AM Frequency of the Week: 1550

We approach ever closer to our finish line in just a few weeks as we journey up the AM Dial. But for this week, the question at hand is what are you guys hearing when you set your AM dial at 1550?

At my location northwest of Chicago, the answer is "next to nothing" during the daytime. 1550 used to be a weak signal from WMIR from Lake Geneva, WI. But they....and their subsequent incarnations...are long gone. And IIRC, the twin towers that produced a figure eight pattern oriented east-west were pilfered along with the radials by scrap metal theives. So any return to the airwaves of this facility is highly doubtful.

Nighttime also has never produced much for me. CBE used to be the most frequent visitor, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it a regular. Of course the channel has become more crowded, and I have yet to hear CBEF. (If indeed they've taken over.) Back in the day, I also used to hear Jackson, MS (WOKJ) and St. Joseph, MO (KKJO) on rare occasions, buth they're both gone as well.

It's blank in Ottawa in the day. At night CBEF owns the frequency, much like CBE did before their move to FM.

Usually it's CBE, now CBEF, a 10 kW Class A. Have heard WMIR Lake Geneva. Also KKJO as I recall. Also what is now WLTI New Castle, IN. That as I recall is just barely a Class B efficiency at Night and a 4 tower DA to protect the CBE/CBEF protected skywave contours in Canada.

In the day here it's a steady Pittston PA signal. They come in IDable on most radio.
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WITK&service=AM&status=L&hours=D
(The DX den here is on the purple contour. somewhat between Hazleton and Pottsville)
Back decades, they had been on 1540 for a while. They're not present at all nights.

Atop nighttime= CBEF.
One night I did get WRBN from Hartford CT.

Sunsets have been interesting here. WUTQ Utica NY, WKBA from VA and WXVA from WV have been cadged. But the coolest one was WSER from Ellton MD. That's the station that not just is licensed to 1 watt at night but a DIRECTIONAL one watt. I got 'em taped. For some reason I think they were on their 1000 watt daylight signal at the time.
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WSRY&service=AM&status=L&hours=N

In the near north Chicago burbs during the day nothing. At night I've heard CBE years ago. I think I've heard, CBEF, but usually this frequency is tough to produce anything these days for me.

I'm about 35 miles away from KXEL's transmitter (on 1540), so I don't hear much on 1550 during the daytime. At night, I can sometimes hear CBEF. I don't recall hearing much else.

Daytime in S.A. is just splatter from local 1540 KEDA. At all other times, it's an interesting frequency here.

At night, there's still some splatter, but urban gospel station WPFC in Baton Rouge dominates. The signal is usually fairly good despite only a supposed 42 watts of nighttime power. XENU "La Rancherita" in Nuevo Laredo is the second most dominant station. Once I've heard news talker KWBC in Navasota, TX.

If you null out WPFC/XENU, it becomes graveyard-like. A Fox Sports station pops in and out for short periods. I've never heard an ID, but I presume it's KDCC in Dodge City, KS, since the direction matches and it's the nearest FS station on 1550. Also in that null, I've heard classic country KMAD in Madill, OK.

Occasionally I'll hear KCOM in Comanche, TX, popping up briefly at night or sunset.

At sunset and late sunrise, I can often hear NPR daytimer KUAZ in Tucson. Also, a few times I've heard a very weak KQNM, a Catholic station in Albuquerque, at sunset. Once around sunrise I heard KAPE in Cape Girardeau, MO.

In the past I've heard Radio Rebelde, but it's been at least a year.

Is that Branson, MO, tourist info station still on the air? I haven't heard it in well over a year.

Here on the Alabama gulf coast, I don't recall hearing anything specific day or not. But around local sunset, WLOR from Huntsville often pops in quite clearly.

I hadn't been sure that CBEF was even still on AM, but other posts indicate that it obviously still is...and being heard. So I decided to dial up 1550 last night on a good car radio. What I heard sounded like a quieter version of a graveyard channel. No French that I could make out.

Can you pick up 1550 WHIT near sunset ("Hank AM")? It's daytime w/5K.

neilwb said:

Can you pick up 1550 WHIT near sunset ("Hank AM")? It's daytime w/5K.

Click to expand...

Welcome to the board, Neil. Is your question for me?

No, I've never heard WHTT here. 5kw would normally be enough to do the job (like WHA and WIBA), but WHTT is VERY directional. Most of those 5 killowatts are aimed straight north. So even at sunrise and sunset, in my experience they've always been a no-show for me. Same goes for the Madison 1480, which is nowhere near as directional with 5kw as WHTT is, but still is nulled in my direction. 1480 would've been a welcome addition to my radio dial in its WISM days!

Hi, cyberdad --

Thanks for the welcome! Yes, the question was for you. Nice to 'meet' you. I should've referenced WHTT as being in Madison. I live abt 20 miles west of Mad.

Ah, WISM. How I miss those days!

Thanks, Neil. And again, welcome. Looking forward to your contributions. Don't be a stranger!

(Edited duplicate of a post from another thread)

In light of gr8oldies previous comments about WDLR not powering down, I dialed up 1550 last night, and didn't have to wait long. Less than a minute. Almost on cue and "made to order", up from the slop came a WDLR jingle referencing the call letters and "92.9". That was it. It faded as quickly as it came I didn't hear anything else that I could identify....including CBEF.

KKOV Vancouver, WA during the day
At night San Francisco and/or Blaine, WA both having Bollywood formats, with KKOV mixed in.

In My home city, Cincinnati There's nothing. But one time I've listened to this dial but out of nowhere A country radio station signal came in from Bristol, TN.

That radio station is called 1550 WIGN. This radio station has 35KW to it's signal which is pretty good of a small radio station like that.

I was planning to DX some radio stations in the sunset which is a good way to DX the small stations and then the big stations, and those two radio stations appeared.

There is another radio station signal I've listened too in this dial.

The radio station is WDLR from Delaware, OH.

These radio stations came in once and other nights. I didn't even get to hear it again.

Daytime - None.

Nighttime - WIGN and WDLR (once). Other nights is a scrambled up mess of small radio station signals. Sometimes I get some radio stations like that on different dials.