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KCBS-AM740

I don't expect KCBS could ever be heard in the midwest because of their signal directing to the SE.

But I'm so much more south here, so I'd expect the signal could possibly make it this far.

Hearing it among the stronger closer stations is the problem.
 
radioman148 said:
I have never heard KCBS in the Chicago area even when Toronto was off. What I want to know is who has heard KCBS in the midwest?

Not me. And it's not for lack of trying. As an aside, I've been in Central Indiana these past two nights and CFZM has been getting clobbered....presumably by KRMG, but I haven't verified that.
 
gar fla said:
I don't expect KCBS could ever be heard in the midwest because of their signal directing to the SE.

I have it verified for reception in Cleveland, OH.
 
In Cleveland? :eek:

If that's the case, there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to get it here.

Directional lobes and nulls are not always as predictable as they look.

I've pointed out the case of WWKB. You'd think it couldn't be heard in the midwest but there have been many reports that it has.

I thought it was impossible to hear it here in Florida until I finally heard it.
 
DavidEduardo said:
gar fla said:
I don't expect KCBS could ever be heard in the midwest because of their signal directing to the SE.

I have it verified for reception in Cleveland, OH.

I suspect that was a long time ago when the frequency was much less crowded. Was Toronto off the air at the time?
Did you ever hear KGO in Cleveland?
 
radioman148 said:
DavidEduardo said:
gar fla said:
I don't expect KCBS could ever be heard in the midwest because of their signal directing to the SE.

I have it verified for reception in Cleveland, OH.

I suspect that was a long time ago when the frequency was much less crowded. Was Toronto off the air at the time?
Did you ever hear KGO in Cleveland?

Just to piggy-back on this post, one would think that if you heard KCBS in Cleveland than KGO would have come in even better with KNBR being an easy catch.

Nowadays, I'll dx for Bay Area signals at night when I visit the Salt Lake area. KNBR booms in, KGO comes in steadily and consistently (despite supposedly nulling to the east) and KCBS is a pretty tough catch now. I've done it, but late at night and very weak thanks to their pattern. It's even weaker than KFWB from L.A. and that's weak. I can't imagine catching KCBS east of the Rockies today - the channel is too crowded.
 
FreddyE1977 said:
I'm south of the Ohio River (albeit just barely) and CFZM booms in here at night
as if it were a local station. No issues with backchatter or graveyard effects.

Same here in central Ohio, about 200 miles west of you and 100 or north of the Ohio River. I do remember when I moved back from Houston in 2009, I checked 740 when we stopped in Memphis for the night. It was a mess. Toronto might have been there, but Tulsa was dominant by far. I only had a short time to listen, but I really doubt KTRH was in the mix because of its extremely deep null to the northeast.
 
Update from my earlier post in this thread... I mentioned that CFZM was getting pounded Tuesday night in Indianapolis. Presumably by KRMG. Last night (Wed) I was 55 miles to the northwest in Lafayette, IN. This time, CFMZ was roaring in like a local. All alone (and certainly no KCBS).
 
KCBS comes in fairly well in Phoenix at night...and interferes with a local on 740 that only runs 292 watts after sunset. Depending on where in the Phoenix metro you are, it's possible to hear KCBS and not KIDR.
 
So I've been listening often on 740 hoping to hear some sign of KCBS in the background but nothing so far, however tonight was interesting in that the station dominating 740 for a while was KRMG putting WYGM Orlando and KTRH Houston in the background!

I had thought it was not possible to hear KRMG here because of their signal pattern but I finally heard it once before good enough to ID but tonight it was really booming in for a short time.

So maybe the same could happen with KCBS where the signal path is just right too?
 
radioman148 said:
DavidEduardo said:
gar fla said:
I don't expect KCBS could ever be heard in the midwest because of their signal directing to the SE.

I have it verified for reception in Cleveland, OH.

I suspect that was a long time ago when the frequency was much less crowded. Was Toronto off the air at the time?
Did you ever hear KGO in Cleveland?

KGO was a lot harder than KCBS. It made it on occasion, but its signal was comparable to that of KIKI, the 250 watter in Hawaii on 830, not like that of a 50 kw station.

740's interference at night is predominantly stations that have been on with fairly similar facilities for five to 6 decades Toronto was on, and Tulsa, Orlando, Houston, Edmonton, San Juan and the major Latin American 740's were all there. The difference was not interference... it was the fact that in the early 60's nearly every AM signed off for maintenance around midnight on sunday night, even if they were 24 hours a day the rest of the week. Some channels were totally empty in the 48 states... allowing distant Latin Americans, Hawaiians and NZ and Australian stations to be heard. Examples would be the 4 AM EST sign ons of Argentina on 950 and 830 (Bs. As. and Salta) or KNDI-1270 in Honolulu or the NZ station on 1000 (10 kw) to make it to Ohio.
 
I sometimes hear a weak Spanish speaking station in the background on 740 that plays music.

I wonder where that could be from.


And back in the 70s after my first visit to California while still living in New Jersey, I would spend many a night listening for stations such as KCBS or KGO but I didn't know at the time that I was attempting to hear something that was virtually impossible because although I had the North American Radio/TV Station Guide paperback book and knew those stations were directional, I had no clue what their actual patterns of direction were, that they didn't favor the northeast.

That's why, for KCBS anyway, being this far south may make it a possibility now.
 
I heard KGO in Southern Mexico several times in the 60s & 70s. They beam north/south very well. KGO has been heard in South America.
I don't know what your interference issues on 810 would be where you are.
 
"KRMG really tears up CFZM during the night hours here in Lexington, KY, just 70 miles south of Cincinnati and the Ohio River. Years ago, this WAS NOT the case when 740 was CBL operating out of Toronto. The frequency was "dark" for a couple of years after CBL moved to the FM band (early 2000's ?? I think). I have always wondered if KRMG just decided to "take over" 740 by "relaxing" their night pattern during those years after CBL disappeared and before CHWO (now CFZM) moved there. Most nights, the KRMG signal is so strong here, it can NOT be nulled out here to allow decent reception of Toronto's AM-740."

I do know that KRMG did a total rebuild of their transmitter plant several years ago. That probably accounts for your improved reception. I remember reading a story about the CBC/CHWO (CFZM) transition. One of the first things the new ownership of 740 did was install a modern audio processor on the input of the old transmitter (apparently modulation was an afterthought with the CBC). Thats when the 740 signal came to life.

Someone mentioned KCMC in Texarkana. My daughter lived there for several years and you could barely hear 740 in Texarkana at night!
 
317C50KW said:
Someone mentioned KCMC in Texarkana. My daughter lived there for several years and you could barely hear 740 in Texarkana at night!

That's the truth, especially to the north and south along U.S. 59, where the usable signal dies after just a few miles. Not surprisingly with that severely flattened figure-8 pattern, KCMC can be heard quite a distance to the east and it's a frequent catch in the Dallas area, providing adjacent KKDA 730 doesn't get in the way.
 
gar fla said:
I sometimes hear a weak Spanish speaking station in the background on 740 that plays music.

I wonder where that could be from.

Just a guess, but did you consider XECAQ in Cancun? Considering the shape of the pattern (and the power, 20 or 10kW, take your pick) there might be just enough signal headed your way.
 
jd said:
gar fla said:
I sometimes hear a weak Spanish speaking station in the background on 740 that plays music.

I wonder where that could be from.

Just a guess, but did you consider XECAQ in Cancun? Considering the shape of the pattern (and the power, 20 or 10kW, take your pick) there might be just enough signal headed your way.

That station may have already migrated to FM; it appears that all the AMs in Yucatan, Q. Roo, Campeche and Tabasco except some serving the indigenous Mayan populations have moved or are in the process of migrating to FM. In any case, the 740 in Cancun is / was a Radio Fórmula owned station, running the 100% talk format of RF.
 
No luck getting KCBS as of yet but I was tuning around to other frequencies and I got KFI again!

It was in for a couple minutes and then faded with the usual Cuban taking over.
 
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