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AM Frequency of the Week: 1140

In Charleston 1140 is basically a dead frequency. The closest signal is in Miami. I hear them once in a great while daytime with a very weak signal. WRVA does not direct much of its signal toward South Carolina at night. It is a bunch of mush here.

WRVA does have a good signal in VA. I've heard it in HD as far as Virginia Beach during the daytime.
 
Reynoldsburg, Ohio: Nothing daytime, all WRVA at night. It's been among the consistently loudest 50Ks here on a regular basis (along with KMOX, WMVP and often WGN ... not counting WLW since it's a semi-local) ever since I can remember DXing, which I began around 1990.
I remember trying to dig WIMA from Lima out of the slop on 1150, and sometimes actually doing so, but it had to be heard through WRVA slop.
 
SF Bay Area - KHTK Sacramento with a not-so-great signal day and night. KXST Las Vegas has been heard here, and I suspect that the Palm Springs 1140 is in the mush underneath KHTK after dark, but I have not positively ID'ed them. KGEM Boise would seem like a possibility, but haven't heard a trace of them.
 
Conditions on the AM bsnd appeared to be unusually good here last night/early this morning. I heard several stations that I hadn't heard for quite a while or which otherwise are typically absent (example: CKAC). So....a couple of hours before sunrise, I decided to null WRVA and see if it could actually be possible that the channel is empty aside from the one dominant station. Sure enough, I did hear something. But it was weak and totally unidentifiable. Even with WRVA effectively removed. My best guess would be KSOO, but really I have no idea.

I would describe WRVA as sort of "garden variety" average for distant 50kw skywave signals here. But apparently the other stations on the channel are doing a good job of protecting it.
 
Blotto here in the day, in NE Pennsylvania. We live in an area with perhaps three local AM signals, so even 1130's WBBR doesn't wrinkle 1140 one bit. Nothing comes in at noon on 1140.

Taped at sunset here were WXLV from VA --how did THEY ever get licensed with WRVA in the same state ?!?!? -- and WCJW from Warsaw NY.

Nighttimes bring in WRVA as usual, very loud at times. I did manage an ID (and a tape of it) from CBI Nova Scotia one late evening here.
 
They must not throw the same null in your direction as they seem to throw to the southwest, Steve.
Oddly enough, I've tried for WRVA a few times visiting a buddy in Gaithersburg, Maryland and I have yet to pick it up there even given the short distance to Richmond. I've never heard it there in the daytime, and don't recall catching it when I tried at night on my last trip, either. It was surprising given how powerful it is here at night.
As far as WXLZ, yeah, that surprised me too. Guessing there is no chance the two signals ever overlap given the ground conductivity and WRVA's pattern, but hearing WXLZ in its fringe area during critical hours would probably be interesting. I know the 720 from North Carolina is capable of wrecking WGN here in central Ohio during critical hours before it signs off.
 
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Daytime in S.A. is just splatter from local 1130 KTMR and even a bit from super-close local 1160 KDRY.

XEMR, Radio Esperanza, in San Nicolás (Monterrey) is dominant at night, sunset and sunrise. At sunset and sunrise I can sometimes hear KHFX underneath. It's a Spanish-language Christian station in Cleburne, which is just SW of the DFW metroplex.

One night last December I heard Radio Musical Nacional from Cuba in a partial null of XEMR. Recently I've heard a very weak Mexico station in that null, but I have yet to ID it.
 
I'm just guessing, Schmave, that WRVA and its concentric two-tower pattern is not so much there to protect anyone during the day as much as it is to serve that Richmond-Norfolk corridor.

Back in 'the day', I'd been with the Folks vacationing in Norfolk. I gotta cudgel my memory some. But in 1962 and 1963 -- on a GE clock radio that sat atop the kitchen fridge in 'Happy Days' -- I'd get a weak WGAI from NC, a weak WMBG from Williamsburg, loud locals WTAR 790 and Soul WRAP 850, local country WCMS 1050, a pretty solid WRVA, and so on.

An old National Radio Club AM log book lists 1140 as a 'U.S. and Mexican Clear' frequency.
But protecting Mexico in the DAY?

Even today, that NW-SE stretch between Richmond and Norfolk includes the bulk of people along that artery. The 'sides' of the pattern are more sparse than what is directly along what is now I-64. And a two-tower directional signal isn't as fierce as the 3- or 4-tower system. Perhaps someone here knows if WRVA originally had to pull it in, mildly, at night, and their engineers decided that, population-wise, they'd do very well to use the same coverage during the day.

Happy New Year, Schmave and the other swell folks on this forum!
 
That absolutely makes sense, Steve (and Happy New Year to you and everyone as well!).
Not getting WRVA daytime in the D.C. suburbs, especially to the north somewhat farther from Richmond as I was, did not surprise me with the higher frequency *and* lesser ground conductivity out in that part of the country. The lack of any nighttime reception was what got me. I plan to visit out that way again this summer and probably will try again. I'll also have to try for WRVA during the drive out. I got some surprising catches driving out to Maryland this past July, including a weak WFAN for about the last 90 minutes of my trip as well as while driving around Gaithersburg.
 
I've tried for WRVA as close as Fredericksburg during the daytime, and it is a comparatively weak signal. No HD, and it is a noisy signal compared to even 20-30 miles farther S.

The HD signal (at least in my experience in our Kia) goes out at about MM 28-30 on I-95 in VA. It is good throughout metro Richmond and in the Peninsula of the Hampton Roads area daytime, but struggles more in the Southside (VA Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth). It goes N to about MM 95-100 before going back to analog.
 
Hi, I just signed up the other day after lurking for about a month so I'll do a quick intro. I've been DXing for about 10 years but with a modest rig (Superadio III with Terk loop or my car). I'm located on the southern MA/northern RI border and 1140 is a toughie for me. I've never caught anything during the day and I have a lot of trouble picking up WRVA at night although I do get it every DX season.
 
Baldwin County, Alabama checking in… Nothing during the day here. And nothing recognizable at night. I'll have to listen next time I DX and see if I can hear WBXR from Hazel Green during critical hours.

At night, I don't recall hearing anything specific.

Supposedly WNWF Destin (Fort Walton Beach), FL is on 1140 now, but with ground conductivity epically bad here on the coast, I'll never hear it. Sure haven't heard it yet, and not even sure they are actually on the air.
 
tomservo said:
Supposedly WNWF Destin (Fort Walton Beach), FL is on 1140 now, but with ground conductivity epically bad here on the coast, I'll never hear it. Sure haven't heard it yet, and not even sure they are actually on the air.
Click to expand...

Is there any connection between this and the 1120 in Destin that went dark a few years ago? That was 1kw ND daytime, and I used to hear it at our usual Gulf getaway spot on the AL-FL state line right next door to the Florabama. Very weak signal, but clearly audible. At any rate, I'm going to be back there later this month, and I'll check out 1140. I'll post if anything turns up.
 
cyberdad said:
Is there any connection between this and the 1120 in Destin that went dark a few years ago? That was 1kw ND daytime, and I used to hear it at our usual Gulf getaway spot on the AL-FL state line right next door to the Florabama. Very weak signal, but clearly audible. At any rate, I'm going to be back there later this month, and I'll check out 1140. I'll post if anything turns up.
Click to expand...

Yep, one and the same. The station's been through some ownership changes and I believe it's (supposed to be) back on the air now with some sort of standards format. It ought to be an easy catch at the beach because the power is up to 3 kW now. In theory. ;)

The current owners are Tri-City Radio, who I believe run WPMO in Pascagoula and AM 1000 in Robertsdale.
 
icybluelake said:
Cyberdad, tell the guys down at the Florabama hi from me. Hahaha
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Hah! Will do. We've got a steady parade of friends and family stopping in during our two weeks next door to the place commencing on Friday, the 20th. I think the attraction is more the Florabama than Mrs. Cyberdad and me...LOL! In the winter Tuesdays is usually unoficially "Illinois day" in general and Crystal Lake Day in particular for those of us who live here. More often than not, we run into people we know. I also like winter Wednesdays, which is a potluck lunch day for snowbirds. The Florabama provides a free food item (Usually fried chicken, burgers, or gumbo), and everyone brings a dish to pass. Usually at least 100 people show up for lunch, and as often as not they also have a band. All free. It's great! and very cool!

Now, back on topic.... I'm not surprised that KBOB makes it to your location in the daytime, but I'm a little surprised that it makes it there at night, let alone is a little stronger than the day signal. Both my daughter one of my sons are University of Iowa graduates, and I don;t think I've ever heard KSTT/KJOC/KBOB in Iowa City at night!
 
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KBOB/KSTT/etc. has NOT been a very consistent nighttime catch here over the years. Actually, I'm not sure I've heard it in a while, but haven't really listened for it. It seems to go through stages. I wouldn't be surprised if the fact that Cedar Rapids is just far enough north of Iowa City to be able to catch a corner of its nighttime signal, while Iowa City may not.

As an aside, to be honest, I've never actually been to the Florabama, but have passed by there many times -- I just appreciated your mention of it. But I have been to Orange Beach several times to visit my parents, and have attended similar "Iowa" events that drew similar crowds, where I saw a lot of people I knew and hadn't seen in years.
 
tomservo said:
Supposedly WNWF Destin (Fort Walton Beach), FL is on 1140 now, but with ground conductivity epically bad here on the coast, I'll never hear it. Sure haven't heard it yet, and not even sure they are actually on the air.
Click to expand...

UPDATE: It's on. it's apparently a mix of traditional oldies and classic rock tracks. It took the SuperRadio II to find and positively ID it. The signal here where I'm at this week and next on the Gulf at the Florida-Alabama state line is very weak, so I'm wondering if they're running something less than their supposed 3,000 watts (ND). The former incarnation of this station on 1120 was also week, but I remember it as having a better signal than what I heard here today. IIRC the 1120 was 1kw with Destin as the COL. The stations licensed to Fort Walton Beach on 1260 and 1400 both have better signals here.
 
Mark from MA said:
Hi, I just signed up the other day after lurking for about a month so I'll do a quick intro. I've been DXing for about 10 years but with a modest rig (Superadio III with Terk loop or my car). I'm located on the southern MA/northern RI border and 1140 is a toughie for me. I've never caught anything during the day and I have a lot of trouble picking up WRVA at night although I do get it every DX season.
Click to expand...

How are you liking that Superadio III? I bought one last year and returned it, due to very poor quality.
Don't know if I just got a defective unit or if they're just not half the radio Superadio II was.
 
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