Image: Universal Radio
by Dan Greenall
While the House of Representatives in the U.S.approved the Sunshine Protection Act, the Senate has not yet passed it, meaning most states should return to “Standard Time” on November 1. The DJ in the following recording seemed pleased that he would be getting an extra hour of sleep on Sunday, October 28, 1973. However, should some states choose to adopt Daylight Time permanently in the future, the time zones, as we have known them, could become quite fragmented. Caution will need to be taken when trying to ID a BCB station by means of their time check.
In the wee hours of October 28, 1973, this DX recording was made of radio station KKJO in St. Joseph, MO (about an hour’s drive north of Kansas City) broadcasting on 1550 kHz in the AM broadcast band. According to White’s Radio Log for Fall 1973, KKJO was running 5000 watts of power. My receiving post was some 800 + miles distant in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. I was using a Realistic DX-150A communications receiver hooked up to a long wire antenna. You can hear the station fade gradually in and out a number of times during the recording, but fortunately faded in around the 2:49 mark to catch their station ID and announcement about returning to Central Standard Time. Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome” is heard at first, and Art Garfunkel’s “All I Know” afterward, 2 very popular songs in 1973.
This was considered unusual reception at my listening post. The image below shows the nighttime antenna patterns for radio stations on 1550 kHz.
Also check out this close-up coverage map (PDF).
You will note that Windsor, Ontario station CBE is normally heard in southern Ontario, and that KKJO’s signal is mostly directed to the north and west of St. Joseph, MO. On this occasion, it seems that CBE may have been off the air for maintenance, and KKJO was then heard off the side of their beamed signal.
73
Dan Greenall, Ontario, Canada