Pretty good DX day yesterday

[the golden boy]

I was down in Magee yesterday and around 1pm, I got several Spanish-speaking stations on FM, including one on 101.9, which was causing some interference with Y101. Later on in Jackson (well, at the resevoir), I picked a couple of CHR stations out of Ohio. Any of you guys got anything yesterday?

[bobrall]

Used to get QSL cards from New Zealand.  For some reason 1590 (1KW Nite)when it was WWUN would skip in there often.
WWL in New Orleans was often heard on ships at the International Date Line in the Pacific.
WTIX (5KW)690 had reliable night time coverage from near Corpus Christi through Galveston, and east to about Panama City FL About a thousand mile track)
1300 WRBC 1KW Nights - Oregon, Washington and Western Canada often late at night
Never have DX'd FM much they don't identify the call letters or the city and FM skip isn't as interesting to me as the
true AM skywave bounce back from the ionosphere.

[beachguy3b]

One thing I used to always be amazed by when I lived in St. Louis, was this one place in Maryland Heights (a suburb) where I could pick up WRBC reliably EVERY NIGHT. A block in any direction and it disappeared. (it was the corner of Marine and McKelvey.)

[bobrall]

WRBC's old self-supporting tower put out a strange nighttime 1KW signal.  I guess it was all skywave.
I know the ground system wasn't much.  The old tower finally gave out from the weight of the WJMI antenna on
the side of it.  If WRBC didn't cut power at sunset, they hammered WMAK in Nashville. (Also a top 40 station)

[beachguy3b]

When did that tornado hit the RBC tower? I remember the guy on the air was on for another half hour before he discovered his station was off, because he was listening to the board monitor and not off the air.

[bobrall]

It was supposed to have been just a severe down burst or wind gust.  I wouldn't have taken a lot.
The old tower used to twist in the wind.  Hard to find someone to climb it and change light bulbs.
I don't remember exactly when it fell.  But, I did hear that the guy/girl on the air didn't notice for
awhile.  I heard they went out back and heard hissing and music from the puddles where the
transmission line had fallen.  (Perhaps an urban legend)

[robgrayson]

My initial reflex answer to that question is Graham Jasper (later Brock Boulette).

[robgrayson]

Upon re-reading the question, I realize that wasn't the question at all.  My bad!  But I think Graham was on at the time (maybe '74 ish?).

[robgrayson]

I found confirmation on the 1974 date for the WRBC tower crash in "The History Of Radio In Mississippi" by Bob McRaney, Sr.  The entry noted the tower was built for WJDX in 1929.

[bobrall]

Before the tower in 1929, WJDX transmitted with a longwire antenna strung between two poles.
(1/4 wave?)  Really directional!