21 Identifying your catch (AM/FM DXing)
Description
This article is from the Shortwave radio FAQ, by Ralph Brandi rbrandi@lucent.com with numerous contributions by others.
21 Identifying your catch (AM/FM DXing)
Radio stations in the United States are required to identify with their
full call letters and city of license once an hour, between 10 minutes
before and 10 minutes after the top of the hour. Canadian stations are
never required to identify, and many never use any identifier other than
"Q107" or "Toronto's 590 AM." It's therefore important to use other
clues:
* Time announcements. These can tell you at least what time zone a
station is in. If there's only one or two stations on a frequency in a
given time zone, this makes identification easier.
* Format. If you have a list of stations that includes formats, use it.
That includes knowing what network a station uses, whether the station
uses a satellite-delivered music format, what slogans the station might
use, etc.
* Local color. You might be able to hear names of cities or streets or
notable local personalities mentioned during commercials, newscasts,
talk shows, or weather forecasts. If the announcer says, "Here's the
weather for the beaches today...", the station you're hearing probably
isn't in North Dakota (although note, interestingly, there IS a TOWN
called Beach, North Dakota; go figure). Likewise, if the forecast is
snow flurries and six degrees, you're probably not hearing Miami. These
clues are among the most valuable.
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