AM Frequency of the Week: 1480

[cyberdad]

Back up the dial this week. What are you guys hearing on 1480?

Here in the far northwest suburbs of Chicago it used to be 1kw WSPY (or more correctly it's former calls WFXW or WGSB) from Geneva, IL, about 25 miles south of here with a fair signal. But for the past several years now they've been operating under an STA, and are completely absent. If memory serves, not only are they on STA, but they're also using a longwire antenna setup.

Nights: 1480 is a mess. More splatter from WMBD (Peoria 1470) than anything else. WSPY/WFXW/WGSB used to be comfortably on top, but with noise underneath, before the ongoing STA episode.

 

[gr8oldies]

WJFC, Jefferson City, TN in East Tennessee days

 

[purpledevil]

KLVL Pasa(get down!)dena, Texas. South Asain programming day and night. 5 kilowatt days/500 watt nights. Daytime signal is spectacular at my location, night signal drops off pretty significantly taking KLVL down amongst the static floor.

KLVL was the original Spanish language AM station in Houston, first broadcasting on May 5, 1950 as "La Voz Latina" or The Latin Voice. One of the many historical signals in Houston that have seen better days.

 

[davideduardo]

KLVL was the original Spanish language AM station in Houston, first broadcasting on May 5, 1950 as "La Voz Latina" or The Latin Voice. One of the many historical signals in Houston that have seen better days.

Who could forget the constant promotion for co-owned Morales funeral home?

 

[cyberdad]

.

KLVL was the original Spanish language AM station in Houston, first broadcasting on May 5, 1950 as "La Voz Latina" or The Latin Voice. One of the many historical signals in Houston that have seen better days.

I'm a little surprised that in 65 years, they haven't managed to upgrade their night signal.

 

[joebtsflk1]

To keep the español theme going, a station that could be missing out on such business is KLEE 1480 in Ottumwa IA, with a growing Hispanic population. 11% of Ottumwa's 25,000 population identified as Latino in the 2010 Census.

But, is 2700 or so people enough to sustain a Spanish language station? I don't know if all of that group are fluent in Spanish.

Back to KLEE, that was my first paid job in radio, decades ago. Did 30 minutes of farm news every morning at 6 AM sign-on, then tried my hand at radio sales the rest of the day. A better paying job came through after several months, a job for which I'd applied before I started at KLEE. Should have stayed at KLEE as the better paying job out of state was a disaster.

Back then, KLEE was a single tower daytimer with 500 watts. Today, with a much taller tower built for its FM sister KOTM 97.7, it's 250 watts day, 17 watts night, plus a recently added FM translator on 107.7

KLEE in the 60s and early 70s was THE country station. But in 1974, new owners took it top 40. It was an OK station for the time, with better variety than KIOA, the big top 40 AM in much of Iowa. In 1979, the owners flipped the KLEE top 40 format to 97.7. Other than a change of calls on 97.7 to KOTM, it's been a variant of top 40 ever since.

Listening to KLEE at sunset was always fun, because at 15 miles out you could pick up some underlying interfererence which after KLEE sign-off turned into DX, usually the former KLEO 1480 in Wichita before they left day pattern. Mornings KLEE fought a bit with the 1480 in Madison WI. KLEE's owner had been the station manager at the 1480 in Madison prior to buying KLEE, if I remember right.
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In southern Colorado, 1480 is Spanish language KAVA Pueblo, and its 1 kW daytime signal protects another español on 1490 in Colorado Springs (Manitou Springs) KXRE.

 

[purpledevil]

I'm a little surprised that in 65 years, they haven't managed to upgrade their night signal.

Actually, Felix Morales did get authorization for nighttime operation on KLVL in 1954. It started off as a daytimer when it signed on in 1950, having been delayed nearly a decade due to WWII. You are right though, Siga (who has been the owner since the 90s) has never attempted an upgrade to the night signal that I'm aware.

 

[purpledevil]

Who could forget the constant promotion for co-owned Morales funeral home?

Indeed. Not to throw the FOTW thread into a tangent, but the Morales Funeral Home is still going strong at 2901 Canal, operated by the 4th generation of the Morales family. An absolute cornerstone of the historic East End, and a spectacular family owned and operated business that is a vital part of the community in which it serves.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

1480 been berry berry good to me here in the 'new' digs of NE PA.

Especially via the Mid-Winter Anomaly.

The frequency USED to be occupied by the now-dark semi-local WISL Shamokin PA. That station went dark a good ten years ago, after Clear Channel bought them solely for their FM on 93.5 and just left 1480 as rusting directional roadkill.

Generally, there's nothing here in the day on 1480 anymore, except for the two Mid-Winter-Anomaly things. Since WISL had its directional whistle silenced, I've gotten SSS catches WCNS Latrobe PA, WADR from NY, WQTM from NC, and WDAS (4-26-13) from Philly.

On what * had * to be via that odd daytime/winter skip, I did get WDJO Cincinnati and their oldies (taped, too!) on 11-29-11, in a basement I was painting. A barefoot GE SR II was the vehicle. The How Far Is It page says the distance was 460 miles.

And one bright sunny day with snowflakes falling, I was listening in the parking lot at Boyers in Elysburg PA on a Grundig S450 portable to WCFR from Vermont. The distance page says it was 260 miles' worth of reception, at 2PM. I can't 'count' it on the log because Elysburg is more than ten miles from my new home den.

* * * * * * *

GREAT stories about KLEE, JoeB. 1480 also was a cool and benevolent frequency in NYC back in the day. I did manage to log KLEE.
When the old NYC flamethrower WHOM 1480 was off, as it often was, lots of neat stuff would come in during the presence of its absence. Would you believe KWIZ Santa Monica was one of 20 stations that did?

 

[charlestondxman]

Here 1480 is a local, WZJY from Mt. Pleasant with a Regional Mexican format (they simulcast 980 WAZS Summerville). They've been a variety of formats over the years, mostly religious until they flipped to Spanish a few years ago. They are the weakest of the local Charleston AMs at just 880 watts daytime, and 44 watts at night. Even the 44 watt night signal though covers Mt. Pleasant along with Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms well.

 

[crainbebo]

1480 is KYNR splatter by day (but not much), and at night mostly a jumble of stations with KRXR Gooding ID (Regional Mexican) on top. KBMS Vancouver WA is common with Urban Contemporary, KGOE Eureka, CA also comes in with news/talk.
In aurora I'll usually hear KYOS Merced, CA also with news/talk.
Also logged on 1480 is KNTB Tacoma, which is rare, with ESPN Deportes.

Wanted on 1480: KHQN Spanish Fork, UT, which is supposedly running news/talk and not Mexican, KVNR Santa Ana CA which should be possible during strong aurora, KRAE Cheyenne and 50KW KBXD Dallas. Maybe I can catch them at Dallas sunrise in winter.

-crainbebo

 

[purpledevil]

Unless something has just recently changed, crainbebo, you'll have a tremendously hard time picking up Dallas. KBXD is silent and has been for several months now. Lost tower site, I believe.

 

[schmave]

Not much here around Columbus, Ohio ... just a weak WHBC daytime (at least where I am) and nothing at night. A few miles west of me, 1480 is blotted out by slop from WBNS on 1460 (tower is located about six miles west of me, basically right down I-70).

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Having spent my childhood DXing years within the 100 mV/m contour of WKMF/WFNT 1470, also in the pre NRSC days, I rarely heard anything on 1480. After the WKMF signal was maxed out at 5 kW directional, John Carroll, who was a manager at the legendary WKMH, later WKNR Keener 13, and who later bought WKMF, bought a station on 1480 whose 0.5 mV/m contour just missed the WKMF 0.5 mV/m contour, WIOS 1480 Tawas City. When we would travel, I would hear WIOS Tawas City, WMAX (Now WGVU) Grand Rapids (Now Kentwood), and WSDS Ypsilanti (Now Salem Twp.) on 1480. All were daytimers in the early days, because WHBC Canton's skywave was so strong that it made it difficult to get an NIF contour over 80% of the city of license from their TL. WMAX/WGVU had to move to Kentwood. WSDS had to change to Salem Twp. at the same TL. WIOS remains a Daytimer with a PSSA of 109 watts. My recollection is that the NIF of WIOS is around 48 mV/m between the WHBC, WSDS, and WGVU interfering signals. I can hear WSDS at my usual receive location in the daytime.

This situation illustrates why many stations remained as daytimers, why the new fulltime stations needed to be 5 kW night to serve their City of License, and now many 5 kW fulltime stations have small nighttime service areas, many times much less than older 1 kW night stations with low NIFs. Today, many DXers and even station engineers are unclear as to why their 5 kW night facility is so limited. 5 kW night was traditionally associated with Class III-A stations with low NIF contours and fairly large night service areas. Ignorance of all this is why many managers fail to understand why it is important to reduce to night power or PSSA power level and correct pattern.

 

[cyberdad]

Several posts ago, the Madison, WI 1480 was mentioned. This may be the closest 5kw station that I have NEVER heard here at my location. Day or night. 75 miles away via a good ground conductivity path, and never a whiff of it. Of course, I'm in the null. It's not a particularly severe null, but it's enough to keep the signal out of my local area and open the door for WGSB/WFXW/WSPY. I have to admit I haven't tried for it recently, but in the 60s and early '70s as top-40 WISM, it was a frequent target.

KLEE in Ottumwa, Iowa also was mentioned....with a great little story, thanks.

For my experience KLEE was sort of an opposite situation from WISM. In college, I was about 50 miles east of 500 watt KLEE and generally did have a good reliable signal. Except, of course, sometimes around sunset when WISM would trash it!

 

[jim-satx]

Unless something has just recently changed, crainbebo, you'll have a tremendously hard time picking up Dallas. KBXD is silent and has been for several months now. Lost tower site, I believe.

I was wondering why I hadn't heard KBXD in a long time. I used to be able to get it at night in the partial null of San Antonio's local on 1480, KCHL, which features an urban gospel format.

As of now when KCHL goes directional at night, XETKR, La Rancherita/Mas Fuerte, in Guadalupe, Nuevo Laredo, is most dominant in that NE/SW partial null. XEZJ, Ciudad 1480, in Guadalajara can occasionally be heard weakly in the background or when XETKR fades. They play romantic/soft Mexican pop.

Just after sunrise/before sunset, KLVL in Houston sometimes pokes through and competes with XETKR.

Also, I've heard a weak sports talk station in brief spurts a few times at night. I've yet to identify it, but my best guess so far is KLMS in Lincoln, NE, based on the apparent direction.

 

[RyanHoward]

Here in the Philly 'burbs, 1480 is local WJJZ(the former WDAS-AM), with smooth jazz.