I've heard Spanish a few times on 630 in the Pensacola area. Usually undeneath, but sometimes fighting with, St. Louis. I couldn't identify it other than to establish that it wasn't Cuba.
I think you may have just unraveled the mystery. Thanks!
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
AM Frequency of the Week: 630
- Thread starter cyberdad
- Start date
I've heard Spanish a few times on 630 in the Pensacola area. Usually undeneath, but sometimes fighting with, St. Louis. I couldn't identify it other than to establish that it wasn't Cuba.
I think you may have just unraveled the mystery. Thanks!
I think CFCO is back to full power now, at least at Night. For a while, it seemed like they were at low power. They have one of the best signals in Ontario with their facility. I think Scott Fybush said something about traveling from Western New York to Indiana without not being able to hear it. CFOS in Owen Sound is another, and can be heard in Western New York and Northern Michigan during the Daytime.
CFCO used to be doable during the day in the Chicago area on a good radio. I'll have to check to see if it's still possible, although with the noise levels these days it will be tough.
I've never been able to snag CFCO during daytime. I'm thinking me being 30 or so miles inland from Lake Michigan is the difference maker between my location and yours. It used to be if I heard anything on 630 daytime, it would be a very faint KXOK/KJSL from St. Louis.
Nights are a different story. CFCO is fairly reliable on top of 630,
It used to be if I aimed the antenna East I could get a very, very faint CFCO during the day. If I aimed it SW I could get a faint, but a tad better KXOK. This was with a very good radio. With todays noise levels probably neither are possible mid day.
If anything, CFCO's day signal to the east is slightly better than it is to the west. But you wouldn't know it because, going east, CFCO eventually gets clobbered by Toronto's 50kw blowtorch, CFMJ on 640. CFMJ's 8-tower transmitter site is actually about 30 miles south of downtown Toronto across Lake Ontario on the shoreline between Hamilton and Niagara Falls. "Marble Shooter" pattern aimed pretty much straight north.
Anyone living in Miami or Southeast Florida. Try tuning to 630 KHz. AM.after sundown. Will you give a reception report. The 630 frequency has been quiet due to 3 stations, one in Cuba, wbmq silent, wsbn, Washington DC transmitter in an inferior location in Virginia.
I am located in Central Florida. A St.Louis station is received most every night. One of the most quiet now on the AM broadcast band. Unusual for a regional destinated frequency.
Very much appreciated.
Ray
I am located in Central Florida. A St.Louis station is received most every night. One of the most quiet now on the AM broadcast band. Unusual for a regional destinated frequency.
Very much appreciated.
Ray
The Cuban radio station appears silent or is reduced power.
There was a rumored plan to directionalize Cuban AM stations to conform with the narrow and long shape of most of Cuba. It would be odd that such a plan was being implemented right now, since Cuba is suffering from the loss of Venezuelan petroleum subsidies. But it could be that the Chinese government is subsidizing such a move.
However, since almost all Cuban AMs now share towers with multiple sister stations, that makes directionalizing diplexed towers a bit more complex. Perhaps just the high power low-frequency stations are being directionalized... if that rumor is becoming reality
Last edited:
CFCO 630 10 kW Day Pattern. I heard CFCO near Old Orchard Mall in a parking lot back around 2000. The Day maximum IDF toward the West is 1639 mV/m. That's the legacy Class B minimum efficiency equivalent of about 34 kW.
Theoretical CFCO Day Pattern.
I think the perception that it's better to the East is better conductivity to the East over Canada than to the West. Not far West of Detroit, the conductivity starts to get bad, and by Kalamazoo, it's really bad. The late and very missed Charlie Gustafson, who worked at WKZO as well as 500 kW WJFM 93.7, WCFL, WIND, and WTAQ, said they looked for a new site near Kalamazoo for WKZO, and the best they could find was a small patch of 4 mS/m, amongst most areas around they M-3 value of 2 mS/m or even less.
Theoretical CFCO Day Pattern.
I think the perception that it's better to the East is better conductivity to the East over Canada than to the West. Not far West of Detroit, the conductivity starts to get bad, and by Kalamazoo, it's really bad. The late and very missed Charlie Gustafson, who worked at WKZO as well as 500 kW WJFM 93.7, WCFL, WIND, and WTAQ, said they looked for a new site near Kalamazoo for WKZO, and the best they could find was a small patch of 4 mS/m, amongst most areas around they M-3 value of 2 mS/m or even less.
Last edited:
I used to hear CFCO in the northern Chicago suburbs during the day on a good radio pretty regularly until WMFN moved in on 640 and squeezed them out.
Note the near linear parallelogram component of CFCO, and the "flat parallelogram" design of WAAM have quite similar patterns.
630 am is pretty quiet here in West Central Georgia as well. Nothing heard during the day and most common night time signal is WLAP from Lexington KY 5000/1000 news/talk. Have also heard WSPN Washington DC 10000/2700 sports, KYFI St. Louis MO 5000 Religious and KSLR San Antonio TX 5000/4300 Religious from time to time but WLAP is usual night signal.
Sometimes catch WNEG Toccoa GA 5000/44 Classic hits before they power down in the evening.
Sometimes catch WNEG Toccoa GA 5000/44 Classic hits before they power down in the evening.
CFCO 630 10 kW Day Pattern. I heard CFCO near Old Orchard Mall in a parking lot back around 2000. The Day maximum IDF toward the West is 1639 mV/m. That's the legacy Class B minimum efficiency equivalent of about 34 kW.
Theoretical CFCO Day Pattern.
I think the perception that it's better to the East is better conductivity to the East over Canada than to the West. Not far West of Detroit, the conductivity starts to get bad, and by Kalamazoo, it's really bad. The late and very missed Charlie Gustafson, who worked at WKZO as well as 500 kW WJFM 93.7, WCFL, WIND, and WTAQ, said they looked for a new site near Kalamazoo for WKZO, and the best they could find was a small patch of 4 mS/m, amongst most areas around they M-3 value of 2 mS/m or even less.
I think you're absolutely correct. The diagram shows that the lobe to the west is slightly bigger than the one to the east. As I've posted previously, I've driven by the CFCO transmitter site dozens of times. Its situated in a very flat, wide open farmland area, a few miles outside of Chatham. Nothing apparent to impede the signal in any way. But as you alluded to, once you get west of Detroit, the ground conductivity deteriorates. I think it also deteriorates to same degree once you get to the Niagara escarpment around Toronto-Hamilton, but nowhere near the extent of what happens around Kalamazoo.
Unlike the other Chicago-area posters here, I've never heard CFCO here at my location during full daylight hours. I guess I'm "a bridge too far" being about 30 miles west of Lake Michigan.
Hearing CFCO during the day in the near north Chicago suburbs wasn't exactly easy. The signal was barely above the noise level and I had to be using a good radio. When I was able to meet those requirements I could hear it many times. However, without a good radio--forget it!
Usually I drive around parking lots until I find the electrically quietest location. The hotel we were staying at, across from the IHOP there by Old Orchard Mall, had a surprisingly quiet parking lot. At the time, the station we called "The Muffin", WMFN 640, when it was in Zeeland, MI, wasn't strong at all, and I think it was before WTMJ used IBOC.
That was another thing I forgot to mention. The band had to be quiet. If there were T-storms or other noise on the band, it was impossible.
- Status