XED-AM (1050

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Baja California. The city, which is the seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali, Cale ...

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

, also heard in the

Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...

El Centro, California El Centro ( Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the most populous city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core ...

and San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

s. Because

AM 1050 The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1050 kHz: 1050 AM is a Mexican clear-channel frequency. XEG in Monterrey (Guadalupe, Nuevo León) is the dominant Class A station on this frequency. See also List of broadcast station ...

is a clear channel frequency reserved for XEG in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

, XED must greatly reduce power at night to avoid interference; it was a daytime-only radio station for nearly seven decades.

History

Prior to the sign-on of XED in Mexicali, the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

belonged to perhaps the first radio station in Mexico to be considered a

border blaster A border blaster is a broadcast station that, though not licensed as an external service (broadcasting), external service, is, in practice, used to target another country. The term "border blaster" is of North American origin, and usually ass ...

. The first XED was located at

Reynosa Reynosa () is a border city in the northern part of the state of Tamaulipas, in Mexico which also holds the municipal seat of Reynosa Municipality. The city is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande in the international Reynosa–McAlle ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

, and was under the advertising sales management of the International Broadcasting Company. Located across the

Rio Grande River The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Me ...

(Río Bravo) from

McAllen, Texas McAllen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Hidalgo County. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexican border. The city limits extend south to the Rio Grande, acros ...

, USA, the station broadcast with a power of 10,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s (10 kW) which was the most powerful transmitter in Mexico at that time. The current XED received its concession in May 1947. After nearly 70 years of daytime-only operation, XED began broadcasting at night with 200 watts in the summer of 2016. This is the first time it has operated legally at night, as American station

KTCT KTCT (1050 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Mateo, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a sports radio, sports radio format as KNBR 1050, a sister station to KNBR (AM), KNBR ...

, which also operates on 1050 in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

, has accused XED of operating illegally at night at more than its licensed daytime transmitter power, and has received FCC permission to broadcast at its regular daytime 50,000 watt power at night to overcome XED's interference.Special Temporary Authorization
, fcc.gov. November 18, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2018. On June 2, 2019, at midnight, XED ceased operations. XED returned on September 29, 2019, as part of a simulcast with XHMUG-FM 96.9 since September 28, 2019 to November 20, 2023. XED has parted ways with Radiorama Mexicali after four years of simulcasting "La Poderosa" on 96.9 FM, following its acquisition by Cadena Rasa. The station has now reclaimed its legendary name, "La Gran D" for the third time, but this time under Cadena Rasa's ownership, no longer owned by Radiorama Mexicali.

References

*"Wolfman Jack's old station howling once again." – ''Dallas Times Herald'', January 2, 1983. – primarily about

XERF XHRF-FM () and XERF-AM () are radio stations in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico. Originally only on the AM band, XERF is a Mexican Class A clear-channel station transmitting with of power. Now branded as ''La Poderosa'', XHRF-FM and XERF-AM ...

but it also includes background information on the border-blasters. *''Border Radio'', by Fowler, Gene and Crawford, Bill. Texas Monthly Press, Austin. 1987 *''Mass Media Moments in the United Kingdom, the USSR and the USA,'' by Gilder, Eric. – "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu Press, Romania. 2003

External links

Radio stations in Mexicali Radio stations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Mexico {{Baja California-radio-station-stub