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AM Frequency of the week: 1220

cyberdad

cyberdad

Up five spaces on our AM radio dial this week and a stop at 1220. What are you hearing there lately?

At my home location northwest of Chicago, I get a weak WKRS from Waukegan, IL, with an even Weaker WLPO from La Salle, IL underneath. Each is 1kw, with a pattern that doesn't favor me.

At night the channel is usually a mess. The biggest signal near me is WKNR from Cleveland, which is the most likely to be on top, but that's only an occasional occurance. Even in the Cleveland 1220's days as WGAR, it was only occasional. I've also heard XEB a couple of times, but not recently. My best catch on the channel was CJRL fron Kenora, ON, but that was definitely a one-off, and they've now moved to FM.
 
In the near north Chicago suburbs during the day it's a weak WKRS. At night it's a mess with WKNR usually on top. Years ago I used to hear Mexico City once in awhile, but I haven't heard it in quite awhile.
 
Daytime - WSTL - a religious 1KW local 15 miles away in Providence.
Nighttime - WSTL powers down to 166W so it's a battle between that and WHKW which I haven't logged yet this season but I got it last season.
 
When I first moved here, the now-dark WJUN (for JUNiata County) was a weak regular, often near sunset.
Sunset also delivered WFAX from Virginia.

Nowadays ..... no discernable signal atall midday.

Cleveland is the nighttime occupant. I have them logged and taped as 'WKNR'.

One afternoon, though, in St. Clair, roughly 1:15 to 2 PM, I was doing a touchup paint job and tuning around for some 70's-70's oldies. I found 'em allright. 1220 was good listening, solid. They were pretty loud at times. I thought maybe WPHT Philly had switched formats. But no; WPHT was right there next door, a touch weaker.

Now I realize that WGNY Newburgh NY sends a bit of its E-W signal to the very far northeast part of our state.
But enough of it in our direction to splash onto WPHT at times from 126 miles off?

Had to've been that quirky, good-ol daytime skywave.
 
1220 WGAR Cleveland. An Ed Snyder station!

In East TN, daytime, a weak WLSD, which, no, isn't a leftover hippie album rock station, but a religious station from Big Stone Gap, VA
Nights, mostly WHKW, which I'll always think of as WGAR
 
From Reynoldsburg, Ohio, only slop from local WYTS (1230) daytime and if anything at night, a weak WHKW. That will always be WKNR to me.
WHKW doesn't get here daytime, not because WYTS is next door but because they send very little signal in this direction, or anywhere to the west daytime for that matter. I remember attending some youth conferences during my high-school days in the mid 1990s, first at Oberlin College in 1993 and then at Mount Union in 1994. The comparison of 1220's signal between those two locations ... well, there is no comparison. It's a blaster to the east daytime, and even as close as Oberlin during the day it's quite weak. On the ride back to Columbus from Mount Union, I think we finally lost WKNR's signal somewhere between Wooster and Mansfield.
 
1220 is Cleveland at night, while during the day, it is a weak Jacksonville. It was one of the few standards stations in our area until a couple years ago, when the college that owned it sold it to a Spanish Christian broadcaster.
 
gr8oldies said:
1220 WGAR Cleveland. An Ed Snyder station!

In East TN, daytime, a weak WLSD, which, no, isn't a leftover hippie album rock station, but a religious station from Big Stone Gap, VA
Nights, mostly WHKW, which I'll always think of as WGAR
Click to expand...

The call letters WLSD were a standing joke in the 1960s, and made a mockery of call letter policy just by being grandfathered, as are also many initials of Presidents. But only 1360 in San Diego has had both the call letters KGB, a Soviet Spy agency, and KLSD, a hallucinogenic drug. Don't even get us started on 92.7 in Arlington Heights, IL, which began as the musically way ahead of the curve WNWC.
 
Nothing days.
Sunset usually brings KPJC Salem OR (now running conservative talk), and KDOW San Jose (Business Talk).
Nights is a real mess, mainly KPJC and one of two Californian's (KDOW or KHTS Canyon Country CA w/ Soft Rock). When eastern conditions are good, CJRB Boissevain, MB (Full Service, classical music overnights) comes in weakly. And once I heard XEB Mexico City w/ their "La B Grande" ID, on top of the other 1220s for a brief period. This channel is very similar to 1570 in my neck of the woods, you never know what might pop out of the mess. Lots of low-power opportunities if you listen hard enough and have a good antenna.

On the list of wants:
KDDR Oakes, ND. 327 watts night, but has been heard in both WA and OR by a couple of DXers. They run country music, so easy to ID.
KTMZ Pomona CA (ex-KWKU), running ESPN Deportes. This is a real challenge for DXers, very few in California even get this one.
WHKW Cleveland, OH - 50KW w/ religious programming, should be easy to ID as well. "The Word"
KLBB Stillwater, MN - Another LPer that should be easy to ID, if it ever makes it in. Adult Standards, "The Club" 254w
KLDC Denver - Perhaps sunrise? Another difficult one.
 
Nothing days -- the almost-local KQMG from Independence, Iowa, at 250 watts, from about 35 miles away, doesn't quite make it to my house. It used to, 20 or 30 years ago.

At nights, 1220 is often hash. Usually on top, if audible at all, is WLPO LaSalle, IL. WHKW used to appear regularly at night (when it was WGAR). It no longer does.
 
1310 in Detroit will always be WKNR; 1220 in Cleveland will always be WGAR


schmave said:
From Reynoldsburg, Ohio, only slop from local WYTS (1230) daytime and if anything at night, a weak WHKW. That will always be WKNR to me.
WHKW doesn't get here daytime, not because WYTS is next door but because they send very little signal in this direction, or anywhere to the west daytime for that matter. I remember attending some youth conferences during my high-school days in the mid 1990s, first at Oberlin College in 1993 and then at Mount Union in 1994. The comparison of 1220's signal between those two locations ... well, there is no comparison. It's a blaster to the east daytime, and even as close as Oberlin during the day it's quite weak. On the ride back to Columbus from Mount Union, I think we finally lost WKNR's signal somewhere between Wooster and Mansfield.
Click to expand...
 
cyberdad said:
Up five spaces on our AM radio dial this week and a stop at 1220. What are you hearing there lately?

At my home location northwest of Chicago, I get a weak WKRS from Waukegan, IL, with an even Weaker WLPO from La Salle, IL underneath. Each is 1kw, with a pattern that doesn't favor me.

At night the channel is usually a mess. The biggest signal near me is WKNR from Cleveland, which is the most likely to be on top, but that's only an occasional occurance. Even in the Cleveland 1220's days as WGAR, it was only occasional. I've also heard XEB a couple of times, but not recently. My best catch on the channel was CJRL fron Kenora, ON, but that was definitely a one-off, and they've now moved to FM.
Click to expand...

I wondered what WKRS protected, until I thought about it. Even though it is overshadowed by WSBC 1240, they have to protect WJOB 1230, as well as WLPO 1220.

Jean Shepherd, whose life "A Christmas Story" was written about, grew up about a half mile from the WJOB tower. I wonder why he didn't have a Crystal Radio in the movie. He must have had one. Many people still think that Jean Shepherd grew up in Cleveland, because they have the house used in the movie there. His later life callsign was K2ORS, and he often used the "6SJ7GT" tube designation when he needed a generic model number for something.
 
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gr8: My excuse is I didn't get into radio until the early 90s. :) I remember it being a fairly big deal when then-WWWE lost the Indians games to WKNR.
 
1220 is blank during the day in S.A.

At night XEB is dominant and has a pretty strong signal at times. Sometimes KMVL, an adult standards station in Madisonville, TX (halfway between DFW and Houston), will bubble up and poke through.

Sunrise is almost the same, with KMVL stronger. Also, daytimer XESAL, Radio Universidad Agraria in Saltillo, has a decent signal when it signs on.

Around sunset under XEB, I’ve sometimes heard brief snatches of Indian/South Asian music, which I assume is KZEE in Weatherford, TX, not too far west of DFW. Also, I heard a weak KOFO in Ottawa, KS, once just prior to sunset; it was airing a local basketball pre-game show.
 
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jim-satx said:
1220 is blank during the day in S.A.

At night XEB is dominant and has a pretty strong signal at times..
Click to expand...

I've been traveling through Florida for the past week. Most notably a stop at my sister's place in Punta Gorda, There, XEB was strong and alone at night....despite the presence of a semi-local 1220 not far away in Sarasota.
 
Schroedingers Cat said:
I wondered what WKRS protected, until I thought about it. Even though it is overshadowed by WSBC 1240, they have to protect WJOB 1230, as well as WLPO 1220.

.
Click to expand...

I've never been quite sure what the deal was with WKRS throwing most of its 1kw signal at Milwaukee. If the idea was to protect WSBC (and the two other former shared time stations), along with WJOB, couldn't they have just gotten away with 250 watts non-directional? The result would have probably been a better signal throughout Lake County, Illinois, their intended market area.
 
Kenosha, WI- Days, WKRS Waukegan, good city-grade signal. Nights- WKRS @ 90 watts still pointed at me usually gets over the noise level. Cleveland is usually listenable in the mix.

By the way, I have heard WKRS during the day in Michigan's U.P. (Gladstone) while near the lake (Little Bay De Noc, Lake Michigan). They are pointed straight up the lake. That would be about 240 miles.
 
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