Questions about 650 WSM night coverage

[vibe]

I read this topic just before driving to FLA from MA. The first nite, about 4 AM was shocked to hear how clearly WSM was driving over the Tappan Zee Bridge in NY (no more than 30 mi from 660 WFAN). It was clear at night all the way to Fla. In S.W. Fla (about 80 mi S of Tampa, the signal is mostly listenable at night, not strong but Ok. In VA and NC the signal, as expected was very strong.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

All reports appreciated.

I had very good DAYTIME reception of WSM in Lubbock, TX, with a four foot loop and GE Superadio 3. This was very repeatable over several visits and different times of year - with loop sizes ranging from 3 feet to 5 feet. Reception of this nature is subject to deep fades lasting from minutes to over an hour, but signal was always there.

 

[FightingIrish]

Here in Milwauke, WI, WSM comes in pretty strong at times at night, with a little static (could be minor interference from local WTMJ (620) and WSCR (670) in Chicago. Otherwise, pretty clear.

I also can pick up WLAC after the local daytimer on 1510 signs off at dusk.

Lately, I've been picking up some pretty distant stations on my new in-dash unit. Some of the big Canadian stations come in strong (like CHWO-740 from Toronto, CINW-940 from Montreal, and CBW-990 (CBC Radio One) from Winnipeg (heard a decent blues show the other night).

East Coast stations have been stronger than usual. I've picked up WFAN, WABC and WCBS at times with some static. WBZ in Boston was very clear.

And of course there's a few Chicago stations that come in well up here, including WIND, WSCR, WGN and WBBM, which sound almost city-grade. WLS and WMVP are very weak considering how much power they're putting out. Must be bad transmitter locations.

And of course, the usual suspects come in well, including WSB, WLW, WWL, WBAP, WCCO, KDKA and WCKY.

 

[1q2w3e]

... In central Illinois, do you get cancellation with the other Chicago 50Ks or only with WLS? If it's only with WLS, it's probably because its tower is a good 30 miles south of the other big signals.

Yes, in fact it occurs with other stations but it tends to be worse with WLS... Good point about their tower being the farthest south -- I live in Monee (not Central Ill) which is only about 10 miles from their transmitter at I-80 and US-45. Obviously, where I am the signal is STRONG.

As far as the other Chicago 50kw stations, although it is only on very rare occasion, even as far north as Monee I've heard mild signal fluctuation on 720 WGN and 780 WBBM during nights with very strong skywave propagation.

Back to WLS... On a recent trip to Florida I had no problems picking up WSCR, WGN and WBBM -- Even a little bit of WMVP -- But WLS was nowhere to be found, and there were no other strong 890's booming in. I wonder if all the buildings sprouting up in close proximity to the WLS transmitter are actually taking a toll on their reach.

There is no way you can get WLS in FLA with Cuba blowing in these days. Even in NC, WLS has been tough. WSCR is getting otugh as well,m as Castros RF machines are punching that channel as well.

Having been to WLS' tower, there are no buildings to speak of around that tower. WGN, WBBM and WSCR have more buildings in teh neighborhood.

The reason WLS has there tower that far south is that it is across the Cook County line. At the time the owners of WLS had a faud going with people in the Cook County government and didnt want to put their tower in Cook county, so they put it just across the line.

 

[jd]

The reason WLS has there tower that far south is that it is across the Cook County line. At the time the owners of WLS had a faud going with people in the Cook County government and didnt want to put their tower in Cook county, so they put it just across the line.

Wasn't that sometime in the '80's? I grew up around Dallas and listened to a crystal-clear WLS, but after they moved it was never the same. I still listen to WLS occasionally but there is severe fading. There's also interference, but not from Cuba. It's co-channel KVOZ Laredo, something that shouldn't be happening.

I know the signal deterioration has been discussed before, and the development around the WLS site was mentioned. But if that's not an issue, what else could have caused the change in skywave coverage?

 

[EnbyCee]

Here in Milwauke, WI, WSM comes in pretty strong at times at night, with a little static (could be minor interference from local WTMJ (620) and WSCR (670) in Chicago. Otherwise, pretty clear.

I also can pick up WLAC after the local daytimer on 1510 signs off at dusk.

Lately, I've been picking up some pretty distant stations on my new in-dash unit. Some of the big Canadian stations come in strong (like CHWO-740 from Toronto, CINW-940 from Montreal, and CBW-990 (CBC Radio One) from Winnipeg (heard a decent blues show the other night).

East Coast stations have been stronger than usual. I've picked up WFAN, WABC and WCBS at times with some static. WBZ in Boston was very clear.

And of course there's a few Chicago stations that come in well up here, including WIND, WSCR, WGN and WBBM, which sound almost city-grade. WLS and WMVP are very weak considering how much power they're putting out. Must be bad transmitter locations.

With WMVP it's easy to explain; their nighttime pattern protects KOMO in Seattle on the same frequency, so their nighttime signal is crud to the north and worse to the west. I can hear them better at night where I live now in northwest Ohio than when I lived in DeKalb, 80 miles west of Chicago.

 

[1q2w3e]

The reason WLS has there tower that far south is that it is across the Cook County line. At the time the owners of WLS had a faud going with people in the Cook County government and didnt want to put their tower in Cook county, so they put it just across the line.

Wasn't that sometime in the '80's? I grew up around Dallas and listened to a crystal-clear WLS, but after they moved it was never the same. I still listen to WLS occasionally but there is severe fading. There's also interference, but not from Cuba. It's co-channel KVOZ Laredo, something that shouldn't be happening.

I know the signal deterioration has been discussed before, and the development around the WLS site was mentioned. But if that's not an issue, what else could have caused the change in skywave coverage?

Nope more like the 30's. LOOOONG time ago.

 

[EnbyCee]

The reason WLS has there tower that far south is that it is across the Cook County line. At the time the owners of WLS had a faud going with people in the Cook County government and didnt want to put their tower in Cook county, so they put it just across the line.

Wasn't that sometime in the '80's? I grew up around Dallas and listened to a crystal-clear WLS, but after they moved it was never the same. I still listen to WLS occasionally but there is severe fading. There's also interference, but not from Cuba. It's co-channel KVOZ Laredo, something that shouldn't be happening.

I know the signal deterioration has been discussed before, and the development around the WLS site was mentioned. But if that's not an issue, what else could have caused the change in skywave coverage?

Nope more like the 30's. LOOOONG time ago.

Yeah, it's been there for decades. When it was built, the surrounding area (Mokena/Orland Park/Orland Hills)was very rural. Even by the 80's, suburbia had encroached heavily to the north and east. By now, it's completely built up sprawl for miles around.

 

[vibe]

Being in Englewood FL about 800 driving miles away from nashville and in an area with a lot of stations in the carribean booming in at night the topic has been of a lot of interest. In Englewood WSM is one of the stronger U.S. AM Stations, on par with closer WSB-750 (Atlanta), WBT-1110 (Charlotte) and WLW-700 Cinci. The strongest is WWL 870 N.O. by far. But it was more clear near NYC about 800 mi NE of Nashville than Englewood.
I don't think the station has lost much, if any of their signal.

 

[1q2w3e]

Being in Englewood FL about 800 driving miles away from nashville and in an area with a lot of stations in the carribean booming in at night the topic has been of a lot of interest. In Englewood WSM is one of the stronger U.S. AM Stations, on par with closer WSB-750 (Atlanta), WBT-1110 (Charlotte) and WLW-700 Cinci. The strongest is WWL 870 N.O. by far. But it was more clear near NYC about 800 mi NE of Nashville than Englewood.
I don't think the station has lost much, if any of their signal.

Of course with WWL you have a salt path to FLA, so that is your reason why they are so strong.

I can get WOKV Jacksonville, FL in North Carolina during the day (450 miles) due to the salt water path.

 

[tomservo]

I prefer the salt water path to salt water taffy any day! WWL has an odd looking pattern on Radio-Locator, but that salt water path is something else. For whatever reason, they are almost always a strong one for me at night. And WSM is, too.

In fact, I'm really surprised to hear WSM has such varied reception reports. WSM was such a reliable steady catch for me in Birmingham. Granted, it's not far away for nighttime reception, but still impressive. WLAC was usually strong there, but tended to fade a lot. WSM and WWL were always the ol' reliables. Now that I'm in middle o' Mississippi, WSM is down low more often than not, but WSB seems to do better. WLAC is the same, as is WWL.

WBAP out of Dallas is pretty reliable now. That Tulsa 740 with the big lobe pointed our way still fights it out nightly with some other unknown station. It sure don't sound right at night...

Is WSM still in stereo? It was so steady at night in Birmingham it was my best stereo catch, day or night, in the area.

Also, the first time I really got to stop and see the WSM tower was at night, after a snowstorm. They'd just plowed the highways, so I was almost all alone... I went down to the field where that big tower is, and got out and just stared for a minute. The snow, the quiet solitude and that big Blaw-Know tower... Was that a hum I could barely hear?

 

[mimo]

wsm hasn't been in stereo for a few years....very sad actually. They had fairly decent stereo sound, especially during the grand ole opry.

 

[blamethemayo]

sorry to bump such an old thread...

i live in boston. sadly, wsm is next to impossible to get. it is number 1 on my wish of signals to receive. technically i can receive it from time to time but the signal is very faint.

 

[cyberdad]

I was in the Boston area....and Rhode Island....a couple of weeks ago. I found WSM's signal to be modest, but still very listenable, on my Walkman.

 

[BRNout]

Yep, it's listenable in New Hampshire too. Not great, but fairly reliable. There is a local co-channel signal in Boston's western suburbs, WSRO Ashland, which pumps out an impressive 9 watts of Brazilian/Portuguese radio at night. That's probably just enough to screw up reception of WSM in Framingham, Natick and other nearby towns. But, I doubt it would do a whole lot in Boston itself - maybe a bit of conflict here and there. Of course, it would be worse if they "forget" to power down from 250 watts during the day.

From SE PA, WSM is pretty dependable and I was surprised to get it quite well to the northwest of Ottawa, ON earlier this month.

 

[blamethemayo]

what times are you folks listening in the northeast? i mainly listen in the early evening..5-11pm. im not having much sucess here in boston.

 

[BRNout]

what times are you folks listening in the northeast? i mainly listen in the early evening..5-11pm. im not having much sucess here in boston.

Well, 9 pm from southern NH and it was perfectly listenable if not particularly strong. Are you sure that the other station on 650 that I mentioned in the post above isn't impacting your location?

 

[PhilJSmith67]

740 out of Tulsa probably battles with CHWO Toronto on many nights, which plays music.

 

[cyberdad]

Specifically, I was in Tewksbury, MA at about 10pm in my hotel room when I was picking up WSM on my Sony Walkman without any problems. This was about three weeks ago.

As for 740.... I also suspect CHWO was probably the station in the dogfight with KRMG in the Central Miss location. CHWO usually is dominant in Memphis, but you can hear KRMG underneath.

And back to Tewksbury....on 740 there was no trace of the local Boston/Cambridge station the night I was there. CHWO totally "owned" the channel.

 

[phillydxer]

Here, NorthWest of Philly, I have to do more "nulling" from 660 WFAN IBOC these days, but I can still get WSM clearly. Not as good as the old days, but still well enough. And if your ever near Nashville on a Saturday night...it's like visiting Bethlehem. Or Mecca, Just make sure you visit where those signals came from from.