50,000 Watt Stations on North American Clear Channel Frequencies

[Gregg]

These are the full-time 50,000 watt radio stations of North America. I omit the Cuban stations since they don't follow the international rules or report their current power outputs. And I omit 50kw stations on regional channels. I include the old I-A and I-B classifications, although the FCC now groups all these stations into Class A. I used a 1977 Broadcasting Yearbook, Radio-Locator.com, Wikipedia, RadioStationWorld.com and Fred Cantu's Mexican radio website, although some of these sources conflict.

Many of these stations date from the earliest years of broadcasting: KDKA, WBZ, CJBC, XEW. A few, WYLL Chicago, KTRB San Francisco, WXKS Medford-Boston and WYGM Orlando, only recently got full-time 50kw authorization.

Class I-A stations, with a few exceptions, operate with 50,000 watts non-directional. Originally Class I-A stations did not have to share their frequencies at night within several time zones. Some Class I-A stations, such as 650 WSM Nashville and 750 WSB Atlanta, only had a few stations on their frequencies, maybe in Alaska, Hawaii or the far West. As of 1977, WOAI San Antonio had no other U.S. or Canadian station on 1200, day or night. WLW Cincinnati (which operated with 500,000 watts from 1934 to 1941) only had one station in Alaska on its frequency. A few stations in Mexico and the Carribean opeated on these frequencies but all were low-powered. The governments of the U.S., Canada and other nations in North America originally worked to keep the clear channel frequencies free of interferance.

In most cases, Class I-B stations only had to share their frequencies at night with one or two other I-B stations and maybe a few regional stations. I-B stations usually operated after sunset with directional signals to protect the other I-B stations that shared their channel. Any lower class stations that used the same frequency had to protect both I-B stations. But by the 1980s, the FCC reduced protections for all Class A stations.

540 CBK Watrous-Regina I-B
XEWA San Luis Potosi I-B
WFLF Pine Hills-Orlando
640 KFI Los Angeles I-A
CFMJ Richmond Hill-Toronto
650 WSM Nashville I-A
KENI Anchorage
660 WFAN New York I-A
KTNN Window Rock, AZ
CFFR Calgary
670 WSCR Chicago I-A
KBOI Boise
680 KNBR(1) San Francisco I-B
WRKO Boston
WPTF Raleigh
CJOB Winnipeg
690 CINF(2) Montreal I-A
CBU Vancouver
XEWW Rosarito-Tijuana
700 WLW Cincinnati I-A
710 WOR New York I-B
KIRO Seattle I-B
WAQI Miami
720 WGN Chicago I-A
KDWN Las Vegas
730 XEX Mexico City I-A
CKAC Montreal
CHMJ North Vancouver
740 CFZM Toronto I-A
KCBS San Francisco
KTRH Houston
WYGM Orlando
CBX Edmonton
750 WSB Atlanta I-A
KFQD Anchorage
760 WJR Detroit I-A
KFMB(3) San Diego
770 WABC New York I-A
KOA Albuquerque
CHQR Calgary
780 WBBM Chicago I-A
KKOH Reno
800 XEROK Ciudad Juarez I-A
CKLW Windsor
CHRC Quebec City
810 WGY Schenectady I-B
KGO San Francisco I-B
WKVM San Juan, PR
CHQR Calgary
XEFW Tampico
820 WBAP Fort Worth I-A
830 WCCO Minneapolis I-A
WCRN Worcester-Boston
840 WHAS Louisville I-A
850 KOA(1) Denver I-B
WEEI Boston
KICY Nome, AK
XEAC Ixhuatlancillo, Veracruz
860 CJBC Toronto I-A
KTRB San Francisco
HILR Santo Domingo, DR
870 WWL(4) New Orleans I-A
880 WCBS New York I-A
KRVN Lexington, NE
CHQT Edmonton
890 WLS Chicago I-A
900 XEW Mexico City I-A
CHML Hamilton, Ont.
940 CINF(2) Montreal I-B
XEQ Mexico City I-B
KYNO Fresno
990 CBW(5) Winnipeg I-A
CKGM Montreal
XET Monterrey
1000 WMVP Chicago I-B
KOMO Seattle I-B
XEOY Mexico City I-B
1010 CFRB Toronto I-B
CBR Calgary I-B
WINS New York
1020 KDKA Pittsburgh I-A
KTNQ Los Angeles
KCKN Roswell, NM
1030 WBZ(4) Boston I-A
KTWO Casper, WY
1040 WHO Des Moines I-A
CKST Burnaby-Vancouver
1050 XEG Monterrey I-A
WEPN New York
CHUM Toronto
1060 KYW Phildelphia I-B
XEEP Mexico City I-B
CKMX Calgary
1070 KNX(1) Los Angeles I-B
CBA(1)(2) Moncton I-B
1080 WTIC Hartford I-B
KRLD Dallas I-B
1090 WBAL Baltimore I-B
KAAY Little Rock I-B
XEPRS Rancho del Mar-Tijuana I-B
KPTK Seattle
1100 WTAM Cleveland I-A
KFAX San Francisco
1110 WBT Charlotte I-B
KFAB Omaha I-B
XERED Mexico City
1120 KMOX St. Louis I-A
KPNW Eugene
1130 WBBR New York I-B
KWKH Shreveport I-B
CKWX Vancouver I-B
1140 WRVA Richmond I-B
XEMR Monterrey I-B
KHTK Sacramento
1160 KSL Salt Lake City I-A
WYLL Chicago
1170 WWVA Wheeling I-B
KFAQ Tulsa I-B
XEQV Arciela
1180 WHAM Rochester I-A
Radio Marti(6) Marathon-Miami
1190 KEX Portland I-B
WOWO(7) Fort Wayne I-B
XEWK Guadalajara I-B
1200 WOAI San Antonio I-A
WXKS Newton-Boston
CFGO Ottawa
1210 WPHT Philadelphia I-A
1220 XEB Mexico City I-A
WHKW Cleveland
1500 WFED Washington I-B
KSTP St. Paul I-B
1510 WLAC Nashville I-B
KGA(7) Spokane I-B
WWZN Boston
1520 WWKB Buffalo I-B
KOKC Oklahoma City I-B
1530 WCKY Cincinnatti I-B
KFRK Sacramento I-B
1540 ZNS-1 Nassau I-B
KXEL Waterloo, Iowa I-B
WDCD Albany
1550 CBE(2)(5) Windsor I-B
XERUV Xalapa I-B
1560 WQEW New York I-B
KNZR(5) Bakersfield I-B
1570 XERF Ciudad Acuna I-A
1580 CKDO(2)(5) Oshawa, Ont. I-A
KBLA Santa Monica-Los Angeles
KMIK Tempe-Phoenix
XEDM Hermosillo

1 - 680 KNBR San Francisco, 850 KOA Denver, 1070 KNX Los Angeles and 1070 CBA Moncton were designated Class I-B stations, even though they operate(d) with non-directional 50,000 watt signals, like a I-A. KNBR and KOA have no other clear channel stations on their frequencies but they do have to share their channels with other stations, including several 50,000 watt directional stations that must protect them. KNX and CBA operate(d) with 50,000 watts non-directional on the same channel. Apparently L.A. and New Brunswick are far enough from each other than neither station had to null their nighttime patterns. All other I-B stations use directional signals at night.
2 - Several Canadian clear channel stations have left the air: 690 CINF (formerly CBF) and 940 CINW (formerly CBM) Montreal signed off due to financial reasons. 1070 CBA Moncton is now on the FM band. 1550 CBE Windsor is scheduled to be replaced by two FM stations. And CBJ Chicoutimi, Quebec, also switched to the FM dial, but CKDO Oshawa, Ontario, took the 1580 frequency and inherited its protections.
3 - 760 KFMB San Diego operates by day with 5000 watts non-directional due to its proximity to KBRT Avalon, a daytime station on 740, 70 miles away. When KBRT signs off at sunset, KFMB goes to 50,000 watts but with a directional pattern to protect WJR Detroit.
4 - 870 WWL New Orleans and 1030 WBZ Boston are the only Class I-A stations that operate with directional patterns, not to protect other stations, but to put a stronger signal over the largest population centers in their markets. These patterns are now grandfathered so it's unlikely they could return to non-directional operation. All other I-A stations are non-directional.
5 - 990 CBW Winnipeg, 1550 CBE Windsor, 1560 KNZR Bakersfield and 1580 CKDO Oshawa are the only Class A stations in the U.S. and Canada that operate with less than 50,000 watts full-time. CBW runs 50,000 watts by day; 46,000 watts by night. CBE and CKDO operate at 10,000 watts full-time. And KNZR transmits with 25,000 watts by day and 10,000 watts by night. Several Mexican Class A stations broadcast with less than 50,000 watts and a few run with more.
6 - 1180 Radio Marti has no call letters and is outside the jurisdiction of the FCC. It reportedly runs 100,000 watts full-time, in a very directional pattern toward Cuba, from Marathon in the Florida Keys. Its signal can barely be heard in the Miami area, where its studios are. WAVS in Davie, just north of Miami, broadcasts day and night, one channel away on 1170, because Radio Marti's signal is so highly directional.
7 - WOWO gave up its status as a Class A station, reducing power to 9,800 watts at night to allow 1190 WLIB New York to operate full-time. And KGA has plans to reduce its nighttime power to 15,000 watts and give up its Class A status, allowing 1510 KSPN Piedmont CA to operate with increased power at night to better cover the Bay Area.

Gregg
[email protected]

 

[fybush]

I include the old I-A and I-B classifications, although the FCC now groups all these stations into Class A.

This is not strictly true. The former I-A stations became "Class A," as did the former I-Bs such as WGY and KGO. But the former II-A and II-B stations are now internationally designated as Class B, which means they don't get the same nighttime skywave protection that the class A stations receive.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Some of the former Class IIIs that now operate with high power have excellent skywaves. Also, some of the stations that operate with less than 50 kW have major lobes that exceed many 50 kW stations, especially non directional 50 kW stations. I'd like to see a list in order of all stations of all classes day or night that have a major lobe that exceeds the minimum for Class B 50 kW minimum efficiency of 1994 mV/m @ 1 km. Some 5 kW stations would even qualify.

Also, there's the debatable matter of certain Class A stations that operate with less than 50 kW day and/or night or use a series limiting resistor day and/or night and are licensed as 50 kW under old rules. So any list rules are kind of arbitrary.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Many of the new 50 kW day and/or night Class Bs that were Class IIIs are also among the 100 oldest stations in the nation. These include WWJ, KMJ, KJR, WTMJ, WFDF, and KKOL.

WFLF in Pine Hills, Florida is also 46 kW nighttime. You noted that CBW was 46 kW nighttime. As I recall, both were previously licensed as 50 kW nighttime.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

CFRB is considered to be a Class B domestically, at least until quite recently, but as Class A internationally, even though it is not protected in the United States, and WINS cannot possibly protect it fully as a Class A. I discovered this while investigating the possibility of using 1010 kHz close to the border. I found that you have to protect the 0.1 mV/m daytime to 5 uV/m at the border and 0.5 mV/m skywave service to 25 uV/m at the border.

 

[fybush]

CFRB is considered to be a Class B domestically, at least until quite recently, but as Class A internationally, even though it is not protected in the United States, and WINS cannot possibly protect it fully as a Class A. I discovered this while investigating the possibility of using 1010 kHz close to the border. I found that you have to protect the 0.1 mV/m daytime to 5 uV/m at the border and 0.5 mV/m skywave service to 25 uV/m at the border.

I believe this is a result of a deal specially negotiated between CFRB and WINS in the '90s to accept mutual interference over western New York in exchange for both stations being allowed to reconfigure their DAs to better serve their home markets. Westinghouse (or was it CBS by then?) bought KLRA 1010 in Little Rock and shut it off as part of that deal, and it assisted WRNJ 1000 in NJ in moving to 1580 to get out of the way of an expanded WINS day signal.

 

[radioman148]

Until around the mid 60s most of the 1As were the only stations in North America on their frequencies at night. The four Chicago clears were among those along with stations like WSM, WNBC, WLW, WSB, WJR, WBAP/WFAA, WCCO, WHAS, WWL, WCBS, KDKA, WBZ, WHO, KYW (WTAM), KMOX, WHAM, WOAI.
Those are the ones I remember from the late 50s & into the mid 60s before the frequencies started getting crowded.
A few of them remained totally clear at night into the early 80s such as WLS.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

7 - WOWO gave up its status as a Class A station, reducing power to 9,800 watts at night to allow 1190 WLIB New York to operate full-time.

Still, 15 years on, one of the saddest days in radio history.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

CFRB is considered to be a Class B domestically, at least until quite recently, but as Class A internationally, even though it is not protected in the United States, and WINS cannot possibly protect it fully as a Class A. I discovered this while investigating the possibility of using 1010 kHz close to the border. I found that you have to protect the 0.1 mV/m daytime to 5 uV/m at the border and 0.5 mV/m skywave service to 25 uV/m at the border.

I believe this is a result of a deal specially negotiated between CFRB and WINS in the '90s to accept mutual interference over western New York in exchange for both stations being allowed to reconfigure their DAs to better serve their home markets. Westinghouse (or was it CBS by then?) bought KLRA 1010 in Little Rock and shut it off as part of that deal, and it assisted WRNJ 1000 in NJ in moving to 1580 to get out of the way of an expanded WINS day signal.

This goes back to when the Canadian government took over 690 from CFRB. To appease them, they gave them I-B status at least internationally on 1010. The Region 2 database still showed it as Class II/Class B 10 years ago or so both domestically and internationally. After an inquiry by an associate of mine regarding the use of 1010, the FCC changed the database to show it as Class A internationally, but Class B domestically. Now, AM Query, which uses this database, says Class A domestically and internationally. I don't know when this change was made, and if it was ever Class B or just an error in the database.

CBEW on 97.5 just signed on a month or so ago with the CBE programming simulcast. 1550 will be vacated by the CBC if all goes according to plan, but there are signal complaints about the highly directional signal of 97.5. If they do vacate, it is likely someone will want the 1550. CKWW 580 has a great groundwave signal with just 500 watts, though they don't have a protected skywave. It is not currently known whether CBEF will give up 540 if and when it moves to FM, which might be a better match for CKWW with 2500 watts day/5000 watts night.

 

[audioguy]

Still, 15 years on, one of the saddest days in radio history.

The really sad thing is that this station, like so many others today, just airs syndicated programs and infomercials. You can hear the same stuff on a thousand other stations up and down the dial. See: http://wowo.com/Programs/ProgramLineup.aspx.

When I was a kid it was cool to listen to WOWO because they had unique, locally-produced programming that you couldn't hear anywhere else. Today, there's nothing on that station that would make me want to listen-- even if they still had a good signal (which they do not). And IBOC did not help!

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

CFRB is considered to be a Class B domestically, at least until quite recently, but as Class A internationally, even though it is not protected in the United States, and WINS cannot possibly protect it fully as a Class A. I discovered this while investigating the possibility of using 1010 kHz close to the border. I found that you have to protect the 0.1 mV/m daytime to 5 uV/m at the border and 0.5 mV/m skywave service to 25 uV/m at the border.

I believe this is a result of a deal specially negotiated between CFRB and WINS in the '90s to accept mutual interference over western New York in exchange for both stations being allowed to reconfigure their DAs to better serve their home markets. Westinghouse (or was it CBS by then?) bought KLRA 1010 in Little Rock and shut it off as part of that deal, and it assisted WRNJ 1000 in NJ in moving to 1580 to get out of the way of an expanded WINS day signal.

The new WINS array may have reduced the interference to CFRB, but with the standard pattern, and maybe even the theoretical, I don't think it can put less than 25 uV/m into Canada at night. Maybe it is based on 20:1 desired to undesired signal ratio, but the applications are not available that far back on the internet. I'd like to see the application. Anybody have a copy?

 

[K4WRF]

Group W purchased KLRA in Little Rock Arkansas and took it silent, that reduced the night time interference received by WINS and to a lessor degree CFRB. KLRA's 10kW night directional sent a major lobe almost towards WINS. That and the 1000 kHz move allowed the pattern to be relaxed in some directions. CFRB eventually did relax slightly towards the SW. Both WINS and CFRB made significant changes in tower heights, placements and parameters.

 

[w9wi]

The really sad thing is that this station, like so many others today, just airs syndicated programs and infomercials. You can hear the same stuff on a thousand other stations up and down the dial. See: http://wowo.com/Programs/ProgramLineup.aspx.

And what's *really* interesting...

is that this is by no means a new complaint...

Consider, for example, this link which, in considering whether to maintain the clear status of clear channels, asks whether it's worth doing when many clears are affiliated with the same networks & carry the same programs:
http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/40s-OCR/BC%201946%2001%2007-Page-17.pdf#search=%22program%20duplication%20clear%20channels%22

IOW, going back to the 1930s, if you tuned across the dial at night, you were likely to hear the same stuff on stations all up and down the dial.

Just for an example... in the May 1936 RADEX on David's site, listed at 7:30 Tuesday was Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians. (their spelling) It was carried on 81 stations, including twenty clear-channel outlets -- two of them in Canada. (including CKAC, which at the time was not all-French...)

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

WOWO had an application for 15 kW night with four towers as I recall that would have improved things a bit but it got turned down. Now you have the problem of having to protect WCHB and WRTO on 1200 as well in a general direction you could probably otherwise send the most power in a reconfiguration that would allow some improvement in the night signal, and possibly some de facto skywave service.

If the clear channel stations hadn't been so determined to prevent serious competition, regional channels could have possibly been allowed more power years ago, alleviating the demand for clear channel frequencies. Consider that perhaps one or more of WDFN, WISN, and KFAN could have found regional channels to upgrade on years ago instead of all going on 1130.

Remember the "echo" you could hear on such adjacent frequencies as WNBC 660 and WMAQ 670, and WCCO 830 and WHAS 840 when they both had the same network newscasts? I imagine you heard that a lot in the days of network programming in the early days of radio.

 

[schmave]

Still, 15 years on, one of the saddest days in radio history.

The really sad thing is that this station, like so many others today, just airs syndicated programs and infomercials. You can hear the same stuff on a thousand other stations up and down the dial. See: http://wowo.com/Programs/ProgramLineup.aspx.

When I was a kid it was cool to listen to WOWO because they had unique, locally-produced programming that you couldn't hear anywhere else. Today, there's nothing on that station that would make me want to listen-- even if they still had a good signal (which they do not). And IBOC did not help!

This. I remember wherever I listened to WOWO in the eastern half of the country (this was before I was aware it was not heard of the west), the station screamed Fort Wayne and its tradition. Remembering it is tied to memories of fun summers in western Ohio with family growing up. And yeah, now it sounds like anything else. Truly a shame.

 

[Gregg]

Getting back to the question of CFRB and WINS on 1010, my 1977 Broadcasting Yearbook says 1010 is a Canadian and Cuban clear channel frequency. At that time, the only two Canadian stations using 1010 were CFRB Toronto and CBR Calgary.

In the Canadian section of the Broadcasting Yearbook, it said both use a directional antenna (DA-2) around the clock, so that means they're both Class I-B. If CBR were only protecting a Cuban station on its frequency, it would only need a DA-1 signal, nulled to the southeast at night. I assume the reason CBR needs a more complicated directional signal around the clock in the middle of rural Alberta is to also protect CFRB.

So that's why I figured both stations were I-B.

(For the record, the Cuban clear channel station on 1010 was CMKM Holguin. According to Broadcasting Yearbook 1977, it had only been operating at 5000 watts during pre-Castro days as a relay of Radio Musical Nacional. But it still got clear channel status. Since the Cuban government doesn't cooperate with any regional radio commission, who knows what power it puts out now.)

Gregg
[email protected]

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

There are quite a few stations outside of the United States that are considered to be Class A under treaty, even though many are clearly Class B domestically. Many of these are in the Caribbean and South America, and some in Canada. Many of these are not on Clear Channels, but on Regional Channels. These include CIGM Sudbury, Ontario on 790. You can find them on AM Query by just entering Class A into the search. In application searches, you will find them in the Nighttime Allotment Study, as a whole bunch of entries at five degree increments of azimuth at the edge of the protected skywave contour. These apparently are now all shown as Class A domestically. I am curious as to why some of the high power US Regional stations are not considered as Class A internationally under treaty. I think they put all the stations outside the US in as Class A domestically because some software was using the domestic Class and ignoring the skywave protection, though it is usually not much of an issue.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

CIGM has moved to FM, but the allotment (Class A) remains in the Region 2 database.

 

[Gregg]

Since posting my original list, I've found that 810 WGY Schenectady NY is also one of those Class I-B stations mentioned in Footnote 1 that run 50,000 watts non-directional around the clock, as KNBR, KOA and KNX also do (and CBA Moncton used to do).

That makes WGY an oddity, since it shares 810 with another Class I-B, KGO San Francisco. In most cases, when Class I-B stations share a frequency, they have to protect each other, except for KNX and CBA which were so far apart, both got to use non-directional signals. In this case, KGO protects WGY with an eastern null around the clock, but WGY doesn't have to protect KGO, even at night.

General Electric put WGY on the air in 1922. GE also put KGO on the air in 1924. Perhaps because GE owned both stations, that's how WGY and KGO both got Class I-B status even though WGY is non-directional around the clock?


Gregg
[email protected]

 

[davideduardo]

There are quite a few stations outside of the United States that are considered to be Class A under treaty, even though many are clearly Class B domestically. Many of these are in the Caribbean and South America, and some in Canada. Many of these are not on Clear Channels, but on Regional Channels.

Where are you seeing what we would consider a Class A in South America? In my experience, the FCC database is and always has been hopelessly wrong or out of date on non-NARBA countries, and if it is the FCC database that applies classes, I'd recommend being skeptical of it.

In the early 60's, Colombia made all channels to 1000 kHz eligible for one if not two 50 kw stations (a few were allowed 100 kw and one got 250 kw)... so to them, 540 to 1000 are all A channels. 1000-1250 are regional with 5 to 10 kw and all above are locals with 1 to 5 kw. Venezuela did a similar thing, but considered 10 kw to be an equivalent A in most cases, althoug some 50's and 100's were built. We see similar situations in all Central America where there is no relation to US channel types.

Anecdotally, at some point in the late 60's I got a letter from the FCC saying my HCFV1 was causing heterodyne interference to US stations on 810 kHz and was in violation of the ITU allocations standards. Of course, the Ecuadorian government had licensed it to 805 kHz and that is where it was operating properly. I never understood why the FCC contacted the station and not the Ministry of Communications, the entity that licensed my station.