Best AM Signals in Oklahoma

[kudzooter]

Nightaire, those DX cards are called QSLs or verification cards.

 

[Bob Oshea]

Sorry. Should have indicated that this was in the mid2late 1950s. At that time, KRMG ID'd as "one of America's two great radio stations." Sadly, until the early 60s, they were mostly "the radio people's radio station." All us guys who were majorly kicking their ass in the ratings, would have given our left
(?channel?) to be able to work there. From early 60s until at least the mid 90s, their combination of killer morning show, equally good local personalities in other dayparts, and unbelievably good news coverage...finally got them the ratings/billings they deserved. Yep, kinda sad to see (hear) 'em degraded to a pictureless version of "fair&balanced." But that's the deal ya make, to make it in third-milennium corporate radio, I guess.

Hey Big Bro-
You can definitely tell the veterans from the tin horns. You are absolutely right in your estimation of great radio stations like KRMG and KVOO AM going the way of polio and the evening paper. Sports spew is to radio what far right hate spew is to radio....a slow dull headache of meaningless vitriolic background brain masturbation. I swear, when I'm working on one of my rental properties I would rather hear barking dogs than anybody in talk radio save for George Noory.
Bar none, the best station in the history of the Tulsa market was the Rockin' 97 KAKC. Full tilt boogie burnem' up top 30 radio! KRMG became a great station in its own right. The late Jerry Vaughn was as good a morning man as you'd ever hear in Chicago or L.A., and of course Denver Fox I thought was dynamite on the air both at 970 and 740. When John Erling came to town, he changed the market forever in the finest tradition of the word change. I just loved the guy. We don't fondu together but we're certainly friends when we meet. Ann Williams was another truly great air personality on KRMG and a class A human being to know and work with. She should be our next Tulsa Media Icon. She's definitely Oklahoma Hall of Fame material.
Well, I gotta slide Clyde. Don't let the revenuers find your still.

Your Buddy Forever,
Bob O'Shea

 

[billyg]

Here in East Texas (Kilgore-Longview area) at night.

KFAQ 1170 (I hate those calls) has the best and most constant signal from Oklahoma.

Second best is KTOK 1000.. strong consistant signal even running IBOC.

KAKC 1300 used to come in good at night until they added IBOC.

KGYN has been hit and miss.. some nights strong, other nights hard to get.

KOKC 1520 used to be consistently strong (with some prorogation) until KLAC in Nashville went IBOC and sprays digital has all over them. KFXZ in Lafayette, LA has been working on a 10K daytime signal upgrade and many times covers KOKC in the early evening and sometimes at night with 500 watts.

KTBZ has problems from KEES in Gladewater (a puny 1K with a directional east-west pattern), but seems to get stronger going west toward Dallas on I-20.

KMUS 1380 has become a monster down here late afternoons and early evenings until they switch to low power. At night it skips in and out and also competes with KXCA from Lawton and other stations.

WKY has always had a fairly good signal here. One night I caught KOCY coming in clear too (Xmitter work?).

KRMG is a no show here, same with WWLS.

 

[billyg]

whoops.. wrong button

 

[Les Stock]

KFAQ 1170 (I hate those calls) has the best and most constant signal from Oklahoma.

KRMG and KVOO (I refuse to call that station by the new letters) came into the Texas panhandle like locals at 3:00 in the afternoon....

Yup...after six years, "1170 KFAQ" still doesn't sound right...kind of like "Los Angeles Raiders."

 

[G Thompson]

Gotta agree. The whole "KFAQ" thing still feels weird. Say it quickly and it sounds like you're cursing at someone.

 

[billyg]

Gotta agree. The whole "KFAQ" thing still feels weird. Say it quickly and it sounds like you're cursing at someone.

Horrible call letters - Kay-Fack..

Got a couple others...

Caught KRVT 1270 over big KFLC from Fort Worth this morning around 7.

(I used to DJ there back when it was KWPR in Claremore in 1985... Boy I wish we'd had that 5K daytime signal back then.)

KGWA 960 on some nights I can pick up...under another station I've yet to Identify.

And I forgot to mention KFXY 1640 - an easy catch, one of the strongest X-band stations in the southwest.

 

[JournalGuy]

1270 sounds cool. Caught it the other morning on my way down Yale near 41st to 29th. Sounded good. Enjoyed the music too.
The on-air guy sounded good too. I think he was going by "Stan." Fun sounding oldies station. Nice work,

 

[cahokia]

KOKC 1520 comes in clear every night in San Diego, Ca. I listened to KOMA Every night back in the 1970's
in San Diego, Ca.

 

[JournalGuy]

Nothing beats 89 WLS back in the day.

 

[cooptulsa]

89 WLS...wow, the memories! Growing up in South Jersey not only was I spoiled by having WFIL in my backyard, at nite WLS and WCFL outta Chicago blew in long and strong, along with WABC, CKLW, WKBW (Buffalo)...got to hear a lot of great jocks on those Top 40s.

 

[Bob Oshea]

Best signals for me would be KVOO-AM when I lived in Dallas in '72. When I lived in Tri-Cities, Michigan in '72 & '73 it was Super CFL in Chicago, CKLW in the Motor City and another Big Am rocker in Detroit whose calls escape me now (WJR?). When I lived in Lawton it was the Big 89 WLS in Chicago, KOMA & WKY in OKC and KLIF in Dallas. Also when I worked for KVOO in 1979, we would all get off work and listen to Charlie Douglas on WWL out of New Orleans. I got to meet Charlie a few years ago at the Cain's Ballroom. He was there for Hank Thompson's Twilight Tour kickoff ceremony. If you were so inclined to listen to talk radio from Chicago, you can still pick up the Big 89 after sundown. Also, I could hear Nashville's famous WSAM-AM in Michigan at night. Memories...pressed between the pages of my life

Bob O'Shea

 

[kudzooter]

Or for me, Bob, pressed between the pages of some textbook I should have been studying back in 1958 for T-U. During some of my many hours hanging out at Tulsa stations, I spent quite a few at what was then KOME, when it was banging its head against the brick wall that was "The New KAKC." And one of the jocks was Doug China, "the man with a horn" (which he honked at least once during every talk break--leading us college wags to rename him "Horney Doug China") -- unless my mind has totally jumped more than its allotted number of tracks, "Doug China" later morphed into (or maybe just took back his maiden name) "Charley Douglas," but I never heard him horn anyone doing the "Road Gang" on WWL. Seems like, for a few years, the show was also simulcast on some 25 kilowatter out of Nebraska...but THAT may be one of those unallocated track jumps. :

 

[Bob Oshea]

89 WLS...wow, the memories! Growing up in South Jersey not only was I spoiled by having WFIL in my backyard, at nite WLS and WCFL outta Chicago blew in long and strong, along with WABC, CKLW, WKBW (Buffalo)...got to hear a lot of great jocks on those Top 40s.

Hey Pard-
Man you got to hear some great radio too growing up. It was pure magic!!! Philly was a hell of a radio town. You probably already heard Big Ron O'Brien died. Pneumonia...56 years old. What a loss. One of the last great power jocks. Philly definitely mourns the loss. I felt and still feel the same vacuum where Scotty Yates & Rick Alan West used to be.

O'Shea

 

[MW_FM_DT_DXer]

I could hear Nashville's famous WSAM-AM in Michigan at night.
Bob O'Shea

You mean WSM. (WSAM is in Saginaw.)

 

[Bob Oshea]

I could hear Nashville's famous WSAM-AM in Michigan at night.
Bob O'Shea

You mean WSM. (WSAM is in Saginaw.)

I'll be damned. I have the memory of an elephant plant. I knew I was dangerously close to the right calls. Yes WSAM used to boom into Midland from Saginaw, which was exactly 15 miles from Midland. Right out of Science magazine! WSM was Nashville which could also be heard at night in Midland. By the way, for those who may not know, Tri-Cities, Michigan is Midland-Bay City-Saginaw located about 65 miles north of Detroit. Maybe a little farther but not much. We all thought we were so cool to be that close to the Motor City where it was happenin' man! I thought it would be a natural jump from doing midnight to 5:30 am to doing afternoon drive in Detroit. I have pictures of all of us from those days and believe it or not we have all stayed in touch over the years. God Bless'em all!

Bob O

 

[Bob Oshea]

Or for me, Bob, pressed between the pages of some textbook I should have been studying back in 1958 for T-U. During some of my many hours hanging out at Tulsa stations, I spent quite a few at what was then KOME, when it was banging its head against the brick wall that was "The New KAKC." And one of the jocks was Doug China, "the man with a horn" (which he honked at least once during every talk break--leading us college wags to rename him "Horney Doug China") -- unless my mind has totally jumped more than its allotted number of tracks, "Doug China" later morphed into (or maybe just took back his maiden name) "Charley Douglas," but I never heard him horn anyone doing the "Road Gang" on WWL. Seems like, for a few years, the show was also simulcast on some 25 kilowatter out of Nebraska...but THAT may be one of those unallocated track jumps. :

Hey Zoot-
I remember Larry Lujack commenting on hearing Charlie Tuna on KOMA when Uncle Lar was on his way from Seattle to ill fated Boston (for him anyway) through Nebraska. He got Charley on and he didn't stay long either. Larry was picked up by Ken Draper at LS and Tuna left for L.A. for work at KHJ. Too bad....neither got to work for Ron "party 'til the universe implodes" Kirby. Everybody needs that experience. There are so few of us. Society is probably much better off. I loved that maniac. ;D

O'Shea

 

[kudzooter]

Bob O --
1960, I'm between "chapters" at KAKC. Take a summer gig at 1380 KMUS "Famous Kaymuss, studios overlooking Muskogee's luxurious landfill;" appropriately, the aforeskinned Ron Kirby was the PD, and also did the morning pop-music show. I, alas, had to come in at 4:30 to kickstart the first stage of the Xmtr, which needed about 20 minutes warm-up before I could stumble over and punch whatever came next. (BTW, since the station didn't officially sign on until 5:00, I was not allowed to punch in on my time card until...you guessed it...0500.) Immediately upon completion of the sign on, I commenced to play an hour of real gut-bucket hillbilly--nothing like what true country-formatted stations were playing--while I prepared the news that I would give during Ron's show. I would also come back and do a 4-6PM show, during which time I'd be preparing the HALF-HOUR, segmented cast I'd do at 6. My rooming house had no airco, so sleep was iffy, at best. And it became much worse--and the morning following it was pure, refried, industrial-strength hell-on-steroids--the night Ron and his sweet missus had me over for chicken supper... and Ron and I went through at least two big pitchers of his killer martinis. But ya know something,
brudder Bob? That was one of the few times I ever LEARNED anything about drinking -- yep, have never touched a martini since then. Just wonder if he used that same technique when the voting was looking close on one of his bills in the legislature.

 

[johnfox]

Is this the same Ron Kirby that was in Lawton at KCCO and KSWO? Both stations were top 40 at one time. I believe KCCO went country mid 70s, and the top 40 format went to FM as KRLG or G98 as it was called. KLAW was also top 40.

 

[Bob Oshea]

Is this the same Ron Kirby that was in Lawton at KCCO and KSWO? Both stations were top 40 at one time. I believe KCCO went country mid 70s, and the top 40 format went to FM as KRLG or G98 as it was called. KLAW was also top 40.

Yes.....When I was at KCCO we were rockin'. I left for T-Town in the summer 0f '74. Ron was the PD, Morning Guy and Sales guru. He later went to KSWO as GM and Morning guy. He was terrific on the air. I was also on KRLG. If you know anymore than that.....run for your life.

O'Shea