Chicago's ESPN Radio AM 1000 Shuts Off the Noise!

[rbrucecarter5]

Kalamazoo:  Fairly weak but very listenable

Finally - an observation I can do a comparison on.  I lived in Jackson, MI, in the late 80's.  WLW was much better than "fairly weak" in Jackson, only 50 miles East of Kzoo.  WLW was very strong in the daytime, almost like a local.  The 550 from Cincy was also very strong - easily receivable in C-Quam stereo with no static.  On a portable, you could null it to hear a 550 in Buffalo.  But back to the point - as impressive as WLW is today - in the late 80's it was much better.  So there seems to be degradation compared to what I remember. 

Incidentally, I found reception reports about WLW in my grandfather's old letters from its 500kW days.  He was able to hear it, in the daytime, in Lubbock TX.  Receiver was a five stage TRF radio, with a two foot loop in the back of the console.

I was also 200 miles from the big Chicago 50kW blowtorches.  They were like locals, and most were in C-Quam stereo that decoded with no static.  Obviously there was no motivation to tune in local stations, with the Chicago stations so strong.  And WLS was still playing music, so it was definitely worth listening to!

[cyberdad]

I spent last Thursday night in Jackson, MI.  WLW's daytime signal was noticeably better there than it was in Kalamazoo.  But I have to go with my own personal non-scientific observation.   

No other choice given that, for some inexplicable reason, GM and Avis neglected to include an S-meter in my rental car Buick. 

[rbrucecarter5]

I spent last Thursday night in Jackson, MI.  WLW's daytime signal was noticeably better there than it was in Kalamazoo.  But I have to go with my own personal non-scientific observation.   

No other choice given that, for some inexplicable reason, GM and Avis neglected to include an S-meter in my rental car Buick. 

That is interesting, considering that WLW is non-directional and the geometries would indicate only a slight change in distance from Cincy - it must be ground conductivity.  Considering that glacial morass underlies Jackson and even comes to the surface in places just South of I-94, I can't conceive of it having better ground conductivity than K-zoo, but I'll see if I can drag out that old ground conductivity map and see if there is a difference.  WLW, though, sounded like a local on a GE SR-2 and on a Toyota C-Quam AM radio, which was a really good performer.  Very listenable, no static at all unless you were near an interference generator like a power line.

[cyberdad]

There may have been more noise in Kalamazoo along I-94 sandwiched between 18-wheelers.  In Jackson, I was exiting a parking lot in a fairly open area.

[ddsparxx]

Probably has to do with ground conductivity. I looked at the ground conductivity map and I see it's lower along the east side of Lake Michigan and higher along Lansing and northern IN and probably around Jackson, MI.