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AM Frequency of the Week: 740

cyberdad

cyberdad

Another week, another step up the dial. And another question :) .... what do you guys hear on 740?

Here in the far northwest suburbs of Chicago daytime, 740 is basically empty. Especially since WGN turned off their iboc noisemaker. I have heard CFZM a couple of times on daytime skywave in winter

Night brings CFZM. One of the easiest catches around these parts. When CFZM fades, what's most likely to surface is KRMG. KRMG also sometimes appears underneath CFZM along with one or two unidentifiable signals. WBAM (now WMSP) from Montgomery, AL used to frequently turn up at sunset before their daily morph from 50kw blowtorch into local coffeepot. Now that they've gone to 10kw and aimed their signal away from here, I never hear them. What once was "The Big Bam" is no more!
 
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In the near north Chicago suburbs I hear CBL, er I mean CFZM at night. A few times I've heard KRMG, but very few. During the day nothing.
 
Houston 24/7 - KTRH. When I lived in Dallas, it was a mixture of KTRH and KRMG. Other interesting 740 DX, from Midland and Lubbock it was a 740 in Carlsbad, NM (now KATK).
 
740 daytime is splatter from our local in Charleston; but Orlando also comes in weakly. Nighttime, 740 is a mix. Usually Toronto with a OK signal, but sometimes I hear Tulsa, OK or others on the frequency.
 
purpledevil said:
Keep That Resumé Handy, Houston.

50kW day & night.
Click to expand...

Wish that it was a clear channel Class A! Why does Dallas and Fort Worth, San Antonio, even New Orleans each have one in this region, but Houston got left out in 1941?

Surprisingly I can get WBBM somewhat reliably in Katy since it's in 1st adjacent, KBME's, null. Can't do the reverse in Chicago.
 
KTN Corp said:
Wish that it was a clear channel Class A! Why does Dallas and Fort Worth, San Antonio, even New Orleans each have one in this region, but Houston got left out in 1941?
Click to expand...

1941 was the date of the NARBA move of most stations above 750 on the dial, not the time that the "big signal stations" were created.

The clear channels existed from the time of the Federal Radio Commission in around 1928. It took a while for all of them to go to 50 kw with only about 20 being at that point in 1931. Some had to go directional if they shared a channel, such as 810.

Back in the late 20's, cities were very different in population ranking; Houston was not even a top 20 metro in that era. Phoenix, now a top 15 market, did not get 1-A or 1-B clear. Even Washington DC got a very poor facility as its "best of the band" station.
 
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from east part of Nashville: nights it's KRMG...turn radio 90 degrees and it's CFZM. days it's a weak but listenable WHMT Tullahoma, TN
 
Here in Orange County CA (Costa Mesa) there's 50KW daytime KBRT which drops down to 190 watts at night and even here in Orange County even literally 5-10 miles from the towers KCBS (SF) steps on the KBRT signal most nights. I always wonder why bother... They added a night signal about 4-5 years ago. They had a permit for forever but finally decided to add night "service" :)
 
740 in the Bay Area is one and only one station, KCBS. IBOC is off these days, hallelujah. My only miracle on 740 was hearing KTRH/Houston in October of 1989 - it was post-earthquake and KCBS was off the air rebuilding downed towers. Hearing a KTRH traffic report for the Katy Freeway was mind-blowing.
 
Daytime - nothing

Nighttime - KCIK Maui

I've tried to hear KCBS in their null but haven't heard a thing.

I did hear another station a couple times but never got an ID and I know it was not KCBS.
 
Here in northeast Los Angeles during the day its KBRT Costa Mesa, though weaker than when they were on Catalina Island with 10 kW.
At night KCBS owns the frequency.
.
 
Reynoldsburg, Ohio:
Simple here ... a very weak WNOP from Cincinnati daytime and all CFZM at night. I've heard CFZM with a moderate daytime signal in Conneaut, up in the extreme northeast corner of Ohio. Where I used to live in Houston, obviously all KTRH all the time (50K day night, estimated 150-200K lobe WSW over the city at night). But going north and east of the city any considerable difference changes things dramatically.
I've heard KTRH reliably at night in Panama City Beach, Florida, as well as very weakly day and night in Dallas-Fort Worth. Have also heard a strong KRMG in Memphis.
 
That's a pretty good reach, especially considering that Zanesville is in the area where the ground conductivity starts to fall off from the good conductivity we know and enjoy in the Midwest to the lesser quality of the Appalachians. And yes, Zanesville is 50 miles east of downtown Columbus ... around 40 miles from my place in the far eastern suburbs.
 
Here in central Maryland during the day it's the weak'ish signal from Martinsburg, WV's WRNR with news/talk.

At night it's the strong signal of CFZM "Zoomer Radio" providing a nightly AM music choice on a dial full of talk radio.
 
KTRH puts a moderate signal into San Antonio during the day. At night it’s stronger, but in its partial null I can usually hear XEQN in Torreón fading in and out. Also, one time I logged a weak XEKV in Villahermosa, and last winter I once briefly managed to hear a very weak KVOR in Colorado Springs.

I’ve only ever heard CFZM when I was in far east Texas.
 
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