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970 WFLA - Can anyone hear this at night?

gar hi

gar hi

I was wondering how far 970 WFLA in Tampa got out at night because they've increased their power to 11kw at night. There are no radio transmitters anywhere near me here in the part of Tampa where I am and the station's strength would make it seem like it's much stronger than it is.

There doesn't seem to be too much competition on 970 either in other parts of the country...

http://www.amlogbook.com/freq.htm#970


I'd be curious to see who can pick this up and how far it gets out.


Gary
 
Great local signal & great station...I listen to it a lot when Siesta Key calls my name, but their huge null to the north keeps it from being heard up here in Indiana.
 
Back in the days before the FCC cluttered up the AM dial and allowed Daytime stations to operate at night, I heard and verified (QSL'd) WFLA-970 and WSUN-620 while living in Riverside, CA (around 1960-62). In those days, it was not difficult to catch some good DX on the AM band after midnight, when many stations signed off the air. Also, at midnight Sunday, "almost everyone" went off the air for the night, including L.A.'s flamethrower, KFI-640, leaving a wide-open AM dial for weak signal hunting!

Some of the better catches I remember from California were WING-1410 Dayton, WSAI-1360 Cincinnati, WCIN-1480 Cincinnati, WRDW-1480 Augusta, WYZE-1480 Atlanta, WSMB-1350, New Orleans, KQV1410 Pittsburgh and many other 1 and 5 KW stations from the Eastern U.S. Some of these stations have since changed call letters or moved on to other frequencies today. Of course, most of the 50KW "Clear Channel" stations were "regulars" at night in California. WLS Chicago, put in a particularly good, steady signal to my Riverside, CA location most every night.

Today, with the AM band overly cluttered, DXing is a real challenge.

I always enjoy remembering the "Good Old Days" DX-wise!
 
KR4BD said:
Back in the days before the FCC cluttered up the AM dial and allowed Daytime stations to operate at night, I heard and verified (QSL'd) WFLA-970 and WSUN-620 while living in Riverside, CA (around 1960-62).
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Hey, that's great! And I thought picking up a 50kw that far was an accomplishment.

I'm still doing my best to hear KFI from Tampa. The frequency is not cluttered. There's some station from Cuba but I can reduce it's reception by turning the radio away from that direction which is the direction of LA anyway. There's also a weak station on 640 from somewhere here in Florida but it rarely comes in strong enough to identify. They play old music, so at least I can sort that one out too. All that's left is a third station that seems to be coming from the west and it sounds like talk but it hasn't gotten strong enough to hear any specific words.


Some of the better catches I remember from California were WING-1410 Dayton, WSAI-1360 Cincinnati, WCIN-1480 Cincinnati, WRDW-1480 Augusta, WYZE-1480 Atlanta, WSMB-1350, New Orleans, KQV1410 Pittsburgh and many other 1 and 5 KW stations from the Eastern U.S. Some of these stations have since changed call letters or moved on to other frequencies today. Of course, most of the 50KW "Clear Channel" stations were "regulars" at night in California. WLS Chicago, put in a particularly
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Were you able to get any of the New York or Philadelphia 50kw stations?
 
gar fla asked....

Were you able to get any of the New York or Philadelphia 50kw stations?

Yes...New York's 660, 770, and 880 were all received as was WCAU-1210 from Philadelphia. Never heard KYW-1060 (or whatever the callsign was back then) as I recall because KNX on 1070 was just too powerful where I lived. With an uncluttered band, stations with 5,000 watts could be heard over great distances at that time.

Also heard several stations from Hawaii and Alaska there, too.

I have not heard KFI here in Central KY in several years. Too much clutter in and around 640 these days. Even KOA-850 in Denver is difficult for me because it has to fight through the WHAS-840 IBOC noise. WHAS is only about 50 miles away from me.

As a ham, I have communicated (2-way SSB voice conversation) with a station in Kenai, Alaska on 1870 kHz (just above the AM dial) using only 750 watts from a wire antenna on my "city sized" lot. I've also worked a station in Hawaii on the 160 meter ham band (which runs from 1800 to 2000 kHz).

With a clear frequency, it is truly amazing how far signals can carry with relatively low power.
 
KR4BD wrote: >>I always enjoy remembering the "Good Old Days" DX-wise! >>

Ahh the good ole days of DX. I remember them well.
In 1963 near Portland, Oregon one night I easily received WABC, WCBS, and WBZ.
Most any night in those days you could pick up any of the Chicago 50KW clears all over the west coast.
In the late 70s I picked up WCBS in southern Cal near Palm Springs. Also WLS was a regular catch even into the 80s in California.
KFI was a regular in the Chicago area and KNBR could be received when then WMAQ 670 was off on Monday mornings.
I used to hear KNX on my car radio driving to work on the Chicago expressways around Chicago sunrise in the fall up until about 7 or 8 years ago.
My all time best catches: In Hawaii near Honolulu hearing WLS, WBBM, and WWL in Nov 78.
In Sept 77 I got WCBS in London, UK just before London sunrise.
These were all on a panasonic radio with a built in directional ferrite antenna.
 
Could you give me a full bandscan for Portland, OR from 1963, radioman148? Thanks.

-crainbebo
 
crainbebo said:
Could you give me a full bandscan for Portland, OR from 1963, radioman148? Thanks.

-crainbebo
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I can't remember every frequency from 46 years ago, but I can tell you that the midwest 50KWs were easy catches in the pacific northwest along with many east coast stations. There were real clear channels in those days and the most amazing part of it when I think back was the fact that I was there in August so the days were long & the nights short.
650 WSM, 660 WNBC, 670 WMAQ, 700 WLW, 720, WGN, 740 KCBS, 770 WABC, 780 WBBM, 810 KGO--very big signal into Portland & Seattle sounding as good a local at night with no fading. 820 WBAP, 830 WCCO, 840 WHAS, 850 KOA, 870 WWL, 880 WCBS, 890 WLS, 1030 WBZ were all there.
I didn't listen much up the band but I do remember 1100 Cleveland came in because KFAX was daytime only then. 1110 was Bend, Or with KRLA underneath.
There was probably more, but it was 46 years ago.

BTW: I can't remember the calls but there was a good Top 40 station in Portland on 910.
 
Forgot to mention that when I was in Portland in the 60s I was mostly DXing at night. Don't remember much about the Portland locals except the Top 40 station on 910 that I listened to during the day.
 
Gettin WING, WSAI and stations from Ohio in California is very impressive. KFI is the only station I've ever logged from the West Coast and that was in the 80s.

I've never recieved WFLA in Ohio. I have recieved WLCY (and successors) in Ohio occasioanlly.
 
Sure, 970 comes in many nights up here in Charleston, SC. The only competition to the north at night is that weak Jacksonville station, and Florence, SC with Pittsburgh not usually a factor.

WFLA comes in usually faint over a couple stations, but it can definitely be heard.

Wow, I wish I was living in that era. I heard of people picking up KSL on the beach around Charleston at night in the 1960s. Now, there's 10 stations between me and Salt Lake. Last night, I was listening to WBZ for a few minutes, very clear, and it reminded me of that old time.
 
Speaking of WBZ, here in the Chicago area - where it used to be in the clear - it's now often covered with IBOC hash crap from WHO and KDKA. That's just another "road hazard" for AM dxers now. As for KSL, I've gotten it weakly in southern IL - but in much of the midwest the 1160 from Chicago blots it out. How the FCC ever approved that abomination is beyond me....

Never got WFLA here and never got it from SE PA or New England. I think I got it once on a Caribbean beach in Costa Rica (in 2003), but weakly.
 
BRNout said:
Speaking of WBZ, here in the Chicago area - where it used to be in the clear - it's now often covered with IBOC hash crap from WHO and KDKA. That's just another "road hazard" for AM dxers now. As for KSL, I've gotten it weakly in southern IL - but in much of the midwest the 1160 from Chicago blots it out. How the FCC ever approved that abomination is beyond me....

Never got WFLA here and never got it from SE PA or New England. I think I got it once on a Caribbean beach in Costa Rica (in 2003), but weakly.
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Before the early 80s when Chicago's 1160 then WJJD, was only a daytime station you could regularly hear KSL as soon as WJJD signed off. In fact in the 60s KSL & WJJD were the only stations in the US on 1160.
Things have certainly changed.
 
>>Wow, I wish I was living in that era. I heard of people picking up KSL on the beach around Charleston at night in the 1960s>>

If you go to a place like Hawaii you can still experience DX like it was in that era. Each night you can hear stations from thousands of miles away in all directions.
 
When I lived in Clearwater in '66, I listened to Top 40 on WALT in the daytime and WFLA at night (WLCY was too tame for me.). However, WLCY was first in the ratings - even though they had concerts in Clearwater where they had no signal at night. Tampa Bay was a weird market then. ::)
 
>>Speaking of WBZ, here in the Chicago area - where it used to be in the clear - it's now often covered with IBOC hash crap from WHO and KDKA>>

Yes, WBZ is much harder to hear in northern Illinois these nights.
 
charlestondxman said:
Sure, 970 comes in many nights up here in Charleston, SC. The only competition to the north at night is that weak Jacksonville station, and Florence, SC with Pittsburgh not usually a factor.

WFLA comes in usually faint over a couple stations, but it can definitely be heard.
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I was wondering if there's another station from down here you might be able to get in your location, 540 WFLF. Going by their difference in day and night patterns, it seems you may have a better chance of possibly getting it during the day than at night. :eek: Can you pick up any of the Miami AM stations in Charleston during the day?
 
Yes, I get several South Florida AMs from Charleston during the daytime. WFLF comes in during the day in the summer five miles inland, with a noisy signal, but it can be heard (even with a little interference from the het of our local 1450 and WAYR). On the beach, you can hear it well.

WIOD, amazingly, can be heard faintly on any decent radio around the barrier islands around Charleston during the daytime. It is a weak signal, but you can detect Rush Limbaugh talking. 670 is a little bit stronger than 610, and even 760 from West Palm Beach comes in suprisingly well all year on the beach and a couple miles inland. I have listened to some Dolphins games that way. CMCA also comes in easily.

I have tried to get 640 many times during the day, but the 630 from Savannah stops that.
 
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