AM Radio.. Dead?

[Rob]

I've noticed one thing about this area there are hardly any AM stations to speak of here.

Where I live it's a clean slate. The only thing that comes in in the daytime is 1260 WFTW.
At night, I just hear the spanish music all throughout the dial. During sunrise, it's a whole other story. WSB comes in loud and clear for a few hours, makes me feel like I'm in Atlanta. The eastern stations turn to their daytime patterns. While Mexico and Cuba start to fade away, the US comes in.

I can't even hear WSM at all. and this is only a 12+ hour drive to Nashville.

I would love to setup a beverage antenna and a high gain receiver and go balls to the wall at night. It makes me wonder how many European stations are trying to come in but can't be heard here.

WWL comes in but not without it's issues and the famous TIC TOCKs of cuba bleeding over it (I wonder what are the power outputs of all the Radio Clock translators?)

I moved from an area where Montreal would come in and French music would raise my eyebrows of the non directional 10KW and 50KW stations from Kingston and Quebec. CBC radio came in a lot.

I really do miss living up north but not the taxes. WYYY was a personal favourite of ours (Syracuse)

It just makes me miss AM radio it's truly dead here in the Gulf Coast.

-Rob

 

[Tibbs4]

Rob? Are you that guy going 35mph in the left hand lane on I-65 with your turn signal on? Nashville is
7.5 hours away. 7 if you're ready to get to the beach. WSM's tower is 7 hours straight up I-65.

Is 1400 not on the air anymore? Wasn't there a couple of others that are not on the air in the FTW/Destin
market. I know some are daytimers only, but still.

 

[Rob]

That's not what mapquest said. Though I did put a stop (not direct)

I did it and it said 7hr 19 minutes.. factor in traffic about 8 hours.

People who do 35 in a 70 annoy me. People who do 100 in a 70 or 55 annoy me (look at all the accidents on highway 98 and that's only 55)

-Rob

 

[mobley]

When I was living in Destin/FWB, I could pull in WWL day and night, plus the NO station on 690. I lived there from Sept-Dec, so AM reception was probably better. Could also hear every night: WBAP Dallas, WOAI San Antonio, WBT Charlotte, WBBM & WLS Chicago (LS was a surprise cause a Cuban on 890 makes trouble for them here in Coastal NC) WLW and the station on 1530 in Cincy and WPTF in Raleigh just to name a few.

Daytime DX on WFLA Tampa, the Sararsota Spanish station on 820, and many more. Not many local AM's because FWB was a very small market when the AM licenses were granted, way back when.

BTW, A great spot to live!! Would love to return one day.

 

[Poledo]

The local AMs in Fort Walton have worthless signals. If you are within 10 miles or so of Pensacola you have a handful of decent AM stations to choose from... 790, 980, 1330, 1370, and 1620 come to mind. I have no problem pulling in several New Orleans and Tampa Bay stations in Pensacola day and night, I can also get WLW, WSB, WSM, and a dozen or so American 50 kw stations clearly at night. Rob has stated before that he lives in the Navarre / Mary Ester area, maybe Hurlburt Field has something to do with his nighttime reception? In any case, his experiences do not represent the entire Redneck Rivera.

 

[cceng1]

Poledo stated ...... "In any case, his (robfwb) experiences do not represent the entire Redneck Rivera.

Boy, now there's an understatement !!!

 

[Tibbs4]

According to robfwb's mapquest "the redneck rivera" is 17 hours, 43 minutes and 28 seconds from Navarre
if traveling by donkey in the left hand lane of Hwy 98 going 2-1/2 mph, not counting various "breaks" which
could add another week and a half to get to the Redneck Rivera. How could he possibly be getting the same
stations you are getting there poledo.

Attn: Charlie Wooten - any chance of Cuba moving farther south or WSM moving to Navarre? I am sure
there's space on the AM dial in Navarre. Can't they just increase to 100kw's like FM and cover the whole
planet? Maybe they could dig an antenna down about 1200 feet BAAT right at the beach. FTLOG.

Sorry, just poking fun there rob.

 

[redneckriviera]

The local AMs in Fort Walton have worthless signals. If you are within 10 miles or so of Pensacola you have a handful of decent AM stations to choose from... 790, 980, 1330, 1370, and 1620 come to mind. I have no problem pulling in several New Orleans and Tampa Bay stations in Pensacola day and night, I can also get WLW, WSB, WSM, and a dozen or so American 50 kw stations clearly at night. Rob has stated before that he lives in the Navarre / Mary Ester area, maybe Hurlburt Field has something to do with his nighttime reception? In any case, his experiences do not represent the entire Redneck Rivera.

Rob's location in lovely, picturesque & historic Navarre/Mary Ester 'splains most of his AM reception problems. AM coverage depends on ground conductivity, and sandy soil is a lousy conductor. My recollection is that anything beyond the 2.5 mV/m contour for any AM station down there is very scratchy. As Poledo notes, the area immediately surrounding the city of Pensacola gets a half-dozen-or-so decent signals; but once you move away from the city--and outside that 2.5 mV ring--it ain't happening.

To illustrate the issue, compare coverage of WCOA with that of WSPD, it's technical twin (5-kw/1-kw @ 1370) in Toledo, Ohio--an area with flat land & great conductivity. WCOA's 2.5 mV contour covers a 10-mile radius; WSPD's goes out 40 miles.

BTW, Rob, I think Tibbs could tell you that even the folks within easy range of 650/WSM don't listen to it. They fire up that big ol' thing every day and crank out #12 ratings with the SOB. Then again, if they bailed out of gut-bucket Country and went back to a first-class news/talk format...

 

[Rob]

Is this a Cuba translator on 870 fighting over WWL? I know they have translators across south america or are they all in Cuba?

-Rob

 

[briancraig]

WSM go back to a first class news/talk operation? WSM has never been a news talk station.

Years ago, when I used to stay on Navarre Beach at the old Holiday Inn, AM DXing on my Panasonic radio was the best of anyplace I've ever been especially during the day.

 

[Tibbs4]

There was considerable thought given to flipping WSM to Sports/Talk in 2001 when Gaylord, which trashed out Opryland,
was going to sell to Crumulus. The outcry was substantial and thankfully Gaylord still actually owns WSM. Otherwise,
Crumulus wuld probably be playing Polka. RNR --- you're right, few in Nashville really care whether it's Country as most
of the 1.1M people don't care for AM Classic Country. The fact that Gaylord lets Crumulus run WSM on their typical
fire the players / shoestring budget is another reason. I dunno how much longer it will stay Country. It, and WSM-FM used to
be A/C, so nothing would surprise me. Talk would be powerful for sure. It's a tribute to the past and it's ashame that
these artists are all but forgotten. Eventually, the corporate mandates to be profitable will win out over the Country.
I am surprised this has been avoided. Rob, seriously, it is nice that you try to listen to AM. It's almost impossible to
with all the problems of static and interference.

 

[redneckriviera]

Ya know, as I wrote the word "back" I wondered if my memory was playing tricks on me. I definitely remember 650/WSM being a killer full-service AC back in the seventies--so was 980/WSIX-AM at the time--and have always thought WSM should have evolved into a WLW/WHAS/WSB/WWL-style N/T monster. Having been a Country jock & PD in the sixties & seventies, I actually kinda like the Country Oldies bit myself; but, like any music format, it tends to do better on FM. Regarding the comment about Navarre being a good DXing spot, I'd agree--if you're on the water; the further away from the shoreline one gets, the scratchier AM signals get. I grew up in the Midwest, where a killowatt @ 980 gets you 25 counties. On the Emerald Coast, it gets you 25 blocks...

 

[Rob]

anyone know the answer to my question? this translator on 870 seems to overpower WWL at times.

 

[smedge2006]

North Florida is the "perfect storm" for AM radio.

Weak signals. Population growth came late, after all the good allocations were taken.

Some of the lowest ground conductivity in the nation.

Thunderstorms.

Plenty of interference from Cuba and other places.

It's a miracle any AMs are functioning.

 

[Doctor_Technical]

anyone know the answer to my question? this translator on 870 seems to overpower WWL at times.

The thing that runs morse code "RR" every minute? That's the 870 "network affiliate" of Radio Reloj, CMDT. We hear them here in Baton Rouge, right in the main lobe of 'L. CMDT is supposedly 1 kilowatt, yeah uh-huh. Pretty impressive signal for having to run over ~100 miles of land before it hits salt water.

Anyway, several pages that may interest you:

RR's tidy web site: http://www.radioreloj.cu/
Nice site of Cuban transmitter locations: http://members.aol.com/nrcidxd/cuba.htm

 

[larnov]

You must have a real crappy radio. The problem is that I do not know if anyone makes a decent radio anymore!

I've noticed one thing about this area there are hardly any AM stations to speak of here.

Where I live it's a clean slate. The only thing that comes in in the daytime is 1260 WFTW.
At night, I just hear the spanish music all throughout the dial. During sunrise, it's a whole other story. WSB comes in loud and clear for a few hours, makes me feel like I'm in Atlanta. The eastern stations turn to their daytime patterns. While Mexico and Cuba start to fade away, the US comes in.

I can't even hear WSM at all. and this is only a 12+ hour drive to Nashville.

I would love to setup a beverage antenna and a high gain receiver and go balls to the wall at night. It makes me wonder how many European stations are trying to come in but can't be heard here.

WWL comes in but not without it's issues and the famous TIC TOCKs of cuba bleeding over it (I wonder what are the power outputs of all the Radio Clock translators?)

I moved from an area where Montreal would come in and French music would raise my eyebrows of the non directional 10KW and 50KW stations from Kingston and Quebec. CBC radio came in a lot.

I really do miss living up north but not the taxes. WYYY was a personal favourite of ours (Syracuse)

It just makes me miss AM radio it's truly dead here in the Gulf Coast.

-Rob

 

[Rob]

You copied my entire post. Maybe I should just make it longer (j/k)

Something tells me that data is inaccurate.

1KW and it comes in over a 50KW? (again, why are we limited to JUST 50KW?) I can see WWL becoming a 120KW easily non directional. Just to override the cuban counterparts.

-Rob

 

[FrankB-town]

um...i'm not a radio frequency expert by no means (im only 16, too) but...wouldnt 120kW on an AM broadcast around the whole friggin' north america?

the RF hurts thinking about it...

 

[cceng1]

again, robfwb shows us his COMPLETE ignorance of the FCC rules and regulations....rob, the maximum a US AM radio station can run is 50kw. WWL is running 50kw.....I suggest you find another radio station to listen to if you can't deal with the Cuban interference.....

 

[Radio-X]

Makes me think of the story of WLW Cincinatti in the 1930's. 500kW transmitter to broadcast programming to the US Troops. People near the TX site could apparently hear the station through their faucets and had their lights dim with the modulation changes.

Even when I was back home in VA last month, I heard gospel music over my phone line coming from a 1kW 1490 nearly three miles away!

120kW on 870 would be quite irritating to those near the TX site (though it's out in the middle of a swamp). Not mentioning the little 1kW local station with 10 watts at night that would be pummelled by 120kW. Unless you were a good 1000 miles away from WWL, it would take a few hundred watts just to cover a mile at night!

Even now, I think no American AM station operates higher than 50kW...and the only N. American ones are in the Canadian Plains where a station needs to cover hundreds of miles to reach the six grain farmers out there ;D.

But saying a powerful AM station should just double power is like saying that because I can't listen to my favorite modern rock station 90 miles away that it should increase its power to 750kW. I wish it could, but it just can't. Plus, why do they want to target a small town 90 miles away when they have a large market to cater to? Imagine the people within a five mile radius of my modern rock station who would get nothing but modern rock! It might seem like a good idea to have power increases but the spacing requirements the FCC has are pretty darned good...not to mention it does 0 good to try and block Cuba's interference...just remember how much Castro hates us and vice-versa.

Radio-X