AM Frequency of the Week: 570

[cyberdad]

I'm here a day early with this because I'm expecting a busy late morning tomorrow (fantasy baseball league draft da). Anyway, here's the "short and not-so-sweet" view for me from my perch about 40 miles northwest of downtown Chicago.....

Days: All splatter from WIND (560). 5kw from more than 60 miles to my southeast and a lobe aimed right at me.

Nights: WKYX from Paducah, KY is only 500 watts at night, but throws a major lobe in my direction. I used to hear them on a fairly regular basis. But recently, 570 has been fairly empty. I'm not sure why. I've also heard WKBN from Youngstown, Ohio and CKGL from Kitchener, ON on rare occasions, but again, not lately.

Other location: One needs to go only about 50 miles north of my location to start hearing WMAM from Marinette, WI, which is on Lake Michigan at the border of Wisconsin and Michigan. For as long as I can remember they've had the unusual setup of 250 watts day, 100 watts night. Both non-directional Ground conductivity in the area and along the lake is quite good, and so is WMAM's signal. I've never heard it at my home location, however.

Retro: At my college location in southeast Iowa, we had a carrier current station on 570 (KOED). When we were off, a weak WNAX usually came through. Alone during daytime. Mixing with other very weak signals at night.

 

[ZantennaG1]

In Cheyenne, WY:
Too much splatter from KLZ to grab anything of note 24/7.
Sometimes at night, WNAX will pop up above the splatter.

Travel:
When I went to Rapid City, 570 was a fairly reliable WNAX. It is weaker than KFYR, but still listenable, despite being over 300 miles away. I am jealous of that ground Conductivity!

At nights in RC, or Northern Wyoming, away from KLZ splatterz is either KNRS or WNAX. I did once ID KNRS in Riverton, and hope to do so on my trip to Cody.

 

[gr8oldies]

East Tennessee: Days: WWNC, Asheville NC with WIDS, Russell Springs, KY.
Nights: WWNC with Radio Reloj underneath.
Retro/other: Dayton, Ohio. Mostly WKBN, Youngstown OH and Radio Reloj

 

[radioman148]

In the near north Chicago suburbs during the day it's all WIND splatter. At night I've heard mostly WKYX. In the past I've heard WKBN and CKLG.
Retro: Way back during it's Top 40 days I used to try for WMCA, but never heard it in the Chicago area.
Regarding WNAX, when I was in NW Illinois years ago WNAX came in during the day with that great ground conductivity.

 

[cyberdad]

East Tennessee: Days: WWNC, Asheville NC with WIDS, Russell Springs, KY.
Nights: WWNC with Radio Reloj underneath.
Retro/other: Dayton, Ohio. Mostly WKBN, Youngstown OH and Radio Reloj

Forgot about Reloj/ Very rare here, but it's made it to my location on 570 a few times.

 

[formula72]

From: San Jose, California

Days: Nothing!

Nights: I can get KLAC from Los Angeles, KNRS out of Salt Lake City, and on rare occasion, KVI out of Seattle Washington. It all depends on where I point the radio and which signal fades out and which signal fades in.

 

[CADXER]

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

Daytime: nothing but WIND splatter
Nightime: usually WKYX

DX/RETRO: Others heard in the past include KLIF (Dallas, TX), WAAX (Gadsden, AL), WTBN (Pinellas Park, FL), WMAM (Peshtigo, WI), WKBN (Youngstown, OH), WVMI (Biloxi, MS), WNAX (Yankton, SD), WIDS (Russel Springs, KY). Common visitor at night used to be a Radio Reloj outlet from Cuba, but lately they are being heard only when conditions tend to be auroral. Also couple split frequency logs: Radio One, Tullamore, Ireland on 567 kHz in 1997 and TIRN, San Jose, Costa Rica on the frequency of 575 kHz, which used to be and easy catch from Costa Rica along with Radio Rumbo on 525 kHz.

 

[bob_international]

Yuma Arizona
Day: splatter from local KBLU 560
Night: KLAC Los Angeles

 

[WCJ]

Orange County, TX, Days it's splatter from KLVI, Nights KLIF, nee WFAA.

Retro: This was mentioned on this board some time ago, but years back, WFAA and WBAP, 570 & 820, would each broadcast on these two frequencies for 12 hours a day. One would be on 570 and the other on 820 then at 6 AM & 6PM they would swap. Don't remember the reason.

 

[davideduardo]

While it was nearly 60 years ago, I had a rather fun experience with 570:

I lived in Quito, Ecuador, at the time and I owned HCRM, the local Top 40 station which was on 570. But in our early months on the air from December 1964 until around April of 1965, we signed off at midnight.

I was fascinated by WMCA in New York, so on several occasions I took my Hammerlund HQ-180 radio to the transmitter and hooked it up to the HCRM antenna which was tuned to 570 after my station signed off. After midnight, Quito time, I'd often get WMCA quite clearly. But other times I'd get different 570 stations, at least until they signed off. Usually, after 1 AM, it would just be WMCA. And I heard what I thought was a wonderful Top 40 station and I listened, took notes and learned a lot from that DX experience. And when I could not get WMCA, I could usually hear WQAM on 560 from Miami which was another of my "hero stations".

But early in 1965 we began operating 24/7 on HCRM, so I could not hear WMCA unless I traded airline tickets to the US and went to listen right there in New York.

 

[gr8oldies]

Orange County, TX, Days it's splatter from KLVI, Nights KLIF, nee WFAA.

Retro: This was mentioned on this board some time ago, but years back, WFAA and WBAP, 570 & 820, would each broadcast on these two frequencies for 12 hours a day. One would be on 570 and the other on 820 then at 6 AM & 6PM they would swap. Don't remember the reason.

I don't remember this in person, but I've listened to the full day of coverage of JFK's visit and assassination from WBAP, and they switched at least 3 times between 6am and 6pm, It was 570 WBAP from 6 until around 10 if I recall, then 820 WBAP in the midday (that carried JFK's "parking lot" speech...his last) then later in the day, back to 5-7-0. I'm not sure what year this was, but this article shows switches as short as a half hour.

https://flashbackdallas.com/2014/06/15/wfaa-and-wbaps-unusual-broadcasting-alliance/#:~:text=The%20two%20frequencies%20were%20570,Back%20and%20forth.

Another fun fact: No matter which station was broadcasting where, ABC was always on 570; NBC was always on 820., including with the JFK coverage,

 

[cyberdad]

I was fascinated by WMCA in New York, so on several occasions I took my Hammerlund HQ-180 radio to the transmitter and hooked it up to the HCRM antenna which was tuned to 570 after my station signed off. After midnight, Quito time, I'd often get WMCA quite clearly. But other times I'd get different 570 stations, at least until they signed off. Usually, after 1 AM, it would just be WMCA. And I heard what I thought was a wonderful Top 40 station and I listened, took notes and learned a lot from that DX experience. And when I could not get WMCA, I could usually hear WQAM on 560 from Miami which was another of my "hero stations".

But early in 1965 we began operating 24/7 on HCRM, so I could not hear WMCA unless I traded airline tickets to the US and went to listen right there in New York.

Amazing! "When you think New York Radio, Think WMCA". I still remember those ads in Broadccasting Magazine. Not knowing, of course, that I'd eventually spend more than twenty years working for the company that eventually bought it from Sol.

And I never, to this day, have snagged WMCA.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

In most of Southern Lower Michigan, it's WKBN Younstown, OH, Day and Night. In the late 1970s, I lived in West Central Michigan. Except for one strong local station, every other AM signal was less than the 0.25 mV/m Day signal of WMAQ. I had a shorted twin lead 20 foot vertical attached to a one transistor, tuned preamp for the AM BCB, inductively coupled to a Sony Portable AM/FM with Cassette recorder/player with a signal strength meter. I got scores of stations clearly during the Daytime on nearly every frequency, most without much cochannel interference. I soon noticed a station on 570 that wasn't listed in the WRTH. I soon bought White's Radio Log, and discovered it was 250 watt WMAM Marinette, WI. This was before WTCM moved from 1400 to 580, and gradually increased from 2500 watts to 50000 watts Daytime, which would probably interfere there today. WLS, WIND, WAIT, WGN, WBBM, WCFL, WTMJ, and WOKY all came in well from across the Lake. No WGRT OR WWJ, 500 watt DA directed to the East WKTS/WCLB Sheboygan, WI came in on 950 without much interference. Never heard the Good Guys on WMCA either. Their DA worked well. Wonder what it would have been like if they had built the 50000 watt Day/30000 watt Night, 6 tower array Construction Permit.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

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

Daytime: nothing but WIND splatter
Nightime: usually WKYX

DX/RETRO: Others heard in the past include KLIF (Dallas, TX), WAAX (Gadsden, AL), WTBN (Pinellas Park, FL), WMAM (Peshtigo, WI), WKBN (Youngstown, OH), WVMI (Biloxi, MS), WNAX (Yankton, SD), WIDS (Russel Springs, KY). Common visitor at night used to be a Radio Reloj outlet from Cuba, but lately they are being heard only when conditions tend to be auroral. Also couple split frequency logs: Radio One, Tullamore, Ireland on 567 kHz in 1997 and TIRN, San Jose, Costa Rica on the frequency of 575 kHz, which used to be and easy catch from Costa Rica along with Radio Rumbo on 525 kHz.

I'm surprised only you mention WAAX. They were a good top 40 station in 1969. I heard them regularly in Indiana.

 

[schmave]

Pickerington, Ohio ...
Daytime: A weak but listenable WKBN.
Nighttime: Nothing, although I've occasionally heard the very faint tones of Radio Reloj. I heard WKBN once during an aurora many years ago, back around 2004.

When I lived in suburban Houston, KLIF was there day and night, much better at night of course, thanks to the excellent ground conductivity. I heard Radio Reloj's tones under KLIF many times. Perhaps oddly, I rarely heard KLVI slop under KLIF despite a strong signal from the former at all hours.

 

[radioman148]

Orange County, TX, Days it's splatter from KLVI, Nights KLIF, nee WFAA.

Retro: This was mentioned on this board some time ago, but years back, WFAA and WBAP, 570 & 820, would each broadcast on these two frequencies for 12 hours a day. One would be on 570 and the other on 820 then at 6 AM & 6PM they would swap. Don't remember the reason.

I remember it well. Back many years ago when I first started Dxing I received WFAA on 820. The next day I compared notes with a friend on the previous nights DX and he told me he received WBAP on 820. Shortly thereafter we learned that they both used 570 also.

 

[TXPH97]

From DFW, Texas:

It is local 570-KLIF 24 x 7. In the very slightest of nulls on KLIF, I can sometimes hear XEBJB Monterrey, NL.

 

[CADXER]

I'm surprised only you mention WAAX. They were a good top 40 station in 1969. I heard them regularly in Indiana.

Looking at my log, last time I heard them was in 1981. I remember that in those days WAAX was fairly common catch in the Chicago area.

 

[cyberdad]

I'm surprised only you mention WAAX. They were a good top 40 station in 1969. I heard them regularly in Indiana.

I used to hear them on The drive between Huntsville and Atlanta during the 1990s on business trips. I remember them as having a good signal, so-so audio,, and country music.

 

[ente]

South Mississippi:

Day - nothing. WVMI Biloxi, MS used to operate a news/talk format, and country before that. The 6-tower array was expensive to maintain, so they moved to 1640 in 2003, becoming WTNI.
Night - KLIF Dallas, WAAX Gadsden, AL, and sometimes Radio Reloj