Readers respond to Spanish stations jamming US stations story

We received a flurry of emails yesterday after our story about Spanish-language stations overlapping US stations so much in the past few months (2/2 RBR #22):

---

"I spoke with my attorney about the possibility of retaining full power at night on our WWTK am 730 because we are on frequency with a very high power 730 am in Cuba...we are the only 730 in Florida but have 500watts day and 340 at night - - no problem day but can hear Spanish under our audio at night sometimes. More often than in the past. Our consulting engineer is sure it is the Cuban station. Perhaps this is in retaliation for us government Radio Marti from the keys 300,000 watts directional south toward Cuba"

--Peter Coughlin Cohan Radio Group Sebring, Florida

---

"I've heard the jamming constantly over the past two weeks. When I was driving between Flint and Washington, DC for the Inauguration (Coronation?) I couldn't pick up a damn thing at night on multiple clear channel AM frequencies except Spanish-language programming and woodpecker jamming signals. I speak a little Spanish, and it appeared several of the broadcasts were Cuban propaganda. The news at the top of the hour originated from "Habana, Cuba." Also, as you know, there is no mistaking jamming signals - constant pulses of electronic noise.

On Friday night last week and Monday night of this week, I was driving between Chicago and Flint - same problem.

Key stations affected: WMAQ/Chicago; WOR/New York (really bad); WSB/Atlanta (totally wiped out); WJR/Detroit; WABC/New York (Sean Hannity wiped out, no great loss); WBBM/Chicago; WCBS/New York; WLS/Chicago (totally wiped out); WBZ/Boston; WBT/Charlotte; KMOX/St. Louis (totally wiped out).

When I'm long-distance driving at night, I'm normally listening to news/talk stations, usually WCBS, WBBM and the Joey Reynolds show on WOR."

--Broadcast consultant Pat Clawson

[email protected]

---

"2 words: wild weasel. If the air force can do it to Saddam's radar, they can do it to Cuban radio."

-- Jim Bohannon, Westwood One talker

---

"I first noticed this interference back in 1978. Why hasn't the FCC picked up on this until now?"

-- Brian White

WKOO Program Director

NextMedia Group, Carolinas

---

"Yes, we too have been suffering from Cuban interference. WQAM, a 5 KW day, 1 KW night Miami AM at 560 kHz has been experiencing interference since October, 2004... We're still waiting for some help from the F.C.C."

--George Corso

Chief Engineer

WQAM-AM Miami

---

"With respect to your article today about possible Cuban AM stations deliberately jamming US 50,000-watts clear-channel radio stations......this is something Cubans did on a grand scale in the cold-war days of the 50's, 60's, and 70's.

While it's still possible that Cuba may try to jam US high-powered AMs like "Radio Marti" on 1180 kHz. and other Spanish-language AMs in Florida....what's likely causing nighttime interference to high-powered US AM stations is a propagation item called "aurora"....when Caribbean and South American AM station's nighttime signal skips thousands of miles north...well beyond their normal nighttime coverage. This isn't deliberate...it's mother nature....science...as the ionosphere does weird things.

I often hear Cuba on 570 and 590 AM easily topping stations here in the midwest. You can tell because they run the sfx of a clock tick-tocking under all programming."

--Tim Davisson/WAKR-WONE-FM/WQMX Radio; Akron, OH

---

"About three weeks ago while waiting for my kids, about 8pm eastern time I was scanning my am dial and the radio stopped on (I think) 670 am where I heard a baseball game in Spanish that same night I picked up another Spanish station at 890 am instead of WLS. I don't speak Spanish so I don't know the origin of the broadcasts."

--Jim Richards, Inside Media

Cincinnati, OH 513-784-0505

---

"I read with great interest your story this morning about Cuban interference on the AM band - I am an FCC attorney in South Florida and I have a client who has been experiencing interference from Cuba since October (WRHB, licensed to New World Broadcasting, Inc.) - they have traced it to two stations that simulcast from Cuba on the same frequency (1020 kHz) and are totally destroying the local nighttime signal of WRHB. I'm in the process of submitting information and engineering studies to the Commission to request an STA to overcome same. I'm also coordinating information with WQAM in Miami and their engineer (George Corso) since they too have been experiencing interference from Cuba for approximately the same period of time.

The interference to WRHB has been traced to CMEE, Santa Clara, Cuba and CMME, Guantanamo, Cuba, both of which are authorized at 1020 kHz with CMEE licensed for 250 watts day/night and CMME at 1000 watts day/night, with the stations simulcasting their programming (which can also be found at www.radioreloj.cu). Our engineers estimate that based on the power levels measured locally, these two stations either independently or combined must be exceeding 5000 watts at night."

--Anthony T. Lepore, Esq., P.A.

South Florida, FL 954.433.2126

---

"Just ask any 'ham' radio operator who actively operates on the lower HF frequencies and you will find propagation has been VERY strange the last several months. We've had numerous unexpected solar flares which greatly disturb the ionosphere causing everything from almost total blackouts to periods of very long skip. We normally see long skip during the winter months when the days are very short resulting in long periods of no D layer but this year has been abnormal.

This year we have even been observing long skip during the daylight hours. Who knows what Mother Earth is up to?

Out here in the Planes we must rely on distant night time skip for much of our AM listening. We all notice the changes in propagation and hope the longer days will improve the situation if the sun decides to settle down."

--Vern Killion, W5UYF

DOE KRVN/NRRA
NE State SECC-EAS

---

"There are powerful Cuban AM stations on frequencies where there are high powered Spanish language AM stations in Florida. These include 710 and 1180 and others. The Cuban stations were much more menacing to nighttime AM reception in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

A 150,000 watter on 600 destroyed the night coverage areas of many stations, such as WICC Bridgeport CT where I worked, WCAO Baltimore, and the other 600 stations up and down the east coast. There were other 150,000 watters on 590 and 670.

Not all the Spanish language stations on US clears are from Cuba. Many nights on the east coast favor skywave reception from Latin America, including non-directional stations in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Colombia, Central America and Mexico.

It has always been true back to the 1960s that there were frequently Spanish language stations under US clears.

The problem is that after Fidel took over Cuba stopped using directional antennas. Cuba had been assigned high power stations under the North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement, on frequencies such as 550, 590, 630, 640, 690 and others. But they were all directional at night to protect other stations on the same channels. Interestingly, patterns of US AMs remain in replace to protect the Cubans. Thus WPRO 630 Providence RI is nulled to the south, and weak in southern Rhode Island at night, to protect the former CMQ 630 Havana.

--Michael Collins, GM/WQUN-AM New Haven, CT

---

"Seeing that I might be the only lawn mower man remaining in the radio care biz, could I add this comment to the 'Cuban Interference Problemo'?

The Cuban radio market arriving in the USA is contributing to our own new age cultural revolution in North America but far less than 20 years ago, thanks to Ronald Reagan. Every hurricane takes down a few towers and in their place we see memorials to the pre-Castro era-a concrete pad where once stood a proud floating or grounded edifice when viewed from the air (satellite) once perceived as a directional antenna system. From talking with a Cuban tower-erector expert now residing in Miami and formerly 20 years active in tower maintenance in Cuba, there are no arrays protection the USA that he is aware of. Cuba, during the Russian currency era used high power to cover the island and halt the US Radio domination. Broadcasters are aware that the FCC varies from Administration to Administration on its dealings with the Cuban stations. We still honor our part of the International Radio agreements which Cuba does nothing except turn on the transmitter when power is available.

Today however, what we hear in American is the influence of our own spectrum from the warming pot effect- Latino ownership in the USA with a few folks thinking full power should exist 24/7. For the past 20 years a number of cultural attractions on the broadcast spectrum have determined that running non-directional day pattern after dark or not cutting power at night is good for their marketplace. I have examples over the years of working with the FCC to locate Cuban signals via the FCC remote monitoring stations in the Keys. In a number of cases the problem was NOT Cuba, but regional US stations in Spanish with pattern or power at night beyond night mode limits. Cuba does not have the available fuel or money to operate their once proud high power stations across the AM dial.

No, our problems are in part due to someone not switching power and the suggestion that audio be limited to 5kHz allowing the receivers to "hear" more chatter and suffer RF AGC gateing because the IF bandwidth is still greater on conventional receivers than 10Khz. The greater the audio is restricted to "protect" adjacent neighbors the more apparent the beat-frequency effect is perceived and thus the more annoying the splatter-chatter becomes. About half the car radios out there have very decent AM in spite of what we are told and taught by the trade pubs and sellers of modern techware.

The only new addition from Cuba that we know of is 890AM that has full quieting on the dial. It comes on with no audio at times with a solid skywave signal that blankets Central Florida to the Carolinas. A number of power house Cuban broadcasts have ceased over the past 20 years: 690, 1040, and 620. The power level on those stations, even 600Khz, is down from 50-100KW to less than 10KW now.

Reaganomics is still at work long after the old teacher is in the Presence of his Maker."

--Jerry Smith, broadcast technical consultant, Jacksonville, FL

[email protected]