I've always thought that it was odd Pittsburgh's KQV stayed at 1410 @5kw with a directional daytime pattern and severely directional nighttime pattern, especially considering it had the heft of ABC behind it. Still, its subpar signal didn't keep it from becoming legendary...
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Pre 1980 AMs that deserved better signals.
- Thread starter secondchoice
- Start date
What would have been the alternative from an engineering standpoint?
I'm not sure... perhaps trying to buy a better signal. 1320 WJAS, for example, which would end up being a big part of their demise when it became 13Q in '73.
Pittsburgh really doesn't have that much in the way of nighttime signals. There was WEEP at 1080. By day it was 50kw, but no nighttime authorization. Even today it doesn't. It's also a 4-tower array. There's 970 WWSW-AM, 5kw around the clock but an 8-tower array at night. There was WMCK which ended up as WIXZ back in the 60s but once again it's a subpar signal. There's also 1250 WTAE which is 5kw around the clock and with a 2-tower array at night.
For good nighttime coverage, there's pretty much 50kw KDKA. Behind that, there's now 7kw day, 3.3kw nights (2-tower directional) WJAS (not sure what it was in the 60s - I can't figure that out. I know they've switched transmitter sites at least once since then), and that's pretty much it. KQV lost its transmitter site and directional array, so it's now down to negligible power at night, too. Though its signal wasn't great, it was one of the better nighttime signals in the 'Burgh.
Considering Pittsburgh was a top-5 market in those days, I'm surprised it didn't have better nighttime AM signals.
Anyway, I've rambled on long enough...
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I heard the same thing when I was a kid, well before the upgrade! Sometimes It's been heard in Japan, or so I've been told. The old non-directional tower and transmitter is still kept at the ready as an auxiliary.
And that was when Cecil Heftel brought the station which NBC had felt could never be successful because of its signal. It consistently beat all but KDKA, even when some young guy named Bob Pittman tried to compete with a full-powered FM.
I lived a few states away and also enjoyed 610 Full-Service KDAL who you could always depend on when the weather turned inclement, or to bring Twins games, or to report on Duluth city council proceedings.
I worked overnights at 610 in Columbus. If you listened to the over the air monitor you could hear DAF in your headphones. If we left the air for overnight maintenance the signal was listenable in Columbus.
WTVN alone was one of the powers no matter what with 5KW. Easily heard 150 miles in most directions daytime. Covers most of the large state of Ohio. Gotta love the good ground conductivity.
I have heard it critical hours as far as Charleston, SC several times.
I have heard it critical hours as far as Charleston, SC several times.
Flip WTVN to night pattern and it's gone to the west. But, yes, excellent daytime signal
When WEGO outside Charlotte was standards, I would be driving home just before dark and KQV would interfere.
According to FCCdata.org they started using the call letters in 1921 when they were on 1380. The FCC cards show 850 and 1110. There was some time division to make it confusing. Why they didn't grab 590 instead of it going to Uniontown in 1937 is a real question. The history card for WMBS won't download for me so I am not real clear on what happened during the big reshuffling, but if you look at Uniontown's night pattern if it was in Pittsburgh proper it would have been a decent. I can only guess why they didn't grab a better signal. Could Westinghouse's KDKA have had enough influence severely limit other stations from having a good nightime signal in the Steel City?
I'm sure there were some politics involved. KQV never had the big-name ownership that KDKA did. But it's also important to remember that the FCC tended to give some favor to new players instead of allowing older stations on weaker signals to upgrade. There's always more to the story than just what's on the history cards...
I am just surprised someone didn't pick up 590 for Pittsburgh. I believe it was a top ten market back then.
Could a case have been made for a Downstate Illinois regional upgrading to a 50 kw clear channel back in the day?
Most likely WMBD Peoria or WDZ Decatur (the latter moved from Tuscola in 1949). Or even a Metro East station or one of the Springfield AMs?
But of those choices, IMO WMBD would have been most likely to go Class I-A if they had the opportunity.
Most likely WMBD Peoria or WDZ Decatur (the latter moved from Tuscola in 1949). Or even a Metro East station or one of the Springfield AMs?
But of those choices, IMO WMBD would have been most likely to go Class I-A if they had the opportunity.
Seems I remember learning that WDZ was the nation's first daytimer.
Oh wow! I've heard of people DXing KQV before, but Charlotte is a lot further away than I've normally heard. Pretty neat-o!
Huh, this is an interesting point and one I hadn't considered.
Wikipedia seems to suggest that WMBS was originally just up the dial from KQV in 1937 at 1420. Wikipedia also says that KQV was on 1380 from 1928 until 1941, for what it's worth. I'm guessing that might be incorrect, as the cards likely reign supreme.
This makes a lot of sense, Scott.
You're correct - it was a top-10 market for many years.
WEW. Daytimer since 1922.
Not since 1922 - there were no daytime-only stations then. WEW shared time with other stations until 1928, when the imposition of General Order 40 created the daytime-only class of stations.
Most school-owned stations were dumped into that category, and because WEW was owned by St. Louis University, that's where it ended up.
I'm suprised no one mentioned it, so I will. WFUN South Miami, Florida. Not a bad signal really but directional and didn't cover areas to the north as well as top 40 competitor WQAM which was the same power but not directional. New owner did fix the problem but changed the format since the days of top 40 on AM were over.