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AM Frequency of the Week: 550

cyberdad

cyberdad

As I alluded to last week, we now turn the page and revisit what were once called the "regional" channels. Along with the "graveyard" channels and x-band.

So, we start at 550. Here at my location 40 miles northwest of downtown Chicago.....

Days: Splatter from WIND (560). With a good radio, and WIND nulled, A very weak KTRS comes through.

Nights: KTRS becomes strong enough to cut through the adjacent channel splatter and dominate 550.
 
In the near north Chicago suburbs 550 during the day is some splatter from WIND, but on a good radio I can hear KTRS. At night it's usually KTRS, but sometimes I have heard WKRC. Much less often WSAU has sneaked in. A few times pre-sunrise I've heard KFYR.
 
East Tennessee: WDUN, Gainesville GA dominates day and night. I have heard WKRC before sunset. I had a country station among others down in the mud under WDUN last night.

Retro/other: Dayton, Ohio area. WKRC was the day and night regular, but I heard other stations there. KTRS for one, and I had heard WSVA, Harrisonburg VA at sunset. For a time, WAYR, (then Orange Park, now Fleming Island) FL was a frequent visitor using day facilities at night. They used to play soft instrumental hymns overnight and were easy to identify (I did hear vocal IDs). I also caught WGR once, the morning after a Spring tiime change after they apparently switched to day power on EST, not EDT at 5:30am.

Lafayette IN area: KTRS (KUSA, KSD) dominated with a signal that was better than KMOX in the daytime. WKRC would "bubble under". Quincy IL was all KUSA (present-day KTRS) when I was there in the mid 80s.
 
Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: weak KTRS cutting trough WIND splatter
Nightime: usually KTRS

DX/RETRO: besides KTRS other stations heard include KTSA (San Antonio, TX), KFYR (Bismarck, ND), KCRS (Midland, TX), WCKY/WKRC (Cincinnati, OH), WG m(buffalo, NY), WSAU (Wasau, WI), CHNO (Sudbury, ON), and couple Radio Rebelde outlets from Cuba.
 
Orange County, TX, pre sunrise and post sunset KTSA San Antonio with as good signal, days splatter from local KLVI, Beaumont, TX
 
From NW San Antonio:

Day and night it's my local, KTSA.

After KTSA goes to night pattern, I can get a tiny partial null by carefully aiming N-NE/S-SW. In it I often hear XEGNAY in Tepic with its eclectic musical programming and sometimes XEPL in Ciudad Cuauhtémoc. On weeknights, XEPL airs programs in a German dialect for Mennonites living in that region of Mexico.

When propagation is very good, I'll sometimes hear a weak KFRM in Salinas, KS, mixing in the null. On very rare occasions, I've heard KTRS for brief bits.
 
From West Los Angeles, CA:

Days: A weak-but-listenable country-formatted KUZZ Bakersfield.

Nights: Stronger signal from KUZZ.
 
From my location, 550 kHz is not the most productive frequency:

Day: A very weak KTRS in winter, nothing in summer.

Critical Hours: KTRS, WSAU, KFRM

Night: Only KTRS on occasion, otherwise nothing logged.

Bob
 
West Central Georgia

Day: Gainesville GA WDUN 10000/2500 Poor reception due to local WDAK on 540

Night: Nothing - sometimes WDUN or KTSA San Antonio TX 5000, WKRC Cincinnati OH 5000/1000 and WAYR Fleming Island/Jacksonville FL 5000/500
 
550 in the day here USED to be semi-local WHLM Bloomsburg PA. Pretty cool 'Chicken Rock' station in their last days. They went dark over 20 years ago. Their scenic 4-in-a-line stick array at the intersection of Interstate 80 used to be quite the sight at night. We'd get them sometimes in the day on a good radio in Queens NYC.

The somewhat-heritage calls WHLM are now issued to another Bloomsburg station, the former WCNR, on 930.

Nowadays on 550, though, there's not even a flutter.

Nights it's WGRrrrrr from Buffalo.

One sunset I logged (and taped, too) WSVA from Harrisonburg VA.

* * * * * * *

Maybe 10-15 years back, there was news of a new 550 CP for the gorgeous Greenwood Lake NY. The lake itself is this long, skinny, idyllic feather, half in Jersey and half in NY. But nothing became of the plan.
 
From west Houston, days KTSA, seemingly somewhat weaker than they used to be. At night, KTSA dominates but is nullable. XEGNAY has been ID'd and KTRS is usually there as they're ~90 degrees from San Antonio here.
 
WDUN Gainesville day and night. They're only about 50 miles away from me. A great alternative when WSB decides to go rogue.
 
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