AM Frequency of the week: 1460:

[cyberdad]

Crystal Lake, IL (40 miles northwest of downtown Chicago).....

Days: A very weak WJTI, an from West Allis, WI (Milwaukee Suburb). 1kw aimed south, so the pattern towards me is less than ideal, but still somewhat favorable.

Nights: WJTI drops to 230 watts and aims the signal north. The result is their sgnal vanishes. That makes way for KXNO (Des Moines), which owns the channel. The signal is fair to good, benefitting that there's not much around here to block it. "intrusions" are fairly rare. WKAM (Goshen, IN) somestims butts in, but I haven't heard them for a while. WBNS (Columbus, OH) also has been known to surface.

Retro: The Des Moines 1460, as KSO, used to be a nighttime go-to for me when I was in high school. They were top 40 fulltime , but then by 1965 they started flipping formats, but kept Dic Youngs top 40 show going from 7pm until midnight signoff. With the channel even less crowded than now, the signal was very listenable, and I liked the format, Every other record was an oldie. By 1966, KSO (Kay-so) threw in the towel on top 40 and "The Youngster" went on to a nearly 40-year run on KIOA....taking his personal oldies collection to Saturday nights.

 

[radioman148]

In the near north Chicago suburbs daytime I get a very weak WJTI. Near sunset sometimes WKAM rises to the surface. At night it's KNXO most of the time.

Retro: Like cyberdad, I used to listen to KSO from Des Moines, Ia at night and their Top 40 in the early-mid 60s. It would fade sometimes, but was usually there and sometimes quite strong.

 

[CADXER]

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

Daytime: weak WJTI with their Spanish language programming
Nightime: usually KXNO, WBNS

DX/RETRO: also heard WKAM (Goshen, IN), WBRN (Big Rapids, MI), WCMB (Harrisburg, PA), WROY (Carmi, IL), WPRW (Manasas, VA).

As for WJTI until 2009 they were licensed to Racine, Wisconsin and using various calls (WWEG,WBZN,WHBT,WRKR,WBJX). In 2009 they changed their city of license to West Ellis, Wisconsin. At the same time they moved their transmitter from Racine, Wisconsin to Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

I heard WBRN strong and alone a few Nights around Sunset in the NW Chicago suburbs. It was after they went to 5 kW Day and 2.5 kW Night, DA-N. I also heard it in SE Michigan on occasion, and in Northern Michigan Days with a circa 25 uV/m ground wave with a longwire and preamp. Could be heard a little on the Panasonic barefoot. It was interesting how easily it could be heard far and wide Nights, as it always had very limited ground wave service as a 1 kW Daytimer, at least on most radios with no external antenna.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

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

Daytime: weak WJTI with their Spanish language programming
Nightime: usually KXNO, WBNS

DX/RETRO: also heard WKAM (Goshen, IN), WBRN (Big Rapids, MI), WCMB (Harrisburg, PA), WROY (Carmi, IL), WPRW (Manasas, VA).

As for WJTI until 2009 they were licensed to Racine, Wisconsin and using various calls (WWEG,WBZN,WHBT,WRKR,WBJX). In 2009 the y changed their city of license to West Ellis, Wisconsin. At the same time they moved their transmitter from Racine, Wisconsin to Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin.

Didn't 1460 in Racine move to one of those circa 500 foot twin towers along I-94 a few miles North of Sylvania for a while? When I first saw them, I thought was an AM array. But it was used for a Racine FM (possibly WRKR at one time before they moved closer to Milwaukee) and a Milwaukee UHF TV outlier for a time? Like Channel 52?

 

[MichaelTheZ]

Chicago by the Lakeshore.

Daytime: I can hear WKAM in Goshen (NW Indiana), especially if I'm right on the lakeshore. I have WBRN in Big Rapids, MI listed too, and I believe that was a daytime catch.

Critical Hours: A Spanish language station which is probably WKAM, but it might be WJTI Milwaukee too (or both). I don't know any Spanish and they have the same format so I am not too sure what I'm hearing.

Nighttime: When something rises to the top it is usually KXNO Des Moines. At least once I got an ID for WBNS in Columbus, Ohio.

 

[cyberdad]

Didn't 1460 in Racine move to one of those circa 500 foot twin towers along I-94 a few miles North of Sylvania for a while? When I first saw them, I thought was an AM array. But it was used for a Racine FM (possibly WRKR at one time before they moved closer to Milwaukee) and a Milwaukee UHF TV outlier for a time? Like Channel 52?

R-L shows the WJTI transmitter site as being about a mile south of the (infamous) Zoo Interchange, which is the I-94/894 intrerchange. Junction of Lincoln Avenue and 894 to be exact. That's West Allis, and about five miles or so west of downtown Milwaukee. The satellite view is blurry, so I couldn't make out how many towers are on the site.

When the Racine 1460 was WRAC it was a 500-watt non-directional daytimer, and the signal was a little better at my location. Which isn't saying much. This was in the 60s and 70s. Still, I could sometimes here WIXN from Dixon, IL underneath.

I do seem to remember a connection between WRAC and WRKR, a class B FM on 100,7 licensed to Racine with 50kw. I believe the current incarnation of that signal was moved to Milwaukee quite a few years ago.

As I've posted previously, in 1976 or 77 the jocks at the station where I was working challenged the WRKR jocks to a softball game one summer Sunday. I remember having loads of fun, hitting a long double, and knocking back a few PBRs!

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

I seem to remember 1460 simulcasting 100.7 circa 1987. I thought the call letters were WHBT on 1460. They called it "Heartbeat". I remember visiting near enough to hear 1460 on PSSA, and playing "Alone" by Heart, right before they went off. That doesn't show as being the call letters on 1460. I dont remember there being a sign off cart, it just went off. I think Pat Lopeman/Pat Martin was the manager then.

 

[gr8oldies]

East Tennessee: One of those "not much of anything there" frequencies with nothing predominant during the day. WBNS, Coumbus OH has been know to smeak in around sunset. Pretty much a hodge-podge at night.

Retro/other: Dayton, Ohio, a very weak signal from WBNS, and a mix at night. I've heard the North Vernon IN station surface from there. (As WOCH, it was the first station I ever interviewed at.

 

[tvnut]

From the SW suburbs of Chicago, when anything rises to the top at night, it's KXNO Des Moines, and while I haven't spent a lot of time on 1460, at night it's the usual mosh pit of sound. The last time KXON broke through briefly was a few nights ago, and there was a mention of KSO, which confused me until I read comments in the old 1460 thread, which have been reinforced here. Maybe it was a promo about their history.

I have not parked here in daytime. Maybe WJTI will fall into my lap. The edge of their 0.1 mv pattern is just north of me, but magic can happen.

 

[radioman148]

R-L shows the WJTI transmitter site as being about a mile south of the (infamous) Zoo Interchange, which is the I-94/894 intrerchange. Junction of Lincoln Avenue and 894 to be exact. That's West Allis, and about five miles or so west of downtown Milwaukee. The satellite view is blurry, so I couldn't make out how many towers are on the site.

When the Racine 1460 was WRAC it was a 500-watt non-directional daytimer, and the signal was a little better at my location. Which isn't saying much. This was in the 60s and 70s. Still, I could sometimes here WIXN from Dixon, IL underneath.

I do seem to remember a connection between WRAC and WRKR, a class B FM on 100,7 licensed to Racine with 50kw. I believe the current incarnation of that signal was moved to Milwaukee quite a few years ago.

As I've posted previously, in 1976 or 77 the jocks at the station where I was working challenged the WRKR jocks to a softball game one summer Sunday. I remember having loads of fun, hitting a long double, and knocking back a few PBRs!

Was "Big" Tomm Rivers at WRKR then? I remember him at WRKR around 77.

 

[cyberdad]

I have not parked here in daytime. Maybe WJTI will fall into my lap. The edge of their 0.1 mv pattern is just north of me, but magic can happen.

Two things in your favor. The day pattern....which reminds me of an eggplant shape. Narrow lobe to the north wider lobe to the south. Second thing is very good ground conductivity near the Lake Michigan shore. Spat some point the magic could happen.

 

[cyberdad]

Was "Big" Tomm Rivers at WRKR then? I remember him at WRKR around 77.

Rings a bell, but I'm not sure. After our softball game, we did hang with the WRKR jocks. Good group. Good station. But after 43 years I don't remember too many specifics. Other than my long double.....and the '77 Aspen I drove to the event thanks to a trade I worked with a local Dodge dealer! It was ORANGE.

 

[WahooWah]

West Central Georgia:

Day: WHTY Phenix City AL local 4000/140 Black Information Network

Night: A mess, but occasionally catch WEWO from Laurinburg NC 5000 Gospel (identifies as WIDU Fayetteville NC which is owned by the same company but is on 1600 khz)

 

[radioman148]

Rings a bell, but I'm not sure. After our softball game, we did hang with the WRKR jocks. Good group. Good station. But after 43 years I don't remember too many specifics. Other than my long double.....and the '77 Aspen I drove to the event thanks to a trade I worked with a local Dodge dealer! It was ORANGE.

Congrats on the double!

 

[cyberdad]

Congrats on the double!

Thanks. I'm more proud of a 55-foot putt a sank two years ago in Pensacola after fifteen years of not being on a golf course! That felt almost as good as catching all four Chicago "1-A clears" one night on the Arctic SDR.

 

[radioman148]

Thanks. I'm more proud of a 55-foot putt a sank two years ago in Pensacola after fifteen years of not being on a golf course! That felt almost as good as catching all four Chicago "1-A clears" one night on the Arctic SDR.

Excellent work

 

[schmave]

From Reynoldsburg, Ohio, it's all WBNS all the time from about six miles to my west. But even this close, once they change to their night pattern that goes north and south and misses a decent portion of the Columbus metro, there's some faint yet noticeable garble even this close. Ten miles east of me, it's gone.
WBNS was the flagship of Ohio State football and men's basketball for many years, yet they had to add an FM simulcast on 97.1 because 1460's night signal missed much of the metro and couldn't even be heard clearly on campus. The Fan format moved to 97.1 in 2009, making the FM the OSU flagship, and 1460 has been the forgotten AM partner ever since.

 

[tvnut]

Thanks. I'm more proud of a 55-foot putt a sank two years ago in Pensacola after fifteen years of not being on a golf course! That felt almost as good as catching all four Chicago "1-A clears" one night on the Arctic SDR.

Good to see you have your priorities straight!

 

[tvnut]

From the SW suburbs of Chicago, when anything rises to the top at night, it's KXNO Des Moines, and while I haven't spent a lot of time on 1460, at night it's the usual mosh pit of sound. The last time KXON broke through briefly was a few nights ago, and there was a mention of KSO, which confused me until I read comments in the old 1460 thread, which have been reinforced here. Maybe it was a promo about their history.

I have not parked here in daytime. Maybe WJTI will fall into my lap. The edge of their 0.1 mv pattern is just north of me, but magic can happen.

Tuned in 1460 at sunset this evening (10/7) and had two Spanish-speaking stations mixing, plus more noise underneath. I wonder if one is WJTI and the other is WKJR Rantoul, IL, with 500 watts daytime. Trying to match with the streams from each website didn't help this time. Tomorrow is another day.