Nigel Pimblett, an avid radio listener and hobbyist has now heard several Ad Astra Radio signals from Dunmore, a small province of Alberta, Canada.
Most recently Pimblett has picked up audio from Kicks 106.1 KXKU and Country 1O1.5 KIKS.
He heard Kicks 106.1 KXKU at 9:32 p.m. on July 4, 2025.
“Reception was actually good for over 15 minutes,” Pimblett said. “Quite amazing.”
According to Pimblett, the signal doesn’t make it to Canada too often, so he wanted to share the information.
“Favorite Country Song” by Hardy was playing and Pimblett’s Radio Data System (RDS) display showed “Kicks 106.1” and a Program Identification code of 4DD4.
Kicks 106.1 is Ad Astra Radio’s largest station operating with 100,000 watts ERP at 200 meters above average terrain. The transmitter is located approximately seven miles west-northwest of Inman.
At 11:09 p.m., Pimblett received audio from 101.5 KIKS. He picked up the signal on an ELAD Software-Defined Radio (SDR) receiver with a small 20′ Yagi antenna.
Pimblett first tuned in at 11:03 p.m. on July 4, and caught the words, “From the Iola……..your number one for country……..KIKS.”
At 11:09 p.m., a clearer identification came and he heard, “Country 101-5 KIKS.” Then the song, “Just in Case” by Morgan Wallen played.
However, these weren’t the first of Ad Astra Radio’s stations Pimblett has caught.
On Sept. 10, 2024 at 6:59 a.m., Pimblett picked up Smoky Hills Rock 95.5 KLBG and Mix 96.7 KMPK — Two stations in the McPherson area.
In February 2024, he briefly picked up the signal of 98.9 KGBK from Larned. And a couple of years prior to that, he picked up 94.7 KSKU in Hutchinson. He was able to hold the signal for several minutes.
Pimblett has been interested in DXing, or the hobby of receiving and identifying distant radio signals, since he was about 13 years old.
He had a bedside radio and was intrigued by the fact that he could hear Chicago and Los Angeles on the AM dial at night.
“My Dad used to do it as a kid, and explained the concept to me after I’d heard distant stations on AM,” Pimblett said. “What I find most enjoyable is that you never know for sure what you’re going to hear on any given day.”
While listening to stations at a great distance, Pimblett has heard several unexpected things.
“I once heard a pirate station, just as it was being shut down by the FCC,” Pimblett said.
Another time, when he was listening to a US sports station on 1170 AM, it began to mix with another signal that turned out to be the Voice of America from a transmitter in the Phillipines.
Pimblett has heard about 2,300 stations on AM so far, and about 1,900 on FM. The furthest place he’s reached on AM has been Australia, and he’s picked several stations there. The furthest he’s reached on FM was a Florida station.
Apart from radio, Pimblett’s main hobbies are genealogy (family history) and his model railroad.
Pimblett worked as an engineer for the local power company for 40 years. He’s recently retired now and does a little bit of consulting work.
