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WCBS Signal in Midwest

C

Cincinnati Kid

Just wondering if anyone either in or out of the New York City area might be able to comment on why the signal of WCBS AM has not seemed as strong this summer in the Midwest.

Here in southwestern Ohio, I am usually able to dial up 880 k.c. not long after sunset most summer nights and hear the Yankees' games. However, this summer, I haven't been receiving it as well as in the past. Of course, this has been one of the hottest summers on record in many parts of the U.S.A. and I wonder if that may have been effecting reception? I have found that on many nights, it has been easier to get the Yankees' broadcasts from WHAM - 1080 k.c. - from Rochester. Any thoughts?
 
We assume you have not changed radios or antennæ.
Are you talking about actual signal strength or perhaps a reduced signal to noise ratio caused by other variables?
Also, are The Fan, WABC and WBBR (day signal) also reduced?
 
Cincinnati Kid said:
I have found that on many nights, it has been easier to get the Yankees' broadcasts from
WHAM - 1080 1180 k.c. - from Rochester. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Fixed. ;)

(All you kHz freaks do not need to point that out however!)
 
Well, there was a time, actually, when WHAM was on 1080 k.c....it was 1927, granted, but still... ;D
 
"Ibuz" and "power" should never be mentioned in the same sentence.
 
Thanks for correcting WHAM's frequency to 1180. With regards to a question, I haven't tried listening to any other New York City stations. I was just listening (or attempting to listen) to WCBS.
 
Try WINS-1010kc and Bloomberg radio-1130kc. I'd be interested to know how they come in vs. WCBS.

What type of antenna are you running?

Out of curiosity, how far west have you been able to DX?




Mike/Boston
 
weeinewsradio59 said:
Try WINS-1010kc and Bloomberg radio-1130kc. I'd be interested to know how they come in vs. WCBS.

What type of antenna are you running?

Out of curiosity, how far west have you been able to DX?
Click to expand...

WBBR is pretty much whacked towards the midwest by high power co-channel stations in Detroit, Milwaukee and Minneapolis / St Paul. In much of the south, the heritage station on 1130 in Shreeveport kills them.

WINS is only a tiny bit better in some places.
 
Back when I used to DX I seem to recall some pretty dead nights on AM during the summer. Maybe it's because the days are longer, or maybe it has something to do with all the solar activity we've been having this year as we approach the peak of the 11 year solar cycle. I think it's pretty normal in any case. I could crack some joke about how lucky you are not to be able to hear John Sterling but...nah.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
Back when I used to DX I seem to recall some pretty dead nights on AM during the summer. Maybe it's because the days are longer, or maybe it has something to do with all the solar activity we've been having this year as we approach the peak of the 11 year solar cycle. I think it's pretty normal in any case. I could crack some joke about how lucky you are not to be able to hear John Sterling but...nah.
Click to expand...

DX, or the distant reception of AM signals, gets "worse" during summer nights in the Northern Hemisphere. That's a fact every year.

The biggest problem is the increase in static and atmospheric noise in the summer months, coupled with seasonal propagation issues. While there will be quiet nights in the summer, but they are not the same as a winter night; a location where European stations are listenable in the East and Midwest during the winter will practically never have such openings in summer.

The sunspot cycle makes conditions better or worse for the entire year... but in a "bad" year, summers will tend to be even worse.
 
Correct David. I've had nights where KSTP is barreling in on 1500, but no sign of WBBM-780 300+ mi SE of St. Paul, from my Washington state location.

-crainbebo
 
I've noticed the signal of WCBS has been a little better in recent nights. Basically, of all of the New yoirk City stations, WCBS is the one that is received the best. On many nights, I can also pick up WFAN - 660 AM, too.

By way of information, the radio that I usually use is a table-sized portable from Radio Shack. I've had it for seven years.
 
Cincinnati Kid said:
...of all of the New York City stations, WCBS is the one that is received the best.
Click to expand...
Of course ideal skip distances will vary according to transmitting antenna radiation angles and the ionosphere, but I have found that stations higher up the dial tend to have better skywaves while those lower in frequency fade more slowly. This is akin to watching a tennis ball floating next to a beachball.

;D I can now quote and reply from Chrome ;D
 
WCBS 880 comes in strong here in northern Ohio near Cleveland every night. Recently, I stayed for a week just outside of Des Moines, IA and could even hear WCBS out there albeit weaker than in Ohio, but still listenable with the Tecsun PL-390 oriented just right.
 
WCBS and all the NYC regulars (660, 710, 770, etc) have been "normal" at night here in Central KY this summer. Lesser strength NYC stations in this direction (1010, 1050, 1130 and 1560) are still heard here with regularity, but certainly not as clearly as the others mentioned.
 
WCBS 880 booms in almost like a local at night in some parts of central Illinois. I've also picked it up - scratchy and weak - on cold, clear winter nights in northern Iowa.
 
880 does mostly well at night here in Upstate South Carolina, about halfway between WCBS & WWL.
Normally 880 & 870 are about equal in strength at night.

But sometimes WWL can be stronger and bleed out 880,
and other times, vice versa, where 880 becomes strong and bleeds out 870.
 
CD reported that many Big Apple AM's are heard in the daytime in the outer banks islands of NC and also in Bermuda.
 
ai4i said:
CD reported that many Big Apple AM's are heard in the daytime in the outer banks islands of NC and also in Bermuda.
Click to expand...

We can't hear WCBS AM in the daytime in the Western Carolinas as Asheville NC has an 880 (WPEK).

Heck most of the AM band is dead in the daytime here in the Inland Southern US due to bad ground conductivity...
Can't even hear WSB 750 in the daytime, and 1110 WBT is difficult even 30 miles away.
 
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