DXing-Why?

[Mike Walker]

Why does John enjoy stamp collecting, Jim building his own computers, and Fred repairing antique firearms. Radio technology is INTERESTING to us. It requires (in order of importance) greater skill, better antennas, and better gear to pull in stations from great distances than to just turn on the radio and hear the locals.

Not only that, PROGRAM listeners often find things on distant stations that aren't on their locals, or available elsewhere. WPAQ (740 AM) in Mount Airy NC is a celebrated example of an "old time" station that "never grew up". They still run a format of bluegrass, folk, gospel, and "old time" music, same as they did sixty years ago. NPR did a feature on this station sometime back...available on their website. And "dx'ing" them isn't some exercise in "radio geekdom"...it's something that MANY people all over NC, Virginia, and eastern Tennessee do every day...because they offer a unique service, a unique part of the culture and heritage of our area that simply is unavailable elsewhere. Thankfully, Clear Channel and CBS don't own EVERYTHING (yet). Some parts of the country,particularly "flyover" parts have some truly unique things to listen to...on stations that are often 50 ore more (sometimes many more) away. Yet with 10,000 watts on 740, WPAQ can be heard on simple, inexpensive equipment (GE SuperRadio, for instance) for MANY miles.

That's just one example. There are several shows on WPTF in Raleigh (680AM, 50,000 watts) that I enjoy listening to...shows that aren't available to me anywhere else. Even for a 50 kilowatter, the 100 mile distance between WPTF and my house makes me by definition a "dx'er". Yet they're a relatively easy catch with a good radio and antenna...an exercise again rewarded with something unique.

Anyone who would say "why dx?" probably lives in a city, where strong local signals are plentiful. I frequently point out that, other than WKBC FM (100,000 watts 97.3), WKBC AM (1,000 watts 800AM), and WWWC (1,000 watts, 1240AM), EVERY RADIO STATION IS A "DX TARGET" FOR ME! The ones in Lenoir and Taylorsville are about 25 miles away, and all the others are 30, 50, or more miles away. It's not freaky hobbyists bent over a workbench with a magnifier and soldering iron! In rural areas, it's nearly everybody.

When I listen to WTQR in Greensboro, or WLNK Charlotte, two of the stations which do VERY well in Arbitron here in Wilkes County, then I am by definition "dx'ing". The fact that these stations ALWAYs show well in ratings in my county indicate that many people around here (and in other rural areas), perhaps most people, are doing so as well.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Why do you even DX on AM in this day and age at all?

(1) To provide access to formats that local stations do not (or refuse to) offer.
(2) For rural listeners in the Western 2/3 of the country that do not have access to the internet, or at least to wide bandwidth internet - it provides a valuable source of news and information from distant cities. The AM signals are much more robust than FM at distances greater than 100 miles. DX'ing is particularly important in Alaska, where vast distances separate isolated communities and individuals.
(3) For refugees from natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina, it provides access to local news and information from their home town. Information NOT available from media outlets where they have relocated. For those that say the internet is available - what percentage of economically disadvantaged New Orleans residents owned laptops with wireless access, and what percentage of evacuation facilities such as stadiums provide wireless hotspots?
(4) Hundreds of thousands of truckers nationwide rely on nighttime skywave reception in remote areas.
(5) Sports fans who have moved from one city to another like to remain in touch with their former home by listening to familiar stations, perhaps listening to home town sports commentators / their old teams.

You cannot put a dollar value on nighttime skywave. It won't contribute to a station's ratings. I am sure somebody will rationalize away all of the needs above. But it makes no sense to try to save the AM band by jamming the AM band. One of the principles of American justice is that your freedom begins where another person's nose begins. So if there was a system that did digital within the allocated bandwidth - fine. But stomping all over your neighbor with legalized jamming is NOT fine. And the idea of jamming small station owners off the air with legalized jamming is just plain offensive. Especially if they are minority owned stations. Legalized jamming does nothing to promote diversity on the band.

 

[Mike Walker]

For once I'm on the side of rbruce. Ask WSM Nashville (650AM), home of the 'Grand Ole' Opry' for more than 80 years if skywave is of value! It's thier stock-in-trade, drawing many thousands to visit "Music City" every year.

 

[R.F. Burns]

"So if there was a system that did digital within the allocated bandwidth - fine. But stomping all over your neighbor with legalized jamming is NOT fine."


I agree. Can you show us where a properly engineered IBOC station is transmitting outside of the NRSC mask (which is what a station is licensed to operate within). You'll need a spectrum analyzer to show this properly) As I drive from home into Manhattan each day I can't receive any first adjacent station in my car due to sideband interference caused by my non IBOC local stations. Even second adjacents are difficult here. To me it doesn't matter if the interference is 80% or 100%, either way those out of market stations are unlistenable.

 

[davideduardo]

(1) To provide access to formats that local stations do not (or refuse to) offer.

Vastly more is availabled on the internet. In fact, today, with the crowded AM band, there are only a few dozen stations on clear channels (old 1 A and 1 B allocaitons) that are somewhat consistently available for DX.

(2) For rural listeners in the Western 2/3 of the country that do not have access to the internet, or at least to wide bandwidth internet - it provides a valuable source of news and information from distant cities.

Most people have no interest in the traffic reports from Denver. And, to use an example posted previously, at Prescott, AZ, "scan" on my car radio picks up 3 AM stations, while on FM it gets 12.

Or at Quartzite, AZ.... one AM, 7 FMs. Or at Salome, AZ... zero AMs, 6 FMs.

Very little radio listening is done at night (less than a quarter the daytime average level) after 7 PM, and so skywave is tripple-irrelevant; few stations on open channels without interference, little interest in distant station content, and lack of interest in radio in general at night. Add to that the fact that in even the western US there are huge FMs that provide day and night coverage nearly everywhere, and you get the idea how irrelevant AM skywave is.

The AM signals are much more robust than FM at distances greater than 100 miles.

The fact is that most people want to hear a local station, and they have them... nearly 10,0000 FM stations in the US.

DX'ing is particularly important in Alaska, where vast distances separate isolated communities and individuals.

FM boosters and repeaters cover about 100% of the population. The AMs, except for a few missionary ones like the two in Nome, have a hard time... financially. And technically, many are on frequencies with 500 kw Asian and Russian staitons right next to them (9 kHz allocations across the Bering Straits) and night AM is not particularly useful... most of the use of remote AMs is daytime.

(3) For refugees from natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina,

Stop there... we have had such an event once about every 40 to 50 years. If needed, the government could put portable military transmitters in service.

it provides access to local news and information from their home town. Information NOT available from media outlets where they have relocated.

No, it does not. Aside from Baton Rouge, Houston took in the most refugees Houston has a local AM on 880, blocking WWL. No other New Orleans staitons can even get reception that fully covers the local metro, let alone get out of state. And only about 20 or so cities even have a decent-signalled station that can be heard at a distance. Tell me, what Miami or Tampa or Orlando or Mobile or Tallahassee or Jacksonville or Charleston, SC, station could be heard at any distance from those cities in the event of a hurricane relocation?

And, again, AM skip is a night phenomenon. Most people, refugees or not, don't listen at night, ever.

For those that say the internet is available - what percentage of economically disadvantaged New Orleans residents owned laptops with wireless access, and what percentage of evacuation facilities such as stadiums provide wireless hotspots?

And inside what stadia can you hear night DX clearly. Hint: the number is less than 1.

(4) Hundreds of thousands of truckers nationwide rely on nighttime skywave reception in remote areas.

No, they don't. Nearly 100% of interstate truckers have satellite.

(5) Sports fans who have moved from one city to another like to remain in touch with their former home by listening to familiar stations, perhaps listening to home town sports commentators / their old teams.

Since there are only a few cities that have big enough AMs to be heard out of state, this does not apply to most people. The games are on TV, on internet, on satellite. BUt, to use one recent example, if you are from St. Louis, the only clear channel in the market (and for miles around, too...) does not carry the baseball games. A limited coverage regional AM does, and they have night signal problems in parts of the St Louis metro...

The fact is, except for a bunch of senior citizens, nearly nobody listens to "the hometown staiton" because most of these very few decent signal AMs only get 4 or 5 percent of local listening. Why would someone who did not listen back home suddenly develop a taste for AM talk programming after moving? Absurd.

AM skywave, today, is useless.

 

[Mike Walker]

AM Skywave isn't "useless' as long as someone uses it. The definition of "useless" is "there's no use for it". AM Skywave is USED by many.

As for "vastly more available on the internet"...SO WHAT? A huge percentage of listening takes place in cars (perhaps most of it), far away from internet access. AM Skywave is still plenty useFUL. Just because you don't use it, don't confuse that with there being "no use". Again, many of us...EVERY MANY don't have easy, local access to many stations.

In the form of shortwave broadcasting AM Skywave serves hundreds of millions in Africa, the far-east, and in many other developing regions where internet access is rare, or non-existant. It (skywave) PROBABLY serves many times more people than the internet in much of the world!

 

[davideduardo]

For once I'm on the side of rbruce. Ask WSM Nashville (650AM), home of the 'Grand Ole' Opry' for more than 80 years if skywave is of value! It's thier stock-in-trade, drawing many thousands to visit "Music City" every year.

Actually, it has been years since there has been any benefit to WSM from the Oprey night broadcasts. The event is now staged as an Opreyland attraction and the money is made elsewhere. The medium is TV, not radio, today... it's a feature on the GAC channel. In fact, I challenge you to find a mention of WSM radio on the http://www.opry.com/Default.aspx site! (it does appear to the left of the barn door...)

In fact, WSM radio's website has noting about the Oprey except a link to the Oprey website, which is all about TV and live ticket sales. Not having the Oprey would not affect WSM's ratings at all.

 

[Mike Walker]

Only one hour of the Opry is broadcast on TV. That's about 1/12th of what happens there. And it's hardly an "Opryland" event...for half the year they are at the Ryman in downtown Nashville, the "Mother Church of Country Music". The Opry is, as it has been for 80 plus years, a RADIO event...supported by RADIO advertising. Which is why they have major national advertisers on this "little radio show" on one station in a not-too large city.

Ever been to Nashville? EVERY cab, every bus, every tram is playing "The Opry" on Friday and Saturday nights. Tell Nashville that the Opry isn't a radio event. Tell them that at the Country Music Hall of Fame, or at WSM's studios in the lobby of the Opryland hotel (where they broadcast when the Opry isn't on). Tell the country stars who drop by at 2am to chat with the dj that "skywave isn't important"...especially when their mail rolls in from many states about their appearance on WSM!

Tell the people who visit "The Midnight Jamboree"...an all-night radio program which has followed the Opry since Truman was president that nobody's listening via skywave. Sorry to be so preachy, but I KNOW about WSM, and about the Opry. Anyone who has actually visited Nashville does. EVER BEEN TO THE OPRY? If so, you'd be under no illusion that it's primarily anything other than a RADIO BROADCAST! Even during the tv portion, the radio host is on-stage. The TV people are in the wings, and walking the aisles.

 

[davideduardo]

AM Skywave isn't "useless' as long as someone uses it. The definition of "useless" is "there's no use for it". AM Skywave is USED by many.

No proof of this. Out of 4800 AMs, only a few dozen, maybe 40, have signals decent enough to get any out-of-market skywave coverage on a consistent basis.

As for "vastly more available on the internet"...SO WHAT? A huge percentage of listening takes place in cars (perhaps most of it),

Most listening takes place out of the car... 70% of it in fact.

far away from internet access. AM Skywave is still plenty useFUL. Just because you don't use it, don't confuse that with there being "no use". Again, many of us...EVERY MANY don't have easy, local access to many stations.

I don't use it because the consistently listenable stations in my area are divided into "useless" like KDWN (720) the other two Nevada 1-B's on 780 and 840 (nothing of interest outside of Reno or Vegas). Then there are 740 and 810 from SF. Neither has a consistent signal, and both are so localized that the content is proably not even interesting in Fresno, let alone SoCal. That leaves KNX and KFI, which get skywave interference going East just beyond Redlands... and are useless due to the extreme hash on them from co-channels stations in Mexico. 660 in Window Rock is dedicated to the Navajo Nation, and I am not Navajo. KSL is erratic, and there are no other clears for about 1200 miles around.

On the other hand, I can always find, day or night, about a dozen FMs.... at worse, in very rural AZ, 6 to 7... or more on scan.

The main issue is that radio is not a night medium, and has not been for 50 years. So whether you can get a station at night is in many senses irrelevant since so few people listen at night, and even fewer listen to AM at night than in the daytime.

And that is the key issue... there is very little programming on AM to interest those under 45 or 50... so most of the population would not want to listen to AM, at night, with fading, and noise, anyway because they don't like what is on AM, the old folk's band.

In the form of shortwave broadcasting AM Skywave serves hundreds of millions in Africa, the far-east, and in many other developing regions where internet access is rare, or non-existant. It (skywave) PROBABLY serves many times more people than the internet in much of the world!

But we are not in Africa. The fact is that most Africans listen to FM, since free FM has come to nearly every nation and corner of Africa... places like Lagos, Nigeria have 40 to 50 FMs, and the big ones have a repeater network covering the whle nation. Even Ougadougu has nearly 20 FMs! Since there are dozens of languages and several hundred major vernaculars in Africa, very little listening is to showrtwave or AM due to language issues. It's all to local FMs.

 

[davideduardo]

Only one hour of the Opry is broadcast on TV.

And further hours are on all during the week. They strip it, rather than running it at a time TV viewership is low.

That's about 1/12th of what happens there. And it's hardly an "Opryland" event...for half the year they are at the Ryman in downtown Nashville, the "Mother Church of Country Music". The Opry is, as it has been for 80 plus years, a RADIO event...supported by RADIO advertising. Which is why they have major national advertisers on this "little radio show" on one station in a not-too large city.

And that is why the WSM website does not even detail the Oprey except to send clickers to the TV based site? The AM is simply a minor support for Gaylord's Hospitality and entertainment division, and it is all about getting folks to the hotel and selling them tickets and souvenirs, not about radio.

Ever been to Nashville?

Yeah, I have. My engineer from Birmingham was CE for Opreyland, and I met Alan Jackson there when he was a TV switcher operator as he finished up recording "Here in the Real World" way back when. The radio was an afterthought. They had a feed from the TV studio to broadcast the Oprey... radio is there for heritage, not for revenue and audience.

EVERY cab, every bus, every tram is playing "The Opry" on Friday and Saturday nights. Tell Nashville that the Opry isn't a radio event.

It's a cult event. The last time I got in a cab in Nashville, the driver was Nigerian, and did not like country.

Tell them that at the Country Music Hall of Fame, or at WSM's studios in the lobby of the Opryland hotel (where they broadcast when the Opry isn't on). Tell the country stars who drop by at 2am to chat with the dj that "skywave isn't important"...especially when their mail rolls in from many states about their appearance on WSM!

WSM is living off a legend... a dead one. Country music fans in Knoxville listen to WIVK, even on Saturday night. Nobody who is not the age of Minnie Pearl (before she died, of course) listens to AM at night for music.

Tell the people who visit "The Midnight Jamboree"...an all-night radio program which has followed the Opry since Truman was president that nobody's listening via skywave. Sorry to be so preachy, but I KNOW about WSM, and about the Opry. Anyone who has actually visited Nashville does. EVER BEEN TO THE OPRY? If so, you'd be under no illusion that it's primarily anything other than a RADIO BROADCAST! Even during the tv portion, the radio host is on-stage. The TV people are in the wings, and walking the aisles.

I've been to the Oprey, as mentioned. I have been to FanFair, to the CRS, and the company I was with in the early 70's had the #1 station in Nashville for many years. And it wasn't country... it was Top 40. And it still isn't... #1 there is AC. In fact, in Nashville, 85% of listening is NOT to country. And WSM is probably the lowest rated of any of the old 1-A clear channel stations. It's 15th and about tied with the limited signal contemporary Christian staiton from Smyrna. In fact, in 25-54, WSM is even lower...

WSM is part of the Oprey marketing machine. It is important to the image, at least for the old folks who are going to see the Oprey once before they croak... but increasingly irrelevant as a delivery device for the oprey

 

[Mike Walker]

Watch the Opry broadcast on tv. The backdrop says "650, WSM". The microphone stands say "WSM". WSM's logo is everywhere. Show me GAC's, ANYWHERE...even on the tv broadcast. Again, anyone who's BEEN to the Opry knows the score. It's a RADIO broadcast, a small portion of which happens to be on TV.

By the way, the Opry Archives are at WSM's website, not "Opry.com".
http://wsmonline.com/onair/archives.shtml

And if you guys think there are only 40 stations with "usable skywave", you should see the logbook of some of the guys who actually listen! EVERY AM STATION I've ever worked at has a drawer full of reception reports from people far, far away.

One final thing. You show us your VAST knowledge of the Opry by MISSPELLING IT! Yeah, you're the authority.

When the Opry is PACKED on Friday nights...nights when there is no TV anywhere in sight, tell me how WSM is "living off their legend". By the way, what's wrong with building upon one of the greatest LEGENDS in radio history? At a time when many (most?) AM music stations have abandoned the format, WSM HAS NOT. "Living off a legend" is no sin, IF IT'S YOUR LEGEND! Paul McCartney was asked recently why some of the songs on his new album sound a lot like Wings and The Beatles. "Well I was a member of those groups...even wrote some of their songs." There are worse sins than living on a legend YOU CREATED!

 

[davideduardo]

Watch the Opry broadcast on tv. The backdrop says "650, WSM". The microphone stands say "WSM". WSM's logo is everywhere. Show me GAC's, ANYWHERE...even on the tv broadcast. Again, anyone who's BEEN to the Opry knows the score. It's a RADIO broadcast, a small portion of which happens to be on TV.

But the WSM "visuals" are part of the history, but not part of today's reality. That's why the Oprey website barely mentions the radio station, and the WSM radio site clicks through to the Oprey site, which does not mention them. It's marketing... and WSM's night signal is totally irrelevant to this.

By the way, the Opry Archives are at WSM's website, not "Opry.com".

Archive = things of the past.

And if you guys think there are only 40 stations with "usable skywave", you should see the logbook of some of the guys who actually listen! EVERY AM STATION I've ever worked at has a drawer full of reception reports from people far, far away.

One thing is to "hear" a station from far away. Hearing is not listening. Many DXers have to listen over and over to a recording to even identify catches. And most of this kind of DXer never listens again to a station once logged or logged and verified. I know. When I was most active, I verified 2300 stations in over 80 countires on medium wave... I heard them all... but I did not listen to more than a couple.

None of the old Class IV staitons (1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450 and 1490) which alone account for 20% of all radio stations have skywave signals that can be listened to. None of the nearly 1000 daytimers have such signals. Few if any of the regionals have listenable skywave, due to cochannel interference. So we are down to the big power stations on the old 1-A and 1-B clears. Nearly every one of the old 1-A's except WSM is news/talk or sports... KFI, WFAN, WSCR, WLW, WGN, WSB,WJR,WABC,WBBM,WBAP,WCCO,WHAS,WWL,WLS, WCBS, KDKA,WBZ,WHO,WTAM,KMOX,KSL,WHAM,WOAI,WPNT. Most radio listeners do NOT listen to news talk.

The remaining stations, like 1520 in OK or 1520 in Buffalo dlon't have much range due to new interference. Those on the coast shoot power out to sea (WAQI Miami, KRLA in LA, KTRH in Houston, 690 in Jacksonville, etc) Those few that are inland with power (like 1170 or 740 in OK) have such directional signals and so much interference that they are not useful on skywave. Most 50 kw stations these days have such power to saturate a noisy metro area, not to cover outside the metro.

Here are a couple of nifty high power stations: 1130 Milwaukee, 1130 Twin Cities, 1130 Detroit. Do you think that any of these three get any skywave night listening?????

So we are talking about the night coverage of about 25 old 1-A clears and occasional patches of intermittant skywave reception on a few others.

One final thing. You show us your VAST knowledge of the Opry by MISSPELLING IT! Yeah, you're the authority.

Sorry. It is hard to intentionally mispell a word, even if it is a "trademark" As you probably know, English is not even my first language. Anyhow, a spelling flame is a sure sign of a lost argument... and night skywave AM listening is a reall lost argument anyway.

When the Opry is PACKED on Friday nights...nights when there is no TV anywhere in sight, tell me how WSM is "living off their legend".

The Opryhouse or Ryman is packed because of the TV marketing, the legend (which is marketed) and the travel brochures and packages for country fans who want to go to Nashville and see the stars. It has just about nothing to do with today's low-rated WSM.

By the way, what's wrong with building upon one of the greatest LEGENDS in radio history?

The legend is the show, which is now a TV and ticket sales enterprise. WSM was part of the legend, and remembered, still, by some in the older demos. But the Opry does not have any real current radio value for the listeners (yeah, WSM still sells some spots for it... but very little is radio... most is a package with TV and merchandising and such).

A legend on a radio station that does not attract a salable listener base (read "under age 55) is as useful as a bicycle to a fish. This is a silly argument like the one about dropping "heritage" call letters... when a station has no listeners, there is no heritage, no legend, nothing.

At a time when many (most?) AM music stations have abandoned the format, WSM HAS NOT. "Living off a legend" is no sin, IF IT'S YOUR LEGEND!

WSM billed $450 thousand dollars last year. By comparison, 50 kw clears in comparable size markets billed: WHAS Lousiville $8 million. WWL New Orleans $15 million. Obviously, Gaylord keeps the format and station only because it supports the big ticket item... the hotel, the show, the travel packages, etc.

The #15 station in billing in Traverse City, MI, market 192, bills more than WSM.

Paul McCartney was asked recently why some of the songs on his new album sound a lot like Wings and The Beatles. "Well I was a member of those groups...even wrote some of their songs." There are worse sins than living on a legend YOU CREATED!

That works if the legend is bankable. WSM, as stations go, is a dog. It may be a marketing tool of great value for the entertainment division of Gaylord, but in revenue it ranks behind another 3,764 stations in billings. It probably does not even pay its own expenses.

 

[dbdigital]

Yes, but as I understand it, clears that are class A's (like KFI, KFWB, etc.) still have to have their signal protected out to about 1200 kilometers. Is that possible with nighttime HD-AM?

KFWB is not a clear.

OK, so it's KFI and KNX. Satisfied?

db

 

[davideduardo]

OK, so it's KFI and KNX. Satisfied?

Not really, but it is a start. KNX was a 1-B allocation, and not protected to the extent of KFI, which was a 1-A

In both cases, protection is a moot point as KNX is ripped up by night co-channel interference, principally Cd. Obregón, in the Rialto / Redlands area... and KFI is pretty much gone to several Mexican stations (Juárez and Parral) by Calimesa going to the east, so neither is useful for sustained listening on a consistent bases beyond the groundwave coverage area.

 

[Mike Walker]

It's spelled O-P-R-Y!

The Opry wasn't even on tv for almost a year, after it left CMT, and before GAC was on most people's cable and/or satellite systems. And again, only 1/12th of what happens at the Opry is on tv. The ONLY concession they make to TV during the hour it's on is to turn up the house lights so the audience can be seen on tv (the audience area is quite dark when it's radio-only). The Opry IS A RADIO SHOW! It's about RADIO. GAC ain't in the freakin' lobby at the Opryland Hotel. WSM IS! GEEZ! Only you could make radio peripheral to a two night, 12 hour event...only an hour on one night of which is on TV.

AND IT'S SPELLED OPRY, for God's sake! If you're going to be such a "fountain of knowledge", at least get that much right! O-P-R-Y!

 

[R.F. Burns]

Re: It's spelled O-P-R-Y!

The Opry wasn't even on tv for almost a year, after it left CMT, and before GAC was on most people's cable and/or satellite systems. And again, only 1/12th of what happens at the Opry is on tv. The ONLY concession they make to TV during the hour it's on is to turn up the house lights so the audience can be seen on tv (the audience area is quite dark when it's radio-only). The Opry IS A RADIO SHOW! It's about RADIO. GAC ain't in the freakin' lobby at the Opryland Hotel. WSM IS! GEEZ! Only you could make radio peripheral to a two night, 12 hour event...only an hour on one night of which is on TV.

AND IT'S SPELLED OPRY, for God's sake! If you're going to be such a "fountain of knowledge", at least get that much right! O-P-R-Y!

I wonder what their real audience is for that show via WSM outside of their normal coverage area. I know they can barely be heard in NYC due to WFAN on 660 KHZ. It's 2007, how many of their fans listen on the internet? High speed internet is available in most of the country now. Truckers who listen to the Opry I'm sure get it via satellite (and if you drive for a living satellite is the only way to go). My point is that in the year 2007 we have so many choices other than listening to long distant AM stations, that to limit technology for one or two programs that a relatively small audience listens to sounds a bit over the top. Is there an Opry network and if not, why not. Why rely on a distant, noisy AM signal when syndication would provide a much better service (and would probably pay for itself) The Salt Lake Choir broadcast still airs on Sundays originating from KSL, distributed live to the network for national distribution via ISDN. Radio stations all over the country play this broadcast, not only KSL. That to me seems like a more realistic 2007 view of how to distribute a program as opposed to a single AM facility in Tennessee.

 

[Mike Walker]

The Opry is not available on satellite (it used to be on Sisius, but no longer). The Opry has been syndicated at various times. In the 50s, it was broadcast on NBC. They don't syndicate it because it's unnecessary.

If nobody listens to the Opry, how 'come so many country songs are written TODAY about falling in love with country music because of the Opry...ON THE RADIO. Millions of listeners don't have high speed internet, particularly in rural areas. The Opry is a part of the culture in much of the country, particularly the south. That doesn't wear out.

A couple of years ago there was talk of changing formats on WSM. Nashville revolted! Some of the biggest names in country music walked picket lines! Editorials blasted Gaylord. And they not only backed off, they re-committed to country music, and the Opry. It's the longest running radio program in history...EVERY Saturday night since the 1920s...not a single break EVER. Not for wars, not for the depression, NOT EVER. It's an American institution...one which every radio person, ever music lover, and everyone who's interested in American culture and history should be proud of.

By the way..."W-S-M" stands for "We Serve Millions"...the slogan of the insurance company that put the station on the air. And their original format was.....CLASSICAL MUSIC! No kidding. Visit the WSM exhibit at the Ryman Auditorium, or the Country Music Hall of Fame to find out more.

 

[R.F. Burns]

The Opry is not available on satellite (it used to be on Sisius, but no longer). The Opry has been syndicated at various times. In the 50s, it was broadcast on NBC. They don't syndicate it because it's unnecessary.

If nobody listens to the Opry, how 'come so many country songs are written TODAY about falling in love with country music because of the Opry...ON THE RADIO. Millions of listeners don't have high speed internet, particularly in rural areas. The Opry is a part of the culture in much of the country, particularly the south. That doesn't wear out.

A couple of years ago there was talk of changing formats on WSM. Nashville revolted! Some of the biggest names in country music walked picket lines! Editorials blasted Gaylord. And they not only backed off, they re-committed to country music, and the Opry. It's the longest running radio program in history...EVERY Saturday night since the 1920s...not a single break EVER. Not for wars, not for the depression, NOT EVER. It's an American institution...one which every radio person, ever music lover, and everyone who's interested in American culture and history should be proud of.

By the way..."W-S-M" stands for "We Serve Millions"...the slogan of the insurance company that put the station on the air. And their original format was.....CLASSICAL MUSIC! No kidding. Visit the WSM exhibit at the Ryman Auditorium, or the Country Music Hall of Fame to find out more.

So where does ths leave us? Do we disallow a technological advancement because of a single program? The outrage over WSM's format change came from Nashville and its surrounding area. If 1,000 out of area people wrote to complain, I'd be surprised if their comments had any effect on corporate decisions. There was a station in Portland, Maine who was an Air America affiliate and they were due to change formats to become an ESPN station. Local complaints caused the ownership to change its mind and stay with Air America. The station has since changed formats. Look at WLW, the old Crosley station which at one time ran 500KW. They truly did serve the nation and yet, they were forced to turn off their RCA transmitter and revert to 50 KW.As for rural America not having high speed access Can you name any area with a decent sized population without high speed access? I know someone from Clay City, Kentucky (Not exactly technology row) and they have high speed. and you'll soon know the effect of IBOC because WFAN runs IBOC at 50 KW on 660 KHZ. By the way, many of the better streaming sites allow for dial up connections to stream and even at dial up rates the audio quality is better then AM radio.

 

[Mike Walker]

I hope you don't mean you think WSM will eventually change formats (?) Nobody would listen to whatever else they put on. The Nashville community is close-knit. They simply wouldn't stand for that piece of their heritage being lost. Even those who listen to other formats value WSM.

Nashville used to be home to one of the great top-40 stations...WLAC (am I the only one here old enough to remember "The Spiderman" at night?) Other formats have come and gone at other stations. Not WSM.

But if WSM goes digital (they were very early adopters of AM stereo...and sounded fantastic in stereo when I was in Nashville a few years back), I'll be there trying to dx 'em in HD. With good filters in radios, they should still be quite dx'able on analog radios. Not as good as now, but "still there".

On my first trip to Nashville, I punched up 650AM as soon as I hit the Tennessee line. It was quite a few miles before WSM started to come in (middle of the day), but about 100 miles out they were clear as a bell. I felt as if they were calling TO ME...a sort of "radio lighthouse" pointing the way to the source of all the great music I'd enjoyed since childhood. I've always listened to all types of music...I'm a Nat King Cole fan largely because he was my father's favorite singer, and I grew up listening to him. But as a kid who grew up in the south, Nashville was (and is) a kind of Mecca of art and culture.

By the way, there's a reason Nashville is called "Music City", not "Country Music City". There's a rich tradition of all types of music. They have an amazing symphony. And many msuicians from the Rolling Stones to Mark Knopfler have recorded there (Knopfler lives in Nashville). Nashville is about MUSIC, not just country music. Can you tell I love the place?

 

[R.F. Burns]

I hope you don't mean you think WSM will eventually change formats (?) Nobody would listen to whatever else they put on. The Nashville community is close-knit. They simply wouldn't stand for that piece of their heritage being lost. Even those who listen to other formats value WSM.

Nashville used to be home to one of the great top-40 stations...WLAC (am I the only one here old enough to remember "The Spiderman" at night?) Other formats have come and gone at other stations. Not WSM.

But if WSM goes digital (they were very early adopters of AM stereo...and sounded fantastic in stereo when I was in Nashville a few years back), I'll be there trying to dx 'em in HD. With good filters in radios, they should still be quite dx'able on analog radios. Not as good as now, but "still there".

On my first trip to Nashville, I punched up 650AM as soon as I hit the Tennessee line. It was quite a few miles before WSM started to come in (middle of the day), but about 100 miles out they were clear as a bell. I felt as if they were calling TO ME...a sort of "radio lighthouse" pointing the way to the source of all the great music I'd enjoyed since childhood. I've always listened to all types of music...I'm a Nat King Cole fan largely because he was my father's favorite singer, and I grew up listening to him. But as a kid who grew up in the south, Nashville was (and is) a kind of Mecca of art and culture.

By the way, there's a reason Nashville is called "Music City", not "Country Music City". There's a rich tradition of all types of music. They have an amazing symphony. And many msuicians from the Rolling Stones to Mark Knopfler have recorded there (Knopfler lives in Nashville). Nashville is about MUSIC, not just country music. Can you tell I love the place?

The question is, what is WSM doing on their FM? All, I'm saying is that if WSM remains a country outlet that's fine but it wouldn't surprise me if at some point they find WSM AM unprofitable and they try something else on that freq while retaining country on WSM FM.