AM Frequency of the week: 1030

What do you hear at your location on 1030? Here for me in the far northwest suburbs of Chicago....

Days: It's 27kw WNVR just two miles away. Six sticks, and one lobe aimed right at me. 'Nuff said!

Nights: Historically, it's been a very reliable WBZ with the strongest east coast signal available here. Now, however, WNVR has begun making use of their nighttime licensce and is operating with 290 watts in with a north-south figure eight pattern. I'm on the southern edge their severe null protecting WBZ. The result is that I'm easily able to hear WBZ on top, with WNVR nulled.

Before WNVR came along, in addition to WBZ it was KCTA from time to time at sunrise. Then later, the 1030 from Memphis would also sometimes turn up while still on day power.

In the near north Chicago suburbs I hear WNVR during the day, but at night it always has been and continues to be WBZ. In the mid 70s in December I once or twice heard WBZ around noon.
I have also heard KCTA during critical hours & once or twice Memphis. Many years ago I heard the 1030 from Mexico City late at night & early morning, but I haven't heard it in years.

Located in W. Wash.

Days, static and KMAS, Shelton WA.

Nights: mix of KMAS talk, KTWO Casper WY talk, and KDUN Reedsport OR oldies/stds. On rare occasions KDUN leaves their day power on, and the channel is covered mostly by them. They play an interesting mix of oldies and standards.

Years ago, it was wall to wall KTWO (usually hitting the radios at S2-S3 or more).

boombox4 said:

Located in W. Wash.

Days, static and KMAS, Shelton WA.

Nights: mix of KMAS talk, KTWO Casper WY talk, and KDUN Reedsport OR oldies/stds. On rare occasions KDUN leaves their day power on, and the channel is covered mostly by them. They play an interesting mix of oldies and standards.

Years ago, it was wall to wall KTWO (usually hitting the radios at S2-S3 or more).

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from Houston - it is KCTA daytime, almost with a local grade signal. At night, it is a mixture of Spanish language and other weak signals. WBZ has not been receivable in Texas since they went HD. Before they went HD, they put a really good signal over Texas, which always surprised me because most of the New York stations are very difficult. But WBZ made it into West Texas very well prior to KTWO. I wonder what their signal is like now in Boston, given how weak they are now? I bet seriously degraded and not penetrating buildings very well.

Daytime here in NEPA, nothing. Toward the critical hours I've logged WNTL from MD, south of Washington. WBZ is usually atop then, but can be somewhat nulled.
(WNTL is now WWGB)

As 'recently' back as 1991, driving along Route 1 -- 'The Boulevard' -- in Northeast Philly, I heard WBZ with a lot of daylight left. Thing is -- they were louder than that city's KYW at times!
KYW 1060 does pull a lot in that way, but wow: in the city of license WBZ was louder ?

These days, I'm a part time DX'er, so I could probably do much better.

What I've heard, and when I heard it.

Days
Nothing

Sunrise
KCTA Corpus Christi
WWGB Indian Head MD

Sunset
WNVR Vernon Hills IL
WBGS Point Pleasant WV
WUFL Sterling Heights MI

Night
WBZ
WQSE White Bluff TN - I assume there may have been a problem relating to time change? Their .25KW night pattern doesn't favor my location.


Has anyone east of the mighty Mississippi heard KTWO before they go to their DA antenna?

Daytime: nothing, or spillover from WHO, 120-ish miles away.
Nighttime: usually WBZ. I've never heard KTWO. Thought I might have my first catch sometime earlier this winter, but couldn't ID it.
WBZ used to be a blaster, and often still is, but hasn't seemed quite as strong in recent years.

Daytime - nothing

Nighttime - A Spanish speaking station that I assume is Cuba? but I was never sure. I know it's not WONQ from Oviedo, Florida. At sunset, sometimes I get WBZ on top of the Spanish station.

I just checked 1030 and this late at night, I was surprised to hear WBZ slightly on top of it.

Right after sunset, I can sometimes hear KCTA while they are still on.

Out at Honeymoon Island in the Daytime with my Sangean PR-D5, it's a weak WONQ with KCTA in the background.

Though I've never heard an actual KCTA ID, it can't be anyone else because of the religious preaching I always hear.

gar fla said:

Daytime - nothing

Nighttime - A Spanish speaking station that I assume is Cuba? but I was never sure. I know it's not WONQ from Oviedo, Florida. At sunset, sometimes I get WBZ on top of the Spanish station.

I just checked 1030 and this late at night, I was surprised to hear WBZ slightly on top of it.

Right after sunset, I can sometimes hear KCTA while they are still on.

Out at Honeymoon Island in the Daytime with my Sangean PR-D5, it's a weak WONQ with KCTA in the background.

Though I've never heard an actual KCTA ID, it can't be anyone else because of the religious preaching I always hear.

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KCTA is a bit of a monster - I have heard them in the daytime in Lubbock, even more often in the daytime in Midland. They put an almost local signal into Houston - once in a while you hear about someone or another who toys with buying it and programming to Houston / moving it to Houston. Nothing ever comes of it, though. But it is stronger in Houston than any of the San Antonio stations. almost equal to KLVI.

KCTA was one of my earliest DX catches on a little tabletop transistor AM only kitchen radio...I don't know if I was ten years old yet. (that was about 45 yrs. ago) 6:15 to 6:30 AM in Iowa and I'm thinking it must have somewhere between Nov. and Feb. because it was before sunrise in Iowa. It was a strong signal that was able to hold its own against WHO only 65 miles away.

Warminster PA(Philadelphia area):

Daytime: zippo, maybe splatter from semi-local 1040 WCHR from Flemington NJ
Night: almost always WBZ

gar fla said:

Daytime - nothing

Nighttime - A Spanish speaking station that I assume is Cuba? but I was never sure. I know it's not WONQ from Oviedo, Florida. At sunset, sometimes I get WBZ on top of the Spanish station.

I just checked 1030 and this late at night, I was surprised to hear WBZ slightly on top of it.

Right after sunset, I can sometimes hear KCTA while they are still on.

Out at Honeymoon Island in the Daytime with my Sangean PR-D5, it's a weak WONQ with KCTA in the background.

Though I've never heard an actual KCTA ID, it can't be anyone else because of the religious preaching I always hear.

Click to expand...

I think the Spanish you're getting could be Mexico City. Only 5kw night power, but I was hearing quite a bit of stuff from Mexico when I was at Treasure Island (St. Pete Beach) in January. Also at Treasure Island daytime, I thought I might have had KCTA under a very weak WONQ, but I couldn't ID it. Honeymoon Island for me was all 1040 splatter, both on the beach and in the car.

Here around Columbus, it's a frequency I've heard very little if anything on daytime.
At night, always WBZ, which is always very strong except for in case of an auroral event.
I wish I'd have had the chance to test out their groundwave signal when I was in New England this past summer. Even sending most of their signal inland, I've wondered how it comes in 100-150 miles out with that bad conductivity. I've read that you can't hear it in New York City daytime.

You might be able to hear WBZ in the daytime in some parts of NYC, far from Midtown. Maybe the Northeast Bronx or near Kennedy Airport in Queens, especially in winter.

I know WBZ comes in by day in the suburbs of NYC, if you're maybe 30-40 miles from Midtown and away from 1010 WINS and 1050 WEPN splatter. Once you're in CT, or in Westchester County, it's quite reliable.

I'm in Poughkeepsie, about 140 miles West of Boston, and WBZ is there but rather weak. Definitely not 500uv/m. Semi-local WHDD-1020 is much stronger, and WINS-1010 and WEPN-1050 are both stronger than WBZ.

It's been a few years, but I've driven the Mass Pike - New York Thruway a few times from Boston to Buffalo (and vice-versa). My memory is that WBZ daytime usually doesn't quite make it to the New York State border....at least not in listenable form. The western border of Massachusetts is roughly 125 miles from WBZ's stick, IIRC. That said, during winter when there's daytime skywave conditions, I've heard a reliable day signal from WBZ in Ottawa, Montreal, and points in between and around. I'm pretty sure mimo (who's in Ottawa) has heard them during the day as well.

I've picked up WBZ in Midtown Manhattan several times during the day, but that was many years ago. I'm sure today with all the extra noise I wouldn't be able to do it.

WBZ used to be easily listenable at the Jersey shore on Long Beach Island during the day. But it would vanish after crossing the causeway and getting back on the mainland.

That's no longer the case because of a station near by on an adjacent frequency.

I'm surprised WBZ gets out so well so far in the daytime considering the signal originates on land and has to pass over a big chunk of land too before becoming an ocean path.

I read a report a while ago where someone heard WBZ on Daytona Beach in the afternoon during Spring Break back in the 60's

That would be impossible to try for now because of the close station on the same frequency.

Daytime: scratch from 1040 KXPD
Nights: Usually a mix, but sometimes KTWO Casper or KDUN Florence alone.

In the good 'ole days it was always KTWO at night.

W7PAT said:

Daytime: scratch from 1040 KXPD
Nights: Usually a mix, but sometimes KTWO Casper or KDUN Florence alone.

In the good 'ole days it was always KTWO at night.

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On my trips to the west coast, KTWO has always been a fairly reliable catch for me....assuming no local pests in the neighborhood.