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AM Frequency of the Week: 670

radioman148 said:
In the near north Chicago suburbs it's all WSCR day and night. Their ground wave signal is excellent as others have pointed out. It's listenable in St Louis during the day and just east of the Twin Cities. At night it's another story. If you're anywhere in the southeast Cuba gives it a very rough time. I spent a few days in eastern Ohio a few years ago and at night there Cuba sometimes interfered.

Retro/other: Back in the early 60s then WMAQ could be heard at night all over the US and Canada. If I remember correctly 670 was the first of the Chicago clears to be broken down when KBOI moved over in the mid 60s. Now if you're on the west coast there are plenty of stations on 670 in Las Vegas, Simi Valley, and Idaho. Maybe more.
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Here in Central Ohio Cuba has interfered with WSCR for decades. It's not nearly as bad as it used to be. I can remember many nights in the 90s when Cuba was so strong here that then-WMAQ was nowhere to be found no matter how you turned your radio. As close as northern and northwest Ohio, it was a different story.
It was mentioned earlier that WSCR can be heard faintly around Columbus and that is indeed the case. I've heard it 30 miles east of town out around Buckeye Lake, but only on really cold winter days. That's the farthest I've heard their groundwave.
 
schmave said:
Here in Central Ohio Cuba has interfered with WSCR for decades. It's not nearly as bad as it used to be. I can remember many nights in the 90s when Cuba was so strong here that then-WMAQ was nowhere to be found no matter how you turned your radio. As close as northern and northwest Ohio, it was a different story.
It was mentioned earlier that WSCR can be heard faintly around Columbus and that is indeed the case. I've heard it 30 miles east of town out around Buckeye Lake, but only on really cold winter days. That's the farthest I've heard their groundwave.
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Years ago when I used to drive from Illinois to the east coast I could hear WMAQ's groundwave to the outskirts of Cleveland.
 
From NW San Antonio:

Day: Just heavy splatter from 50 kW local 680 KKYX, which is 14 miles SW of me.

Sunset: I can get a slight partial null of KKYX by aiming N-NW/S-SE. There I can hear a weak WSCR and a slightly stronger R. Rebelde. Off-tuning and a narrow bandwidth filter help a bit.

Night: KKYX drops to 10 kW and the splatter is reduced somewhat. WSCR has a fairly steady signal amongst the noise. Aiming NW/SE, R. Rebelde dominates. As I mentioned in the "latest DX" thread, R. Progreso is sometimes heard underneath and can come to the fore briefly when propagation is good. Also, KLTT in Commerce City, CO, mixes in occasionally.

Sunrise: To the NW, it's KLTT with a slightly more steady signal under the splatter. To the NE, I can hear a weak KHGZ amidst even more splatter.

DX/RETRO: I heard WWFE in Miami one night back in August 2019 when it was most likely on day power.
 
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I grew up only a few miles from WMAQ's transmitter. They used to have a Monday morning silent period until about 1973. I heard the Cuban frequently, and also received Caracas, Venezuela, a few times. I remember trying for KBOI many times but never hearing them.
More recently I've heard WSCR from eastern New Mexico and even central Wyoming. This was six or seven years ago.
 
From Far NW WA state-

Days- Sometimes KBOI, especially fall winter. Can mix with KBRD Lacey WA 250W coming straight up Puget Sound, which I find pretty remarkable for that low power, but it is a very low frequency and a great big tower. Can get buried by 690 CBU Vancouver hash.

Nights-
KBOI like a local. Not shocking since the signal is pointed pretty much all this way.
 
Koolmotor said:
I grew up only a few miles from WMAQ's transmitter. They used to have a Monday morning silent period until about 1973. I heard the Cuban frequently, and also received Caracas, Venezuela, a few times. I remember trying for KBOI many times but never hearing them.
More recently I've heard WSCR from eastern New Mexico and even central Wyoming. This was six or seven years ago.
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The Caracas, Venezuela 670, R. Rumbos, has been on my wanted list for decades. I used to hear them all the time on 31 meters shortwave. They had a unique news sounder (between stories) and a good mix of tropical music.
 
cyberdad said:
The Caracas, Venezuela 670, R. Rumbos, has been on my wanted list for decades. I used to hear them all the time on 31 meters shortwave. They had a unique news sounder (between stories) and a good mix of tropical music.
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9660 if I remember right (which I may not). "Noti' Rumbos!
 
cyberdad said:
The Caracas, Venezuela 670, R. Rumbos, has been on my wanted list for decades. I used to hear them all the time on 31 meters shortwave. They had a unique news sounder (between stories) and a good mix of tropical music.
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I never got it on 670, but not for lack of trying with WMAQ off.
 
Days:::Nothing but major splatter from KNBR.

Nights::: KBOI out of the great state of Idaho. Waving a big hand to all you fine folks, up their in the north west.
 
Just west of Phoenix I usually get KLTT in the car or pickup in the pre-dawn hours. If I’m outside with a portable in the evening (20:00 MST or later) I get KMZQ out of Vegas more clearly, but turning 90 degrees I can hear KLTT with heavy splatter from KTNN. I’ll have to see whether the Superadio can dodge the splatter any better.
 
bulwnkl said:
Just west of Phoenix I usually get KLTT in the car or pickup in the pre-dawn hours. If I’m outside with a portable in the evening (20:00 MST or later) I get KMZQ out of Vegas more clearly, but turning 90 degrees I can hear KLTT with heavy splatter from KTNN. I’ll have to see whether the Superadio can dodge the splatter any better.
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Las Vegas has to be an awful place to try and DX the Chicago clear channels. 720 WGN is occupied by a local, KDWN. 670 WSCR the Score is also occupied by a local, KMZQ. 890 WLS is occupied by semi-local KDXY from nearby St George, Utah and 780 WBBM is occupied by in-state station KKOH from Reno. That is one tough place to DX.

At least in Phoenix, you have no local competition for DXing the Chicago clears. You can null KDWN from Vegas and their newly weakened night-time signal has helped me recently snag WGN fairly regularly. Same with nulling KKOH for WBBM. WLS is doable since you can null KDXY, but WLS is the “weaker” of the Chicago clears and has always been tough for me in the Phoenix area.
 
I've wondered several times how different the DX scene must be even a short distance east of Vegas given that at least their local 670 and 720 are directional away from Chicago, as well as 840. I've only been to Vegas once and had no chance to get out of town during that trip. Picking up distant stations on the Strip wasn't as tough as I expected.
 
My dad said he used to be able to hear Chicago occasionally on their family radio up in very rural eastern Washington (or possibly earlier, in extraordinarily rural eastern Idaho). I could never pull in any Chicago stations there in my time. Perhaps the Twin Coil antenna I have ordered will change that for me.
 
bulwnkl said:
My dad said he used to be able to hear Chicago occasionally on their family radio up in very rural eastern Washington (or possibly earlier, in extraordinarily rural eastern Idaho). I could never pull in any Chicago stations there in my time. Perhaps the Twin Coil antenna I have ordered will change that for me.
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I believe crainbebo has heard a few Chicago stations in the state of Washington.
 
radioman148 said:
I believe crainbebo has heard a few Chicago stations in the state of Washington.
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Yes, I’m sure that’s so. I believe he uses a large remote loop through a software-defined radio, but perhaps he has caught them on a portable, too. We never had anything like that when I was young, nevermind when Dad was. So for me and my portable or car, to catch Chicago would be a ‘big deal.’ Crainbebo’s experience gives me hope I can do it.
 
bulwnkl said:
Yes, I’m sure that’s so. I believe he uses a large remote loop through a software-defined radio, but perhaps he has caught them on a portable, too. We never had anything like that when I was young, nevermind when Dad was. So for me and my portable or car, to catch Chicago would be a ‘big deal.’ Crainbebo’s experience gives me hope I can do it.
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I think you can get WGN. KDWN is weaker than it used to be. I hear WGN often on the Kaneohe, Hawaii receiver. Keep trying you'll get it.
 
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