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WJOX on Day Power at night?

cyberdad

cyberdad

Tuning around the dial about an hour before sunrise this morning, I was hearing sports talk all alone on 690. My first thought was Montreal, but when I aimed the radio east, it nulled. Hmmm...

So I aimed it where the signal was strongest, which was north-south, and sure enough five minutes later, I got a positive ID for WJOX, Birmingham. Which is supposed to be 500 watts at night with a pattern that doesn't favor me. Day power is 50KW Non-Directional, and I've heard the station numerous times here before before they powered down at sunset. But I don't recall ever hearing them at night or sunrise. I listened for about 50 minutes. 4:15-4:30AM CDT. Fox Sports programming. The signal was generally good, but with a couple of brief fades, and as I said, alone on the channel. It sure sounded like 50KW.

Has anyone else heard it, and/or know what's going on?
 
I used to talk to Jesse Champion in 1969 about hearing WVOK/WJOX right before Sunset when it was a Daytimer, right before he returned to Birmingham. He wanted to know if I had ever heard WBRC. I tried, but it was usually interfered with by WWJ, which was highly processed and had a lot of strong sidebands to try to keep up with WJR's 50000 watts with WWJ's 5000 watt signal. Did you ever hear WBRC/WERC before pattern change, cyberdad? You are probably far enough away from WAAF/WNTD to hear 960.
 
@SC, I never heard WBRC here, although I've tried from time to time. WAAF/WNTD, etc. here on 950 has never been an issue. I do hear them regularly, however, at night when we're on the Gulf Coast near Pensacola. (Which is where I'll be for a week later this month). 960 is one of those channels where no one station rises to the top on a regular basis. In recent months, WSBT has been "most likely to succeed" in breaking through. But it's hardly a regular. KMA and CFAC also turn up once in a while.

WVOK was a daytimer when I first started hearing them at sign-off. Easy to, because they played "Dixie" before shutting down. The only other B-ham station, I've heard here was WAPI (50KW on 1070) a couple times at sunset. Far less common than WVOK/WJOX because 1070 was/is more crowded in these parts than 690.

One of my most "satisfying" Alabama catches was WCOV from Montgomery, a little over an hour south of B-ham on I-65. They were running day power, 10KW-ND on an emergency basis during an ice storm. Blasting in and all alone on 1170, one night during the early or mid 1980s.
 
They were definitely on day power the last two nights. Their sky wave signal to Central KY was much stronger and steadier than WLW's sloppy ground/skywave mix.
 
I'm off for two weeks in Florida along with other points south, and confirming KR4BD, I heard them again before sunrise Friday before I left, then Friday night in Paducah, KY. Good signal in both locations. Good path to Canada Friday night, but no trace of anything from Montreal on the channel.

If this continues, I'll be curious to hear how they do in Florida versus R. Progreso.
 
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