800 - 1000: What does your AM band look like at night?

[tomservo]

Might as well join the party...

Grenada, MS

Day:

940 - WCPC - Houston, MS (50kW but ya wouldn't know it)
960 - WABG - Greenwood, MS (low low low audio means 950 Marianna, AR comes in good on cloudy days)

And none of them are strong enough to actually be listened to on a regular basis.

Night:

820 - WBAP - Ft. Worth, TX
840 - WHAS - Louisville, KY
850 - KOA - Denver, CO
870 - WWL - New Orleans, LA (like a local every night)
960 - WERC - Birmingham, AL (pretty reliable, a taste of 'home')
980 - WYFN - Nashville, TN
990 - KWAM - Memphis, TN (mixed with regional Mexican)

Everything else was mixed, or hash from the DSL/alarms around here.

 

[schmave]

From Houston

800 - XEROK. Decent signal, usually coming in at sunset when 790 turns off IBOC.
810 - A mess.
820 - WBAP. Solid every night.
830 - WCCO on occasion but usually a mess.
840 - Mess.
850 - KOA or the local station on this frequency. Sometimes they fight it out.
860 - Unsure; heard a couple different things here.
870 - WWL
880 - Nebraska I believe.
890 - Spanish (Cuba?)
900 - Mexico City EVERY night.
910 to 930 - Mess.
940 - See 860.
950 - KPRC (local)
960 to 990 - Mess.
1000 - Spillover from local 1010 (Spanish-language), at least on my side of town (NW)

 

[deepstblu]

Trenton NJ area:

800 WTMR Camden NJ; before they got nighttime authority in the '80s it would have been CKLW or Bonaire
810 WGY
820 mix (WNYC days)
830 WEEU Reading PA
840 WHAS
850 mix
860 CJBC (WWDB Philadelphia days)
870 WWL
880 WCBS
890 WLS
900 CHML Hamilton ON (WURD Philadelphia days)
910 mix
920 WPHY Trenton, subject to heavy interference at night (practically within the COL!) from WHJJ, CJCH and especially CKNX
930 mix, sometimes WBEN Buffalo
940 CINW
950 WPEN Philadelphia
960 mix
970 mix (WWDJ Hackensack days)
980 mix
990 WNTP Philadelphia
1000 WMVP

 

[DM601]

From south central Tennessee Sunday and Monday nights:

800: Spanish within jumble
810: Spanish dominates, English talk underneath (WGY has come in well in the past)
820: WBAP
830: WCCO after 9 CST or so after WHAS hash dies down
840: WHAS
850: KOA
860: Jumble (CJBC's sometimes a regular visitor)
870: WWL
880: WCBS
890: WLS
900-920: jumble
930: jumble with brief bursts from something carrying True Oldies Channel
940: Southern gospel riding over jumble
950: Couldnt hear ID over two nights but NFL both Sunday and Monday nights. Also a news station with 'weather on the 8s'; and Cuban time beeps in the mix
960: jumble
970: WGTK Louisville
980-990: jumble
1000: WMVP

 

[BRNout]

From the Malvern/Paoli, PA area @ night:

800 CKLW Windsor, ON (lately - very strong)
810 WGY Schenectady, NY (dependable)
820 WWWB Frederick, MD (weak)
830 WEEU Reading PA
840 WHAS Louisville, KY
850 weak mix, WKNR Cleveland usually dominant
860 CJBC Toronto, ON
870 WWL New Orleans, LA
880 WCBS New York
890 WLS Chicago (weakest of the Chicago clears)
900 CHML Hamilton ON (occasionally fights with a very weak WURD Philadelphia)
910 slop and chop
920 mix of several stations
930 a weak WBEN Buffalo, NY
940 CINW Montreal, QC
950 WPEN Philadelphia
960 static
970 mix
980 WTEM Washington, DC (occasionally CKRU Peterborough, ON)
990 WNTP Philadelphia
1000 WMVP Chicago, IL

 

[pianoplayer88key]

El Cajon, CA:

Day:
800 XESPN Tijuana - sports - local - quite clear
810 usually empty, but once or twice I have heard KGO very faintly under XESPN's analog splatter with a Select-A-Tenna
820 XEVMS(?) Mexicali - spanish - semi-weak with SAT (Select-A-Tenna)
830 KLAA Orange (transmitter near (but not at) I-15 & Hwy 91 near Corona) - talk - somewhat fair with built-in loopstick, fairly clear with SAT
840 empty usually. I almost think I can faintly catch a glimpse of KXNT with a SAT and my radio on a long chain-link fence.
850 X??? Mexicali - spanish - fairly weak with SAT
860 XEMO Tijuana - spanish - local - quite clear
870 KRLA Glendale - talk - fairly weak with loopstick, fair with SAT
880 none
890 TIS at Cabrillo National Monument - semi-weak with SAT
900 none
910 KECR El Cajon - religious (Family Radio) - local - strong
920 not sure if it's Palm Springs or Ensenada - the signal is too weak even with the SAT to be able to tell, but I know something's there
930 KHJ Los Angeles - spanish - quite faint with loopstick, fair with SAT
940 none
950 XEKAM(?) Rosarito - spanish - fairly strong
960 K??? Apple Valley - talk - quite faint with SAT if positioned nearly perfectly, taking into account nulling 950 which is almost 180 degrees off axis.
970 KNWZ Coachella - news/talk - barely detectable with loopstick, fair with SAT
980 KFWB Los Angeles - news - same reception as 970
990 X??? Mexicali - spanish - similar to 970 and 980 but maybe a few dB stronger
1000 KCEO Vista - business talk - fair signal


Night: (note: all are with my radio's built-in antenna unless otherwise specified.)
800 XESPN Tijuana - sports - local - quite clear most of the time. Can hear XEROK almost the same level when I null XESPN.
810 KGO San Francisco - talk - usually a fairly good signal
820 XEVMS(?) Mexicali - spanish - fair signal. Ocassionally have heard WBAP Ft Worth, but it's not a regular here.
830 KLAA Orange (transmitter near (but not at) I-15 & Hwy 91 near Corona) - talk - fair signal. Have heard WCCO on one or two occasions very faintly.
840 KXNT North Las Vegas - talk - fairly good signal
850 KOA Denver - news/talk/sports/? - fair signal
860 XEMO Tijuana - spanish - local - quite clear
870 KRLA Glendale - talk - semi-fair signal. Occasionally hear WWL in the background or when nulling KRLA.
880 sometimes KRVN Lexington, NB, sometimes another station somewhere that I think is mainly spanish but often has english music on. Usually fairly weak, but the music station sometimes comes in fairly well.
890 KDXU St George - news/talk - fair signal
900 probably XEW Mexico City, but could be another spanish one - very faint
910 KECR El Cajon - religious (Family Radio) - local - strong
920 don't know. Probably a few things.
930 KHJ Los Angeles - spanish - fair signal
940 either Mexicali or Fresno - usually very weak.
950 XEKAM(?) Rosarito - spanish - fair signal
960 KKNT Phoenix - talk - fair signal
970 K??? Bakersfield - ? - semi-fair signal
980 KFWB Los Angeles - news - semi-fair signal
990 multi-station competition. Maybe Mexicali, or KTMS Santa Barbara.
1000 KCEO Vista - business talk - very weak. Usually goes extra innings / overtime with KOMO Seattle.

 

[justplaythehits]

Logs from Round Rock (19 miles north of Austin) Texas.
First station listed is generally dominant although on some frequencies it will vary each night.

800 XEROK Juarez MX also CKLW and Transworld Radio Bonaire
810 WHB Kansas City
820 WBAP Ft Worth Also CMCA Santa Catalina Cuba
830 WCCO Minneapolis and KFLT Tuscan, XEITE Mexico City
840 WHAS Louisville
850 KOA Denver
860 KKOW Pittsburg Kansas KONO San Antonio, XEUM Mexico City
870 WWL New Orleans
880 KJOJ Conroe Tx, KRVN Lexington Ne
890 WLS Chicago and KVOZ Laredo Tx
900 XEW Mexico City
910 KNAF Fredricksburg Tx and KXEB Sherman Tx
920 KARN Little Rock, XECQ Culiacan Mx
930 WKY Oklahoma City, KLUP Terrel Hills Tx
940 KIXA Amarillo, WINZ Miami, WYLD New Orleans a real mix of stuff
950 KPRC Houston
960XEK Nuevo Laredo Mx and WERC Birmingham
970 KIXL Del Valle (local)
980 KMBZ Kansas City also KRTX Rosenburg
990 XET Monterrey Mx and KFCD Farmersville Tx and CBW Winnipeg
1000 XEOY Iztacalico Mx WMVP Chicago, KKIM Albuquerque NM

Radios include AOR 7030, ICOM R75, Sony 2010, Eton 1 using Quantum Loop and AOR 380 antennas.

 

[MikeStandardsFromIndiana]

Central Indiana Night

800 CKLW
810 WGY
820 WBAP
830 WCCO
840 WHAS
850 KOA (Some WKNR Splatter)
860 CJBC Toronto
870 WWL
880 WCBS
890 WLS
900 Hamiton Ontario
910 Nothin
920 Nothin
930 Nothin
940 CINF
950 WWJ
960 Nothin
970 Nothin
980 WONE
990 WERK Muncie (barley with its flea power)
1000 WMVP

Central Indiana Daytime
800 CKLW
810 WSYW
820 WOSU/WAIT
830 Nothin
840 WHAS
850 WKNR
860 WGOM
870 Nothin
880 WRFD
890 WLS
900 Nothin
910 Nothin
920 WBAA
930 WHON
940 Nothin
950 WXLW
960 WSBT
970 WGTK
980 WONE
990 WERK
1000 WMVP

 

[PhilJSmith67]

37 miles south of downtown Chicago

Nighttime
800 CKLW Windsor
810 WGY Schenectady
820 WBAP Ft. Worth-Dallas (sometimes with CHAM Hamilton)
830 WCCO Minneapolis-St. Paul
840 WHAS Louisville
850 KOA Denver
860 CJBC Toronto
870 WWL New Orleans
880 WCBS New York
890 WLS Chicago
900 CHML Hamilton
910 (multiple)
920 (multiple)
930 WAUR Sandwich
940 CINW Montréal
950 WNTD Chicago
960 (multiple)
970 (multiple)
980 (multiple)
990 CBW Winnipeg
1000 WMVP Chicago

Daytime
800 WKZW Casey
810 (vacant)
820 WCPT Willow Springs-Chicago (formerly WAIT)
830 (vacant)
840 (vacant)
850 WAIT Crystal Lake
860 WMRI Marion
870 WINU Shelbyville
880 (vacant)
890 WLS Chicago
900 (vacant)
910 (vacant)
920 WBAA West Lafayette
930 WAUR Sandwich
940 WMIX Mount Vernon + WHIT South Haven
950 WNTD Chicago
960 WSBT South Bend
970 WHA Madison
980 WITY Danville
990 (vacant)
1000 WMVP Chicago

 

[tomservo]

Y'know, of all the stations people seem to hear coast to coast, it seems like WWL is one of the most far-reaching nighttime signals in this 800-1000 kHz band--impressive!

 

[Hotseat]

Montgomery, Alabama

800 - Local WMGY

810 - Sometimes Jacksonville, AL ( Don't know the calls)

820 - WBAP

830 - WCCO barely

840 - WHAS

850 - mess

860 - nuttin

870 - WWL

880 - Little bit of WCBS

890 - Struggle between WLS and Cuba

900 thru 940 - mess

950 Local WNZZ

960 WERC Birmingham sometimes

970, 980 mess

990 Knoxville, used to be WNOX, usually comes in pretty good.

1000 WMVP barely

 

[pianoplayer88key]

I wonder what radios you guys are using....

I'm usually using a 10-15 year old Panasonic Shockwave cassette player / radio, and sometimes a Select-A-Tenna. I usually hear something on every single channel except 520 and 1710.

Some of you guys seem to be getting stations that seem to be otherwise impossible. Are you guys using military-grade receivers with tuned full-wavelength longwire antennas?

And, some of you list frequencies on which you get nothing. I assume this means you hear absolutely nothing - not even a trace of a distant stations carrier - as if there was nothing on the air on that frequency. Are you using a crystal set with the antenna disconnected?? ;D ;D :

Now... if only I had a radio decent enough to reliably get at least one station on every single channel from 530 to 1700 in the DAYTIME from anywhere in North America...

 

[PhilJSmith67]

At 37 miles south of Chicago, I am using a mixture of these three receivers...

-- Sangean HDR-1 with stock loop antenna (mildly directional)
-- Panasonic RF-2600 with built-in ferrite-core antenna (directional)
-- Electra/Bearcat DX-1000 with about 25ft copper wire (generally omnidirectional)

I primarily used the first receiver except in cases where a first-adjacent w/ IBOC needed to be nulled out (Panasonic), or the signal was so weak I needed a receiver with better sensitivity and low internal RF noise (the old Bearcat). The Bearcat also has the advantage of selectable IF bandwidth (2.7, 6, or 12 kHz), and on 2.7 it can push back first-adjacent splatter quite well, although the audio is horridly treble-less.

 

[tomservo]

810 - Sometimes Jacksonville, AL ( Don't know the calls)

Hotseat, I believe that's WCKA. That's a pretty good catch as they're only 500 watts at night. Have heard them during the day down there with their 50kW? I've snagged them once north of Auburn.

-- Panasonic RF-2600 with built-in ferrite-core antenna (directional)

I'll be damned, that's the same radio I use when I want to really snag stuff. It's a great radio my father passed along to me, I'm trying to take care of it. It's been running forever on $3 worth of Dollar General generic batteries!

 

[RFLA]

Along the Gulf Of Mexico coast, Louisiana (Don't remember it all)

800 XEROK Juarez MX
810 multi station noise
820 WBAP Ft Worth
830 WFNO Norco,La. (local)
840 WHAS Louisville
850 multi station noise
860 Noise from 870 am
870 WWL New Orleans
880 Noise from 870am
890 WLS Chicago
900 XEW Mexico City


For some reason the gulf does bring in stations but most traced to stations and border blasters from mexico

 

[BRNout]

I wonder what radios you guys are using....

I'm usually using a 10-15 year old Panasonic Shockwave cassette player / radio, and sometimes a Select-A-Tenna. I usually hear something on every single channel except 520 and 1710.

Some of you guys seem to be getting stations that seem to be otherwise impossible. Are you guys using military-grade receivers with tuned full-wavelength longwire antennas?

In my case, I'm just quoting the stuff that I can get on my Sangean DT-300 portable. I also have an Eton E5 and a Sony ICF SW-7600 (the latter being my best for AM), but I didn't count the time that I got KOA 850 in PA on the Sony - as it's not typical. In my case, I stuck with a list of the usual players. My suspicion is that most folks here did the same.

I haven't seen many reports here that require a big longwire setup. Most seem pretty reasonable, listing stations that could be just as easily pulled in by a decent car radio. It's not like the posters are trotting out European stations, which generally do require such setups.

And, some of you list frequencies on which you get nothing. I assume this means you hear absolutely nothing - not even a trace of a distant stations carrier - as if there was nothing on the air on that frequency. Are you using a crystal set with the antenna disconnected?? ;D ;D :

I'd imagine that, by listing "nothing," they mean that the frequency is a mish-mash of interference or is jammed by IBOC splatter. In other words, nothing identifiable. I seriously doubt that anyone is getting an open channel between 800 and 1000 kHz. It's pretty tough to pull station ID's out of the mess on certain frequencies - requires a lot of time and patience. And a really good radio.

 

[gr8oldies]

A combination of car and my GE Superadio III.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

In my case, I'm just quoting the stuff that I can get on my Sangean DT-300 portable. I also have an Eton E5 and a Sony ICF SW-7600 (the latter being my best for AM), but I didn't count the time that I got KOA 850 in PA on the Sony - as it's not typical. In my case, I stuck with a list of the usual players. My suspicion is that most folks here did the same.

I haven't seen many reports here that require a big longwire setup. Most seem pretty reasonable, listing stations that could be just as easily pulled in by a decent car radio. It's not like the posters are trotting out European stations, which generally do require such setups.

Hmm... then maybe my Panasonic Shockwave (walkman-style cassette player with radio) has a bad radio.... and it's actually one of the better portables I've tried. Or should I pretty much forget about regularly pulling in any city-grade signals from east of the Mississippi? Or, are some of you guys having to dig the stations out from under the noise?

I'd imagine that, by listing "nothing," they mean that the frequency is a mish-mash of interference or is jammed by IBOC splatter. In other words, nothing identifiable. I seriously doubt that anyone is getting an open channel between 800 and 1000 kHz. It's pretty tough to pull station ID's out of the mess on certain frequencies - requires a lot of time and patience. And a really good radio.

Actually, when I say nothing, I mean that even when you null IBOC splatter, the frequency is truly open.
Also, not being within 25 miles of a station on 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450 & 1490 does NOT mean you get nothing, in my experience. Sometimes I can pick out several different stations on each frequency, although you are right - ID'ing each one requires a LOT of patience and a good ear. I once (about a year or two ago) heard Radio Disney on 1240 TX'ing from Albuquerque, NM. This was while my local 1240 was ON the air. The two transmitters are 180 degrees opposite directions from me, so I can't null one to get the other. The local was broadcasting an unmodulated carrier at the time, but it's normally easily strong enough to dominate over the interference well enough for casual listening - I'd guess at LEAST 20-30db if not more.

BTW, the farthest I've heard from El Cajon with the Shockwave (and sometimes with the Select-A-Tenna to help) are 780 WBBM Chicago, 830 WCCO Minneapolis, 870 WWL New Orleans, 1500 KSTP St Paul.

 

[BRNout]

BTW, the farthest I've heard from El Cajon with the Shockwave (and sometimes with the Select-A-Tenna to help) are 780 WBBM Chicago, 830 WCCO Minneapolis, 870 WWL New Orleans, 1500 KSTP St Paul.

Well, that's not too shabby! I don't know that any of the listings here in the thread were much beyond the 1,500 mile threshold. Most of my catches were 750 miles or less from here.

Actually, when I say nothing, I mean that even when you null IBOC splatter, the frequency is truly open.

Speaking for myself, I'd say no to that. There's just so much fighting between different weak signals and adjacent channel interference that certain frequencies don't have listenable signals. Just noise or static that you cannot identify.

A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of traveling to Africa. When in a fairly isolated outpost in NW Uganda one night, I pulled out my Sony Walkman and gave it a try, FM involved a couple of repeaters for national stations. Nothing interesting, as the repeaters were local. And, nothing else could be received.

The AM dial was, for the most part, totally open. No static, almost silent - aside from 1 or 2 frequencies with foreign skywave that I could not identify. My guess for one pop sounding station (in Arabic) was Egypt - but I could have been waaaaay off. The other was too weak to copy. Nothing else came in over the entire band (and yes, I had it switched to a 9 kHz step!)

If I had the same collection of radios then that I have now, I would have brought something like the Eton E5 or SW7600GR and the AM frequency would have been a lot more fun. Those radios could do a better job of pulling very weak signals out of the silence.

Anyhow, I got a taste of how the band must have been here some 80 years ago. So silent that I thought something was wrong with my radio!

 

[pianoplayer88key]

My semi-regulars are usually from not farther than Seattle or Denver, although sometimes Oklahoma City makes an appearance more often than some more distant ones. Occasionally DFW also shows up, and recently I've heard what I think is WCCO several times, but I didn't listen long enough to get a positive ID. It was in English, so I know it's not the station in the Bay Area, which is Asian language.
Also, I fairly regularly hear 770 KKOB from Albuquerque, NM, and I'm about 6-8 miles away from 50kW (at night) 760 KFMB.

I usually make a difference between an open frequency and one that has several stations duking it out.
For me, the only open frequencies are 520 and 1710 (my radio tunes from 520 to 1710kHz). A few examples of non-locals heard on battlefields:
1450 Porterville
? (a graveyarder) from Tuscon, AZ, playing Adult Standards
the aformentioned Radio Disney 1240 while the local station was on the air.
Also, sometimes, even before nighttime IBOC was authorized, I used to hear what sounded like IBOC hash on some frequencies part of the night, like 970, for example, and a couple I think somewhere in the 800s, but it may have been more like up in the 1500s - I can't remember now. Any idea what that could have been? Maybe a station was experimenting with digital only operation?