• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

AM BAND IN RIO AND BUENOS AIRES

B

BIGSTICK

I am going there in late October, and was just curious if anyone knows what the AM band sounds like at night?
Of course I am in Atlanta and the AM band like everywhere else in tye USA, is alot of garble with thousands of station's bouncing off each other.

Thanks
 
There is a Latin American MW DX group on Yahoo that might be of help. check them out.
Also the ABDX group on Yahoo might have some people who know.

Glenn Hauser at world of radio probably has some contacts in that area too.

Also check with the people at Monitoring Times Magazine. They probably have contacts there who can give you a good idea of what to expect. It seems to me they have a writer or two that knows that area pretty well.

Should be an exciting trip.

What kind of radio are taking?
73

Alan Furst
Round Rock Tx
blog
http://alanfurst.wordpress.com/
 
My guess is that it would be somewhat similar to Europe (and for that matter North America). Strong local signals, a few distant blowtorches, and most channels a mess.
 
BRENT said:
I am going there in late October, and was just curious if anyone knows what the AM band sounds like at night?
Of course I am in Atlanta and the AM band like everywhere else in tye USA, is alot of garble with thousands of station's bouncing off each other.
Click to expand...

Both cities are enormously noisy (RF noise) with all manner of computer interference, power line leakage, improperly shielded electrical boxes ranging from stoplights to wiring that is put in under the cover of night to steal electricity.

I worked with Mega 98.3 and Radio 10 in Buenos Aires. When the AM was built in the mid 90's, the 100 kw transmitter on 710 had to be made directional to get a usable signal over downtown from only about 45 km away... effectively putting 130 kw over downtown.

If you are in the hotel areas of either city, forget it. The noise will be very high, and the high powered (lots of 50's in Bs. As. and many 100's in Rio) preclude a lot of DX, and any you hear will be in the immediate area. Montevideo for Bs. As. or Sao Paulo for Rio... and a few surrounding stations. Getting Chile or Bolivia is very, very hard.

Suggestion, though. Spend the $20 bucks or so and get this year's World Radio TV Handbook from Amazon so you have a reasonable list of stations in the Southern Cone.

Remember, both nations have much more lax broadcasting laws and also don't control interference on much of anything. Also, call letters are seldom known or used... I never knew the calls of the 2 stations I worked for. The station name is the identitfier, not the calls.
 
I was there the last time about 1995. There was one AM station that was all-regressamos (oldies) which to them was lots and lots of tangos.

Be sure to enjoy people-watching on Florida Avenue, a pedestrian-mall street.
Of course, the people watching is good on all the big streets, but Florida avenue is cram-full of beautiful people.
 
Tom Wells said:
I was there the last time about 1995. There was one AM station that was all-regressamos (oldies) which to them was lots and lots of tangos.
Click to expand...

By about '97 there were no more music AMs except the community stations above 1600 (where there may be 4 or 5 on the same frequency in Greater Buenos Aires) and all stations are talk or sports talk. Some think soccer is the national sport; I think it is politics.

I don't know what you mean by "regressamos" but tango is no oldies. 60's and 70's pop, just like in the US, is oldies. Tango is Gardel, who died nearly 80 years ago and who is still played on FM Tango... it's not standards, either. It's the make-believe soul of Argentina. You say you like it because you are Argentine, but you really don't listen...

Be sure to enjoy people-watching on Florida Avenue, a pedestrian-mall street.
Of course, the people watching is good on all the big streets, but Florida avenue is cram-full of beautiful people.
Click to expand...

Watch out for the guy with a mate or a coffee in their hands who bumps into you and then takes out his handkerchief and tries to dry you... he takes your wallet a lot better than he cleans the stain. Don't hail cabs going down the street... get them only at cab stands or when called by your hotel.
 
While you're there, DEFINITELY sample the maté (pronounced matay), it's a type of tea that they have only in Argentina, some call it the national drink, it's delightful and served in a little cup thing that vaguely resembles a bong. You pour the maté in, then the water and drink from the spout. My ex ro0mate from Argentina said "real Argentinos" don't drink it with sugar. You can buy some maté and the "cup" you drink it from and bring it back home with you. There may be some stores in your area that sell maté for you to continue enjoying after you come back. I haven't had some in years, and now I need to find a place here in Ottawa that sells it.
 
DavidEduardo said:
I worked with Mega 98.3 and Radio 10 in Buenos Aires. When the AM was built in the mid 90's, the 100 kw transmitter on 710 had to be made directional to get a usable signal over downtown from only about 45 km away... effectively putting 130 kw over downtown.
Click to expand...

I'm curious if this is due to poor ground conductivity or due to the noise you spoke of....or a combination of both. I would have thought that the ground conductivity in that portion of South America would be at least reasonably good.
 
cyberdad said:
I'm curious if this is due to poor ground conductivity or due to the noise you spoke of....or a combination of both. I would have thought that the ground conductivity in that portion of South America would be at least reasonably good.
Click to expand...

Too much noise. That is why we had to push the signal (used a passive quarter wave "behind" the 5/8 wave main mast) towards the market as even 100 kw was not enough in some areas, particularly downtown where there are lots of condos and flats in large buildings.

The conductivity varies just like the US. The pampa and the Buenos Aires area have decent conductivity, but 17 million people, more than NY metro, can generate lots of noise. Rio is smaller, maybe 12 million, but also noisy and surrounded by mountains and rock, so signals don't get out well. Once you get west, you are in the Andean foot hills, very sandy or rocky land, and bad conductivity.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom