Some unexpected activity has been taking place on 1710 kHz during the week of July 17th. Casual “drive by” checking of the frequency during the early evening hours revealed a new signal this week, something different from the usual suspects of distant TIS stations and the occasional W807 which is sometimes heard here. An open carrier has been noted on most evenings, often accompanied by a 400 Hz test tone. The carrier, always becoming stronger as the sunset approaches, has reached S8 levels here. Music has also been heard, beginning on UTC 7/16/2017 during the 0100 UTC hour. This has been followed by several nights of 1950s era music. Last night’s broadcast (UTC 7/22/2017) featured this playlist:
0123z: The Danleers – One Summer Night
0131z: Question Mark and the Mysterians – 96 Tears
0135z: Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River
0139z: Freddy Cannon – Palisades Park
0142z: Roy Orbison – Pretty Woman
0145z: Sue Thompson – Sad Movies
0148z: Tommy James and the Shondells – Hanky Panky
0151z: The Gories – Let Me Show You Where It’s At
0156z: Smokey Robinson – I Second That Emotion
0159z: Faron Young – Hello Walls
0201z: Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made for Walking
0206z: Burl Ives – Call Me Mr In-Between
0215z: Dion – The Wanderer
0219z: Chubby Checker – Let’s Twist Again
0224z: Dave Edmunds – I Hear You Knocking
0226z: Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs – Wooly Bully
0229z: The Isley Brothers – It’s Your Thing
0232z: Johnny Taylor – Who’s Making Love
0241z: Beach Boys – Surfin USA
0244z: Otis Redding – Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay
0246z: James Brown – Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag
0252z: Elvis – Little Sister
0255z: Chuck Berry – Hail, Hail, Rock And Roll
0258z: S8 carrier with dead air lasting for several hours
This recording of the 1710 oldies station was made on UTC 7/18/2017:
So far, no informal IDs or announcements of any kind have been heard. As far as I know, the station hasn’t been reported by anyone else, though it was also heard on the Detroit remote Perseus SDR when I checked, indicating it’s capable of “getting out”. It was even heard (with a weak signal) on the car radio despite the heavy t-storm static last night!
I am listening on 1710 am at 0015 UTC onward 11/29/17 to I believe is a pirate broadcast. Classic rock so far, The Who -“Who Are You,” Deep Purple – Smoke on the Water” and “Highway Star,” Grand Funk Railroad- “We Are an American Band.” Signal started out weak but now at 0030 is becoming more audible. Station ID at 0035 sounded like either WBBX or WDDX or WDBX. There was a .com after the correct call letters. It was hard to make out.
Bob, thanks for the comment, and apologies for not seeing and approving your comment sooner. Thanks for the report and keep an ear on 1710. There have been more oldies reported here in recent weeks, perhaps all coming from the same station?
Hearing it on June 14 in New Bern NC on my Sony car stereo. 22:30. Very readable with a little fading.
Thanks for the report, Ray. Seems many people are hearing oldies on 1710 when checking at night. Almost certainly from different stations given the wide coverage area reported from various listeners.