1539 kHz AM Asian possibly Japanese or Korean

[4405486]

Here San Luis Obispo, California I have:

Asian Language Broadcast, possibly Korean or Japanese heard mornings up to about 9:00 am, untill it becomes buried in noise.

My Radio Shack DX-396 has switch for 9 kHz or 10 kHz, transmission appears to be using 9 kHz.
In addition, bar antenna when oriented towards Asia (roughly) improves signal strength.

Male and female presenters.

Weak signal through noise and whistle in the mornings, unuseable by about 9:00 am PST local time.

There are Asian Language Stations up and down the West Coast of USA; however, I'm curious about this one. I'll keep monotoring from time to time. Asian Stations listed useing 1539 kHz seem to weak to reach here.

TNX VY 73

[BoomboxDX]

I found a list shows that Chinese station at Qinghai on 1539 khz as CNR1, 100 kw, broadcasting until 1735 UTC.

Perhaps when you hear the station again, tune into one of the CNR1 outlets on 41 meters and see if they're parallel.  The Chinese usually have three or four frequencies on 41 meters running CNR1 every morning.  During the early morning hours PDT CNR1 often has a soft voiced man or woman talking with soft music interludes.

[4405486]

It's to good to be true. It is most likely a domestic "Radio Korea" USA network.

A station I.D. was given this morning at 9:00 am in English. Unfortunately due to cold/Allergy my hearing is stuffed up and I could not catch all of it.

There is a Radio Korea AM 1540 listed, if that is the one it sounded better with my switch in the 9 kHz position on 1539. Didn't sound lower sideband to me. Latino station nearby may have been providing a beat note?

At any rate it's to deep for me, may have to adjust my allergy meds. Will keep listening

[BoomboxDX]

If it's Korean you're hearing, it looks like KMPC in L.A. broadcasts in Korean.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KMPC

It's also possible the whistle noise you heard was a real heterodyne, being that you live close to the coast.

[4405486]

     Thank you for the link. I had visited the website; but, it was in Korean and not helpful.

     I'm using a compact portable, equiped with incremental stepped tuning. There is a switch for 9 kHz or standard American 10 kHz tuning increments. This transmission sounded much better in the 9 kHz posisition, therefore I thought it might have had Asian origins. Perhaps the passband was narrowed, therefore admitting and amplifying less noise? In addition, the heterodyne beat note may have been coming from the actual carrior frequency of 1540 kHz ( in 9 kHz posistion my readout read 1539 kHz). Whistle was high pitched perhaps 1000 HZ. Will tinker around with this some more when I have the time.

     My Radio Direction skills need some work, I have plenty of reference stations in L.A. for practice!

     TNX VY 73

[BoomboxDX]

My guess -- from your description -- is you were hearing KMPC with possibly a heterodyne from China, being that your location is close to the Pacific Ocean.  If the beat note is 1000 hz, that would be an indicator.

KMPC would have sounded clearer on 1539 because you would have been tuning into one of KMPC 1540's audio sidebands.  It would be the same as tuning an analog AM radio a little to one side of a channel or the other -- you get a little more fidelity, and sometimes interference from the next channel is reduced.