AM nighttime (mostly) scan from Greenbelt, MD, May 6-12, 2017

[jim-satx]

Here are the results of an AM band scan I did while staying in Greenbelt, MD. I was attending a technical writing conference in Oxon Hill (glad I wasn't staying there). The RFI in the hotel wasn't too bad, except on a few frequencies and mostly on the low end of the band. I didn't get much of a chance to investigate those frequencies outside because it was raining the last couple of days I was there.

I logged seven new states (and D.C.) for the first time: CT, DE, NJ, NY, SC, VA, and WV. I did not catch anything from ME, NH, RI, or VM.

On some nights I was only able to do a brief listening session, so some frequencies were only checked around sunrise (as noted). Radios used were a CC Skywave and (mostly) a Sony 7600GR.

540 WFLF - Pine Hills, FL (weak)
550 WGR - Buffalo, NY (weak-moderate)
560 heavy RFI
570 WSPZ - Bethesda, Maryland (moderate)
580 WHP - Harrisburg, PA (moderate)
590 heavy RFI; image of 1500 WFED
600 WCAO - Baltimore, MD (moderate)
610 WTEL - Philadelphia, PA (weak-moderate)
620 WHEN - Syracuse, NY (weak); very weak-weak UNID sports talk underneath
630 WMAL - Washington, D.C. (strong)
640 R. Progresso - Cuba (weak); sunrise: WWJZ - Mount Holly, NJ (weak)
650 WSM - Nashville, TN (weak-moderate)
660 WFAN - New York, NY (moderate-strong)
670 UNID SS talk (not R. Radio Rebelde)
680 WCBM - Baltimore, MD (moderate)
690 UNID sports station airing Yankees/Astros game on 5/12; intermittent periods of heavy RFI
700 WLW - Cincinnati, OH (moderate)
710 WOR - New York, NY (moderate-strong)
720 WGN - Chicago, IL (moderate)
730 WTNT - Alexandria, VA (weak); very weakk UNID sports talk underneath/mixing briefly
740 CFZM - Toronto, ON (weak)
750 WSB - Atlanta, GA (weak-moderate)
760 WJR - Detroit, MI (weak-moderate)
770 WABC - New York, NY (moderate-strong)
780 WBBM - Chicago, IL (moderate)
790 WNIS - Norfolk, VA (weak)
800 heavy RFI; weak UNID news talk station
810 WGY - Schenectady, NY (moderate)
820 moderate RFI; weak UNID classic hits station
830 WEEU - Reading, PA (moderate) mixing with WTRU - Kernersville, NC (weak-moderate); WCRN - Worcester, MA, underneath
840 WHAS - Louisville, KY (moderate-strong)
850 WTAR - Norfolk, VA (very weak-weak)
860 CJBC - Toronto, ON (moderate-strong); WFSI - Baltimore, MD, supposedly a daytimer (weak)
870 WWL - New Orleans, LA (weak) and moderate RFI; my furthest catch at 977 miles
880 WCBS - New York, NY (moderate-strong)
890 WLS - Chicago, IL (moderate-strong)
900 WILC - Laurel, MD (weak) with badly distorting audio; CHML - Hamilton, ON, in null (weak-moderate)
910 Somehow I skipped this one, dang it! :-(
920 CKNX - Wingham, ON (moderate); graveyard in null
930 WFMD - Frederick, MD (moderate); weak graveyard in null
940 CFNV - Montreal, QC (moderate); no ID but presumed since station was airing EE and FF Canadian pop songs
950 WCTN - Potomac, MD (weak-moderate) mixing with UNID station airing Spurs/Rockets game; R. Reloj time signals in background
960 WEAV - Plattsburgh, NY (weak-moderate) mixing with WFIR - Roanoke, VA (weak-moderate); UNID news talk station underneath
970 WWRK - Florence, SC (moderate), a rare hip hop station on AM with "Swagga 94.1" ID; weak UNID Fox Sports station underneath; some splatter from WTEM
980 WTEM - Washington, D.C. (strong); WBGG - Pittsburgh, PA, in null (weak-moderate)
990 UNID southern gospel station; WTEM splatter
1000 WMPV - Chicago, IL (moderate-strong)
1010 WINS - New York, NY (moderate); weak Christian music station in null
1020 KDKA - Pittsburgh, PA (moderate)
1030 WBZ - Boston, MA (moderate)
1040 WHO - Des Moines, IA (moderate)
1050 WBQH - Silver Spring, MD (moderate)
1060 KYW - Philadelphia, PA (moderate)
1070 WINA - Charlottesville, VA (moderate-strong); sunrise: WNCT - Greenville, NC, "Beach, Boogie & Blues" (moderate)
1080 WTIC - Hartford, CT (weak)
1090 WHGG - Kingsport, TN (weak-moderate), supposed daytimer, mixing with WBAL - Baltimore, MD (weak-moderate)
1100 WTAM - Cleveland, OH (moderate-strong)
1110 WBT - Charlotte, NC (moderate-strong)
1120 KMOX - St. Louis, MO (moderate-strong)
1130 WBBR - New York, NY (moderate-strong); weak SS music station underneath
1140 WRVA - Richmond, VA (moderate)
1150 WDEL - Wilmington, DE (weak-moderate) mixing with WCRK - Morristown, TN (very weak-weak)
1160 WOBM - Lakewood Township, NJ (weak) mixing with WCCS - Homer City, PA (weak); sunrise: WMET - Washington, D.C. (strong)
1170 WWVA - Wheeling, WV (moderate-strong)
1180 WHAM - Rochester, NY (weak-moderate)
1190 heavy RFI at night; sunrise: WCRW - Leesburg, VA (strong)
1200 WTLA - North Syracuse, NY (very weak-weak); WXKS - Newton, MA (very weak-weak); graveyard-like
1210 WPHT - Philadelphia, PA (moderate)
1220 WHKW - Cleveland, OH (weak-moderate)
1230 graveyard; UNID oldies station most prominent
1240 sunrise: WCEM - Cambridge, MD (weak)
1250 WPGP - Pittsburgh, PA (weak) mixing with UNID urban gospel station
1260 WWRC - Washington, D.C. (moderate-strong)
1270 UNID news talk station airing Jim Bohannon show - WLBR Lebanon, PA? WCBC Cumberland, MD? (very weak-weak)
1280 UNID SS sports talk, not matching WADO stream (weak)
1290 WFBG - Altoona, PA (moderate); WDZY - Colonial Heights, VA (weak-moderate) underneath
1300 graveyard; weak sports talk most prominent - WJZ Baltimore, MD?
1310 sunrise: WDCT - Fairfax, VA (moderate)
1320 sunrise: WVNZ - Richmond, VA (moderate)
1330 sunrise: WWRV - New York, NY (weak); UNID news talk station underneath
1340 sunrise: WYCB - Washington, D.C. (strong)
1350 weak UNID sports talk; SS music underneath
1360 sunrise: WPPA - Pottsville, PA (weak)
1370 WQLL - Pikesville, MD (weak); weak mix underneath
1380 sunrise: weak SS? PP? music - WFNW Naugatuck, CT?
1390 WZHF - Capitol Heights, MD (moderate-strong)
1400 graveyard
1410 WPOP - Hartford, CT (weak) mixing with WELM - Elmira, NY (weak), UNID news talk station, baseball game, and easy listening station
1420 graveyard; weak station with liberal/progressive talk popping up
1430 sunrise: WNAV - Annapolis, MD (moderate-strong)
1440 graveyard
1450 sunrise: WOL - Washington, D.C. (moderate-strong)
1460 WTKT - Harrisburg - PA (weak-moderate) with weak country music station underneath
1470 WSAN - Allentown, PA (very weak-weak)
1480 sunrise: WDAS - Philadelphia, P.A. (weak-moderate) with WTOX - Glen Allen, VA, underneath
1490 heavy WFED splatter; graveyard in partial null
1500 WFED - Washington, D.C. (strong)
1510 WMEX - Boston, MA (moderate) mixing with WLAC - Nashville, TN (moderate)
1520 WWKB - Buffalo, NY (moderate)
1530 WCKY - Cincinnati, OH (moderate)
1540 CHIN - Toronto, ON (moderate) with weak news talk station underneath
1550 sunrise: WITK - Pittston, PA (weak-moderate) with WMRE - Charles Town, WV, underneath
1560 sunrise: RFI; very weak UNID news talk station
1570 sunrise: WPGM - Danville, PA (weak) mixing with weaker Christian talk station; splatter from WJFK
1580 sunrise: WJFK - Morningside, MD (moderate-strong)
1590 WFTH - Richmond, VA (weak-moderate) with a weak WAKR - Akron, OH, underneath; sunrise: WHGT - Maugansville, MD (moderate)
1600 sunrise: WLXE - Rockville, MD (moderate)
1610 CHHA - Toronto, ON (moderate) with WCPK - Chesapeake, VA (weak) in null
1620 R. Rebelde - Cuba (very weak-weak)
1630 WRDW - Augusta, GA (weak) mixing with a weaker KCJJ - Iowa City, IA
1640 WTNI - Biloxi, MS (very weak-weak); second furthest catch at 905 miles
1650 WHKT - Portsmouth, VA (moderate) with CINA - Mississauga, ON (weak) and CJRS - Sherbrooke, QC (weaker) underneath
1660 WWRU - Jersey City, NJ (moderate); WBCN - Charlotte, NC (moderate) in partial null
1670 sunrise: WMGE - Dry Branch, GA (weak)
1680 sunrise: WOKB - Winter Garden, FL (weak) mixing with WPRR - Ada, MI (weak)
1690 CJLO - Montreal, QC (weak-moderate) mixing with CHTO - Toronto, ON (weak) and WMLB - Avondale Estates, FL (weak); WVON - Berwyn, IL, weak in null; sunrise: WPTX - Lexington Park, MD (weak)
1700 WRCR - Rampano, NY (moderate)

 

[CTListener]

690 UNID sports station airing Yankees/Astros game on 5/12; intermittent periods of heavy RFI

No 690s on the Yankees network, so -- maybe this was CKGM Montreal with a syndicated feed.

 

[gar hi]

That was a great catch getting WFLF from the Orlando area.

I never imagined their signal could make it very far north.

When I would visit New Jersey from Florida, I never heard even a trace of them and south Jersey is not much more north than your location.

Again, nice catch.

 

[charlestondxman]

540 has a very good daytime signal, listenable in SC, but never suspected you could hear it as far as the DC area.

970 AM has been hip-hop for a few years here in the Charleston area. It used to be a regulation news-talk, but switched to urban to feed THREE FM translators (97.9, 104.5 and 105.9) plus a full power FM. Even though Florence is over 100 miles away, it comes in with a listenable signal.

 

[mimo]

690 would have been CKGM. They have been running MLB at night, either the Blue Jays or other games off of ESPN. You'd figure they'd be running NHL playoff games, but it's been baseball every night.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

800 could have been CKLW.

 

[schmave]

Yet another poster who has heard WRVA in D.C. when I never have! Heading back out there in July and will try again at night.
This mostly matches my experiences from Gaithersburg, about 30 miles or less from where you were. WBAL comes in very well there daytime but I've heard it phasing very badly at night with the directional pattern.

 

[cyberdad]

That was a great catch getting WFLF from the Orlando area.

I was thinking the same thing. Congratulations! And thanks for posting the scan. Good stuff!

 

[jim-satx]

Thanks, guys. And thanks for the ID help on 690 and 800. It was interesting getting stations from north of the border rather than south as I'm used to hearing nightly. Also, I did not hear a trace of WOAI, WBAP or any other Texas stations.

WFLF really surprised me as well, especially with all the RFI down low on the band.

The 970 hip hop station, WWRK, is listed by Radio Locator and the FCC as running 31 watts at night. That doesn't sound right given how well it was coming in. Wikipedia lists it as running 3 kW at night, but I'm not sure where they're getting that number. It might've been on full 10 kW day power.