Yep, and my location is at 42 24 34 Latitude. So there's a smidgeon of Canada that's farther south than me. IIRC Point Pelee and Pelee island are park land.
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AM Frequency of the Week: 1000
- Thread starter cyberdad
- Start date
From 20 miles west of Detroit, MI--
Day: Portable or in the car, nothing. With a better antenna and receiver at home, a fair to weak WMVP. Some slop from semi-local WDEO 990 KHz (~30 miles). I've also received WCCD Parma, Ohio on this frequency in the past during the day.
Night: WMVP blasts in here. Excellent signal, but not quite the strongest Chicago AM for me. WBBM is generally the strongest of the bunch, audible 24/7 here (Weak during the day but copyable). WLS would be as well, however IBOC from 2nd adjacent local WFDF hoses it. WSCR does alright here, subject to slop from WNZK when they move to 680 KHz at night.
I've also received what sounds like weak Spanish/Latin music & talk on 1000 KHz which I've been unable to positively ID. Not a peep from KTOK or KOMO here -- I've tried for them many times unsuccessfully.
Day: Portable or in the car, nothing. With a better antenna and receiver at home, a fair to weak WMVP. Some slop from semi-local WDEO 990 KHz (~30 miles). I've also received WCCD Parma, Ohio on this frequency in the past during the day.
Night: WMVP blasts in here. Excellent signal, but not quite the strongest Chicago AM for me. WBBM is generally the strongest of the bunch, audible 24/7 here (Weak during the day but copyable). WLS would be as well, however IBOC from 2nd adjacent local WFDF hoses it. WSCR does alright here, subject to slop from WNZK when they move to 680 KHz at night.
I've also received what sounds like weak Spanish/Latin music & talk on 1000 KHz which I've been unable to positively ID. Not a peep from KTOK or KOMO here -- I've tried for them many times unsuccessfully.
No WGN during the day?
Wow I'm forgetful in my old age. Yes absolutely, WGN is in all day here in SE Michigan. WGCR is often heard here too in the evening before they leave the air. Also caught WRZN once or twice on 720 at night. Although I suspect they may have been on day power.
I thought so. Are you ever able to hear WYLL day or night?
I used to sometimes hear (then) WJJD at night in London, Ontario. A frequent overnight stop for me on business trips between Detroit and Toronto. London is a little over 100 miles from each of those cities. IIRC, that was when WJJD was running 5kw from their Des Plaines site before becoming WYLL and building a separate 50kw nighttime site in the southwest suburbs. It's probably been at least 15 years since I've spent a night in the Detroit-Windsor area, but the last time I spent a night in London was about three years ago, Then, 1160 sounded almost like a graveyard channel with nothing identifiable rising to the top.
WYLL pops in toward the early evening hours, gives our local 1160 WCXI stiff competition. Don't recall hearing them during the day, but if I can null WCXI it may be possible.
1160 still sounds like a pseudo-graveyard channel most nights š
Back in the day when WJJD ran 50KW limited to KSL, I heard them on the east coast before signoff. Now as you say 1160 is like a graveyard channel at night.
How strong is WCXI at your location, K8PLW? It's way below M-3 predicted field strength at my current receiving location 30 miles NNE, close to the pattern maximum. I got an FCC Surplus FIM-41 a few months ago. I measured it at 1.35 mV/m the other day, consistent with a path conductivity of 2 mS/m, compared to 8 mS/m on the M-3 Map. It may be better conductivity to the South, once you get near 8 Mile.
CXI puts in a solid signal here. Im ~16 miles SE of their new site in Milford Twp. Plus they send most of their power in my general direction for obvious reasons (Protect WYLL). Also no trouble in the western suburbs receiving 'CXIs little sister: 1460 WPON. I believe they're diplexed. Although WPON runs far less power than WCXI (570 watts days?). Im surprised you don't receive it better up your way, their COL is still Fenton if I'm not mistaken. As you say, ground conductivity is undoubtedly a factor.
WPON is less than 200 microvolts/meter. It was difficult to measure, because it is close to the noise floor. Without walking the FIM-41 around to an electrically quiet location, it's impossible. I'll experiment with it soon.
In the old days in Genesee County before WCXI, you could hear WJJD at around 25 microvolts per meter from the Des Plaines site. Near the limits of sensitivity on a Panasonic RF-2200.
Years ago, when I had a meter loaned to me, WPON from Loon Lake was 170 uV/m. Now it's 3 miles further away. WCXI was around 250 uV/m from North Rd. in the Winter from my current receiving location East of the sites.
WPON was much stronger from Square Lake and Telegraph, with 1000 watts nondirectional, probably 750 watts after the SLR efficiency resistor or later reduced input. It was at 282 mV/m @ 1 km, minimum efficiency, to reduce overlap with WKMF, WOHO, WCHB, WSDS, WIBM, and WHLS. In those days when WPON went on, overlap was de minimis allowed, but stations had to operate at reduced efficiency. There were hearings to negotiate it, you can find some of these proceedings online.
Some of those reduced efficiencies are spelled out on History Cards as conditions of the License grant. Some even show up on QSL Letters found online. WCBY Cheboygan had it on both the History Card and a detailed QSL Letter found online. Evidence on History Cards are often shown as from objections from overlapping stations to the grant.
In the old days in Genesee County before WCXI, you could hear WJJD at around 25 microvolts per meter from the Des Plaines site. Near the limits of sensitivity on a Panasonic RF-2200.
Years ago, when I had a meter loaned to me, WPON from Loon Lake was 170 uV/m. Now it's 3 miles further away. WCXI was around 250 uV/m from North Rd. in the Winter from my current receiving location East of the sites.
WPON was much stronger from Square Lake and Telegraph, with 1000 watts nondirectional, probably 750 watts after the SLR efficiency resistor or later reduced input. It was at 282 mV/m @ 1 km, minimum efficiency, to reduce overlap with WKMF, WOHO, WCHB, WSDS, WIBM, and WHLS. In those days when WPON went on, overlap was de minimis allowed, but stations had to operate at reduced efficiency. There were hearings to negotiate it, you can find some of these proceedings online.
Some of those reduced efficiencies are spelled out on History Cards as conditions of the License grant. Some even show up on QSL Letters found online. WCBY Cheboygan had it on both the History Card and a detailed QSL Letter found online. Evidence on History Cards are often shown as from objections from overlapping stations to the grant.
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Was this during the day?
This was definitely during the Day. You could even get WAIT 820 with just 5 kW, by nulling WOSU, before CHAM, and I think WMAQ when it used a 5 kW AUX (Others said 10kW, but I think that was later. I'll look at the Hx Cards.). WAIT Days was stronger than WMAQ on AUX facilities. WIND had two problems, WQTE/WHND/WRDT 560 in Monroe, MI, and the image from WKMF/WFNT 1470 on 560. WIND still comes in pretty good Days by the time you get to Lansing, on a Delco car radio. WMBI didn't come in though, partly due to only being ~5 kW, partly due to WUNN 1110 Mason, MI. WTMJ came in srurpringly well, somewhat less than WMAQ, and if you went into a nearby null from the old 5 kW WFDF 910 DA, you could get WLS 890 well without strong WFDF sidebands, and WOKY 920 Days with its 20 kW DA IDF equivalent to the East.
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I was able to get WAIT during the 80s when I would stay overnights in London, Ontario. This was when they were operating with 1kw nights from their "chicken farm" transmitter site north of Elmhurst and had just gotten said nighttime authorization, This bit of semi-regular DX ended when CHAM moved to 820 from 1280.
You also mentioned WTMJ. I also though their signal was surprisingly good in much of lower Michigan before eventually running in to CFCO splatter as one traveled East. I don't think WTMJ was obligated to protect CFCO, but their beaming their signal north when they increased day power to 50kw accomplished just that.
WTMJ doesn't seem as good to the East as when they were 5 kW nondirectional, and it's supposed to be better. They would only have to protect CFCO in Canada, though most protect each other from agreement rules, 0.5 mV/m to 0.5 mV/m for first adjacents.
Old DA-N pattern. I thought the nondirectional stick was higher though.
New Day DA. Near Union Grove, WI.
Old DA-N pattern. I thought the nondirectional stick was higher though.
New Day DA. Near Union Grove, WI.
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Pretty much the same at my location,
WTMJ supposedly sending more daytime juice here with their 50kw day pattern, but i haven't noticed any significant difference. At night the old two-tower 5kw pattern was definitely better than how they're doing with 10kw from their antenna farm near Union Grove, WI. Although that may be at least partially do to 620 being more crowded than back in the day.
A bit surprised that you can hear WOKY days. That directional pattern really helps. I'm about 75 miles south of them and I can't hear them at all. I usually hear WBAA during the day.
WTMJ seems to be about the same at my location during the day, but a little better at night than when they used the old 5KW pattern.
Quaternary Geology of Michigan 1982.
Looks like the soil types to the South are better for conductivity than to the East. Not a 1:1 correspondence, but the darker blue and lighter blue are better, greenish brown, pink and violet areas are progressively worse. See numerous applications for facility increases online. Greens are in between. Much more detailed and predictive than M-3 in Michigan. There is a big change in Northwest Oakland, North and West of Square Lake and Telegraph. WUFL 1030 has a 270 degree Proof that goes straight West (270 degrees) into the area of WCXI and WPON, and decreases West of Dequindre and especially Telegraph. Not shown on the APP online, but much worse to the NW on the 1985 Proof (WDRQ 1030 when it signed on).
Looks like the soil types to the South are better for conductivity than to the East. Not a 1:1 correspondence, but the darker blue and lighter blue are better, greenish brown, pink and violet areas are progressively worse. See numerous applications for facility increases online. Greens are in between. Much more detailed and predictive than M-3 in Michigan. There is a big change in Northwest Oakland, North and West of Square Lake and Telegraph. WUFL 1030 has a 270 degree Proof that goes straight West (270 degrees) into the area of WCXI and WPON, and decreases West of Dequindre and especially Telegraph. Not shown on the APP online, but much worse to the NW on the 1985 Proof (WDRQ 1030 when it signed on).
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