What's happened to WGST's signal at night?

[SalBass]

Has anything happened to WGST's signal at night withing the past 6 months or so? For years I've fallen asleep with the radio turned to WGST hoping to hear Art Bell when I wake up in the middle of the night. My wife loved Art Bell's voice. Well, we know the story about Art and Coast to Coast but I still preferred to fall asleep at night with reruns of Coast to Coast. It just seems that lately (past 6 months or so) my radio just can't pick up WGST. We live inside the perimeter...not Blairsville. What's up with them?

 

[BIGSTICK]

I heard that they are working with their night time pattern????

 

[OgOgglby]

Could it be IBOC?

 

[livingfruitvirus]

Has anything happened to WGST's signal at night withing the past 6 months or so? For years I've fallen asleep with the radio turned to WGST hoping to hear Art Bell when I wake up in the middle of the night. My wife loved Art Bell's voice. Well, we know the story about Art and Coast to Coast but I still preferred to fall asleep at night with reruns of Coast to Coast. It just seems that lately (past 6 months or so) my radio just can't pick up WGST. We live inside the perimeter...not Blairsville. What's up with them?

Maybe it's all those fluorescent bulbs being installed. Heh.

Seriously though, when I was in GA WGST never even came in where I lived at night. And I was in Roswell. If the problem continues, I would recommend buying an XM Radio and tuning into Talk Radio 165. They play all the Coast to Coast shows and no AM static to deal with.

 

[PST]

I was having the same problem with 680 the other night. Normally I can get it no problem inside the perimeter, but Wednesday night I couldn't get it to save my soul.

 

[Peachboyz]

Welcome to the colder Winter time everybody. Longer hours of darkness and colder temps allow for more AM skip to channel thru. However, the real problem is with Atlanta's soil conductivity at the moment. No AM is getting out like it should. The grounding system is just way too dry in that bright red Georgia Clay. Even WSB AM has trouble making it to Covington these days at night. We need about 20" more of rain to clear things up.

 

[bgwilde1]

Note to self, build the new AM site in a swamp and cut the trees waaaay back....

 

[fussbudget]

WGST is on after dark? Who knew?

 

[bnaivar]

I blame global warming. :

 

[cohcam]

. My wife loved Art Bell's voice. Well, we know the story about Art and Coast to Coast but I still preferred to fall asleep at night with reruns of Coast to Coast

If you don't have WINAMP, download it(free). Go to shoutcast radio and theres
a channel that just plays Art Bell coast to coast reruns, 24/7 i believe.

 

[BIGSTICK]

Welcome to the colder Winter time everybody. Longer hours of darkness and colder temps allow for more AM skip to channel thru. However, the real problem is with Atlanta's soil conductivity at the moment. No AM is getting out like it should. The grounding system is just way too dry in that bright red Georgia Clay. Even WSB AM has trouble making it to Covington these days at night. We need about 20" more of rain to clear things up.

I was in NW Alabama a couple of weeks ago, and WSB was booming in all day like a local station, also was getting 1690, believe it or not 640, even 680 and 790. WSB really took over when it got dark. Also WMAC out of Macon was booming there as well.
Just skipping over Atlanta.

 

[musicga]

I've noticed how bad the 790 signal is at night. Much worse than it has ever been. I wonder if something has changed technically with them. Now it has a hard time covering Buckhead with tons of interference.

 

[Art Sutton]

Welcome to the colder Winter time everybody. Longer hours of darkness and colder temps allow for more AM skip to channel thru. However, the real problem is with Atlanta's soil conductivity at the moment. No AM is getting out like it should. The grounding system is just way too dry in that bright red Georgia Clay. Even WSB AM has trouble making it to Covington these days at night. We need about 20" more of rain to clear things up.

0

The only way you could hear WMAC at night in NW Alabama would be if WMAC didn't go on their night pattern which seems to happen more than just every now and then. Their nighttime directional pattern is a very tight lobe off the Southeast from Macon. When they are running the nighttime pattern, you can hear WMAC better in Jacksonville than Northeast Bibb County...just a few miles from their 5 towers.

You were hearing them on their 50KW daytime signal which is non directional. If you're going to not switch to nighttime pattern, try not to be a 50KW AM on a Clear Channel. Someone mentioned 790 can't be heard in Buckhead. Their nighttime DA pattern doesn't allow them to send much signal toward Buckhead at night so you shouldn't hear it there very well at all and if you can hear it, it would be full of junk. As to WGST not getting out well, keep in mind that 640 is a Cuban Class A Clear Channel.The US Decided to ignore Cuba back when Reagan was President so WGST went on and could ignore Cuba. Otherwise, 640 wouldn't work at night east of the Mississippi River..too close to Havana's 640. As the Cuban economy tanked, Castro didn't have Russian money to keep his AMs on the air jamming the US stations but I've noticed in the past year or so some Cuban AMs are back on the air. When Havana is on the air at 50KW, it can really drown out WGST already small nighttime signal. The dry weather doesn't help the groundwave strength and we have more darkness earlier so the skywave establishes itself earlier.

I was in NW Alabama a couple of weeks ago, and WSB was booming in all day like a local station, also was getting 1690, believe it or not 640, even 680 and 790. WSB really took over when it got dark. Also WMAC out of Macon was booming there as well.
Just skipping over Atlanta.