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AM frequency of the week-950khz

cyberdad

cyberdad

What do you guys get at your QTH on 950?

Here where I am in the far northwest suburbs of Chicago, days it's a fair signal from WNTD 1kw ND from the south side of Chicago.

At night WNTD goes up to 5kw, but with a severe pattern that sends it all up the Lake Michigan shore (and out into the lake itself). The result is that the higher powered night signal is weaker here than the lower powered day signal. But it's just strong enough to put WNTD on top...barely....more often than not. Other than that, WWJ is probably the most frequent nighttime visitor, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it a semi-regular. "Back in the day", others that would turn up from time to time were KIMN, WCAZ (Charleston WV...now on 680), and KFSA (Fort Smith, Arkansas).

More recently, as previously discussed in another thread, CFAM (Winnipeg area) surfaced a few times a little over a year ago. Perhaps temporarily running day pattern overnight, since I haven't heard them since.
 
WWJ was always extremely well protected, day and night, at least on paper. Early rules precluded WAAF/WGRT...WNTD from going fulltime, even though WNTD is one of the 50 oldest surviving radio stations in the country. Occasionally, you could hear it right before sign off if you nulled out WWJ in just the right place in Southeastern Michigan. They finally went fulltime in the early 1980s. WNTD has a relatively low NIF, due to the umbrella of protection of the fairly nearby well protected WWJ, allowing it to keep the Chicago COL when it went fulltime. Under the much disliked ratchet clause, WWJ had to reduce radiation 10% toward WNTD when they went to 50000 watts nighttime. WWJ used to sign off between 1 AM and 5 AM Monday mornings. During the experimental period, KLIK 950 Jefferson City, MO did DX tests. KLIK ran Casey Kasem's AT40, and you could hear it fairly well during the WWJ silent period.
 
In the near north Chicago suburbs I hear a fairly strong WNTD during the day & reasonably decent WNTD at night. If I null WNTD at night the most common station underneath is WWJ.
In the old days I also used to hear KIMN sometimes at night.
 
In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, daytime it's KOEL Oelwein, Iowa. Fairly weak, despite the rather short distance (50 miles; it's a 5000 watt signal daytime) because it has a lobe in the direction of Cedar Rapids.

This is a really interesting one. Nighttime, sometimes it's a jumbled mess, but most often KRWZ Denver, CO (the former KIMN). It's often surprisingly strong and most often, it's there. That's over 700 miles.
 
Tim from Springfield said:
Do you mean WKAZ? (WCAZ was and is still 990 in Carthage, IL).
Click to expand...

Yes, Tim....my bad. I remember WCAZ quite well from my college days in southeast Iowa, where they had a really good daytime signal for 1kw. Main man there in those days was Ernie Slotag (sp?) who went on to become a distinguished news broadcaster there where you are covering the state capitol beat in Springfield. He used to feed his reports to various radio stations statewide.

Back on topic..... Yes, icybluelake, KOEL is a powerhouse....if you're somewhere where their daytime signal is beamed. I used to get into to the Twin Cities area every 2-3 months back in the 80s. KOEL used to regularly pop up on a car radio in holes in the local 1kw 950s directional signal. Going east of the cities on I-94, KOEL would take over shortly after crossing into Wisconsin.
 
cyberdad said:
Yes, Tim....my bad. I remember WCAZ quite well from my college days in southeast Iowa, where they had a really good daytime signal for 1kw. Main man there in those days was Ernie Slotag (sp?) who went on to become a distinguished news broadcaster there where you are covering the state capitol beat in Springfield. He used to feed his reports to various radio stations statewide.

Back on topic..... Yes, icybluelake, KOEL is a powerhouse....if you're somewhere where their daytime signal is beamed. I used to get into to the Twin Cities area every 2-3 months back in the 80s. KOEL used to regularly pop up on a car radio in holes in the local 1kw 950s directional signal. Going east of the cities on I-94, KOEL would take over shortly after crossing into Wisconsin.
Click to expand...

WCAZ gets out pretty strong into the Springfield area too--despite WMAY-970 two spots down the dial and electrical interference in the city proper. Plus decent signals as far away as beyond Decatur and into the St. Louis metro, and I've even heard a faint signal from them in far southwestern Wisconsin too.
 
KOEL is indeed much stronger to the north, but I've always forgotten to look for it when up in Minnesota or northern/western Wisconsin.

WCAZ is faint but often makes it in to Cedar Rapids -- about 100 miles.
 
Days in Yakima it's a very weak KJR Seattle (Sports). Formerly "Channel 95" Top 40!
Nightly visitor as well. Also heard at night are XEKAM Rosarito, BCN (Formula) and KMTX Helena, MT (Standards). Also have heard KOZE Lewiston, ID (News Talk) and KAHI Auburn, CA (Oldies/News/Talk).

-crainbebo
 
Has XEKAM upgraded its signal during the past few years? My last couple of visits to Northern California, they've been a fairly easy catch there. I don't remember them as such previously.
 
Days
A weak WXLW INDIANAPOLIS

Sunrise/Sunset
KXJK FORREST CITY AR
WGTA SUMMERVILLE GA
KWOS JEFFERSON CITY MO
WAKM FRANKLIN TN

Night
WYWY BARBOURVILLE KY - No doubt they were still on day power.
WWJ DETROIT MI - Not every night.
CUBA (or as John Kennedy pronounced it, "Cuber".
WORD SPARTANBURG SC
 
Here in Vermilion, OH 950 is all WWJ which I can even get in HD as long as I'm away from electrical interference. Nights is mostly WWJ with R. Reloj behind it with the ticks and morse code.
 
W. Washington.

KJR 950 day and night, sometimes a bit of Spanish in the weak null, sometimes KTBR Roseburg, OR with Jefferson Public Radio.
 
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