WSBC AM 1240 Chicago

[CADXER]

For those in the Chicago area it has been reported that WSBC on 1240 AM has been cutting down their air time hours. Last year I noticed them signing off at midnight, but in recent months they started signing off at 9 pm. The sign on time is shortly after 5 am. This might present some better chances to hear something new for Chicago area DXers.

Gone are the days when this frequency in Chicago was locally occupied 24 hours by sharing arrangement between WSBC, WEDC and WCRW.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

As you know, CA, long gone are those days. I believe it was during the CB craze in the 70's when everyone with a $40 Radio Shack-job mike had to stay on yakking 24/7/52 or all social existence would be useless. That frenetic look-at - me trend has not abated.

If 1240 Chicago has been cutting back their hours to conform to how comfortably-existing AM stations had been doing since the 60's -- on the AM dial -- God bless 'em.

 

[cyberdad]

For those in the Chicago area it has been reported that WSBC on 1240 AM has been cutting down their air time hours. Last year I noticed them signing off at midnight, but in recent months they started signing off at 9 pm. The sign on time is shortly after 5 am. This might present some better chances to hear something new for Chicago area DXers.

Gone are the days when this frequency in Chicago was locally occupied 24 hours by sharing arrangement between WSBC, WEDC and WCRW.

Sad news that this longstanding local station is seemingly struggling. And yes, I remember the three-way handoff on 1240. Including when WEDC came on with a program called "Midnight Flyers" when they signed on at midnight. And let's not forget that Chicago FM Fixture WXRT began life as WSBC-FM.

Anyway....WSBC doesn't make it out here to Crystal Lake after dark, so the earlier signoff probably won't have much....if any....effect on me. WSBC's day signal is surprisingly good here, but aside from auroral conditions, I can't remember the last time I heard it here at night.

 

[CADXER]

cyberdad, WSBC comes fairly well at nighttime at my location, so earlier sign off opens up the frequency for me.

I remember during the 3-way frequency sharing arrangement I would tune in at the hand off times in order to catch out of town stations ID's during the short (usually few seconds) silent periods before the next station came on. I managed to hear couple out of town stations that way on 1240.

WSBC and WXRT (ex-WSBC FM) used the antenna tower on Belmont Avenue before WXRT moved to the Hancock. WEDC had their tower on Milwaukee Avenue on the NW side of Chicago, which is now used by WSBC and WCPT in a diplexing operation. WCRW's tower was on a roof top of an apartment building on Diversey and Pine Grove.

 

[davideduardo]

Sad news that this longstanding local station is seemingly struggling.

Isn't the owner struggling? I note that 850 AM has been off the air a lot, so maybe the market for brokered radios services is soft.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

In 60068, I swear that one or two of those 1240 facilities were stronger than WLS 890 was.

 

[cyberdad]

Isn't the owner struggling? I note that 850 AM has been off the air a lot, so maybe the market for brokered radios services is soft.

As you may already be aware, WAIT is going dark ("silent STA) and the 27 acre 3-tower transmitter site sold to a local community college. Fred Eychaner, the WAIT owner, has enough money to buy several six-packs of WGNs if he were so inclined. (Last I heard, it was somewhere north of $500M).

I'm not sure if the market for brokered programming is getting soft. It may be. Or it may be that it's simply saturated. Especially with a new Spanish brokered 640 now on the air and covering most of the market. The part of the market where that signal is weak just so happens to be here in the northwest suburbs, where 850 is strong. That's also true for the brokered 750 in the Indiana suburbs. Hmmm.

Or...Fred may just decide to take the money and run when the deal gets finalized.