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WAIT Crystal Lake, IL off air

CADXER

CADXER

I have noticed that for the past two days the semi-local WAIT AM 850 (Crystal Lake, Illinois) has been totally off the air. This might be a good chance for some us in the Chicago area to hear something new. So far I have only checked during daytime on the car radio, but heard nothing.
 
And as of 2 pm today they are back on the air playing continuous rock music.

So much for DX opportunities.
 
CADXER said:
And as of 2 pm today they are back on the air playing continuous rock music.

So much for DX opportunities.
Click to expand...

I heard them back on when I checked about an hour and a half later. As I posted in the "Chicago" board yesterday (Tuesday, August 6), I was hoping for some DX opportunities myself, Long story short, I checked 850 at 11:00am, and thought I was hearing a very weak carrier. But it more likely was just ambient noise from some other source. Nothing on 840, and next to nothing on 860. (I thought I'd at least get a whiff of whatever might be left of WNOV.)

Obviously, something's up, so this will be worth keeping an eye (ear) on. I live about two and a half miles southeast of the transmitter site. I can see the tops of the 3-tower array from a couple of my second floor windows.
 
Checked out 850 in the car at 7:45 this evening. WAIT still on with Simon and Garfunkel and "The Boxer".

Checked again about a half hour later. WAIT had signed off, and I heard a weak KFUO with some Beethoven.

Now THAT'S what I call a segue!
 
cyberdad said:
Checked out 850 in the car at 7:45 this evening. WAIT still on with Simon and Garfunkel and "The Boxer".

Checked again about a half hour later. WAIT had signed off, and I heard a weak KFUO with some Beethoven.

Now THAT'S what I call a segue!
Click to expand...

What a contrast!
 
cyberdad said:
Checked out 850 in the car at 7:45 this evening. WAIT still on with Simon and Garfunkel and "The Boxer".

Checked again about a half hour later. WAIT had signed off, and I heard a weak KFUO with some Beethoven.

Now THAT'S what I call a segue!
Click to expand...

When I'm right on the lake, I can hear yet another one between the patriotic WAIT signoff and the time KOA starts to dominate. I'm pretty sure it's WGVS in Muskegon.
 
MichaelTheZ said:
When I'm right on the lake, I can hear yet another one between the patriotic WAIT signoff and the time KOA starts to dominate. I'm pretty sure it's WGVS in Muskegon.
Click to expand...

If it's oldies, It's probably WGVS. But they have a REALLY tight pattern oriented north-south. I've never heard them here in Crystal Lake. Not that I haven't tried. Going back to the days when they were the original WKBZ (which took over from WMUS when they migrted to a much better signal on 1090). WKBZ was on 850 before WAIT's predecessors came on in 1965.

When I worked at one of those predecessors in the 1970s, our CE told me that WKBZ had the only pattern in America that had actually been designed by the FCC. If that's true, and if the same pattern is still in use, then the Feds didn't do them any favors.
 
cyberdad said:
If it's oldies, It's probably WGVS. But they have a REALLY tight pattern oriented north-south. I've never heard them here in Crystal Lake. Not that I haven't tried. Going back to the days when they were the original WKBZ (which took over from WMUS when they migrted to a much better signal on 1090). WKBZ was on 850 before WAIT's predecessors came on in 1965.

When I worked at one of those predecessors in the 1970s, our CE told me that WKBZ had the only pattern in America that had actually been designed by the FCC. If that's true, and if the same pattern is still in use, then the Feds didn't do them any favors.
Click to expand...

I've heard it a few times, it plays oldies and I can only hear it right near the lake (and the reception is poor). I once possibly got an ID but it was fading out so I can't be sure. I have gotten a fair number of relatively weak stations in Western Michigan in this way, by going right up to the lake and scanning.
 
Schroedingers Cat said:
Why did the FCC design their pattern? So it didn't get to the other side of the Lake?

I'll have to look on their History Card.
Click to expand...

I'll be interested to see what you come up with. WKBZ was on 850 before our local 850 came on. Perhaps protecting Milwaukee's WFOX (now WNOV) was part part of the idea by day, Protecting KOA part of the idea by night? And then there's Cleveland and Boston 850s to the east.
 
Update: I tuned in at around 10:45 a.m. yesterday (8/12) and got an unmodulated carrier.

Today (8/13) I was in the car at a little after 9am and got a health and fitness program.
 
radioman148 said:
And the trend continues as many AM radio stations are selling the land that their towers are on. The land is worth much more than these stations are worth.
Click to expand...

That's certainly the case with the 27 acre site. Lots of development nearby. Mostly residential.

As I posted in the Chicago board.... Selling the land makes more sense than any sort of reboot. (I actually thought the college already owned that land). Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if they downsized the signal and used it to simulcast another brokered station. Or if Fred just decides to take the money and run The fact that they're applying for a "silent STA" tells me they may be just covering themselves in case the deal...not yet finalized...falls through.
 
radioman148 said:
This may give us midwest DXers some opportunities during winter daytime skywave season.
Click to expand...

WQRM in Duluth MN might be do-able. I remember them around sunset when they were at 10kw, and WAIT was no longer signing off at Denver sunset. They're now running 50kw non-directional. (14kw critical hours).

WQRM....who came up with THOSE call letters?
 
Yes, KFUO is the most common catch in Chicago area before KOA takes over the frequency.
 
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