KeithE4 said:
michael hagerty said:
Keith: I live in Moon Valley (about 17 miles north of downtown Phoenix) and KFYI (550) at night is dicey at best...the power lines along 7th Street make it sound like I'm DXing in the car (I drive to work at 3:30 AM). 620 is the only strong AM night signal there (and there's 28 more miles worth of metro population to the north of that).
That's what I suspected, but I haven't been that far north in quite a long time, and never lived there.
Here in Ahwatukee, it's KFYI 550, KTAR 620, KSUN 1400, KMIK 1580 and not much else at night. XTRA 910 and KOY 1230 are listenable but a bit noisy, and forget about the rest. Even KDUS 1060, which is the closest station to me (4 miles) is almost inaudible since they completely null to the south. The IBOC noise from KNX overrides them on most nights.
No question it's made worse by all the interference generated by backlit plastic flourescent signs and everything else, without which 550 would probably be a lot stronger, but Phoenix is so far-flung, with the density anywhere but the center of town, that you'd really need a monster signal to cover it all, interference-free day and night.
I don't understand why KFYI can't increase their power to 5 kW at night and remain non-directional. KTAR should be able to upgrade to 50 kW day and 10 kW at night, but they'd probably have to move their tower elsewhere since it is in a shopping mall parking lot surrounded by a residential neighborhood.
Keith: It had actually been a while since I listened to AM on the way in to work, so I did it this morning. On the north side of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve (my route is from roughly 7th Street and Thunderbird to the 51 Freeway then south):
550 KFYI sounds like a good DX...some light electrical interference and static, but no fading or crosstalk from other signals.
620 KTAR is strong and clear.
860 KMVP is barely audible, like a DX over hundreds of miles, with crosstalk.
910 KGME has electrical interference and static and is noticeably weaker than 550.
960 KKNT is clean when you tune in (not surprising since the towers are up near Desert Ridge), but the "SCAN" feature on the car radio passed over it.
1010 KXXT sounds like a DX over hundreds of miles, with crosstalk but stronger than 860.
1060 KDUS is weak, with interference from other signals.
1100 KFNX is clean, but again, the towers are in Cave Creek. The signal fades fast south of the Mountain Preserve.
1190 KRDS is clean.
1230 KOY sounds like a DX over hundreds of miles, with crosstalk. Stronger than 860, weaker than 1010.
1280 KXEG is about as bad as 860.
1360 KPXQ is clean.
1400 KSUN is about as bad as 860.
1480 KPHX is about as bad as 860.
1510 KFNN is about as bad as 1010.
1540 KASA is inaudible.
1580 KMIK is about as bad as 1010...with more pronounced fading.
Why does this matter? Because these night patterns this time of year affect half of morning drive (sunrise isn't until after 7) and half of afternoon drive (sunset is around 5:30).
By the way, 660 KTNN, Window Rock is only a little worse than 550, 810 KGO, San Francisco is probably a little better and 1070, KNX, Los Angeles is arguably as good as 620...completely loud and clear.
640 KFI, Los Angeles isn't what it used to be...lots of electrical interference, fading and crosstalk.