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WGKA PM Signal

T

trusty

I know radio-locator shows 920/WGKA's nighttime signal is 490 watts, and I haven't been able to find anything in the FCC website, but lately its signal has been booming into Dahlonega like a local - much better than WSB - at 8-11PM (and probably later) - every night on a consistent basis.

Does anyone have any info on this? Doesn't WGKA have to decrease power at sunset? Have other 920's gone dark? Have you noticed any change in their evening signal at your location?

VERY curious here; thanx!


:D
(Wonder what WGST would pay to have its old signal back...)
 
We were just talking about that on the other WGKA thread. Roddy suggested that it might be because of the tower location (in the Cheshire Bridge radio gulch that a lot of other stations like) and height (keep me honest Roddy), versus WGST's stick on the southside.
 
Well I do know a few nights they were late powering down due to to a computer glitch and that's maybe the reason you could hear it better. The problem has been corrected.
 
The weird night power level of around 1/2 kilowatt is due to the tall high-gain 5/8 wave tower, making it effectively a 1kw non-directional night signal. 920 is usually a pretty quiet channel compared to some, so overall it gets out decently at night. Some of the other nighttime signals in town get pounded by very high power signals from Cuba, Mexico, etc, on a regular basis. I've heard 920 at night before driving through northern Tennessee and yes it was on night power (I called the remote control and checked ;) )
 
CJ_Jackson said:
920 is usually a pretty quiet channel compared to some, so overall it gets out decently at night.
Click to expand...

Yup. Sounds almost like an X-bander here. 640 is a hash of stations at night. 750 is WSB over 2 other stations.

Also, 680, 970 and 1080 are pretty clear Louisville stations at night (besides 840, of course). 790 is a mess of stations. 590 - forget it.
 
trusty said:
CJ_Jackson said:
920 is usually a pretty quiet channel compared to some, so overall it gets out decently at night.
Click to expand...

Yup. Sounds almost like an X-bander here. 640 is a hash of stations at night. 750 is WSB over 2 other stations.

Also, 680, 970 and 1080 are pretty clear Louisville stations at night (besides 840, of course). 790 is a mess of stations. 590 - forget it.
Click to expand...

590 is indeed a mess after dark. When I'm not in the car with the XM, Radio Disney after sunset--or even near sunset--is a mess on the northeast side. Yes, I know their snow angel pattern points from Powder Springs to the SE, but still. I would expect more from their 4500W night (third strongest night signal in the ATL, behind You Know Who and WCNN).

640 has to protect CBN out of Newfoundland (too bad they couldn't move their tower to Sweat Mountain or some other northern point in the metro and go directional southerly at night. Heck--I wonder if they could use the WDWD field to throw a directional signal?).

1080 has KRLD in Dallas and WTIC in Hartford.

WSB has gotten harder to DX cleanly over the years. Getting WSB in Indiana--not that far to DX a class A clear--is next to impossible.

I remember when 96 Rock was simuled on 970. They would sign all they way off at dusk--none of this "lightbulb power" stuff after dark. I seem to remember them signing off one time in the late afternoon, before sunset--is it possible that they would not have been licensed at that time to broadcast during critical hours, or did the AM guy just want to knock off early? They would sign off with the Looney Tunes "Merry Go Round Broke Down" ("That's All Folks!)" closing, go to dead air, and then you'd hear the Tx cut off and static from elsewhere come in.

Why do so many stations now run small power at night (versus signing off altogether)? I know that the FCC won't license any new daytimers. What is the rationale for that? Covering the city of license 24/7? It seems that these stations pollute the airwaves a great deal for what is probably minimal listenership.
 
I live pretty close to the WGKA transmitter site. WGKA 920kHz was running at their daytime power during the evenings when I checked a few days ago. For the last two nights, they are back to their correct nighttime power.

As for the cluster of AM stations located in the Cheshire Bridge area, I have found that surprisingly WMLB 1690kHz gets out the furthest via skywave during the evenings at nighttime power. In visits to south Florida, WMLB can be heard down there (that is, when the thunderstorms are not trashing the AM band). WSB can barely be heard at the same location.
 
A friend of mine in Baltimore picks up WMLB. Sunset in Atlanta is about a half-hour later than in Baltimore so I'm guessing he picks it up between Baltimore sunset and Atlanta sunset, when WMLB is still at 10,000 watts.
 
Those high end channels are fun to DX when driving on the Interstate at night away from cities. Makes one think this is what the am band used to sound like way way back before all the congestion. I've heard stuff from all over up above 1600 at night. (....and I swear I am going to put the old dos-based remote control software back in, it never hiccuped. Ever.) :-[
 
wbz1030 said:
I live pretty close to the WGKA transmitter site. WGKA 920kHz was running at their daytime power during the evenings when I checked a few days ago. For the last two nights, they are back to their correct nighttime power.
Click to expand...

Yep. They're gone. Thanx.
 
Sssshhh! Don't tell the engineer since he's probably never noticed it. After all why get him upset? The nighttime transmitter signal continues to be so full of hum that it helps to lull me to sleep despite Mike Gallagher's irritatingly, predictably crude rants which just barely manage to ride over the top of this born again electronically transmitted "om" spot. Frankly the hum and the format are barely distinguishable from one another. I wonder if it's occurred to the management that all-hum-all-the-time with no talk at all could save them some big bucks. Actually, the engineer may be on to something. Cool!
 
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