Hello! How is everyone in radioland? I have a question about the signal quality of WXKG 1010 The King. How clear is the signal, and how strong is it? How far from Atlanta does the signal reach? Is there parts of Atlanta where the signal drops out. I live and work in New Orleans and I can only judge the station via its internet stream. Any help is appreciated.
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WXKG 1010 The King Signal Question
- Thread starter RedmanProducer
- Start date
It's 50kW day, 45kW critical hours, and 78W night. On paper, that should cover the metro as good as any mid-band AM during the day.
Back when it was WGUN "The Big Gun", it easily had the best-sounding AM signal in the city, other than clear channel class A 750 WSB and maybe WCNN 680 (also 50kW day, class B). It used to drop to 10kW during critical hours, and was still pretty good during that time; when it went to 45kW CH, you wouldn't miss the missing 5000 watts at all.
Sometime after the sale and change to WTZA, changes were made to the station's transmitter plant that really hurt the station. Others on here may know more, but from what I understand cellular and other antennas were attached to the AM's antenna, and excavation at the site from running cables may have disturbed the grounding system. It sounds nowhere near as good as it once did. It's now prone to interference and doesn't sound anything like a 50kW station. Sometimes I wonder if they are even running at their licensed power. You used to get it crystal clear in Gwinnett; now it sometimes can't be heard above the RFI.
If you are looking at buying this station, beware and do your due diligence. Others have been burned badly on it.
Back when it was WGUN "The Big Gun", it easily had the best-sounding AM signal in the city, other than clear channel class A 750 WSB and maybe WCNN 680 (also 50kW day, class B). It used to drop to 10kW during critical hours, and was still pretty good during that time; when it went to 45kW CH, you wouldn't miss the missing 5000 watts at all.
Sometime after the sale and change to WTZA, changes were made to the station's transmitter plant that really hurt the station. Others on here may know more, but from what I understand cellular and other antennas were attached to the AM's antenna, and excavation at the site from running cables may have disturbed the grounding system. It sounds nowhere near as good as it once did. It's now prone to interference and doesn't sound anything like a 50kW station. Sometimes I wonder if they are even running at their licensed power. You used to get it crystal clear in Gwinnett; now it sometimes can't be heard above the RFI.
If you are looking at buying this station, beware and do your due diligence. Others have been burned badly on it.
Couple of old threads for AM 1010...
Thanks for your reply! That is some good information and thanks for pointing me in a good direction
Jabba17, Thanks for the info. We are airing all 3 hours of my show, The Mike Church Show on 1010WXKG The King and have been since 01, March. So far we haven't received ANY response and my show is one that generates responses! So, we were wondering if we might be experiencing an issue with signal reach in the market.
Do you guys know how long the station was "dark" after "The Kimmer" and his crew had to bail on their project back in 2020?
Thanks, guys!
Do you guys know how long the station was "dark" after "The Kimmer" and his crew had to bail on their project back in 2020?
Thanks, guys!
I live in Loganville ~22 miles from the tower and get no hint of a signal from 1010. Back in 2020 the signal would start fading around Stone Mountain but was perfectly fine around Sugarloaf/I-85.
Not sure of the FCC status but I seriously doubt they are running 50 k or even 45,000 watts. If you are paying them PM me or find someone in the market to verify they are not just running night power 24 / 7.
It also had nasty null-like areas the last time I heard it, in the Alpharetta/Johns Creek area. That suggests someone put junk on the antenna. Not something that I would expect (or experienced in the "old days") from a 50kW nondirectional station. It also was having a helluva time trying to quiet out-of-market signals during the day.
Guys, thanks for your insights! If you're out and about in the morning and you happen to be in the Atlanta Metro, let us know where you CAN hear us on 1010 The King!
and they bailed after finding out about grounding issues with the tower, I don't think those issues were ever corrected....
They currently have a reduced power STA, stating "The transmitter for WXKG has received extensive water damage from a leaking roof. The transmitter is not capable of operating at full licensed power. Licensee is requesting Special Temporary Authority to operate at reduced power until repairs can be made. Repairs are anticipated to be completed within 180 days."
Previous STAs dating back to 2020 requested reduced-power operation at 1 kW, daytime and critical hours.
Previous STAs dating back to 2020 requested reduced-power operation at 1 kW, daytime and critical hours.
I began my career at 1560 WSLA in Slidell, LA a 1kW that was 3 miles from Lake Pontchartrain and because of the lake, the signal reached NOLA 15 miles away but only reached 8-10 miles or so from the tower on land.
That sounds about right--I was listening to WXKG and 1kW class C (local channel) WFOM 1230, and the signals sounded similar, with similar amounts of RFI quieting.
50kW class A clear channel WWL out of NOLA carries up and down the Gulf Coast easily because of the Gulf and the transmitter being out on the delta.
WWL-AM Radio Station Coverage Map
radio-locator.com
I got it ok in Gwinnett up on the ridge, some clarity, some interference, similar to WFOM 1230 (a 1kW station on the other side of the metro). Sounded like a 1kW station, not 50kW.
I believe there are a couple of towers that they could duplex off of thanks to the COL of Atlanta. I realize this is just "back of the envelope" engineering. I believe there are a few stations have gone decades on engineering STAs but if the station is ever going to be viable "third level" operation in Atlanta, they need all the signal they can get on 1010 unless they can get a good FM translator.