AM Freuency of the Week: 900

Apologies for being a little late starting this week's thread. I've spent the last few days traveling, and actually had tried to post late Saturday, but there was some sort of problem getting through to the site.

Anyway, the question of the week is "What are you guys hearing these days on 900"? Here northwest of Chicago daytime, it's basically all splatter from WLS.

At night, WLS is fairly easy to null. That's because their tower is farther away from me than the other 50kw ND blowtorches in town. As a result, the first adjacents are pretty much "open for business". In the case of 900, that usually means CHML on top with a weak to fair signal. I used to hear XEW regularly, but not so much any more. I have to wonder if they're still running 250kw, and/or if their booster, XEWB, is still on. Perhaps David or someone else knows if anything is up.

Speaking of CHML and my trip. My first stop Sunday night was Paducah, KY. All I did was a quick little bandscan with the SRF 37. Surprise, Surprise, CHML was sounding even better there than they do at home....despite Paducah being (theoretically) farther away from where their nighttime eastern lobe is aimed, than it typcially does around the Chicago area. Adding to the mystery is the fact that conditions between the Toronto area and where I was in Western Kentucky otherwise seemed pretty lousy. CJBC had a lot of junk underneath, and CFZM was getting absolutely manhandled by KRMG.

Hmmmmmm......

Warminster PA(Philly 'burbs):

Daytime: WURD Philly(religious talk)
Night: CHML Hamilton ON

Near north Chicago suburbs CHML is most frequently heard. XEW used to come in pretty well here especially in the wintertime.

In Northwest Arkansas -

Daytime - usually KHOZ, Harrison, AR

Nighttime - A mix of stations

In eastern Iowa, daytime, nothing. 900 is right next to a local, WSUI Iowa City on 910.

Nighttime, sometimes CHML is there, sometimes not. I have heard XEW Mexico City on more than one occasion. 900 is kind of difficult as it is right between WLS 890 and WSUI.

I would not want to be participating in soccer drills in the shadow of a 250kw transmitter.
Or even 50kw for that matter.

DavidEduardo said:

Two things have happened.

First, the area around the XEW transmitter, formerly empty desert-like land, is now fully urbanized and built up. And the site itself, formerly a large field with just a tower and a ground system, is now used for, among other things, the training facility for a pro soccer team. Obviously, the signal has suffered.

Second, it's not necessary to have 250kw. Local markets in Mexico have plenty of stations, so the coverage outside the Mexico City metro area is not needed. It is reported that Prisa is running considerably less than 250 kw on XEW.

Click to expand...

It's to the point where they are now fully 100 kW from a new transmitter site. They can't operate from there at night yet until international notification is made, but who knows. Maybe that's happened. At IFT speeds, we'll learn months later.

Springfield, IL daytime: Once you get out of the city, a very faint KFAL Fulton, MO alongside some weak WLS slop

DavidEduardo said:

AM wavelengths are so long that they do not have potential for harm to any kind of life, from grass to humans.
At 900 kHz, the wavelength is 332 meters...over 1,000 feet.

Click to expand...

You might want to avoid spending too much time on or near the roof of a building with a bunch of UHF TV stations, though.

I'll say it once again: Listen up.
The PRD 15 Sangean is the one you want for FM performance that is the best. Period.

DavidEduardo said:

The real danger is at even higher frequencies.

Click to expand...

I believe the idea for microwave ovens came about from the observation of birds dying near microwave RADAR dishes.
Of course, an STL would not put out anywhere near as much power as a pulse RADAR transmitter.
Any way, do not defeat the interlocks on your ovens.

My dad was a radar tech stationed at an Air Force base in Biloxi, Mississippi in the mid-50's.
He confirms that seagulls used to come swooping in off the Gulf and get too close to the towers.
They'd drop to the ground. Half an hour later they'd still be sizzling on the inside.

YAKIMA WA

900 days is KKRT Wenatchee (ESPN)
Nighttime is mostly a mix of CKBI Prince Albert SK (Country) and KBIF West Fresno (Ethnic/Asian format). Rarely, I get CHML Hamilton ON (News/Talk), rarer yet, XEW Mexico City and Radio Progreso in Cuba.

On my want list is KALI West Covina CA and KTIS Minneapolis early in the morning when they go 50kw. It should be possible a couple hours before sunrise.

Daytime in S.A. is a weak KREH, a 5 kW Vietnamese-language station in Pecan Grove, which is about 20 miles SW of Houston. There's also a bit of splatter from 910 KNAF in Fredericksburg.

At night KREH drops to 10 watts, and I've never heard it after sunset. The most dominant nighttime station is XEW with a moderate signal. XEOK in Monterrey is also there, underneath or mixing with XEW. Classic country KCLW in Hamilton, TX, occasionally pops in and out as well. I used to catch XEDT in Ciudad Cuauhtemóc every now and then, but I haven't heard it in quite a while.

One time I caught KPYN in Atlanta, TX. It was around sunrise back in January.

Also, on Friday morning at 7 a.m. CT I logged a brand new one: KFLP in the oddly named Floydada, TX (near Lubbock), at 344 miles. It was totally unexpected; I'd been listening to the frequency for a few minutes and the ID popped up: "You're listening to the farm station - all ag, all day, 900 KFLP Floydada-Lubbock." SRN news followed, and it faded shortly thereafter. I might've caught the station just as it went from 7 watts to 250 watts of daytime power, but this was 45 minutes before Floydada local sunrise.

South of Minnesota River (Suburban Mpls)

Daytime - KTIS AM Minneapolis (50kw)

Nightime - KTIS AM (drops to 500 watts but enough to cover the metro)