AM Frequency of the Week: 1280

[cyberdad]

Far northwest suburban Chicago.....

Day: WBIG from Aurora, IL. 1kw from about 40 miles south of me with a signal that could accurately be described as "little". (Fair-weak).

Nights: WBIG powers down to 500 watts and goes to a pattern that puts me in a null. The result is WBIG disappears entirely. Most likely to surface (albeit not very often) has been WGBF from Evansville, IN. I've also heard WNAM from Neenah, WI and the Minneapolis 1280 (as WWTC).

Retro: WNAM recently went through a period where they were granted more than their currently authorized 5kw nighttime. 15 or 25kw, IIRC aimed northeast. That made it an easier catch on some northern European SDRs than it was/is here in Northeast Illinois!

 

[radioman148]

In the near north Chicago suburbs it's a "fair" daytime signal from WBIG which when I first heard it many years ago was known as WMRO. At night WBIG is much weaker and if I hear anything else it's usually WNAM or on a few occasions Minneapolis.

Retro-other: A long long time ago when I was about 12 or 13 years old, 1280 was the home of my first part 15 station. My friends and I had a lot of fun with our first radio experience operating our station for a radius of about 3 blocks. Highly illegal with the 200 ft wire we used as our antenna, but nevertheless fun for us at the time.

 

[Mr Tony]

The Valley of the Jolly Green Giant (LeSueur, MN)

daytime and nightime-WWTC Minneapolis

 

[cyberdad]

In the near north Chicago suburbs it's a "fair" daytime signal from WBIG which when I first heard it many years ago was known as WMRO.

The Aurora 1280 had a slightly better signal where I am in its WMRO days. I could very easily be wrong, but I seem to remember them as a non-directional daytimer. As it is now, I still wouldn't exactly describe their day pattern as being particularly unfavorable to me.

As for your part 15.... Suffice to say I'd have been an avid listener!

 

[CADXER]

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

Daytime: WBIG with fair signal
Nightime: WGBF with WBIG are the usual suspects, but CFMB Montreal, PQ makes it once in a while.

DX/RETRO: Before moving to 820 kHz in 1985 CHAM (Halmilton, ON) was commonly heard. Others heard; WIXI (Lancaster, KY), WWTC (Minneapolis, MN), WNAM, Neenah (WI), WADO (new York, NY)

 

[radioman148]

As for your part 15.... Suffice to say I'd have been an avid listener!

Darn, we could've used another listener! We played great music, any of the popular 45s we could get our hands on and we read the news out of the newspaper, shortening the articles quite a bit. Even had a teletype sound effect in the background.
A real slick operation

 

[gr8oldies]

East Tennessee: All I could get today was splatter from WLIK. I don't have anything that comes to mind for night reception.

Retro/other: Where I grew up in West Central Ohio, WONW, Defiance was a daytime regular but WGBF (A acreaming top 40 in the late 70s) would blast in at night. I've gotten WGBF all over Indiana as well.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Daytimes here is Berwick PA, from over a few hills to the north. It was a neat Oldies station as 'WFBS' several years back. They got sold and went all-sports. A Brooklyn pal dropped by and stayed a few weeks on a trip back to see his buddies here in the East, and loved their jingles. ( I still insist that the fellow got the jingles from WFBS outside of Fort Bragg ; the frequency was never mentioned, hi. )
My wife found WFBS one morning to wake her up fully. Terrific collection of Oldies -- a real no-repeat month or so worth of them.
Being a former daytimer strictly, they now are entitled to some ludicrously stingy wattage at night. WADO from NYC overrides them.

Nighttime loggings aside from WADO have been WWOK from Indiana (taped), and the unlikely WFYC from Alma Michigan. There's no way WFYC was using their licensed flea-power signal that night.

* * * * * * *

Retro overnights near JFK Airport, when the local WADO went off, it was usually the French CJMS alone on the dial. CHAM Hamilton Ontario and CKCV from Quebec City were unlikely visitors at rare times. I did manage 9 total loggings on 1280 from those days.

 

[cyberdad]

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

DX/RETRO: Before moving to 820 kHz in 1985 CHAM (Halmilton, ON) was commonly heard. Others heard;

It never seems to fail that a post in "frequency of the week" jogs my cobweb-filed memory. In this case it's CHAM. Yes, I've heard them a couple of times here when they were on 1280. And for that matter, I also heard them once in a while during their days as CJJD ('70s and early '80s). Also, the 1280 signal is still in use in that part of Ontario....sort of. Pearson Airport in Toronto uses a low-power transmitter on 1280 to broadcast airport info for travelers.

 

[RyanHoward]

Warminster PA(Philly 'burbs):

Daytime: WADO NYC(Spanish, very weak).
Night: mess of stations(regional frequency).

 

[pdx107]

City of Roses (Portland, OR)
Day - KBAM - Longview WA (country, fairly weak)
Night - KBZZ - Reno/Sparks (talk, also fairly weak)

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

@ Pdx107 :

Those calls of those two stations sound like something out of the cartoon balloons on the old Batman TV show, hi.

 

[cyberdad]

City of Roses (Portland, OR)
Day - KBAM - Longview WA (country, fairly weak)
Night - KBZZ - Reno/Sparks (talk, also fairly weak)

Welcome to the board! I think I can speak for everyone in saying you're among friends here and we look forward to your contributions.

 

[pdx107]

Welcome to the board! I think I can speak for everyone in saying you're among friends here and we look forward to your contributions.

Thank you very much, I have been doing this sort of thing in limited degrees since I was a young kid, now I'm 33 and getting back into it. Not using anything terribly fancy, a old Radio Shack 390-DX and now also a Grundig g8 traveller ii

 

[radioman148]

Welcome pdx107!

 

[DXingRadio]

In central Maryland;

Daytime: Strong semi-local signal from Hanover, PA's WHVR with satellite fed classic hits.
Night: WHVR's signal drops to weak (but there), often getting beat up by NYC's WADO.

 

[tomservo]

Baldwin County, Alabama:

Daytime a very very weak WODT from New Orleans.
Nights are a jumbled mess but again, WODT has come through enough to ID a few times.

Back when I first moved down here to the Alabama gulf coast, 1280 had a blues format so I'd try to listen when I could. Now it's generic sports and I couldn't care less.

 

[CADXER]

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

Daytime: Weak WZTI
Nightime: Usually WIRL and/or WHIO

DX/RETRO: Mostly 1980's - 1990's catches: KOIL (Omaha, NE), KTR (wichita FAllas, TX), WNIL (Niles, MI), WCBl (Benton, KY), WKLB (Manchester, KY). Most recent catches KIVY (Crockett, TX), WHKY (Hickory, NC)