AM Frequency of the Week: 730

Up the dial a couple of notches this week on our tour of "clears" with two dominant station. Or perhaps I should say two formerly dominant stations. Whatever. What are you guys hearing these days on 730?

Here northwest of Chicago, not much. Splatter from WGN night and day. At night, with WGN nulled (and fortunately no iboc), a weak jumble of stations appears. CKDM is the most likely to emerge, but not all that often. Mexico City is even less frequent. In fact, it's been a couple of years at least since I've heard them. Not that I've spent much time trying.

Nothing during the day, north of Atlanta. At night, WLIL is in quite often, mixing with KQPN, West Memphis, some others in that mix as well

WVIC...WVFN has a phenomenal signal in East Central Lower Michigan considering it is 500 watts. It's 3 tower in line endfire array concentrates it's signal into not only Lansing East Lansing, but Flint and Saginaw Bay City Midland. I imagine that HGR1290 remembers its signal as coming in weakly at Houghton Lake and other closer areas of Northern Michigan. It reduces power to just 50 watts nondirectional at Night to protect the Class A allotment in Canada.

At Night, I used to hear CHIR and CHYR-7 730 from Leamington, ON. They finally consolidated on 710 before moving to FM. Some claimed that it interfered with WLW though, and it is surprising that WGN didn't have complaints, though the conductivity kind of defined the service of both.

I have not listened to this frequency in awhile, but in the near north Chicago burbs CKDM was most often heard around WGN splatter. Mexico City used to come in years ago, but lately I have no idea.

730 in Charleston is probably our strongest local daytime, WLTQ, with a Catholic format, EWTN. Great signal, 5kw daytime, 103 watts at night. Their daytime signal is heard well down into FL daytime on any decent radio, with a good signal as far as Savannah, and even can be heard into part of the Bahamas (Freeport and Grand Bahama). The night signal covers the entire area pretty well even with the lower power.

They were off the air for a few months about 5 years ago or so and West Memphis would come in at night with their little 1kw signal, and Lake Placid, FL could be heard daytime. I've never heard the Charlotte 730.

730 in Ottawa is CKAC as you'd expect...but the signal strength really varies in the day time depending on the time of year. The hotter it is, the weaker the signal, and on extremely hot days you might not even hear it downtown....on a very cold winter day, it's just below local strength. The signal is pulled away from Ottawa a bit and it shows. Last summer they went non-directional when they did some transmitter work for a month, and the signal then was even better than in the winter. I kind of wish they left it that way. Night time the signal is either very steady and good or very weak, depending on conditions.

Daytime - nothing

Nighttime - CHMJ the all traffic all the time station from Vancouver

Springfield, IL daytime: Fair signal (better outside the city limits) from KWRE Warrenton, MO

Reynoldsburg, Ohio ...
* Daytime: A very faint WJYM from Bowling Green. Columbus is east of the main lobe of WJYM's directional pattern, which is basically pointed right at Lima and Dayton.
* Nighttime: Really nothing that I can remember. Some nights, WGN is so strong here that its slop can be heard on 730. I am pretty sure I have never heard Mexico City on 730, although when I lived in Houston it could be very strong despite being right next to local blowtorch KTRH.

Nothing during daytime. Usually CKDM Dauphin, Manitoba at nighttime. Have also heard XEX Mexico City and KKDA Dallas.

Yakima WA
Daytime - KULE Ephrata, WA (Spanish Talk)
Nights - Usually CHMJ Vancouver, BC (Traffic), mixing with CKDM Dauphin MB (Full Service). Also hear KSVN Ogden UT (quite often, with Regional Mexican). KSVN loves to cheat at night.
Sunsets usually belong to KNFL Boise (ESPN). I also hear KEZX Medford sometimes (Fox Sports).

On my wanted list: XEX Mexico City, with XEW and XEEP heard here, I'm surprised this hasn't made it in yet. Also, KYYA Billings (5000w day, maybe at sunrise?). I would have also said XEEBC Ensenada, but alas they migrated to FM.

hawaiigar said:

Daytime - nothing

Nighttime - CHMJ the all traffic all the time station from Vancouver

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I meant to ask you if you were hearing that one....and/or Mexico City.

gr8oldies said:

WJYM has a monster signal for a 1kW with that bowling pin pattern. It at least used to go to just north of Cincinnati. All Jimmy, all the time (it didn't used to be that way). I've gotten in MW if Indianapolis but that's tougher with WGN running IBOC.
You never got WPIT in Columbus, Schmave?

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Nope, I've never heard it. Pittsburgh isn't all that far as the crow flies, maybe 160 miles or so, but the ground conductivity falls rapidly maybe 30-40 miles to my east and gets steadily worse as you get closer to Pittsburgh. Even KDKA is a really tough catch here daytime (and doesn't come in all that well at night, either).

cyberdad said:

I meant to ask you if you were hearing that one....and/or Mexico City.

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I did hear both when I was in Hawaii several years ago. Most often Vancouver, but Mexico City came in a few times.

Warminster PA(Philly 'burbs):

Daytime: zippo
Night: mainly WCPT from Alexandria VA, with some of XEX mixed in.

In Pittsburgh it's local Salem talker WPIT. Broadcasting with a mighty 24 watts of post-sundown power.
Amazingly enough that puts quite a serviceable signal into my house, which is about ten miles from the transmitter.

Some nights you can hear XEX splatter in the background.

Daytime in S.A. is just like on 710 - splatter from local KSAH on 720.

A weak KKDA can sometimes be heard at sunset, but XEX usually dominates from sunset through sunrise. XEHB “Estéreo Fiesta” in Hidalgo del Parral can be heard fading in and out, and sometimes it takes over in the partial null of XEX.

There's still some splatter from KSAH at night as well as a bit from 740 KTRH in Houston.

When I'm in Maine, I love listening to 730 WJTO out of Bath... a 1000-watter carrying way up and down the coast due to its transmitter being in salt water.

You can read about the station and owner here... good stuff. He also owns 740 WJIB in Boston, and a few others in Maine.

http://www.timesrecord.com/news/2013-12-05/Front_Page/WJTO_730__The_Memories_Station.html