Editing XEG-AM

{{short description|Radio station in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico}}
{{Infobox radio station
| above           = 
| name            = XEG-AM
| logo            = File:La Ranchera de Monterrey XEG-AM actual.png
| repeater         = 
| city             = [[Monterrey, Nuevo León]]<ref name="mexico-inf-AM" />
| country          = MX
| area            = [[Monterrey Metropolitan area]]
| branding        = La Ranchera de Monterrey<ref name="xeg-conocentos" />
| frequency       = 1050 [[kHz]]<ref name="mexico-inf-AM" />
| airdate         = 1944<ref name="xeg-conocentos" />
| format          = Classic [[Ranchera]]<ref name="xeg-conocentos" />
| language        = [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| power           = 100,000 [[watt]]s<ref name="mexico-inf-AM" />
| class           = A (clear-channel)
| coordinates     = {{coord|25|41|53.50|N|100|10|30.20|W}}
| sister_stations = [[XHRL-FM]], [[XHCHL-FM]], [[XECT-AM]]
| owner           = Núcleo Radio Monterrey
| licensee        = La Voz de Norteamerica, S.A. de C.V.<ref name="mexico-inf-AM" />
| website         = [http://www.larancherademonterrey.com.mx/ larancherademonterrey.com.mx]
}}

'''XEG-AM''' (1050 [[Hertz|kHz]]) is a [[list of broadcast station classes|Class A]] [[clear channel station|clear channel]] [[radio station]] in [[Monterrey]], [[Nuevo León]], [[Mexico]].{{mexico-inf|AM|accessdate=2014-07-02}} Its [[transmitter]] is in [[Guadalupe, Nuevo León]].<ref name="FCCdata.org/XEG">[https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&mex=FER037241CO-105486&mexsvc=AM FCCdata.org/XEG]</ref>  XEG was known as a [[border blaster]] in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.modestoradiomuseum.org/border%20stations%20geo.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503180021/http://www.modestoradiomuseum.org/border%20stations%20geo.html |archive-date=2009-05-03 |title=Mexican Border Blaster stations geographical location}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} It now uses the name ''La Ranchera de Monterrey'' and broadcasts a Classic [[Ranchera]] [[radio format]].<ref name="xeg-conocentos">{{cite web | url = http://www.nucleoradio.com/2008/potentiaweb/portal/genera/VistasV2_1/PlantillasV2/Clasica.asp?Portal=3&View=2&Origen=24&MenuActivo=1&MenuActivo2=0 | language = es | title = Conócenos | work = XEG La Rachera | location = [[Monterrey, Nuevo León]], Mexico | access-date = 2009-04-25 | quote = La Ranchera de Monterrey es una estación con mas de 60 años al aire, antes conocida como la voz de Norteamérica, ha sido la portadora de la musica mexicana desde 1944. }}</ref>

XEG is one of a handful of North American AM stations to broadcast at 100,000 [[watt]]s around the clock.  No commercial AM stations in the U.S. or Canada run more than 50,000 watts.  XEG is [[omnidirectional antenna|non-directional]] at night but uses a [[directional antenna]] by day.<ref name="FCCdata.org/XEG"/>

==History==
XEG received its concession on February 21, 1944. In 1950, the advertising time on XEG came under the control of [[Harold Schwartz]] of [[Chicago]] who also came to represent co-owned [[XEPRS-AM|XERB]] [[1090 AM]] in [[Tijuana]]/[[Rosarito]], [[Baja California]], the station made famous in the movie ''[[American Graffiti]]''.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

During the mid-and late 1970s, XEG (then at 150&nbsp;kW power, directional north) was known for its nighttime English-language [[R&B]]/[[Soul music]] shows. For 4–6 hours per night, taped transcriptions from [[KYPA|KGFJ]] ([[Los Angeles]]) [[disc jockey]]s made specifically for XEG were audible throughout much of the Southern, Southwestern and Midwestern U.S.

In the late 1970s, XEG's powerful nighttime signal attracted several U.S. ministries, including [[Billy James Hargis]]. But between programs, commercials occasionally offered [[Patent medicine|suspicious-sounding medicines]] which promised to "cure cancer" and other illnesses. By 1982, XEG was known as "The Golden Gospel Giant".<ref name="Archived copy">{{cite web|url=http://drewdurigan.com/radiogeekheaven/airchecks/xeg-am-1050-monterrey-nuevo-leon-mx-station-id-oct-1982/ |title=XEG-AM 1050 - Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico - Station ID - October, 1982 &#124; Radio Geek Heaven |access-date=May 11, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512231150/http://drewdurigan.com/radiogeekheaven/airchecks/xeg-am-1050-monterrey-nuevo-leon-mx-station-id-oct-1982/ |archive-date=May 12, 2014 }}</ref>

The XEG mailing address announced on the air was antiquated: "Post Office Box 28, [[St. Louis]], 66, [[Missouri]]." This was more than a decade after [[ZIP code]]s were introduced across the U.S. As of November 2014, [[QSL card|QSL (reception report) cards]] were still mailed out from St. Louis.{{Expand section|date=November 2012}}

AM radio waves are of a much lower acoustical quality than FM, but during hours of darkness the Earth’s ionosphere drops sharply, typically from an altitude of roughly 600 miles to 30 miles, and the much longer wave length of the AM transmissions causes them to be refracted off of that lowered layer so that they “skip” back to ground level several hundred miles away. Accordingly, that causes the border blaster stations like XEG to be valuable as a commercial advertising medium far from their transmitters on the south side of the US border. Depending on atmospheric conditions, multiple skips can result in acceptable night time AM reception as far north as Canada.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{More citations needed|remainder of this section|date=April 2009}}
*Wolfman Jack's old station howling once again. - ''Dallas Times Herald'', January 2, 1983. - primarily about [[XERF-AM|XERF]] but it also includes background information on the border-blasters.
*Border Radio by Fowler, Gene and Crawford, Bill. Texas Monthly Press, Austin. 1987 {{ISBN|0-87719-066-6}}
*Mass Media Moments in the United Kingdom, the USSR and the US, by Gilder, Eric. - "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu Press, Romania. 2003 {{ISBN|973-651-596-6}}

==External links==
* [http://www.larancherademonterrey.com.mx/ XEG La Ranchera] {{in lang|es}} &mdash; official site

{{Monterrey Radio}}
{{Clear Channel AM}}

[[Category:Radio stations established in 1944]]
[[Category:Radio stations in Nuevo León]]
[[Category:1944 establishments in Mexico]]
[[Category:Multimedios Radio]]
[[Category:Clear-channel radio stations]]