Is there anywhere in metro Atlanta, short of being in front of where ever their broadcasting tower is, to be able to listen to them with a clear signal? I don't listen to it often but when I do, I can't really even hear it. It's full of static and fades in and out. You would think in this market, somebody would have done something to get a better signal out.
-
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
WGST Signal
- Thread starter Mr11WXIA
- Start date
There's nothing wrong with WGST's daytime signal. I've picked it up clearly far from Atlanta.
Nighttime is a different story, when WGST decreases its power by 50 times. It's listenable inside the Perimeter but does struggle in the northeast quadrant.
Nighttime is a different story, when WGST decreases its power by 50 times. It's listenable inside the Perimeter but does struggle in the northeast quadrant.
Mr11WXIA said:
Try using an AM "loop" antenna, or a Terk antenna. One of those might help.
IMO WGST's processing leaves a little bit to be desired...and I still don't know why Gwinnett's traffic lights seem to interfere with everything except WSB (and WPLO, natch) on the low end of the dial. I have noticed what ssnake has observed with the longer wavelengths--a lot of times switching from 970 to 1400 (for the WNIV simul) gets rid of the traffic light and other RFI. Downside is 1400 is weaker than 970 daytime.
I know what Mr. 11 is talking about--despite 50k daytime, WGST sometimes seems to have all of the dial presence of a 5k-10k regional. That's why I usually listen to WDUN for Rush. If the signal is equal, the processing will be better on DUN. I know that WDUN is at the basement on the dial, but they make all 10k of their watts count.
I've tried a Terk, and while you can have some fun DXing with it if you're willing to use it directionally and futz with it to no end (playing with the gain and the precise direction), it usually does nothing but amplify all of the noise along with the signal if you're using it casually. In other words, you can't make chicken salad out of chicken scratch.
I know what Mr. 11 is talking about--despite 50k daytime, WGST sometimes seems to have all of the dial presence of a 5k-10k regional. That's why I usually listen to WDUN for Rush. If the signal is equal, the processing will be better on DUN. I know that WDUN is at the basement on the dial, but they make all 10k of their watts count.
I've tried a Terk, and while you can have some fun DXing with it if you're willing to use it directionally and futz with it to no end (playing with the gain and the precise direction), it usually does nothing but amplify all of the noise along with the signal if you're using it casually. In other words, you can't make chicken salad out of chicken scratch.
RoddyFreeman said:
I know you and other smart radio people think that the signal is good because the tramsmitter is supposed to be good but it seems to be dependant on the radio and antenna. Of 4 cars I've driven in recent years only one can pick up WGST reliably enough to be listenable, 3 of those cars wont allow WGST anywhere in Atlanta without fuss. If your car is especailly good at AM reception you might think that the WGST signal is just fine but there are alot of potential listeners that aren't going to bother to tune in and risk getting a poor signal.
Barbapapa said:
That's a big part of it. Window antennas are coming back in style and for good reception, that's a bad thing--worse than the "rubber duckys" of a few years ago. Nothing beats a big ol' mast for gain.
Then you have selectivity. I had an el cheapo transistor radio from Big Lots and the only thing you could get on it was WPLO if you were in Gwinnett, and WSB if you were ITP. Smearing all over the dial and running over WGKA, 790, etc. Wanted to get it to listen to Wes Durham at Tech games, but WSB just bled all over it, day and night, despite WQXI's decent signal intown.
Car radios typically have more sensitivity and selectivity than a home AM radio (the worst, except for dollar store crap, always seems to be hi-fi receivers, most of which include AM as an afterthought), but those still vary. Digital tuners tend to be more selective than mechanical, but there are exceptions (like the GE/RCA Superadio).
You can always throw a Superadio in the passenger seat....if the directional antenna doesn't give you fits.
T.G. said:
Instead of giving a smug, one sentence remark, why not explain it then big boy? Even with the round AM antenna I can't hear them. I can hear WSB perfectly fine with or without an antenna. I can hear other local stations as well and I can hear stations from half way around the country. I can't wait for your "studied" response.
jokerman said:
You are probably listening in one of GST's nulls. Here is the night pattern from Radio-Locator http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WGST&service=AM&status=L&hours=N and that estimate is being kind.
jokerman said:
I'll oblige. WHAS 840 out of Kentucky is commonly called a clear channel station (not to be confused with its owner, Clear Channel Communications). WSB is one too, as is WSM 650 out of Nashville. You can find a full list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_channel . The technical term is a class A station, on a clear channel.
What that means is that it can broadcast 24/7 at a full 50k watts, and other stations in its way have to power down or go dark at night.
The reason for this is that AM signals (not FM) can engage in "skywave propagation" at night (not during the daytime), which means that they bounce off of the upper atmosphere and come back down far away from the tower. If everyone on these frequencies broadcasted full power 24/7, the night airwaves would likely become unlistenable with massive interference that wouldn't otherwise be encountered in the daytime.
WGST is NOT a class A clear channel station, but it broadcasts on a clear channel belonging to Class A KFI out of LA and CBN out of Newfoundland. So, it has to power down from 50k watts during the day to 1k watts at night. See http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=wgst .
WGST could try and claim the eastern US class A allotment on 640 and go 50k full time, but CBN would likely protest (there are treaties laying this out between the US and Canada). Another alternative might be to go directional and blast their signal south and eastward (see WCNN 680 The Fan for a dramatic example of this: http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=wcnn , although WCNN goes directional SW at night) , but to be cost-effective it would likely require moving the transmitter NW of Atlanta.
Additionally, WMEN out of Boca Raton (http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=wmen&sr=Y&s=C ) has a construction permit to up their night power to 25k watts directional, primarily to blast over Cuba's high-powered station on 640 which is interfering with them. Any significant additional night power on WGST would likely interfere with WMEN, even (especially) if it was aimed southward.
Radio stations "process" their signals (equalization of highs and lows, compression of louds and softs, etc.) to make them sound good when broadcast. WGST, IMO, does a crappy job of this.
Now, WGST's spotty daytime coverage, I can't explain that.
(I finally got a chance to do this.) Hopefully, this cluttered chart answers why WGST can't do anything to increase it's power.
Print it out.
STATIONS ON 640 AM
Call Specs Distance/Dir City
WGST 50kwD,1kwN,DA-2 3.2 mi./273° Atlanta, GA
WXSM 10kwD,810wN,DA-N 221.4 mi./030° Blountville, TN
WCRV 50kwD,480wN,DA-N 325.1 mi./287° Collierville, TN
WFNC 10kwD,1kwN 325.2 mi./072° Fayetteville, NC
WVLG 930wD,860wN 365.5 mi./156° Wildwood, FL
KTIB 5kwD,1kwN,DA-2 468.3 mi./237° Thibodaux, LA
WHLO 5kwD,500wN,DA-2 528.4 mi./016° Akron, OH
WMEN 7.5kwD,460wN,DA-2 541.0 mi./152° Royal Palm Beach, FL
WMEN(CP) 50kwD,25kwN,DA-2 545.0 mi./155° Boca Raton, FL
WMFN 1.2kwD,230wN 632.1 mi./353° Zeeland, MI
WWJZ 50kwD,950wN,DA-2 687.1 mi./048° Mount Holly, NJ
CFMJ 50kwU,DA 704.6 mi./021° Richmond Hill, ON
WWLS 5kwD,1kwN,DA-2 753.4 mi./282° Moore, OK
WOI 5kwD,1kwN,DA-N 761.6 mi./321° Ames, IA
WNNZ 50kwD,1kwN,DA-2 860.4 mi./044° Westfield, MA
CFOB 1kwU,DA-N 1127.6 mi./338° Fort Frances, ON
XENQ 10kwU 1275.8 mi./226° Tulancingo, Mexico
XENQ1 50kwD,10kwN,DA 1282.4 mi./226° Tulancingo, Mexico
XEWM 1kwU 1283.3 mi./206° SouthCristobal de Las C, Mexico
XEWM1 1kwU 1283.9 mi./206° SouthCristobal de Las C, Mexico
XEJUA 500wU 1289.4 mi./270° Cd.Juarez, Mexico
XEYQ1 5kwD,1kwN 1336.9 mi./241° Fresnillo, Mexico
XEHHI 25kwD,1kwN 1353.3 mi./255° Hidalgo del Parral, Mexico
XESRD 10kwD,100wN 1397.1 mi./250° Santiago Papasquiaro, Mexico
XEHDL 1kwU 1379.8 mi./220° Huajuapan de Leon, Mexico
KGVW 10kwD,1kwN,DA-2 1638.7 mi./308° Belgrade, MT
CBN 10kwU 1893.8 mi./050° Saint John's, NFo
KFI 50kwU 1922.6 mi./280° Los Angeles, CA
Print it out.
STATIONS ON 640 AM
Call Specs Distance/Dir City
WGST 50kwD,1kwN,DA-2 3.2 mi./273° Atlanta, GA
WXSM 10kwD,810wN,DA-N 221.4 mi./030° Blountville, TN
WCRV 50kwD,480wN,DA-N 325.1 mi./287° Collierville, TN
WFNC 10kwD,1kwN 325.2 mi./072° Fayetteville, NC
WVLG 930wD,860wN 365.5 mi./156° Wildwood, FL
KTIB 5kwD,1kwN,DA-2 468.3 mi./237° Thibodaux, LA
WHLO 5kwD,500wN,DA-2 528.4 mi./016° Akron, OH
WMEN 7.5kwD,460wN,DA-2 541.0 mi./152° Royal Palm Beach, FL
WMEN(CP) 50kwD,25kwN,DA-2 545.0 mi./155° Boca Raton, FL
WMFN 1.2kwD,230wN 632.1 mi./353° Zeeland, MI
WWJZ 50kwD,950wN,DA-2 687.1 mi./048° Mount Holly, NJ
CFMJ 50kwU,DA 704.6 mi./021° Richmond Hill, ON
WWLS 5kwD,1kwN,DA-2 753.4 mi./282° Moore, OK
WOI 5kwD,1kwN,DA-N 761.6 mi./321° Ames, IA
WNNZ 50kwD,1kwN,DA-2 860.4 mi./044° Westfield, MA
CFOB 1kwU,DA-N 1127.6 mi./338° Fort Frances, ON
XENQ 10kwU 1275.8 mi./226° Tulancingo, Mexico
XENQ1 50kwD,10kwN,DA 1282.4 mi./226° Tulancingo, Mexico
XEWM 1kwU 1283.3 mi./206° SouthCristobal de Las C, Mexico
XEWM1 1kwU 1283.9 mi./206° SouthCristobal de Las C, Mexico
XEJUA 500wU 1289.4 mi./270° Cd.Juarez, Mexico
XEYQ1 5kwD,1kwN 1336.9 mi./241° Fresnillo, Mexico
XEHHI 25kwD,1kwN 1353.3 mi./255° Hidalgo del Parral, Mexico
XESRD 10kwD,100wN 1397.1 mi./250° Santiago Papasquiaro, Mexico
XEHDL 1kwU 1379.8 mi./220° Huajuapan de Leon, Mexico
KGVW 10kwD,1kwN,DA-2 1638.7 mi./308° Belgrade, MT
CBN 10kwU 1893.8 mi./050° Saint John's, NFo
KFI 50kwU 1922.6 mi./280° Los Angeles, CA
:-\trusty said:
I really don't give a flying fig about whether our stations interfere with stations in Mexico. Too many times I'll be tuning around on AM at night and all I'll get are monster blowtorches from "Meh-hi-co". They may say they reduce their power at night, but when they don't there are no consequences. Until they care about us, we should not care about them. We've been a milquetoast of a country way too long and it's time for some turnabout fair play.
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2008/02/04/outlaws-may-use-super-stations-at-sea/ says that there is no radio treaty or agreement between the United States and Mexico, such as this country has with Canada.
trusty said:
Let me play devil's advocate here....
Except for the following stations, all of the stations mentioned have 1kW or less night power.
WMEN
CFMJ
XENQ
XENQ1
CBN
KFI
CFMJ is directional north out of Ontario, and CBN is directional east out of Newfoundland. XENQ1 is directional southwest. The two Mexican stations are quite a ways from Atlanta, although XENQ is nondirectional (not counting the signal carrying over the water). Can a station claim protection out that far, particularly when they are directional away from WGST?
For what it's worth, the nearest nighttime signals to WSB are in Ontario, El Paso, and Nebraska, and they are directional north, west, and west, respectively.
With the <=1kW stations, how far can they claim nighttime protection? The two Tennessee stations, for one, already have small night signals.
This is not to say that CC wouldn't have to get out their checkbook (etc.) to make some of these other stations whole. Would CC have to get these stations (at least the ones, roughly, east of the Mississippi and south of the Mason-Dixon) to go dark or <100W at night?
I'm just wondering what kind of practical opportunity there is for WGST to increase their night signal, although WMEN's new CP would really make this difficult, given the proximity of Rat's Mouth.
Lastly, what kind of adjacent-frequency separation is owed to WSM 650?
Believe me, they've tried and tried, and they can't.
Call the CE at Clear Channel/Atlanta--it's probably still Mike Loring--and ask him if he thinks it would be possible. Then report back to us.
fortt3 said:
Well, EXCUUUUSSSEE MEEE for giving you such a complete list! I'll try to be more discreet in the future, just to respect your flying figs. It's information for you to use as you wish, but it does show how WGST's signal is "boxed in" by others at the present time. (By the way, thanx for the link - Dr. Brinkley would be proud.)
I don't think CC is going to pull out its checkbook to possibly increase GST's night power, when all it has to do is use one of its FMs like WWL, KIRO and a slew of other news/talk AMs are doing (but you know that probably won't happen). WGST is considered to be a daytime-only station (with great 50kw coverage). (For the record, on the outskirts of Sandy Springs - early in the morning - the station near Memphis comes blasting in on a consistent basis with its 480 watts (640 is just plain jammed.).)
Also, if you want "Coast to Coast AM", try 770, 810, 840, 890, 1040, 1100, 1110, 1140, 1190, 1200, 1210 or 1510. (There are others, but 840, 1100 and 1510 are the strongest in atl.)
trusty said:
The solution is simple to improve WGST reception Clear Channel purchases the above stations, shut them down or change the facilities to provide adequate protection to the new WGST 50kw ND. Of course, CC already owns many of the 640 so they are part of the way there. Plus, KFI is in the middle of a tower rebuilding project. All they have to do is change the facility to directional at night, add the needed tower so the signals aims towards the Pacific Ocean protecting WGST.
Of course there is that pesky 650 up the road in Nashville. This isn't a problem CC could purchase WSM and the Opry add a tower or two next to the Blaw-Knox and viola instant DA protecting WGST. You could take it one step further and dismantle the Blaw-Knox and move it to Atlanta so Clear Channel can one up Cox and their "shopping center radiator".
Your mileage may vary. ;D
Sorry, the point I was trying to make was that that even though we don't have a reciprocal agreement, if we are trying to be nice and not interfere with Mexican stations AS WELL AS our own, it's not working. And THAT's what "got my grits". No offense intended.- Status