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KGOW 1560 "Houston"

SomeRadioGuy

SomeRadioGuy

It would seem I can hear "Viet Radio 1560" KGOW Bellaire better at night 950 miles away in Laramie, WY then many in Houston and nearby environs can That 15kw into 9 towers at night is one tight pattern. I am however, seemingly, smack in the middle of a null in the night pattern, as evidenced by the picture attached to bottom of this post.

.. Here's a few audio clips:

This is some kind of commercial for a business in Bellaire followed by a short musical interlude and a program. Recorded Thursday August 8th somewhere around 930pm mountain:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KUPID0YFH93qPAzTIJLyZYV1FsCkh_Uk

Here's more commercials recorded Thursday August 14th at 1201am mountain
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1O_sEjQu1M4gtp5bzx4u0vJqAaXZcKZh-

Here's a commercial for a grocery store on Thursday August 11th at 1059pm mountain with a legal id included
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1L_epJ8vezYgKaVkMUADdAv33m7LF-PoF

And from August 11th as well, here's a commercial or two followed by a program intro and jingle for the Voice of America (Cant tell what language they are introducing)
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yIxfSGuSIwTPnDXR9Tb4z_Tiuoklvz1u


kgow.JPG
 
It seems as though a bit of that lobe does head towards your direction, or at least you get a piece of it.
Those stations at the high end of the band can travel great distances.
 
radioman148 said:
It seems as though a bit of that lobe does head towards your direction, or at least you get a piece of it.
Those stations at the high end of the band can travel great distances.
Click to expand...

I don't get anything, supposedly form the night pattern, but if you look at the day patter.. I come close to getting the edge of something. The day pattern is below..


kgowday.JPG
 
radioman148 said:
I see your point. Those higher band stations do strange things at night.
Click to expand...

like .. just barely a slice.. which could expkain why the signal peaks briefly from time to time
 
radioman148 said:
I see your point. Those higher band stations do strange things at night.
Click to expand...

1560 is a strange frequency. With no dominant Mexican, and nothing much on the channel at night in the 70's in around 1974 I logged the 250 watt night operation of WRSJ in Bayamón, Puerto Rico in Phoenix, AZ.
 
For a time about 6-8 years ago, I was hearing KGOW from time to time around sunrise. I haven't heard it recently, hower.

As for 1560 being a strange frequency.... At my location it's strange from the standpoint that usually back in the day, I'd hear a strong signal from WDXR in Paducah, KY almost every night. Even at 1kw before they went to 5kw. In each case aimed north. What was "strange" was that WQEW would take over, and WDXR would be missing. Not just for a minute or two....but for an entire evening. Usually, it was the other way around. All WDXR and no WQEW.

The Paducah 1560 is now silent, and WQEW is now Catholic radio with different call letters.
 
cyberdad said:
For a time about 6-8 years ago, I was hearing KGOW from time to time around sunrise. I haven't heard it recently, hower.

As for 1560 being a strange frequency.... At my location it's strange from the standpoint that usually back in the day, I'd hear a strong signal from WDXR in Paducah, KY almost every night. Even at 1kw before they went to 5kw. In each case aimed north. What was "strange" was that WQEW would take over, and WDXR would be missing. Not just for a minute or two....but for an entire evening. Usually, it was the other way around. All WDXR and no WQEW.

The Paducah 1560 is now silent, and WQEW is now Catholic radio with different call letters.
Click to expand...


I'm splitting hairs, but WQEW is christian.. and its Family radio, which isnt catholic. it's WFME
 
cyberdad said:
For a time about 6-8 years ago, I was hearing KGOW from time to time around sunrise. I haven't heard it recently, hower.

As for 1560 being a strange frequency.... At my location it's strange from the standpoint that usually back in the day, I'd hear a strong signal from WDXR in Paducah, KY almost every night. Even at 1kw before they went to 5kw. In each case aimed north. What was "strange" was that WQEW would take over, and WDXR would be missing. Not just for a minute or two....but for an entire evening. Usually, it was the other way around. All WDXR and no WQEW.

The Paducah 1560 is now silent, and WQEW is now Catholic radio with different call letters.
Click to expand...

Going way back I’d hear WDXR and WQXR fighting it out. Sometimes I wasn’t sure which one I was hearing due to the similarity of the call letters.
 
cyberdad said:
I thought Disney sold it to Relevant Radio (Catholic) I always stand to be corrected, or maybe it simply changed hands again.
Click to expand...

1560 was the third corner of the Cumulus deal to get the FM that Family had. They found an AM for Family and the NYT (LMA to Disney)sold it and Cumulus got its FM.

Correction: NYT LMA's WQEW to Disney for 5 months, and then it became a sale for $40 million in 2007. The sale to Family in late 2014 was for $12 million and change.
 
Last edited:
cyberdad said:
I thought Disney sold it to Relevant Radio (Catholic) I always stand to be corrected, or maybe it simply changed hands again.
Click to expand...


Relevant Radio is on 1430 WNSW and 1160 WVNJ. It went to family radio after disney
 
That's why I never hear Houston on 1560. Their pattern slices and dices away from the NW. Even the day pattern almost completely beams north. I've heard KKAA in South Dakota, but never Houston.
 
crainbebo said:
That's why I never hear Houston on 1560. Their pattern slices and dices away from the NW. Even the day pattern almost completely beams north. I've heard KKAA in South Dakota, but never Houston.
Click to expand...

I can hear KKAA at sunrise here right after power up.. and sometimes, on a very very rare occasion, when right before power up.
 
Everyone's favorite ethnic station, Viet Radio 1560 KGOW Bellaire/Houston is completely off the air due to flooding from Tropical Depression Imelda that has "Detrimentally affected the transmission equipment"

They are completely off the air instead of using the seperate day or night site full time like last time when the day site got flooded

This must've just happened a few days ago because I caught them on the air and put them in my log books about a week ago or so.

I should note, of potential interest... the Viet Radio programming on KGOW 1560 has recently been heard simulcast on KYND 1520 before KGOW went off the air
 
I'm in Houston and just checked (2:20pm local) and KGOW is on the air with typical Vietnamese programming.
 
wildthangjim said:
I'm in Houston and just checked (2:20pm local) and KGOW is on the air with typical Vietnamese programming.
Click to expand...


Yeah, so ive heard... this STA was just filed today
 
wildthangjim said:
I'm in Houston and just checked (2:20pm local) and KGOW is on the air with typical Vietnamese programming.
Click to expand...

And according to a Houston broadcast engineer who just checked his radio in the office at 3:30pm central time, there is zero carrier on 1560 now, completely off the air.
 
At night when I was in Florida, I heard Houston when I turned the radio one way and New York when I turned the radio about 90 degrees the other way.

Haven't yet been able to get any official ID of a station on 1560 here in Hawaii.
 
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