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San Francisco AM Stations
- Thread starter MarioMania
- Start date
Here near El Cajon / La Mesa, CA (several miles east of San Diego)...
560 KSFO - weak, but regular at night. daytime is a faint signal from KBLU Yuma.
610 KEAR - can sometimes hear under KFRC (which it occasionally rises above) and 600 KOGO's IBOC hash.
680 KNBR - a regular at night, can also sometimes hear in the daytime with a good antenna and radio with sufficient selectivity to null 690 XEWW (or XETRA)
740 KCBS - a regular blowtorch at night when KCBS Avalon shuts their TX off.
810 KGO - a blowtorch at night, sometimes heard in the daytime with a sensitive and selective (rejecting 800 XESPN) enough radio and antenna
910 KECR - never - KECR's about 63dBu on my Tecsun PL-380, and when I can null KECR, I get the station from Phoenix.
960 KKGN - don't remember, but I doubt it - daytime is usually KIXW Apple Valley, nighttime is usually the station from Phoenix
1010 KIQI - I do hear spanish, but have never figured out if it was SF or another spanish station.
1050 KTCT - have heard it a few times but don't recall hearing it recently.
1100 KFAX - semi-regular nightly here, although I also could be getting the AZ station.
1170 KLOK - KCBQ is generally about 60dBu at night here, but I've occasionally heard KLOK under it.
1190 KDYA - don't recall, but I think it's unlikely
1220 KDOW - don't remember, probably not
1260 KSFB - probably never - usually dominated by KSUR / KGIL (whatever their callsign is - too lazy to look it up right now)
1310 KMKY - heard once under local mexican XEC
1350 KSRO - never
1370 KZSF - probably never but don't remember
1400 KVTO - never
1450 KEST - never...
1490 KTOB - probably never.... although I shouldn't say "never" about the graveyards.... I did hear Albuquerque's 1240 Radio Disney once under a local on 1240 when they were broadcasting an unmodulated carrier. I'm close enough to 1240 KSON so that when they have programming on I don't hear other stations in the background, and I believe San Francisco is closer to me than Albuquerque, so it definitely is possible that I may have heard Bay Area graveyarders, I've just never ID'd them.
1500 KSJX - other than hearing KSTP on a couple occasions, that's the only other station on 1500 that I've positively identified here, other than a semi-local TIS that's been broadcasting a carrier without modulation.
1510 KPIG - probably never - usually dominated by KSPA... although I think I've heard KGA once but I can't remember as that was probably a few years ago.
1550 KFRC - don't know. I do have a local XEBG on 1550, but its signal is fairly weak here so KFRC may be possible, I've just never positively ID'd it.
1590 KLIV - don't know, never ID'd
1640 KDIA - fairly regular at night
560 KSFO - weak, but regular at night. daytime is a faint signal from KBLU Yuma.
610 KEAR - can sometimes hear under KFRC (which it occasionally rises above) and 600 KOGO's IBOC hash.
680 KNBR - a regular at night, can also sometimes hear in the daytime with a good antenna and radio with sufficient selectivity to null 690 XEWW (or XETRA)
740 KCBS - a regular blowtorch at night when KCBS Avalon shuts their TX off.
810 KGO - a blowtorch at night, sometimes heard in the daytime with a sensitive and selective (rejecting 800 XESPN) enough radio and antenna
910 KECR - never - KECR's about 63dBu on my Tecsun PL-380, and when I can null KECR, I get the station from Phoenix.
960 KKGN - don't remember, but I doubt it - daytime is usually KIXW Apple Valley, nighttime is usually the station from Phoenix
1010 KIQI - I do hear spanish, but have never figured out if it was SF or another spanish station.
1050 KTCT - have heard it a few times but don't recall hearing it recently.
1100 KFAX - semi-regular nightly here, although I also could be getting the AZ station.
1170 KLOK - KCBQ is generally about 60dBu at night here, but I've occasionally heard KLOK under it.
1190 KDYA - don't recall, but I think it's unlikely
1220 KDOW - don't remember, probably not
1260 KSFB - probably never - usually dominated by KSUR / KGIL (whatever their callsign is - too lazy to look it up right now)
1310 KMKY - heard once under local mexican XEC
1350 KSRO - never
1370 KZSF - probably never but don't remember
1400 KVTO - never
1450 KEST - never...
1490 KTOB - probably never.... although I shouldn't say "never" about the graveyards.... I did hear Albuquerque's 1240 Radio Disney once under a local on 1240 when they were broadcasting an unmodulated carrier. I'm close enough to 1240 KSON so that when they have programming on I don't hear other stations in the background, and I believe San Francisco is closer to me than Albuquerque, so it definitely is possible that I may have heard Bay Area graveyarders, I've just never ID'd them.
1500 KSJX - other than hearing KSTP on a couple occasions, that's the only other station on 1500 that I've positively identified here, other than a semi-local TIS that's been broadcasting a carrier without modulation.
1510 KPIG - probably never - usually dominated by KSPA... although I think I've heard KGA once but I can't remember as that was probably a few years ago.
1550 KFRC - don't know. I do have a local XEBG on 1550, but its signal is fairly weak here so KFRC may be possible, I've just never positively ID'd it.
1590 KLIV - don't know, never ID'd
1640 KDIA - fairly regular at night
Well, I tried for a few of the aforementioned San Francisco market AMs from Salt Lake City (a far cry from 'back east) and all I got were:
680 KNBR (pretty strong);
740 KCBS (weak, only receivable late at night); and,
810 KGO (moderate signal but consistent - despite the null displayed on R-L's maps).
As far as the others are concerned, those frequency slots were covered by either locals or regional signals. For example, nulling out the local on 570 for 560 resulted in reception of KLZ Denver. No KSFO to be heard. Ever.
Those of you logging lots of Bay Area signals from up and down the West Coast need to remember that most are directional, nulling to the east and directional to the north, south, west or some combination of those. The odds of receiving any east of the Rockies, aside from KNBR, are nil. I have picked up a weak KNBR in the past year from western Nebraska and that's as far east as I've gotten them.
680 KNBR (pretty strong);
740 KCBS (weak, only receivable late at night); and,
810 KGO (moderate signal but consistent - despite the null displayed on R-L's maps).
As far as the others are concerned, those frequency slots were covered by either locals or regional signals. For example, nulling out the local on 570 for 560 resulted in reception of KLZ Denver. No KSFO to be heard. Ever.
Those of you logging lots of Bay Area signals from up and down the West Coast need to remember that most are directional, nulling to the east and directional to the north, south, west or some combination of those. The odds of receiving any east of the Rockies, aside from KNBR, are nil. I have picked up a weak KNBR in the past year from western Nebraska and that's as far east as I've gotten them.
It's amazing you could get KCBS and KGO that being right in the null and it's not even the winter.
I'd bet they cam make it farther east in the more south you are, such as southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and southern Texas.
It's always been a goal of mine to get a San Francisco AM station here in Florida. In a hypothetical situation, I'm wondering that if all other stations on 740 and 810 happened to be off the air at the same time, if KCBS or KGO could be heard here, even if it's a very weak signal.
If the same thing happened on 680, I'm sure KNBR could be heard.
I'd bet they cam make it farther east in the more south you are, such as southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and southern Texas.
It's always been a goal of mine to get a San Francisco AM station here in Florida. In a hypothetical situation, I'm wondering that if all other stations on 740 and 810 happened to be off the air at the same time, if KCBS or KGO could be heard here, even if it's a very weak signal.
If the same thing happened on 680, I'm sure KNBR could be heard.
C
cd637299
Guest
In south FL in 1975 or 76 I got a QSL card from KCBS....but sometimes I think my report was insufficient. They may have given me a gift there, as I don;t even recall hearing the call letters.
I did hear KFBK at a time that WCKY was off. Same era.
I heard the Vallejo on 1640 AND 1630 during the early X-band heyday in the 90s.
When stationed at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska 1978-80 (near Anchorage), I heard the following Bay Area & Sac'to stations:
680, 810, 1100, 1550, 910, 960, 1310, 1140, 1530
(Good thing I kept my log! Air distance SF-Anchorage +/- 2,200 miles.)
cd
I did hear KFBK at a time that WCKY was off. Same era.
I heard the Vallejo on 1640 AND 1630 during the early X-band heyday in the 90s.
When stationed at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska 1978-80 (near Anchorage), I heard the following Bay Area & Sac'to stations:
680, 810, 1100, 1550, 910, 960, 1310, 1140, 1530
(Good thing I kept my log! Air distance SF-Anchorage +/- 2,200 miles.)
cd
gar fla said:
KCBS is VERY weak in Salt Lake at night. On the other hand, KGO comes in okay. Not nearly as robust as KNBR, but it is consistent and receivable every night - and that's been the case for many years. Their null is not quite as extreme as graphically displayed on maps.
KCBS' null is as advertised. You have to try pretty hard to pick it up from the Salt Lake area, but you can with patience. I'd say that there are enough other 740s on the dial between Florida and San Francisco to preclude reception of KCBS under all but the most freakish of conditions. They simply don't send enough signal your way to overcome all of that competition.
A while back, I was saying how on 740 at night here in Tampa, I get a fairly strong WYGM Orlando but if I turn the radio WNW, I can hear KTRH too and often, there is another very weak station in the background that never came in nearly strong enough to snag an ID.
Based on all signal patterns for stations on 740, it seemed to me that KCBS wasn't out of the question as the station in Tulsa seems to have a pattern that protects the station in Houston.
Based on all signal patterns for stations on 740, it seemed to me that KCBS wasn't out of the question as the station in Tulsa seems to have a pattern that protects the station in Houston.
gar fla said:
It was probably KRMG Tulsa that you could hear. They have a lobe that sends signal north of you; but you're not completely nulled either on the west coast of Florida. It's likely that they send enough signal your way that you'd get them if everyone else was quiet. But I honestly think that you have to overcome 740s from Houston, Tulsa, Orlando and Toronto before you can even think about KCBS. It just doesn't send much power in your direction.
KNBR is a better possibility for you - though the station in Raleigh seems to get out pretty far on 680. But given the right conditions, I still think that KNBR could be a potential catch for you. It would be for me too if it weren't for CBS Radio's obnoxious jammer on 670 in Chicago. Nothing gets through that buzzsaw on an adjacent signal in my area.
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