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Texas Radio on the AM

G

grantchester

Texas has several 50k AM's, some directional, a couple not. Can you hear them? How far away? How well do they come in? I'd especially like to hear from the east and west coast, and Canada. Can you hear 820 or 1200?
 
Normal nighttime captures for me in PHX:

WBAP 820 Fort Worth
KRLD 1080 Dallas
WOAI 1200 San Antonio

PHX-DFW = 868 st. mi.
PHX-SAT = 843 st. mi.
 
I would say WBAP and WOAI are your best bets no matter where you are. I may be wrong but I believe those are Texas' only two non-directional 50K AMs. Now here in Columbus, Ohio I can't hear WBAP because the local 820 throws all its night power away from Dallas and directly at me on the east side. WOAI is usually pretty weak but listenable.
KRLD throws a gentle null toward co-channel WTIC in Hartford, Connecticut but I've read on here that KRLD is listenable into Kentucky. I'm no engineer but looking at the FCC database, my guess at KRLD's ERP in its null is 15,000-20,000 watts.
The day and night directional signals of KTRH from Houston have been well-documented in other threads on this site. It's directional in the daytime to protect co-channels in Texarkana and Tulsa (among other places?) and VERY directional at night to protect those stations and Canada. Your best places to hear KTRH at night are in the southern half of Texas and along the Gulf Coast over to about Tallahassee.
I believe those are all of Texas 50K AMs. One that used to qualify by proximity was XEROK (800) from Ciudad Juarez/El Paso, the old rocker that ran 150K years and years ago but is now all-Spanish language. If memory serves they've had power-related difficulties in recent years and weren't running 50K for a long time. Anyone know if that's changed?

> Normal nighttime captures for me in PHX:
>
> WBAP 820 Fort Worth
> KRLD 1080 Dallas
> WOAI 1200 San Antonio
>
> PHX-DFW = 868 st. mi.
> PHX-SAT = 843 st. mi.
>
Texas has several 50k AM's, some directional, a couple not. Can you hear them? How far away? How well do they come in? I'd especially like to hear from the east and west coast, and Canada. Can you hear 820 or 1200?
 
> Texas has several 50k AM's, some directional, a couple not.
> Can you hear them? How far away? How well do they come in?
> I'd especially like to hear from the east and west coast,
> and Canada. Can you hear 820 or 1200?
>

I remember one night in New Jersey I was scanning the x-band frequencies, and came across a station (I think it was on 1620), and after looking through the list of stations on that frequency, I convinced myself that it was probably a Texas station, but the signal faded out before I could get an ident. 820 Khz would be a problem here because of WNYC, but with a good directional antenna, who knows.
 
When I lived on the East Coast of Florida, 820 WBAP and 1200 WOAI were regular and easy catches.
 
Both 820 WBAP & 1200 WOAI are regulars here in Australia.

WOAI is a word perfect signal in Cairns QLD (clear as!!). KTRH 740 is also a clear signal - near word perfect.

I've heard WBAP a couple of times from here in Bombala NSW (200km south of Canberra ACT).

dxer2_2000
Kenwood R-5000
300m long wire
 
> Both 820 WBAP & 1200 WOAI are regulars here in Australia.
>
> WOAI is a word perfect signal in Cairns QLD (clear as!!).
> KTRH 740 is also a clear signal - near word perfect.
>
> I've heard WBAP a couple of times from here in Bombala NSW
> (200km south of Canberra ACT).
>
> dxer2_2000
> Kenwood R-5000
> 300m long wire
>

There must be a skip zone including southern California. Here in El Cajon, CA (USA) it's quite rare to hear WBAP or WOAI on a walkman even with a select-a-tenna, although I have occasionally logged them. 740 is owned by KCBS, but KRLD reception has also occasionally happened.
 
Actually, other Texans I've heard from here in Oz:

1290 KRGE Westlaco
1400 KVRP Stamford
1190 KOOO Dallas/Ft Worth
1700 KTBK
1700 KVNS


dxer2_2000
 
Surprisingly, 1080 doesn't come in well, or at all sometimes, here in central Texas, 150 miles and just 2+ hours south, north of Austin.
It's odd because that station use to be very strong all over the southwest.

Screenshot 2022-01-01 111540-.png
 
Dondd said:
Surprisingly, 1080 doesn't come in well, or at all sometimes, here in central Texas, 150 miles and just 2+ hours south, north of Austin.
It's odd because that station use to be very strong all over the southwest.

View attachment 2463
Click to expand...

I've heard KRLD up here in Alaska

By the way, @Dondd way to dredge up several 14 year old posts
 
WBAP and WOAI are the two most frequent Texans here northwest of Chicago. KRLD used to be weak, but audible more often than not. They've become rare since a fulltime 1080 with a pattern favorable to me signed on in the southwest suburbs.
 
cyberdad said:
WBAP and WOAI are the two most frequent Texans here northwest of Chicago. KRLD used to be weak, but audible more often than not. They've become rare since a fulltime 1080 with a pattern favorable to me signed on in the southwest suburbs.
Click to expand...
Same problem here. Back in the day I used to get WTIC and KRLD alternating with KRLD coming through more often. When I first heard WBAP way back they used to share the frequency with WFAA.
 
I've logged WOAI 1200, long ago when it was a clearer channel, and more recently when the BC Canada Punjabi station is weak; and I've logged WBAP 820 long ago when it was a clearer channel, and during rare silent periods when the local religious station is quiet. I got KSVE El Paso (on 1650) once when it was ESPN Deportes, and KVNS Brownsville (on 1700) when it was playing Classic Hits, both in the early 2010's.

One problem with hearing Texas here in in the Western PNW is that the signals have to traverse both major mountain ranges, and the band is more crowded now as well. But WOAI and WBAP look like the standouts.

PS, I really have no problem with the 14 year old threads. It's okay seeing what was being talked about in 2014. The MW band was jumping more back then anyway.
 
boombox4 said:
I've logged WOAI 1200, long ago when it was a clearer channel, and more recently when the BC Canada Punjabi station is weak; and I've logged WBAP 820 long ago when it was a clearer channel, and during rare silent periods when the local religious station is quiet. I got KSVE El Paso (on 1650) once when it was ESPN Deportes, and KVNS Brownsville (on 1700) when it was playing Classic Hits, both in the early 2010's.

One problem with hearing Texas here in in the Western PNW is that the signals have to traverse both major mountain ranges, and the band is more crowded now as well. But WOAI and WBAP look like the standouts.

PS, I really have no problem with the 14 year old threads. It's okay seeing what was being talked about in 2014. The MW band was jumping more back then anyway.
Click to expand...
We also had lots more members.
 
boombox4 said:
I really have no problem with the 14 year old threads. It's okay seeing what was being talked about in 2014. The MW band was jumping more back then anyway.
Click to expand...
Thanks.
If I find a thread related to my interest, like this one or "AM Frequency of the week: 1670," will comment, no matter the post's age, as it's relevant (instead of starting a new thread).

Plus, I view this forum like a community chat. It's where DXers like us can discuss topics.
 
schmave said:
One that used to qualify by proximity was XEROK (800) from Ciudad Juarez/El Paso, the old rocker that ran 150K years and years ago but is now all-Spanish language. If memory serves they've had power-related difficulties in recent years and weren't running 50K for a long time. Anyone know if that's changed?
Click to expand...
They appear to be running 10 kw more or less on XEROK. Similarly, XERF in Cd. Acuña, across from Del Río, is running less than 50 kw despite the license still saying 100 kw.
 
gr8oldies said:
We also had lots more members.
Click to expand...
Not really. The board was "open access" back then and that is why there were so many superfluous posts.
 
WBAP is a nighttime regular here in Hawaii.

The signal is weak but listenable most of the time.


Speaking of Texas in Hawaii, there's a restaurant they advertise a lot on TV here lately called 'Tex 808 BBQ & Brews'.

The food looks SO good but it's over on Oahu.
 
gar hi said:
.Speaking of Texas in Hawaii, there's a restaurant they advertise a lot on TV here lately called 'Tex 808 BBQ & Brews'.
Click to expand...
Not to be confused with the Texas Embassy, a Mexican restaurant at Picadilly Circus in London. The guy who owns it also has a British pub in Dallas. I've been to both. The Dallas pub is the only one I've ever been to that serves burritos along with the fish & chips, shepherds pie, bangers, etc....

Back on topic, as posted previously, I snagged WBAP on the north shore of Oahu one Saturday night in February 1965. On a stock Delco radio in a 1962 Chevy Impala. The middle of the dial from the middle of the country was alive, with WWL and WLS also in,.
 
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