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AM Stereo

S

SeanRuadh

I was picking up WLS quite well the other night, and the stereo light came on. Are they in AM Stereo?
On that note, are there any good DX catches in the midwest that still run AM Stereo?
sr
 
WLS and WGN radio in Chicago are both still offering AM stereo. I don't think WGN has any plans on discontinuing the use of it, WLS DOES offer some little audio treats from time to time for those with AM stereo. I also suggest trying KCJJ 1630 out of Iowa City, which plays contemporary hit music at night...they are more than proud of the fact their in AM Stereo and the Owner even has it in his car
 
Aren't there still a lot of Canadian stations that broadcast in AM stereo? It caught on better up there than it did in the US. I've always thought it was odd that talk stations like WGN(which was mostly talk even back when AM stereo was invented, wasn't it), WLS, and WBAP(although you can notice it on that trucking show when they play the occasional country song) used it.

Never tried KCJJ with my old AM stereo box, now I'll keep an ear out for it.
 
just like the AM dial here in Canada, Am stereo is going quiet as well. In the 80's the majority of stations in any city were in Stereo, I remember in Calgary, all Am stations except the CBC were stereo, but they were all playing music at the time to0, from oldies to top 40 to classic rock to country. I've heard KCJJ in stereo, as a local station and it does sound excellent.
 
There was some talk on an AM stereo board that WLS has started broadcasting IBOC. I think maybe it activates the AM stereo light. That, or they are IBOC daytime and C-Quam night. I can't believe they are messing around with IBOC, they are are having enough coverage problems enough without using a system that causes even more coverage issues.
 
There is no IBOC on WLS yet. I'm fairly close to their transmitter and, based on how strong WLS's signal is where I live, I would know. I can still null-out WLS and get WCBS New York at night, and have no problems DXing stations on 870 and 910 during the day.

WGN is IBOC during the day, and was AM Stereo at night, but tonight the signal appears to be mono.
 
Philip J. Smith said:
There is no IBOC on WLS yet. I'm fairly close to their transmitter and, based on how strong WLS's signal is where I live, I would know. I can still null-out WLS and get WCBS New York at night, and have no problems DXing stations on 870 and 910 during the day.

WGN is IBOC during the day, and was AM Stereo at night, but tonight the signal appears to be mono.
Click to expand...

WLS was testing IBOC after 2PM the afternoon of February 6th. I called immediately and let them know they sounded awful.
Surprisingly, they answered quickly and said they'd pass along the comment.

On the way home before 5, I checked again, and it was off. No further experiments noted later in the week or weekend.

I would not be surprised if IBOC lights up a CQUAM stereo indicator.
 
No, Iboc won't light up the stereo light.
Odd about WLS, 'cause it never lights up stereo on my car radio.
 
grantchester said:
No, Iboc won't light up the stereo light.
Odd about WLS, 'cause it never lights up stereo on my car radio.
Click to expand...

They were in perfect stereo 20 years ago when I lived in Jackson, Michigan - 200 miles away. Almost like a local. Of course when they went to talk - who cared any more?

As for the AM stereo light - that was actuated by a 25 Hz tone. That tone is not present in IBOC that I know of, unless the cartel copied the concept to light millions of stereo lights in car radios.
 
I've looked at the AM Stereo website at http://www.amstereoradio.com and according to what they say the Chrysler RAZ model stereo system that still comes in a lot of their vehicles is supposed to pick up AM stereo, but when I've tried to listen to AM stations that are supposed to be in stereo on it in my 2005 Dodge Caravan or a 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser that I used to have with this model radio, neither of them would show any indication that any station was in stereo. Does the RAZ model still pick up AM stereo, or is it just that the stations I've tried may not transmit in stereo any more?
 
rbrucecarter5 said:
They were in perfect stereo 20 years ago when I lived in Jackson, Michigan - 200 miles away. Almost like a local.
Click to expand...

I wish they still sounded like a local. Nowadays they fight it out with WCBS. I'm even hearing complaints from the GR area that WLS isn't as strong as it used to be.
 
The propogation over Lake Michigan is good for AM and FM. In Chicago, I can easily hear 910 Stereo WGTO Cassopolis, Michigan, with 1000 watts.
On the lakeshore, and especially on Lake Shore Drive near the tall buildings downtown, it sounds like it is much closer, and the signal falls off rapidly away from the shore. The builidings seem to creating a very effective reflector, which seems unlikely at such a wavelength, but the effect is always the same.

I can't imagine why WLS now seems weaker in Grand Rapids, maybe their radials are corroding away?
 
Josh C. said:
I wish they still sounded like a local. Nowadays they fight it out with WCBS. I'm even hearing complaints from the GR area that WLS isn't as strong as it used to be.
Click to expand...

That was daytime - at night the reception was even better. I have heard that the once rural area where their towers were located has been built up with subdivisions and it compromises their ground system. That, or they are protecting Mexican "pirates" that do the gringos the "favor" of staying on full power at night. We sure got the short end of the stick with that agreement we signed with our "friends" South of the border a couple of decades ago.
 
That, or they are protecting Mexican "pirates" that do the gringos the "favor" of staying on full power at night. We sure got the short end of the stick with that agreement we signed with our "friends" South of the border a couple of decades ago.[/quote]

what are you talking about?
 
romer979fm said:
That, or they are protecting Mexican "pirates" that do the gringos the "favor" of staying on full power at night. We sure got the short end of the stick with that agreement we signed with our "friends" South of the border a couple of decades ago.
Click to expand...

what are you talking about?
[/quote]

I suppose he is referring to a treaty. In fact, it was NARBA in 1941 that he is referring to, I believe.

He is just ranting. 99% of Mexican stations operate legally.

In northern Mexico, the dial is full of American stations... and they are operating legally too in most cases.
 
Yes, but David, as you well know, there are many AM's south of the border (and not just in Mexico) that are super-powered in comparison to ours, and they do make it here. All that interference, no matter how little each station puts our way, does add up. Whether they're operating legally or not, they still add noise to the band.
 
DavidEduardo said:
I suppose he is referring to a treaty. In fact, it was NARBA in 1941 that he is referring to, I believe.

He is just ranting. 99% of Mexican stations operate legally.

In northern Mexico, the dial is full of American stations... and they are operating legally too in most cases.
Click to expand...
No, there was some treaty we signed in the 1980's that took a lot of super power stations South of the border down in power, in return for us letting them use more frequencies. Some of the more creative stuff from Mexico City went away - which you ought to be more concerned with than I am.

And I get tired of being insulted and saying I rant every time I express outrage that Mexican stations do not power down to nighttime levels according to their own broadcast regulations. Or for that matter when I express that I don't get excited by a station north or south of the border jabbering at me in a foreign language - be it Spanish or any other language than English. I just don't care about it - to me it might as well be a blank frequency.
 
rbrucecarter5 said:
No, there was some treaty we signed in the 1980's that took a lot of super power stations South of the border down in power, in return for us letting them use more frequencies. Some of the more creative stuff from Mexico City went away - which you ought to be more concerned with than I am.
Click to expand...

There was no such treaty. The only higher powered Mexican station to disappear was XERA, the Doc Brinkley facility... bo be reincarnated, some say, as XERF some time later. XERF reduced power in the 80's due to economics, not regulation, and then went back to "higher than US limits" just a few years ago.

The Mexican clears were all determined at NARBA, in before W.W. II. The only change was in 540, done sometime in the 60's, where XEWA was upgraded and KFMB in SD had to move to 760 from 540 because of it.

The stations above the low, 50 kw US limit in the 60's all continue to use the same power except XERF. They are XEWA-540-150 kw, XEX-730-100 kw, XEW-900-250 kw, XEQ-940-100 kw, XEG-1050-150 kw, XEB-1220- 100 kw and XERF-1570-250 kw. Now, there are even more 100 kw stations, including the ones on 690, 760, 830, 1060, 1110, etc., in Mexico City.

And I get tired of being insulted and saying I rant every time I express outrage that Mexican stations do not power down to nighttime levels according to their own broadcast regulations. Or for that matter when I express that I don't get excited by a station north or south of the border jabbering at me in a foreign language - be it Spanish or any other language than English. I just don't care about it - to me it might as well be a blank frequency.
Click to expand...

99% of Mexican stations power down, if required, at the time their licence requires. I can cite countless US AMs that stay on after sunset with higher than licensed power, too. the DX club magazines are filled with these reports.

You have absolutely no proof that any Mexican station is operating at a variance with Mexican law, the law that regulates Mexican radio staitons in Mexico. What you hear on skywave at night may be a perfectly normal operation, enhanced by the effects of propagation.

As an example, I can recall (and have verified) a 10 kw Venezuelan which on a number of occasions I heard overpowering US Clear WTAM (WKYC then)... less than 25 miles from the WTAM transmitter site. You would probably say that the Venezuelan was operating illegally. I would say that AM... all AM... after sunset is subject to interference and the effects of skywave skip.
 
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