WBAP - Dallas / Ft. Worth

[stormy01]

With their day pattern on at night, I completely see how KGOW was heard in Cincinnati. It broadcasts from south/southwest of Houston near Rosharon and blasts most of its 50K north/northeast over the city. Let that signal travel at night in this direction and it easily makes it here.
The night site is in Katy, west of Houston.

KGOW was booming into Northern IL last night around 6 p.m. (their local sign-off time is 5:30 for December), so they were on with their day pattern a while after their local sign off time... WQEW New York - Radio Disney was coming in very well last night and giving KGOW quite some signal competition (kinda rare these days for WQEW to have a strong, steady signal with the usual jumble of signals on 1560)

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Re: WBAP / KGOW

KGOW was booming into Northern IL last night around 6 p.m. (their local sign-off time is 5:30 for December), so they were on with their day pattern a while after their local sign off time... WQEW New York - Radio Disney was coming in very well last night and giving KGOW quite some signal competition (kinda rare these days for WQEW to have a strong, steady signal with the usual jumble of signals on 1560)

MIght as well change the name, because it is no longer about WBAP. KGOW ran full daytime power at night right after hurricane Ike - it is possible they like that coverage and are sneaking daytime power on at night. Of course, the IBOC people will tell you there is no skywave listeners, so there is no motivation for KGOW to leave its daytime power on!

Their regular format is of no interest to me, but when I lived in Plano, their daytime coverage was interesting. It would either boom in almost like a local, or be completely absent. It is obviouly high enough in frequency you are getting that shortwave effect. I imagine that the Radio Mickey people in OKC have problems on occasion with it, because that much power and a little atmospherics should carry it to OKC almost as well.

Quite a difference 40 kHz makes - I have had no reception of KOKC day here, of course KYND is here in the day. But still --- you would think KOKC should bounce in once in a while. Same, too with KZMP, although they throw quite a null towards Houston - just to protect KGBC???? But they do. No trace of them in Houston, KGBC dominates the frequency.

X-band Houston is very interesting, especially 1680 up --- KJRO Monroe, LA is old school R&B, KVNS 1700 Brownsville is oldies - I wish ____ KKLF would shut down, because it interferes. But KVNS is so reliable at other times, it is almost like a local. And 1690 has a music station that comes through from Atlanta near sunset and early evening.

 

[stormy01]

Oh yes, WBAP is being received better sometimes than it has been in recent years - however in the N/NW suburbs of Chicagoland reception is not consistent for me in the evening (sometimes it's CHAM or the IBOC fuzz from WCCO/WGY) Early morning before sunrise it's alright - if one likes the Midnight Trucking Network followed by the WBAP Morning News. I long for the days when WAIT signed off with the "Try a little tenderness" song (Frank Sinatra) and then there was WBAP with Country Music in the clear all night long!

 

[schmave]

WBAP makes it in Ohio every night, loudly in some places. I live east of Columbus and unfortunately the WOSU tower is the same direction as WBAP from me, but I am far out enough that WBAP sometimes overrides WOSU.
Get on the back side of WOSU's pattern and it's all WBAP all the time.

 

[dave73]

In Gary Indiana, WBAP starting coming in over WCPT at local sunset. WCPT can stay on until WBAP's sunset. Once WCPT is able to broadcast at night, I know I won't hear the station, as the signal will mainly be aimed NE toward Chicago from the Joliet area. WOAI is also heard with no trouble on most nights. If the soil is wet, WRTO will bleed over WOAI. Since WRTO put up their new towers, I don't know if they're operating them on a part-time basis to test them out. I was surprised tonight that I was able to hear WRTO on my cheap Emerson radio. The radio isn't located in the best spot of my room, but I had no trouble with WRTO tonight. WRTO will push more of their nighttime signal into Gary, which will make it more difficult to get WOAI, once WRTO switches to their new site in Chicago's West Pullman neighborhood.

 

[jd]

I long for the days when WAIT signed off with the "Try a little tenderness" song (Frank Sinatra) and then there was WBAP with Country Music in the clear all night long!

I remember seeing some graffiti on a truck when I was in the Chicago area many years ago, back when, as you said, WBAP and the other clear channel stations were still really "clear." In the thick dust on the back of the truck someone had written, "Mike Hoyer plays country music on WHO Des Moines" and below that, "Bill Mack talks...on WBAP Fort Worth."

 

[bgrn198]

In Gary Indiana, WBAP starting coming in over WCPT at local sunset. WCPT can stay on until WBAP's sunset. Once WCPT is able to broadcast at night, I know I won't hear the station, as the signal will mainly be aimed NE toward Chicago from the Joliet area. WOAI is also heard with no trouble on most nights. If the soil is wet, WRTO will bleed over WOAI. Since WRTO put up their new towers, I don't know if they're operating them on a part-time basis to test them out. I was surprised tonight that I was able to hear WRTO on my cheap Emerson radio. The radio isn't located in the best spot of my room, but I had no trouble with WRTO tonight. WRTO will push more of their nighttime signal into Gary, which will make it more difficult to get WOAI, once WRTO switches to their new site in Chicago's West Pullman neighborhood.

I always wondered how far WOAI went at night of course here in Austin it comes in like a local station being only 82 miles away and all

 

[BRNout]

In Gary Indiana, WBAP starting coming in over WCPT at local sunset. WCPT can stay on until WBAP's sunset. Once WCPT is able to broadcast at night, I know I won't hear the station, as the signal will mainly be aimed NE toward Chicago from the Joliet area. WOAI is also heard with no trouble on most nights. If the soil is wet, WRTO will bleed over WOAI. Since WRTO put up their new towers, I don't know if they're operating them on a part-time basis to test them out. I was surprised tonight that I was able to hear WRTO on my cheap Emerson radio. The radio isn't located in the best spot of my room, but I had no trouble with WRTO tonight. WRTO will push more of their nighttime signal into Gary, which will make it more difficult to get WOAI, once WRTO switches to their new site in Chicago's West Pullman neighborhood.

I always wondered how far WOAI went at night of course here in Austin it comes in like a local station being only 82 miles away and all

Comes in okay for me in the north suburbs of Chicago at night. Have also heard it once or twice in Central America.

 

[bgrn198]

KRLD 1080 is pretty strong too and also 740 KTRH in Houston

 

[ddsparxx]

In Gary Indiana, WBAP starting coming in over WCPT at local sunset. WCPT can stay on until WBAP's sunset. Once WCPT is able to broadcast at night, I know I won't hear the station, as the signal will mainly be aimed NE toward Chicago from the Joliet area. WOAI is also heard with no trouble on most nights. If the soil is wet, WRTO will bleed over WOAI. Since WRTO put up their new towers, I don't know if they're operating them on a part-time basis to test them out. I was surprised tonight that I was able to hear WRTO on my cheap Emerson radio. The radio isn't located in the best spot of my room, but I had no trouble with WRTO tonight. WRTO will push more of their nighttime signal into Gary, which will make it more difficult to get WOAI, once WRTO switches to their new site in Chicago's West Pullman neighborhood.

I always wondered how far WOAI went at night of course here in Austin it comes in like a local station being only 82 miles away and all

I've heard WOAI coming in OK in Oregon a few years ago at night but hardly in VA.

 

[Icangelp]

I always wondered how far WOAI went at night of course here in Austin it comes in like a local station being only 82 miles away and all

It may just be me, but WOAI seldom delivers a consistant signal here in SW Ohio. In fact, it is one of the worst of the former clears. WBAP is much better, but the signal is not consistant.

 

[BRNout]

KRLD 1080 is pretty strong too and also 740 KTRH in Houston

You must live in Texas or Louisiana (or Mexico) then because KTRH isn't heard in very many places that are north of the Houston area. Not at night, at least.

 

[bgrn198]

Yeah i'm in Austin

 

[schmave]

KRLD 1080 is pretty strong too and also 740 KTRH in Houston

You must live in Texas or Louisiana (or Mexico) then because KTRH isn't heard in very many places that are north of the Houston area. Not at night, at least.

KTRH blasts into Austin, and even in College Station (NW of the array) has a solid night signal. By the time you get to Waco or Dallas, it's crap.
I agree that WOAI's signal is bad for a clear. It is cruddy here in Ohio where it used to be heard easily. Even in Austin it suffers from some interference, especially in the northern part of that metro even with its tower being northeast of SA. It is very unimpressive in Houston at night, at least in my experience from when I lived there.

 

[bgrn198]

WOAI comes in here crystal clear here in Austin i'm listening to it right now

 

[vibe]

The AM band was mostly quiet during the few times I listened in SW Fla (halfway bet. Sarasota and Ft. Myers. Normally one can listen to WBAP there with some fades but the signal was inconsistent at best due to a Spanish 820. It SEEMED the stations to the South were really dominant most of the time, more so than usual. On one good evening (round sunset) I managed to ID KTRH Hou which is pretty good for a Wave radio. Got a radio disney on 1600 over the Key West 1600 but that is another issue.
But generally I'm interested in the Spurs programming on 1200 WOAI which comes in more consitently.

 

[Dondd]

KTRH blasts into Austin, and even in College Station (NW of the array) has a solid night signal. By the time you get to Waco or Dallas, it's crap.
I agree that WOAI's signal is bad for a clear. It is cruddy here in Ohio where it used to be heard easily. Even in Austin it suffers from some interference, especially in the northern part of that metro even with its tower being northeast of SA. It is very unimpressive in Houston at night, at least in my experience from when I lived there.

Here, north of Austin near Georgetown, WOAI is strong while WBAP isn't so hot. 820 is there, but not as strong as one would think. KRLD is also weak, weaker than 820. This is with a Grundig Yachboy.

 

[schmave]

That might be the cancellation zone for both WBAP and KRLD.
Back when I wrote that, I was going off my experience of hearing a little crosstalk under WOAI in the northern part of Austin on a few of my visits. It didn't surprise me given the distance and frequency, but WOAI still was very listenable. When I was in central or south Austin and anywhere south, it was crystal clear. But it always surprised me how poorly that signal came in where I lived in Houston, both northwest of downtown and then in the League City area. I still barely hear it here in Ohio.

 

[Dondd]

KRLD is very weak during the day as well. 1080 is mostly static.
And was this afternoon when I checked it while driving on I35 north of Georgetown, TX, north of Austin. I wanted to see if it was the same in my car as on my portable radio.

This isn't to say 1080 is always weak. There are times at night I can understand the programming, as was the case last night. But it's not consistent.

WBAP came in okay, but not great. Still, a lot stronger than 1080, which is usually very weak days (and nights) here.

 

[SquonkHunter]

OK, a little blast from the past. I grew up in the DFW area and remember listening to WBAP's old Bill Mack overnight show in the '70s. One time, maybe around 1972-73 or so, he read out a postcard he had received from a US G.I. radio operator in Guam that had picked up WBAP's signal one day (and quite clear, too!). I make that at about 7200 miles.

On a related note, from what I remember from my DFW days, WBAP had a horrible "dead zone" at night in between the ground wave zone and the sky wave zone. It was like a donut-shaped area from about 50 mi. out to roughly 150 mi. It did vary considerably with seasons and weather conditions. I remember it always used to drive my Father nuts when we were coming back home from Central Texas late at night. He would eventually give up on WBAP and settle on WHO which came in great all the way home.