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AM 950 - KTNF Poor Reception.

Wolfie770

Wolfie770

Why does KTNF have such poor reception in many areas of the Metro, especially at night? KTIS-AM is half the power at night at 500 watts and further away from me and easier to catch. During the day, KMNV-1400 comes in clearer than AM950, it's 1,000 watts too, and also further away. Does anyone else experience this?
 
There are SO many variables with AM reception.

Even with the best equipment:

Some frequencies are more susceptible to electromagnetic interference (WiFi, LED lights).

Some stations broadcast from less than favorable tower apparatuses.

Ground conductivity changes

Skywave propagation from other stations will interfere.

The direction in relation to downtown also makes an impact - the station is unlistenable for about a mile northeast of downtown because the buildings block signal.

So yea, we love KTNF, but it’s mostly unlistenable outside south Minneapolis and a few western suburbs (but hey- it’s a liberal talk station, so they only need that geo market anyhow - hehehe)
 
IIRC Eventually Craig Ashwood ended up on 94 Q in Atlanta doing Middays following Gary McKee. He also did the voice work for Outback.
 
Wolfie770 said:
Why does KTNF have such poor reception in many areas of the Metro, especially at night? KTIS-AM is half the power at night at 500 watts and further away from me and easier to catch. During the day, KMNV-1400 comes in clearer than AM950, it's 1,000 watts too, and also further away. Does anyone else experience this?
Click to expand...
I've listened to KTNF and noticed this as well. Every power line you go under, even in the west metro not terribly far from the site, you get that RF interference "buzzzzzzzzssssh" noise. Or it dips out a bit going under bridges. Quite annoying. Aside from 740 WDGY, KTNF is the only other station I like on AM.... (maybe 'CCO at times, as well)
 
AM (Amplitude Modulation) is more susceptible to natural electrical noises, lightening, AC motor, LED lights, AC power lines to name a few. When the AM radio crosses any of the listed, the noise can overwhelm the station's signal. When going under bridges the AM signal is reduced, so the vehicle's electronic noises or any of the few noises listed are more noticeable.
 
Back in the day (pre 1980) most home lighting was incandescent, very few home computers, not that many microwave ovens, and most car radios were attached rather large antennas sticking up from the hood or trunk. The cars had a lot less electronics too. Not that many cars had FM radios. Folks "tolerated" some static because AM is all most people had for "free" music in cars. Some people had 8 track or cassette players which usually hung under the dashboard, but tapes were sort of expensive. The clear channel stations had "clean" reception in at least half of the continental US. Also the "brick wall" filters had not been mandated so an AM station could easily go up to over 8+ khz. Does anyone do proof of audio performance anymore? Another factor the ground systems generally "younger" and intact which helps with ground wave strength.
 
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