• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

AM Frequency of the week: 990 KHZ

cyberdad

cyberdad

What do you guys hear with your radio tuned to 990?

Here in the Far Northwest Chicago suburbs it's splatter from local WMVP (1000) daytime.

At night, WMVP beams about 40% less effective wattage in my direction, and CBW easily comes through on 990. Usually with a good signal and almost always alone.
 
Well...

Days - Nothing

Sunset - I've heard the following:
WITZ Jasper IN
WRFM Muncie IN - Used to be WERK, a great small market Top 40, and home of the legendary Bill Shirk. Google him. He is a real character.
KWAM Memphis TN
WDEO Yipsilanti MI
WEIS Centre AL

Night Time
CBW Winnipeg MB - The always boring CBC. Still, I believe Winnipeg to be a mysterious and magical place which I hope to visit some day.
WNML Knoxville TN
 
Last edited:
Daytime - WFLA IBOC hash.

Nighttime- A weak WDYZ Orlando.

990 was one of my favorite frequencies growing up near Philadelphia because of the old WIBG. 'Wibbage'

I remember the first time I was listening to them when I was little when it was getting dark and the signal disappeared for a couple seconds and came back not as strong.

That's when my older brother explained to me that they reduce their power and change direction at night. (50 kw to 10 kw)

So for a few nights after that, I would listen around dusk just to hear them switch over. During the couple seconds they were off the air, I could hear another very weak station but never got any ID.
 
Is WFLA still putting out that IBOC sideband trash? I read that they had shut it down. Only 620 was still operating IBOC.
 
Icangelp said:
Night Time
CBW Winnipeg MB - The always boring CBC. Still, I believe Winnipeg to be a mysterious and magical place which I hope to visit some day.
Click to expand...

I manage to get there about once a year, and on balance I like it. Nice enough place. Summers usually have good weather, but loads of road construction due to the short season. Winters are typically brutal. No shortage of good restaurants, hotels, shopping venues, summertime festivals, or friendly natives. I'm not sure about "mysterious" or "magical", however. :)
 
Daytime WCAZ Carthage, IL
Nighttime CBW Winnipeg MB
I've never been to Winnipeg either and am kind of curious. It's really not that far away and yet I never hear anything about it.
 
In north Georgia, days, is WISK licensed near Atlanta, at night is normally WNML Knoxville, with an occassional show from KWAM in Memphis.
 
in southern Colorado, Denver's KRKS on 990. At night...well I don't DX at night anymore unless I'm waiting in the car.

in SE IA...daytime it was WCAZ in Carthage IL. Seems like WCAZ is one of those stations that farts dust, i.e. born in 1920's...will have to look it up later b4 I time out.

Nights...Winnipeg.

back with edit:

Earliest mention of WCAZ was in American Radio History's Radex collection, with an entry from 1925 listing WCAZ on 1225 kc or 246 meters, owned by Carthage College. Later in the 20s WCAZ was on 880 kc. Assuming in 1941 NARBA moved WCAZ to 990, but too lazy to look.

Usually it was the radio station that bugged out of the burgs for the big city. WCAZ stayed put, but in the early 60s Carthage College moved to Kenosha WI.
 
Last edited:
WCAZ: This station has always had an excellent daytime signal for 1kw. And at night? If you believe Radio-Locator, it's the only station routinely audible in three states with nine watts.

As a practical matter, however, I'd guess that CBW routinely trashes it.
 
Warminster PA(Philly 'burbs):

Daytime: local talk WNTP(you know, the former "Wibbage," WIBG)
Night: same thing, but a little weaker
 
Last edited:
I remember getting WCAZ when I lived in Quincy briefly in the 80s at night. If it's really 9 watts that thing gets out!

Locally in East TN it's local WNML
 
gr8oldies said:
I remember getting WCAZ when I lived in Quincy briefly in the 80s at night. If it's really 9 watts that thing gets out!

Locally in East TN it's local WNML "
Click to expand...

"The Animal" also gets out at night. At least, if you're in one of its lobes. On the beach where we stay west of Pensacola, it's one of the stronger night signals.
 
Daytime in San Antonio, I get a moderately strong 250 watt KAML from the Kenedy-Karnes City area with a bit of splatter from nearby daytimer KBIB in Marion at 1000 kHz. For years KAML was "KAML Country," a country music station with local flavor and a camel logo. Some time in the past six months or less, it switched to a Christian/positive format and now plays a mix of English and (mostly) Spanish music with occasional Spanish preaching.

At night, KAML drops to 70 watts and is rarely heard. 50 kW XET, La T Grande, from San Nicolás de la Garza, dominates. I can sometimes hear a station underneath playing regional Mexican music, but I've yet to ID it. Also, on one occasion each around December/January, I logged KFCD in Farmersville, TX, and WGSO in New Orleans. I caught the former not too long after sunset and thought it was a Mexico station until it gave an ID in English before fading for good.
 
I know WCAZ well myself. When I did live in the midwest you really had to go a long way west or north before you were some where you could not hear it. In Ottawa the frequency is blank with some slight CHRF Montreal splatter, but at night it's CBW.
I was born in Winnipeg and still have some family there. I still have pleasant memories of the place, just don't go in the winter unless you absolutely have to, and watch out for the mosquitoes in the summer. The city is almost 1 million now and wasn't even half that when i was born....then again, when I was born, I don't think the city even had more than one FM station then.
 
SE Texas has KZZB on 990....USED to be a premier station (1KW Class B two tower DA) but since Martin Broadcasting has gotten their hands into it, it has gone down hill...currently doing MAYBE 50% modulation at most...and running under STA (250w ND)....the ground system on it has been soo bad, it barely covered its COL at night....now that it has a 107.5 10w translator...eeeerrrr FM LP signal...translator my ass!!!...the AM probably wont get much attention...the AM at 250w barely covers as well as the 10w FM signal....What a waste of RF
 
ContinuousWave said:
SE Texas has KZZB on 990....USED to be a premier station (1KW Class B two tower DA) but since Martin Broadcasting has gotten their hands into it, it has gone down hill...currently doing MAYBE 50% modulation at most...and running under STA (250w ND)....the ground system on it has been soo bad, it barely covered its COL at night....now that it has a 107.5 10w translator...eeeerrrr FM LP signal...translator my ass!!!...the AM probably wont get much attention...the AM at 250w barely covers as well as the 10w FM signal....What a waste of RF
Click to expand...

There seems to be a lot of that going on, not maintaining AM facilities or putting them on STA. It seems even more common for stations with the FM translators. Also, only promoting the FM frequency when it is no more than 250 watts. I think this is a mistake, except in extreme cases where the translator signal coverage is superior in every way to the AM signal. I have not found many instances where this is the case. The AMs need more than a 250 watt translator to cover their service area.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom