AM Frequency of the Week: 1600

[cyberdad]

40 miles northwest of Chicago....

Days: Usually blank. Semi-Local WMCW, a 500-watt non-directional daytimer went dark more than a decade ago. It was located in Harvard, IL, about 20 miles northwest of me. A good little local station that put in a fair-good signal. Their primary service area was sort of a "bermuda triangle" situated between Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and Rockford.

Occasionlly....usually in winter....KGYM from Cedar Rapids, Iowa is a skywave visitor.

Nights: Usually 1600 is a mess. With KGYM most likely to rise to the top.

Retro: I used to hear WAAM from Ann Arbor, MI quite often around sunset. Either under WMCW or right after WMCW signed off. I still hear WAAM once in a while at night, but nowhere near as often as "back in the day".

 

[gr8oldies]

East Tennessee: Nothing locally, a weak WTZQ, Henderson NC will make it in during daytime skip. More common, though further away is WVHU's simulcast on WZZW, Milton WV. Nights are often dominated by WAOS, Austell GA which is often on day power at night. Auroral condidtions bring in KLEB, Golden Meadows LA, complete with a French rosary in the early morning. I've caught WKKX, Wheeling WV at night

Retro/other: I worked at a 1600, WULM in Springfield Ohio, 1000 watts day, 252 PSA and 34 night. Being so high on the dial, it was interesting what else came in not that far from the tower late in the morning and early in the evening. WMQM, near Memphis could be consistent 20 miles away as well as KATZ, St. Louis. WAOS, Austell Ga was blasting at night often, and I've heard a recording of WULM's translator being fed from the AM with WAOS's Spanish language programming dominant and in the backlground, WULM (now a Catholic format) underneath discussing birth control. When I was there, we had a sports show one evening a week, and in the winter it was during our 34 watts power. Across town back in the studio we heard the show with WAOS strong. It sounded like the remote was coming from a Mexican restaurant. I also heard WWRL in the early morning, practically under the tower.

 

[radioman148]

In the near north Chicago suburbs during the day I hear WCGO splatter. Years ago I used to get the old WCGO from Chicago Heights on this frequency. It was weak, but I could hear it.
At night I hear a mess of stations sometimes St Louis & sometimes WWRL has come in.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

WAAM radiates the equivalent of about 10 kW toward Chicago in the Daytime, based on Minimum Class B Efficiency. It has a ~3/4 Wavelength and Cardioid in line 4 tower in line array in a "collapsed parallelogram" multiplicative arrangement.

https://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/314415-23738.pdf

If this works you can see the arrangement. The road is designated "Castaway Lane". Don't know if that is because it is frequently flooded and the people sent out there feel like they are marooned or what.

https://fccdata.org/?facid=&call=WA...zip=&arn=&party=&party_type=LICEN&latd=&lond=

Click View Towers.

 

[schmave]

Very little here around Columbus, Ohio. In the western parts of Franklin County, near and beyond the outerbelt, you'll hear a weak WULM during the day. At night, it's a lot of jumble. Not sure I have ever heard WAAM here.

 

[cyberdad]

WAAM radiates the equivalent of about 10 kW toward Chicago in the Daytime, based on Minimum Class B Efficiency. It has a ~3/4 Wavelength and Cardioid in line 4 tower in line array in a "collapsed parallelogram" multiplicative arrangement.

https://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/314415-23738.pdf

If this works you can see the arrangement. The road is designated "Castaway Lane". Don't know if that is because it is frequently flooded and the people sent out there feel like they are marooned or what.

https://fccdata.org/?facid=&call=WA...zip=&arn=&party=&party_type=LICEN&latd=&lond=

Click View Towers.

Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing. I can see where the WAAM day pattern blasts Chicago, but where I am northwest of the city, I'm probably not getting the full force of that western lobe. Night pattern might be a little more problematic, but I'm not really sure. In either case, I'm a little surprised that I haven't been hearing them.

And @schmave....I can see why WAAM is missing where you are. They null the south on day pattern. Then comes an even more severe null at night.

 

[cyberdad]

@radioman...

Did you ever hear WMCW at your location? Where I was as a teenager in Wauconda, they were still definitely listenable. Although they did start to fade rapidly as you went south and east. I could also imagine that splatter from 1590 (WNMP/WLTD) would be an issue. In any event where I was then, as well as now, I never heard WCGO.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

One of the first stations I got after moving here was WNEV West Virginia. Big Band music. They were pretty receivable that night on my barefoot 6-tube Zenith barbershop radio. I got a nice tape of 'em, too.

Daytimes used to be a weak but do-able WHOL Allentown. I say 'used to be', because the recent AM dial is pretty close to a complete mess except for the locals and semi-locals.
One daytime null brought in WPDC Elizabethtown PA and their sports.

Nighttimes, maybe 9-10 PM, there was WWRL NYC, a looped-in WINX Rockville MD, and the now-dark WKEN from Delaware. Those last two nighttime catches are on tape.

 

[WCJ]

Orange County, TX at my QTH it's KOGT all the time as I'm ~3 miles from xmitter.

 

[kf4rca]

Its Hispanic formatted WAOS days & nights here. Its sort of a marker, when I'm tuning around in the dark, as to when I am in the X-band.

 

[radioman148]

@radioman...

Did you ever hear WMCW at your location? Where I was as a teenager in Wauconda, they were still definitely listenable. Although they did start to fade rapidly as you went south and east. I could also imagine that splatter from 1590 (WNMP/WLTD) would be an issue. In any event where I was then, as well as now, I never heard WCGO.

I may have heard WMCW, but the splatter from WNMP was pretty bad in my area. The old WCGO was tough enough at my location.

 

[Nanis]

Day: My radio loves interference. usually WPWA 1590 out of Chester, which is already weak enough but weaker.
Night: I get WWRL in Seacaucus or WLXE in Rockville. Sometimes a mix

 

[CADXER]

Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: nothing these days. WMCW and WCGO used to be heard before they went off through the WONX splatter.
Nightime: WAAM most likely station to be heard at night.

DX/RETRO: over 20 different stations heard on this frequency in the past including WTRU (Muskegon, MI), WARU (Peru, IN), WSTL Eminence, KY), WNST (Milton, WV), WINX (Rockville, MD), WWRL (NY, NY) WAOS (Austell, GA), CHNR (Simcoe, ON), KCRG (Cedar Rapids, IA), KCGS (Marshall, AR).

 

[cyberdad]

Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:


DX/RETRO: over 20 different stations heard on this frequency in the past including WTRU (Muskegon, MI), WARU (Peru, IN), WSTL Eminence, KY), WNST (Milton, WV), WINX (Rockville, MD), WWRL (NY, NY) WAOS (Austell, GA), CHNR (Simcoe, ON), KCRG (Cedar Rapids, IA), KCGS (Marshall, AR).

That's an impressive list.

I remember hearing WTRU back in the 60s. They're long gone....unless you live in Kernersville, North Carolina. The calls are now in use by a station on 830 there.

KCRG in Cedar Rapids is what evolved into today's KGYM. I believe the KCRG calls are still in use on what used to be in use on KCRG-TV, channel 9. "CRG" stands for the Cedar Rapids Gazette (newspaper), which was co-owned with the broadcast operations.

Anyway, back on-topic, I checked 1600 this morning about an hour before sunrise, and it was KGYM comfortably on top of the channel.

 

[joebtsflk1]

Back to my days in the Twin Cities, 1600 at night was one of the worst war-zone regionals I can remember hearing. Cedar Rapids sent its 5 kW signal north. Add 5kW each for Watertown MN, Ripon WI and 500 watts back in the day from Algona IA made for regular havoc.

Yes, KCRG was once part of the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The Gazette owners, back then owned just the single AM, TV, and newspaper. KCRG became KGYM after its sale to the KZIA owners, Rob Norton, Eliot Keller et al. Keller died several years ago. Norton was killed driving the wrong way on I-380 near Cedar Rapids early this year. KCRG-TV was sold to Gray a few years ago, so today the Gazette focuses just on local newspapers.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

I gotta second Cyberdad's 'bravo', CADXer! That's quite mess o' fish !

DXing on AM was so much fun back when the AM dial played music and when things were a lot clearer. All of us in the Gang Of Four DX clan near JFK Airport heard KCRG and KATZ when WWRL had decided to sign off. When the 'regionals' associated with NYC signed off, the dial really would come alive. 1600 often was like opening up birthday gifts when The Big RL was silent.

 

[spiritof67]

Living in the St. Louis metro, daytime is KATZ. At night, well, believe it or not, it is a jumbled mess. In the past, KATZ put a strong nighttime signal to my QTH, but that signal has grown weaker over the past 15 years.

 

[crainbebo]

Never got to reply originally.

1600 days is usually nothing, albeit I may get faint wisps of KVRI Blaine (Punjabi/Indian) or KOPB Eugene OR (OPB) in the dead of winter.
Nights is a jumble with KVRI on top. For a while KGST Fresno (ESPN Deportes) used to be *THE* most common station at night on 1600 but it doesn't show up as often anymore. KTUB Centerville UT (Juan 1600) is quite common pre-sunrise and at night. KEPN Lakewood CO (ESPN) is rare but doable in winter. KUBA Yuba City CA (Classic Hits) is also often heard at sunset and sometimes at night. At sunset I can often hear KOHI St. Helens OR (Talk) before they power down to 12 watts. KIVA Albuquerque NM (News/Talk) was heard once last year. And my best catch on 1600 was heard in November 2016: WRPN Ripon, WI (Classic Hits) on the same night that I first heard WOZN on 1670...big signal BTW.

Wanted...long list
KAHZ Pomona CA (Mandarin). The aurora brings in KGST and KUBA but never this one. 5KW should be easy but it's not, as most of the signal is pointed towards Hawaii.
KTAP Santa Maria CA (Regional Mexican) 470 watts daytime, so maybe a sunset catch during heavy aurora. Most of the signal points towards the water of course.
KRVA Cockrell Hill TX (Vietnamese) Powers up to 25KW at Dallas sunrise, but I need really good conditions that way, at 4am PT.
KATZ St. Louis MO (Black Gospel) I hear this signal really gets out. Maybe possible on a really good night? Gospel should stick out like a sore thumb.
KLEB Golden Meadow LA (Cajun) Just for good measure! Not that I'll ever have a chance unless conditions are spectacular AND they left the 5KW on at night...
Any of the two Arizona stations would be awesome as well. KYBC is 1KW-D/flea power-N, KXEW is 1KW-D/N.

 

[cyberdad]

....KLEB Golden Meadow LA (Cajun) Just for good measure! Not that I'll ever have a chance unless conditions are spectacular AND they left the 5KW on at night...

KLEB puts in a good daytime signal on the beach near Pensacola. About 150-ish miles (IIRC) via saltwater path. It pretty much disappears when they power down (assuming they "remember" to do that. The cajun format is a treat to listen to.

You also mentioned KVRI. You're probably already of this, but in case not. KVRI exists to provide provide programming for the Punjabi community in Vancouver. IME the signal in most of the metro is at or near local quality.