AM Frequency of the Week: 1530

We inch our way to the top of the dial by stopping this week at 1530. What are you guys hearing there this week?

Here in the far northwest Chicago suburbs daytime, it's usually a weak signal from semi-local WCKG (ex-WJJG) from Elmhurst, IL. I say "usually", because WCKG routinely gets trashed during critical hours by WCKY. And in cold weather months, hearing WCKY in the background via daytime skywave is not particularly unusual at my location.

For a while about ten or so years ago, WCKG (then WJJG) was runnung 1800 watts, but maintaining that proved problematic, and within a short period of time they were running at something less than authorized power. Eventually the authorized power was lowered to 760 watts. At present, they have a a CP for 4,000 watts. All of this from the same two tower site with a relatively mild null to the southeast.

I'm unclear whether or not they're operating with the power boost. The signal here is as bad as ever.

At night it's all WCKY. Good signal before they go to their DA to protect co-owned KFBK a couple of hours after sunset. On the night pattern, the WCKY signal here is best described as something between good and fair.

A few times before sunrise, WLCO from Lapeer, MI has been known to sneak in, but I haven't heard them for quite a while.

It's WLCO Days here in SE MI, with CH and Daytime Skywave interference from WCKY. As WTHM, I heard it near Frankfort, MI one early morning in the mid 1960s, and the same morning discovered that WISN was now 50000 watts. Drove past WJJG...WCKG several times before realizing that the two short, unpainted, self supporting towers along I-294 were an AM DA. WCKY interferered so much with WTHM...WLCO that once they had the FM on 103.1, they would sign off early before Sunset. The WLCO DA provides CH protection to WCKY with 5000 watts during all Daytime hours. At night, it's WCKY, with as much as a 10 mV/m maximum skywave during DA operation, actually measured with an FI meter.

At my location in the near north Chicago suburbs WCKG is fair to weak during the day. During critical hours WCKY overpowers it. At night WCKY is good to fair as Cyberdad described. I've tried over the years, especially many years ago to pick up KFBK, but have never been successful

Warminster PA(Philly 'burbs):

Daytime: splatter from local 1540 WNWR.
Night: WCKY Cincinnati.

When WMBT Shenandoah was on the air, they were the local-est of the locals. Fine sounding station they were, mostly satellite Oldies but with a live midday show hosted by Frank Jordan. He was the leader of the Jordan Brothers from nearby Frackville, a rock group from the 60's. They had more image changes than Spinal Tap for their career. Yet every kid in this local radio-bereft region (especially at night) remembers enjoying them.

They always had been a strict daytimer. But even before sunset, they'd occasionally get blown into the nearest colliery by WCKY not even five miles west of their tower.
WCKY-WSAI-WCKY is the booming nighttime resident.

One November sunset I got WRTP Chapel Hill NC after WMBT signed off.

And on what HAD to've been a mid-winter anomoly skip, I once IDed WVBF from near Cape Cod after grumbling through a :45 minute infomercial for vitamin E. We all know how it is; you know that nowadays you get a single ID every hour. But the barefoot GE SR II held onto it. That was a 290-miler.

Reynoldsburg, Ohio ... all WCKY at all hours. Pretty weak daytime, although more listenable in Columbus' south and west suburbs. Not necessarily a powerhouse at night, either, but it can be heard. If ever an illustration is needed for signal coverage between low and high frequencies, this vs WLW in central Ohio is the perfect example. Both 50,000 watts from about 100 miles away.

1530 daytime in Charleston is nothing really. A very weak Jacksonville, who directs its signal away from me. At night and critical hours though, it is WCKY or a foreign signal under it. WCKY can be heard most of the time during cold winter days. Such a good signal to the south. That's why all of those preachers grab those overnight slots there.

One of the preachers, Brother Stair, is based out of Walterboro, SC, about 50-60 miles away from me. Other than overnights (and one local show during afternoon drive), it is mostly ESPN programs the rest of the time.

I personally have heard groundwave/skywave cancellation on WCKY at night on I-71 in front of Kings Island, only 25 miles northeast of downtown Cincinnati.

Daytime: Usually splatter from local WTRI 1520 with Asian programming.

Nighttime: Almost always a strong signal from WCKY, with Brother Staircase in the late hours.

Daytime - nothing

Nighttime - KFBK but quite weak compared to most of the other California 50 kW stations.

Daytime in S.A. is a weak KZNX "Radio Católica Mundial" in Creedmoor, just south of Austin. There's also a bit of splatter from local 1540 KEDA. During winter daytime skywave I've heard KGBT "Amor Celestial" in Harlingen, TX.

KGBT is dominant at all other times. XEUR "Éxtasis Digital" in Mexico City is the second most dominant; it plays only English-language classic hits.

WCKY can often be heard popping in and out weakly, and the other night it faked me out with a Brother Stair broadcast.

During sunset/critical hours, daytimers KXTD "Qué Buena" in Wagoner, OK, and urban gospel station KVDW in England, AR, sometimes make brief appearances.

In the past I also used to hear XESD "Arroba FM" in Silao at night, but I'm not hearing it these days.

Invariably it's KFBK at night. On rare occasions, WCKY can be heard with either Bro. Stair (heard it once) or Sports talk (heard it 2-3 times that way). Had to null KFBK, which is a tricky task.

Suburban Minneapolis (South of Minnesota River)

Daytime - nothing (use to be KQSP Shakopee "LaPicosa" but it went silent in October last year due to "financial issues")...sometimes a very faint ESPN Cincy

Nightime - ESPN Cincy WCKY

In Cincinnati. It's all WCKY Day and Night as a Local station.

Day and Nighttime - WCKY.

unclehonkey said:

Suburban Minneapolis (South of Minnesota River)

Daytime - nothing (use to be KQSP Shakopee "LaPicosa" but it went silent in October last year due to "financial issues")...sometimes a very faint ESPN Cincy

Nightime - ESPN Cincy WCKY

Click to expand...

KQSP is back on the air with a new owner and news/talk from USA Radio Network. Heard it yesterday while driving to work.

Southwest Twin Cities metro station KQSP/1530 (Shakopee), which recently got new owners, has returned to the air with a News/Talk format. The station had carried a Tropical format until going silent on Oct. 26, 2016, and faced an Oct. 27 deadline to resume broadcasting. New owners Nevada Radio, LLC consummated their $200,000 purchase of KQSP from Yong W. Kim's Broadcast One on Oct. 18, and the station returned to the air Monday carrying programming from USA Radio Network, of which Nevada Radio co-owner Fred Weinberg is CEO. KQSP is licensed for 8.6kW daytime and 10 Watts at night from a two-tower directional array near the Minnesota River in Chanhassen

Yakima WA

Daytime - nothing summer, KFBK Sacramento (News/Talk) in the winter
Night - KFBK of course. Lately about once a week, KFBK can be nulled out late at night to reveal Brother Stair and WCKY Cincinnati. This is 1,876 miles away.
I've also heard KCMN Colorado Springs at sunset/sunrise. They were Oldies when I last heard them. Now KQSC Colorado Springs and 'Mountain Country' with an FM translator.

Still needed...
XEUR Mexico City. I have heard pop and oldies music late at night under KFBK, but never too strong for a confirmation. Of course they were probably on day power with those conditions.
KGBT Harlingen, TX, this has been heard in the NW in the past decade or so. Now Univision Deportes

Schlep82 said:

In Cincinnati. It's all WCKY Day and Night as a Local station.

Click to expand...

Was in Sharonville on Saturday night for work and while WCKY was there and solid, I didn't hear slop on either 1520 or 1540. In fact, KXEL was blasting in on 1540. And whereas I've heard some cancellation as close as Kings Island, on Saturday night I didn't hear it until 10 to 15 miles northeast of there. By the time I hit Wilmington, WCKY was fading in and out quite a bit.

I'm hoping this won't be * too * much off topic. Basically, I just need an overall conclusion on an engineering question. My inquiry is based on the 1530 theme of the thread, if that helps situate the matter more topically, hi.

See, former super-local 1530 WMBT Shenandoah PA (pronounced SHEN-doe locally) has been dark for ten years. Even its tower is gone. In its absence I've been able to receive, much better, the downstate WWSM 1510 and their WAY more traditional C&W.

Anyway: A few of us were tinkering around with the idea of putting on an LPAM station. The price of it all and the relatively hassle-free red tape from the FCC would help greatly for a labor of love/hobby/beer money venture like that. I count five frequencies in the town which are now vacant, and have been, each, for ten years at least. All five are on the traditional AM band. Four of those stations don't have their towers up anymore.
1530 is one of those frequencies.

The thing is, 550 has been blank in the day since WHLM/WJMW decided that they weren't bringing in enough revenue to keep the tower lights blinking and the meters going in four separate 'doghouses'.

So I was wondering how much better an LPAM on 550 would get out, vis-a-vis an LPAM way up there at 1530. Aren't conditions traditionally more friendly for coverage on the very low AM dial than they are at the top of the dial?
Or would such flea power make any difference?

If this all is too far O/T for this forum, my eMail is [email protected]

Thanks for the indulgence!