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AM Frequency of the Week 640

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rosecitymedia said:
Tyler, TX

Daytime yields nothing. I am just outside of the farthest reaches of KWPN's 5kW, but at sunset it comes up pretty well. At night, it's mostly KWPN, with KTIB and the Cuban Progreso signal also heard, although I do have WGST from the Atlanta area logged in 2019.

Thought I had something new to log on 640 last year, but lo and behold it was KTIB, which had apparently switched to Spanish language.
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I used to hear KTIB on 640 day and night on our trips to the beach near Pensacola. Very weak, but during the past couple of years it's been missing. Which opens the door for a very weak R. Progreso by day. Much stronger at night.

(I also heard KTIB daytime at our beach location when it was on 630, Changing frequencies didn't significantly affect KTIB;s signal strength along that stretch of the Gulf.
 
gar hi said:
I heard KFI only once and never again in New Jersey for a few minutes in the winter of 1977-78 after having listened for it for countless hours.

I'll never forget how I was hearing the song 'I Go Crazy' by Paul Davis and at the end was the station ID "64 KFI".

I usually heard WHLO on 640 but it timed out just right where they faded and KFI was able to break through.

Hearing KFI in New Jersey today would be impossible because of WWJZ in Mount Holly.

Here in Hawaii at the same distance from Los Angeles, KFI is a nighttime regular but of course that's due to the ocean and no other stations in between.
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I probably should have said we're much too far east to catch it reliably. I'd love to. I've tried on and off for years and never heard it ... it would be my second-farthest catch behind PJB in January 2022. Best I can figure, I'm about 500 miles east of their regular skywave range.
I was hoping to snag it during my years in Houston and never did.
 
CentralFL said:
15 miles south of Orlando.

Daytime - WVLG weak with WMEN from South Florida coming in underneath it.

Nighttime - Radio Progresso, Cuba. Good signal. It is probably the most reliable station to dx here. I enjoy the bilingual AC format on an AM station.
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I've heard KFI a few times over the 30 years I was in Tampa.

But I had to do a lot of listening eash time to be able to get it.

Same thing with KNX which I've also heard a few times there.

I think it's a little easier to get KFI in Florida than in New Jersey because part of the skip is over the Gulf.
 
rosecitymedia said:
Thought I had something new to log on 640 last year, but lo and behold it was KTIB, which had apparently switched to Spanish language.
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I see from Wikipedia that KTIB became "97.9 La Calle" April 2022. That would explain why I haven't noticed them in a while. When I hear Spanish on 640 I've assumed it's Progreso or one of the 2 regular Mexican stations!
 
wildthangjim said:
I see from Wikipedia that KTIB became "97.9 La Calle" April 2022. That would explain why I haven't noticed them in a while. When I hear Spanish on 640 I've assumed it's Progreso or one of the 2 regular Mexican stations!
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That would seem to explain it. Thanks, Jim!
 
KFI used to claim to be "Western America's most powerful radio station".

What would be Eastern America's most powerful radio station? WSM?
 
Difficult question. Are they talking both groundwave and skywave? If so, I'll throw WLW, WGN, WJR and WBZ into the mix given their skywave signals and good to great conductivity in the home areas for the first three. Conductivity is why I wouldn't nominate the New York flamethrowers, WSM or WSB.
 
gr8oldies said:
Any of the 50kWers. WLW or one of the New York clears
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WLW has, arguably, the largest nighttime coverage in the eastern parts of the country. I've heard it all throughout the Gulf Coast, and is stronger here in east Texas than WSM, WLAC, or WSB. I'd be very interested to know how far of a reach WOAI's signal reaches northward. It is a flamethrower, here in Tyler, but not surprisingly at only 300 miles away.
 
rosecitymedia said:
WLW has, arguably, the largest nighttime coverage in the eastern parts of the country. I've heard it all throughout the Gulf Coast, and is stronger here in east Texas than WSM, WLAC, or WSB. I'd be very interested to know how far of a reach WOAI's signal reaches northward. It is a flamethrower, here in Tyler, but not surprisingly at only 300 miles away.
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The fact, is, however, that none of those clear channel skywave signals gets any significant audience at all any longer. Once truckers got satellite radios and cellphones, even the all night trucker shows lost interest and sponsors.
 
DavidEduardo said:
The fact, is, however, that none of those clear channel skywave signals gets any significant audience at all any longer. Once truckers got satellite radios and cellphones, even the all night trucker shows lost interest and sponsors.
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Yes, of course, but it would be interesting to find out which of the former clears would hold the distinction of largest listenable signal range in the current conditions, given the various forms of man made interference that have eroded each of them over the years.
 
rosecitymedia said:
Yes, of course, but it would be interesting to find out which of the former clears would hold the distinction of largest listenable signal range in the current conditions, given the various forms of man made interference that have eroded each of them over the years.
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I believe at one time it was determined to be WHO in Des Moines: high enough frequency for better night skywave and near the center of the US. KMOX would also be a likely candidate for this distinction.
 
I guess if you take daytime coverage as well as nighttime, the most powerful AM stations in North America are 1) 540 CBK Watrous-Regina, 2) KFI 640 Los Angeles and 3) WSM 650 Nashville. All 50,000 watts, non-directional, and lowest on the dial.

At one time, the most powerful AM station in North America was 900 XEW Mexico City, at 250,000 watts. 540 XEWA had been 150,000 watts and a handful of Mexican stations were at 100,000 watts. But we think all the Mexican AM stations that are still on the air have cut their power to 50,000 watts or less. Maybe 690 XEWW Tijuana should be on the above list since it is likely still running 77,000 watts in the daytime to be heard in Los Angeles.

Probably a few Cuban stations run more than 50,000 watts but the Cuban government doesn't have accurate reporting.
 
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Gregg. said:
I guess if you take daytime coverage as well as nighttime, the most powerful AM stations in North America are 1) 540 CBK Watrous-Regina, 2) KFI 640 Los Angeles and 3) WSM 650 Nashville. All 50,000 watts, non-directional, and lowest on the dial.
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But the only one with spectacular coverage is CBK. Half of LA's power goes over the ocean and the other half hits bad ground conductivity when the signal meets the foothills. WSB is in a horrible conductivity area, just like WSB so it's never been a huge coverage generator.

820 in Dallas/Fort Worth and 1200 in San Antonio and even the three clears in Chicago cover the most. Other Other contenders are 1120 in St Louis an 830 in Minnesota, both at the edge of the best conductivity zone.

But right up with ones like 1040 in Des Moines are the low-dial regionals like WNAX, KFRM, KFYR, WIBW, KSJB.
 
rosecitymedia said:
WLW has, arguably, the largest nighttime coverage in the eastern parts of the country. I've heard it all throughout the Gulf Coast, and is stronger here in east Texas than WSM, WLAC, or WSB. I'd be very interested to know how far of a reach WOAI's signal reaches northward. It is a flamethrower, here in Tyler, but not surprisingly at only 300 miles away.
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When I lived between Houston and Galveston, neither WOAI's groundwave or skywave were great. I figured I was in that zone that was too far out for a great ground signal and too close in for good skywave.
I dependably caught WLW down there, but oddly (to me) a little better in the summer months.
 
schmave said:
I was in that zone that was too far out for a great ground signal and too close in for good skywave.
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I suffer from similar effects from WBAP, KWKH, and KRLD. Now, the daytime signals of each, halfway between DFW and SBC, are what you might expect from 50kW. WBAP and KRLD (with IBOC sidebands and all) are both quite strong. KWKH is fair,ly good, but not to the degree of the DFW duo. At night, I can barely sniff out KWKH, while KRLD and WBAP are basically non existent. For comparison, I regularly receive 1000 KTOK far better than any of the 3 aforementioned signals at night.
 
I have pulled in WOAI as far north as Western Lower Michigan. I was at a Trade Show in Acme, MI (Traverse City area) 20 years ago and WOAI didn’t make it up there. Did pull in WBAP though.

Here in Canyon Lake, the most consistent nighttime DX stations are XEG (1050), KRLD, KWKH and 1170 from Tulsa. WOAl is solid, but all groundwave. If you go to Corpus Christi, the cancellation at night on WOAI is pretty significant.

To stay on thread; I have not heard KFI in Canyon Lake in a long time. Recent business trips to Midland-Odessa and San Angelo produced a fair to good signal from KFI. Have pulled them in as close as Blanco (25 miles away). Usually Spanish Language is heard on 640 at night (probably Cuba, but not sure about the number of Mexican stations on 640 besides Ciudad Juarez.
 
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I haven't listened for it in the daytime, but night time on 640 yields a reasonably clear KFI here in the SFBA.

c
 
dlf1 said:
I have pulled in WOAI as far north as Western Lower Michigan. I was at a Trade Show in Acme, MI (Traverse City area) 20 years ago and WOAI didn’t make it up there. Did pull in WBAP though.
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Interesting. In the earlier 60's WOAI was a nightly visitor just north of Traverse City even in the summer. The strength would help to discover which direction to look for new stations at. WOAI was one indicator, KOA and WCCO and WSB or WWL were others.
 
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