ECLIPSE 2024 MEDIUMWAVE DX FROM KINGSPORT, TENNESSEE, USA.
Back in August 2017 I traveled to Madisonville, Tennessee which was in the path of totality. Back then I took one radio with me and recorded on mediumwave, mostly on 1120khz. I wanted to see if the shadow of the moon allowed for skywave propagation similar to night-time. Sure enough it did! I was able to hear KMOX-St.Louis very well for a few minutes.
Fast-forward to April 8, 2024. Knowing this may be my last eclipse to DX, I took half-day off work to listen on mediumwave (530khz – 1710khz) as the moon’s shadow made its way north out of Mexico, through the Midwest, and into the northeast United States. At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect since Kingsport was not in the path of totality. Maximum eclipse here in Kingsport was expected at around 90% at about 3:09pm EDT. Still, I suspected I should hear something since the moon’s shadow was 60% larger on the ground this time around.
At home I had two XDR’s recording, one was tuned to 1070khz and the other was tuned to 1120khz. I drove to a nearby, quiet parking lot and waited and watched as I listened to my car’s radio. At first, I was tuned to 820khz hoping to hear WBAP-Dallas, TX, but no luck. I also tried for 740-KRMG Tulsa, OK without luck. It was around 2:45pm EDT that I could start to hear the faint background noise level start to rise. Just before 3:00pm I confirmed Nashville on 1510 and Wheeling, WV on 1170. At 3:00pm I got a nice ID from KRJO-1680 Monroe, LA at 608 miles. Enhancement of the band occurred rapidly and many stations were fading in and out. I tuned around as much as I could to get as many ID’s as possible. Here’s what I managed to log within a 40-minute window from 2:56pm to 3:36pm EDT:
2:56pm WLAC-1510 Nashville, TN. 236mi
2:57pm WWVA-1170 Wheeling, WV. 262mi
3:00pm KRJO-1680 Monroe, LA. 608mi
3:05pm WHBC-1480 Canton, OH. 309mi
3:07pm WYLL-1160 Chicago, IL. 476mi
3:08pm KFAB-1110 Omaha, NE (tentative) 790mi
3:09pm WHO-1040 Des Moines, IA (tentative) 679 mi
3:12pm WKNR-850 Cleveland, OH. 333mi
3:15pm WBBM-780 Chicago, IL. 477mi
3:17pm WLW-700 Cincinnati, OH. 218mi
3:18pm CHTO-1690 Toronto, ON. 524mi
3:18pm WWRU-1660 Jersey City, NJ. 543mi
3:20pm CHHA-1610 Toronto, ON. 519mi
3:27pm WBZ-1030 Boston, MA. 736mi
3:36pm WINS-1010 New York, NY. 541mi
WUST-1120 Washington DC. 347mi
CHOK-1070 Sarnia, ON. 440mi
As you can see in the list there are a couple tentative stations. I believe I heard KFAB-Omaha and WHO-Des Moines but I can't confirm.
The big surprise was not hearing 1070 WIBC Indianapolis, IN. Instead I received a new log, 1070-CHOK Sarnia, ON unattended on one of the XDR's at home! The other XDR captured another new log; WUST-1120. Eclipse DXing is fun but short-lived! Who knows, by the time the next big eclipse comes my way in 2045, mediumwave radio may not be around anymore! Heck, I may not be either.
Have a listen at some audio clips from the event:
KRJO.mp3
CHTO.mp3
WWRU.mp3
WBZ.mp3
April 8 2024 Eclipse 1120 WUST.mp3
WKNR.mp3
April 8 Eclipse 1070 CHOK.mp3
CHHA.mp3
WBBM.mp3
Back in August 2017 I traveled to Madisonville, Tennessee which was in the path of totality. Back then I took one radio with me and recorded on mediumwave, mostly on 1120khz. I wanted to see if the shadow of the moon allowed for skywave propagation similar to night-time. Sure enough it did! I was able to hear KMOX-St.Louis very well for a few minutes.
Fast-forward to April 8, 2024. Knowing this may be my last eclipse to DX, I took half-day off work to listen on mediumwave (530khz – 1710khz) as the moon’s shadow made its way north out of Mexico, through the Midwest, and into the northeast United States. At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect since Kingsport was not in the path of totality. Maximum eclipse here in Kingsport was expected at around 90% at about 3:09pm EDT. Still, I suspected I should hear something since the moon’s shadow was 60% larger on the ground this time around.
At home I had two XDR’s recording, one was tuned to 1070khz and the other was tuned to 1120khz. I drove to a nearby, quiet parking lot and waited and watched as I listened to my car’s radio. At first, I was tuned to 820khz hoping to hear WBAP-Dallas, TX, but no luck. I also tried for 740-KRMG Tulsa, OK without luck. It was around 2:45pm EDT that I could start to hear the faint background noise level start to rise. Just before 3:00pm I confirmed Nashville on 1510 and Wheeling, WV on 1170. At 3:00pm I got a nice ID from KRJO-1680 Monroe, LA at 608 miles. Enhancement of the band occurred rapidly and many stations were fading in and out. I tuned around as much as I could to get as many ID’s as possible. Here’s what I managed to log within a 40-minute window from 2:56pm to 3:36pm EDT:
2:56pm WLAC-1510 Nashville, TN. 236mi
2:57pm WWVA-1170 Wheeling, WV. 262mi
3:00pm KRJO-1680 Monroe, LA. 608mi
3:05pm WHBC-1480 Canton, OH. 309mi
3:07pm WYLL-1160 Chicago, IL. 476mi
3:08pm KFAB-1110 Omaha, NE (tentative) 790mi
3:09pm WHO-1040 Des Moines, IA (tentative) 679 mi
3:12pm WKNR-850 Cleveland, OH. 333mi
3:15pm WBBM-780 Chicago, IL. 477mi
3:17pm WLW-700 Cincinnati, OH. 218mi
3:18pm CHTO-1690 Toronto, ON. 524mi
3:18pm WWRU-1660 Jersey City, NJ. 543mi
3:20pm CHHA-1610 Toronto, ON. 519mi
3:27pm WBZ-1030 Boston, MA. 736mi
3:36pm WINS-1010 New York, NY. 541mi
WUST-1120 Washington DC. 347mi
CHOK-1070 Sarnia, ON. 440mi
As you can see in the list there are a couple tentative stations. I believe I heard KFAB-Omaha and WHO-Des Moines but I can't confirm.
The big surprise was not hearing 1070 WIBC Indianapolis, IN. Instead I received a new log, 1070-CHOK Sarnia, ON unattended on one of the XDR's at home! The other XDR captured another new log; WUST-1120. Eclipse DXing is fun but short-lived! Who knows, by the time the next big eclipse comes my way in 2045, mediumwave radio may not be around anymore! Heck, I may not be either.
Have a listen at some audio clips from the event:
KRJO.mp3
CHTO.mp3
WWRU.mp3
WBZ.mp3
April 8 2024 Eclipse 1120 WUST.mp3
WKNR.mp3
April 8 Eclipse 1070 CHOK.mp3
CHHA.mp3
WBBM.mp3