AM Frequency of the week: 1110

[cyberdad]

Far northwest suburban Chicago,,,,

Days: Local Daytimer WMBI. 4,2 kw from a site about 30 miles away Good signal.

We've been talking in other threads lately about WBBM operating at reduced power than was being used before. This is also the case with WMBI, although with them, the drop from 5kw to 4.2. And in the case of WMBI the change happened more than a decade ago. At my location, WBBM sounds the same. Pretty much the same also here with WMBI But about 18 miles north of here at the Wisconsin state line, the difference is noticeable.

Nights: Actually 1110 is one of the more open channels here. Squarely in the nulls of both WBT and KFAB. Either one surfaces from time to time. KFAB being more likely. Sunrise/Sunset can also produce either one. Again, KFAB more likely. Sometimes with a strong signal.

Retro: CKTY from Sarnia, Ontario used to occasionally be on top at night. But they've been gone....at least from the AM band....for more than a decade.

 

[radioman148]

In the near north Chicago suburbs it's all WMBI during the day with a good signal. As Cyberdad mentioned at night we are in the null of KFAB and WBT. Usually KFAB is more likely to rise to the top. During critical hours KFAB is ND which gives it a strong signal here.During the winter months when WMBI signs on I can sometimes still hear KFAB in the background.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

In Laramie, WY SE corner of the state

KFAB at sunrise and sometimes in winter, all day

I've had KBND as well before sunrise.

KEJL Humble City/Hobbs, NM shows up after sunrise or right before sunset sometimes.

I've had KLIB near Sacramento a few times, I've managed to snag KRDC Los Angeles a few times.

KVTT has shown up around sunrise and right before sunset sometimes.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

One Day, just before Sunset in Southeast MI, I heard WJML 1110 Petoskey, MI, WGNZ 1110 Farirborn, OH, WMBI 1110 Chicago, IL, and WBT 1110 Charlotte, NC.

 

[MichaelTheZ]

Another Chicago area person, by the lake. Like the others I get WMBI (local) by day and KFAB Omaha by night. But unlike the other Chicago area people I've never gotten WBT though I've looked for it a few times. I can sometimes block stations to my west by positioning myself to the east of the highrises here, but all that happens when I do that is I'll get a poorer KFAB signal but no WBT.

 

[radioman148]

Another Chicago area person, by the lake. Like the others I get WMBI (local) by day and KFAB Omaha by night. But unlike the other Chicago area people I've never gotten WBT though I've looked for it a few times. I can sometimes block stations to my west by positioning myself to the east of the highrises here, but all that happens when I do that is I'll get a poorer KFAB signal but no WBT.

The best time to listen for WBT around Chicago is usually just before local sunrise in the fall and early winter.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

During the daytime hours here it's a feeble WNAP from Norristown PA. They're a strict daytimer.
https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WNAP&service=AM&h=D
They don't send much our way. Were a little north of Pottsville.

In the old days, the facility was WNAR. They were a full-service MoR station that we used to hear near JFK Airport even when WHLI 1100 (another daytimer) was on the air.

Nighttime catches in PA here have been CKTY and something called WBT.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Regarding Chicago / WMBI ... any idea why they never applied for night authorization? I figure they could have had something. Maybe 100 watts or 250 watts ND?

 

[radioman148]

Regarding Chicago / WMBI ... any idea why they never applied for night authorization? I figure they could have had something. Maybe 100 watts or 250 watts ND?

I would guess that because they have an FM they don't need the AM on 24 hours. It probably wouldn't be cost efficient.

 

[cyberdad]

Regarding Chicago / WMBI ... any idea why they never applied for night authorization? I figure they could have had something. Maybe 100 watts or 250 watts ND?

I'll take a stab at this, although I don't know the rationale with certainty....

WMBI is a non-profit religious station that's been around since the early days of radio. I've often wondered myself why they never applied for nighttime service. My guess....and it's just a guess...is that their location between Omaha and Charlotte would have required an expensive DA which, however configured, would leave a lot of the Chicago metro still not covered. Then later came an FM (90.1) with a really good signal (except in Indiana suburbs). At first, AM & FM were simulcast, but eventually, the AM programming migrated entirely to FM. After this concluded, WMBI-AM became a Spanish Language Christian station. Now the rules are such that they could probably get nighttime authorization without the DA. But it would probably have to be very low power and not accomplish much.

 

[gr8oldies]

East Tennessee: Days-Not much of anything unless WBT fades up during winter daytime skip or around sunrise or sunset. KFAB also can make it in before sunset.
Night-Pretty much a wasteland. WBT is not present.

Retro/other: Dayton, Ohio area. Days-WGNZ, licensed to Fairborn but towers are located in Xenia, where as WELX, the station was licensed. The towers were moved from U.S. 35 near the present-day Walmart Supercenter to a field behind the state welfare office. They have something like 1 licensed watt at night which, if they used it would reach more ears of corn than people. WGNZ now operates with 5000 watts.

In my Indiana days, there used to be a station on 1110 in the Indianapolis suburb of Noblesville, which was the last in Indianapolis to use the WFBM calls (though Woof Boom Inc, owner of stations in Indiana and Ohio pays homage to the original WFBM with their company name). It played Big Band off reel-to-reels and at one time was co-owned with WNON-100.9, Lebanon IN, a brief employer of mine. WFBM became WYIC then dissapeared. Last entry on fccdata.org was 1991.

 

[wildthangjim]

From west Houston, daytime is local (from Alvin TX) KTEK with business news and brokered Bollywood in the evenings. After their sign off it's KFAB, although I've heard KVTT at sunset in winter. XERED from Mexico City often dominated the frequency last winter, but haven't heard them in a while. According to MWLIST they went dark earlier this year.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

WJML has 10 watts PSSA. WGNZ has 2 watts PSSA. WMBI would have to have a separate Night site with multiple towers to get to a meaningful Night power and facility, if it is possible at all. CKTY Sarnia had to have 9 towers on 1110 to get 1000 watts Night.

 

[CADXER]

Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: WMBI, which is the closest AM station to my location at only 2.5 miles away, but thankfully they are only a daytimer.
Nightime: WBT or KFAB

DX/RETRO: Concerning WMBI, recently there was an announcement that Moody Bible is trying to sell some of their AM stations, including WMBI. Who knows what the future holds for them. As for DX on this frequency, my best catch frequency is WHIM (East Providence, RI) back in 1983 making it my only station heard from Rhode Island. Others include KTEK (Alvin, TX), WUNN (Mason, MI), WJML (Petoskey, MI), WKRA (Holly Spring, MS), WKDZ (Cadiz, KY) and WBCA (Bay Mitette, AL) during an emergency broadcast. YVQT, Venezueka and XERED, Mexico City my two foreign catches.

 

[DXBob]

From 25 miles SW of downtown Kansas City:

Day: A weak but listenable KFAB. While I am only 172 miles from their transmitter site, the signal is surprisingly weak for a 50 kW station.

Critical Hours - Evening: KFAB until they switch to the their nighttime pattern. Then, it is goodbye Omaha.

Critical Hours - Morning: WBT when they switch to their daytime pattern. However, once KFAB switches to their non-directional daytime pattern, it is goodbye Charlotte.

Night: Nothing but a chaos of signals that can reduce to simple fading. I have yet to achieve a solid log of KFAB at night.

Bob

 

[ksradiogeek]

Mason City, IA:
Daytime-a listenable KFAB
Nighttime-strong, clear signal from the above

Central KS:
Daytime-a weak but stable ‘FAB
Nighttime-listenable signal from the above

I have never been able to receive ‘BT.

 

[schmave]

From west Houston, daytime is local (from Alvin TX) KTEK with business news and brokered Bollywood in the evenings. After their sign off it's KFAB, although I've heard KVTT at sunset in winter. XERED from Mexico City often dominated the frequency last winter, but haven't heard them in a while. According to MWLIST they went dark earlier this year.

When I lived along the League City-Friendswood border about 10 years ago, KTEK blasted at my place whenever it was on the air. I was probably about seven miles from their towers and well within their main lobe.
Even five miles to the east, that wasn't always the case. I remember hearing KTEK being trashed by KVTT or KFAB during critical hours on a few occasions as close as Highway 3 on the south end of League City.
(Just found out that they now have a translator on 96.1 broadcasting off that tall TV tower off 528 near the Friendswood-Alvin border.)
Here in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, it's always a decently strong WGNZ by day and, if anything, a very weak WBT at night. 1110 is usually a weak link between WTAM and KMOX.

 

[WCJ]

Orange County, TX Days a weak KTEK and in retro an occasional KTTP Pineville, LA, Nights mostly KFAB, WBT at times when KFAB nulled.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

@ Schroedinger: >> 'One Day, just before Sunset in Southeast MI, I heard WJML 1110 Petoskey, MI, WGNZ 1110 Farirborn, OH, WMBI 1110 Chicago, IL, and WBT 1110 Charlotte, NC... ' <

That is quite the haul! And in one session! Good going!

Best I ever did back in Queens in one session (at sunrise) was WUPE in Massachusetts and (W) 'ZAM eleven' out of Norfolk.

Some of these frequencies with huge-signal directional patterns can be good fishing holes, eh ?

 

[cyberdad]

CKTY Sarnia had to have 9 towers on 1110 to get 1000 watts Night.

I think part of the deal with CKTY was protecting (what's now) WTAM from Cleveland, which is clearly audible in soutwestern Ontario. When I came on the board in 2006, IIRC, there was an engineer here from the Cleveland 1100 who complained about CKTY on a few occasions. I'm not quite sure why becasue as I remember it, the interference he was complaining about was in Canada. I used to make the run from Cleveland to Detroit, Chicago, and Indianapolis and have no memory of CKTY ever being a pest. As always, I stand to be corrected.

And as for WMBI, I'm sure Moody had no interest in building a multi-tower array for 1110, when they already had a very robust FM signal. I had heard that the Moody AMs were on the block. WMBI would probably be very attractive to a brokered, ethnic, or another religious broadcaster because the AM signal does a good job of covering most of the Chicago metro. And any such buyer could probably easily upgrade to multi-tower night service if they were so inclined.

Pretty much the same sort of story for WDLM (960), their sister station in East Moline, IL They're already operating fulltime on 960 with 1kw day and 100 watts night, DA-1 (north-south).