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AM Frequency of the week: 780"

cyberdad

cyberdad

"The live one. The showanship station. There's only one...WBBM!"

The first two statements in that jingle/slogan from the days before the flip to all-news in 1968 may be subject to debate. But the last statement accurately describes what I hear at my location 24/7 on 780. Their 50kw stick is only 25 miles away from my home. I doubt their planned move to diplex with WSCR and drop a few killowatts while they're at it will result in any noticeable difference at my house! WBBM will still be a monster.

Away from my house, when I'm travelling, WBBM tends to be the most reliable Chicago nighttime skywave signal. They're usually audible nightly anywhere between the Rocky mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. I've also heard WBBM on SDRs ranging from Arctic Norway to Hawaii.

Other Location: FWIW, where I am this month near Pensacola, WBBM is usually present at night in the noise. Pretty much always on top, but usually with a weak Spanish signal underneath.
 
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From Reynoldsburg, Ohio ...
* Daytime: Nothing. I have never heard WBBM groundwave this far east. Usually have to be near or west of I-75 in western Ohio to start picking it up.
* Nighttime: Newsradio 780 (AND 105.9 FM!) always. It's always receivable and quite listenable but in my experience, it's never been the strongest Chicago skywave signal on a consistent basis. That honor is shared by WGN and WMVP, the latter because of its directional pattern to the east.
When I first got into hockey in the early 90s, WBBM still carried Blackhawks games and I listened to Pat Foley and Dale Tallon quite often. I do remember in their one season carrying Cubs games (2015), I was usually disappointed by the skywave. Whether IBOC had anything to do with that, I'm not sure.
 
Ah, “the showmanship station” how well I remember Mal Bellairs and others using that slogan.
At my location in the near north Chicago suburbs it’s all WBBM day and night very strong. I’m probably about 12 to 15 miles from their tower.
Like Cyberdad I find WBBM’s skywave signal to be the most reliable these days of the Chicago blowtorches. You can hear it on the SDRs in Europe, Arctic, and Hawaii. In fact on the Hawaii one it often overtakes KKOH.
Where I am currently in the Southern California desert KKOH dominates at night, but sometimes when I null KOH I can hear WBBM trying to fight through the noise.
 
From the far southern 'burbs of Kansas City:

Day: WBBM is occasionally just listenable during cold winter days at over 400 miles. WSCR is the only other Chicago 50kW station that makes daytime appearances here in winter.

Critical Hours: WBBM with a solid skywave signal during both morning and evening critical hours.

Night: WBBM is highly listenable but with occasional fading later at night. The most reliable of the 50kW Chicago stations here at night are WBBM and WLS. WGN gets platter from local KCMO on 710 kHz and WSCR often disappears later at night and is either replaced by a Cuban or there is just fading on the channel.
 
Here in Charleston, SC:

Daytime- nothing except for a very weak WCKB Dunn, NC with religion. Probably need a loop antenna too
Critical hours- a stronger WCKB
Nighttime- WBBM constant
 
radioman148 said:
Ah, “the showmanship station” how well I remember Mal Bellairs and others using that slogan.
Click to expand...

Yep... I worked for Mal for about a year in the mid-70s. As well as his sons Jerry and Rick (who each helped Mal run the place, and who I'd sometimes go out for beers with). Nice guys, all of them. I came across the jingle a couple of weeks ago on another board. It's from 1962, it mentions Mal, runs 60 seconds, and I actually remember it. I'll see if I can still find it, and if I can I'll post the link.

As for Mal, we lost him several years ago. I heard about it from Rick, who invited me to the funeral, but I was out of town at the time, and to this day, I'm sorry I missed it.
 
From west Houston, daytime is all slop from local Sportsradio 790 KBME. Nights are mostly dominated by WBBM. Pre-sunrise, I've heard XEWGR from Monclova Coahuila, with a pop music format (maybe running daytime power?). In 2016 I ID'ed XESFT in San Fernando Tamaulipas at their sign on at 0600 Central. I haven't heard them in a while.

In Tulsa in the early 70's, it was daytimer KSPI in Stillwater OK during the day, all WBBM at night. I recall hearing Radio Coro in Venezuela during auroral conditions.
 
I've heard reports of both WSCR and WBBM being off the air after 1am CST the last couple of nights, so might want to keep heads up.

East Tennessee: Daytime-WWOL, Forest City NC. Night: WBBM.

Retro/other: WWOL has made it to Ohio around sunset. Otherwise mostly WBBM, but I did snag Ecos del Torbes, Venezuela // 4980 in the 70s underneath "Newsradio 78". I'm hearing WBBM on the Key West SDR with splash from Radio Reloj/WAXY and WJBX. There used to be an SDR in Overland Park KS and WBBM was in early around sunset on it.
 
On the Kaneohe, Hawaii SDR WBBM is coming in right now 0526Z-- on top of KKOH.

@wildthangjim, were you able to DX any North America MW when you were in Australia?
 
Yakima WA

Usually nothing daytime, but KKOH Reno (News/Talk) has been heard faintly in winter.

Nights - KKOH clashes with WBBM Chicago (News) most of the DX season. Sometimes WBBM is as strong as KKOH. I have also heard KCEG Pueblo CO (Classic Country) but they have rarely popped up.

Wanted
KAZM Sedona AZ (News/Talk, ESPN) - Should make it sometime.
KNOM Nome AK (Variety) - Someday, at sunrise, when the Japanese are very strong and KKOH takes a bit of a fade?
 
In the day, back when cx were a lot better than now, a weak WAVA from Arlington used to peek through.

Sunset here a few years ago, I got a taped ID off the aforementioned WCKB from Dunn NC. That little thing gets OUT! We once heard them at sunset back near JFK with WABC on. It was an almost 'given', since the null, asbestos one can null WABC, put the lobe right at NC. But still -- yeeks. Right next to WABC ?

Night: WBBM. Back in the JFK nights they used to come in next to WABC on my little GE clock radio.
 
Here in Wood Dale, IL in the near NW suburb of Chicago:

Daytime: nothing but WBBM just 3.7 miles away from me
Nightime: same as daytime

DX/RETRO: as noted above WBBM was off for two nights over the weekend. I only managed to listen on Sunday morning but nothing heard. In the past when WBBM was off the air the only domestic station heard was KROW (Reno, NV). The other 3 were foreign stations XEWGR adnd WEMTS from Mexico and Radio Coro from Venezuela.
 
radioman148 said:
@wildthangjim, were you able to DX any North America MW when you were in Australia?
Click to expand...

I was using an ultralight and a Terk antenna, and was on the opposite side of Australia from the US, so never heard any Americans. Most of the excitement there was DXing Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Come to think of it, I did hear a few Americans - VOA Thailand, Sao Tome and Botswana, Radio Farda, Radio Sawa...
 
Daytime - nothing

Nighttime - KKOH with WBBM sometimes in the background and I've even heard WBBM's signal just as strong or slightly stronger for brief periods of time.
 
wildthangjim said:
I was using an ultralight and a Terk antenna, and was on the opposite side of Australia from the US, so never heard any Americans. Most of the excitement there was DXing Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Come to think of it, I did hear a few Americans - VOA Thailand, Sao Tome and Botswana, Radio Farda, Radio Sawa...
Click to expand...

I forgot you were in Western Australia.
 
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