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AM Frequency of the Week: 610

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cyberdad

cyberdad

40 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, 60 miles southwest of Downtown Milwaukee....

Days: 610 is vacant except for splatter from WTMJ (620) from Milwaukee.

Nights: Usually KCSP (ex WDAF) from Kansas City alone with a fair signal. I've heard WIP a couple of times, (probably on day pattern) but not recently. WTVN (aka: "Radio Free Canada") was a fairly easy catch a year or two ago when they were running 1.25 kw non-directional at night on STA. Normally, I don't hear them at night.

Sunrise: KDAL (Duluth, MN) when they go to day pattern is fairly common.

Retro/Other Location: At my college location in southeast Iowa, it was WDAF 24/4. Usuallly with a fair signal. At the beach near Pensacola, it's WVLJ (Pensacola - 500 watts ND) by day with a fair signal. Usually KILT and/or WIOD at night. Sometimes the Birmingham 610 (ex WSGN).
 
In the near north Chicago suburbs daytime is all WTMJ splatter. At night usually WDAF, I mean KCSP. Still having trouble remembering that KC no longer uses the WDAF calls. I can hear WTVN during critical hours sometimes. I used to hear WIP, now WTEL regularly. Not as much anymore. I've also heard KDAL a few times.

Other: Several years ago I heard WIOD on the Northern Ireland receiver during winter.
 
In Houston, it's KILT 24/7.

When I was in Perth Australia, I would occasionally hear the Voice of Hoh Chih Minh from Hanoi on 610, the only 10 khz spaced station in that part of the world. If not audible it would still often cause a het on 6RN 612.
 
East Tennessee: Not much with WRJZ next door on 620. I have received WTVN in critical hours, never at night.

Retro/other: Dayton, Ohio. None other than WTVN, Columbus, Ohio with solid signal days, but nothing at night when it flips to Radio Free Canada mode. WTVN probably has the second best daytime signal in Ohio, covering a good share of the state, well into Indiana to the west. When the STA was active, I could still get WTVN on the Edinburgh IN SDR. With no WTVN night signal in Ohio, KCSP/WDAF was a frequent visitor. Also caught Roanoke, VA at various times and call letters. SDRing, I caught WIOD, Miami on the Bonaire machine
 
Knew we'd get here soon! :)
From Pickerington, Ohio, all WTVN from about eight miles to my west at all hours. Blaster daytime and still solid at night thanks to my location just north of a strong eastbound null to protect WIP. As close a mile south of me at night, WTVN just chews into itself in areas where you can actually see the beacons of their tower farm off to the west.
They have a decent lobe to the south that lasts until about Chillicothe going down 23, but I could go on and on with stories I can recount of going in and out of their pattern across central Ohio over the years.
In my Toledo days, a solid WTVN daytime and up and down at night due to cancellation issues that start on the southern fringes of the Toledo area. That said, I continue to be impressed at how well that signal travels so far north into Michigan and Ontario.
The only part of Ohio in which WTVN struggles daytime is the far northeast. I've taken the signal to about Painesville before it gives out and the St. Catharine's, Ontario 610 (CKTB) takes over. Even then, I have heard WTVN very well in Conneaut at night.
At both places I lived in Houston, I was directly in front of KILT's pattern blasting toward the Gulf at all hours. Their day and night nulls are impressive, maybe not as much as WTVN but still solid.
 
From Cheyenne, WY:

Days... A very fringe 610 KCSR Chadron (about 140 miles away), with their country format and AM Stereo! I'm also quite amazed that 1,000 watts can cover the distance.

Nights: Usually a mix between KNML Albuquerque and KCSP Kansas City. Both have been identified by legal ID or branding.

Travel: I have been within one mile of the KCSR tower, and it is suprisingly short. In Rapid City, KCSR Chadron does come in slightly weaker than a local.
 
ZantennaG1 said:
From Cheyenne, WY:

Days... A very fringe 610 KCSR Chadron (about 140 miles away), with their country format and AM Stereo! I'm also quite amazed that 1,000 watts can cover the distance.

Nights: Usually a mix between KNML Albuquerque and KCSP Kansas City. Both have been identified by legal ID or branding.

Travel: I have been within one mile of the KCSR tower, and it is suprisingly short. In Rapid City, KCSR Chadron does come in slightly weaker than a local.
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When I was visiting my daughter in Fort Collins CO over Christmas, I noticed KCSR during the day with a weak signal. That's 190 miles, pretty impressive for 1kw, even in the dead of winter.
 
Hartland, VT:

WGIR Manchester, NH day and (very weakly) night with right-wing talk and minor league baseball. Can't make out anything underneath the nighttime signal at all, but WTVN is probably down there somewhere.
 
I tend to doubt that CT. They don't throw much signal in that direction at night. Not talking ridiculously deep nulls, but probably less than 1,000 watts.
 
I kinda tend to doubt your doubt, Schmave, lol.

Now, this recall is from back in the Queens NYC DXing days. The dial was less noisy and lots of stations signed off overnight. Heck -- I think a few of them never even bothered to sign ON the next day.

But while WTVN wasn't the 'regular' regional-signal pest from Ohio, like WHK Cleveland or WHHH Warren, or WING Dayton were, it was logged a few times. WTMJ Milwaukee, WSPD Toledo and WIRL Peoria were others, similar, from back in the good ol' days.

@ CT Listener: NEVER heard a peep from WGIR, or from WSNG Torrington 610.
 
wildthangjim said:
When I was visiting my daughter in Fort Collins CO over Christmas, I noticed KCSR during the day with a weak signal. That's 190 miles, pretty impressive for 1kw, even in the dead of winter.
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That is awesome, especially considering you would've had to put up with KCOL's splatter.
 
wildthangjim said:
When I was visiting my daughter in Fort Collins CO over Christmas, I noticed KCSR during the day with a weak signal. That's 190 miles, pretty impressive for 1kw, even in the dead of winter.
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That's pretty cool. Right up there with one of my favorites. KTRF, 1230. in Thief River Falls, MN tripping car scan buttons regularly during daytime in Winnipeg, about 120 miles away, Still, not strong enough to break through the GY channel mess at night.
 
From the southwest suburbs of Chicago:

Day: nothing. Maybe a hint of WTMJ IBOC, maybe not.

Nights: A collection of already mentioned suspects: WDAF / KCSP Kansas City, Mo.; WIP Philadelphia (not yet as WTEL); WSGN / WAGG Birmingham, Ala.; WTVN Columbus, Ohio (both with original and temporary patterns); WIOD Miami; and the most recent, KDAL Duluth, Minn., first on 6/11/2020 in the middle of the night.
 
schmave said:
I tend to doubt that CT. They don't throw much signal in that direction at night. Not talking ridiculously deep nulls, but probably less than 1,000 watts.
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I'll have to check 610 again on the car radio at night. Almost positive I've heard GIR there, but I'll try for a positive ID if I can dig one out.
 
I have lived in range of two stations on 610 both fairly well known. First WIOD Miami, and now the historic WAYS Charlotte which is now WFNZ.
 
CTListener said:
I'll have to check 610 again on the car radio at night. Almost positive I've heard GIR there, but I'll try for a positive ID if I can dig one out.
Click to expand...

If you can pick up WTVN out there, great catch! While they do not send much signal at you, it's more than they put in other directions to be sure. And the reports of stations being picked up hundreds of miles into their nulls are nothing new.
 
CTListener said:
Hartland, VT:

WGIR Manchester, NH day and (very weakly) night with right-wing talk and minor league baseball. Can't make out anything underneath the nighttime signal at all, but WTVN is probably down there somewhere.
Click to expand...
schmave said:
I tend to doubt that CT. They don't throw much signal in that direction at night. Not talking ridiculously deep nulls, but probably less than 1,000 watts.
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Remember that WTVN was on 1250 watts nondirectional at Night after their tower collapsed in a storm. The NIMBYs/Zoning people wanted to prevent WTVN from JUST REPLACING the tower that collapsed, and held up the rebuilding for two or three years as I recall. It might have been then. I remember when WTAC/WSNL 600 was on nondirectional STA when they moved the TL, and they heard it in odd places like Central Illinois and points West, unheard of with the original pattern.

NIMBYs must have thought, "do they really NEED six towers". These are the kind of people who talk about science without really knowing anything about it. WTVN MIGHT be able to do it with FIVE towers, but that would be a whole new configuration which wouldn't fit on the property.
 
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