AM Frequency of the Week: 1690

[cyberdad]

With a nod to Steve Green thanks to a comment of his a few days ago, we go up the dial to the X-band. We may as well start at home, which for me would be the Chicago area, which has a grand total of one X-band channel, WVON on 1690.

So what are you guys hearing at the next-to-the-top spot on the AM dial at 1690?

Here in the far northwest suburbs I'm 47 miles away from the WVON stick (diplexed with 1390) on Chicago's south side. The day signal here is fair at best. Even in an area with good ground conductivity, WVON serves as proof that even 10kw non-directional isn't enough to cover the entire market on the upper end of the dial. (Although it's certainly adequate for their primary urban target area).

At night, the signal gets routinely pounded, primarily by WMLB in Atlanta and the station from Landover, MD. I can usually hear other stuff in the mix. Presumably Toronto and/or Montreal.

When the Chicago 1690 came on (as WRLL) and the channel was almost empty, I was easily able to hear WRLL at night in places such as Memphis, Kansas City, and Toronto. It was also sometimes audible via daytime skywave in downststate Illinois, as well as in nearby states. On one such occasion, I had it all the way along my six-hour drive to Minneapolis. Which ended at noon.

 

[radioman148]

In the near north Chicago suburbs it's a decent signal from WVON during the day and at night a very weak WVON in a mix with the stations that Cyberdad mentioned.
In 2003 when WRLL came on it was very frustrating as I really enjoyed the station, but listening to it at night or during morning drive in the fall and winter was a real struggle unless I was able to get much closer to their transmitter.

 

[rhead]

At my location on the west side of Spartanburg, South Carolina, it's my part 15 station, soft AC "Soft Gold 1690 AM and 96.7 FM." During the late morning and early afternoon hours, when there's no skywave interference, I can hear it within almost a mile radius of my apartment.

Around sunrise and sunset, it's usually WMLB Avondale Estates/Atlanta, GA (sometimes blasting in like a local); other times WVON Berwyn/Chicago, IL is the dominant station on 1690. After dark, it's a mix bag of WMLB, WVON, and CHTO from Toronto.

(Of course, at home and out in front of my apartment building, I can get my part 15 station 24/7 on 1690, but the skywave stations start to interfere as soon as I pull away, although I have been able to pick up my station at night in some parts of the neighborhood behind my apartment complex.)

 

[mimo]

Here in Ottawa, 1690 is a very interesting frequency. On an average consumer grade radio, the frequency is blank during the day. On a very good radio you can hear CJLO from Montreal but it fades in and out. At night CHTO Toronto dominates, with CJLO coming up from time to time. Under auroral conditions, it's all CJLO at night. Maryland still will pop up a few times a year as does WVON. CHTO's signal is very strong here in Ottawa at night.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Good stuff there, RHead.

My meagre 1690 totals show a 'WNBM' from 10-15-98. Most likely it was a nighttime catch on the Lafayette HA-600. 'WNBM' is the call now of a New York City FM station. Can someone clue me in as to whom WNBM 1690 might've been?

And there is a 'WPTX' from MD, a more recent grab, from Jan 2015, and more likely than not a nighttime catch. I'm thinking that the reception was off the now-traded GE Superadio III ; my II doesn;t go that high.

(Anyone here remember the time in the Sixites when WPTX was on 920 and did a widely-heard DX Test?)

 

[gr8oldies]

East Tennessee- a very weak WMLB by day, WVON around sunset (sometimes a couple of hours before)
When 1690 was WRLL, doing Real Oldies, I could get it frequently in Ohio, sometimes most of the day in the winter.

 

[schmave]

Just like gr8oldies, I remember hearing 1690 in its WRLL days very dependably in Ohio in the winter months. Haven't listened to the frequency in years but I assume that's still the case.
When I visited family in Naperville in those days, reception was much as other Chicagoland posters mentioned. Decent groundwave but nothing spectacular, and a very choppy-to-poor signal at night. Can't imagine that signal made it much more than 10 miles from its tower, if that, before being pummeled by skywave.

 

[joebtsflk1]

Good stuff there, RHead.

My meagre 1690 totals show a 'WNBM' from 10-15-98. Most likely it was a nighttime catch on the Lafayette HA-600. 'WNBM' is the call now of a New York City FM station. Can someone clue me in as to whom WNBM 1690 might've been?

Dug into the American Radio History archives for a B'casting Yearbook listing from 1999 http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1999/D-Radio-All-Other-r-BC-YB-1999..pdf which shows one WMDM on 1690 from Lexington Park MD. Phonetically challenged calls, especially for AM DX.

The Denver metro's former Mouse outlet on 1690, KDDZ Arvada is now owned by Salem, Money Talk 1690 KDMT, with a weak daytime signal from my location 100 miles south of there.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

East Tennessee- a very weak WMLB by day, WVON around sunset (sometimes a couple of hours before)
When 1690 was WRLL, doing Real Oldies, I could get it frequently in Ohio, sometimes most of the day in the winter.

It made it into Dallas so well at night I had it on my presets. It is a shame they quit the oldies format. For a while, a station on 1700 I think in Brownsville had oldies that made it into Houston, but it went sports.

There were a dedicated group of Radio Disney enthusiasts in Lubbock that knew when to switch from KMKI 620 from Plano to an 1160 out of San Antonio, and finally to KDDZ from Arcadia as the day went from afternoon to night. Who says kids don't DX?!

 

[joebtsflk1]

You can put my daughter in the former DX-ney crowd. 1690 KDDZ during the day, and she discovered the monster Mickey signal 1580 KMIK Tempe AZ which was a regular visitor during critical hours. Good in the evening in CO until Tempe sunset.

This may explain why she'll listen to the alternative station in the Springs even though we're heavily in the shadow in Cañon City. Unless I'm trying to ID an unusual DX catch, I don't have the patience to listen to scratchy multipath and blend to muddy mono. (I liked the old FM radios that didn't have the "blend" feature)

 

[jim-satx]

Daytime is blank here. Nighttime through sunrise and a while after is a fairly reliable KDMT. Depending on propagation conditions, I'll occasionally get a weak WMLB and less often WVON at night and/or sunset.

I've heard CHTO once, back in November. It was a weak signal, and they were running a Greek music/talk program that matched the station's Simple Radio stream.

Also, in October 2014 I heard what I presume was KFSG. The station was playing "Ode to Joy" and a few other instrumental songs followed by Russian-language talk. It was weak and eventually faded for good after a while.

 

[austingrace]

OK. While we're on this freq. I have heard rock on 1690 before. What is that station? I used to hear it in Altamonte. I have not tried 1690 here in Brandon.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Hey JoeBTS -- thanks a lot, pal. I joined this forum to increase the log totals, not to have to throw a few back!

(Seriously -- you know I'm kidding -- it's forums such as this which can answer some questions, and clear up a mystery or two. That was a nice way to put the situation, too -- 'phonetically-challenged calls'. Thanks again and 73)

 

[joebtsflk1]

You're welcome, it's all part of the service! (And WNBM is close enough to WMDM to count in my book!)

 

[cyberdad]

OK. While we're on this freq. I have heard rock on 1690 before. What is that station? I used to hear it in Altamonte. I have not tried 1690 here in Brandon.

I'm guessing WMLB. They've had a history of eclectic programming, so nothing should come as a surprise.