AM Frequency of the Week: 700

[radioman148]

From the southwest suburbs of Chicago:

Days, WLW is a pretty easy catch with a good car radio, and it can be pulled in in the house as well with a little effort. Decades ago, before I had anything fancy in the way of receivers, I'd listen to Al Michaels call Cincinnati Reds games by putting the radio near the radiator to boost the signal.

Nights, WLW is rock solid. Until 1/30/2022, WLW was the only station I'd received on 700. That early morning, KHSF Tomball, Tex., decided to keep its 15 kW day transmitter on, and it was a real pest under WLW. With WLW nulled it was about even.

WLW most nights....

RJR Jamaica last heard @ 2007

kw - Melbourne FL

About 10 years ago I was in Puerto Rico and I remember hearing WLW well most nights. Never heard Jamaica.

 

[schmave]

Here in west Houston TX it's local conservative talk KSEV 24/7. I'm about 30 miles south of their towers and they're pretty strong even after dark with their 1kw night power, directional (I believe) toward me. I can usually hear WLW in their null, but have never ID'd anything else here.

DXing from Tulsa OK in the early 70's, after dark WLW was one of the strongest signals on the dial.

My home right along the League City-Friendswood border was in such a location that I could turn a radio one way to hear KSEV, then 90 degrees to hear WLW. With some luck, I picked up WLW during the few months I lived next to the former Inwood Forest Golf Club. Considerably more difficult in the latter location, but very possible.
As you note, it was a much different story out toward Cypress and Katy, and even where I worked near Gessner and Westheimer.
Radio Locator makes KSEV's null look pretty deep. I wish I'd have been able to spend more time DXing north of town and going through the Houston AM nulls when I lived down there.

 

[TXPH97]

From DFW, Texas

KHSE Wylie TX 24/7 with Asian programming @ 40 miles to the east. At night, I can hear WLW under a partial null of KHSE.

 

[tvnut]

I think you have 2 different stations mashed together here. KHSE, licensed to Wylie (DFW area) features a South Asian format, with a directional signal shooting out towards the west, northwest, and northeast, giving it a clear daytime signal in the Metroplex, Sherman/Denison, Paris, Texas/Hugo, Oklahoma, and most of the Red River/Texoma area. You can even catch this one, with a fairly healthy daytime signal, up to the outskirts of OKC. It has a deep null towards the southeast, which is why I struggle to pull it in, here in Tyler. Likely the one you logged near Chicago, as they once in awhile forget to switch off the 1.5kW at night.

KSEV Tomball (Houston), on the other hand, is owned and operated by our lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, and features a hard right conservative talk format. Much bigger daytime signal at 15kW, but sends a ton of that over the open waters of the Gulf. I've been on a cruise, with a portable receiver in years past, and heard it coming in clear down to the Yucatan. I've never heard it "forget to power down" and its night time signal barely covers even Houston. Not a whiff of it anywhere around this area of northeast Texas, day or night.

You're right! KSEV it was. Mixed up the calls thanks to the SE commonality. Conservative talk it was, and I matched it to the Internet stream at the time. Thanks for correcting my log!

 

[radioman148]

...KALL. I probably should have mentioned them. IME, pretty much a good skywave signal up and down the west coast.

Thanks Cyberdad. I forgot the calls.

 

[CentralFL]

15 miles south of Orlando

Days - nothing

Nights - WLW pretty solid most nights.

 

[schmave]

KSEV Tomball (Houston), on the other hand, is owned and operated by our lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, and features a hard right conservative talk format. Much bigger daytime signal at 15kW, but sends a ton of that over the open waters of the Gulf. I've been on a cruise, with a portable receiver in years past, and heard it coming in clear down to the Yucatan. I've never heard it "forget to power down" and its night time signal barely covers even Houston. Not a whiff of it anywhere around this area of northeast Texas, day or night.

The way all the big Houston AMs dump so much of their signals into the Gulf, I shouldn't be surprised at reading that ... but I still am. That has to be between 800 and 1,000 miles.
That 610, 700, 740, 790, etc. are still very strong when they hit salt water is a big help, I'm sure.

 

[Deleted member 108832]

The way all the big Houston AMs dump so much of their signals into the Gulf, I shouldn't be surprised at reading that ... but I still am. That has to be between 800 and 1,000 miles.
That 610, 700, 740, 790, etc. are still very strong when they hit salt water is a big help, I'm sure.

650 KIKK has a considerable range as well, for a 250 watt Class D. I carried it from San Antonio to Lake Charles on I-10, back when it was running actual sports talk, and not the betting format. That was probably 10 years ago now. I've been anticipating us getting to 610 on the FOTW soon, as I'm eager to hear how the move of KILT from its longtime home to being diplexed onto KNTH has affected its range. I used to catch KILT, from time to time, up here in Tyler, but it's not made an appearance in some time now. 610 is all KC recently.

 

[cyberdad]

I've been anticipating us getting to 610 on the FOTW soon, as I'm eager to hear how the move of KILT from its longtime home to being diplexed onto KNTH has affected its range. I used to catch KILT, from time to time, up here in Tyler, but it's not made an appearance in some time now. 610 is all KC recently.

We've been alternating FOTW series between what used to be known as clear channels with what used to be known as regional channels (including also graveyard and x-band channels. So we skipped from 540 to 640 this time around. And in aq couple of months so, we'll skip from 780 to 800 (leaving out another Houston channel...790).

But, to address the question about KILT, y ou might want to launch a new thread along the lines of "KILT's transmitter move".

In the meantime I'll be glad to veer OT for a moment and share my experiences with 610 and KILT in your general area. On my business travel to Texas I went to Austin quite a bit. KILT was usually solid there. At least during daytime. Dallas was also a frequent destination for several years. and KILT was weak but doable daytime there.

As most of those here know, , the Gulf Coast near Pensacola is a frequent getaway spot for me and my family. P-cola has a local on 610. WVTJ. 500 watts ND during daytime which results in a fair signal at our sspot about 23 miles from their stick via a land path with terrible ground conductivity. aT NIGHT WVTJ drops to 157 watts. but is still present. Although usually mixing with KILT and/or Cuba.

 

[schmave]

I concur re. KILT's signal in Austin. Now during the times I had to drive east of Houston for work, both KILT and KBME on 790 were noticeably weaker as close as Mont Belvieu, about 30 miles east of downtown. And I also remember driving down 45 into Houston from the north at night a few times, basically due north of KILT's towers, and it was phasing in and out like crazy. The improvement as I crossed into the main lobe was immediately noticeable if not drastic.

 

[jim-satx]

From NW San Antonio:

Day: It's a weak KSEV in Tomball, TX. On my very sensitive radios, the signal is readable.

Sunset: KSEV is stronger, and KHSE in Wylie, TX, is sometimes heard weakly underneath.

Night: KSEV is stronger yet but subject to fades and skywave/groundwave cancellation. At times, XEDKR "La Octava/Universal" in Guadalajara will mix in or take over. Occasionally KHSE will do the same. On rare occasions, WLW and XEGD "La Poderosa" in Hidalgo del Parral will mix in.

Sunrise: KSEV often disappears or is buried under XEDKR and later XEGD when they go to day power. KHSE sometimes comes up as well.

DX/Retro: I've logged KALL in North Salt Lake just once, during winter 2018. Also, I've logged XEETCH in Etchojoa twice at its daytime sign-on.

Surprisingly I've not heard WLW much at all lately.

 

[schmave]

Re WLW, I wonder if that has anything to do with the recent work around the tower, @jim-satx. Groundwave definitely was affected late last summer and early fall, but I can't speak to their skywave signal.

 

[cyberdad]

Re WLW, I wonder if that has anything to do with the recent work around the tower, @jim-satx. Groundwave definitely was affected late last summer and early fall, but I can't speak to their skywave signal.

WLW has been noticeably weaker from time to time at my location, but still solid. On some nights they're still a monster. Occasional transmitter work would certainly seem to explain the differences.

 

[gar hi]

Mountain View Hawaii ...

Daytime - nothing

Nighttime - Usually nothing audible but sometimes KALL or even WLW at 4,357 miles!
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