Visiting radio stations

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If you listen to distant AM stations at night, what are they? And if you ever would be able to, would you want to visit them to meet the on air people? I like WBZ 1030 from Boston, WRVA 1140 from Richmond, and WKBN 570 from Youngstown.
 
I think it was about 1990 when I last regularly listened to AM radio. BZ was a good choice because I could drive from southern CT to southern ME and never lose the signal. Ironically one of the on air personalities was Judy Jarvis;she turned out to be the wife of the owner of the company I was working at.

A giant historical station in Hartford is WTIC AM 1080 TIC=Travelers Insurance Company but no longer affiliated It was running 50,000 watts in 1929!
 
I loved clear channel radio, the big ones that kept the power cranked after dark. Inherited a 1930 9-tube ZENITH console radio (by getting it out of the attic and working over the finish with Vernax in about 1970), and my grandfather was kind enough to show me how to build a few simple antennas. From Dallas I could pick up all the South Plains stations (WBAP, WOAI, etc) as well as KOA-Denver,even, occasionally, WLS-Chicago.

Still have the ZENITH, (repaired twice in the first seventy years) but the bent-types lobbied for and helped ruin AM radio years ago. Now, no more clear channel stations and a howling desert of sameness across AM. There are a couple of stations I can pick up which advert themselves as Big Band, but it really boils down to having to put up with Pat Boone, Dinah Shore and other such tepid fare . . instead of something hot with Basie, Woody Herman or others.

Hope the rest of the country isn't the wasteland Texas radio turned into.

The car radios by the Big Four automakers tended to have good AM reception -- far better than any $1,000 head unit today -- and I remember with pleasure being as far away as Wyoming in the 1960's and Dad was able to tune in to "home" when the atmospheric conditions were right.

Few things I like better on a road trip than to find a good local AM station which reflects something of the community. Here's a site I use when going out on the road:

RADIO LOCATOR
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/home
 
A few years ago we took a driving vacation around New Mexico. I was amazed how clearly the California stations came into New Mexico.

When I was a young 'un in the early 1960s, we used to like to listen to WKBW Buffalo 1520 while driving around in rural central Massachusetts.
 
I've been unable to find anything enjoyable on AM radio in my area, with the exception of an occasional rare guest on Coast To Coast AM. That was on a local FM station for a while, but now I check in on WOAI, San Antonio, well over 300 miles away. I bought a GE Superadio & it didn't help much- still nothing much to listen to on AM.
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It's a far cry from the airwaves of my youth, in the 1960's AM was *it*, we had no real FM stations in our area until the late 60's. The big top 40 station was KLIF 1190 from Dallas- if your radio could get it! And at night we listened to WLS from Chicago, WNOE New Orleans, and sometimes great stations we couldn't even identify before it faded out & disappeared.

Those great stero receivers of the early to middle 70's usually had both great FM *and* AM tuners. The average AM car radio of the late 50's through the late 70's-into the 80's was, as TS says, far and away better than just about anything available today for either car or home.

These days I like a "nostalgia" low-power FM station, KZQX, here in ET. Here's a link to their website, you can listen over the computer if you like: http://www.kzqx.com/

In a little over a half hour, I'll listen to old time radio programs broadcast over a Texarkana public radio station, 91.5 FM. They broadcast them from ~7-10 PM & 1-4 AM on Saturday nights.

Other than these & a couple of oldies stations I sadly agree with TanSedan about the condition of radio in Tejas.

I have *way* too many radios, many with shortwave. With all those to choose from, what do I use to listen to WOAI almost 400 miles away, or the old-time FM broadcast that barely comes in? A little pocket-size Sony modern "transistor" radio, still available widely for ~$10-$14. All I need now is a flashlight & a comic book!
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I used to have a cheap little walkman radio that had the most amazing AM reception. One late clear night in Northern Wisconsin I was able to pick up stations from Chicago, New York, and even a French station I presumed was from Quebec!

AM radio was dead as a popular format by the time I came of age, but I still think it is really cool how far away you can pick up a signal on a clear night.
 
We have WHO in Des Moines which is by far the most popular radio station in the area. I enjoy the daytime local programming that provides some excellent, thought provoking dialogue, although at night the tin foil hat crowd really makes an appearance.

I was on my way out to Colorado a couple of years ago and listened to WHO for a good share of the way from about 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM. On one program they were talking about a time traveler from the future living in our midst. At first I thought it was a plot for a movie or television show, but after a while I realized that the callers really believed it. Some actually claimed to have met the guy.

A couple weeks ago I was up at 4:00 AM and was listening to the radio while getting ready for the day. This time they were talking about secret government agencies that were spying on them. One lady was positive that she saw white vans driving slowly past her house and that her phones were tapped.

There are some seriously delusional people calling in to radio stations in the wee hours of the morning. At least it's not local programming, but the "coast to coast" talk radio that draws those callers.
 
It's interesting to listen to west coast AM stations up and down the coast at the wee hours. I could sometimes could get a SF station in Lynden!

Funny I was listening to Coast to Coast on the way home Sat. 1 am. They were talking about the 100 mpg carbs! (and all the coverups)

I enjoy AM radio. I don't see why all the snobbery. In some ways in late 80's early 90's it became a real outlet for at least a couple freedoms.
 
I can only remember one time in my existance where I actually wanted to tune in to am radio and that was only to see what was there, and I than quickly left never to return.
 
quote:

Originally posted by michaelc80:
We have WHO in Des Moines which is by far the most popular radio station in the area. I enjoy the daytime local programming that provides some excellent, thought provoking dialogue, although at night the tin foil hat crowd really makes an appearance.

I was on my way out to Colorado a couple of years ago and listened to WHO for a good share of the way from about 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM. On one program they were talking about a time traveler from the future living in our midst. At first I thought it was a plot for a movie or television show, but after a while I realized that the callers really believed it. Some actually claimed to have met the guy.

A couple weeks ago I was up at 4:00 AM and was listening to the radio while getting ready for the day. This time they were talking about secret government agencies that were spying on them. One lady was positive that she saw white vans driving slowly past her house and that her phones were tapped.

There are some seriously delusional people calling in to radio stations in the wee hours of the morning. At least it's not local programming, but the "coast to coast" talk radio that draws those callers.


When I worked third shift, I'd record 45 minutes here and there of Coast to Coast. I'd listen to it on the way home at 6am (I wish all cars had cassette/cd available as an option when I get a different car someday) and then my wife would listen to it while I went to bed. I laughed every time the "time traveler" was on or mentioned by someone.
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quote:

never in my life have a actually tuned into an am radio station

quote:

one time in my existance where I actually wanted to tune in to am radio and that was only to see what was there, and I than quickly left never to return

I sure don't understand that. I replaced the radio in my car a few years ago because the AM band stopped working.

FM and cassette worked fine.

Different age I guess. To me FM is music; AM is Talk and Sports.
 
I know - if the Mariners are playing and I'm in the car, I would go wacko with no AM!

This afternoon I was torn - Mariners were playing at the same time as Bob Brinker's money talk show, both on AM - two AM radios!!!!
 
quote:

Originally posted by Master ACiD:
never in my life have a actually tuned into an am radio station.

its either fm, xm, or i just wont listen to the radio.


You might be surprised at what you can learn by opening your mind and losing some garbage.
 
Late last night, right here in NE Texas, I picked up WLS from Chicago, *and* WHO from Des Moines! This was on a "medium sized" Sony AM/FM/TV/Weather radio, model ICF-36. Only had it a few months, rarely used, & didn't realize it had such good AM reception.

"WHO's on first?"
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AM seems to be pretty useless in the DC area. The main reason why is that the AM stations have very poor coverage outside of the beltway, apparently due to antennas built for 1960s-era coverage that they haven't bothered to update.

As a result, we have several FM talk and news stations.
 
AM radio is great! If you're into driving ..and don't know where the local radio station is for your flavor of music ..AM will keep you entertained for hours from 12 midnight to 6am. Try traversing north central PA and see how many times you have to swap stations.

My nuke med contractor picked up a commercial contract for radio and television stations. They apparently do much of the physical production of these commercials in NYC. Now I imagine that they send them digitally or whatnot ..but back in the late 70's/early 80's they were hand delivered via Purolator (yes, they were there, just like FedEx). I got to get inside several radio and television stations. The dish at one television station was part of a Channel Master system (they made antennas for broadcast stations too). It's neat seeing a three dimensional signal.

Radio stations were somewhat "odd". Some afforded the normal space for a desk like environment for the DJ ..but others crammed the host into a corner and surrounded him/her like a one man band type situation. Some literally were almost to the ceiling with devices with the person in the corner. Sorta like a very tall organ ..but the room with it in it had enough room to not shoehorn the person in there
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I don't know what made space such a premium for DJ's ...while a normal office worker would be afforded much more personal space
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I got into Coast to Coast at my old job. If you could tune it in, it would allow you to keep awake through the 3:00-5:00 downturn that appeared to happen regardless of your sleep pattern or duration.


I think that "Clear Channel" has been redefined since the 80's. Most major metro areas have at least one 50kw broadcaster.
 
The old clear channel AM stations and info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_channel

The rules were changed of what was a quite nice method of long-range broadcasting in favor of those who would crowd the airwaves with more brain-dead "music" and advertising.

Used to be some great personalities, like 870-AM WBAP-Ft. Worth (Texas) Bill Mack and The Open Road Show that truckers lived by. (I believe he went to satellite, but, after thirty or more years of doing it, was rather tired-sounding last I tuned in).

http://www.virtualtruckroute.com/radio_2.html

See the site in my earlier post for locating type and range of radio stations (both AM and FM). I use it for every road trip to help with weather and traffic conditions, not to mention music and news selections.
 
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