AM Frequency of the Week 1000

[CTListener]

Vermont, Connecticut and all points in between: WMVP nights, nothing days.

WIOO Carlisle, PA, looks to be the most likely interloper on 1000 during the hour before sunset and sunrise, but I don't recall hearing it. I'll give it a try the next few days and see if I can dig something other than the Chicago powerhouse out.

 

[CADXER]

Here in Wood Dale, IL (near NW suburb of Chicago):

Daytime: WMVP
Nighttime: WMVP

DX/Retro: In the good old days, WCFL used to have a regular silent period every Monday morning, right after midnight. This of course produced some DX opportunities. This used to be the best bet to hear AM stations from Washington state as KOMO (Seattle) was heard several times with WCFL being off the air. My other 3 catches besides KOMO are KTOK (Oklahoma City, OK), XEOY (Mexico City) and HJAQ (Cartagena, Colombia). All of them during the WCFL silent periods.

Not exactly sure when the regular silent period stopped, but it must have been around the time WCFL became WLUP AM.

As mentioned above by tvnut, in 2006 WMVP operated under STA as a diplex from the WLS site in Tinley Park at a reduced power in order to replace the old towers with new ones. If I remember correctly this arrangement was only during daytime hours, so they could work on the replacement towers. During the night they would switch back to the Downer Grove site.

In recent developments, WMVP has applied to move their transmitter site to Joliet, IL and diplex with WCPT (820), since the land in Downers Grove was sold.

 

[tvnut]

Here in Wood Dale, IL (near NW suburb of Chicago):

Daytime: WMVP
Nighttime: WMVP

DX/Retro: In the good old days, WCFL used to have a regular silent period every Monday morning, right after midnight. This of course produced some DX opportunities. This used to be the best bet to hear AM stations from Washington state as KOMO (Seattle) was heard several times with WCFL being off the air. My other 3 catches besides KOMO are KTOK (Oklahoma City, OK), XEOY (Mexico City) and HJAQ (Cartagena, Colombia). All of them during the WCFL silent periods.

Not exactly sure when the regular silent period stopped, but it must have been around the time WCFL became WLUP AM.

As mentioned above by tvnut, in 2006 WMVP operated under STA as a diplex from the WLS site in Tinley Park at a reduced power in order to replace the old towers with new ones. If I remember correctly this arrangement was only during daytime hours, so they could work on the replacement towers. During the night they would switch back to the Downer Grove site.

In recent developments, WMVP has applied to move their transmitter site to Joliet, IL and diplex with WCPT (820), since the land in Downers Grove was sold.

You picked off KOMO? You lucky dog! Never did, and a fellow DXer in the office never did either. Still don't have Washington State.

 

[CADXER]

Yes, heard them couple time with WCFL off. Have a nice QSL card verifying my report (attached). I have two other stations from Washington state in my logbook, KRPI 15050 and KNTS 1680. Washington state is quite difficult to hear in the Chicagoland these days.

 

[TXPH97]

DFW, Texas

Daytime: Nothing inside, however, on the car radio can sometimes hear a weak KTOK Oklahoma City.

Nights: 1000 is a noisy frequency for some reason. XEOY Mexico DF is the usual occupant with fair to weak pop music in English. Sometimes KTOK comes up with talk, however, it is very weak considering that it is only 160 miles away. One time catches XEFV Ciudad Juárez, and WMVP "ESPN Chicago".

Sunrise/Sunset: KKIM Albuquerque, NM with religion. I have also heard them at night a few times, perhaps on day power late.

 

[KD4YQR]

Central Kentucky:
Days: Usually nothing, maybe a wiff of WMVP during the winter months.

Nights: WMVP. Have never heard anything else on this frequency here.

A little history, here, if you're up to it:

Central Kentucky was once home to an AM 1000 daytimer here.
Way back in 1980, a new radio station was built from the ground up, in Danville.

I believe (and will stand corrected if I'm wrong) Johnny Randolph, the legendary WAKY PD, left WAKY and took the WKLO calls and started the new station on 1000. The WKLO calls were tied to the 1080 frequency in Louisville, for years. The new owners changed the calls to WKJJ, leaving the WKLO calls up for grabs.

It was a true daytimer, and directional to boot.
The 3 tower array was on Ky Hwy 34 at Herrington Lake.
It had a very tight N-S lobe in the corridor between US 27 and 127 all the way down to Lake Cumberland. Presumably to protect them WCFL. Was Very listenable all the way to Dale Hollow Lake and, like a local in Lexington.
All from 1000 watts.

But go 20 miles E or W of the tower site, and the signal dropped drastically.

This was small town radio at it's best.
Country music. "Big 10 Country WKLO"
Contest prizes were chicken dinner boxes from Lee's Famous Recipe. School lunch menus and obituaries. Swap shop every morning. TOH news from Mutual. Developed a loyal local following.

Was one of my favorite stations back then as a service tech running service in this neck of the woods.

In 1990 the station was sold and the format flipped to oldies. Sometime in 1992, the station went dark abruptly. Three months later, the towers came down and the transmitter shack removed.
(If you have a Vane Jones radio handbook from the 80s, you will see WKLO listed for Danville.)

To my knowledge there has not been another AM 1000 in Kentucky since then.

 

[cyberdad]

WMVP is often coming in an hour or more before sunset. I've heard it as early as 3 p.m. in December and January. I would say it's the first Chicago signal in, but WVON might have something to say about that.

At my location, x-bmder CHHA is usully the first Toronto signal in. Beating out the diplexed blowtorches on 740 and 860.

 

[MichaelD1972]

Clifton, New Jersey

Days: Mostly splatter from 1010 WINS New York, NY. On 2/27/2023, I received WLNL "The Bell AM 1000" Horseheads, NY and WIOO "Country Gold FM & AM" Carlisle, PA before their local sunset.

Nights: It's WMVP "ESPN 1000" Chicago, IL with some splatter from WINS depending on the radio and the bandwidth setting.

 

[CurtisNEPA]

In NEPA, I get a decent signal of WIOO from Carlisle during the day. It pumps 15,000 watts of power. Even though I am outside of the fringe area according to Radio-Locator's coverage map, I can still managed to get the station just by using my loop antenna(which is pointed south) and tuning the knob to get the best reception. However, if I point the antenna east, the WIOO's signal is nulled out and I could get a weak signal of a religious talk station out of upstate NY.

At nights, it's mostly WMVP from Chicago. It used to be a Top 40 rocker WCFL in the 70's, which you could find dozens of airchecks of the station anywhere on YouTube or Internet Archive, or some other historical radio airchecks sites.(I first heard of and listened to one aircheck from a vintage radio aircheck site called ReelRadio.com before it became a paywall(subscription) site and then shut down in recent years.

 

[jim-satx]

From NW San Antonio:

Day: A moderately strong signal from 250-watt daytimer KBIB, Spanish-language Christian talk, in Marion, TX.

Sunset: XEOY "Stereo Cien" in Mexico City starts to come up, with KTOK in OKC often mixing in. Aiming the radio E/W, I can hear KKIM in Albuquerque, NM, which eventually overtakes KBIB and has a listenable signal until it drops to night power.

Night: XEOY is strong and mostly all alone. If I aim E/W I can get a partial null of it, and XEFV in Ciudad Juárez will occasionally pop up with regional Mexican music. At rare times I'll hear a very weak KKIM.

Sunrise: XEOY is weaker and more nullable. KTOK in OKC can be heard underneath or mixing in when it goes to day pattern. In the E/W partial null, XEFV is more constant, and later on KKIM is heard when it goes to day power. KBIB starts to mix in when it signs on for the day.

DX/Retro: My one-time catches on this frequency include two classic country daytimers: KSTA in Coleman, TX, and WHNY (heard back when it was classic hits WRQR) in Paris, TN - both at sunset.

Also, I used to hear XERZ in León and XENLT in Nuevo Laredo at night before they were retired.

 

[Bill Betten]

Tyler TX:

Nothing during the days. This was once home to country icon Jim Reeves' KGRI in nearby Henderson. KGRI was surrendered way back when, around 1985.

At night it's usually a pretty good signal from talk radio outlet 1000 KTOK from OKC. I hear Spanish is underneath KTOK, at times, but have never been able to decipher whether it is Matamoros or Nuevo Laredo.

 

[gr8oldies]

In NEPA, I get a decent signal of WIOO from Carlisle during the day. It pumps 15,000 watts of power. Even though I am outside of the fringe area according to Radio-Locator's coverage map, I can still managed to get the station just by using my loop antenna(which is pointed south) and tuning the knob to get the best reception. However, if I point the antenna east, the WIOO's signal is nulled out and I could get a weak signal of a religious talk station out of upstate NY.

At nights, it's mostly WMVP from Chicago. It used to be a Top 40 rocker WCFL in the 70's, which you could find dozens of airchecks of the station anywhere on YouTube or Internet Archive, or some other historical radio airchecks sites.(I first heard of and listened to one aircheck from a vintage radio aircheck site called ReelRadio.com before it became a paywall(subscription) site and then shut down in recent years.

Reelradio.com still exists and the airchecks within.

 

[boiseengineer]

WMVPs move to a diplex site will result in this.

 

[schmave]

I still can't figure out who they're trying to protect with that null to the southeast. It certainly isn't Mexico.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

I still can't figure out who they're trying to protect with that null to the southeast. It certainly isn't Mexico.

I figure its an artifact of doing the best they can with the diplexed towers available.

Look what's happening on FM under Section 73.213 as it stands today with Class Bs forced to relocate. The MEASURED PROOFS of the DAs show much deeper nulls than are required, and shallow nulls below the fully allowed FCC envelope ERP in the rest of the pattern, including the major lobe.

If they could duplicate or nearly duplicate WMVP nearby with tower arrangement designed specifically for WMVP, instead of diplexing WCPT's they could probably be considerably better.

The North half market ground wave coverage is an even worse concern. I believe that WLS is suffering in the ratings due to the lesser signal on the North part of the market, and the WCPT site is further away and WMVP is further up the dial. That said, I don't see any better places to locate or diplex off hand.

 

[boiseengineer]

I figure its an artifact of doing the best they can with the diplexed towers available.

Look what's happening on FM under Section 73.213 as it stands today with Class Bs forced to relocate. The MEASURED PROOFS of the DAs show much deeper nulls than are required, and shallow nulls below the fully allowed FCC envelope ERP in the rest of the pattern, including the major lobe.

If they could duplicate or nearly duplicate WMVP nearby with tower arrangement designed specifically for WMVP, instead of diplexing WCPT's they could probably be considerably better.

The North half market ground wave coverage is an even worse concern. I believe that WLS is suffering in the ratings due to the lesser signal on the North part of the market, and the WCPT site is further away and WMVP is further up the dial. That said, I don't see any better places to locate or diplex off hand.

They're lucky the nulls aren't worse. I've seen computer test runs looking for diplex possibilities that were terrible. Some that were built and didn't perform well at all. Later the station(s) went dark.
XEOY is mentioned since the signal towards them will be reduced some.

 

[crainbebo]

KNWN Seattle (formerly KOMO.) A few weeks ago, I heard something that could have been WMVP faintly underneath in Sedro-Woolley, WA (it was running an ESPN feed and no other 24/7 full power station on 1000 kHz AFAIK has that.)

That gives me inspiration! One of these days, WMVP will finally show up here. They are the last big Chicago station I need.
KNWN, ex-KOMO, all day and all night in Yakima, listenable during the day and with some skywave cancellation at night being 110 miles away.

I have heard KCEO Vista CA, but just one time (September 2014), also have heard KKIM Albuquerque NM (October 2014), XEOY Mexico City in 2017, and KSOO Sioux Falls in 2021 when they left day power on at night.

 

[davideduardo]

I can only remember one outstanding catch on 1000 from around 1962: 10kw 1ZD in Tauranga, NZ, logged in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, ruined that same night by Radio Panmericana, 50 kw from Sao Paulo, Brazil signing on at 5 AM AST.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

They're lucky the nulls aren't worse. I've seen computer test runs looking for diplex possibilities that were terrible. Some that were built and didn't perform well at all. Later the station(s) went dark.
XEOY is mentioned since the signal towards them will be reduced some.

We had a thread that discussed the fact that rebuilds, even new sites designed for the facility and not a compromise, are often not as good as the previous site. There are several reasons for this, which I will discuss in a subsequent post.

 

[CTListener]

Just did a little gray line scan of the AM band here in Hartland, VT, and I can confirm that WIOO Carlisle, PA, was weak but in the clear on this frequency at 3:45 p.m., about 30 minutes before local sunset, with Reba McEntire's "The Greatest Man I Never Knew," a clear ID with call letters mentioned, then more classic country.