AM Frequency of the Week: 740

[WahooWah]

In west central Georgia, a weak WMSP Montgomery AL (10,000/233) can be heard with sports programming during the day.
At night, KRMG Tulsa dominates the frequency while KTRH Houston sweeps in for a few minutes every hour to say hello. CFZM Toronto is the weakest but the oldies music can be heard below the other talk stations from time to time.

 

[cyberdad]

In east-central Iowa: daytime, KMZN Oskaloosa, IA. Nighttime, usually CFZM is holding it down, usually with a strong signal. But I have heard KRMG Tulsa and KNFL Fargo, ND, on occasion in the mix with CFZM.

I've spent several nights in Amana (Holiday Inn on I-80 a few miles south of the colonies), KMZN (Then-KBOE) was typically on top of CBL/CFZM most nights.

 

[schmave]

On the aforementioned trip to Panama City, I heard sports on 740 in the daytime but I couldn't stick around long enough to see whether it was Orlando or Montgomery. I figured it was Orlando with the salt-water path. Night was only KTRH.

 

[cyberdad]

On the aforementioned trip to Panama City, I heard sports on 740 in the daytime but I couldn't stick around long enough to see whether it was Orlando or Montgomery. I figured it was Orlando with the salt-water path. Night was only KTRH.

At our beach location near Pensacola, about 125 miles east of Panama City, it's usually all Montgomery with a weak signal. I've heard KTRH undernearth a couple of times, but I suspect daytime skywave instead of salt water path. But who knows, KCTA with a barely audible signal on 1030 from Corpus Christi is a daytime regular, so I chalk that up to salt water.

 

[Joylovepulse967]

Anyone listening to wnyh 740 in Long Island

 

[jim-satx]

From NW San Antonio:

Day/Sunset: A moderately strong signal from KTRH.

Night: KTRH is strong but subject to periodic skywave cancellation. If I aim N/S-ish, the signal is a bit weaker. To the NE/SW, I often hear XEQN in Torreón underneath or mixing in. To the NW/SE, I ocasionally hear very weak snatches of KCBS, KVOR in Colorado Springs, or XEKV in Villahermosa under KTHR.

Sunrise: KCBS is a lot stronger under KTRH.

DX/Retro: I've heard KRMG in Tulsa once; it was underneath KTRH during good SSS conditions a couple of years ago.

 

[MarioMania]

From NW San Antonio:

Day/Sunset: A moderately strong signal from KTRH.

Night: KTRH is strong but subject to periodic skywave cancellation. If I aim N/S-ish, the signal is a bit weaker. To the NE/SW, I often hear XEQN in Torreón underneath or mixing in. To the NW/SE, I ocasionally hear very weak snatches of KCBS, KVOR in Colorado Springs, or XEKV in Villahermosa under KTHR.

Sunrise: KCBS is a lot stronger under KTRH.

DX/Retro: I've heard KRMG in Tulsa once; it was underneath KTRH during good SSS conditions a couple of years ago.

That's Cool you got KCBS

I'm guessing that's the farthest KCBS Traveled at night

 

[boombox4]

I'm impressed that you caught CFTR in the Seattle area. Very good!

Thanks. It was freak conditions, I think, because it was the only night I've heard Toronto on MW (I've received the SW outlet on 6070?? Khz a few times in the past), and both CFZM and CFTR came in the same evening, both with IDs, and then soon afterwards they simply faded underneath the other stations on those frequencies. Never heard them since, either.

 

[radioman148]

Thanks. It was freak conditions, I think, because it was the only night I've heard Toronto on MW (I've received the SW outlet on 6070?? Khz a few times in the past), and both CFZM and CFTR came in the same evening, both with IDs, and then soon afterwards they simply faded underneath the other stations on those frequencies. Never heard them since, either.

With KNBR so dominant on the west coast at night hearing CFTR is a real good catch.

 

[cyberdad]

Thanks. It was freak conditions, I think, because it was the only night I've heard Toronto on MW (I've received the SW outlet on 6070?? Khz a few times in the past), and both CFZM and CFTR came in the same evening, both with IDs, and then soon afterwards they simply faded underneath the other stations on those frequencies. Never heard them since, either.

That's downright awesome! Especially CFTR. As usual, I agree with radioman's comments. CFTR isn't exactly easy duty here in the Chicago area.

 

[ente]

In South Mississippi:
Day: nothing
Night: KTRH, WMSP Montgomery, AL often interferes with KTRH, KRMG Tulsa and CFZM Toronto are very rare
KTRH has a very good day signal along the Louisiana coast west of Lafayette. Last time I visited Baton Rouge in January, I could not receive KTRH even in late afternoon.

 

[radioman148]

That's downright awesome! Especially CFTR. As usual, I agree with radioman's comments. CFTR isn't exactly easy duty here in the Chicago area.

That's why I was surprised. CFTR is not that easy in our area.

 

[boombox4]

With KNBR so dominant on the west coast at night hearing CFTR is a real good catch.

There are times that KNBR is very weak here. It didn't use to be that way. KNBR used to be a powerhouse in the 80s and 90s, to where it sounded semi-local, but the past few years they have weak periods here -- sometimes where it's almost in the mud (maybe once a month or so, but it happens). I never heard CJOB until about 4 years ago, and I've DXed since the 70s, and seriously since around 1982 when I learned to null stations on my boombox. So I chalk it up to freak reception.

 

[schmave]

At our beach location near Pensacola, about 125 miles east of Panama City, it's usually all Montgomery with a weak signal. I've heard KTRH undernearth a couple of times, but I suspect daytime skywave instead of salt water path. But who knows, KCTA with a barely audible signal on 1030 from Corpus Christi is a daytime regular, so I chalk that up to salt water.

I never heard KTRH daytime in Panama City, but I tried. There is a lot of land on a straight line from PCB to Houston so I wasn't expecting much. My visit was in July as well.
Whatever I was hearing on 740 in the daytime wasn't terribly strong but it was constant, and I don't remember any co-channel fighting. The only reason I'm unsure whether it was Orlando or Montgomery, other than that I didn't stick around long enough to hear, was because a salt-water path between there and Orlando would seem to make WYGM feasible. Wish there was an SDR in that area!

 

[cyberdad]

I never heard KTRH daytime in Panama City, but I tried. There is a lot of land on a straight line from PCB to Houston so I wasn't expecting much. My visit was in July as well.
Whatever I was hearing on 740 in the daytime wasn't terribly strong but it was constant, and I don't remember any co-channel fighting. The only reason I'm unsure whether it was Orlando or Montgomery, other than that I didn't stick around long enough to hear, was because a salt-water path between there and Orlando would seem to make WYGM feasible. Wish there was an SDR in that area!

I'm guessing Montgomery is what you were hearing. That's what's usually on the channel daytime at our beach location on the Florida-Alabama state line. Montgomery is also what I usually heard at our former beach location at Navarre Beach, FL,,,,about 30 miles east of Pensacola.

The only Orlando signal I hear during daytime at our current spot is WFLF on 540. I've tried repeatedly for WDBO (580) repeatedly but without any success.

 

[cyberdad]

That's why I was surprised. CFTR is not that easy in our area.

True. But CFTR could be much easier if they were on day pattern. The CFTR day signa gets out pretty well. I can usually hear it (barely) during daytime in Detroit, and that's a little over 200 miles. So if they were on day pattern for whatever reason, I could see where CFTR wouldn't be totally impossible in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[radioman148]

True. But CFTR could be much easier if they were on day pattern. The CFTR day signa gets out pretty well. I can usually hear it (barely) during daytime in Detroit, and that's a little over 200 miles. So if they were on day pattern for whatever reason, I could see where CFTR wouldn't be totally impossible in the Pacific Northwest.

That could be the reason.

 

[boombox4]

True. But CFTR could be much easier if they were on day pattern. The CFTR day signa gets out pretty well. I can usually hear it (barely) during daytime in Detroit, and that's a little over 200 miles. So if they were on day pattern for whatever reason, I could see where CFTR wouldn't be totally impossible in the Pacific Northwest.

Guys, I was looking through my logbook, and it wasn't CFTR after all! When I posted here, I was was going by memory, and memory is a faulty thing. From memory I confused 680 with 640.

It was CFMJ Toronto 640 that I heard the night I also logged CFZM, NOT CFTR. As we know, 640 out west is pretty spare -- most nights here it's a grainy KFI, alone on the frequency And obviously the night in question (January 15th, 2019, around 1 a.m. PST) conditions were open to the east. I think I was using my Select-A-Tenna, but with my Panasonic RF-B45. I used the loop to bring both stations up, because there were obviously other stations on the frequencies involved. The RF-B45 is a great radio alone but living where I do a loop is sometimes necessary to increase signals for IDs and the like.

So it was CFMJ 640 I heard that night, not CFTR! I still hold it up to freak DX conditions. There were several mentions of Toronto on 640 and a spot for an auto body shop in Toronto., along with talk.

It's rare enough for me to hear Chicago, much less Ontario. WJR comes in maybe 5-7 times a year, and KSTP comes in fairly frequently with readable signals, but even though the hole I live in has a large opening to the east, stations E of the Mississippi are rare unless the conditions are excellent.

My apologies for any confusion. It's not my way to make up DX catches, or exaggerate, and hopefully I didn't come across that way here. One thing I've learned is I need to have a logbook handy when noting things down on forums, otherwise these sorts of things can happen.

Egg on my face over this confusion, but that sometimes happens in DXing. Peace.

 

[ContinuousWave]

In South Mississippi:
Day: nothing
Night: KTRH, WMSP Montgomery, AL often interferes with KTRH, KRMG Tulsa and CFZM Toronto are very rare
KTRH has a very good day signal along the Louisiana coast west of Lafayette. Last time I visited Baton Rouge in January, I could not receive KTRH even in late afternoon.

KTRH's tower site is near Dayton TX and beams mostly SW towards downtown Houston. At night it gets even stronger SW as it pulls in the north pattern to protect OKC and CZFM. I've been on US90 north of the array looking at it and being right on the null, hear nothing...the night pattern does have a little lobe to the east which looks right at Beaumont. I've heard KTRH in New Orleans at night sometimes. Amazing that others have logged it out of state given it's pattern.

 

[schmave]

Wow! That's impressive to be in that null and get nothing. How far from the array were you?
That eastern lobe definitely is the one I heard in PCB. Given the strength there, like I said earlier I can't imagine that signal makes it much farther east given that it's pretty weak by the time it hits the panhandle.