AM Frequency of the Week: 960

[cyberdad]

Far northwest "Chicagoland".....

Days: Usually a rare blank spot on the local AM dial. What's left of any splatter from the two first adjacent is a non-issue.

Nights: "Battle of weak signals". WSBT (South Bend, Indiana) most likely to rise to the top once in a while. CFAC (Calgary, Alberta) has also b, ecome a semi-regular during the past few years. Especially during winter. The 50kw night pattern is not exactly favorable in my location, but CFAC is authorized for 50kw non-directional during the day. Hmmmm.

Less frequent at night on 960: KZIM, Cape Giradeau, MO and KMA from Shenandoah, IA,

KMA has a long and notable history. Founded in the mid-1920s by Earl May, who became famous for three other things. 1,) A chain of lawn/gardem/nursery stores around Iowa, 2.) Founder of KMTV,longtime NBC affiliate (VHF Ch 3) in Omaha, And 3.) Live in-studio music and concerts. Mostly country music. (The Everely Brothers, as schoolboys, were part of the "cast" of the KMA breakfast show in the early 1950s).

KMA also fed a weekday cooking show, "Kitchen Klatter", to a regional network in and around rural Iowa. It ran for more than 50 years. In the early 1970s, I worked at one of the stations on the network. Easiest task I've ever had to this day. I ran the board. Sort of. The half hour show was self-contained to the point where I didn't have to do anything but sit there. ....And once in a while get in a little snooze.

 

[DXBob]

From 25 miles SW of downtown KC:

Day, Critical Hours and Night: This frequency belongs to KMA in Shenandoah, IA. The signal is listenable 24/7 but especially during the day. At night, the signal is weaker and is prone to some fading. To date, no other signals have been logged.

Bob

 

[gr8oldies]

East Tennessee: Day: WQLA, LaFollette, TN delivering a weak signal.
Night: Varuous and sundry including WERC, Birmingham AL


Retro/other: Dayton, OH. Usually the last breath of WSBT, South Bend IN by day or WFIR, Roanoke VA by night.
North of there In the 70s and 80s, when tine change happened at the end of October, WPRT, Prestonsburg KY would be heard loudly as they were still signing off as though we were still using EDT. That lasted until November 1.

 

[radioman148]

In the near north Chicago suburbs daytime is a weak/fair WSBT. At night a few stations with WSBT in the mix. Others heard CFAC, KZIM, & KMA.

 

[WCJ]

Orange County, TX-Days KROF Abbeville, LA, talk format Nights mostly WERC Birmingham, AL, news/talk with several other stations underneath.

 

[WahooWah]

West Central Georgia

Days: WERC Birmingham AL 5000 news/talk fair

Nights: Mostly WERC with good signal but fading in and out; also catch WFIR Roanoke VA 10000/5000 news/talk and WRFC Athens GA 5000/2500 ESPN Sports

Critical Hours: Occasionally WJYZ Albany GA 5000/390 Black Gospel

 

[CADXER]

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

Daytime: weak WSBT
Nightime: usualy WSBT or KMA

DX/RETRO: WERC and CKWS used to be common back in the 70's/80's. Other DX includes KZIM (Cape Girardeau, MO), KLTF (Little Falls, MN), WFIR (Roanoke, VA), WJAZ (Albany, GA), WWGR (La Follette, TN) during a DX test, WTCH (Shawano, WI), CFAC (Calgary, ALB)

 

[cyberdad]

Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago
DX/RETRO: WERC and CKWS used to be common back in the 70's/80's.

I don't recall hearing CKWS in the Chicago area, but to be honest, I haven't spent a lot of time on 960. I have, however, spent a number of nights in Kingston, ON, where CKWS is located...about midway between Montreal and Toronto. Most of my nights were in the 90s and 2000s, and most of what I remember about the station, was really bad audio. Year after year. "Muddy" in the extreme. I'm not sure why. They were part of a radio-TV-newspaper cluster, so I'd think....especially in the 90s they could afford to fix that.

AS for WERC, I've heard them here at home a few times, but not recently. At our vacation location near Pensacola, they're a reliable nighttime regular.

 

[KML0224]

I get a weak signal of WELI-AM of New Haven in the daytime. Almost no signal from them at night. I'm usually in far southern Hartford county (Berlin) or northern Middlesex County (Cromwell or Middletown's north end).

 

[jim-satx]

Day: A fairly strong image of 50 kW local 760 KTKR and a weak distorted image of 5 kW local 860 KONO. The images are most prominent when aiming SE.

Sunset: To the NW, KGKL in San Angelo starts mixing in with the images. To the NE/SW, I usually hear a weak to moderate WABG in Greenwood, MS, and a weaker WERC. WABG plays an interesting mix of blues and classic rock.

Night: Once KTKR and KONO reduce power, the images are gone and KGKL is moderately strong. To the NE/SW, it's a mix of WABG, WERC, and XEHK in Guadalajara. WERC is most often dominant.

Sunrise: KGKL is still there. NE/SW it becomes a bit graveyard-ish with the aforementioned nighttime vistors. KCGS in Marshall, AR, and KROF in Abbeville, LA, usually pop up later. I've also briefly heard an UNID station playing regional Mexican music. XEHK is the last station to hang on until skywave is gone and the images of the locals take over.

DX/RETRO: I heard CFAC once briefly on a winter night back in 2016. Also, I used to hear XEK in Nuevo Laredo some mornings, but it's not showing up now. Its stream doesn't match the UNID Spanish-language station I've been hearing.

 

[Street Novelist]

KNEW Bloomberg 5 Kw Oakland

 

[Joey1986]

Los Angeles, CA:

Days: Nothing
Nights: KKNT Phoenix, AZ

 

[formula72]

San Jose, California:

Day::: KNEW / Bloomberg radio, strong local signal.

Nights:::KNEW is the most dominant, but can be nulled out.
Surprisingly CFAC comes in on the null, and fights with KLAD every so often. That's an impressive signal coming out of Calgary, considering most of there 50KW signal is going up into the Yukon/ Northern Alberta region.