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AM Frequency of the Week: 680

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Tyler TX:

KKYX is there, fair to weak, every day. Nights are typically a battle between KFEQ from St. Joe, MO. and KKYX from San Antonio. KKYX can be quite strong here at night. KFEQ never gets better than a moderate signal, at best. I have never caught a whiff of Memphis, but I do believe that Tyler-Longview is directly in a huge SW null from them.
 
Digressing from the "now" spirit of this thread...

A number of yesars ago, early part of this century, I'd been visiting my parents for a few days at their house near West Palm Beach, FL. I had a Monday mid-morning return flight to SFO, and after waking at 4:00-ish to drain the tank, I decided to stay awake and take a nap later en route. So with my little, analog-tuning, Aiwa pocket radio, I started dialing around, and after a few minutes, heard a familiar station through the ether re-running the previous day's Giants game. Yup, KNBR San Francisco, a station whose stick I can see from my own bedroom. But here I was, 2500 air miles away, and KNBR still was clear enough to be intelligible on that crappy little radio.
 
Weiserguy said:
Digressing from the "now" spirit of this thread...

A number of yesars ago, early part of this century, I'd been visiting my parents for a few days at their house near West Palm Beach, FL. I had a Monday mid-morning return flight to SFO, and after waking at 4:00-ish to drain the tank, I decided to stay awake and take a nap later en route. So with my little, analog-tuning, Aiwa pocket radio, I started dialing around, and after a few minutes, heard a familiar station through the ether re-running the previous day's Giants game. Yup, KNBR San Francisco, a station whose stick I can see from my own bedroom. But here I was, 2500 air miles away, and KNBR still was clear enough to be intelligible on that crappy little radio.
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Great catch!

All the years I was in Tampa, I spent a total of several hours on end trying to hear KNBR and no luck.

It was easy to null out the 1,000 watt local which put the radio in the right direction for SF too.

There were so many stations on 680 much closer that even if KNBR was present in the background, I wouldn't have known it.

But I listened late at night not early in the morning as you did before it got light, so maybe that's the secret.
 
Here in NW San Antonio, it's local 50 kW KKYX all day and all of the night. During the daytime, I've heard it throughout Texas as far as Alpine, Wichita Falls, Brownsville, and Jasper.

If I aim N-NW while KKYX is on night power/pattern, the signal weakens very slightly. That night pattern must've been changed slightly (or something else is at play) because up until a couple of years ago it was more of a tiny null in which I could occasionally hear a very weak KFEQ. Also, I used to be able to hear KFEQ fairly regularly in that mini-null when it went to day power.
 
I am pretty sure I've heard Raleigh's WPTF here in suburban Columbus, Ohio. It's been pretty weak, maybe 1 out of 10 and that's being generous, but that's the only thing I remember hearing on the channel.
I don't recall hearing anything else. I'm way too far east to grab KNBR.
I remember hearing a solid KKYX in suburban Houston, day and night. That daytime coverage has to be massive, with such a low frequency and that conductivity.
 
I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned the Norway-based Arctic SDR....which most of us here dearly miss. 680 was definitely a fun spot on that radio during winter. Depending on what time it was, KBRW from Alaska could be about as easy as it gets. Killer signal while they were in. Otherwise, WRKO and CFTR could often be found. Either doing battle or just one or the other.
 
cyberdad said:
I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned the Norway-based Arctic SDR....which most of us here dearly miss. 680 was definitely a fun spot on that radio during winter. Depending on what time it was, KBRW from Alaska could be about as easy as it gets. Killer signal while they were in. Otherwise, WRKO and CFTR could often be found. Either doing battle or just one or the other.
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Yeah I remember catching KBRW on that receiver during winter DX season.
 
jim-satx said:
If I aim N-NW while KKYX is on night power/pattern, the signal weakens very slightly. That night pattern must've been changed slightly (or something else is at play) because up until a couple of years ago it was more of a tiny null in which I could occasionally hear a very weak KFEQ. Also, I used to be able to hear KFEQ fairly regularly in that mini-null when it went to day power.
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KFEQ is 5 kW, DA-2. The nighttime pattern is a north-south figure-8, obviously protecting KNBR; the daytime has mild nulls to the NNE and SSW.

Now that Eagle has moved KESJ onto the KFEQ site just NE of St. Joe on Interstate 29, it's an impressive installation to see. Best viewed going southbound on I-29 and looking to the southwest and west.
 
Looks like that NNE daytime null is pointed in the general direction at Chicago to minimize adjacent channel interference to WSCR. Who are they protecting to the SSW?
 
It wouldn't have been KKYX, because KKYX moved to 680 two years after KFEQ began operating with the facilities that it still has.

Contemporary newspaper accounts reported that KFEQ began operating fulltime December 30, 1942. They didn't mention the power increase from 2.5 kw (500 watts from local sunset to San Francisco sunset) to 5 kw. The station stayed on the air until midnight on New Year's Eve that year, but otherwise planned to sign off at 11 pm daily.

I suspect the southern null isn't particularly intentional, but a byproduct of the station's desire to serve the St. Joseph trade area, which extends more east-west than north-south.
 
Mark Roberts said:
It wouldn't have been KKYX, because KKYX moved to 680 two years after KFEQ began operating with the facilities that it still has.

Contemporary newspaper accounts reported that KFEQ began operating fulltime December 30, 1942. They didn't mention the power increase from 2.5 kw (500 watts from local sunset to San Francisco sunset) to 5 kw. The station stayed on the air until midnight on New Year's Eve that year, but otherwise planned to sign off at 11 pm daily.

I suspect the southern null isn't particularly intentional, but a byproduct of the station's desire to serve the St. Joseph trade area, which extends more east-west than north-south.
Click to expand...
It’s KFEQ’s 100th anniversary this year, do you know if they’ve ever moved facilities? This article has some cool memorabilia as part of it:
stjosephpost.com

Celebrate with us: KFEQ turns 100 this week! - the 1st of a 5-part series

By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostKFEQ celebrates 100 years on the air th
stjosephpost.com
 
Mark Roberts said:
I suspect the southern null isn't particularly intentional, but a byproduct of the station's desire to serve the St. Joseph trade area, which extends more east-west than north-south.I doubt if KFEQ is obligated to
Click to expand...
I take it you're talking about KFEQ'S day pattern. The day pattern's shallow null still puts a rock solid signal into the Kansas City metro. That signal is still pretty good in Omaha as well.. And in fact it was also listenable at my college location in southeast Iowa during the late 60s. But I think you're absolutely right that the KFEQ day pattern blankets the real estate that's of greatest interest to them

As for night, the KFEQ figure eight pattern is north-south. Signal is still nearly local strength in KC. It also hugs I-29, which is a straight shot all the way to Winnipeg. Obviously with CJOB's monster 50 kilowatts, I've never heard a trace of it up there. I doubt that KFEQ is obligated to protect CJOB. In fact, it could be the other way around. But either way it's a moot point.

(Fun fact: At the hotel I used on my biz trips to Winnipeg, I often had a fine view of the building housing the CJOB studios and offices two blocks away. )
 
cyberdad said:
I take it you're talking about KFEQ'S day pattern. The day pattern's shallow null still puts a rock solid signal into the Kansas City metro.
Click to expand...

Yes to both! (I used to live in Kansas City....)

cyberdad said:
That signal is still pretty good in Omaha as well.. And in fact it was also listenable at my college location in southeast Iowa during the late 60s. But I think you're absolutely right that the KFEQ day pattern blankets the real estate that's of greatest interest to them
Click to expand...

I remember it from visiting family members in northern Missouri - KFEQ was one of their go-to radio choices, and the best TV signal they got was from KFEQ-TV (now KQTV).

The FCC site has a link to KFEQ radio's license as issued in 1959. It was based at 40th & Faraon by then, and, at the time, requried a main studio waiver since that location was outside the city limits. It isn't now; KQTV is still there with the original TV transmitting tower as built in 1953. The radio station's studios and offices are now roughly a mile away on Frederick Avenue just off Interstate 29.
 
Canyon Lake, Texas is a strong KKYX by day. I am pretty certain they have been at reduced power recently as the signal was not nearly as robust.

KKYX drops to 10KW at night and has a directional pattern favoring the South and Southeast. As a result, the night signal is prone to fading and has what sounds like a lot of ground wave/sky wave cancellation.

KFEQ has made an appearance. You go to San Angelo (200 miles away) and KNBR is a regular. I have pulled In KNBR as close as Bandera (53 miles away), but only once.
 
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