AM Frequency of the Week: 1000

[Schroedingers Cat]

Seasonal variations in the conductivity of four Great Lakes. No Lake Michigan though. Probably similar to in between Lake Huron and Lake Erie and Ontario. Puzzlingly high compared to M-3 (8) and Canada Map (10).

Seasonal-variation-of-electrical-conductivity-of-the-Great-Lakes_Q640.jpg

 

[davideduardo]

Those are some great shots. I've viewed them before.

One question comes to mind about one of those stations you mentioned, wasn't XEMP (710) short-spaced with second adjacents on 690 and 730? If so, how did that work in "the real world"?

It worked fine, even with 50 kw on 690 and 100 kw on 730 back when 710 was just 1 kw.

Where I had stations in Ecuador we had one every 20 kHz. I owned 590 and 570, and there was one on 550 as well. I also had 805, and there was a 785 and an 835 followed by 860, 880, 900, 920, 940, 960, 990. 1020, 1040, 1070 and so on.

No problems.

 

[DXBob]

This morning, XEOY on 1000 kHz was coming in strong and clear at 5:45am in south Overland Park, Kansas as was XEG on 1050 and XEEP on 1060. This time of day is not unusual for signals from Mexico at my location.

Bob

 

[cyberdad]

Perhaps on the M-3 Map. I know of no "rugged terrain" with good conductivity in real life though. I'd like to see measured radials that cross those areas.

Well, SC, I'm giving you the Illinois definition of rugged, which might be considered laughable in places like West Virginia. Pennsylvania, etc., Seriously, there probably is a dropoff in conductivity in far northwest Illinois or in the "Illinois Ozarks" south of Marion. But I've never noticed much effect anedotally driving through either area.

Did you ever go to Eldon, IA and see the "American Gothic" farm house? It was owned for a while by Carl E. Smith, CIE founder, and author of the the DA Primer published in the early NAB Engineering Handbooks.

I've been all over Iowa. First as a college kid in Southeast Iowa, then with a girl I was dating for a couple of years in the northwest part of the state, then later still with customers in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Fort Dodge, and Davenport. And finally with both a son and a daughter who are graduates from the University of Iowa in Iowa City. I've never been to Eldon, however, although I have been to Anamosa and a few other nearby towns. I'm also familiar with Carl Smith by reputation, but I wasn't aware of his connection with the American Gothic house. Very cool!

 

[cyberdad]

It worked fine, even with 50 kw on 690 and 100 kw on 730 back when 710 was just 1 kw.

Where I had stations in Ecuador we had one every 20 kHz. I owned 590 and 570, and there was one on 550 as well. I also had 805, and there was a 785 and an 835 followed by 860, 880, 900, 920, 940, 960, 990. 1020, 1040, 1070 and so on.

No problems.

I had forgotten that XEMP was only 1kw. Squeezed in between a couple of flamethrowers.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Well, SC, I'm giving you the Illinois definition of rugged, which might be considered laughable in places like West Virginia. Pennsylvania, etc., Seriously, there probably is a dropoff in conductivity in far northwest Illinois or in the "Illinois Ozarks" south of Marion. But I've never noticed much effect anedotally driving through either area.

I've been all over Iowa. First as a college kid in Southeast Iowa, then with a girl I was dating for a couple of years in the northwest part of the state, then later still with customers in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Fort Dodge, and Davenport. And finally with both a son and a daughter who are graduates from the University of Iowa in Iowa City. I've never been to Eldon, however, although I have been to Anamosa and a few other nearby towns. I'm also familiar with Carl Smith by reputation, but I wasn't aware of his connection with the American Gothic house. Very cool!

Have you ever been to the "Field Of Dreams" or the Dewey the Library Cat Library? Those are the most popular tourist attractions in Iowa according to some lists I've seen. And of course, you can have your picture taken in front of the American Gothic Farmhouse.

 

[radioman148]

It worked fine, even with 50 kw on 690 and 100 kw on 730 back when 710 was just 1 kw.

I was in Mexico City years ago. I remember those stations being very close together and I was surprised for the most part that there was minimal interference.

 

[cyberdad]

Have you ever been to the "Field Of Dreams" or the Dewey the Library Cat Library? Those are the most popular tourist attractions in Iowa according to some lists I've seen. And of course, you can have your picture taken in front of the American Gothic Farmhouse.

No to both. Most of the time I was working witthout time to play tourist....as much as I might have liked to. I've bedn througn Dyersville several times. That's where the Field of Dreams is locatede. It's also directly on the route between Cedar Rapids and Madison....which was a run I had to make every so often. Next year, the Cubs are in the Field of Dreams game, so it's crossed my mind to attend, but the tix apparently start at $400. Maybe I can sneak in through the corn field.

 

[radioman148]

Next year, the Cubs are in the Field of Dreams game, so it's crossed my mind to attend, but the tix apparently start at $400. Maybe I can sneak in through the corn field.

I wanted to go to the Field of Dreams game this year to see the White Sox, but the ticket prices were astronomical. I watched it on TV, but wished I was there.

 

[Dondd]

From 20 miles west of Detroit, MI--
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.

My guess is you're hearing XEOY from Mexico City. I hear it every so often under WMVP, usually in winter. When I was in college in Iowa during the late '60s, XEOY was a pest for WCFL almost every night. They had...and presumably still have....a unique sounder that makes it an easy station to ID.

At night, I've been receiving a mysterious 1000 here in central Texas, north of Austin.
The station during the times I picked it up was playing 80s music, including a long version of a 1983 Hall & Oates song, Say It Isn't So, which I'd never heard.
I've tuned in at the TOH but nothing was coming through at that time.
Imagine the station is a Mexican frequency.

 

[Dondd]

1000 has interesting station patterns.
It looks like KTOK is really shortchanged.
It hardly goes anywhere west, not even inside its Oklahoma City market region.
Can't understand what stations that pattern is protecting. Tiny KKIM, which at night goes almost nowhere outside of its region?

 

[Dondd]

1000 stations. Crowded during the day.

 

[wildthangjim]

At night, I've been receiving a mysterious 1000 here in central Texas, north of Austin.
The station during the times I picked it up was playing 80s music, including a long version of a 1983 Hall & Oates song, Say It Isn't So, which I'd never heard.
I've tuned in at the TOH but nothing was coming through at that time.
Imagine the station is a Mexican frequency.

You’re probably hearing XEOY, which is playing mostly English language classic hits when I’ve heard them recently.

 

[ZantennaG1]

1000 has interesting station patterns.
It looks like KTOK is really shortchanged.
It hardly goes anywhere west, not even inside its Oklahoma City market region.
Can't understand what stations that pattern is protecting. Tiny KKIM, which at night goes almost nowhere outside of its region?

View attachment 2462

1000 AM is among a few frequencies that I think the FCC should look into and rearrange, but I dobut the likelyhood of them doing anything, and if they are allowed to touch that frequency, they would rather shut it down.

So it's not shown on this map, but KTOK is protecting XEOY in Mexico City. If you're looking to snag KKIM Albuquerque, I've gotten it numerous times in the evening, and they don't seem to power down right away like they're supposed to. (I Dx from the Cheyenne, WY area)

Just my two cents here: Chicago already has 670 WSCR, 720 WGN, 780 WBBM, and 890 WLS that are clear channels. So WMVP (ESPN) should stay directionalized, as there is also 1500 KSTP (also ESPN) for the Midwest and WCKY (ESPN again) nearly duplicates WMVP's programming coverage, so KOMO Seattle should consider going non-directional (except for a slight south-Easterly null to protect XEOY). The obstacles I see there is, once again, it is a band that most in government don't care about in the slightest, and most stations run the same cookie-cutter programming that their competitors do anyways, so is the KOMO expansion worth having more Dave Ramsey or Coast to Coast AM? Not really, unless KOMO can up their local programs and reports. Now I would love to hear how that new ice hockey team "The Kracken" is doing, and I would probably follow them.

In a sense, it is not the noise level that took the fun out of AM, it is the poor bandwidth and lack of Variety. This leaves us with the weirdness of 1000 AM. Gone are the days of individual and local programming worthy of protection, and in the aftermath is a mess.

 

[cyberdad]

1000 has interesting station patterns.
It looks like KTOK is really shortchanged.
It hardly goes anywhere west, not even inside its Oklahoma City market regi

't understand what stations that pattern is protecting.

Good observaation. Definitely, KTOK is orotecting KOMO, WMVP, and probably also XEOY. KKIM is of no consequence.

It's safe to say that when KTOK signed on several decades ago, the FCC rules were tougher, the AM band less crowded, and the ambient noise floor in urban areas much lower. I admittedly know very little about the history of KTOK, but I'm gessing they were very happy to find a quiet spot in between a couple of nighttime behemoths, and take advantage of it. The nighttime pattern now undoubtedly has issues covering the entire market, but at least until the 1970s and probably also the 1980s the night signal was probably adequate. The day signal still offers good coveragre of the entire market.

During my college days in Iowa in the late '60s, I would occasionally hear KTOK when they were on day pattern. Then at night I'd get a mix of (then-) WCFL with XEOY underneath. I never heard KOMO.

 

[TXPH97]

You’re probably hearing XEOY, which is playing mostly English language classic hits when I’ve heard them recently.

Agreed on XEOY @Dondd, they are the most heard station on 1000 khz here in DFW and they typically play hits. KTOK is also heard, but is usually weak. I can hear KTOK easier during the day than at night. KKIM (ABQ) is heard at sunrise, after they go to day power. I have also heard XEFV (Ciudad Juarez) mixing with XEOY evenings on occasion.

 

[Dondd]

Good observaation. Definitely, KTOK is orotecting KOMO, WMVP, and probably also XEOY. KKIM is of no consequence.

Odd because KCEO in Southern California cuts into KOMO's southern signal.
Other stations aren't spaced so wide, like 550 KTSA is up against that Permian Basin 550 in Midland, TX.
There's a lot of open area between KOMO's eastern boundaries and the High Plains, where KTOK beams.

 

[gr8oldies]

The FCC didn't create a grand plan which figured out the spacing of these signals. Any other station that wants to come on the air or upgrade faciilties has to design facilities so it does not interfere.with any other stations. The FM band was different as there was an original table of allocations. No decisions like that are made because of programming