• 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: 1280

Status
Not open for further replies.
cyberdad

cyberdad

Far northwest suburban Chicago....

Day: 1280: is WBIG from Aurora, IL with a fair signal. 1kw with a shallow null to the east. Distance is about 25 miles.

Nights: WBIG disappears when it powers down to 500 watts and goes to a tighter pattern aimed mostly to the southwest (away from me). The result is that WNAM from Neenah, WI usually dominates despite a pattern that's unfavorable to me, CFMB from Montreal usually takes over around sunrise. I've also heard WWTC from Minneapolis and WGBF from Evamsville, Indiana.

Retro: Back in the early 1980s, I heard CJJD from Hamilton, ON a few times. This station eventually changed call letters to CHAM and moved to 820. 1280 is now used by the Toronto airport for traffic and flight info.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
I've only ever had TWO single logs on 1280 here.
Click to expand...
I'm wondering if you might eventually be able to snag WWTC ("The Patriot") from Minneapolis at some point. They send quite a bit of their 15kw night signal north. They were one of my favorite listens on my biz trips to Minneapolis when they were oldies with a very deep playlist.
 
cyberdad said:
I'm wondering if you might eventually be able to snag WWTC ("The Patriot") from Minneapolis at some point. They send quite a bit of their 15kw night signal north. They were one of my favorite listens on my biz trips to Minneapolis when they were oldies with a very deep playlist.
Click to expand...

I meannnnn... anything is possible.. likely? no... but ive proven "likely" wrong dozens of times in the last 2 years here
 
South Central Kansas:
Daytime, a fair KSOK/Winfield.

North Iowa:
WWTC/Minneapolis’ is directed more north, so I’ve not been able to receive them. KCOB/Newton does come in occasionally.
 
This won't be very exciting.
East Tennessee (Knoxville/Sevierville). Days-nothing. Night-a hodge-podge, and it includes a News-Talker which is probably WGBF but I'm not sure.

Retro-other: Dayton, OH, nothing I clearly remember. West Central Ohio-WONW, Defiance, OH came in well during the day with 1000 watts, not so much at night with 500 directional watts. WGBF was rocking in the late 70s and made frequent appearances.
Lafayette, IN area: It was normally WGBF around sunset.
 
From the southwest suburbs of Chicago:

WBIG (originally WMRO, then WYSY) is the usual suspect here. Used to be a small-town full-service station, then fired everybody one afternoon in 1989, but it's still there daytimes and sometimes into the night. Among the alumnae: Lakers broadcast legend Chick Hearn.

Also caught at 1280: WGBF Evansville, Ind.; CJMS Montreal (way back, and a CBS affiliate then; have not heard as CFMB); CJJD Hamilton, Ont., and WPXN Rochester, N.Y.
 
Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: as noted by the others from the Chicago area WBIG Aurora, IL with decent signal
Nightime: normally WGBF or WNAM

DX/RETRO: CHAM (CJJD) Hamilton, ON used to be common before they moved to 820 kHz in 1985. Others heard in the past include WIXI (Lancaster, KY), WWTC (Minneapolis, MN), WADO (New York, NY), CFMB (CJMS) (Montreal, PQ)
 
DFW, Texas

Daytime: Slop from local 1270-KFLC.
Nighttime: WODT New Orleans dominates with Black Information News. XEAW Monterrey, NL can be heard in WODT null and at sunrise.
 
TXPH97 said:
DFW, Texas

Daytime: Slop from local 1270-KFLC.
Nighttime: WODT New Orleans dominates with Black Information News. XEAW Monterrey, NL can be heard in WODT null and at sunrise.
Click to expand...
At our beach vacation spot near Pensacola, WODT makes the 140 mile hop via saltwater path with what's usually a fair daytime signal. Sometimes underneath I can also hear the mightly 500-watt WTMY from Sarasota. I'm not sure if they're still using the WTMY call letter, but whatever, the 200-plus mile hop for 500 miles across the gulf is pretty impressive.
 
Not much variance from the last 1280 survey here, hi. Except that semi-local WFBS Berwick now seems to be an all-NASCAR format. They're IDed easily by the exciting audio (and replays) of cars going 'NNnnyeow ......Neeyow .....'
Nighttime, Spanish WADO from NYC shoulders them into the Susquehanna.
Did hear WWOK from Indiana once, for a taped ID.
The REAL odd one was WFYC Alma Michigan one night in December 1999. With some high school PBP sports event, they were atop even WADO for a spell. Rx-Locator says '56 watts' after sunset.
I doubt anyone believes they were running 56 watts. In the unlikely instance someone does, I'm looking to sell them the deed to the vehicular tunnel I own that goes from Boston to London.
Best offer.
 
KWHI in Brenham TX (~60 miles NW of here) is a daytime regular. At sunset and nights KWHI disappears and it's WODT and XEAW, both strong depending on which way I point the radio.

Regarding the discussion of WWTC above, I've heard them on both the Arctic and Iceland SDR's. I've also heard WNAM on the Arctic SDR. It appears they both put most of their power to the NNE, probably unfavorable to Alaska listeners.
 
South Mississippi:

Day: WODT New Orleans - Black Information Network
Night: WODT is slightly weaker.
There also used to be WSCO Taylorsville, MS which used the old frequency of what is now 810 WSJC Magee, MS. This station went off the air sometime in the 70s.
 
Just relogged 1280 Montreal; first time as CFMB. Heard an ID semi-obscured at 2:35 a.m. CT. Matched the music online (an instrumental of “Puttin’ On The Ritz.” Now another ID at 2:44.
 
tvnut said:
Just relogged 1280 Montreal; first time as CFMB. Heard an ID semi-obscured at 2:35 a.m. CT. Matched the music online (an instrumental of “Puttin’ On The Ritz.” Now another ID at 2:44.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure CFMB is brokered and they're running instrumentals in unfilled time slots.
 
From NW San Antonio:

Day: Classic country KMFR "No Bull Radio," 56 miles to my southwest in Pearsall, TX. The signal is weak to moderate but partially covered by splatter from nearby local pest 1350 KXTN.

Sunset: XEAW in Monterrey comes up with a good signal. Aiming E/W I can null it a bit and hear WODT. Aiming NW/SE I can null it a little more (but still not completely) and hear Texas country music from KSLI in Abilene starting to mix in.

Night: XEAW on night power is a litle weaker and subject to fades but still strongest. WODT is heard more consistently and KSLI less so.

Sunrise: XEAW still dominates, WODT is weaker and the first to fade, and KSLI is stronger. XEAW lasts for a good while after sunrise when it goes to 10 kW day power and mixes with KMFR when it returns.

DX: I've only managed to hear KWHI in Brenham, TX, a few times. I used to hear XEBW in Chihuahua mixing in at sunrise before it was retired.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.


Back
Top Bottom