XEROK-AM
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| City | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua |
|---|---|
| Branding | Calibre 800/Radio Cañón |
| Frequency | 800 kHz |
| Format | Regional Mexican |
| Power | 50,000 watts |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 101401 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 31°41′44″N 106°23′1″W / 31.69556°N 106.38361°W |
| Callsign meaning | X-ROcK (former branding) |
| Former callsigns | XEPNA (19??-1936) XELO (1936-1970s) |
| Owner | Grupo Siete Comunicación (Emisiones Radiofónicas, S.A. de C.V.) |
| Website | calibre800.com |
XEROK-AM is a Mexican AM (mediumwave) radio station licensed to operate at a power of 150,000 watts on a carrier frequency of 800 kHz from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.
XEROK is the dominant Class A station on 800 AM, a North American clear channel frequency.
The concession history for XEROK begins not in Ciudad Juárez but in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, 413 miles (665 km) away, with the authorization for XEPNA 660, made to the Compañia Radiodifusora de Piedras Negras. The callsign changed to XELO in 1936, authorized for 50 kW day from Piedras Negras but on 1110 kHz.
When the station moved to Ciudad Juárez, it moved to 800 kHz and tripled its power. The 150 kW plant was custom-built in 1940–1941 by a team led by William "Bill" Branch, an early well-known radio engineer. Branch built a series of amplifiers to get power from low power oscillator level to the 150 kW level. Modulation was achieved by Doherty modulation, which while complicated, allowed extremely high levels of modulation and did not require large (and generally poor performing) audio coupling transformers.
One of the border blaster stations aimed at American listeners, the long time format was Spanish Language programs by day, and brokered time programs (very often in English) targeted to audiences in the U.S. "Carr Collins Crazy water crystals" (a mineral treatment and patent medicine) was a well known advertiser, as was "Baby Chicks by Mail". Some listeners remember hearing religious programs were aired, sometimes with offers to send money in exchange for "autographed photos of J. Christ of Biblical fame". In the years following World War II and during and following the Korean War, U.S. troops returning by sea from the Orient heard their first US-based radio broadcasts from this station, which frequently aired a radio evangelist who offered "send five dollars for your free autographed picture of Jesus Christ with eyes that glow in the dark."
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Wikipedia