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Maybe the Cold Front Did It

cyberdad

cyberdad

Don't know if anyone else noticed this, but there was an exceptionally good skywave path roughly an hour before dawn between West-Central Canada and Northern Illinois yesterday morning (Labor Day). CBW was roaring in, which isn't unusual. But CKSB was just as strong and completely covering up everything else on 1050. First time for that. Then there was CKLQ/880 splattering all over WLS. I decided to see if this effect was extending farther west. First I whiffed on CFAC, which has been doable here before. But then did catch a few minutes of CKWX before KWKH completely stomped on it.

A strong cold front came through about 24 hours before all this....perhaps it also brought along some Canadian DX!
 
I didn't think weather had any effect on AM as it does with FM.

Consider too that the skywave path is well above the troposphere.
 
I should probably clarify....

I was kidding about the cold front (which I was a coincidence). Just wondering if anyone else noticed the same pre-dawn conditions Labor Day morning.
 
cyberdad said:
I should probably clarify....

I was kidding about the cold front (which I was a coincidence). Just wondering if anyone else noticed the same pre-dawn conditions Labor Day morning.
Click to expand...

I didn't get a chance to experience the pre-dawn DX conditions, but the previous night DX conditions to the east coast were excellent. Now I realize that East Coast DX is no big deal in the Chicago area, but signals were much stronger than normal.
Besides all the usual NYC stations, WQEW 1560 was in pretty well. Also WFAN was very strong partially thanks to WSCR turning off their noise machine. Now if WBBM would only do the same we could get WABC again.
 
Meant to say I know the cold front was a coincidence.

Hopefully the early season DX (including KNBR turning up) is a sign of good things to come. As for WABC, it's been pretty easy for me...even with WBBM's noisemaker turned on. WFAN is my bigger challenge.
 
cyberdad said:
Meant to say I know the cold front was a coincidence.

Hopefully the early season DX (including KNBR turning up) is a sign of good things to come. As for WABC, it's been pretty easy for me...even with WBBM's noisemaker turned on. WFAN is my bigger challenge.
Click to expand...

That's funny because it's exactly the opposite for me. Although until WSCR turned their machine off I couldn't get WFAN at all.
The few times WBBM has it off I can hear WABC well, but not at all when they're running the buzzsaw.
 
Yes weather has an effect on AM radio. Here in New England the Chi clears as well as WSB and WWL are weak (or nonexistant) other times they are much stronger. Even the much weaker stations like 690 from West Va pop up.
1070 here is an open freq but some nights one can get country music albeit weakly.
Why do stations from 2000 mi away only make a very infrequent apperance? Gotta be the weather.
 
cyberdad said:
Don't know if anyone else noticed this, but there was an exceptionally good skywave path roughly an hour before dawn between West-Central Canada and Northern Illinois yesterday morning (Labor Day). CBW was roaring in, which isn't unusual. But CKSB was just as strong and completely covering up everything else on 1050. First time for that. Then there was CKLQ/880 splattering all over WLS. I decided to see if this effect was extending farther west. First I whiffed on CFAC, which has been doable here before. But then did catch a few minutes of CKWX before KWKH completely stomped on it.

A strong cold front came through about 24 hours before all this....perhaps it also brought along some Canadian DX!
Click to expand...
Monday just before sunrise when I logged both KNBR and KFI, I noted CBW was much stronger than usual as was KOA. I did look for 540/CBK but they were not present the one time I checked. Never thought to seek out the others.
 
vibe said:
Yes weather has an effect on AM radio.Why do stations from 2000 mi away only make a very infrequent apperance? Gotta be the weather.
Click to expand...

Not exactly. Terrestrial weather stays in the Troposphere, which only goes up about 8 miles or so (dependent on the latitude and time of year). AM skywave reception is dependent on the Ionosphere, which doesn't start until you get about 50 miles above the surface of the earth. So no, weather isn't why you get better reception from one night to the next - not on AM at least.

AM skip is caused by the signal bouncing off of various layers of the Ionosphere. As there are multiple layers of ionized gases that can reflect signals back to earth, you can have skip involving signals from a variety of distances. Once in a great while, you get solid skip off of a particularly high portion of the F layer that results in 2000 mile reception. E layer skip features closer in signals because it's lower. And the Sun predicates where these layers set up and the level of ionization. I suppose you can say that Solar weather definitely affects your AM dxing - but the passage of a cold front or a humid weather pattern does not.

Now, weather CAN affect AM reception in that thunderstorms produce lightning which causes static crashes on the band. And, a snow-covered landscape can certainly impact groundwave reception patterns. But AM is not like FM in that AM skip is never caused by tropospheric ducting in the way that FM is.

That's a VERY brief description and I am sure that I left a lot of detail out, which I will leave for others to fill in....... ;)
 
I think I may have opened a can of worms here with my weak attempt at levity....

My understanding has always been that....aside from thunderstorms...weather has at best only a very secondary effect on AM radio reception. And usually no measurable effect at all. As BRNout says....it's all about the ionosphere.

FM....with the seasonal tropo effect....can sometimes be a different story.
 
And all along I've thought it wa just "The magic of radio" that brought good AM DX.

Then again, back in the day, "The magic of radio" was 97.7/WOXR in Oxford OH, and you out of towners would have heard its 3KW signal only during exceptional tropo conditions.

;D
 
Icangelp said:
Then again, back in the day, "The magic of radio" was 97.7/WOXR in Oxford OH, and you out of towners would have heard its 3KW signal only during exceptional tropo conditions.

;D
Click to expand...

Wasn't that the famous "97X, the future of rock 'n roll!" that was featured in Rain Man? Sounded like it was a great station at the time, though i lived in Salt Lake back then and had KCGL-> KRPN -> KJQ -> KXRK (different stations, same crew and format) offering up awesome 'modern rock' back then.
 
BRNout said:
Icangelp said:
Then again, back in the day, "The magic of radio" was 97.7/WOXR in Oxford OH, and you out of towners would have heard its 3KW signal only during exceptional tropo conditions.

;D
Click to expand...

Wasn't that the famous "97X, the future of rock 'n roll!" that was featured in Rain Man? Sounded like it was a great station at the time, though i lived in Salt Lake back then and had KCGL-> KRPN -> KJQ -> KXRK (different stations, same crew and format) offering up awesome 'modern rock' back then.
Click to expand...
It had morphed to 97X by the time Rain Man came out. Great college town radio from Oxford OH, and an alternative to Cincinnati's 102.7/WEBN.
 
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