AM Radio Stations

[stereofisher]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

I have one of those early TO's, Royal 1000-1 (an ebay score last year). Like Donny's, though, the dial cord on mine is broken, but I haven't gotten around to restringing it (I hate to think what a job it will be to get the chassis out of the cabinet, let alone restringing the dial drive itself; from the diagram of it on the schematic, it looks as if there are two dial cords in there). The radio works very well and sounds great, like all Zeniths; I can change stations by reaching in the back and moving the tuning capacitor rotor by hand, so I am really in no hurry to restring the dial (I've been using the radio this way for some time).

I like AM radio as well. Don't care too much for talk radio, but there is a very good music station from Toronto that comes in here like gangbusters all day and all night (CHWO-AM740). All six of the Zenith radios in my collection pick up this station extremely well, but I'm not surprised, as I live about a mile from the southern shore of Lake Erie. I can hear many southwestern Ontario stations and Detroit stations all day and into the night; at night, the dial just lights up with stations, including every major AM station in New York and Chicago as well as most 50kW stations up and down the East Coast. I listened to WWL in New Orleans during the hurricane (when the station was on the United Broadcasters of New Orleans network; it's back to news/talk now, I think) and my Royal 1000 picked it up really well after dark--no fading, interference or anything else except a good strong signal. I don't think I had ever heard WWL before then.

I've been wanting to listen to that oldies music program over New York's WABC you mention (I like oldies a lot, and have many of my FM radios set on the oldies FM station in Cleveland or a small AM oldies station about 35 miles east of here), but I keep forgetting when it's on.

It would be great to get AM 740 all the time! I wish I could it here in Southeast NY. I really miss WABC. Cant beleive how popular Talk Radio is on ABC. Checked the Arbitrons for New York City and WABC was like 4th or 5th. Cant beleive that! All radios in my collection get CHWO. wish there were more AM music stations!

Eric

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by stereofisher

It would be great to get AM 740 all the time! I wish I could it here in Southeast NY. I really miss WABC. Cant beleive how popular Talk Radio is on ABC. Checked the Arbitrons for New York City and WABC was like 4th or 5th. Cant beleive that! All radios in my collection get CHWO. wish there were more AM music stations!

Eric

WABC is a 50kW station, but not clear channel anymore. I can't imagine why you don't hear it (at least at night) where you are, unless the station has recently put a null in their signal pattern to the southeast. I live in northeastern Ohio near Cleveland and can hear WABC, WCBS and WFAN (formerly WNBC-AM), as well as 1150 (used to be WHN, don't know what it is now, ) and most other major New York, Philadelphia and Chicago stations after dark, as I mentioned in my last post.

WABC, and other New York stations (radio and TV), are in the #1 radio/TV market in this country, so I'm not surprised their ratings are consistently high in the New York City area. This may also account for why ABC's national talk shows are so popular, although since they get things like Internet and satellite radio in The Big Apple just as everyone else does in this country, it's interesting just the same that ABC's ratings are still so high. ABC must have shows on XM or Sirius as well as terrestrial radio (Howard Stern's program is on Sirius and Bruce Morrow, a.k.a. Cousin Brucie, took his show to Sirius as well after New York's WCBS-FM dropped oldies), so this might also account for ABC Radio's great ratings as far as their networks are concerned.

You say all your radios get CHWO 740, but in the sentence preceding that you said you wish you could hear the station all the time. I'm confused; are you saying that you can get the station in the daytime but not at night? Where in southeastern New York are you located? I'm not familiar with that part of the state (I don't know much about New York, period, despite the fact one of my cousins lives in Brooklyn and another used to live near Buffalo), so I can only guess where you are. My best guess after looking in my atlas, however, would be the Capital region, unless you are closer to the border of New York state and Vermont. Still, I would think CHWO-740 should be audible anywhere in that general area; the station has a 50kW signal and covers much of the Northeastern US as well as southwestern Ontario, Canada.

There are still AM music stations, but they are difficult to find as many of them are small local operations with low power and sharply directional signal patterns meant to cover their immediate area, no more. (One you may hear in your area is CFCO-AM 630 in Chatham, Ontario, Canada; if you are lucky you might even hear their FM sister station, CFCO-FM, 92.7). Most of them are programmed from satellite feeds, although some very small stations in small towns still have real radio programs with live DJs. There was one 0.5kW station near my hometown that had live programming from when it signed on in 1965 until about three years ago, then it went to syndicated talk. Another station about 20 miles and one county south of where I live now had no fewer than three formats since it signed on in 1969; every one of those formats failed miserably in the ratings books because the station couldn't compete with the big Cleveland stations (the smaller station had 1kW daytime only and couldn't get authorization to operate full time or with higher power if it wanted to), so after the last format (Sporting News Radio sports via satellite) went down the drain the station said enough already, threw in the towel and went off the air for good three years or so ago. Fifteen sixty kHz, the station's dial position, is now, regrettably, silent during the day in this area, but I do hear New York's Radio Disney (WQEW-AM, formerly WQXR-AM, which simulcast NYC's classical WQXR-FM until a few years ago) very well here on that frequency after dark.

The switch by most U.S. AM radio stations from music to talk, BTW, is the reason I have all but given up on broadcast radio (except for the oldies FM in Cleveland and a classic rock FM from the same area) in favor of Internet radio (my favorite online music service is AOL Radio with XM, which comes free with Winamp) and my own CDs and cassettes; I ripped most of my favorite CDs onto my hard drive some time ago and am adding more tracks all the time. I find there is much more variety of music on Internet radio than there is now (or probably ever was in the last 30-40 years) on standard AM or FM. If you cannot hear AM740 for any reason (unfortunately, they do not stream over the Web at this time), there are many stations on the Internet that play the same type of music, and I'll bet you can find similar stations on XM or Sirius satellite radio if you have it in your car or even built into your home stereo (many new home stereo receivers are equipped with XM satellite radio tuners, and many new car stereos are similarly equipped, or are XM-ready, as well).

I think we can safely say that the days of the ordinary car radio (and home stereo) are over, with a capital O--or soon will be. Satellite radio won't replace standard over-air AM and FM any time soon, but satellite is gaining ground and becoming more popular by the day. My own personal favorite stations from AOL Radio with XM are The Seventies on (channel) Seven, The Sixties on Six and an easy-listening channel from Winamp radio itself. I've been listening to AOL Radio with XM just a short time (I only just discovered the service a few months ago), but already I like it so well I wouldn't dream of giving it up. More variety of music, no reception problems . . . I wonder why I didn't make the switch a lot sooner than I did. These stations sound great through my stereo system, which is hooked up to my computer. I used to hate the commercials and limited playlists on local FM; now, with satellite, I can't get enough music. Long live XM!

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

I've been wanting to listen to that oldies music program over New York's WABC you mention (I like oldies a lot, and have many of my FM radios set on the oldies FM station in Cleveland or a small AM oldies station about 35 miles east of here), but I keep forgetting when it's on.

Saturday nights 6-10 east coast time. Also on their internet feed if reception is poor.

[stereofisher]

CHWO is available at night only here in Southeast NY. We do get most NY City AM stations here in Ulster County. Wish it was available daytimes. Oh well. Eric

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

You say all your radios get CHWO 740, but in the sentence preceding that you said you wish you could hear the station all the time. I'm confused; are you saying that you can get the station in the daytime but not at night? Where in southeastern New York are you located? I'm not familiar with that part of the state (I don't know much about New York, period, despite the fact one of my cousins lives in Brooklyn and another used to live near Buffalo), so I can only guess where you are. My best guess after looking in my atlas, however, would be the Capital region, unless you are closer to the border of New York state and Vermont. Still, I would think CHWO-740 should be audible anywhere in that general area; the station has a 50kW signal and covers much of the Northeastern US as well as southwestern Ontario, Canada.

There are still AM music stations, but they are difficult to find as many of them are small local operations with low power and sharply directional signal patterns meant to cover their immediate area, no more. (One you may hear in your area is CFCO-AM 630 in Chatham, Ontario, Canada; if you are lucky you might even hear their FM sister station, CFCO-FM, 92.7). Most of them are programmed from satellite feeds, although some very small stations in small towns still have real radio programs with live DJs. There was one 0.5kW station near my hometown that had live programming from when it signed on in 1965 until about three years ago, then it went to syndicated talk. Another station about 20 miles and one county south of where I live now had no fewer than three formats since it signed on in 1969; every one of those formats failed miserably in the ratings books because the station couldn't compete with the big Cleveland stations (the smaller station had 1kW daytime only and couldn't get authorization to operate full time or with higher power if it wanted to), so after the last format (Sporting News Radio sports via satellite) went down the drain the station said enough already, threw in the towel and went off the air for good three years or so ago. Fifteen sixty kHz, the station's dial position, is now, regrettably, silent during the day in this area, but I do hear New York's Radio Disney (WQEW-AM, formerly WQXR-AM, which simulcast NYC's classical WQXR-FM until a few years ago) very well here on that frequency after dark.

The switch by most U.S. AM radio stations from music to talk, BTW, is the reason I have all but given up on broadcast radio (except for the oldies FM in Cleveland and a classic rock FM from the same area) in favor of Internet radio (my favorite online music service is AOL Radio with XM, which comes free with Winamp) and my own CDs and cassettes; I ripped most of my favorite CDs onto my hard drive some time ago and am adding more tracks all the time. I find there is much more variety of music on Internet radio than there is now (or probably ever was in the last 30-40 years) on standard AM or FM. If you cannot hear AM740 for any reason (unfortunately, they do not stream over the Web at this time), there are many stations on the Internet that play the same type of music, and I'll bet you can find similar stations on XM or Sirius satellite radio if you have it in your car or even built into your home stereo (many new home stereo receivers are equipped with XM satellite radio tuners, and many new car stereos are similarly equipped, or are XM-ready, as well).

I think we can safely say that the days of the ordinary car radio (and home stereo) are over, with a capital O--or soon will be. Satellite radio won't replace standard over-air AM and FM any time soon, but satellite is gaining ground and becoming more popular by the day. My own personal favorite stations from AOL Radio with XM are The Seventies on (channel) Seven, The Sixties on Six and an easy-listening channel from Winamp radio itself. I've been listening to AOL Radio with XM just a short time (I only just discovered the service a few months ago), but already I like it so well I wouldn't dream of giving it up. More variety of music, no reception problems . . . I wonder why I didn't make the switch a lot sooner than I did. These stations sound great through my stereo system, which is hooked up to my computer. I used to hate the commercials and limited playlists on local FM; now, with satellite, I can't get enough music. Long live XM!

I know here in Pittsburgh, we have mostly music station on 770 kc on AM, but it is daytime, at night, it decreases power and we get WABC out of New York City. However, there are doctor's shows on there too from time to time, you know where people calling in, "hey doctor, my foot is turning green, what do I do?" I'm a talk radio junky myself, but doctor's show, blech. I tend to be very conservative on most things but more of an economic moderate, but you know what, I'm burned out on politics so I might listen from time to time for something to do at work, but I might switch to music there as well. I do admit I'm a Glenn Beck and Michael Savage freak, along with Coast to Coast, but since I work, I'm limited on that one.

740 out of Toronto, I miss the days when it was CBC, I liked to listen to CBC when it came in during the night, sort of like another source for news. Up in Erie PA, it comes in during the day and night, Mom likes the oldies so when we are up there, that is her favorite station. I can pick up Detroit on 760 kc during the day, albeit very weak. One time, I talked to Canada on my 2 meter HT using the rubber duck antenna and 1 watt of power, my signal went across Lake Erie and 20 to 30 miles further into Ontario. It was fun.

[Jeffhs]

I know what you mean as far as the music stations that go into the noise at night are concerned. One of my favorite AM oldies stations is in a town some 35 miles east of me. It's on 1360, comes in great here in the daytime, then after sunset it goes from 5kW to 57 watts (directional at night as well, no doubt; the music station in your area that becomes inaudible at night may be doing the the same thing). I often hear WSAI 1360 in Cincinnati once the local oldies station goes away. WSAI is a talk station like NYC's WABC, but WSAI calls itself "The Revolution of Talk Radio" and used to be an oldies station.

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

I know what you mean as far as the music stations that go into the noise at night are concerned. One of my favorite AM oldies stations is in a town some 35 miles east of me. It's on 1360, comes in great here in the daytime, then after sunset it goes from 5kW to 57 watts (directional at night as well, no doubt; the music station in your area that becomes inaudible at night may be doing the the same thing). I often hear WSAI 1360 in Cincinnati once the local oldies station goes away. WSAI is a talk station like NYC's WABC, but WSAI calls itself "The Revolution of Talk Radio" and used to be an oldies station.

I'm not sure if our local 770 kc music station goes to low power at night or off the air, I'll have to check, but when it gets dark, WABC rolls in. I do pick up WSAI at night from time to time as well. Myself, I'm usually a talk show junie, still AM, but I'm just burned out and disillusioned (long story in itself) on politics and such to the point to where I might tune in for a little bit, if the topic is interesting, I'll still listen but if it isn't I go fishing for music. I still devote a lot of time to Glenn Beck and Michael Savage along with Art Bell/George Noory when I can catch the latter. I know we also have (had?) Art Bell and George Noory on 1460 kc on a local Ambridge station, but they go to low power at night, I think from 5000 watts down to 33 watts (IIRC), of course, they got lost in the mud but at the time I was in hospital with a hand infected with strep for 5 days (I almost lost all or part of my left hand, but I'm lucky enough to get away with some nerve damage and a huge scar), I could not get Art's Youngstown station so I was able to hear him over 1460 since the hospital was right under 1460's antenna and being so near, the signal was strong there. I know 650 out of Nashville's Grand Ole Opry still plays country music and on occasion, I like to listen to it.

[Jeffhs]

I found a listing on TVRadioWorld.com earlier this evening for a station in Jeannette, Pa. on 770 kHz. The call sign is WKFB and the station runs 750 watts, daytime only. Could this be the local station you mentioned in your post? It would surprise me if it isn't, as this was the only station I could find on 770 anywhere in the Pittsburgh area.

BTW, I am truly sorry to have read the note at the bottom of your last post, in which you mentioned the death of one of your cats. I feel for you, as I had to put my seven-year-old white cat Shawn to sleep in 2002. However, two years later, I found a cat exactly like him at a local animal shelter (and I mean exactly--same color, same personality; to this day I don't know how I could have been so lucky as to find him). The new one's name is Jonah. He was three years old (more or less) when I adopted him, and he is, without a doubt, the nicest cat I've known in a long time. He's asleep on my easy chair in front of the TV as I write this, looking absolutely adorable.

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

I found a listing on TVRadioWorld.com earlier this evening for a station in Jeannette, Pa. on 770 kHz. The call sign is WKFB and the station runs 750 watts, daytime only. Could this be the local station you mentioned in your post? It would surprise me if it isn't, as this was the only station I could find on 770 anywhere in the Pittsburgh area.

BTW, I am truly sorry to have read the note at the bottom of your last post, in which you mentioned the death of one of your cats. I feel for you, as I had to put my seven-year-old white cat Shawn to sleep in 2002. However, two years later, I found a cat exactly like him at a local animal shelter (and I mean exactly--same color, same personality; to this day I don't know how I could have been so lucky as to find him). The new one's name is Jonah. He was three years old (more or less) when I adopted him, and he is, without a doubt, the nicest cat I've known in a long time. He's asleep on my easy chair in front of the TV as I write this, looking absolutely adorable.

Yeap, that's the one. They seem to play a lot of obscure songs that you hardly hear anymore from the 1960's and 1970's, I like to listen to that station on my 1965 Magnavox 8 transistor radio when I cook out.

Greystone was only 5, he passed away from kidney failure. The vet seems to think he could have been born with it but it took time to show up. I still have 7 others to care for, some of them are up in years but doing quite well. Pansy, my little calico, she will be 19 in August, except for a hyperactive thyroid which is under control, she has no problems. Corky will be 17 on May 12th and I have a male 16 year old black cat. Yeah, in lieu of them, maybe I have to understand the pendulum can swing the other way but still, I do feel the little guy was cheated in life but at least we had a good 5 years with him and he knew he was loved and wanted. I'm glad you found a cat almost exactly like the one you lost. We still have Greystone's mother Spunky, his brother G.W. (Dubya), and sister Whitey (although she looks more like a Snowshoe cat). G.W. is starting to act like Greystone from time to time such as chasing Pixie around, she must be around 13 or 14, she is the other black cat we have.

[KB9KXH]

Originally Posted by Shain

Yep, I still listen to AM. Lots of it in the car.

When I was a kid, at night, I would listen to AM, and keep track of all the stations I could receive.
Got the best reception a night as I recall, depending on atmospheric conditions.
Kept a running list of stations. I remember having a book listing all the AM stations in the US. Don't recall where I got it.

I built a one tube kit radio, and had a wire antenna strung from my window, over to the garage, and to another pole, so formed a big triangle. I could get stations all over the US, and could pick up Mexico. (I lived in Kansas at the time)

There was a powerful AM station in Chicago, that I could get pretty much all the time.

AM still is well followed. One of the highest rated to stations (AM or FM) in Omaha is a powerful (50,000 watts?) KFAB (AM) Been on air since the 30s I think.
Has talk shows, and about every other type of programmimg. Just well established as "the" leader.

It's the station you turn to for emergency info in case of tornado, has school closing info in snow storms, etc. Has the liscense for Nebraska football broadcasts, and NE basketball.

For music, there's no comparison to stereo FM. Even the oldies are better on FM.

the book you refer to might have been the world radio and television handbook (WRTH) a complete listing of stations world wide. if i had to give up a mode it would be fm and i would keep am below 30mhz since most of my music listening is on cds, fm stations cater to the masses but ignore the more eclectic taste in favor of the more popular money making programming.

[superdeez]

Orlando's only "oldies" FM station recently changed its format, so its competeting broadcasting co. switched one of its faultering AM talk stations to oldies. Orlando has always seemed to have a rule that the english-speaking AM stations were talk, and the spanish-speaking AM stations are the only music on the AM band. Imagine my surprise to hear music I could understand! Plus, this station seems to limit itself to pre-1970 music, and even plays the unpopular stuff (not the same 15 songs the FM oldies station played repetitavely).

It's quite an experience to hear these oldies on a set that would have played them new.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by superdeez

Orlando's only "oldies" FM station recently changed its format, so its competeting broadcasting co. switched one of its faultering AM talk stations to oldies. Orlando has always seemed to have a rule that the english-speaking AM stations were talk, and the spanish-speaking AM stations are the only music on the AM band. Imagine my surprise to hear music I could understand! Plus, this station seems to limit itself to pre-1970 music, and even plays the unpopular stuff (not the same 15 songs the FM oldies station played repetitavely).

It's quite an experience to hear these oldies on a set that would have played them new.

My favorite AM oldies station is a 5kW fulltime operation (0.057 kW or 57 watts nights) on 1360 kHz, in a town about 35 miles due east of me. It also plays oldies from the 1950s through the 1970s (nothing after 1979 and definitely no disco) from a satellite network, The True Oldies Channel (no local DJs or live personalities at all except for a morning news broadcast). The station was formerly a talk station and was switched to oldies shortly after a 500-watt oldies station in a Cleveland suburb went from oldies to talk some three years ago. The 5kW station also plays many obscure oldies that the oldies FM in Cleveland either does not have or doesn't play more than once every six months, although the oldies FM seems to have more variety in oldies now than it used to--again, since the oldies AM I mentioned above dropped oldies for talk some three years ago. Every one of my antique/vintage Zeniths (and most if not all of my other vintage transistor portables, including a 1973 Sony 17-transistor AM/FM/FM stereo unit) will pick up the 5kW station all day long until it fades into the noise at sundown, as I fully expect from Zenith. These radios, too, could have and probably did play all the oldies I hear now when the songs were top-40.

[KB9KXH]

Originally Posted by TRC

I "love" AM radio. There's just nothing like hearing oldies over AM.
Berry Gordy for example, recorded songs to sound good over a car radio.
And Adult Standards..? AM.
The old radio serials. Remember hearing those late at night..? AM radio.....
When this stuff first aired.. much of it was over the AM band..!

Low Fi..? Sure. But even to this day.. (or night..) I sleep with the radio on.
And what band is it on..? AM! conversation and music.
The Atmospheric noise (atmospheric whistling..) I DO find quite annoying..
but other than that.. for the most part.. I enjoy AM radio.

TRC

now that brings back memories of THE RADIO MYSTERY THEATER on KMOX when i was a kid.

[NowhereMan 1966]

Hey guys!!!! I found a little gem out there in radioland. WABC out of New York City on 770 kc every Saturday Night, plays music! Right now, I'm listening to it over my grandfather's, 5 tube, 1953 Philco, 2 band radio. My other radio in here, my Sanyo RP-8700 is too close to the computer so I had to resort to the older model.

It sounds great and I'm glad to hear a little sanity return to the world. I feel like I'm in a time warp or something. It's nice to suspend the real world a bit with terrorism, war, political hate from all corners and to ease back into the world of my childhood back in the 1970's when you can just chill and listen to some tunes and everything will be alright. Yeah, I got to come back to the real world, but it is nice to have these few hours of bliss.

I haven't had this much fun with music on AM since WNBC's Time Machine back in the 1980's. I should tape some of these shows on my ghetto blaster or my Panasonic Cassette receiver component stereo.

There is some fading but I still get signal, just have to adjust the volume on this 5 tube radio from time to time.

[stereofisher]

Originally Posted by KB9KXH

now that brings back memories of THE RADIO MYSTERY THEATER on KMOX when i was a kid.

I used to listen to KMOX while dating my future wife on Sun night on my way back to Hays Ks. Not much was on Sun nights and KMOX kept me awake. Great stuff....Eric