Monday, October 30, 2006

WOON Woonsocket RI 1240 verification

It took only an hour to get a very nice e-mail verification from WOON-1240:

"Dear Mr. Ahonen,

It is with great pleasure that I confirm for you your reception of WOON, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, U.S.A.
In fact, the voice of the announcer you heard and captured on the .mp3 audio file was my voice. I have been confirming far distant reception reports for WOON for 22 years, but this is the first time I have ever witnessed the reception in such a way. I thank you for that.

To add detail to your unique copy of our transmission at such a distance, WOON operates at only 1,000 watts on 1240 khz and was intended by our government license to serve our small city of 42,000 people only. These factors, when combined with the interference of the many hundreds of other radio stations in the U.S.A. who are licensed for the same frequency and
power output, makes reliable reception of WOON difficult on most nights at a distance of a mere 15 kilometers. Your reception was better than could be expected at most locations in our own country!

DX radio listening is a hobby I, myself, enjoyed when I was young. Unfortunately, the responsibilities of manhood have made it unwise for me to devote the time required to continue.
I am thinking of USA radio stations you may have also received. You have probably heard WEEI (formerly WHDH) at 850 khz. That one should be easy in Finland because they use 50,000 watts and a directional antenna to beam most of the signal out into the Atlantic ocean from a transmitter location approximately 30 kilometers west of Boston, Massachusetts, some 70 kilometers north of our location. I worked at WHDH 20 years ago and I remember them telling of a number of receptions in Scandanavia, but not specifically Finland.

Well, I am off to work for the day. Again, thanks for taking the time to send the audio file, it was truly and first for both me and WOON.

Best Wishes Always,

President and Chief Engineer, WOON, Woonsocket

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