KXEL Waterloo Reception?

[memoriesradio]

Good afternoon all,
I am curious as to how well KXEL 1540 is received throughout the US & Canada. We are producing a Christmas program and am looking for clear channel stations with available times. Any help is appreciated! Also, any clear channel AM stations on the west coast that broker time would be welcome. I am looking for any suggestions.

Jay Daniels
JOY FM (WTTX-FM 107.1)

[cyberdad]

KXEL's nighttime signal is usually excellent where I am northwest of Chicago. 

Basically at night, their coverage is good in the upper midwest/plains states and adjacent areas of Canada.  Roughly from the northern Rockies to the Great Lakes.  They don't send as much signal to the south, southeast, or southwest.

[cd637299]

Amazingly, I have never heard KXEL here in south Florida.  Much if that is due to ZNS in Nassau dominating....but even in the month or two that they were off the air (copper thieves), no KXEL for me.

However, I believe that KXEL dominates much of mid-America & parts of the Northeast.

There might be a small issue with CHIN, the multilingual Toronto station.  (BTW didn't the 1540 in Albany NY go bye bye?)

cd

[cyberdad]

Amazingly, I have never heard KXEL here in south Florida.  Much if that is due to ZNS in Nassau dominating....but even in the month or two that they were off the air (copper thieves), no KXEL for me.

However, I believe that KXEL dominates much of mid-America & parts of the Northeast.

There might be a small issue with CHIN, the multilingual Toronto station.  (BTW didn't the 1540 in Albany NY go bye bye?)

cd

KXEL throws a null right at you.  I don't recall ever hearing it anywhere in Florida.   

CHIN can become a bit of a pest once you get into the eastern Great Lakes on the U.S. side of the border. But most of the juice is aimed into Canada.  I'm pretty sure they're also planning to go "bye bye" and migrate to FM. (Perhaps Tincap, Yeziknoradio, Mimo, or one of the other Canadians can shed some light on this).

I'm unclear to what extent...if any...this would help KXEL's effective nighttime coverage.

[cd637299]

CHIN already has a major FM at 100.7.  They have a translator at 101.3 I think.

[w9wi]

I'm pretty sure they're also planning to go "bye bye" and migrate to FM. (Perhaps Tincap, Yeziknoradio, Mimo, or one of the other Canadians can shed some light on this).

I don't know of any plans for CHIN to move to FM. 

As Chris says, they have a full-power FM on 100.7 (separate programming) and a low-power FM on 91.9.  (moved from 101.3; 91.9 indeed relays the AM)  Normally the CRTC only allows two FMs in the same market for the same owner.  I'm not sure a low-powered relay like 91.9 counts against that total. 

If 91.9 *doesn't* count against the limit...  CHIN just had a golden opportunity to move, to the old CKLN frequency 88.1.  They didn't take it. 

[KR4BD]

KXEL used to be strong and "in-the-clear" at night in Central KY.....until CHIN juiced up.  Now, it's a nightly battle between the two.

[memoriesradio]

Thanks for all of the replies! I truly appreciate them. Tonight, on the way home in central Virginia, I managed to KXEL with Mark Levin. As many of you mentioned, CHIN was right there with it. It still never ceases to amaze me how distant of stations you can hear after sunset. The trouble is.... for most listeners, what is the draw of AM radio these days? Most all play some form of news/talk. Very few (AM 740 being one) play a format unique to their station. 'Tis a shame.

[cd637299]

What's funny is that at one time, not only was Toronto's 1540 only a daytimer, but used 680 for nighttime use, if I recall reading correctly.

So what made the difference, that Toronto's 1540 could go 24 hours now, when they could not back in the 60s?  (And where was the outcry from KXEL & WDCD?)

<shrug>

cd

[mimo]

WDCD I believe is either daytime only now or on severely reduced night time power.  Here in Ottawa CHIN is the dominant station although it is very possible to hear KXEL if you have the radio pointed the right way.  I believe the nested repeater actually counts as a separate station from the AM so there is no way they can flip it to FM, plus as pointed earlier...they had an opportunity to file for 88.1 but didn't take it, and that may be because of the repeater.