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WRKO at night pattern around the clock?

F

fjockey

Over the past couple of weeks, WRKO appears to be operating on night pattern all the time. (They are much weaker here during the day than usual.) Have they come down with a case of WCAP-itis or are they operating at low power under an STA?
 
fjockey said:
Over the past couple of weeks, WRKO appears to be operating on night pattern all the time. (They are much weaker here during the day than usual.) Have they come down with a case of WCAP-itis or are they operating at low power under an STA?
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Can't say, because with their substandard AoIP links used during The Financial Exchange, Grace's and Howie's programs, the audio is awful, so I don't listen. That said, it's possible they could be painting the three towers in Burlington, and only one tower at a time is energized, so it would have to be at reduced power to protect whomever it is they have to protect. WBZ did this over several weeks about a decade ago; while they were painting their two towers in Hull, they transmitted using only 10 KW from the tower that USED TO BE in the WBZ parking lot on 1170 SFR.

An issue with the directional antenna phasing unit would also force them to reduce power.

Hopefully, someone in the know who frequents these forums might be able to confirm this.
 
I've noticed no difference in signal strength in the Bristol county and western Plymouth county regions I frequent.
 
It is usually audible in upstate NY during the day...but has been gone recently. I can recall that when they first signed on in 1967....They were always on what is now the night pattern and they were inaudible out in the Fitchburg/Leominster area. The new separate day pattern went into effect in 1968 as I recall...
 
Time Traveler said:
It is usually audible in upstate NY during the day...but has been gone recently. I can recall that when they first signed on in 1967....They were always on what is now the night pattern and they were inaudible out in the Fitchburg/Leominster area. The new separate day pattern went into effect in 1968 as I recall...
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You MAY recall that prior to March 1967, AM 680 was home to WNAC, predecessor to WRKO; same owner, same facilities, pretty much.
 
Eli Polonsky said:
WRKO's night pattern nulls to the west. It should be about the same on day or night pattern to the south in Bristol and Plymouth counties.
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That would be nice If AM stations around here would figure out a way to cover the entire metropolitan area and fringe areas even at night without screwing up distant stations with any skywave..
I understand that unless an AM station is grandfathered in as a clear channel
( generic) station such as( name one) , you have to either lower power, or change patterns at sunset.
I live 20 miles NW of 128 and I have to listen to WBBR, instead of WRCA.
Are stations lackadaisical, or just house poor around here?
 
inorm99 said:
Are stations lackadaisical, or just house poor around here?
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Neither. We are talking about the laws of physics and the propagation of radio signals that share the same frequency.

Most major stations were created in the 30's when cities were smaller and coverage was designed to match the population about 90 years ago. They worked just fine then.

Cities grew. People wanting stations figured out how to fit new ones in while protecting the old ones, and often those new facilities were not too good at covering growing suburban areas in the post-WW II era.

But in 99% of cases, there is very little stations can do today. And AM is nearing its end of life, so nobody wants to spend money to try to improve coverage.
 
I live on the North Shore, and I listen to WXKS Talk 1200 at night.
While it is good clear signal, I can slightly hear a sports station on the same frequency at night.
Does anybody know what station that is?
 
Jimmy128 said:
I live on the North Shore, and I listen to WXKS Talk 1200 at night.
While it is good clear signal, I can slightly hear a sports station on the same frequency at night.
Does anybody know what station that is?
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Closest sports station is WTLA in Syracuse, NY.
 
One would think with all the modern technology we have available to us, that there would be some way to get a clear signal at nite. Here on the South Shore RKO is useless overnite. Some nites, there's static, audio fading in and out, it gets louder, then softer, then all garbled, then back to normal and I can hear another station bleeding into RKO.
 
Tired Of It All said:
One would think with all the modern technology we have available to us, that there would be some way to get a clear signal at nite. Here on the South Shore RKO is useless overnite. Some nites, there's static, audio fading in and out, it gets louder, then softer, then all garbled, then back to normal and I can hear another station bleeding into RKO.
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That way is to stream it
 
Tired Of It All said:
One would think with all the modern technology we have available to us, that there would be some way to get a clear signal at nite. Here on the South Shore RKO is useless overnite. Some nites, there's static, audio fading in and out, it gets louder, then softer, then all garbled, then back to normal and I can hear another station bleeding into RKO.
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This has nothing to do with improving technology. It is all about the laws of physics and how low frequencies (the AM band) have long distance skip reception once the ionosphere "cools off" at night. That allows AM signals to bounce off the sky and land far away.

There have been attempts to design AM transmission antennas that reduce the skywave, but none has worked to the degree that AM stations no longer have to be designed to protect other AM stations on their frequency or adjacent ones.

Static is the radio noise caused by electrical discharges in the atmosphere. Such discharges are amplitude modulated and they interfere with AM radio. And many new electronics devices create AM noise, adding to all the noise on that band.

AM is the first audio broadcast technology created. It was possible over 100 years ago with very primitive technology. Compare it with today's cellular tech where one signal band can carry thousands of calls. Or compare with the digital radio systems that some European nations are implementing, where one transmitter carries many stations with no interference.

AM radio is about the same age as the Model T Ford. Do you see many of those cars on the roads and freeways today?

Or, as jlehmann said, you can stream it.
 
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One idea that has occured to me: The FCC has limited filing windows for various services (LPFMs, Translators, Full Power FMs, etc.) which are opend only occasionally. We the demise of so many AMs there is room for other AMs to change their pattern to fill in nulls, maybe even go non-directional. If the commision would just have an open window for AMs I don't think they would be swamped with applications but it might encourage some AMs to provide better service by changing frequency or adding nighttime service where they were restricted to daytime only.

One of the stations I work with was able to eliminate two deep nulls and reduce from 6 towers to four because stations they were protecting turned in their licenses.
 
bigdonho said:
One idea that has occured to me: The FCC has limited filing windows for various services (LPFMs, Translators, Full Power FMs, etc.) which are opend only occasionally. We the demise of so many AMs there is room for other AMs to change their pattern to fill in nulls, maybe even go non-directional. If the commision would just have an open window for AMs I don't think they would be swamped with applications but it might encourage some AMs to provide better service by changing frequency or adding nighttime service where they were restricted to daytime only.

One of the stations I work with was able to eliminate two deep nulls and reduce from 6 towers to four because stations they were protecting turned in their licenses.
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You can make minor changes like going non directional, or adding more night power any time.. you dont need a filing window for that
 
DavidEduardo said:
Neither. We are talking about the laws of physics and the propagation of radio signals that share the same frequency.

Most major stations were created in the 30's when cities were smaller and coverage was designed to match the population about 90 years ago. They worked just fine then.

Cities grew. People wanting stations figured out how to fit new ones in while protecting the old ones, and often those new facilities were not too good at covering growing suburban areas in the post-WW II era.

But in 99% of cases, there is very little stations can do today. And AM is nearing its end of life, so nobody wants to spend money to try to improve coverage.
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As David said, the AM band is dying. Smaller stations will continue to fail and turn in their license. Only the stations with powerful signals will survive to the end. Those left will be able to increase their power at night and may be able to go non directional. That will allow those stations to survive longer. With land values increasing rapidly, AM stations with one tower will be more of the norm.
 
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