640 and 1070 West Coast Clear Channels make it to the Midwest

[radioman148]

As tvnut said KFI used to be easy especially in the winter. It got tougher gradually and then when WMFN came on that was the end of hearing KFI in the Chicago area. KNX was always tougher, but doable especially in the early morning.

 

[gr8oldies]

I heard KFI in the early 80s in Ohio, and apparently, for a short time Cuba was off the air by 1am because they were in the clear.

 

[cyberdad]

Thanks! I always figured KFI would be the easier of the two here. To be fair, this was an extremely brief catch, just enough to positively ID, and very weak. I hear stories of the "Good old days" 40-50 years ago when KFI and KNX were regulars in the Midwest. Hard to imagine.

IME, I wouldn't classify either one as a "regular", but they both turned up from time to time. Along with KNBR, which was somewhat more rare, and was also pinched by splatter from WMAQ (now WSCR) on 670.

As for KNX, I'm sure I've probably heard it a few times since I last heard it several years ago, as well since I actively began pursuing it a few months back. I'll hear quick fragments of a news story, but these vanish quickly. Or it turns out to be KHMO. (Or both). However you slice it, I can't claim it as a KNX catch. The mystery is enhanced by the fact that KHMO is a CBS affilliate. This morning before sunrise, I got a couple of minutes of a CBS network newscast/ Got my hopes up. Then it turned out to be KHMO.

 

[radioman148]

IME, I wouldn't classify either one as a "regular", but they both turned up from time to time. Along with KNBR, which was somewhat more rare, and was also pinched by splatter from WMAQ (now WSCR) on 670.

KFI was much easiier to catch in the late 70s and early 80s during the winter. Maybe not everynight, but most nights. There were times during winter when I could hear it on a good car radio driving around the Chicago area. Sometimes Cuba was a pest. KNBR for me was tougher. I could only get it when then WMAQ was off the air.

 

[Dondd]

To be fair, this was an extremely brief catch, just enough to positively ID, and very weak.

That's the way most of my long distance skywave (and regionals) are captured. Little time to hear the station clearly before the signals fade into the mess.

 

[Dondd]

Heard 1070 AM, KHMO, Hannibal, MO/ Quincy, IL, in central Texas north of Austin, south of Temple.
I'd never heard before.
5000 watts night/ 1,000 day, can see why KNX has difficulty being heard in Texas and east.

 

[radioman148]

Heard 1070 AM, KHMO, Hannibal, MO/ Quincy, IL, in central Texas north of Austin, south of Temple.
I'd never heard before.
5000 watts night/ 1,000 day, can see why KNX has difficulty being heard in Texas and east.

Yes they are a pest when trying to hear KNX in Illinois.

 

[cyberdad]

Yes they are a pest when trying to hear KNX in Illinois.

And both KNX and KHMO run the CBS network newscast at the top of the hour.