KXEL

Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa

1540 kHz (AM)

50 kW (unlimited)
Directional antenna at night

Monitored on the Global Tuners receiver in Grand Junction, Colorado

at 0549 (UTC) = 12:49 AM (Central)
Monday, October 10, 2011 (Central)

SINPO: 53444

KXEL came booming through at a distance of nearly 900 miles, with political talk about Solyndra and Fast and Furious on the "Midnight Radio Network".  Advertisements followed from Motel 6, Mystic electronic cigarettes, GetLoaded.com, Air Force Reserve, and Freightliner Trucks.

Messages were given for energy use and recycling from the EPA, fatherhood from the LDS Church, and the Glenn Beck program.  The Michelin Advantage program was described, as were HappyTrailsDallas.com, Habitat for Humanity, and Delo products.  A full station ID was given at the top of the hour, "Iowa's news and talk station, News Talk 1540 KXEL, Waterloo-Cedar Falls", followed by ABC news.

The signal was consistently strong, with persistent interference from other stations, but KXEL drowned them out.  There was some noise but little fading, and the signal remained useful for the duration.

 A short clip of the transmission with station ID can be accessed here.
(May need to increase the volume control on your computer.)

The station’s web site is linked here.

Here is a virtual screenshot of the receiver (actually an ICOM PCR-1000
with a dipole antenna aimed east/west) from Global Tuners (click to enlarge):

Here is a map showing the distance from transmitter to receiver (click to enlarge):

I sent a request for a QSL via U.S. mail on October 12, 2011.
I will post it here as soon as it arrives.

.