There are three main problems I've found with being able to listen to CBU in the Seattle area. Even tho' it's a 50kw signal, across salt water, on a low dial position on AM690, and around 130 miles away or less, it's hard to hear clearly much south of Marysville much of the time.
The splatter from KIRO-AM 710 really jams the signal - particularly during highly processed commercials (which seems to be about 50% of its programming now on FM). I've never heard such interference two positions away on any of the crammed AM's in Los Angeles or Detroit, so I don't know what the deal is with several Seattle AM's causing loud splatter far beyond what they should. However, since the switch to the all-sports format, it seems to have relented a bit.
Then, at night, there's major interference from the station on 690 in Tijuana, directionalized north with more than 50kw (anyone know for sure how strong that transmitter is nowadays?). Until you get close to Vancouver, it actually tears up the CBU signal most nights and makes it unlistenable, even if you're away from the KIRO splatter.
Thirdly, the CBC has not invested in upgrading its AM facilities for many years now, at least according to the last conversation I've had on the subject with their chief engineer in Vancouver. They added an FM signal on 88.1 instead of cleaning up their rather limpid sounding AM transmitter. but it doesn't make it much past Bellingham. The AM signal they put out on CBU lacks a bit of punch to make it stand out against all of the noise making AM hard to endure now (it needs more than just volume and high EQ, like a better audio chain, and probably a newer transmitter).
Fourth problem around Tacoma/Olympia is the daytime interference from AM680, but it's actually not as bad as the kind I mentioned earlier from AM 710 around Seattle.
So while I too really enjoy the 6:30pm comedy debate show (name eludes me and, last I checked, it still isn't available as a podcast), and Randy Bachman's music show is fun to listen to while driving home after a day's outing in Bellingham or the like, and the newscasts are credible and nice to hear, I find it's often easier to listen to the AM540 signal from Sask. at night. Apart from the Mexican stations that run 70kw or more on AM, it's got to be the most powerful AM signal in the US and Canada. Their transmitter is situated on a salt water lake on the prairies at the bottom of the dial, and heard across the western half of the continent at night. However, it's two time zones ahead of us, so tune in early to hear what you'd otherwise expect for the west coast. And, this time of year, some impressively cold weather forecasts.
And if you're on the road east of the Cascades (away from KOMO's adjacent channel splatter), the CBC on AM 1010 from Calgary puts out a very nice sounding nighttime signal across much of the West, too, and I've heard its skip even during the daytime while driving in Idaho and Wyoming.
