Northsound Radio put in a clear signal on 1035 kHz into Southern Germany on occasion. I decided to send them a report one time when they were especially strong. They responded with the QSL card and letter below.

Northsound Radio first signed on 1035 kHz in 1981. in 1995, the station split into two services, Northsound 1 and Northsound2. Northsound 1 broadcast on FM and Northsound 2 stayed on the MW band. Northsound 2 left the MW band in April 2018 and became a digital only station. Northsound 1 currently transmits on FM and as a digital station.

Swiss Radio International (SRI) was a fixture on the shortwave bands in its heyday. Who can forget their music box interval signal when they signed on? SRI was founded in 1935 and left shortwave in 2004. The Swiss international broadcast service continues on the internet using the moniker of SwissInfo.

Below is gallery of QSL cards collected from them over the years, including one from SwissInfo in 2003 (very bottom one in the gallery here). Beginning in the 1980’s they transmitted from various relay stations throughout the world in addition to their Switzerland sites.

HLKU was the very first South Korean station I heard. I remember sitting in a barber chair in Busan my first day in Korea in December 1975 and hearing the slogan MBC on the radio playing in the background.

Over the years during our visits and stay in Korea, they could be easily heard in Seoul. I also made sure to tune them in when we visited Busan. They replied to my reception reports with the QSL cards seen below.

HLKU ( Busan Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation or Busan MBC or 부산문화방송) first signed on the air on 15 April 1959. HLKU currently operates on 1161 using 20 kW. MBC Busan also operates a television station and two FM stations.

Scroll for two audio clips from 1990 and QSL cards received from HLKU.

Buddhist Broadcasting System
불교 방송국

The Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) has had a station on Jeju-do since 1973. It first came on the air in 1973 as HLDA on 1570 kHz. In 1979, it changed its frequency to 1566 kHz and a few months later changed its callsign to HLAZ.

HLAZ may be the most widely heard medium wave station from South Korea. They could be heard during the daytime all year round in Seoul, a distance of about 300 miles. They are a reliable signal on the West Coast of North America and in Europe in the winter.

I heard HLDA in 1976 when I lived in Daegu and sent a reception report. They responded with the QSL on the top of the gallery below. Subsequently, I sent two reception reports to them when I lived in Utah. According to Jack Lentz in a 1982 letter, my reception in Utah was the furthest east reception of HLAZ as of that time.

Also please take the time to listen to the audio clips to hear what they sound like in Seoul. And scroll down to see all the QSLs I received from them. At the very bottom is a photo of me standing near their transmitter site in Jeju-do

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) English Language outlet for the Maritimes signed on the air in 1948 on 1570 kHz. In 1955, CBI moved to 1140 kHz where it remains as of this writing. There are plans for CBI to vacate 1140 kHz to complete a move to FM. However, this has not happened because of issues regarding adequate coverage.

CBI occasionally dominates the channel here in Maryland, overpowering WRVA in Richmond VA. They replied to my reception report with the QSL card seen below.

I understand that CBK may have the largest groundwave coverage of any station in Canada. That is believable. I heard them with readable signals in Spokane and Utah all day long. And they have been heard even further by other listeners. At night they can be the channel dominant throughout much of North America.

They sent this nice QSL card for my reception report.

WWVA in Wheeling, West Virginia first signed on the air on 13 December 1926. From 1933 to 2008, WWVA was the home to the Original Wheeling Radio Jamboree (formerly Jamboree USA), the second-longest running program in radio history. The station’s format was country music until 1997 when the station’s owners switched to talk radio. The Jamboree program continues on the low power FM station WVOV-LP 101.1 in Wheeling.

WWVA beams its signal mainly to the east and can be heard in a large area on the East Coast of North America. I decided to send them a reception report just after we moved to Maryland, and they responded with the QSL card and letter below.

KGA 1510 in Spokane may have been the most widely heard station from Washington state. They first signed on the air on February 4, 1927. Although KGA has had several owners (including Gonzaga University), has changed frequency several times, and has had its studio and transmitter site relocated over the years, it has retained the same set of call letters from its founding. In fact, the call sign KGA has been continuously used in Spokane longer than any other set of call letters.

In the late 1960’s they were a Top 40 station competing against KJRB and KREM in the Spokane radio market. For many years following that, they were a popular country and western station. in 1994, KGA switched their format to news talk. In April 2008 they switched to a sports format. For further information about the history of KGA click here.

They were an easy catch in Utah and I have a tentative reception of them here in Maryland. They sent replied with a QSL to me for my 1974 reception in Utah for a report.

KSL’s predecessor KZN first signed on the air on 6 May 1922. The station changed its calls to KSL in 1925 and has been using them every since. It is licensed to Salt Lake City, Utah and operates on 1160 kHz. It currently simulcasts its programming on KSL-FM on 102.7 MHz. From its beginning it has been owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the oldest radio station in Utah.

The station has aired the program Music and the Spoken Word since 1929 making it one of the longest running radio programs in the world. During the 1960’s and 1970’s, KSL aired the overnight talk show hosted by Herb Jepko.

KSL is synonymous with Utah in radio DXing circles. The station puts out a very strong signal at night and has been heard virtually all over the world. They were heard at night almost every time tried when I lived in Spokane. They replied to my three reception reports with three separate QSL cards.

When I first heard WFAA Dallas, Texas they shared air time with WBAP on 570 kHz and 820 kHz. Each station operated on the respective frequencies half the time. I sent a report to them after receiving them on 820 kHz.

WFAA’s predecessor KGKO in Wichita Falls first signed on in 1925. KGKO moved to Fort Worth in 1935 and changed call letters to WFAA in 1938. The shared time arrangement ended in May 1970 when WFAA stayed on 570 and WBAP stayed on 820. After several call changes for the station on 570, the current call letters KLIF moved from a station on 1190 kHz in 1990. The current format for KLIF is Talk Radio.

This is my first AM (Medium Wave – MW) QSL.

WSM Nashville, Tennessee first signed on the air on 5 October 1925 and is primarily known as the home of The Grand Ole Opry, the world’s longest running radio broadcast. On their clear channel frequency of 650 kHz, they were widely heard across North America for many years. However, with the exception of a coverage area near Nashville, nighttime reception of WSM has become more difficult in more distant areas because of newer stations which now occupy the channel.

I remember listening to them in Spokane in the late 1960’s and into the 1970’s and was fascinated with hearing “The Grand Ole Opry” with the famous stars. They replied to my two reception reports with two QSL cards and a QSL letter. Visiting their station and The Grand Ole Opry is on my bucket list.

KSOO Sioux Falls, South Dakota would sometimes sneak through the co-channel din atop on 1140 with a readable signal in Spokane like they did in November 1977. They replied with this QSL letter for my reception report.

In August 2017, KXRB and KSOO swapped frequencies. KSOO moved to 1000 with its NewsTalk format, and KXRB moved to 1140 with its Country Music format.

Pioneer radio station KDKA has been called the oldest broadcast station in the world, but that is the subject of semantics and controversy. However you define it, KDKA marks it first date of broadcast as November 2, 1920 when they broadcast the presidential and local election returns.

KDKA was a regular reception in Spokane in 1970 but this had to wait for KSWS and KGBS to sign off for the day. Currently, 1020 is a crowded channel with many newer stations on the air. This has made clear reception of KDKA difficult in much of North America.

They sent a 50th anniversary commemorative QSL card for my reception report. If they commemorate their 100th anniversary with a new QSL card, it would be cool to receive one from them.

KUMA Pendleton, Oregon first signed on the air in 1955. On their present day 1290 kHz they can get out well. They were a sunset/sunrise catch on most every day when tried in Spokane. What is interesting is that I would sometime hear them all day long in Provo, Utah on my Realistic TRF in the winter. I sent them a report of one of these daytime receptions and they sent this QSL letter in response.

I believe I their format was country music for many years. Now they are a NewsTalk radio station.

Using 10,000 watts day and night on 1210 kHz, KGYN Guymon, Oklahoma was heard in a large area of the western United States in 1970. Currently, there are other stations on the channel in the West, making reception more difficult except near Guymon. I remember one evening in January 1970 when I tried for WCAU 1210 in Philadelphia, KGYN was there instead. So I sent a reception report to the station for which they responded with the nice QSL card which features the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Today, KGYN’s format is full service featuring news, sports, and agricultural programming.

Scroll down to see QSLs

WLW Cincinnati, Ohio is a pioneer station that was first licensed in March 1922. In the late 1920’s they were called “the Nation’s Station.” In 1934, WLW was a superpower radio station. After midnight, they transmitted with 500,000 watts using the call letters W8XO.

In the 1970’s and before they covered a large part of North America. They were an easy catch in Spokane in the winter on most nights. However, the channel has since become cluttered and it is now difficult to hear them on the West Coast. However, they are in the clear with a huge signal here in Maryland. They sent me a QSL card for my 1970 reception report.

See QSL images below.

WDAY is a pioneer radio station which was first licensed in May 1923 with their present call letters, making it the oldest radio station in North Dakota. Also, they are one of the few stations west of the Mississippi with calls that start with “W” because they were licensed before the Mississippi Rule for license allocations.

In Spokane, WDAY 970 in Fargo, North Dakota was a rare catch in the 1970’s because of the local station KREM. Even when they signed off, KOOK in Billings, Montana and KOIN in Portland, Oregon usually played havoc on the channel. On Christmas morning in 1971, KREM, KOOK, and KOIN were off the air, so I decided to send a reception report to WDAY. They sent this QSL card in response. If my memory serves me, they were playing Christmas music.

As of this writing, WDAY’s format is NewsTalk.

WCPS in Tabor, North Carolina is a 1000-watt daytime only station on 760. In December 1983, I strung up a 1500 feet beverage antenna beside a road near our home just to see what could here during daylight hours. I was surprised when WCPS topped the channel. Janis Harper, program manager at the station sent this QSL letter for my reception report. They first signed on the air in January 1947 and their current format is a mixture of Urban Gospel, Urban Oldies, and Blues.

Back in 1970’s, WHAM Rochester, New York could be heard in Spokane with good conditions after KOFI in Kalispell, Montana signed off. Now 1180 is another cluttered channel making reception of WHAM difficult in Western North America even if KOFI were off the air. They sent this QSL card for my reception report.

I visited the transmitter site with Scott Fybush in 2011. See my photos below.

KOB was a pioneer broadcaster in New Mexico that was first licensed in 1922. In the 1970’s, it transmitted from Albuquerque, New Mexico on 770 and was easily audible throughout Western North America. They sent this nice QSL card for my 1977 reception report.

Since then, the channel has become cluttered with other stations, making clear reception virtually impossible except near Albuquerque. The station changed call letters to KKOB in 1986 and its current format is NewsTalk.

KDWN 720, Las Vegas, Nevada is an easy catch in Western North America, although it had to contend with WGN for channel dominance at times when I listened to them in Spokane. They did a little better in Utah when I lived there.

KXLF Butte, Montana with their Top 40 format was many times the channel dominant on 1370 kHz in 1970 in Spokane. Their signal would boom in so strong, that they sounded like a local. I thought it would be cool to send them a reception report and they replied with the QSL sheet below.

Now KXTL holds down this channel in Butte. I heard them with oldies in July 1994. As of this writing, their format is Talk Radio. (Scroll for the audio clip of this reception.)

KXTL 1370 – Butte, Montana audio clip