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AM Frequency of the Week: 930

cyberdad

cyberdad

Crystal Lake IL....

Days: 930 is a fair-good signal from WKBM 3kw from Sandwich, IL. "Relevant Radio". The transmitter location is about 55 miles south-southwest of me.

Nights: WKBM goes from 3kw to 4.2kw (and from four towers to five) with a pattern that favors me. The resultant night signal at my location is somewhat stronger than daytime. But not quite strong enough to eliminate some unidentifiable slop in the backround.

Retro: Before the original semi-local 930 (WBYG) came on in the mid 1980s, WBCK from Battle Creek, MI (now WFAT} would sometimes be audible during daytime. Perhaps via daytime skywave. At night WLBJ from Bowling Green, KY was most likely to be on top. WBCK and/or WTAD would occasionally sneak in. I know WKY was also heard around here by others, but I never heard it at my home QTH.

Sunrise/Sunset would sometimes bring in WLBL from Auburndale, WI. (Central part of the state).

Other Locations: At our beach getaway spot near Pensacola, 5kw WLSS from Sarasota reliably made the 300-mile daytime hop across the Gulf of Mexico, Very weak, but alone and listenable. Vanishes without a trace at sunset. At my college location in southeast, Iowa "back in the day", it was WTAD with a good signal 24/7.
 
Warminster PA(Philly 'burbs);

Daytime: WPAT, Paterson NJ(Spanish, very weak).
Night: WPAT(a little stronger), plus WBEN, Buffalo NY among others.
 
In the near north Chicago suburbs WKBM is fair/decent. At night same thing with some slop underneath.

Retro: Before the station in Sandwich, Il was heard here WBCK Battle Creek, Mi could be heard during the day.
At night I've heard WTAD, WKCT, and years ago WKY, but not in a long time.
 
Here in Wood Dale, IL (near NW suburb of Chicago):

Daytime: WKBM Sandwich , IL with fair signal
Nightime: WKBM but able to null them out

DX/Retro: just like everyone else from the Chicago area, prior to WKBM (WAUR, WBYG) signing on, WBCK Battle Creek, MI was audible during daytime. Most of the DX on this frequency happened prior to WKBM signed on and includes WGNT (Huntigton, WV), WKCT (Bowling Green, KY), WTAD (Quincy, IL), WKY (Oklahoma City, OK), WJAX (Jacksonville, FL), WEOL (Elyriaa, OH), WSEV (Sevierville, TN), WBEN (Buffalo, NY), CKNS (Espanola, ON) and WKXY (Sarasota, FL) during a DX test.
 
I used to hear WBCK and WEOL in the Daytime. At Night, it is usually WEOL.

History Cards reveal that negotiation of interference was necessary when WEOL and WBCK came on the air. WLAV 1340 Grand Rapids also applied to move to 930, but Battle Creek only had one other station and Grand Rapids had more, so they awarded it to WBCK.
 
In west Houston, 930 in the daytime is KLUP "The Answer" in San Antonio, with lots of slop from local KYST 920. At sunset and at night, WKY in Oklahoma City is heard, but KLUP is still dominant. A third station sometimes rises above the mush with talk of some sort, but haven't caught an ID.

WKY was once Spanish sports, but the last time I heard them, they were English sports as the Sports Animal.
 
East Tennessee: WSEV, Sevierville, at one time Dolly Parton's station but probably better known for its continuous loop of tourism information, including comedian Milton Crabapple, Sheriff of Crabapple County. The idea was to get folks to tune in the station and stop by the associated welcome center to sign up for a time-share tour. WSEV(AM) had been spun off from WSEV-FM by East Tennessee radio group. A couple of years ago, WSEV AM 930 spent some time off the air (running a dead carrier for about a month which no one seemed to catch (hmm, why hasn't the electric bill gone down?) before being sold to Bristol Broadcasting, which added a translator and promptly forgot the station existed. It sounds like it's been fed from Newport with a cheap internet connection, or a chewed up cassette tape.
Nonetheless, when off the air I did not catch anything during the day in their absence. Sunset: WKCT, Bowling Green KY. Night, a Hodge podge including WRVC, Huntington WV area.

Retro/other: Reception of WHON, Richmond IN in Crossville TN several years ago, running an Indiana University basketball game. I'm guessing day power on that.
 
West Central Georgia:

Days: Weak WGAD Gadsden AL 5000/500 oldies between stronger WGKA Atlanta on 920 (14000) and WMAC Macon (50000) on 940

Nights: On and off WGAD, occasionally hear WFXJ Jacksonville FL 5000 Sports Radio

Early mornings: Occasionally catch WLLL Lynchburg VA 9000/42 Black Gospel Music on early day power
 
Former daytime-only WHLM is the regular in the day here. The former WCNR is just over a couple of hills to our north. Omni 24/7, they drop to some ludicrously minute nighttime wattage so that WBEN Buffalo commandeers the frequency at night. I did hear WSEV Tennessee one sunset, and have a taped ID from KWOC from one night (I think they were on a test broadcast).

* * * * * * *

Retro days: WPAT Paterson/NYC was the local regular near JFK Int'l, but they easily could be nulled -- even in the day. I logged WWNH from NH one afternoon there (perfect 90° null) and then -- what else? -- the same WCNR one early sunset.

Here's WPAT at night. That huge, inhaled southwest null is no typo. I drove back to Long Island from NJ once, and would've sworn that WPAT was off the air. WBEN Buffalo was atop 930.
Nope. WPAT was on the air. I was driving through Edison NJ -- they're on the map -- when WPAT started to establish any sort of presence.
In their own metro market.

https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WPAT&service=AM&h=N
 
From NW San Antonio:

Day: 5 kW local KLUP.

Sunset: I'm able to get a tiny partial null aiming NE/SW. I can usually hear a weak WKY, and once back in January I heard KOGA in Ogallala, NE, popping in and out.

Night: KLUP drops to 1 kW and goes directional, but it doesn't make a big difference. WKY is a little stronger and in/out. Occasionally I'll hear an even weaker WGAD in Rainbow City, AL.

Sunrise: This is when I hear the most action due to stations to my east going to day power. KDET in Center, TX, and WKY are the most prominent. I'll also sometimes hear KWOC in Poplar Bluff, MO, as well as WGAD. Most recently I've been hearing a weak XETLA in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, briefly when it goes to day power.

DX/RETRO: I used to hear XEQS "Romántica" in Fresnillo some nights before it migrated to FM.
 
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