AM Reception at night in Atlanta

[SalBass]

I hope someone from Atlanta can help me or anyone else for that matter that understands my dilemma.

My wife likes to fall asleep at night listening to Art Bell/George Noori's Coast to Coast on 640WGST AM radio in Atlanta. We have a simple AM/FM clock radio and up until about six months ago we had no problem picking up their signal at night. Now it's impossible. I hear that station just fine in my truck in my driveway. Does anyone might know what happened to their signal at night. Again, we had no problems up until about six months ago. If they're having cash problems do they do something with their signal to save money?

Sal

 

[FredRichards]

Not sure why it would have changed, unless your radio was moved and the loopstick antenna in the back is now nulling the station.

Look for a product called the "Select antenna" at Walmart, or via someone on the Internet. http://www.selectatenna.com/

The model 541 is what I use at the office, and it will "peak up" the signal a bit.

 

[Sgeirk]

See if you can't get WLAC out of Nashville, better. They've got a good regional nighttime signal.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

WLAC comes in good in Indianapolis at night, though we are a bit closer. Anyway, sounds like a bad radio to me, clock radios arent very reliable anyway. There really is no reason why you shouldnt be getting that station. You can go to Wally World and buy a 20 dollar boombox, and it should work fine with all the local stations. If not, get XM Radio, then you can here Art Bell clear as a bell with no worrys of fade outs and drifts.

 

[cyberdad]

I agree that the first thing to try to rotate the radio to see if you can sync the antenna with the signal. The fact that reception is good in your vehicle indicates to me that this could be the problem.

But then again, Atlanta has terrible ground conductivity. So it could be that the slightest tweak in WGST's nighttime pattern....intended or otherwise...is the source of the problem. The 640 nighttime signal is rather anemic to begin with, given that WGST is required by FCC regulations to avoid nighttime interference with other stations on the channel....most notably the dominant blowtorch, KFI in Los Angeles, and to a lesser extent, a CBC station in New Brunswick, Canada. (Then there's also a major Cuban operation on 640).

 

[chrish]

You did not mention if the WGST signal is faint or is it lost under noise and static?
I live in a condo in Southern NH, my AM reception gets worse every day, when I
bought the place in 1986 I had no trouble getting just about everything day and night from Boston at 40 miles and Manchester NH at 25.
Now I can't get WBZ any more unless the GE superadio is on the windowsill.

WRKO puts 25mv/m over where I live and it is impossible to hear every time a neighbor turns on their microwave oven or one of those idiotic RF light bulbs
that people have been suckered into.

Your problem may be electrical noise generated within your house.

 

[trusty]

See if you can't get WLAC out of Nashville, better. They've got a good regional nighttime signal.

Also, WWL/870 out of New Orleans booms in like a local in N.Ga. with less fading than WLAC, but the Atlanta station WAEC/860 is not really a factor.

 

[trusty]

We have a simple AM/FM clock radio and up until about six months ago we had no problem picking up their signal at night. Now it's impossible. I hear that station just fine in my truck in my driveway.

This may be real simple. Physically turn your clock radio on its table 90 degrees when fading on WGST starts. Adjust to get the best reception (The car radio antenna is non-directional.)

 

[Sgeirk]

Of course, you can always just stream.

 

[cyberdad]

Yeah, and if you stream, you can find loads of stations better and more entertaining than WGST!

 

[SalBass]

I have somewhat of an update. I moved the clock radio to a nightstand next to my side of the bed whereas before it was across the room on my chest of drawers. I can pick up the other local AM stations in the ATL area loud and clear with the unit sitting on my night stand but WGST is virtually non-existent. If I pick the radio up and move the radio towards the center of the room I can get the decent reception. Somewhere in the room there is a strong signal - it just doesn't happen to be anywhere near a wall.

I'm finding it very difficult to sleep while holding this clock radio a foot above my chest.

 

[KE4KLS_Radio]

Many of today's clock radios just don't do well with AM (even local stations). One option would be to use the CCrane Radio Plus, it has a decent AM radio and comes with a built-in alarm. It's at ccradio.com

The Grundig S-350DL is another receiver with a good AM section which comes with a built-in sleep timer and alarm. It is available at Radio Shack and I have also seen them at Circuit City.

Bill

 

[tomservo]

I'll second the XM recommendation. As much as I enjoy DXing, I don't feel like flipping between 5-6 AM stations when travelling and listing to C2C. So I got XM on a whim. It has been a godsend, especially after moving to the boonies where there very few decent music stations.

Sal, have you added any new computers, TVs or other electronic doodads to your home recently? They can wreak havoc on the AM dial, even just knocking out one or two frequencies. I've noticed that a new DSL installation (as well as alarm system) both put spurious noises from about 1000 kHz all the way up beyond 30 MHz.

 

[BRNout]

Does a wireless internet router cause interference to LW/MW(AM)/SW signals? I sure notice a lot of noise (harsh static) in and around my condo, making AM reception more difficult than it should be and SW is really compromised. Funny thing is that we didn't seem to have the same level of interference in the last place where we lived (an older house), so I wonder where all the noise is coming from.

 

[tomservo]

Does a wireless internet router cause interference to LW/MW(AM)/SW signals? I sure notice a lot of noise (harsh static) in and around my condo, making AM reception more difficult than it should be and SW is really compromised. Funny thing is that we didn't seem to have the same level of interference in the last place where we lived (an older house), so I wonder where all the noise is coming from.

I suppose it's possible, but I'd take a harder look at the DSL or cable modem. Of course, interference is always a concern in closer quarters like apartments, condos and the like. So it really could be anything. :

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Does a wireless internet router cause interference to LW/MW(AM)/SW signals? I sure notice a lot of noise (harsh static) in and around my condo, making AM reception more difficult than it should be and SW is really compromised. Funny thing is that we didn't seem to have the same level of interference in the last place where we lived (an older house), so I wonder where all the noise is coming from.

Absolutely. And it also does a good job of jamming FM. When it comes to AM reception, it is a constant decision process - the benefits of light dimmers, automatic nightlights, CFL's, DSL, wireless routers vs. signal quality on AM. Almost every serious listener has to do a purge of interference sources in their house. Dimmers get really hot in the wall anyway and I don't recommend them for that reason. Automatic nightlights are fine- until the bulb goes out. Then they are RFI generators. I replaced them all with switchable or other types. CFL's help the environment, but LED lighting is going down in cost and helps the environment even more. You WILL need to install filter caps to quiet them down. Computer and TV should be OFF when listening to AM - which cures the DSL and router problems.
A lot of people have to go through their house with a portable to locate noisy things. And / or shut down breakers one at a time to find the noisy leg (and what is noisy on it).