It's one of those many nights where I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep and I reach for the walkman just listen to what's coming in on AM. So, I go to 640 and there's some talk show that turns out to be Coast to Coast. I listened for a while to wait for some station ID but thought it can't be from that far because it's a pretty good signal. They go to news break and the first headline says "The cost of gas in the Southland continues to go up". Being somewhat familiar with California terms because I've been there many times, I knew "Southland" had to mean Southern California. And then they gave the station ID - KFI! Since I can't sleep anyway, I thought I had to post it here right now!
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I got KFI!!
- Thread starter gar hi
- Start date
M
Mid West Clubber
Guest
LOL this is wicked man... I woke up from a severe nightmare,,, one of the most horrifying nightmares I ever remember,,, So I scanned the AM dial to see what POPed up,,,, and Boom,,, locked onto 640 AM... I came on here to post the same exact thing... About 30 minutes ago I heard KFI for the first time ever here in indiana,, even strong enough to interfere with WSM,, of course it has faded out now, but it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time... Weird how we both woke up and did this at the same time,,, like the KFI DX was calling out for us........
Back in the mid-1960s, before the FCC cluttered up the AM Clear Channels, I lived in Warren, OH (50 miles East of Akron, OH). In those days, WHLO-640 in Akron had to sign off the air when it was sunset in Los Angeles. So, at about 9 PM Akron time (6 PM L.A. time), WHLO did their nightly signof. When the WHLO carrier dropped, KFI was "right there". Fact is, KFI was often heard in the Eastern U.S. before a dozen or so full-time stations were put on 640. I've heard it here in Central KY only a couple of times in the last 20 years. And you are right...It's all about being in the right place at the right time.
Mid West Clubber said:
That's great! Interesting.
After I made the post last night and and attempted to get ready to sleep again, I listened to hear how the signal was and it had been back to sounding like what I usually hear on 640 with the faint sound of the Florida station that plays music and a Spanish speaking station. There was also the sound of someone talking which was the weakest signal of the three but it was way too weak to even identify specific words. I then thought of tuning to our local station that also had Coast to Coast on to figure if maybe there was at least a match in the sound of the voice of the person speaking. It did sound like I was hearing the same thing, so I bet that was KFI lost in the slop.
KFI used to be a nightly catch here in Illinois especially in the winter during the 60s through the 80s before all the clutter. The fact that you two caught it in Fla & In gives me hope to try again although I get heavy interference from a station close by in Grand Rapids, Mi.
radioman148 said:
Absolutely correct. In my case its probably been at least 15-20 years since I've heard it here with the aforementioned Michigan station being the main pest....followed by the Spanish stuff, WOI, and WHLO.
I'm in Nor-Cal tomorrow (Monday, the 26th), for the first time since they rebuilt their stick. I'll be curious to hear how they sound. (Although my hotel is pretty close to KNBR's stick, so I may have a better shot here in Illinois! ;D)
Anyway, congrats to both of you on a very nice catch!
Watch, Gar and MW Clubber -- within weeks KFI will become an actual pest, hi.
In the early and mid-Sixties, while I wouldn't call KFI a 'regular' on Long Island during the overnights, it was heard often enough. Making things concurrently difficult was the largely water-path Cuban station. They ran maybe twice the wattage KFI did. So, on nights when south reception was enhanced, it was Fidel. And on nights when there was good north reception, CBN from Canada would be there. We were using longwire antennae at the time and wouuldn't have loops for a while. So KFI came in via L/W for our first loggings poof it.
Anyway, KFI at the time was a station we teenaged punks heard, said 'okay, next?, and looked for Top 40 to ID. They used to QSL with a largish postage stamp that depicted their tower in an orange grove.
Gar, is this your first CA from Florida? It's safe to say that the reception you and MW Clubber experienced got enhanced a bit in your case by the Gulf, which probably sent it further east. Which part of Florida, as they say, 'are you at?'
Your next quest might be KNX. Same time of the DX day .... same rig ... same Gulf ... same omni. I haven't been to Florida in several years and was never real familiar with the 1070 situation there , but odds are that you have a shot at it. And KCBS, too.
Why not?
In the early and mid-Sixties, while I wouldn't call KFI a 'regular' on Long Island during the overnights, it was heard often enough. Making things concurrently difficult was the largely water-path Cuban station. They ran maybe twice the wattage KFI did. So, on nights when south reception was enhanced, it was Fidel. And on nights when there was good north reception, CBN from Canada would be there. We were using longwire antennae at the time and wouuldn't have loops for a while. So KFI came in via L/W for our first loggings poof it.
Anyway, KFI at the time was a station we teenaged punks heard, said 'okay, next?, and looked for Top 40 to ID. They used to QSL with a largish postage stamp that depicted their tower in an orange grove.
Gar, is this your first CA from Florida? It's safe to say that the reception you and MW Clubber experienced got enhanced a bit in your case by the Gulf, which probably sent it further east. Which part of Florida, as they say, 'are you at?'
Your next quest might be KNX. Same time of the DX day .... same rig ... same Gulf ... same omni. I haven't been to Florida in several years and was never real familiar with the 1070 situation there , but odds are that you have a shot at it. And KCBS, too.
Why not?
That was my first California reception from here in Florida. I'm in Tampa. When I first joined here, I mentioned some of the catches I got back in the 70s when I used to live in New Jersey. Back then after looking for KFI for a while, it finally came in for a very short time one night and I never heard it again. That was when they were top 40.
I've been down here in Florida 25 yeard and never heard KFI until the other night. I really did some serious searching for it the first couple of years I was here when I had my AM Stereo Walkman. I know they were broadcasting in stereo because I heard them loud and clear at night when I was visiting family in the San Francisco area. Having been there many times already, I was familiar with 610 KFRC and it was cool to hear them in stereo too. Even though they were a 5kw station and there were many stations on that frequency across the country, I would still try with the hope of maybe getting it at night. For a 5kw station, they had a powerful signal that seemed like it was stronger and we could hear it most anywhere we went in Northern California during the day. Interesting you mention KCBS. That too was one I've always wanted to hear and have never gotten it either here or in New Jersey. Even in the 70s and early 80s, there were too many stations on 740. And here, there's a strong signal too from a station in Orlando. I also assumed another thing making it impossible is the directional signal. The same goes for KGO, another one I've been looking for. And KNBR seems like it should be catchable being it's a ND signal but just like with the others, there are too many stations on that frequency. I've recently been looking for 1070 KNX but nothing so far. That frequency too has many stations I can hear but nothing really dominates the frequency.
I've been down here in Florida 25 yeard and never heard KFI until the other night. I really did some serious searching for it the first couple of years I was here when I had my AM Stereo Walkman. I know they were broadcasting in stereo because I heard them loud and clear at night when I was visiting family in the San Francisco area. Having been there many times already, I was familiar with 610 KFRC and it was cool to hear them in stereo too. Even though they were a 5kw station and there were many stations on that frequency across the country, I would still try with the hope of maybe getting it at night. For a 5kw station, they had a powerful signal that seemed like it was stronger and we could hear it most anywhere we went in Northern California during the day. Interesting you mention KCBS. That too was one I've always wanted to hear and have never gotten it either here or in New Jersey. Even in the 70s and early 80s, there were too many stations on 740. And here, there's a strong signal too from a station in Orlando. I also assumed another thing making it impossible is the directional signal. The same goes for KGO, another one I've been looking for. And KNBR seems like it should be catchable being it's a ND signal but just like with the others, there are too many stations on that frequency. I've recently been looking for 1070 KNX but nothing so far. That frequency too has many stations I can hear but nothing really dominates the frequency.
I used to get KNBR here in the Chicago area when then WMAQ was off on Monday mornings.
Never got KCBS--too much Toronto or KGO, too much WGY. I'm sure their deep nulls toward the midwest didn't help either.
KNX was very strange. The only time I could ever pick it up here in the Chicago area was in October and just before Chicago sunrise. I assume that everything was alligned perfectly at that time of year. Two stations close by, Madison, Wi, and Indianapolis, In. were on low power at that moment and the day/night line was just right for KNX to get here at that time of year. Each time I picked it up I was in my car on my way to work on the Edens or Kennedy expressways in the Chicago area.
Never got KCBS--too much Toronto or KGO, too much WGY. I'm sure their deep nulls toward the midwest didn't help either.
KNX was very strange. The only time I could ever pick it up here in the Chicago area was in October and just before Chicago sunrise. I assume that everything was alligned perfectly at that time of year. Two stations close by, Madison, Wi, and Indianapolis, In. were on low power at that moment and the day/night line was just right for KNX to get here at that time of year. Each time I picked it up I was in my car on my way to work on the Edens or Kennedy expressways in the Chicago area.
Steve Green NEPA said:
I'd be very suspicious of any oranges growing near the KFI stick by the 5 freeway or anywhere else in the Montebello area! For openers, they might glow in the dark! ;D
I had a quickie overnight business trip to the Bay area Monday. KFI was solid but unspectacular there that night. As stated in my earlier post, the hotel was fairly close to the KNBR stick, but no problems with that. (The biggest pest in the area was 1550...now calling itself KFRC).
Anyway, my flight home last night only had a couple dozen people, so with the whole row available I took out my trusty walkman and placed it by the window to hear what I could hear. KFI faded at some point over the Rockies, but KNX had a terrific signal until western Iowa. (The other "stud" last night was WWL, strong throughout the Rockies).
Anyway, while KNX probably has the strongest California signal in the eastern US, 1070 is pretty well loaded at night just about wherever you go. Hence, its nearly impossible to distinguish from the slop. Here in Northern Illinois its usually a mix of Indy, Madison, and Sarnia, Ontario and several others. On the Gulf coast where I vacation just about every year, its also a big mess. WDIA and Carribean stations dominate. I used to get KNX fairly regularly in the Chicago area as a teenager in the 60s...never once in over 25 years in or near the Florida Panhandle.
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