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AM Frequency of the Week: 1070

cyberdad

cyberdad

Far northwest Chicago suburbs....

What's happening with 1070 has been a continuing topic here of late, so I'll skip rehashing all of that and cut to the bottom line....ar least as of today.

Days: A fair-weak WTSO from Madison, WI. 10kw with a pattern mostly aimed north. Distance is 77 miles. I used to occasionally hear Indianapolis underneath at times.

Nights: Actually something of a mess, with WTSO at 5kw with a tighter pattern most likely to rise to the top. CHOK, KHMO, and the Sans Souci, South Carolina....in that order...sometimes break through. Indy used to be a part of this group befpre they went dark.

Sunrise/Sunset: WFLI and WDIA on rare occasions. I sometimes hear these two battling it out at night when I'm on the Gulf Coast.

Retro/Wanted: KNX. I've heard it on an occasional basis "back in the day", but not for a very long time. I humg out on 1070 for a good 70 minutes before dawn a couple of mornings ago. No trace of it. At least not in identifiable form.
 
In the near north Chicago suburbs: Days WTSO fair/weak. At night WTSO still in there, but at various times I hear CHOK, KHMO, KFTI, (usually when trying for KNX). Also heard WDIA and WAPI. Indianapolis was usually a critical hours catch.
I used to be able to hear KNX fairly often, especially in the fall, but I haven't heard it in years.
 
Yay, FOTW is here! From Cheyenne, WY:
Daytime: Nothing
Nighttime: Generally KNX Los Angeles, and can be strong at times. One hole I'm trying to close this winter is KFTI Wichita.
 
Chicago by the Lakeshore:

Not much during the daytime. Occasionally I get a whiff of WTSO on the road in the right places, but mainly it's quiet. At night, there are several competing stations. WFNI in Indianapolis was the most likely when it was still around. Nowadays WCSZ in Sans Souci, SC has been the most prominent, but at various times I've also heard CHOK, KHMO, and again WTSO. As for KNX, I haven't heard it, and unless I can force myself to get up at 4-5 AM I'm not really expecting to. But it would be nice. :)
 
Indeed, a lot words on this frequency with the demise of WFNI. But....
East Tennessee: A weak WFLI, Chattanooga. Our crappy ground conductivity isn't all that favorable. In Sevierville, that's covered by an image of WSEV-930.
Night: Currently mostly WCSZ, San Souci with some CHOK and a couple of others.

Retro/other: WFNI was a a constant nightime presence with a night pattern aimed right at us. During winter months it often was heard in the early afternoon. WFLI (Chattanooga) isn't generally there at night. I've heard WFLI just before sunset on SDRs in Farmington MI and Edinburgh IN (since the departure of WFNI). I've also heard it on SDRs in Beaufort SC and Key West.
I've found the departure of WFNI less than exciting on the Edinburg SDR, but I caught a clear WTSO, Madison the other morning.
I've mentioned my experience in Lafayette IN with a strong signal days but very little at night, and CHOK dominating so I won't rehash.
 
Yuma Arizona: KNX faintly in the day. KNX robust at night. (back when they had AM HD on I would occasionally get a HD lock at night) - I'm 219 straight-line miles from their Torrance tower.
 
Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: WTSO Madison, WI weak but there
Nightime: lately it's been mostly WCSZ San Souci. WTSO and CHOK also possible.

DX/RETRO: KNX is still being heard in the Midwest by DXers. I have not heard them lately, but I don't really try either. Others heard include KFDI (Wichita, KS), KHMO (Hannibal, MO), WDIA (Memphis, TN), WAPI (Birmingham, AL), WNCT (Greenville, NC), WHYZ (Greenville, SC). My best DX on this frequency without a doubt is CBA (Moncton, New Brunswick) and the Colombian HJAG from Barranquilla.
 
We should note that 1070 is a clear channel frequency for two stations that are/were 50,000 watts non-directional, KNX Los Angeles and CBA Moncton. Nearly all Class I-B stations were directional to protect the other Class I-B station(s) on their frequency. But not KNX or CBA. They were so far apart that neither was directional.

But since they were I-Bs, not I-As, they had to deal with several strong 1070 stations in the middle of the country, as CADXER tells us above, Wichita, Memphis, Indianapolis and Greenville NC. Those stations would not likely be on a Class I-A frequency, at least not with significant nighttime power.

I used to hear CBA Moncton fairly frequently in the Northeast, until it was moved to FM in 2008. Funny that 1070 has two significant ghost stations, CBA Moncton and WFNI Indianapolis.
 
From the southwest suburbs of Chicago:

Day: nothing unless I want to deal with extreme bleedover. I'm too close to WNWI 1080 Oak Lawn (5kW day, 2.6 kW night) for any reasonable reception. But when WNWI was still in Valparaiso (and 250 watts days), WIBC was a regular visitor with my best radio, or in the car away from power lines. This came in handy in May to listen to Indy 500 qualifying all day long on weekends. WTSO Madison was only a rumor. Today, with the WNWI hash, there's barely a hint of WTSO.

Night: KNX Los Angeles on occasion (though not for years), CHOK Sarnia, Ont., WAPI Birmingham (with Eli Gold calling Bulls hockey in the WHA days), WTSO Madison, KFDI Wichita, WDIA Memphis, WHYZ Greenville, S.C. and finally, on 12/5/2018 overnight, KHMO Hannibal, Mo.

Never got a sniff of CBA.
 
Gregg. said:
We should note that 1070 is a clear channel frequency for two stations that are/were 50,000 watts non-directional, KNX Los Angeles and CBA Moncton. Nearly all Class I-B stations were directional to protect the other Class I-B station(s) on their frequency. But not KNX or CBA. They were so far apart that neither was directional.

But since they were I-Bs, not I-As, they had to deal with several strong 1070 stations in the middle of the country, as CADXER tells us above, Wichita, Memphis, Indianapolis and Greenville NC. Those stations would not likely be on a Class I-A frequency, at least not with significant nighttime power.

I used to hear CBA Moncton fairly frequently in the Northeast, until it was moved to FM in 2008. Funny that 1070 has two significant ghost stations, CBA Moncton and WFNI Indianapolis.
Click to expand...
You would think that with the demise of CBA and WFNI, the prospects of picking up KNX east of the Mississippi would have greatly increased. That, unfortunately, has not been the case and I suspect it’s because the KNX signal is not as potent as it used to be.

From Gilbert, Arizona (suburb southeast of Phoenix): Days, hash and side channel splatter from local KDUS AM 1060 broadcasting from Guadalupe, Arizona. Nights, some side channel interference from KDUS, but KNX is almost always on top with occasional fading. When KNX ran HD, their IBOC would wreck havoc with the reception of KDUS at night and in the morning, even if you were a mere few miles east of their transmitter. Nowadays, KDUS is able to get out better at night thanks to no more IBOC from KNX.

From my secondary location in Carlsbad, California: KNX day and night. Amongst the Los Angeles 50,000 watt clear channels, KNX is not as strong as KFI during the day or at night, but KFI’s transmitter in La Miranda off the 5 is slightly closer to me at only 65 miles away while KNX’s transmitter is 80 miles away in Torrance. Also, KFI’s lower dial position helps it get out more.
 
It's a numbers game the KNX signal is fighting. If the list I consulted is correct, there are 20 other stations in the U.S. in Canada running at least 1,000 watts at night. At least three, two in Canada, run 10 kW. WIBC/WFNI would have made it four. One other station on 1070 would make it more difficult to get KNX than a true clear channel, but still quite possible. Twenty makes it a I-A (or I-B with the ghost of CBA considered) graveyard.
 
tvnut said:
It's a numbers game the KNX signal is fighting. If the list I consulted is correct, there are 20 other stations in the U.S. in Canada running at least 1,000 watts at night. At least three, two in Canada, run 10 kW. WIBC/WFNI would have made it four. One other station on 1070 would make it more difficult to get KNX than a true clear channel, but still quite possible. Twenty makes it a I-A (or I-B with the ghost of CBA considered) graveyard.
Click to expand...
I count 15 US and 2 Canadian with 1 kW or more at Night.

 
tvnut said:
I was using mwlist.org - either way, a lot of RF to overcome.
Click to expand...
The FCC opened a can of worms by ruling that if you weren't running 24/7 if you could, you were not serving your Community of License completely, and subject to renewal challenges and even shared time. That was back circa 1980. In the old days, many of these signed off at 10 PM to 1 AM. That lessened interference. There's not many instances where running from 4:30 AM to 1:00 AM would not all but completely serve the needs of the community.
 
There's no way: WFNI Indianapolis is off the air?
asugeorge1 said:
the demise of CBA and WFNI,
Click to expand...
Also, I think that's the one owned by Emmis that's 50kw days, right?
 
San Jose, Ca

Days:: Nothing, but lots of static...

Nights:: Strong at times KNX Los Angeles, with your normal fade here and there.

As Mario has stated, I have heard CFAX fighting it out with KNX a few times in the past, but whatever the issue was, has been resolved.
 
At my house in west Houston, it's local KNTH 24/7. Their night pattern is directional right at me and I've never ID'd anything else on 1070 from here. However, if I drive 5-10 miles due west, their nighttime signal is weak and mixed up with KOPY, KFDI, and occasionally KNX.
 
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