WGMF 1460 Signal

[Steve Green NEPA]

I recently asked on the DX forum of Radio-Info if this station was, indeed, on the air.

http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WGMF&service=AM&status=L&hours=D

I live halfway between Hazelton and the 'n' in Shamokin, and have not been able to receive the 1460 signal. Of course, my place is outside the fringe reception blue contour. But where I live is equally far outside the blue line of WTKT Harrisburg, which comes in here fine. As well, during a brief window of DX -- I didn't want to be rude -- at relatives a few weeks ago, I didn't hear them at night. That was from that top diamond of the Scranton city limits. Radio-Locator's map shows WGMF's nighttime pattern aimed right at where we stayed.

http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WGMF&service=AM&status=L&hours=N

I realize that their daytime pattern has a null in my direction here at home, but it's not a severe one. There's some wattage sent this way. Is the daytime pattern accurate?
Or might they be broadcasting with their night pattern during the day?

 

[ty_kleinle]

I do not think their contour map is correct. I live in Stroudsburg and can't get ANYTHING on 1460, yet I'm still in the blue. However, I can get WZMF 730 out of Wilkesbarre on clear days fine.

 

[Zenith Transoceanic]

Well they certainly don't come into Wilkes-Barre at night, but I noticed the other day that the daytime signal wasn't what it usually is here (in WB). Don't know why.

 

[ka2xuk]

Well...if any of you guys at "Gem" need some engineering help, I know an AM guy who is able to get the job done! PM me for details...

 

[normhill007]

Ronnie Schott did a great job of keeping the old WEMR chugging along. I got a call from a guy at 9:30 in the morning from Wyoming..Not the town, the state..Said he and his friends could catch a skip once in awhile and loved our classic country..Barely reached Wilkes Barre and Scranton though. Mountains played havoc with both the AM and the FM. Owners built their own tower for the FM rather than put the elements on one of the existing towers and were too cheap to buy a generator so Ronnie had to climb the mountain on his Harley, even in winter, to put us back on the air. Then they finally decided to get a generator but they went on the cheap again and the remote starter wouldn't kick in so Ronnie still had to climb the mountain. The AM made money but the FM was a money pit, with a crappy automation system that constantly hung up and blew off client's dollars like hurricane Katrina.

 

[DaveWilliams]

I worked there when it was the old WEMR 1998-99, going from classic country to a simulcast of WARM, even though WARM's signal wasn't that bad into that area. The signal was mostly east/west with a slight null north and a very deep null south, which would explain a weak signal into Wilkes Barre and nothing in Hazleton. At night, the signal mainly went east amd just about made it to Scranton. Fun place to go to when Norm Hill was working there.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Just looked at the official pattern on the FCC website. It seems that Radio-Locator has it just about right. There is some wattage designed to come in this direction.

There is terrain and stuff in the way, but there's also the same sort of landscape blockage from WARM 590, which comes in -- weak but solid -- despite a null my way. Perhaps the null protects WHP Harrisburg? Either way, WARM's signal is there, steady.

The suspicion seems more now that WGMF is on their night pattern in the day and no one has driven their vehicle there to change it recently.

Am willing to bet that the simulcast on 730 has about as many listeners on their first harmonic as WGMF does.

 

[ValleyDxer]

Am willing to bet that the simulcast on 730 has about as many listeners on their first harmonic as WGMF does.

Drat! and all this time I thought I was actually picking up Tunkhannock.

 

[ka2xuk]

Am willing to bet that the simulcast on 730 has about as many listeners on their first harmonic as WGMF does.

First harmonic? There's no such thing. The "first harmonic" would be the fundamental signal on 730 kHz. The second harmonic would be on 1460, the third harmonic is on 2280, etc. AM broadcasters are required to measure their harmonics once a year to ensure that the transmitter is in compliance.

Some transmitters in other countries are quite dirty. One night, I received the second harmonic of Radio Clarín on 1720 kHz at my place in New Jersey. The signal was quite strong. Radio Clarín is a 50 kW station on 860 kHz, located in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic).

The third harmonic is usually the most difficult one to suppress, as many antenna systems can radiate quite efficiently on their third harmonic. How many of you hams out there have used a 40 meter dipole on 15 meters?

 

[nocomradio]

First harmonic? There's no such thing. The "first harmonic" would be the fundamental signal on 730 kHz.

Then what do I hear when I am scanning the bands down around 150-400 KHZ and pick up the blowtorches from NY, Chicago and other cities at night?

 

[Zenith Transoceanic]

They could be being generated within your tuner.

 

[ka2xuk]

Then what do I hear when I am scanning the bands down around 150-400 KHZ and pick up the blowtorches from NY, Chicago and other cities at night?

You are hearing spurious responses that are being generated in your receiver. Most radio receivers are the superheterodyne type. The signal of the desired station is combined with that of a local oscillator in a mixer stage. This yields additional signals at the sum and difference of the two frequencies, thus translating the desired station's frequency to an intermediate frequency (IF), which is then amplified and fed to a detector. The detector recovers the audio that modulates the station's signal. The usual IF in an AM receiver is 455 kHz.

If you are listening to a longwave station at, say, 150 kHz, a local oscillator frequency of 605 kHz will yield the desired IF at 455 kHz. (605-150=455) But an AM broadcast station at 1060 kHz will also mix with the 605 kHz local oscillator frequency to yield 455 kHz. (1060-605=455) This undesired signal is called an "image". Harmonics of the local oscillator will also yield spurious signals on your receiver, especially if the undesired station has a strong signal in your area.

 

[nocomradio]

Ahhhhh, that makes sense! Thank you for the clarification.

I recall that from the old days of listening to scanners, with frequencies being generated from within the unit too.

 

[kfitz]

The new (well new---er) Continental 316F transmitter arrived last week for 1460...Chet started assembling earlier today! The old RCA BTA5T is tired to say the least...will become the backup. FYI, the nighttime operation is very directional, Wilkes-Barre is not in the Main Lobe.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

>> 'First harmonic? There's no such thing. The "first harmonic" would be the fundamental signal on 730 kHz. The second harmonic would be on 1460, the third harmonic is on 2280, etc. AM broadcasters are required to measure their harmonics once a year to ensure that the transmitter is in compliance.' <<

Ah, thanks, k2A. Oddly. this is the second time I've been corrected on this, both on radio boards. (Or was it the first harmonic of the first one, hi?)

Another oddity of sorts : Back in the old neighborhood, four blocks away from each other, forty years ago, a pal & I were getting a pirate. We did some triangulation and found the guy in about fifteen minutes after my pal and I got off the phone. Nothing really odd about that, except that I was hearing them on (what else) 1460, while my pal was hearing them on the main signal of (what else) 730.

 

[normhill007]

Kevin, sorry to see the RCA be put to semi pasture. In the 7 years I was at WEMR, we only went off the air twice, both lightning strikes within a week. It just chugged along, which is more than I can say about the once a week dying of the FM.