I recently went to a store where the WLW tower loomed large in the background with the large letters WLW emblazened in the middle of the tower. I commented to the store owner that they should be able to pick them up well since they are so close to their tower. He went on to tell me that he "dragged" their signal all the way to Florida! I asked him what he meant by that. He explained that an AM signal can be "dragged" when you travel, but an FM station can't. He also said that if you shut the engine on the car, the signal is released and you can no longer pick up the station. I thought that was funny.
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Different "theory" on AM propagation
- Thread starter Len14043
- Start date
> I recently went to a store where the WLW tower loomed large
> in the background with the large letters WLW emblazened in
> the middle of the tower. I commented to the store owner that
> they should be able to pick them up well since they are so
> close to their tower. He went on to tell me that he
> "dragged" their signal all the way to Florida! I asked him
> what he meant by that. He explained that an AM signal can be
> "dragged" when you travel, but an FM station can't. He also
> said that if you shut the engine on the car, the signal is
> released and you can no longer pick up the station. I
> thought that was funny.
>
There may be something to that, but it would have everything to do with his car radio and not the station. It's probably so used to grabbing that signal that it would come in better than it normally would, especially when tuned to it for hours (or even days) at a time. There's a strong 690 on one end of Florida and a strong 710 on the other and WLW is pretty difficult to get there as opposed to, well, basically everywhere else.
> in the background with the large letters WLW emblazened in
> the middle of the tower. I commented to the store owner that
> they should be able to pick them up well since they are so
> close to their tower. He went on to tell me that he
> "dragged" their signal all the way to Florida! I asked him
> what he meant by that. He explained that an AM signal can be
> "dragged" when you travel, but an FM station can't. He also
> said that if you shut the engine on the car, the signal is
> released and you can no longer pick up the station. I
> thought that was funny.
>
There may be something to that, but it would have everything to do with his car radio and not the station. It's probably so used to grabbing that signal that it would come in better than it normally would, especially when tuned to it for hours (or even days) at a time. There's a strong 690 on one end of Florida and a strong 710 on the other and WLW is pretty difficult to get there as opposed to, well, basically everywhere else.
> He went on to tell me that he
> "dragged" their signal all the way to Florida!
Ya' know... he's on to something.
But, it's less a "drag" than it is a "stretch." Here's why... WLW's signal has a wavelength of about 400 meters. An FM signal has a wavelength of about 3 meters.
So, what does that mean? Well, one can "stretch" an FM signal, but it only goes so far. Since the wavelength is so short, it soon SNAPS! Obviously, a signal with a wavelength of 400 meters is much more elastic, and can stretch much, much further. In this case, it stretched all the way to Florida.
See? It all makes sense now, right?
DE
> "dragged" their signal all the way to Florida!
Ya' know... he's on to something.
But, it's less a "drag" than it is a "stretch." Here's why... WLW's signal has a wavelength of about 400 meters. An FM signal has a wavelength of about 3 meters.
So, what does that mean? Well, one can "stretch" an FM signal, but it only goes so far. Since the wavelength is so short, it soon SNAPS! Obviously, a signal with a wavelength of 400 meters is much more elastic, and can stretch much, much further. In this case, it stretched all the way to Florida.
See? It all makes sense now, right?
DE
> > He went on to tell me that he
> > "dragged" their signal all the way to Florida!
>
> Ya' know... he's on to something.
>
> But, it's less a "drag" than it is a "stretch." Here's
> why... WLW's signal has a wavelength of about 400 meters.
> An FM signal has a wavelength of about 3 meters.
>
> So, what does that mean? Well, one can "stretch" an FM
> signal, but it only goes so far. Since the wavelength is so
> short, it soon SNAPS! Obviously, a signal with a wavelength
> of 400 meters is much more elastic, and can stretch much,
> much further. In this case, it stretched all the way to
> Florida.
>
> See? It all makes sense now, right?
>
> DE
>
Ah yes, now it all makes sense. If the signal stretches, it must behave like rubber, which explaines why it "bounces" off the ionosphere.
> > "dragged" their signal all the way to Florida!
>
> Ya' know... he's on to something.
>
> But, it's less a "drag" than it is a "stretch." Here's
> why... WLW's signal has a wavelength of about 400 meters.
> An FM signal has a wavelength of about 3 meters.
>
> So, what does that mean? Well, one can "stretch" an FM
> signal, but it only goes so far. Since the wavelength is so
> short, it soon SNAPS! Obviously, a signal with a wavelength
> of 400 meters is much more elastic, and can stretch much,
> much further. In this case, it stretched all the way to
> Florida.
>
> See? It all makes sense now, right?
>
> DE
>
Ah yes, now it all makes sense. If the signal stretches, it must behave like rubber, which explaines why it "bounces" off the ionosphere.
> I recently went to a store where the WLW tower loomed large
> in the background with the large letters WLW emblazened in
> the middle of the tower. I commented to the store owner that
> they should be able to pick them up well since they are so
> close to their tower. He went on to tell me that he
> "dragged" their signal all the way to Florida! I asked him
> what he meant by that. He explained that an AM signal can be
> "dragged" when you travel, but an FM station can't. He also
> said that if you shut the engine on the car, the signal is
> released and you can no longer pick up the station. I
> thought that was funny.
>
Here you go. Easy drag.
> in the background with the large letters WLW emblazened in
> the middle of the tower. I commented to the store owner that
> they should be able to pick them up well since they are so
> close to their tower. He went on to tell me that he
> "dragged" their signal all the way to Florida! I asked him
> what he meant by that. He explained that an AM signal can be
> "dragged" when you travel, but an FM station can't. He also
> said that if you shut the engine on the car, the signal is
> released and you can no longer pick up the station. I
> thought that was funny.
>
Here you go. Easy drag.
J
_Jim
Guest
Ha ha - his old 'tubed' AM receiver probably cooled off ...
> He also said that if you shut the engine on the
> car, the signal is released and you can no longer
> pick up the station.
Probably the funniest thing I have heard in awhile
about radio!
This may have been his experience, thirty five or more
years ago, before the era of digital quartz-locked
(PLL synthesized) tuners when his tubed Philco radio
in his Ford would literally 'cool off' enough that
he no longer had WLW tuned in when he went to start
the car back up ...
> He also said that if you shut the engine on the
> car, the signal is released and you can no longer
> pick up the station.
Probably the funniest thing I have heard in awhile
about radio!
This may have been his experience, thirty five or more
years ago, before the era of digital quartz-locked
(PLL synthesized) tuners when his tubed Philco radio
in his Ford would literally 'cool off' enough that
he no longer had WLW tuned in when he went to start
the car back up ...
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