AM Frequency of the week: 660

Not a lot to say here. Day and night it's all splatter from WSCR (670), 50kw blowtorch 25 miles southeast of me. Occasionally, when the IBOC is turned off, WFAN can be heard with WSCR nulled. Even before the days of IBOC, WMAQ/WSCR made 660 a tough frequency for DX. WNBC/WFAN often was doable, but generally a little tougher than the other New York "clears".

Other location: At our getaway spot on the Gulf of Mexico at the Florida-Alabama border, there's a 10kw ND 660, WXQW, 30 miles away. The signal is only fair....at best. Actually, I'd rate it as fair-weak.

I'm unclear what's going on, exactly. But I suspect this mostly...if not entirely...has to do with some of the worst ground conductivity in the United States. WXQW has as CP to drop night power and ditch their nighttime DA. As part of the process, they're moving their transmitter location by what looks like a few miles. Day power stays at 10kw ND.

I'm planning to be back in the area in a few weeks, and I'll be interested to learn if the new setup is up and running. And, if so, what effect (if any) there is on the signal.

660 daytime in Charleston is a very interesting frequency. Down here on the coast, it is Altamonte Springs, FL with Salem's "The Answer" talk format. They also carry Tampa Bay Rays baseball. It is a decent signal. You go 10 or more miles inland, it is the 660 from Greenville (50kw). It used to be WESC, a country station.

At night and critical hours, it is WFAN. It sometimes comes in during the daytime, but very rarely. With a loop at the beach during the winter, you can null the Orlando station. I've listened to many Yankees games and Mike Francesa shows on there.

The daytime signal can be reliably heard as far S as Quantico, VA.

In the near north Chicago suburbs it's all WSCR splatter during the day & unfortunately even at night with their noisemaker on.
When WSCR turns off the IBOC I can null it and hear WFAN at night.

Retro: Years ago WNBC was a regular catch almost everynight. WMAQ was much easier to null before IBOC.

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WFAN from NYC is the everyday signal here, day and night.

One sunny afternoon, though -- probably on some mid-winter anomaly skip, WFAN was not there at all, but a weak but steady WESC from SC was, simulcasting their 92.5 FM. That was off my old Lafayette HA 600.

Off a barefoot GE SR 2 while on a paint job in a basement a few years ago, I caught 'WAMO 100' from Pittsburgh one sunset. They were giving WFAN a heck of a skirmish. That too might have been a borderline daytime-skywave skip.
WAMO and WESC I have on tape.

Daytime - nothing

Nighttime - KTNN from Arizona. Not a very good signal but easy to ID with the Navajo programming.

Reynoldsburg, Ohio ...
* Daytime: WXIC from Waverly, about 60 miles south. Definitely a good signal, especially considering it's in an area where the ground conductivity starts to fall off.
* Nighttime: Always WFAN, although it occasionally gets slammed by WSM slop.

south of the Minnesota River (Minneapolis, MN burbs)

Daytime-WBHR St Cloud (Sports)
nightime-mix of WBHR and WFAN

unclehonkey said:

south of the Minnesota River (Minneapolis, MN burbs)

Daytime-WBHR St Cloud (Sports)
nightime-mix of WBHR and WFAN

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WBHR has an impressive daytime signal. In the days when I was travelling to the Twin Cities area on regular business trips, I could hear WBHR for more than an hour on I-94 into Wisconsin (Eau Claire area).

Day: WFAN
Night: WFAN

Ok, In Cincinnati of the 660 dial. It's WXIC as a fringe station. But, In the nighttime, It's WFAN. That's what I hear in My area.

Daytime: nothing.
Nighttime: usually WFAN. Of the big NYC sticks, WFAN is not the strongest -- usually WCBS and WABC are stronger.

Retro: I often listened for WNBC, but didn't hear it very often. It seems like a lot of people think that station was easier to pick up in the Midwest years ago than it is today, and that would make sense. That hasn't been my experience, but my memory may not be serving me all that well, or maybe I just didn't try that hard.

I've never heard KTNN or the Calgary station on 660 that I can recall, though I often listen for it. I have picked up other stuff along with/alongside WFAN, but haven't IDed anything.

Additional note: I am a fan of the New York Mets, and once in a blue moon (when Mets games were on WFAN) I was able to hear a night game. Really hard to listen to, however. Usually not doable.

icybluelake said:

Daytime: nothing.
Nighttime: usually WFAN. Of the big NYC sticks, WFAN is not the strongest -- usually WCBS and WABC are stronger.

Retro: I often listened for WNBC, but didn't hear it very often. It seems like a lot of people think that station was easier to pick up in the Midwest years ago than it is today, and that would make sense. That hasn't been my experience, but my memory may not be serving me all that well, or maybe I just didn't try that hard.
.

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During the years I was in Iowa (college) or Near Iowa (Rock Island, IL) in the 60s and mid-70s respectively, WNBC was fairly easy, but still significantly weaker than WABC and WCBS. I personally don't think things have changed all that much since then (other than WNBC becoming WFAN).

As for the other two that you mentioned, CFFR has an impressive day signal, even holding its own for a time in the nearby Canadian Rockies. At night it's nulled to the east. Presumably to protect NYC. On my travels to the Pacific Northwest, I can hear it at night. Usually with a fair signal IIRC. KTNN also has a good day signal. It's also nulled to the east and northeast. The result of which is that it's very easy to hear at night in most of California. And Gar has noted that he's hearing it in Hawaii, albeit with a weak signal.

icybluelake said:

Daytime: nothing.
Nighttime: usually WFAN. Of the big NYC sticks, WFAN is not the strongest -- usually WCBS and WABC are stronger.

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WNBC/WFAN was always the toughest for me of the big NYC sticks mostly because of WMAQ/WSCR splatter being the most difficult to null. WABC came in much better even though WBBM wasn't much farther away from me. WCBS has always had the best signal of the NYC's because WLS is farthest from my location.

Radio Wales on 657. Radio York on 666. The latter gets out pretty well for 500w. York is 70 miles north of here.

WMIC Sandusky, MI moved to 660 from 1560 quite a number of years ago, and it comes in over much of the Lower Peninsula in the Daytime. It is 1000 watts with a Directional Antenna, apparently to protect WFAN CH and WSCR Daytime, as it is close enough to overlap using M-3. At Night, WFAN comes in, although like many of the rest of you, WNBC seemed weaker than WABC or WCBS. My 1956 Rand McNally Road Atlas and Radio Guide showed it as WRCA, and I was surprised when I first heard it in the early to mid 1960s, identifying as WNBC.

BMR said:

Radio Wales on 657. Radio York on 666. The latter gets out pretty well for 500w. York is 70 miles north of here.

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Thanks for that report!

IIRC, the BBC World Service station on 648 is now off the air. Am I correct?

They were strong enough to overcome the high city noise level at the hotel where I used to stay in Central London, and I could also hear them 24/7 in Paris. I'm guessing they could have been quite a pest for R. Wales on 657.

Daytime Houston - weak to moderate KSKY Dallas. Nighttime - I have never, from Texas, ever managed to hear WFAN or its predecessor WNBC. In spite of being able hear WCBS prior to KRVN signing on, and WABC prior to KAAM (although WABC was tougher due to KOB / KKOB). 660, though, was a blank spot. Nothing during KSKY maintenance / off the air periods. I threw some serious resources into it - nothing. These days nighttime is a jumble. I suspect I've gotten Window Rock a couple of times - no ID though.

cyberdad said:

Thanks for that report!

IIRC, the BBC World Service station on 648 is now off the air. Am I correct?

They were strong enough to overcome the high city noise level at the hotel where I used to stay in Central London, and I could also hear them 24/7 in Paris. I'm guessing they could have been quite a pest for R. Wales on 657.

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Well I think 648 was quite directional. It was aimed at South East England and the near continent, it was very weak in Derby and must have been weaker still in North Wales so it might not have been an issue. Incidentally the main AM frequency for Radio Wales is 882, 657 is just a local filler for Wrexham, but it goes quite a way into England.....

In any event 648 World Service closed in 2011 due to budget cuts. The World Service is available UK wide on DAB and so the only people missing out are listeners in the Benelux and Northern France, many of whom have gone online or to satellite. There were a few complaints, though, mostly about people losing the World Service in the car.

Incidentally 648 is about to become the permanent home of Radio Caroline, the former pirate station that first brought the UK all day music in 1964. They will have 1kw from Suffolk so it will be interesting to see how far the signal goes.

BMR said:

Incidentally 648 is about to become the permanent home of Radio Caroline, the former pirate station that first brought the UK all day music in 1964. They will have 1kw from Suffolk so it will be interesting to see how far the signal goes.

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Thanks for the info on 648 as the former BBC World Service transmitter. It will be interesting to see how the reincarnation of R. Caroline fares on 648....both in terms of how well the signal does with 1kw, and also in terms of attracting a following. I believe there's already an online stream using the R. Caroline name. If so, I have to wonder whether or not there's any connection with the launch coming to 648.