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AM Frequency of the Week: 550

M

MarioMania

Carmichael, CA

Daytime: Nothing
Nighttime: KUZZ (Very Weak) Bakersfield, CA

Vallejo, CA

Daytime: Splatter from 560 KSFO San Francisco, CA
Nighttime: KUZZ (Very Weak) Bakersfield, CA
 
East Tennessee: Days-WDUN Gainesville GA with an occasional whiff of WKRC, Cincinnati, OH. Nights-a hodgepodge with includes WDUN and KTRS, St. Louis.
Retro/other: Dayton, Ohio area. WKRC day and night, and a weaker WKRC at night. Sunset catches included KTRS and WSVA, Harrisonburg VA. Nightime it seemed like WDUN was on day power and pattern a lot. In the mid-90s I had several nights of hearing WAYR, Orange Park, FL under WKRC on day facities.

WKRC and KTRS collide around Indianapolis. In Lafayette IN it was mostly KTRS, with an unbelievable signal and KMOX nowhere to be found.
 
Around Columbus, Ohio, all WKRC daytime and, more often than not, an extremely weak WKRC at night. Maybe 1 on a 1-to-10 scale, but it's there. Both despite a decent null toward Buffalo.
I usually hear WKRC and WGR colliding in that Mansfield-Ashland-Wooster corridor in northeast Ohio. By the time you hit Cleveland, it's all WGR, and it's one of the best daytime signals in my wife's hometown of Conneaut, Ohio.
 
Boise ID
Day nothing
Night a revolving mix of KBOW Butte MT, KOAC Corvallis OR, KUZZ Bakersfield CA.
Also occasionally KFYR Bismark ND. KARI Blain WA, KFYI, and the CO. station rarely.
Way back KMVI Maui HI one late night was in strong along with many others from Hawai'i.
 
Initial NEPA DX here was also an early sign of the impending times. WHLM Bloomsburg was a local; a modest full-service sort of 1970's adult-contemporary. Four towers in a line near the interchange of I-80 and US 11. They shut down the full-time regional AM on the ideal 550 frequency completely over 20 years ago and went with their FM.
SSS brought in the widely-logged WSVA from Virginia. Nighttimes it's been a dominant WGR Buffalo.

Perhaps only of marginal interest to the NYC metro DXers here -- but permit me; I'd sort of like reading about it myself -- was an unlikely construction permit in the works. I say 'unlikely' because it was a pretty recent application and got some ink on NYC radio boards. The CP wasn't much more than 10 years ago, when stations already were having their ground systems stolen and their checks bouncing. The NYC area and dial was already shoehorned with so many directional daytimer, uh, 'shoehorns'. That stampede all started with either WKER Pompton Lakes NJ or WRKL in pretty Rockland County. Then came WGCH Greenwich CT, WBRW 1510 in Brewster NY, 1510 in Dover NJ, 1300 in tiny Rockland County, 1310 in Parsippany NJ, WTBQ Warwick NY, 1530 in Elizabeth NJ plus one in Bridgeport (perhaps to keep 1500 Milford company), 1070 Stirling NJ, 940 in Danbury CT, 1160 in Oakland NJ and a dozen or so other 1160 and 1170's up the Hudson and down the Jersey shore ..... You get the drift. If no one else noticed them, DXers certainly went crazy.
So, perhaps noting that WHLM Bloomsburg PA had gone dark, some souls applied for 550 for the super-idyllic Greenwood Lake, on the border of NY and NJ. I have no idea where they envisioned this thing serving listeners. Maybe vacationers on the Greenwood Lake paddleboat.
 
schmave said:
Around Columbus, Ohio, all WKRC daytime and, more often than not, an extremely weak WKRC at night. Maybe 1 on a 1-to-10 scale, but it's there. Both despite a decent null toward Buffalo.
I usually hear WKRC and WGR colliding in that Mansfield-Ashland-Wooster corridor in northeast Ohio. By the time you hit Cleveland, it's all WGR, and it's one of the best daytime signals in my wife's hometown of Conneaut, Ohio.
Click to expand...
Kinda forgot about WGR. I got it once heading to Piqua to do morning stuff at WPTW. It was the Monday after "Spring Forward"and apparently they hadn't reset the time pattern change was supposed to happen.
 
Understandable. I've never heard it here around Columbus. I've probably heard KTRS more in my travels than WGR, despite all my visits to far northeast Ohio.
 
Recently heard..What a Great frequency to listen to in South Central Kansas. KFRM has an impressive daytime signal with 5000 watts 🐄🌻🔔 🌈 "Farm Radio" (Salina) Easily Reaches most of Kansas, well over 150 miles away beyond Wichita, and strong up to the Oklahoma state line on I-35 and listenable to/beyond OKC, and even further, into Texas, fading a few miles beyond the State Line, @ Red River, over 400 miles, then neighboring KDFT on 540 from DFW takes over. Love tne Amazing ground conductivity in that area.

Their Nighttime signal however is much lower power (only 110 watts) which doesn't quite reach south beyond Wichita.

I heard it well from Dodge City to Joplin MO, and
Kinda Surprised it doesn't reach us here in the Carolinas @ over 1000 miles.

Station KFRM has Agriculture News & Info, with popular shows with Local AG conditions & Market Updates 24/7. We can listen to them online via TuneIn.
 

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

Daytime: KTRS barely with interference from WIND splash
Nighttime: usually KTRS or WKRC

DX/RETRO: others heard in the past include KTSA (San Antonio, TX), KFYR (Bismarck, ND), KCRS (Midland, TX), WGR (Buffalo, NY), WSAU (Wassau, WI) as well as couple Radio Rebelde, Cuba outlets and the now defunct CHNO (Sudbury, ON). The most recent new log on this frequency is WDUN, Gainsville, GA in February of 2024.
 
From west Houston TX

KTSA San Antonio dominates the frequency day and night. Nulling them, I can sometimes hear KTRS and once, XEPL. I've never heard KCRS or anything else here.

I remember, growing up in Tulsa in the early '70's, KFRM was almost local strength in the daytime (IIRC they were daytime only back then). That's ~250 miles.
 
Kenosha, WI Days- A VERY weak- & tricky to get- KTRS (under WIND splash)

Nights- KTRS usually pretty good, with WKRC commonly in their null. Have heard, at one time or another, WSAU Wausau, WI, KFYR Bismarck, ND, WGR Buffalo, NY.
 
O/T in a way, but only because it wasn't 'radio' reception:

The boss at the favorite / go-to Oldies internet stream here (Top Shelf Oldies) ended one of his Monday night shows with a test broadcast. Usually an automated system plays 24/7 and the various jocks come on live at 8PM each night.
Tim's midnight equipment test (East Coast time) was doing a fidelity trial of some new equipment or a re-wiring and arrangement of old stuff. I forget which.
There were the usual things DXers are used to enjoying ... zaps, open carrier, clunking noises, muttered oaths, dull music, tones, barking dogs, sirens. A real good DX test workout over the Internet.
For some reason, though, in a few places, there was Country music bleeding through from KTSA San Antonio.
No one knows why. Tim was at the mic live -- from his San Diego place.
 
South Mississippi:

Day: weak signal from Stereo 550, a pirate or part 15 station somewhere between Picayune and Slidell that calls itself "Southern Louisiana and Mississippi's superstation.... Your break from corporate radio... Broadcasting in legacy Motorola C-QUAM stereo... Bottom of the dial, top of the charts." They have aired a classic hits/oldies format since at least 2021.

Night: mostly Big 550 KTRS - The Talk of St. Louis and sometimes KTSA San Antonio
 
DFW, Texas

Daytime: KTSA San Antonio weak to fair on the car radio, away from home noise level.

Nights: KTSA, KCRS both strong depending on aiming the radio appropriately. KTRS St. Louis also comes in, but not as strong as San Antonio and Midland. KFRM Salina KS used to come in strong, perhaps on day power. One time loggings - KFYR Bismarck and KRAI Craig, CO.

Sunrise: XEPL comes up with a good signal.


KFRMKSSalinaFarm Radio 550 ID with local weather. Strongest on the channel.
KTSATXSan AntonioLars Lawson talk local ads weak.
KCRSTXMidlandFox News weak under others.
KTRSMOSt. LouisKTRS ID mixing with KCRS and KTSA
XEPLChihCiudad CuauhtémocTraditional Mexican music // stream, fading up with KTSA
KFYRNDBismarckOldies fair on top with fading. Night Fever, I Saw Her Standing There, Play That Funky Music, // stream.
KRAICOCraigClassic country, weather, and KRAI ID. Fair mixing with KTSA.
 
Clifton, New Jersey

Days: In October 2023, I discovered a 10-watt travelers information station, WQTS628 Rahway, NJ. I have not heard the station in months, and the license expired earlier this year.

Nights: It's usually WGR Buffalo, NY. I have also received WSVA Harrisonburg, VA and WSJW Pawtucket, RI depending on propagation.
 
Steve Green NEPA said:
Initial NEPA DX here was also an early sign of the impending times. WHLM Bloomsburg was a local; a modest full-service sort of 1970's adult-contemporary. Four towers in a line near the interchange of I-80 and US 11. They shut down the full-time regional AM on the ideal 550 frequency completely over 20 years ago and went with their FM.
SSS brought in the widely-logged WSVA from Virginia. Nighttimes it's been a dominant WGR Buffalo.

Perhaps only of marginal interest to the NYC metro DXers here -- but permit me; I'd sort of like reading about it myself -- was an unlikely construction permit in the works. I say 'unlikely' because it was a pretty recent application and got some ink on NYC radio boards. The CP wasn't much more than 10 years ago, when stations already were having their ground systems stolen and their checks bouncing. The NYC area and dial was already shoehorned with so many directional daytimer, uh, 'shoehorns'. That stampede all started with either WKER Pompton Lakes NJ or WRKL in pretty Rockland County. Then came WGCH Greenwich CT, WBRW 1510 in Brewster NY, 1510 in Dover NJ, 1300 in tiny Rockland County, 1310 in Parsippany NJ, WTBQ Warwick NY, 1530 in Elizabeth NJ plus one in Bridgeport (perhaps to keep 1500 Milford company), 1070 Stirling NJ, 940 in Danbury CT, 1160 in Oakland NJ and a dozen or so other 1160 and 1170's up the Hudson and down the Jersey shore ..... You get the drift. If no one else noticed them, DXers certainly went crazy.
So, perhaps noting that WHLM Bloomsburg PA had gone dark, some souls applied for 550 for the super-idyllic Greenwood Lake, on the border of NY and NJ. I have no idea where they envisioned this thing serving listeners. Maybe vacationers on the Greenwood Lake paddleboat.
Click to expand...
The 550 from the NY/NJ border you are talking about was WKNJ. It was supposed to be a daytimer that was licensed to Lakeside, NJ back in 1988. Then, it tried to change the COL to Harriman, NY, and diplex with 910 WRKL New City, NY. The station was never built, and the license was canceled in 2002.
 
Central Kentucky:
Days: A very good WKRC Cincinnati
Nights: Depends on the season. During warm weather months it's always WKRC, with Dave Ramsey.
In the cold weather months it's always WGR, Buffalo with no trace of WKRC.
Early mornings in the winter usually brings in either KTRS St. Louis and/or WDUN Gainesville Ga. with no trace of WKRC until around 9 am.

Back in the 80s when WKRC had a music format, I listened to them a lot. They were one of my favorite stations with their soft AC format. A robust signal throughout Central and NE Kentucky
 
From NW San Antonio:

24/7 it's KTSA, my local.

Night: There's a tiny partial null of KTSA to the NE/SW. Often I'll hear XEGNAY (Tepic, Nayarit) in and out with a weak signal. Occasionally XEPL (Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua) or KFRM (Salina, KS) will mix in briefly.

Sunrise: At day power/pattern, KFRM comes up with a fairly steady and slightly stronger signal in the null, and XEPL mixes in more often when it goes to day power.

DX: I've heard KTRS (St. Louis, MO) once at night and once at sunset. Also, I've heard KCRS (Midland, TX) twice and Radio Rebelde once; propagation was especially good on those occasions because both were underneath KTSA in the opposite direction of the null.

Back in February 2022 when KTSA was off the air for a week during a winter storm, I logged KRAI (Craig, CO) and KFYI (Phoenix, AZ).

Retro: As a kid I used to pick up the telephone at my grandmother's house to hear a faint KTSA along with the dial tone. She lived just down the road from the station's towers.
 
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