How far did/does 77 WABC go?

[BobSmolarek]

I'd agree you can get WBZ 1030 daytime at the Jersey shore fairly decent, but WRKO I'd say is a no show during the day, and not that good at night. Yeah they are in the 680 mix at night with Baltimore, Raleigh, Toronto, but none of them are really good.

 

[HHH]

I'd agree you can get WBZ 1030 daytime at the Jersey shore fairly decent, but WRKO I'd say is a no show during the day, and not that good at night. Yeah they are in the 680 mix at night with Baltimore, Raleigh, Toronto, but none of them are really good.

WBZ Boston has a fantastic advantage by being right on the coast in Hull, with nothing but the open ocean to the E/NE. They were always a protected, 50K non-directional, but they took a cut intentionally to the E/NE and bulged the signal the other way right into downtown Boston and into the rest of the USA. One of the best coverage AM stations--day and night--bar none.

 

[Bill790]

WBZ Boston has a fantastic advantage by being right on the coast in Hull, with nothing but the open ocean to the E/NE. They were always a protected, 50K non-directional, but they took a cut intentionally to the E/NE and bulged the signal the other way right into downtown Boston and into the rest of the USA. One of the best coverage AM stations--day and night--bar none.

WBZ's transmitter in Hull is southeast of Boston. If anything, their signal is strongest to the northeast.

 

[KR4BD]

WABC was easily heard at night in Riverside, CA in the early 1960's when KOB was off the air. If I remember correctly, KOB was off one night a week in the wee hours for maintenance allowing WABC to be heard. I also heard WNBC, WABC, WBZ, WGY, WCAU and most of the other big East Coast powerhouses at that time in Riverside. The band was much clearer in those days with many stations signing off at midnight..... leaving much of the dial ripe for DXing. Even heard many 5,000 watt (and lower power) stations from Ohio (WING, WSAI, WCIN) and others while living in CA (early 60's)....

 

[Old Radio Freak]

Heard that JFK had been shot listening to WABC while a college student in Gettysburg, PA.
This was about 1:30pm EST.

During later years, I'd listen to WBZ and/or WBAL during the day when living in Central New Jersey. WBZ got clobbered when 1040 in Flemington went on the air.

Before the days of internet streaming, I'd listen to Giants games here in Southern Maryland.

 

[mcmannors]

WBZ's transmitter in Hull is southeast of Boston. If anything, their signal is strongest to the northeast.

I don't know about that. When I drove to New Brunswick, Canada in the early 90's, WBZ was like a local up there during the day. When I returned to New Brunswick about 3 or 4 years ago, WBZ was barely audible in the daytime.

 

[R.F. Burns]

In the 1960's and 70's WABC could be heard in north and central Texas if you could null out co-channel KOB in Albuquerque.

WCBS also made it to Texas in the 60's, but the arrival of KRVN Lexington, Nebraska on 880 at the end of the decade made things more difficult.

Never had any luck pulling in WNBC in Austin in the 60's; a Mexico City station (then XERM) tended to dominate 660. Oddly, WBZ in Boston was an easier catch than any of the NYC 50kw's.

Heard WQXR in Houston a few times in the late 80's and early 90's.

WABC sibling/format partner WLS was a favorite of mine during its Top 40 heyday. All the Chicago 50kw's put good signals into Austin.

The NY Stations were 50 K non D. WBZ is 50 K directional. The have a null which directs their signal away from the Atlantic (no listeners) to the continental US. WWL in New Orleans does the same with a null to the south. These stations are directional by choice. Other factors about coverage concern location, frequency and tower length. WFAN & WCBS share a single tower. WFAN is on 660 Khz and WCBS is on 880 Khz. The tower efficiency will be less for one station than the other and they will each exhibit different coverage patterns for this and other reasons.

 

[badjef]

In the 1960's and 70's WABC could be heard in north and central Texas if you could null out co-channel KOB in Albuquerque.

WCBS also made it to Texas in the 60's, but the arrival of KRVN Lexington, Nebraska on 880 at the end of the decade made things more difficult.

Never had any luck pulling in WNBC in Austin in the 60's; a Mexico City station (then XERM) tended to dominate 660. Oddly, WBZ in Boston was an easier catch than any of the NYC 50kw's.

Heard WQXR in Houston a few times in the late 80's and early 90's.

WABC sibling/format partner WLS was a favorite of mine during its Top 40 heyday. All the Chicago 50kw's put good signals into Austin.

The NY Stations were 50 K non D. WBZ is 50 K directional. The have a null which directs their signal away from the Atlantic (no listeners) to the continental US. WWL in New Orleans does the same with a null to the south. These stations are directional by choice. Other factors about coverage concern location, frequency and tower length.

WWL is a great example of a directional signal. With a straight shot across the warm salt water of the Gulf, and I do not have a listenable signal from them.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[cyberdad]

My apologies for being late to this movie, but my two cents regarding WABC....

In college during the late '60s it was a reliable late evening listen where I was in eastern Iowa. We had a few dozen students from the NYC area. So naturally, they were the most ardent listeners. Cousin Brucie and the first hour of Ron Lundy. Then at midnight (Central), just about everyone flipped over to XERF and Wolfman Jack.

Other popular nighttime signals in the area were WBZ (Bruce Bradley/Dick Summer), WLAC (John R.), KAAY (Doc Holliday), KOMA (Charlie Tuna, Larry Lujack), and of course, WLS (Art Roberts). The closest thing to a local was KIOA Des Moines, 125 miles away but with a very listenable 5kw nighttime signal. (Dic Youngs...a statewide "institution").

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Heard that JFK had been shot listening to WABC while a college student in Gettysburg, PA. This was about 1:30pm EST (on November 22nd, 1963).

As best I could research, ABC Radio was the first network, radio or television, to break into regular programming to announce that President Kennedy had been shot, at 1:35 P.M. Eastern Standard Time.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

WBZ's transmitter in Hull is southeast of Boston. If anything, their signal is strongest to the northeast.

Not even close.

http://transition.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/10513-5756.pdf