I live in Trenton, NJ, and I was wondering what makes the signal drop and sound almost non existent starting around the 7/8 pm hour and pretty much through the the night? It picks back up at around 8 am. Any stations trying to sneak in or am I just in a bad spot?
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
WBCB 1490 reception...
- Thread starter The Youngest Oldie
- Start date
I was a little off...it actually starts to fade around maybe 5 pm. I noticed it as I was tuning on my way home.
is that critical sunset hours ?
I dont really understand how that works other then there's a time when its what... somewhat reduced power but not totaly? for around an hour or so in the evening when the suns about to go down and in the morning when its coming up.
can someone help with this please?
Thanks!
I dont really understand how that works other then there's a time when its what... somewhat reduced power but not totaly? for around an hour or so in the evening when the suns about to go down and in the morning when its coming up.
can someone help with this please?
Thanks!
Class C (former "Class IV," aka "graveyard") stations on 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450 and 1490 generally run the same power level (usually 1000 watts) both day and night, non-directional.
What makes the difference between daytime and nighttime reception isn't the signal a station like WBCB is putting out - it's everything else that's coming in. Once you start getting into the "critical hours" around sunset, skywave reception of the hundreds of other stations on those channels becomes possible, and even if any one of those other stations produces only a tiny amount of incoming skywave at any given location, when you have several hundred 1000-watters on each channel, the result is a dramatic increase in the noise floor that the local station has to overcome to be heard clearly. That situation persists into sunrise, and often for an hour or two after sunrise as well, which is why at this time of year it can be 8 AM or later before a listener more than a few miles from WBCB can get clean reception.
What makes the difference between daytime and nighttime reception isn't the signal a station like WBCB is putting out - it's everything else that's coming in. Once you start getting into the "critical hours" around sunset, skywave reception of the hundreds of other stations on those channels becomes possible, and even if any one of those other stations produces only a tiny amount of incoming skywave at any given location, when you have several hundred 1000-watters on each channel, the result is a dramatic increase in the noise floor that the local station has to overcome to be heard clearly. That situation persists into sunrise, and often for an hour or two after sunrise as well, which is why at this time of year it can be 8 AM or later before a listener more than a few miles from WBCB can get clean reception.
1490 is a Graveyard frequency: 1kw U ND Unlimited Hours of operation (24/7) Non Directional. The 1Kw is grandfathered unless improvements are made to the antenna. Atlantic City's 1490 has a very efficient monopole, and was forced to lower power to 490 watts.
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=wbcb&sr=Y&s=C
OOPS....this went to the wrong page/topic...sorry, meant for "nightime" topic. Won't let me move or delete, so ignore that man behind the curtain.
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=wbcb&sr=Y&s=C
OOPS....this went to the wrong page/topic...sorry, meant for "nightime" topic. Won't let me move or delete, so ignore that man behind the curtain.
- Status