[NJARC] AM 740 station in background

[Matt Reynolds]

Thanks all.  It was definitely French, and a couple of you replied (both on and off list) that it's probably 730, which makes sense.


I live in the Bridgewater area, and I get horrendous interference sounds on AM, which seems to be on multiple harmonics, on any radio I ever try.  The last time I tried to do a DXpedition I shut off everything electronic in my house and did it by an oil lamp, so I know it's nothing I'm powering.


My antenna is probably not ideal either.  I have a 50 foot long coax cable ran to a UHF\HDTV antenna in my attic.  This was recycling an attempt to get OTA HDTV where I live.  It certainly works better than nothing.  The radio is grounded to my radiator.


Regardless of the less than ideal set up, it's been nice to actually give listening in a chance.  Thanks for the advice.


Regards,


Matt



________________________________
From: TrainBee <trainbee at aol.com>
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2016 1:27:24 PM
To: mattr04 at hotmail.com; njarc at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [NJARC] AM 740 station in background

Matt,

    Yes, you were certainly hearing a French Canadian station.  CKAC 730 KHz is in Montreal.  There are nights when it overpowers 740.  I can null it a bit here, but you're 500 miles further south and likely not so lucky.
     Here in Maine, AM DX can be quite interesting.  Give the upper end of the band around 1400 to 1600 a try.  Each night I have a pile-up of 3 stations on close to one frequency.  That GE 408 AM/FM radio I'm currently using gives me only a ballpark idea of where things are on the band.  I sometimes birddog with my Grundig Satellit 650 it to see what's what, but it's kind of like apples and oranges with the different antennas.  The other thing is I have to give them some separation as the oscillators can be heard singing away if they are too close.
    When I was living down in NJ, it wasn't quite as bad as my proximity to those 2 stations here.  860 KHz is another French station that booms in.  Back to the 730 KHz station... I think they did something with the transmitter over the last year or so, as it is now more powerful.   It could also be an antenna change.  Recently, propagation has been, at least here, a lot better.  Even FM DX is perking up.  I used to be able to figure out where I was by tuning in WOR on 710, WCBS 880 and WBBR (formerly WNEW) 1130.  You could also use WPHT 1210 as a reference frequency.
    You could try to null the station you don't want by simply turning the radio slightly.  Montreal is almost directly north of you and Toronto is to the NW.  For me, the quirky thing with all of this is that I really should have a tough time with 740 as they are beaming to the south.  I'm about as east of Toronto as you can get and they boom in here most nights. On your Philco 38-4, is the antenna able to rotate or are you using a long wire?

So, good luck with your newfound DX and get ready for the  AM DX contest in January.

Regards,

Joe Devonshire

Jefferson, ME



-----Original Message-----
From: Matt Reynolds <mattr04 at hotmail.com>
To: NJARC Reflector <njarc at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sun, Oct 16, 2016 11:16 pm
Subject: [NJARC] AM 740 station in background

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_________________________________________________________
Hi all,

Admittedly, though having been a member of NARC quite awhile and having a handful of radios that work, I've never spent a significant amount of time actually listening to the airwaves.  After recently getting my Philco 38-4 working, I've been listening to AM 740 (zoomer radio out of Ontario) before bed.

I notice when I listen to this station another station bleeds in and out.  It is a foreign speaking station, sounds like French to me.  Not sure which station it is or where it is coming from.  Just thought I'd ask and see if anybody more experienced listening to the air would know.



Regards,

Matt
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