EAST LANSING, Mich. — These days, listening to a radio station from anywhere in the world is as easy as turning on your computer.
But imagine WKAR station manager Curt Gilleo’s surprise when he received e-mails from two listeners in the country of Norway who wanted to confirm they heard WKAR AM over the air.
It was about two weeks ago that O.J. Sagdahl and Bjarne Mjelde, radio enthusiasts in Trandheim, Norway, were monitoring the airwaves and heard the following in their headphones: “From Michigan State University, AM 870 WKAR, East Lansing.”
Sagdahl and Mjelde are what are known as a DXers, or, long-distance listeners. They are among thousands of people around the world whose hobby is trying to pick up long-distance radio stations. They document what they hear then contact the station for confirmation.
“At a time when you can receive WKAR-AM in full fidelity over your computer anywhere in the world, DXing is something of an anachronism,” Gilleo said. “But it’s still amazing to think that a conventional AM radio signal could bounce that far.”
“I became a radio hobbyist in 1972,” Mjelde said in his e-mail to Gilleo. “My favorite targets are North American and Pacific AM stations. I have heard some 900 AM stations from North America.”
Both of the men use somewhat sophisticated equipment. Sagdahl, for example, said he uses a Perseus SDR receiver – a software defined radio – that he hooks up to his PC. This significantly cuts down on the amount of static and interference that plague radio hobbyists.
For radio enthusiasts, timing is everything. AM radio signals travel better after dark and the two Norwegians picked up the WKAR signal at around 7:30 p.m. East Lansing time, just as the station was signing off for the night. In Norway, which is five hours ahead of Michigan, it was obviously already dark.
“AM signals bounce off the atmosphere and can do it as many as four or five times,” Gilleo said.
That’s why some radio stations sign off at sunset – so they don’t interfere with the signals of other stations. If WKAR stayed on at night, its signal would combine with that of WWL in New Orleans.
Gilleo said WKAR used to receive a lot more confirmation letters than it does now, mainly because Internet radio listening has become more common.
“I am told that in 1932 we got one from Hawaii,” he said. “Of course there were fewer radio stations then and less interference.”
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