Road trip to Florida

[ftballfan]

Here are the stations my family and I listened to on the way to Florida.
93.7 - WBCT Grand Rapids, MI - Country - 320kW/238m (B, but equivalent of a C0) [Grand Rapids area]
(CD - Hall and Oates) [Grand Rapids area to Portage, IN]
94.7 - WLS Chicago, IL - Classic Hits - 4.4kW/468m (B) [Portage, IN to Fair Oaks, IN]
97.7 - WLQI Rensselaer, IN - Classic Rock - 3.3kW/91m (A) [Fair Oaks, IN to just north of Lafayette, IN]
105.3 - WKOA Lafayette, IN - Country - 50kW/94m (B) [just north of Lafayette, IN to Lebanon, IN]
104.5 - WJJK Noblesville, IN - Classic Hits - 50kW/150m (B) [Lebanon, IN to Columbus, IN]
101.5 - WKKG Columbus, IN - Country - 50kW/150m (B) [Columbus, IN to Seymour, IN]
97.5 - WAMG Louisville, KY - Country - 100kW/205m (C1) [Seymour, IN to Crothersville, IN]
(CD - Kiss) [Crothersville, IN to Elizabethtown, KY]
104.5 - W283AK Elizabethtown, KY - Country - 160W/76m (D) [Elizabethtown, KY to Upton, KY]
95.1 - WGGC Bowling Green, KY - Country - 100kW/301m (C0) [Upton, KY to Bowling Green, KY]
97.9 - WSIX Nashville, TN - Country - 100kW/349m (C0) [Bowling Green, KY to Pelham, TN]
100.7 - WUSY Cleveland, TN - Country - 100kW/363m (C0) [Pelham, TN to Acworth, GA]
97.1 - WSRV Gainesville, GA - Classic Hits - 98kW/483m (C) [Acworth, GA to Forsyth, GA]
99.1 - WDEN Macon, GA - Country - 100kW/177m (C1) [Forsyth, GA to Arabi, GA]
100.3 - WOBB Tifton, GA - Country - 100kW/304m (C0) [Arabi, GA to Jasper, FL]
92.9 - WAAC Valdosta, GA - Country - 100kW/153m (C1) [Jasper, FL to I-10]
98.1 - WQHL Live Oak, FL - Country - 50kW/135m (C2) [Lake City, FL area]
106.5 - WCJX Lake City, FL - Classic Hits - 3.8kW/104m (A) [Lake City, FL to Gainesville, FL]
93.7 - WOGK Ocala, FL - Country - 100kW/411m (C0) [Gainesville, FL to Belleview, FL]
105.5 - WDUV New Port Richey, FL - Adult Contemporary - 33kW/453m (C1) [Belleview, FL to Winter Garden, FL]
92.3 - WWKA Orlando, FL - Country - 99kW/454m (C) [last few miles of trip]

It seems like many of the 100kW blowtorches along I-65 and I-75 are country stations.

 

[cyberdad]

Interesting stuff, ftballfan. I counted 21 stations. "Back in the day" when most cars didn't have FM (and there wasn't much to hear there, anyway), I don't recall offhand the lineup of stations I'd have on Florida road trips from the Chicago area to Florida.

I do, however, remember that I could do Chicago-New Orleans on Five stations. Roughly as follows....

WLS Chicago 890/50kw Chicago Area-Southern, IL
KXOK St. Louis 630/5kw Southern IL-to roughly Missouri-Arkansas Border
WHBQ Memphis 560/5kw Missouri-Arkansas Border to about Grenada, MS (100 miles south of Memphis)
WJDX Jackson, MS 620/5kw Grenada, Ms-Mississippi-Louisana Border
WTIX, New Orleans 690 10kw Mississippi-Louisiana Border to New Orleans

These stations have several things in common. First, they were all top 40 and all excellent. Second, all five of them are now regarded as "legendary" (and yes, that does include the smallest market, WJDX). And finally, each of these got out at least 150 miles in the daytime. Sometimes more. For example WTIX was very listenable in a good car radio all the way to Jackson, WJDX made it the entire length of Mississippi from Memphis to the Louisiana Border, and WHBQ was good to the southern tip of Illinois. (As was top 40 competitor WMPS with 10kw on 680).

(Of course if you were doing the driving at night, you could just dial up WLS and leave it there!)

 

[ftballfan]

Kind of a coincidence that you used to listen to WLS (AM) and I listened to WLS-FM for part of my journey

 

[w9wi]

When I'm in Florida my radio dial quickly migrates to AM 810. (unless I'm in the Tampa Bay area & the 820 splatter is too loud)

That station from the Bahamas is -- well, simply fascinating.

 

[cd637299]

When I'm in Florida my radio dial quickly migrates to AM 810. (unless I'm in the Tampa Bay area & the 820 splatter is too loud)

That station from the Bahamas is -- well, simply fascinating.

Being in Orlando would hamper the Bahamas' 810 as well.....

I think that Hurricane Irene affected 810 quite a bit. They used to boast 10,000 watts on air, but it seems like 1,000 at this time.....not to mention that they now have 104.5 simulcasting in Freeport.

They are streaming at www.znsbahamas.com , along with AM 1540 & TV 13....it is a bit spotty though.

cd

 

[radioman148]

Interesting stuff, ftballfan. I counted 21 stations. "Back in the day" when most cars didn't have FM (and there wasn't much to hear there, anyway), I don't recall offhand the lineup of stations I'd have on Florida road trips from the Chicago area to Florida.

I do, however, remember that I could do Chicago-New Orleans on Five stations. Roughly as follows....

WLS Chicago 890/50kw Chicago Area-Southern, IL
KXOK St. Louis 630/5kw Southern IL-to roughly Missouri-Arkansas Border
WHBQ Memphis 560/5kw Missouri-Arkansas Border to about Grenada, MS (100 miles south of Memphis)
WJDX Jackson, MS 620/5kw Grenada, Ms-Mississippi-Louisana Border
WTIX, New Orleans 690 10kw Mississippi-Louisiana Border to New Orleans

These stations have several things in common. First, they were all top 40 and all excellent. Second, all five of them are now regarded as "legendary" (and yes, that does include the smallest market, WJDX). And finally, each of these got out at least 150 miles in the daytime. Sometimes more. For example WTIX was very listenable in a good car radio all the way to Jackson, WJDX made it the entire length of Mississippi from Memphis to the Louisiana Border, and WHBQ was good to the southern tip of Illinois. (As was top 40 competitor WMPS with 10kw on 680).

(Of course if you were doing the driving at night, you could just dial up WLS and leave it there!)

Cyberdad, what about WNOE? During my trips to the N.O. area I always thought that their signal was superior to WTIX. Of course I never made the trip by car from Chicago to New Orleans. Possibly ground conductivity & dial position hurt WNOE in Mississippi--I'm not sure.

Regarding WLS, in the 60s & 70s they were like a local at night in New Orleans. My cousins who lived there had a button set to it on their car radios.

 

[cyberdad]

Cyberdad, what about WNOE? During my trips to the N.O. area I always thought that their signal was superior to WTIX. Of course I never made the trip by car from Chicago to New Orleans. Possibly ground conductivity & dial position hurt WNOE in Mississippi--I'm not sure.

I always thought the daytime signals of WTIX and WNOE were somewhat comparable. I just felt WTIX was the better station....with the Storz top 40 formula and jocks like Bob Walker and "Skinny Tommy" Chaney. That's not to take anything away from WNOE, which was a good station in its own right. Indeed, I did flip between the two from time to time...but probably not as much as between WHBQ and WMPS.

And yes, ftballfan, the "WLS connection" between your trip and mine did cross my mind.

 

[radioman148]

Cyberdad, what about WNOE? During my trips to the N.O. area I always thought that their signal was superior to WTIX. Of course I never made the trip by car from Chicago to New Orleans. Possibly ground conductivity & dial position hurt WNOE in Mississippi--I'm not sure.

I always thought the daytime signals of WTIX and WNOE were somewhat comparable. I just felt WTIX was the better station....with the Storz top 40 formula and jocks like Bob Walker and "Skinny Tommy" Chaney. That's not to take anything away from WNOE, which was a good station in its own right. Indeed, I did flip between the two from time to time...but probably not as much as between WHBQ and WMPS.

And yes, ftballfan, the "WLS connection" between your trip and mine did cross my mind.

I guess I was more familiar with WNOE because I could hear it in the Chicago area during afternoon critical hours in the fall & early winter before they powered down.
The people I knew in New Orleans used to listen to both stations--whichever was playing the best record. ;D

 

[cyberdad]

With apologies for the continuing veer....

WTIX was also doable in the Chicago area when CBF was off....which was usually for a few hours every night.

 

[radioman148]

With apologies for the continuing veer....

WTIX was also doable in the Chicago area when CBF was off....which was usually for a few hours every night.

Yes, I did hear WTIX a few times, but not as often or as well as WNOE. Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled program.

 

[ftballfan]

I had to return to Michigan and I did a similar thing on the way back.
98.9 – WMMO Orlando, FL – Variety Hits – 44kW/159m (C2) [Orlando, FL to Wildwood, FL]
93.7 – WOGK Ocala, FL – Country – 100kW/411m (C0) [Wildwood, FL to Lake City, FL]
106.5 – WCJX Five Points, FL – Classic Hits – 3.8kW/104m (A) [Lake City, FL to Jasper, FL]
95.7 – WQPW Valdosta, GA – Adult Contemporary – 32kW/185m (C2) [Jasper, FL to Hahira, GA]
(XM Radio) [Hahira, GA to Tifton, GA]
100.3 – WOBB Tifton, GA – Country – 100kW/304m (C0) [Tifton, GA to Perry, GA]
99.1 – WDEN Macon, GA – Country – 100kW/177m (C1) [Perry, GA to Forsyth, GA]
97.1 – WSRV Gainesville, GA – Classic Hits – 98kW/483m (C) [Forsyth, GA to Adairsville, GA]
106.5 – WSKZ Chattanooga, TN – Classic Rock – 100kW/329m (C) [Adairsville, GA to Hillsboro, TN]
105.9 – WNRQ Nashville, TN – Classic Rock – 98kW/376m (C) [Hillsboro, TN to Bowling Green, KY]
100.7 – WKLX Brownsville, KY – Classic Hits – 8kW/178m (C3) [Bowling Green, KY to Bonnieville, KY]
97.5 – WAMZ Louisville, KY – Country – 100kW/205m (C1) [Bonnieville, KY to Jonesville, IN]
107.9 – WNTR Indianapolis, IN – Classic Hits – 22kW/232m (B) [Jonesville, IN to Fishers, IN]
104.5 – WJJK Noblesville, IN – Classic Hits – 50kW/150m (B) [Fishers, IN to Muncie, IN]
106.9 – WXXC Marion, IN – Classic Hits – 50kW/152m (B) [Muncie, IN to Waterloo, IN]
101.3 – W267BE Angola, IN – Classic Rock – 250W/120m (D) [Waterloo, IN to Coldwater, MI]
(XM Radio) [Coldwater, MI to Battle Creek, MI]
93.7 – WBCT Grand Rapids, MI – Country – 320kW/238m (B) [Battle Creek, MI to Grand Rapids, MI]

 

[flytrap]

Interesting stuff, ftballfan. I counted 21 stations. "Back in the day" when most cars didn't have FM (and there wasn't much to hear there, anyway), I don't recall offhand the lineup of stations I'd have on Florida road trips from the Chicago area to Florida.

I do, however, remember that I could do Chicago-New Orleans on Five stations. Roughly as follows....

WLS Chicago 890/50kw Chicago Area-Southern, IL
KXOK St. Louis 630/5kw Southern IL-to roughly Missouri-Arkansas Border
WHBQ Memphis 560/5kw Missouri-Arkansas Border to about Grenada, MS (100 miles south of Memphis)
WJDX Jackson, MS 620/5kw Grenada, Ms-Mississippi-Louisana Border
WTIX, New Orleans 690 10kw Mississippi-Louisiana Border to New Orlote]



I grew up on WJDX. It really got out on those old car radios with the tall antennas. Now due to the electrical static and poor quality am radios and antennas you can barely get a decent signal as far south as Brookhaven. I used to get WTIX 690 and WNOE 1060 in the Daytime in Jackson, but even they have trouble making the trip. WWL is still there, but there is so much static these days it's hardly worth the trouble. The Mighty WLS is mostly inaudible in central Mississippi except under certain conditions. A spanish lannguage station completly obliterates it.

 

[bgfred]

Interesting list - thanks for sharing this. If I were making that trip, I think I would have included:

92.3 - WTTS Bloomington IN (class B, 37K watts) "World class rock". you could pick that up north of Indy and carry it most of the way to Louisville. Used to be able to catch that in Louisville sometimes with a bit of work.

100.1 - WRLT Franklin TN (class A, 200 watts!). "Lightning 100" puts a good signal over most of metro Nashvegas and surroundings, a AAA station for a music-industry town.

But I can't argue with country for road trips, especially southbound!

 

[cyberdad]

I grew up on WJDX. It really got out on those old car radios with the tall antennas. Now due to the electrical static and poor quality am radios and antennas you can barely get a decent signal as far south as Brookhaven. I used to get WTIX 690 and WNOE 1060 in the Daytime in Jackson, but even they have trouble making the trip. WWL is still there, but there is so much static these days it's hardly worth the trouble. The Mighty WLS is mostly inaudible in central Mississippi except under certain conditions. A spanish lannguage station completly obliterates it.

Your Spanish station would be Cuba....R. Progreso.

"62/JDX" had to be the BEST radio station that nobody knew about. State of the art physical plant (about a year old when I dropped in for a visit in about 1974) responsible for that great signal with great audio to go with it. We've talked about the north-south signal. In the '90s I used to make the east-west run between Jackson and Birmingham on I-20 several times a year. About a four hour drive. 'JDX was good for most of the trip until the B-ham 610 finally overpowered it around Tuscaloosa.

 

[ftballfan]

Interesting list - thanks for sharing this. If I were making that trip, I think I would have included:

92.3 - WTTS Bloomington IN (class B, 37K watts) "World class rock". you could pick that up north of Indy and carry it most of the way to Louisville. Used to be able to catch that in Louisville sometimes with a bit of work.

100.1 - WRLT Franklin TN (class A, 200 watts!). "Lightning 100" puts a good signal over most of metro Nashvegas and surroundings, a AAA station for a music-industry town.

But I can't argue with country for road trips, especially southbound!

Those stations sound very neat. I convinced my father to take I-69 out of Indy instead of I-65 to avoid the trucks that are rampant along I-65 between Indianapolis and Gary, and he (and the rest of my family) got to listen to WXXC out of Marion, which is listenable from Indy almost all the way to Michigan along I-69 and US-31 (and would likely hit Michigan along I-69 if not for a 106.9 in Jackson). Also along I-69 is WLKI in Angola. They broadcast in HD radio (very unusual for a small market station) and rebroadcast both of their subchannels on analog translators. The 101.3 is one of their subchannels and was listenable from Waterloo to as far north as Coldwater, MI (where a religious translator on 101.1 interferes with them).

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

92.3 - WTTS Bloomington IN (class B, 37K watts) "World class rock". you could pick that up north of Indy and carry it most of the way to Louisville. Used to be able to catch that in Louisville sometimes with a bit of work.

I remember this station although it may have had different but similar call-letters. In the Summer of 1966, I worked in Eaton, Ohio (in the west central part of the state) and had access to a pretty nice AM-FM tuner and that station roared in at night. Back then, it was on the Cincinnati Reds Network. As well as it got out, I thought it's antenna might have been on the WTTV - Channel 4 - tower which was 1,132 feet tall and located in Trafalgar, Indiana. I'm sure many others might recall it as well.

 

[fybush]

It would probably have been WTTV-FM on 92.3 back then, and yes, at Trafalgar:

http://www.fybush.com/site-of-the-week-6222012-trafalgar-indiana-2010/

WTTV gained an FM sister station in 1960, also operating from the Trafalgar tower: WTTS-FM (92.3) is also licensed to Bloomington, and it maintains its studios there as well as a sales office in downtown Indianapolis and a transmitter building just behind the WTTV building. (Unlike WTTV, which has been through several owners over the years, WTTS-FM is still owned by Sarkes Tarzian.)

 

[Lawppy]

101.3 (W267BE) and 92.7 (W224BY) are huge translators. On top of being on great frequencies, the tower is on some of the highest land in NE Indiana. 101.3 favors the south with their Classic Rock format (U-Rock). They don't carry as far to the north due to WBFX in Grand Rapids, MI, but they do make it to Fort Wayne no problem. However, 92.7 (ESPN) carries quite far to the north, due to lack of full-power signals into Michigan. They actually mention Coldwater in their top-of-the-hour ID.

 

[ftballfan]

101.3 (W267BE) and 92.7 (W224BY) are huge translators. On top of being on great frequencies, the tower is on some of the highest land in NE Indiana. 101.3 favors the south with their Classic Rock format (U-Rock). They don't carry as far to the north due to WBFX in Grand Rapids, MI, but they do make it to Fort Wayne no problem. However, 92.7 (ESPN) carries quite far to the north, due to lack of full-power signals into Michigan. They actually mention Coldwater in their top-of-the-hour ID.

Thanks for the info! With the 92.7 in Lansing moving to 92.9 a few years ago and the 100kW monsters on 92.5 and 92.9 up north, I can only find two 92.7s in Lower Michigan, one in Saugatuck and one in Flint, and both of them are only Class A.
I think those two translators get out better than some full licensed FMs and most graveyard AMs.

 

[Lawppy]

92.7's northern reach is amazing. I've copied them with a good signal well into Calhoun County on I-69. WYVN from Saugatuck does eventually put the breaks on W224BY especially north of I-94. Another factor is a 250 watt translator in Ionia, MI. Even with Saugatuck, Flint and to a lesser extent, Ionia, I've carried W224BY (and by carry, I mean all the way up to it's last gasp) up to about Olivet on I-69. Not bad for 250 watts.

Another pretty good translator is W238CD (95.5) from Coldwater. You have to contend with another translator in Portage to the west and then 100kw WKQI Detroit to the east, but I've carried that one regularly (once again up to it's last gasp) up to Potterville before distance (and WKQI interference) finally wins.