WIZF

"The Wiz" is a heritage Urban station in Cincinnati, Ohio.  100.9 FM became WIZF in 1987 and now broadcasts at 101.1 FM.

Radio Victor

Radio Victor began broadcasting from Esbjerg, Denmark in 1987.  They merged with another station seven years later and went off the air for good in 2006.  Today the station's frequency is occupied by Skala FM.

WXXI

1370 AM WXXI went on the air in Rochester, New York in 1984. They air a mix of National Public Radio news and talk programs along with BBC World Service during overnight hours. 

Mexico - Day 7 - XHMM

We spent our last full day in Mexico swimming with dolphins.  They seemed very friendly (constantly being fed fish probably helps) and they feel just like you'd expect--soft and rubbery.  We learned that they shed their skin every two hours!

You can't see it but there is a dolphin under each foot propelling me forward on a boogie board.

I had just let go of this dolphin's fins after he took me for a ride on his belly.

100.1 FM "Stereo Cien" plays Adult Contemporary music in English as well as News and Talk programs.  They have used a dolphin as their logo since their inception in the 1970s.  XHMM broadcasts to Mexico City, Mexico.

Mexico - Day 6 - XHMIX

We liked the snorkeling, ziplining and cenote swimming from two days ago so much that we decided to do it again in a different area.

For the second half of the tour they drove us to the small beach community of Akumal to snorkel.

Most of our underwater pictures didn't turn out that great but one of us actually managed to capture this fish in focus.

XHMIX broadcasts from La Rumorosa, Baja California, Mexico.  Circa 2005 they were known as "Zona 98.3" and are currently branded as "Power 98".

Mexico - Day 5 - XHRL

After yesterday's excitement, we decided to take it easy at the beach and relax.

The pathway to the beach from the resort.

In the trees on either side of the walkway and at various places around the resort, we would see these interesting animals called coatimundi.  They had slender, pointy heads and tails as long as their bodies and we were told not to feed them.  One of our shuttle drivers told us he keeps a coati as a pet.

Suck it in.

Food was everywhere at the resort and the beach was no exception.  A full buffet was available just a short walk away from our beach umbrella.  This chef is preparing some kind of seafood and rice concoction in the world's largest wok.

Dinner that night was at one of many restaurants at the resort.  After ordering off the menu we were told to get something from the "salad bar" which was basically another gigantic buffet of epic proportions.  Only after drinking tequila could I be convinced to put on that ridiculous sombrero.

XHRL "Genesis 98.1 FM" broadcasts from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Mexico - Day 4 - XHLTN

Our next day in the Riviera Maya was spent on a jungle excursion including hiking, snorkeling, rapelling and ziplining. 

The adventure began with a ride in this heavy duty Death Truck™ which sped into the jungle with wild abandon.  We were told to keep our bags on the floor and our hands inside the truck at all times but we didn't really have a choice.  If you didn't hold on to that bar bolted to the floor then you would probably hit the roof or fly out the back.  It was one of the funnest things we did all day.

Neither of us had ever rapelled before so after a quick bit of training, down we went into the water-filled, underground cavern called a cenote.

After surviving the descent (you can see our ropes to the left) we posed for the ever-present photographer.

Then we snorkeled in the cenote for about 15 minutes.  The water is around 75 degrees year round which is a little chilly at first but quite refreshing as it was humid and in the 90s outside.

Next were a few zipline rides through the jungle.
What a great day!

104.5 FM XHLTN "Radio Latina" is a Spanish Adult Contemporary station in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

Mexico - Day 3 - XHBCE

Today we took a 20 minute shuttle bus ride which dropped us off in the heart of Playa del Carmen's Quinta Avenida, a very long, pedestrian-only strip of shops, restaurants, bars, flea markets and hotels.  A wide variety of shopping ranging from guys selling homemade knickknacks on a folding card table to a two-story mall with major brand stores (Nike, Columbia, Levi's etc) and everything in between.  If you're looking for tequila, cigars, sombreros, jewelry and every imaginable Mexican tchotchke ever created then this is the place for you.  Along the way we stopped in to El Gallinero and had the best ice cream cone I've ever eaten in my life.  I'm not kidding.  That shit was beyond delicious.
My wife bought some RayBans from one of the 5(!) Sunglass Hut stores that we saw.  I bought a water shirt, a Mexican-style Buffalo Bills backpack and this cute little skull.

Skulls are a big deal in Mexico which celebrates The Day of the Dead every November 2nd.

XHBCE "105.7 The Walrus" was an Oldies station from 2008 to 2014.  They were licensed to Tecate, Baja California, Mexico and served the Tijuana/San Diego market.  105.7 FM is currently Classic Hits "Max FM"

Mexico - Day 2 - XHMYL

Today I put on my Indiana Jones hat and toured the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum overlooking the Caribbean Sea.  Our bilingual guide was very knowledgeable and spoke with a sweet southern accent when speaking English.

On the walk out of Tulum, way off in the distance, I saw what I originally thought was some sort of amusement park ride.  As we got closer, it became clear that these were men swinging upside down from ropes around a pole with one man playing a flute at the top.  They were descending quickly and by the time my wife whipped the camera out they were almost behind a tree line but she still managed to get this shot.

These pole dancers were doing the Danza de los Voladores (Dance of the Flyers) which was performed to stop droughts in ancient times but now is done to help preserve Mayan culture.

XHMYL "Juvemyl (?) 92.1 FM" broadcast from Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.  They are now branded as "So Good 92.1"

Mexico - Day 1 - XHXL

This year we decided to travel to Mexico for our vacation.  Although none of the Mexican radio stickers I have are from anywhere near where we were staying, I suppose it's an appropriate time to show what few south-of-the-border decals are in the collection.
We stayed at the very large, very beautiful Iberostar Paraiso Maya resort just south of Cancun.  It was so big that it took us a couple of days to figure out and remember how to get around.  Usually we ended up flagging down one of the many golf carts whizzing around the resort and let them take us where we wanted to go.  A long travel day that included losing and then finding my iPhone at the airport, a very delayed 3 1/2 hour flight out of Cincinnati, customs processing and finding our luggage and shuttle to the resort.  We finally got into our room at around 11 PM local time.  So the next day we decided to just lounge at the gigantic pool.  The water was warm--too warm actually, but it's hard to complain when there's a swim-up bar and endless drinks.

I only saw two radio-related things on this trip: a sponsorship logo from Pirata FM on a highway billboard and, oddly, a bumper sticker from Kenosha, Wisconsin's "95 WIIL Rock" which can barely be seen at the top of yellow pole directly above my soon-to-be-sunburned head in the photo.

"91X La Experiencia" is XHXL licensed to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.  They are now branded as "Rock FM 91.7"

WOWO

A 1984 sticker from 1190 WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  At that time they were a Top-40 outlet but currently carry a News/Talk format.  They began broadcasting on March 31, 1925 at 1320 AM and moved to 1190 AM in 1941.  From that year until 1995 WOWO operated as a clear-channel station, with 50,000-watts of power both day and night.  This allowed the station to broadcast over huge areas of land and became a popular station with many people on the east coast and as far away as Florida.



In 1971, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado sent out their required weekly test of the Emergency Broadcast System.  Unfortunately, a teletype operator fed the wrong tape into the transmitter and set off a panic which would be remembered by anyone who heard it.  WOWO's Bob Sievers was amazingly calm and professional as you can hear in the audio below.

WLSG

1340 AM WLSG was a Christian/Southern Gospel station in Wilmington, North Carolina circa 2009.  WLSG currently plays Oldies and is translated on W231CL 94.1 FM branded as "The Beach".

WHLO

640 AM WHLO is a News/Talk station in Akron, Ohio. 

WDCB

90.9 WDCB (W DuPage Community Broadcasters) airs primarily a Jazz format from the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

KURB

"B98.5" KURB is an Adult Contemporary station in Little Rock, Arkansas.

KXPZ

"99.5 The Rocket" was an Active Rock station in Las Cruces, New Mexico from 2006 until 2014.  KXPZ is now "Zia Country 99.5"

KRYT

KRYT (a reference to 107.9 FM being on the far right of the radio dial) was a Top-40 outlet in Pueblo, Colorado starting in 1986.  The station later became KDZA with an Oldies format and are currently branded as "Z107.9" playing Classic Rock.

KKYS

104.7 KKYS is a Hot Adult Contemporary station licensed to Bryan, Texas.  They are now branded as "Mix 104.7".