KXEL Waterloo Reception?

[radioman148]

I didn't try.  In years past on visits to Colorado Springs, I have heard WLS, WBBM, WHAS, etc. and WWWE (now WTAM) out of Cleveland. 

WBBM and WLS are now covered over by a pair of Colorado Springs - Pueblo stations, 780 KCEG and 890 k??? both licensed to Fountain and both using the same six tower array between Colorado Springs and Pueblo.  Drove by it this spring by chance, it's an unusual configuration.   Pattern is a rather tight figure 8.

Pretty soon the former clear channel frequencies will become nothing more than graveyard channels.

[cyberdad]

Pretty soon the former clear channel frequencies will become nothing more than graveyard channels.

The other day on the 1530 thread, I indicated that the WCKY nighttime signal isn't quite as good after they flip to their nighttime pattern.  This is at sunset in Sacramento, which is generally at least two hours after sunset in Cincinnati.

"Back in the day", before the channel was opened up to all the class D stations operating at night, the difference in reception here in the Chicago area between WCKY at night with or without the DA was pretty much non-distinguishable. There was less juice coming this way, but nothing of consequence to degrade the signal.

[gar fla]

Pretty soon the former clear channel frequencies will become nothing more than graveyard channels.
 

I think it's already sounding like that on certain frequencies depending on your exact location.

On 680 here at night, it sounds like a typical graveyard frequency when I completely null out our local station.

Otherwise, I'm sure I would have been able to hear KNBR by now.

[Schroedingers Cat]

I think WCKY changed from a three tower dogleg to a four tower parallelogram.  That explains part of it.  The 0.5 mV/m 50% contour is considerably smaller due to the newer skywave prediction methods, unless it is further south like WWL and WSB. Stations just outside that contour are only supposed to be a few watts close by, or less than 250 watts directional somewhat further out.

Well protected former Class II-B, III-A, and III-B, signals sound like graveyard freqeuncies when the local station is off or outside the service area, but the interference should be only 100 uV/m to 300 uV/m RSS. There are usually several low level interfering stations that give the graveyard effect.  High NIF stations, when off the air, get as much as 1 mV/m 10% skywave from one or two stations, making it seem like a clearer channel when the local is off the air.

[radioman148]

Back in the 60s, WMAQ was the only station on 670. Then came KBOI, then came everybody else. Cuba may have already been there, but on my travels back then I never had trouble picking up WMAQ anywhere in North America at night.
Now in most places away from Chicago 670 is a mess of interference.

[crainbebo]

The 890 is KJME in Fountain. It signed on this spring.

-crainbebo

[radioman148]

The 890 is KJME in Fountain. It signed on this spring.

-crainbebo

I remember when WLS used to be an easy catch almost every night on the west coast.
Those days are long gone.