 I got verified by a nice QSL CARD way back in 1968 or so! Great historical station. Always enjoy listening to them even though they have been owned by a large radio corporation for quite a few years and not independently owned. They do have a lot of local programming and I do not think its Cumulus or Clear Channel that owns them. I think its Entercom but I may be mistaken on that. The point is that they do a lot of local programming tho which is great. Basically a News and Informaton station with quite a lot of local talk. Some network too... I do not think they carry Coast to Coast AM though....

Anyway take care everyone, good topic.

Best of DXing to you in 2014. 73s Eldon
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Re: WWL New Orleans

Postby jon » Thu Feb 06, 2014 5:59 pm

Took another look at the WWL pattern:
Image
and realized that being NW of them in the Pacific Northwest really gave up much more than 100KW equivalent signal in our direction.

Back in 1964, I remember how weak the signal was for the Cuban-aimed programming, compared to their regular English language programming. Back then, I'd always assumed that WWL was non-directional normally, but went into a Southern pattern for the Cuban broadcasts. Which, of course, did not explain why WWL had such a strong signal compared to other 50KW stations at that distance.

A pattern like this for English and non-directional for the Cuban broadcasts really does explain the difference in signal strengths that I remember, sounding like a more than halving of power.
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Re: WWL New Orleans

Postby Toomas Losin » Thu Feb 06, 2014 9:06 pm

WWL was my furthest heard Canadian or US station for so many, many, years because of its pattern and lack of on-frequency pests. Both made it easy to hear but for different reasons. I didn't know about its pattern until recent years, so I didn't have much clue as to why I wasn't hearing anything further as easily. Eldon, I've also noticed the "good" frequencies getting more crowded. Nowadays, on 870 I most often hear CFBV Smithers.

If I had known in the 80's that WBZ Boston has a pattern that points in our direction I would have spent more time back then trying to hear it. At the time I probably thought that KTWO was the furthest possible on that frequency since it's so dominant.

Hmm, WBZ seems to be a good example of what listening for WWL would be like if 870 were more crowded — only possible when propagation supresses the pests and enhances the desired signal. That's what finally let me hear WBZ.
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