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Best Coverage?
- Thread starter 4dude
- Start date
I'd say KOA and WCBS.
WCBS comes in at night much better than any of the other New York stations and is often as good here in Tampa as I used to get it at night up north 80 miles away.
KOA is a regular here at night and would probably be as good as the New York stations (except WCBS) if it weren't for the spill over from our local on 860.
WCBS comes in at night much better than any of the other New York stations and is often as good here in Tampa as I used to get it at night up north 80 miles away.
KOA is a regular here at night and would probably be as good as the New York stations (except WCBS) if it weren't for the spill over from our local on 860.
The Dude said:
WSB is wasted in the gulf south by the Venezuelan or the Colombian, and in the SW by several Mexican and Central American stations... plus the US fulltimers in NV, MI, TX, MT, UT, NE and OR.
890 is trashed by the co-channel out of Colombia along the gulf, as well as multiple larger stations in Mexico, as well as US signals in ID, TX, CA, MA, SC and UT. WLS probably has a decent and consistent night signal in a dozen to 15 states today, at best.
Of course, the big issue is that AM night listening is very, very limited and very few people today will put up with the noise, static and fading of night skip AM propagation... not to mention the almost total lack of the ability to monetize night reception outside an immediate market area and its rural environs, which are served by the groundwave signal.
I'd say KOA, KSL, WWL and WBZ are all contenders for that award. It's debatable which one of them has the 'best' signal and how you would define 'best.' Why I say that is because a station like KOA or WWL is located in a spot from which skip is possible on a regular basis to both coasts. So, we tend to think of a great signal as one that we hear over a good part of the US. To me, WBZ has a great signal (particularly when unimpeded by the crappy IBOC technology) and I've heard it as far west as South Dakota; yet it can also be heard in Newfoundland.
And, what about some of the directional coastal signals? I'd bet none of us ever gave WWZN (1510) Boston a thought for having the "best" nighttime signal. However, if you ask dxers in Europe, that station is their most frequent catch. They actually look for it first to determine when there's a good trans Atlantic dx opening. Similar story for some of the big west coast signals that can be heard on Pacific islands and in Alaska.
So, I guess this is a long-winded way of saying that it's really difficult to answer this question aside from listing some of the stations with the most consistently widespread coverage. It's certainly more complex than the question of who has the best groundwave (CBK).
And, what about some of the directional coastal signals? I'd bet none of us ever gave WWZN (1510) Boston a thought for having the "best" nighttime signal. However, if you ask dxers in Europe, that station is their most frequent catch. They actually look for it first to determine when there's a good trans Atlantic dx opening. Similar story for some of the big west coast signals that can be heard on Pacific islands and in Alaska.
So, I guess this is a long-winded way of saying that it's really difficult to answer this question aside from listing some of the stations with the most consistently widespread coverage. It's certainly more complex than the question of who has the best groundwave (CBK).
In the 60s thru the 80s, WLS easily had the best signal from coast to coast. I heard it as far south as southern Mexico and in Hawaii. However, today with 890 being very crowded I'd say the best signal IMO goes to KSL which can be heard often in the east and almost everynight in Hawaii.
F
formerjock
Guest
In east tennessee the most dependable signals for me are WTAM which is always loud and clear with almost no fade, WWL also with little fade. WCBS is very good. One station that gets a lot of mention in these discussions is KOA. It is rarely listenable in this area. 850 is usually a jumble of signals here. WJR also very strong here. I'm too close to WSB, in the cancelation zone I guess.
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rbrucecarter5
Guest
I would nominate WBAP. Since they scrapped IBOC, they are back with a vengeance. Daytime is back to static free in Houston, I've heard them daytime as far West as Roswell NM.
WLS lost a lot of their signal when they lost their isolated transmitter site, ground conductivity makes a huge difference. I know their daytime footprint used to be huge, prior to IBOC.
KOA used to be a monster, easily making it into Dallas during the day, before a local 850 signed on. Nighttime, I bet it goes almost to the East Coast, I know they were a monster in Southern Michigan.
WBZ used to come in very well in Texas, but not since they started IBOC.
WLW used to have a monster signal, occasionally making it into Texas during the daytime in winter months. Then two local 700 started up in Texas, and their nighttime signal is hobbled by IBOC as well.
I'm not positive that it is IBOC itself that lowers the coverage, but I think the presence of strong sidebands fools the AGC of most AM radios into thinking there is more signal there than there actually is. I'll have to check by bypassing the AGC on a couple of radios to see if coverage comes back on stations that formerly had it. Of course, that does listeners on cheap radios in their COL no good, because the overwhelming majority of them wouldn't know how to hack their radios to get their local station back again.
WLS lost a lot of their signal when they lost their isolated transmitter site, ground conductivity makes a huge difference. I know their daytime footprint used to be huge, prior to IBOC.
KOA used to be a monster, easily making it into Dallas during the day, before a local 850 signed on. Nighttime, I bet it goes almost to the East Coast, I know they were a monster in Southern Michigan.
WBZ used to come in very well in Texas, but not since they started IBOC.
WLW used to have a monster signal, occasionally making it into Texas during the daytime in winter months. Then two local 700 started up in Texas, and their nighttime signal is hobbled by IBOC as well.
I'm not positive that it is IBOC itself that lowers the coverage, but I think the presence of strong sidebands fools the AGC of most AM radios into thinking there is more signal there than there actually is. I'll have to check by bypassing the AGC on a couple of radios to see if coverage comes back on stations that formerly had it. Of course, that does listeners on cheap radios in their COL no good, because the overwhelming majority of them wouldn't know how to hack their radios to get their local station back again.
WBT Charlotte NC is a good one. Got it well in both ME on vacation and in SW fla. But I was just playing with the radio and not interested in the programming. I like listening to either NYC 660 or Chi's 670 (sports) on long trips at nite.
WBZ came in awfully well on a nitly basis in eastern IA-almost as well as semi local Des Moines (100-150 mi) on 1040. Funny to hear that miserable Boston traffic when you are out in corn country.
KMOX comes in ok here (central mass and SW fla on most nites.
WCBS is a little inconsistent for me in SW fla but I'm 90 mi further S than gar
WBZ came in awfully well on a nitly basis in eastern IA-almost as well as semi local Des Moines (100-150 mi) on 1040. Funny to hear that miserable Boston traffic when you are out in corn country.
KMOX comes in ok here (central mass and SW fla on most nites.
WCBS is a little inconsistent for me in SW fla but I'm 90 mi further S than gar
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rbrucecarter5
Guest
I thought of another one - Castro's 530. I am pretty sure I had it in San Francisco, under some interference.
KOA is STILL a monster in Southern Michigan. They're there every night with a decent signal. Nowhere as strong as WWL or 'BZ, but definitely listenable.
WBZ is one of the first ones in here in the winter skywave season. I've heard them stepping on WUFL as early as 3:00 PM and completely over WUFL by 3:30.
WWL would be my pick for the strongest signal. They sometimes put splatter on CJBC and WCBS in my location. They're already stepping on local daytimer WKAR well before their sign-off on some afternoons. Not bad for a station nearly 900 miles away.
WBAP and WOAI would have to be notable mentions for me. They don't often make it up to Southern Michigan and when they do, it's nowhere near a gangbuster signal. The best I can hope for is a signal not much stronger than KOA, and that's only once in a blue moon. WOAI is even less frequent with the Big Talker WPHT's Big I-BLOC jammer.
Another notable mention is CBK. I know they have a massive groundwave signal and their low dial position gives them a huge advantage, but 540 gets a little crowded in my area with Milwaukee, so I may only hear CBK once or twice a week. They do have a strong signal when they're in, but it's not very often.
WBZ is one of the first ones in here in the winter skywave season. I've heard them stepping on WUFL as early as 3:00 PM and completely over WUFL by 3:30.
WWL would be my pick for the strongest signal. They sometimes put splatter on CJBC and WCBS in my location. They're already stepping on local daytimer WKAR well before their sign-off on some afternoons. Not bad for a station nearly 900 miles away.
WBAP and WOAI would have to be notable mentions for me. They don't often make it up to Southern Michigan and when they do, it's nowhere near a gangbuster signal. The best I can hope for is a signal not much stronger than KOA, and that's only once in a blue moon. WOAI is even less frequent with the Big Talker WPHT's Big I-BLOC jammer.
Another notable mention is CBK. I know they have a massive groundwave signal and their low dial position gives them a huge advantage, but 540 gets a little crowded in my area with Milwaukee, so I may only hear CBK once or twice a week. They do have a strong signal when they're in, but it's not very often.
I would have to nominate KSL, WOAI and WLW. KSL blankets the Intermountain West with a supurb signal and can easily be heard in Kansas and Nebraska. As on travels into Missouri and Iowa, KSL gets increasingly buried in co-channel slop. WOAI really goes the distance and can easily be heard to the Canadian border and everywhere else except the coasts. WLW puts a great nighttime signal into the Eastern two thirds of the nation. They can easily be heard on the entire east coast expect possibly S. Florida. They are quite listenable out to the Front Range of the Rockies. Beyond that, they suffer co-channel interference from a station in Utah.
Len14043 said:
WLW always has a very good signal at night here in Tampa and it's one of the few northern stations without interference on the same frequency by Spanish stations to the south.
In the late 70s, I remember WLW had a listenable signal most of the time at night in Northern California.
The stations that are heard the best in NW Indiana (around Gary) are 750 WSB (when WNDZ Portage signs off), 700 WLW (overall the best in my area), 1530 WCKY, 650 WSM, 820 WABP, 840 WHAS, 850 KOA (one of the weakest stations, but still heard every night), & 1120 WMOX are some of the stations I hear every night.
KSL is almost never heard in Gary anymore, due to WYLL building out their 50kw 6 tower array in Lockport, IL for night service.
WOAI gets some splatter from WRTO , but little, except for when ground is extremely wet, and can sometimes make WRTO's signal overpower WOAI's signal in Gary. Once WRTO officially transmits from the new tower site, WOAI will almost never be heard in Gary, due to the night signal will push further into Gary. They still have to protect WOWO Fort Wayne on 1190, which is why the signal can't go too far into Indiana.
KSL is almost never heard in Gary anymore, due to WYLL building out their 50kw 6 tower array in Lockport, IL for night service.
WOAI gets some splatter from WRTO , but little, except for when ground is extremely wet, and can sometimes make WRTO's signal overpower WOAI's signal in Gary. Once WRTO officially transmits from the new tower site, WOAI will almost never be heard in Gary, due to the night signal will push further into Gary. They still have to protect WOWO Fort Wayne on 1190, which is why the signal can't go too far into Indiana.
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rbrucecarter5
Guest
Dave said:
Nope - WOAI is one tower, omnidirectional:
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WOAI&service=AM&status=L&hours=U
If anything, they have a node in that direction.
rbrucecarter5 said:
I'm thinking that Dave is referring to WRTO's directional signal, which pushes much of their signal northward across Chicago with only a little coverage in Indiana. They probably do have to give some protection to WOWO, which is first adjacent.
Personally, I am not looking forward to a more powerful WRTO as their Pancho Villa-style northern Mexican programming doesn't appeal to me one bit. However, as it stands now, I can't get WRTO at night and that's fine with me - I can pick up WOAI and WPHT without the interference of sharp horns and a squeeze box and I like it that way!
Len14043 said:
I meant to include WLW. Oversight on my part. Fabulous nightime signal over a broad area.
I thought about putting WOAI on my list, but I don't think their nighttime signal is as robust as it used to be. Not unlike WLS, which would've also been on my list "back in the day".
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