• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

AM Frequency of the Week: 1240

Status
Not open for further replies.
cyberdad

cyberdad

Far northwest suburbs of Chicago:

Days: 1240 is WSBC, Chicago with a fair signal. Their stick is on the far west-northwest side, so the distance is only about 33 miles. That makes WSBC the strongest GY channel here. Which isn't saying much. Nulling WSBC used to typically produce WSDR from Sterling, IL. 87 miles to my southwest. That was beffore they reduced day power to 500 watts. Since then, WSDR has become more difficult.

Nights: For some reason, WTAX from Springfield, IL is most likely to rise to the top of the mess. But WTAX is still far from being a regular. KBIZ from Ottumwa Iowa occasionally turns up around sunrise. Recent catches also include a trio from Wisconsin with similar call letter (no known connection): WJMC, Rice Lake, WOMC, Rhinelander, and WOMT, Manitowoc. Finally....my new catch from just this past week. WATT Cadillac, MI. Distance 184 miles to my northeast.
 
From Pickerington, Ohio, a moderate to weak WHIZ from Zanesville, about 40 miles due east with 1,000 watts. Signal suffers here under slop from Columbus' WYTS on 1230 but it's still moderately listenable.
When WYTS ran IBOC in the early 2010s, that buzz could be heard under WHIZ to within about 15 miles of Zanesville.
Even at night, WHIZ covers Muskingum County pretty well. They added a translator on 102.3 within the past two years that goes about 15-20 miles out.
 
Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: WSBC with good signal from the northwest side of Chicago (stick on Milwaukee Avenue which is diplexed with WCPT AM 820). Not as strong as they used to be from their old transmitter site on Belmont Ave.

Nightime: WSBC, but they are nullable. Also they are not on the air 24 hours anymore, so there is a DX window. They sign off around midnight and resume operations at 6 am.

DX/RETRO: Just like 1230 kHz not much time spent DXing the graveyarders. Just don't have the patience. In the past during the triple sharing arrangement, the DX window on this frequency was when WSBC/WEDC/WCRW would sign off and there used to be few seconds before the next station would sign on, hoping that we would get a quick ID during that opening. Hit and miss proposition.
Others heard on 1240 include WSDR (Sterling, IL), WTAX (Springfield, IL), WIBU (Poynette, WI), WKDA (Nashville, TN)
 
CADXER said:
Others heard on 1240 include WSDR (Sterling, IL), WTAX (Springfield, IL), WIBU (Poynette, WI), WKDA (Nashville, TN)
Click to expand...
WIBU is now WHFA. The signal is a Madison rimshot, and has gone through multiple call letters and formats, although it seems to have stabilized as Catholic Radio. I've always felt this signal is "no win" for most commercial purposes. Hemmed in on the south and east by adjacent channels, and on the north and west by poor ground conductivity. And just far enough north of Madison for the signal to be non-competitive in most of the market by day, and in some cases unlistenable by night.
 
East Tennessee (Knoxville/Sevierville): Local WIFA (which is the "originating station" for the Joy FM translator (which "really" relays 92.7 in far-off Harriman, TN. You don't have to get very far from downtown at night to hear the graveyard mess underneath. I almost went to work at WSFC, Somerset KY, (now at 790 watts) and wonder if they'd make it in in the absence of WIFA (I'm thinking it's doubtful).

Retro/other: Dayton, Ohio area: The last breath of WHBU, Anderson, IN. I never heard WHIZ from there. From my home area in Ohio I once picked up WINN. Louisville out of the mud at night.
 
From suburban Rochester NY it's WGVA in Geneva, 35 miles to the east, as the usual weak but consistent daytime catch.
 
From Northwest WA, a barely audible KBUP (Catholic, Olympia) beneath the splatter of KWYZ (1230, K-Pop, Everett) and KKDZ (1250, South Asian, Seattle)
 
Miss Tuned said:
Northern England (1242, close enough!): various transmitters of Modern AC "Absolute Radio", mostly Sideway and Stockton-on-Tees. These transmitters are out-of-sync, so there's normally an echo.
Click to expand...
I've heard "Absolute Radio" on 1242 both on some of the Eurpean SDRs, as well as during the years I traveling to the UK once or twice every year. From what I can determine, their coverage must be quite good. (I worked for a British company for more than 20 years, and my daughter lived in London for11 years. She liked it so much, she married an Englishman. They now live in California.)
 
cyberdad said:
I've heard "Absolute Radio" on 1242 both on some of the Eurpean SDRs, as well as during the years I traveling to the UK once or twice every year (I worked for a British company for more than 20 years, and my daughter lived in London for11 years. She liked it so much, she married an Englishman. They now live in California.)
Click to expand...
1215 has made it to the east coast fairly often
 
I can sometimes hear KTAM "Radio Alegria" from Bryan TX (~80 miles NW) during the day. At night it's a jumble with KTAM, KDOK Kilgore TX (an oldies station) and an unID Spanish station (possibly KSOX) sometimes coming to the top briefly.
 
I've had 5KW KEWE 1240 in Hawaii a number of times, and KBUP 1240 Olmpyia, WA a few times

Class C Graveyarders arent limtied to 1kw in HI and AK
 
cyberdad said:
Recent catches also include a trio from Wisconsin with similar call letter (no known connection): WJMC, Rice Lake, WOMC, Rhinelander, and WOMT, Manitowoc.
Click to expand...
1240 in Rhinelander is, and always has been, WOBT. They've run a sports format for the last year or so.
 
KeithE4 said:
1240 in Rhinelander is, and always has been, WOBT. They've run a sports format for the last year or so.
Click to expand...
You are correct. My bad. Too many days in the hot sun on fishing trips with my Dad in the Wisconsin northwoods, listening to the Rhinelander 1240 attempting Top 40 programming (part time) apparently addled my brain. :)
 
cyberdad said:
You are correct. My bad. Too many days in the hot sun on fishing trips with my Dad in the Wisconsin northwoods, listening to the Rhinelander 1240 attempting Top 40 programming (part time) apparently addled my brain. :)
Click to expand...
I spent summers in the '60s and '70s in St. Germain, running a small 2-cottage resort in the '70s for my folks. I don't remember WOBT playing rock in any form. They aired NBC Monitor on weekends.

Of course, being in high school and college then, my radio was mostly on WIFC Wausau, or WCFL at night.
 
As CA DXer puts it, here there is little time and patience to DX the GYers. Those freq's used to be pretty good fishing holes back in Queens back when they were a Conelrad spot on the dial.
Lately? Tuh.
Day locals are a steady, weak mix, with Reading PA and Wilkes-Barre. Reading I have logged as 'WAGO' -- that's how far back the ennui goes, hi. R-L lists them as WIOV now.
The weaker WBAX 1240 was parallel sports with WEJL Scranton.
* * * * * * *
A big gripe was the TEST broadcast some time ago from WWON. The generally publicized test was a nice Rhode Island catch, what with clear code IDs and a spot often above the usual 1240 maelstrom.
The PD had asked for reports and hinted at QSL's. He got sent a nice cassette of the occasion from here in NE PA, complete with a log I took, a picture of my wife DXing at the GE Superadio 2, return postage -- everything short of a blood sample and the last 9 digits of my Social Security number.
No response. I don't even recall the date now; didn't write it down. Someone else here might know when they tested. Maybe the CE collects mint stamps and has a fund-raising site now to add to the pile.
 
Steve Green NEPA said:
* * * * * * *
A big gripe was the TEST broadcast some time ago from WWON. The generally publicized test was a nice Rhode Island catch, what with clear code IDs and a spot often above the usual 1240 maelstrom.
The PD had asked for reports and hinted at QSL's. He got sent a nice cassette of the occasion from here in NE PA, complete with a log I took, a picture of my wife DXing at the GE Superadio 2, return postage -- everything short of a blood sample and the last 9 digits of my Social Security number.
No response. I don't even recall the date now; didn't write it down. Someone else here might know when they tested. Maybe the CE collects mint stamps and has a fund-raising site now to add to the pile.
Click to expand...
Maybe the Owner/GM fired the guy for running a DX test. Bosses have come up with lamer excuses for getting rid of people.
 
From Mountain View, Hawaii

Daytime - nothing

Nighttime - KEWE Kahului on Maui

The only 5000 watt station on that graveyard frequency.

SomeRadioGuy said:
I've had 5KW KEWE 1240 in Hawaii a number of times, and KBUP 1240 Olmpyia, WA a few times

Class C Graveyarders arent limtied to 1kw in HI and AK
Click to expand...

I was going to ask if anyone in the mainland has ever heard it! Thanks.

Should be easy to ID too because of the Hawaiian music they play.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.


Back
Top Bottom