I was sort of wondering the same thing. The WEAQ/WAYY day signal has always been quite good. Especially considering the poor ground conductivity in the area. As for the night signal, when they were on their old 5kw night pattern, I used to hear them all the time in places like Oklahoma.
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AM Frequency of the Week: 790
- Thread starter cyberdad
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From the southwest suburbs of Chicago:
Days, it's just bleedover from WBBM 780 (and digital hash during WBBM's IBOC days – and nights).
Nights, all but the last of these was pre-IBOC: WSGW Saginaw, Mich. (since re-logged), WAKY (later WKRD) Louisville, WTAR Norfolk, WMC Memphis (since re-logged), CICO (later CIGM) Sudbury, Ont., and the relative newcomer, WVWZ Ashland City, Tenn., on a chilly December 2020 overnight with 350 nighttime watts via the Sony ICF-2010 and the Tecsun loop.
Days, it's just bleedover from WBBM 780 (and digital hash during WBBM's IBOC days – and nights).
Nights, all but the last of these was pre-IBOC: WSGW Saginaw, Mich. (since re-logged), WAKY (later WKRD) Louisville, WTAR Norfolk, WMC Memphis (since re-logged), CICO (later CIGM) Sudbury, Ont., and the relative newcomer, WVWZ Ashland City, Tenn., on a chilly December 2020 overnight with 350 nighttime watts via the Sony ICF-2010 and the Tecsun loop.
@ tvnut :
Back when I lived and worked on Long Island, WTAR was an actual car radio button for me, rather than neighbouring WABC 770.
Anywhere east of Massapequa along the South Shore, 'SEVV- ENNN- TEEEE-NIIIIINE W T A R !!!' was a terrific sounding station, louder than WABC the farther east you went.
In late September 1985, WTAR's afternoon jock was playing things like 'Stranger On The Shore' and 'Rescue Me' as an impending Atlantic storm was menacing Tidewater just east of the market.
That was Hurricane Gloria, which in some Karma fashion came ashore and then bisected Long Island right at the point where WTAR would start to boom in.
Lol -- back when they ran CBS news, WTAR's local casts ended with 'where it's no sooner done than told'. I'd imagine that the mischievous afternoon jock would've loved to go back into music with 'Easier Said Than Done'.
Back when I lived and worked on Long Island, WTAR was an actual car radio button for me, rather than neighbouring WABC 770.
Anywhere east of Massapequa along the South Shore, 'SEVV- ENNN- TEEEE-NIIIIINE W T A R !!!' was a terrific sounding station, louder than WABC the farther east you went.
In late September 1985, WTAR's afternoon jock was playing things like 'Stranger On The Shore' and 'Rescue Me' as an impending Atlantic storm was menacing Tidewater just east of the market.
That was Hurricane Gloria, which in some Karma fashion came ashore and then bisected Long Island right at the point where WTAR would start to boom in.
Lol -- back when they ran CBS news, WTAR's local casts ended with 'where it's no sooner done than told'. I'd imagine that the mischievous afternoon jock would've loved to go back into music with 'Easier Said Than Done'.
My favorite news "outro" to this day was when I was doing news at a station that I'd describe as "Full service MOR" Part of the gig for me involved reading local headlines after the CBS TOH network news. Ending with my name and "station call letters/news". When I did that during the PD's air shift, he liked to seamlessly segue into "Hit the Road, Jack" (my first name). At first, I thought it was pretty hilarious. But it got old in hurry. Not that I minded it, I just thought repeating it was pretty lame.
Welcome to the board, You're always among friends here, so don't be shy about joining the conversations.
WLBE. As the regulars here know, I traveled in my work for the best part of four decades. On top of that I have friends and family all over Florida. As for my memories of WLBE, my impression is that it gets out reasonably well. Fair to weak in and around Orlando. Weaker, but usually still present around Tampa - St. Pete. Not all that bad considering the poor ground conductivity in thre area.
My Folks retired to The Villages in the early Nineties, and we must've been down there to see them a dozen times. I always packed the GE SR 2 -- sort of like a teddy bear or a Linus blanket. In fact, there's still a loop antenna in the attic space. My kid sister lives there now.
The first visit to there I was shocked to find just two Adult Standards stations within range of the house. Both of them were on AM.
WLBE was one of them. The station also ran a lot of other commerce around the seniors' hits, like cirtus reports, swap shops and the like.
To the north, near Ocala, was the lone other Standards station I could find -- WRZN 720.
I don't recall anything much about the other Leesburg AM station, on 1410 -- even their call letters, hi.
But wow, was that entire region lacking in retiree music -- nearly 30 years ago. The FM dial seemed to be one signal after another playing the Hall & Oates of Your Life.
The first visit to there I was shocked to find just two Adult Standards stations within range of the house. Both of them were on AM.
WLBE was one of them. The station also ran a lot of other commerce around the seniors' hits, like cirtus reports, swap shops and the like.
To the north, near Ocala, was the lone other Standards station I could find -- WRZN 720.
I don't recall anything much about the other Leesburg AM station, on 1410 -- even their call letters, hi.
But wow, was that entire region lacking in retiree music -- nearly 30 years ago. The FM dial seemed to be one signal after another playing the Hall & Oates of Your Life.
WRZN 720 switched from adult standards to religion about 6 or 7 years ago; used to be a very listenable format. WLBE has a strong daytime signal in the Villages, but with the directional array and reduced power at night; not so good in most of the Villages.
DFW, Texas
Nights: KBME Houston with Fox Sports is the dominant station. Perpendicular to Houston is WMC Memphis with ESPN, also fairly good signal. Radio Reloj is regularly heard under these 2 primary stations. My "catch" is KFGO Fargo, heard clearly one night in January.
Sunrise/Sunset: A host of regular visitors includes KOSY Texarkana and KURM Rogers, AR, as well as, KXXX Colby, KS, and KFYO Lubbock.
Daytime: Nada
Nights: KBME Houston with Fox Sports is the dominant station. Perpendicular to Houston is WMC Memphis with ESPN, also fairly good signal. Radio Reloj is regularly heard under these 2 primary stations. My "catch" is KFGO Fargo, heard clearly one night in January.
Sunrise/Sunset: A host of regular visitors includes KOSY Texarkana and KURM Rogers, AR, as well as, KXXX Colby, KS, and KFYO Lubbock.
Daytime: Nada
Where was WTAR out of? Back in the 70s on Long Island's north shore there were WICC 60, 66 WNBC and 77 WABC were the hit stations with good signals, nothing on 790.
Interestingly WICC now plays music pretty much all weekend and some overnights.
Thank you! Will do
Tidewater area (Norfolk), Virginia.
Norfolk, Va. Used to hear it in the Chicago area at night.
Both WTAR and WNIS are in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1997, the two stations, which were co-owned at this point, swapped frequencies. This now placed WNIS, home of The Rush Limbaugh Radio Program, on the stronger 790 and relegated WTAR to 850. (850 has a good signal, but it's certainly no 790!)
From NW San Antonio:
Day: A weak KBME in Houston with an image of local 930 KLUP mixing in. KBME's signal is intelligible on my most sensitive radios.
Sunset: KBME is stronger, and KFYO in Lubbock comes up with a pretty good signal. On a few occasions I've heard KURM in Rogers, AR, and KNST in Tucson, AZ.
Night: To the NW/SE, KFYO mixes with Radio Reloj, with the latter heard most often. If I aim dead E/W, KBME is in and out.
Sunrise: KNST is usually heard close to sunrise. KYFO is steadier, and KBME is stronger for a while when it goes to day power.
DX/Retro: I used to hear XERC in Mexico City and XEFE in Nuevo Laredo occasionally at night before they were retired. My one-time catches include KXXX in Colby, KOSY in Texarkana, and a very brief KGHL in Billings, MT.
Day: A weak KBME in Houston with an image of local 930 KLUP mixing in. KBME's signal is intelligible on my most sensitive radios.
Sunset: KBME is stronger, and KFYO in Lubbock comes up with a pretty good signal. On a few occasions I've heard KURM in Rogers, AR, and KNST in Tucson, AZ.
Night: To the NW/SE, KFYO mixes with Radio Reloj, with the latter heard most often. If I aim dead E/W, KBME is in and out.
Sunrise: KNST is usually heard close to sunrise. KYFO is steadier, and KBME is stronger for a while when it goes to day power.
DX/Retro: I used to hear XERC in Mexico City and XEFE in Nuevo Laredo occasionally at night before they were retired. My one-time catches include KXXX in Colby, KOSY in Texarkana, and a very brief KGHL in Billings, MT.
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