1590 AM

[Bongwater]

Is it just me or has anybody else noticed this frequency is virtually a GRAVEYARD channel on the East Coast and in the South?

However on the West Coast and in the Rockies, there's just a handful of stations on this frequency.

I remember Seattle's KJET/KZOK-AM (now KLFE) blasted a Northwest directional signal at night. I've picked it up almost rock solid in Alaska.

The only really major station on this frequency is WAKR in Akron, OH.

Is there some reason for this crowding in the East/South and very few stations on 1590 kHz west of Minnesota?

 

[radioman148]

We've got WCGO in Evanston, Il throwing their signal to the north at night. Even with 2KW they get over the North Pole & into Scandinavia.

 

[K6JHU]

A quick query of the FCC data base shows a lot of stations on 1590. Problem is (for DX'ers) is that none is a power house (5kw day) and all seem to power down at night. Distribution looks evenly divided across the country.

 

[cd637299]

There was once a time here in south FL in the 70s that WALG Albany GA flat-out ruled 1590. WRXB in St. Petersburg Beach FL was a daytime-only station.

Today, I cannot tell you, because I don't bother DXn AM much anymore. Here, almost *every* frequency is a graveyarder at night.

I think there was a time in the early 90s when the 1590 in Mexico City made appearances here.

I think I've heard the one in Port St. Lucie FL at night, despite a few dozen watts only.

cd

 

[cd637299]

There was once a time here in south FL in the 70s that WALG Albany GA flat-out ruled 1590. WRXB in St. Petersburg Beach FL was a daytime-only station.

Today, I cannot tell you, because I don't bother DXn AM much anymore. Here, almost *every* frequency is a graveyarder at night.

I think there was a time in the early 90s when the 1590 in Mexico City made appearances here.

I think I've heard the one in Port St. Lucie FL at night, despite a few dozen watts only.

Edit: Looking at my 30-year-old list of AM stations caught in the Anchorage area, indeed KZOK is one of them. Other Seattle area stations were 950 (at 5k then)/1000/1250/1300/1380/1540.

cd

 

[gar hi]

I pretty much never do any AM DXing here in Tampa from May to September unless it's one of those times I'm doing daytime saltwater DXing by the Gulf or the Ocean.

The AM band at night here during the summer doesn't seem to have much to listen to and on top of that, there's almost always lightning static too.

 

[jd]

Here in East Texas 1590 hasn't really changed that much, with the exception of a small station nearby that went off the air recently. The Mexia station supposedly is going to upgrade and serve the Waco area (BTW, it's muh-HAY-uh, where Anna Nicole Smith went to high school, albeit briefly).

1590 has never been that remarkable around here at night but I heard WAKR, only once if I recall correctly many years ago. Although I wouldn't call it "graveyard" in nature, the noise level is pretty high and the most dependable catch is off a relatively minor lobe from KVGB in Great Bend, Kansas. Relatively little of their 5,000 watt signal is pointed this way, at a distance of a little over 450 miles.

 

[cyberdad]

Here, almost *every* frequency is a graveyarder at night.
cd

+1 for here in Northern Illinois except for a majority of the former 1-A clears. WAKR used to rule 1590 at night. It still is "most likely to succeed" in being on top at night, but usually it's lost in the mess. I'm far enough west that WCGO's 2.5kw aimed to the north is a total non-factor.

 

[Bongwater]

There was once a time here in south FL in the 70s that WALG Albany GA flat-out ruled 1590. WRXB in St. Petersburg Beach FL was a daytime-only station.

Today, I cannot tell you, because I don't bother DXn AM much anymore. Here, almost *every* frequency is a graveyarder at night.

I think there was a time in the early 90s when the 1590 in Mexico City made appearances here.

I think I've heard the one in Port St. Lucie FL at night, despite a few dozen watts only.

Edit: Looking at my 30-year-old list of AM stations caught in the Anchorage area, indeed KZOK is one of them. Other Seattle area stations were 950 (at 5k then)/1000/1250/1300/1380/1540.

cd

KIRO 710 was another Seattle station that blasted up there too. KZOK-AM also used to get mail from Scandinavia too. I don't think there's any Canadian stations on that frequency either.......

 

[cd637299]

Amazingly, never got KIRO 710 due to KBYR 700's dominance, albeit 500-watt dominance. Never got 690 Vancouver either. *Might* have caught XETRA 690 but I was unable to get an ID.

cd

 

[radioman148]

Here, almost *every* frequency is a graveyarder at night.
cd

+1 for here in Northern Illinois except for a majority of the former 1-A clears. WAKR used to rule 1590 at night. It still is "most likely to succeed" in being on top at night, but usually it's lost in the mess. I'm far enough west that WCGO's 2.5kw aimed to the north is a total non-factor.

I too used to hear WAKR at night, but now I'm too close to WCGO to hear it.

 

[gar hi]

Well, I did a little AM summer nighttime listening, something I almost never do, and 1590 sounds like a graveyard frequency here in Tampa too. (During the day, it's the religious station from St. Pete WRXB.)

I expected to hear the religious station WRXB St. Pete as the dominant station at night but it's in the mix with all the rest of the many other stations. The dominant station on 1590 is ESPN radio and it fades in and out but gets pretty strong. I still don't have an ID, though to see where it's from.

It's interesting that right now on 880, WZAB from Sweetwater (in the Miami area) is dominating the frequency with the Cuban in the background and just a trace of WCBS.

1700 sounds like it always does, a battle between WJCC Miami Springs and KVNS from Brownsville.

The lower part of the AM band is jammed with non stop lightning static but it's barely heard at the upper part of the band.

 

[KA7PAT]

Is it just me or has anybody else noticed this frequency is virtually a GRAVEYARD channel on the East Coast and in the South?

However on the West Coast and in the Rockies, there's just a handful of stations on this frequency.

I remember Seattle's KJET/KZOK-AM (now KLFE) blasted a Northwest directional signal at night. I've picked it up almost rock solid in Alaska.

The only really major station on this frequency is WAKR in Akron, OH.

Is there some reason for this crowding in the East/South and very few stations on 1590 kHz west of Minnesota?

I remember receiving 1590 from Seattle loud and clear in Weyburn, Sask. back in 1975 when I was attending a family gathering there.

 

[jd]

The dominant station on 1590 is ESPN radio and it fades in and out but gets pretty strong. I still don't have an ID, though to see where it's from.

Have you tried hearing anything underneath that one, like Radio Disney, maybe? KMIC Houston's 5kW night pattern favors your direction somewhat.

 

[gar hi]

Wow! Interesting you say that. I'm just about to mention it when I see you posted this.

I'm still listening for an ID on the ESPN Radio station when I briefly heard a station with a Radio Disney promo and then the station was gone.

 

[cd637299]

ESPN Radio's site lists WPSL 1590 Port St. Lucie FL. Other 1590's might be a "furr piece."

TOH might be your only chance.

cd

 

[gar hi]

Just got the ID "This is WPSL Port St Lucie".

I'm glad I finally did some summer night AM DXing tonight!

I guess AM at night actually is interesting year round. It makes me feel better too now that FM E Skip season is done.

 

[Steve_Green]

One of the reasons the AM dial can be interesting year round is the Auroral effect. I'd imagine that you'd get a dialfull of Spanish and Carribean stations, Gar, with all those regulars from the north removed. Although it sounds pretty mercenary, the combination of a Gulf or Atlantic Coast hurricane PLUS an Aurora was a ripe time.

In the Long Island DXing days, 1590 was a tremendous frequency. Waterbury CT's WBRY wasn't that much of a presence, and we'd get WERA Plainfield NJ most days. At sunrise, WYNG from RI could pop in. At sunset, WEEZ Chester PA, and a few sign-offs. WFTH Richmond could BOOM in at times when WERA signed off. Overnights, it always did come down to WAKR (which used to send a lot of juice in the direction of Norfolk, too). But I do remember reading about a few DXers hearing that Seattle station pretty well for a couple of weeks -- from Ohio.

That frequency certainly is packed here in the NE. It always had been, even before the nighttime allotments. Five from PA, one from Maine, two from Maryland, three from New York, etc.

Back to that Aurora business: I have a loud sign-on taped, circa 1966, from WELE Daytona Beach. It might have been all-water-path to Long Island, but I never caught them again. The Northern Lights must've had their ions cranked that morning. Might that facility now be WPSL, or is it a completely different site?

 

[cd637299]

^ Port St. Lucie & Daytona are about 100 miles apart.

South Daytona is now home to WPUL, according to Radio-Locator....hmmm, only 1 letter separated from WPSL!

cd

 

[gar hi]

It was pretty amazing to get WPSL Port St. Lucie at 135 miles considering it was only 64 watts! And it had a strong signal at times too.

I'm going to pay more attention to those kind of frequencies because I haven't much in the past and have only concentrated on hearing the strong stations. I've prettty much received all I'm going to get on those clear channel frequencies or what used to be clear channels anyway.

the combination of a Gulf or Atlantic Coast hurricane PLUS an Aurora was a ripe time.

I've never heard of hurricanes affecting AM reception.