Back in the 70s and even into the 80s, I used to be able to pick up WLW in NE Ohio even in the daytime and all the time at night. Now, non-existent and even most nights it's a rumor. Was trundling around the AM band the other night and was very surprised that is was coming in like gangbusters. Next night, just a whisper again.
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WLW-FM?
- Thread starter BruceB
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I'm sure they know that the clock is ticking on the AM band remaining viable and are thinking abut the future, however as they don't have many options moving it's AM signals to FM like they did years ago.
That could be due to some recent auroral activity. WLW should blast into northeast Ohio at night. I'm too close in to have their signal affected by auroras, etc., but when I've checked at night on visits to my in-laws in Conneaut, WLW's dependably loud. Daytime I usually get it to about the east suburbs of Cleveland.
They may have reduced power for the tower work, but aurora could affect the Cleveland area I suppose. There was a weak of auroral conditions where I had no sign of WLW during darkness a few years ago in Knoxville TN
And what is so often neglected is that in most markets there are, at best, a couple of AM stations that cover the bulk of the market day and night. In fact, in the top 100 markets, there are only about 180 stations that do that. Some markets have only one or even no full coverage AM.
With severe aurora, even locals can be affected. I had several cases of 1100 in Cleveland being severely interfered with by a 10 kw station from the interior of Venezuela at my location less than 30 miles from the 50 kw site of KYW /WKYC/WTAM.
I don't think there are any AM stations at #1 in any sizable market I can think of, except for WLW. It wasn't that long ago that KMOX St. Louis, KDKA Pittsburgh and WCCO Minneapolis were consistently #1. WSB Atlanta was too, but Cox gave it an FM simulcast in 2010.
It's true, iHeart has not given any of its heritage AM stations an FM simulcast in recent years. In the 2010s it had begun the process, giving FM simulcasts to KOGO San Diego, WVOC Columbia and KNST Tucson. A few years later, it reversed those moves to restore FM music formats.
In a few places, iHeart FM simulcasts have stuck, such as WGY Schenectady-Albany and WSYR Syracuse. In some Southern markets, I guess where conservative talk radio is most popular, iHeart puts talk formats on a few FMs, including Birmingham, Raleigh, Greensboro, New Orleans and Charleston. And iHeart has two Hot Talk FMs in Florida, WTKS Orlando and WZZR West Palm Beach. But with 866 stations in 150 markets, very few are iHeart talk stations on the FM dial.
It's true, iHeart has not given any of its heritage AM stations an FM simulcast in recent years. In the 2010s it had begun the process, giving FM simulcasts to KOGO San Diego, WVOC Columbia and KNST Tucson. A few years later, it reversed those moves to restore FM music formats.
In a few places, iHeart FM simulcasts have stuck, such as WGY Schenectady-Albany and WSYR Syracuse. In some Southern markets, I guess where conservative talk radio is most popular, iHeart puts talk formats on a few FMs, including Birmingham, Raleigh, Greensboro, New Orleans and Charleston. And iHeart has two Hot Talk FMs in Florida, WTKS Orlando and WZZR West Palm Beach. But with 866 stations in 150 markets, very few are iHeart talk stations on the FM dial.
In NE Ohio, may chance of seeing any auroras are slim to none. Whenever they say there's a chance that auroras may be seen as far south as, say, Mississippi, you can be sure there will be 99.8% chance of clouds/rain/snow/hail/tornadoes/Dorothy & Toto sightings/vampires flying about in NE Ohio. Now only if they would have shown in the Tampa Bay area back in the 60s, I MAY have been able to have seen them. Matter of fact, the sister paper to the Saint Petersburg Times, the Evening Independent, had this "Sunshine Offer", which was first enacted in 1910 by Lew Brown as a way to publicize St. Petersburg as "The Sunshine City". The paper offered copies free following days without sunshine in St. Petersburg. From 1910 until the paper folded in 1986, the Evening Independent made good on its offer 296 times. So, that means there were 27,463 days of sunshine!
I have seen aurora in Central Indiana. There have been reports even further south. You don't have to visibly see aurora to notice a profound effect on radio propagation. It isn't the visible aurora that causes it, it's the solar flares causing both
I have never been an FM DXer so I don't know the auroral effects. What happens? I know of the shorter range effects of inversion layers as all of us in coastal areas, particularly in the south, have experienced extreme situations.
Apparently a better chance of Sporadic E Skip
We get a bit of WLW on FM here in Columbus, OH from time to time. Throwback 105.3 is an affiliate of the Reds and sometimes after the ball game ends 105.3 airs WLW audio until someone at iHeart Columbus figures out the computer didn't go back to the music log after the game.
Auroral VHF "skip" is very fluttery. "Mushy".
Paths are different if the auroral's north. One example was from Boise if the antenna's pointed NE I'd get Seattle. If it was pointed NW I'd get Montana and the Dakotas.
Paths are different if the auroral's north. One example was from Boise if the antenna's pointed NE I'd get Seattle. If it was pointed NW I'd get Montana and the Dakotas.
Why does this not surprise me?
But this does indicate they apparently don't take a clean feed of the network. 93.3 HD2 did the same thing several years back for Indians games, simply taking a raw WTAM feed. That was complete with Cleveland commercials, IDs, etc., however.
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