The Courtesy Program Committee (CPC) of the National Radio Club and International Radio Club of America is pleased to announce another test of Class D (Daytime only) station, WDFB 1170, in Junction City (Danville), Kentucky.
Traffic Manager Cindy Pike explained, “WDFB broadcasts Christian radio to Central Kentucky, and we pride ourselves on broadcasting a great variety of gospel music with some that have been performed live in our studios. This gives the station a unique sound, and it has become a fixture in our community. To ensure that our listeners enjoy the best possible sound, we’ll do some maintenance on our transmitter and audio chain. To my knowledge, this is the first testing we’ve done in almost twenty years.” The test will feature mainly test tones and Morse Code, but Cindy opted to replace our normal computer-voiced announcement in favor of a more authentic sample of WDFB’s history. The station began in 1985, as a ministry and labor of love by founders Reverend Don and Mildred Drake. While Don Drake has since passed his ministry continues, with Mildred continuing to operate the station daily. Distant listeners to the test may hear vintage clips of Rev. Don’s music, Mildred’s lovely singing voice or even a short sermon from the past.
The station will also broadcast test tones, Morse Code identifications, long-duration 1 kHz test tones, and voice announcements. The testing will begin at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (05:01 UTC) on Saturday morning, February 25th. The test will last for two hours.
The test will be challenging, with powerful 50 kW stations like KTSB and WWVA dominating the channel in most of the United States. But the station’s last test on November 2, 2002, was widely heard in the US and Canada.
Miss Pike welcomes reception reports from faraway listeners, “We always love to hear from our listeners, and would be very interested to hear if anyone notices any distortion or issues with our audio.”
Listeners who hear the test are asked to submit reception reports to the CPC, who will handle the station's reception reports. Please follow the requirements below:
Send an email of your report, along with a two-minute long recording of your reception in .MP3 or .WAV format to:
The email should include the following:
John Doe, W4DOE
123 Main Street | Contact Information of DXer
Anytown, AL 35112
USA
johndoe@yephoo.com | Email Address of DXer
Member of both IRCA & NRC | Please note your membership in our clubs.
Drake R8B with a 40’ longwire | Information about the equipment used to receive the station.
Remarks | Comments about the station’s audio, interference, frequency stability, or other information you’d like to share.
WDFB.mp3 | Attach a copy of the audio you received.
All emails should be formatted exactly as above. Start with your contact information, and be sure to include the email where you want the QSL emailed. Your membership is also important. Members of the NRC and/or IRCA will receive priority handling for their QSL requests.
Reception reports must be received within the next 30 days. The use of remote SDRs to receive the test is discouraged unless it is a receiver location that you have built and maintained specifically for DXing. If a remote SDR is used, you must disclose the location of the receiver and the name of the owner, if known. The remote receiver must be located at least 500 miles from WDFB.
One QSL per DXer.
The CPC would like to thank Mildred Drake, Cindy Pike and everyone at WDFB for working with the DXing community to coordinate the station maintenance. “I’m very excited about the test coming up and just a little nervous...” noted Ms. Pike. We’re excited too, Cindy!
Thanks also to Harry Dence who personally visited the station, along with several other Kentucky daytime stations. Harry has been an incredible ambassador for the hobby, travelling to small stations around the Bluegrass state to discuss DXing with station owners and request tests. If you have the time, please consider doing the same in your area. Nothing beats this one-on-one networking.
The station will be on the air testing for two hours, using their daytime power. Don’t miss this chance to hear a rare daytime-only station. Otherwise, you might have to wait another twenty years for the chance.