WBAP - Dallas / Ft. Worth

[BRNout]

Just to give you an idea, I picked up a weak WBAP (per positive ID) in San Jose, Costa Rica on my Eton E100 - and that was in late September of this year.  Found it not by dxing but by turning on the radio that was already tuned to 820 because that's what I was listening to at DFW airport between flights!  Look at it on a map and that's a long way.  Few US signals make it that far south (it's about 1800 miles from Ft. Worth).  Granted, I got lucky that night because WBAP is only an occasional visitor to that area. 

That was unusual reception, as there are Central American stations in Honduras, Guatemala and even one, although apparently silent, in Costa Rica. But, more than that, San Jose is in the major lobe of HJED from Cali and its 50 kw. I used to set a recorder in the early 60's to 820 in NE Ohio and when WBAP / WFAA signed off at midnight, I'd generally get a few hours of the HJED overnight show to listen to the next day...

There actually are a couple of AM stations in Costa Rica that sign off soon after dark and I believe 820 may be one of them.  Another is "Rainforest Radio 960" which broadcasts a lot of 80s and early 90s pop-based alternative rock (i.e. Duran Duran, the Cure, etc.).   960 is off by 7 pm and I think that's the case for whatever is on 820 because it's usually either a mish-mash or your blowtorch from Cali at night.   The most dependable AM signals from the USA at night there (and they're very weak) seems to be KVNS 1700 Brownsville, TX.  I've also picked up WOAI and WCKY down there one time each.  It all depends on the atmospheric conditions at the time, which keeps it interesting.

The oddest one was KGOW 1560 "The Game" from Houston.  This station came in pretty well every night and was the strongest English speaking station on AM at night.  Too bad it was basically syndicated jock talk from Sporting News Radio.  Yet they are supposed to power down to 100 watts at night from 50 kw.  I can assure you that they couldn't have been doing that in late September/early October! 

Aside from 820, several other strong Columbians are in the clear in San Jose at night; as are stations from Venezuela, other Central American countries and Cuba.  1540 from the Bahamas is frequently heard there too.  Not so much from Mexico - at least in San Jose.  Up in Guanacaste Province, big Mexican AMs are much more apt to come in well.

[schmave]

Just to give you an idea, I picked up a weak WBAP (per positive ID) in San Jose, Costa Rica on my Eton E100 - and that was in late September of this year.  Found it not by dxing but by turning on the radio that was already tuned to 820 because that's what I was listening to at DFW airport between flights!  Look at it on a map and that's a long way.  Few US signals make it that far south (it's about 1800 miles from Ft. Worth).  Granted, I got lucky that night because WBAP is only an occasional visitor to that area. 

That was unusual reception, as there are Central American stations in Honduras, Guatemala and even one, although apparently silent, in Costa Rica. But, more than that, San Jose is in the major lobe of HJED from Cali and its 50 kw. I used to set a recorder in the early 60's to 820 in NE Ohio and when WBAP / WFAA signed off at midnight, I'd generally get a few hours of the HJED overnight show to listen to the next day...

There actually are a couple of AM stations in Costa Rica that sign off soon after dark and I believe 820 may be one of them.  Another is "Rainforest Radio 960" which broadcasts a lot of 80s and early 90s pop-based alternative rock (i.e. Duran Duran, the Cure, etc.).   960 is off by 7 pm and I think that's the case for whatever is on 820 because it's usually either a mish-mash or your blowtorch from Cali at night.   The most dependable AM signals from the USA at night there (and they're very weak) seems to be KVNS 1700 Brownsville, TX.  I've also picked up WOAI and WCKY down there one time each.  It all depends on the atmospheric conditions at the time, which keeps it interesting.

The oddest one was KGOW 1560 "The Game" from Houston.  This station came in pretty well every night and was the strongest English speaking station on AM at night.  Too bad it was basically syndicated jock talk from Sporting News Radio.  Yet they are supposed to power down to 100 watts at night from 50 kw.  I can assure you that they couldn't have been doing that in late September/early October!

Having still lived in Houston at the time and being familiar with some people who work at that station, no they were not powering down at that time. KGOW was testing a new tower for its 19,000-watt night pattern located some distance west of Houston in Katy. Posters who live in that area can tell you whether that's still happening now; it was not in mid-October but I could hear their signal in east suburban Houston in November shortly before I moved back to Ohio.
I am sure people at 1560 would be very interested in knowing they have been heard so far south!

[BRNout]

KGOW had the strongest, most consistent, US-based signal of any station on the nighttime band in San Jose.  They were in there every night and relatively listenable, despite occasional deep fades.   All of the other US stations I picked up were inconsistent and reception varied nightly - only heard WBAP on one night, for example. 

[Tincap]

I've received WBAP on a number of occasions, here in eastern Ontario. Currently, it's the most westerly catch for me (for 50 kW US/CDN stations, the Caribbeans, Mexicans and South Americans come up here too) and I've logged it in Vancouver BC, as well...

~BG

[charlestondxman]

WBAP is the signal usually on 820 almost every night in coastal SC, about 1000 miles from Dallas. Sometimes it gets interference, but a few weeks ago, I was picking it up strong early in the morning. It also comes in late in the afternoon. I've heard it in Petersburg, VA, and as people said, it trucks in from the Appalachians to Nevada.

[jd]

KGOW had the strongest, most consistent, US-based signal of any station on the nighttime band in San Jose.  They were in there every night and relatively listenable, despite occasional deep fades.   

Interesting report, although it's really not that surprising if you look up the pattern data.  San Jose is over 1,500 miles south-southeast of the KGOW nighttime site with a bearing of about 148 degrees off true north:

http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/1286478-105888.pdf

KGOW had a lot of problems getting the FCC to officially sign off on their new nighttime pattern and they were doing a lot of testing a while back when you heard them.  (Also note that they voluntarily took a reduction from 19 to 15kW to address some potential interference issues; that's the power level the FCC approved earlier this year.)  With the greatest field strength occurring at around 145 degrees in that narrow pattern KGOW really packs a punch toward Central America.  And, of course, at 1560 the almost "short-wave" characteristics of the signal make it travel a long distance.

[LibertyNT]

I Thought KGOW only had a 100 Watt ND Night Pattern?

[Icangelp]

WBAP isn't one of the best heard former clear channel stations, but it is generally in every night here in SW Ohio. WOAI, that is another story. WOAI has never had a good signal here, even going back as far as the 80's.

I was hearing KGOW loud and clear late evenings back in the summer. Lasted a few nights. Looking at their day pattern, I don't see how that was possible, unless they were testing their new night transmitter in non directional.

[schmave]

WBAP isn't one of the best heard former clear channel stations, but it is generally in every night here in SW Ohio. WOAI, that is another story. WOAI has never had a good signal here, even going back as far as the 80's.

I was hearing KGOW loud and clear late evenings back in the summer. Lasted a few nights. Looking at their day pattern, I don't see how that was possible, unless they were testing their new night transmitter in non directional.

With their day pattern on at night, I completely see how KGOW was heard in Cincinnati. It broadcasts from south/southwest of Houston near Rosharon and blasts most of its 50K north/northeast over the city. Let that signal travel at night in this direction and it easily makes it here.
The night site is in Katy, west of Houston.

[nsa6210]

In the Cleveland area, until a couple of years ago, WBAP could often be heard mixing with WOSU. Many winter nights, WBAP would be fairly clear and listenable late at night. Now, WGY's and/or WCCO's IBOC jammer pretty much wipes out anything on 820.