Crappy AM reception

asynchronousman said:
... That the local 5kw heritage station got taken over by somebody that hates empty talk entertainment and turned it into a full-service outlet with really GREAT music. ....

Many of the AM stations in Cleveland are operated by Clear Channel (which has also converted many if not most of its operated stations to talk), and the little 500-watt oldies station 20 miles west of here that switched to talk three weeks ago is operated by a company that obviously cares more about the economics of radio than programming. (One small station about 20 miles south of here actually went silent on June 1 this year because of one failed format after another.) Broadcasting companies program their stations with what they think will draw the most listeners at the least cost to the company, which is why the station I mentioned above went to 24-hour syndicated talk and the Cleveland stations are now all talk. Their management decided they would probably get tons more listeners in this day and age (resulting in more money for the company) by firing all or most of the live air staff and programming the stations from satellites (at least two stations in Cleveland have done this already; the all-sports station has had satellite programming for several years, and what used to be a big band/standards station now programs 24 hours of syndicated talk. The one remaining big-band/standards station on FM, located about 15-20 miles from here and with its antenna atop the tower for a major Cleveland FM station, while still using live air staff during the day, is automated from about 9 p.m. until the high school that operates it begins classes at 8 or 9 the following morning).

I don't think we are going to see a reversion to what AM radio used to be, at least not in the near future. I have very fond memories of the days of CKLW, WHK, WKYC1100 (now talk radio WTAM), WGAR-AM (now religious talk WHKW) . . . and other 50kW powerhouse stations I used to listen to at night from New York--who can forget "The Time Machine" and DJs the likes of Cousin Brucie, Don Imus, etc. on old 66WNBC, now sports talk 66WFAN, not to mention the great top-40 sound of 77WABC, the top-40 days of Chicago's 89WLS and WMAQ 670 [yes, the Chicago station now known as "The Score" was formerly 50kW "67Q", WMAQ-AM--it had several different formats during its last 30 years under NBC ownership before being sold to Emmis Broadcasting several years ago] and countless other powerhouse AMs that boomed across the country after local sunset?

The FCC did away with the so-called "clear" channels on the AM broadcast band some twenty years ago, and as I said, the major broadcasting companies, Clear Channel among them, seem to think their operated stations will do better with talk formats (and no local personalities to speak of, except to read the news during rush hours).

Memories and nostalgia are great for short periods of time, but people who insist on living in the past 24 hours a day are not normal. Change is a way of life, in radio as in everything else. I realize this, which is why it does not bother me that my AM radio reception here is so bad. When the last AM station in my area switched to talk earlier this month, I simply quit listening to AM and started listening to FM and cable music channels--and have been ever since.

I don't have a thing (well, very little, anyhow) to do with AM anymore. As I mentioned in my post, it would not and will not bother me one bit should every AM station in Cleveland go digital tomorrow. I simply look at the current shift of most AM stations to talk and satellite programming (and eventually digitizing the actual broadcast signal) as a change the broadcasting companies felt had to be made in order for them and their stations to remain competitive in the 21st century.

ASM, you mentioned my being a ham radio operator. Yes, I am, and have been since 1972 when I was 16 years old. My favorite mode of operation in the amateur bands is CW--continuous wave Morse code. Many if not most newer hams consider this mode obsolete in this age of the Internet and the relative ease of getting on the air using SSB, not to mention the hue and cry over the use of CW keyboards and keyers rather than straight keys. I do not consider CW obsolete--never have, never will. I do use a paddle and keyer in my present station, but I still read the code in my head and am able to copy it longhand if need be. In my early years in the hobby, all I had was a cheap Radio Shack straight key; this was also how I learned to copy code--by listening (there were no home computers in those days). I also upgraded my code copying speed to 13WPM for the General Class exam by listening, nightly for no less than one month, to W1AW, the American Radio Relay League's headquarters ham station. No computers were used to read the code; I copied it all in my head and wrote it down by hand until my speed was a solid 17 WPM. I passed my General exam in June 1985, almost 20 years ago, with a 90-percent score as a result. At no time, I say again, did I ever use a computer or other electronic code-reading aid to help myself get to that 17-WPM point. No, I did it all by hand and in my head, which is more than I can say, probably, for most new hams being licensed today.

Yes, I do miss those wonderful days of clear-channel 50kW AM radio when one could hear stations halfway across the country on, say, 1000 KHz. Stations such as all-sports WMVP (ex-WCFL and WLUP-AM), all-news WBBM, 89WLS, et al. in Chicago, for example, still make it as far east as Cleveland, but the days when these 50kW giants could go coast-to-coast ended when the FCC changed the regulations regarding the so-called clear channels. OTOH, however, I realize nothing stays the same; if one waits long enough, things will change. There is nothing to be done about changes, in radio or in any other field. If you don't like the loudmouths on national talk radio, as I said above, there is always FM and Internet, satellite and cable music. The cable-TV music channels are commercial-free (except for the occasional EAS [Emergency Alert System] test or alert, when the digital cable box force-tunes itself to the key EAS TV channel in your area).

The satellite music services from XM, etc. are also free of commercials, but you pay a fee for the service; the same applies to Internet music. (Cable music channels are commercial-free because you pay for them as part of your digital cable service, even though they are not itemized on your monthly bill.) But these fees are a small price to pay, I think, for 100-percent commercial-free music. The cable, Internet and satellite music services, not to mention our own music collections (as I mentioned in my previous post) are very popular alternatives to the loudmouth, jabber-jaw talk programming now heard coast-to-coast on all but a very small handful of local "mom and pop" 0.5kW or less (often daytime only) AM stations.

I see a day coming eventually when most radio listening (to music and variety programming) will be via cable or the Internet, with the AM broadcast band being reassigned to another service or done away with entirely, and most FM stations being digitized or done away with as well as satellite radio in cars becomes more and more popular, as it eventually will. (Many new cars today are being equipped with Sirius satellite receivers; XM's "Roady" portable satellite receiving system, which can be moved from one vehicle to another with ease, is gaining popularity as well, and home kits to adapt these mobile satellite receivers to work through home audio systems are also available.)

This all might happen sooner than we may think. The FCC is already planning to auction off UHF TV channels 61-69 for HDTV (in 1970, it reassigned what once were channels 70-83 to other services, the most popular of which these days are cellular-telephone carriers). This will force the remaining UHF TV stations to move to lower channels (if they are currently operating on channels above 60, as some stations are today, such as Detroit's CBS 62), go off the air and to cable exclusively (as several stations have done already), or cease all operations (again, as one station in, IIRC, Missouri did last year rather than convert to digital).

"The wired city." As I said in a previous post, this is not a science-fiction scenario--not anymore, anyhow. Most cities (and even small towns, such as the one in which I live) today are in fact wired for cable, with most cable companies, Comcast being one, converting their old, outdated analog cable systems to full digital. Comcast is in fact 100 percent digital, offering 200+ video channels, video on demand, 30+ digital CD-quality music channels and so forth. This is a far cry from what cable used to be, but again, that's progress. Many TV viewers have abandoned their old antennas in favor of cable or DBS, again especially in small towns, another example of how the "wired city" concept is changing the way America watches TV, and eventually how we listen to radio.

The day may come (in fact, I think, from reading posts on the subject in these boards, it is very close now) when home music listening will be exclusively over cable or Internet connections, or to personal CD/cassette music collections. FM radio may be relegated to a mobile listening medium, but even that listener base is bound to be eroded badly by satellite radio as the latter becomes more and more widespread. Satellite radio might even mean the end of FM radio as we know it today, as bent as the FCC seems to be on auctioning off entire bands of radio frequencies. I personally do not listen to FM radio as much as I once did, despite the fact that Clear Channel (the company that owns and operates my favorite oldies FM station) has declared that its operated stations will air fewer commercials (and the air staff will talk less between music segments) per hour than they did before the new ruling went into effect. This policy took effect, IIRC, earlier this summer.

Nice try, CC, but the new rules came too late for me. I still listen to the oldies station after midnight when it is automated, but at other times I either listen to my own tapes and CDs or Comcast CD-quality digital music. These are not at the mercy of broadcasting companies, commercial rules, etc., thank goodness. They are, however, the future of home entertainment.

I would not be surprised in the least, I'll say it again, if satellite/Internet/cable music and CDs/cassettes spell the end of commercial radio eventually, at least as we know it today. (I apologize if that last statement strikes a sour note in those of us here on AK who make our livings as broadcasters, but we have to face the fact that AM radio is not what it used to be and never will be again; FM, unless digitized or otherwise vastly improved from what it seems to be now, may be legislated out of existence if the FCC decides to change FM broadcast standards to full digital from the analog system which has been in place since the late '40s. They will do it with TV in little more than a year from now; can FM radio be far behind?)
 
I know Two Things As Truth...

In the darkest of times, only CW will be clearest and unmistakable.

The "talk entertainment" industry (don't you dare consider it as any more than Hedda Hopper without a clue) is reducing itself to the vision of jackasses many people believe they are, and quickly. Howard Stern, whom I've never heard on his show as it's not in my area, knows this and has decided to retreat to a medium he believes will support him. Good for him, better for us. If you want to pay to hear him--or anyone else--the FCC has established there is no public interest involved in subscription broadcasts and free speech by subscription is still unrestricted to you.

The university here (Boise State) inherited an AM station from a failed broadcaster 25 years ago and after moving it from 740 to 730 created a 5 kw day/??? night with a deep shift in pattern SW and added C-QuAM when the other two stations were abandoning it. It programs local Spanisn and Radio Bilingua programming on Saturdays, put student programming on a more powerful signal 6 nights a week while bring the FM up to high power and establishing an arts station, and jazz/some NPR makes up most of the day. While KSRV's one talk show is local for an hour every weekday, it's KGEM (Journal BC) that bugs me with two hours nightly that border on the infomercial.

I think KBOI knows the bumpers are more exciting than the mess they call local talk and the syndicated rumors (It should be...it's the classic rock they run on their KKGL-FM "the Eagle". And although it's pablum, George Noory's Coast to Coast AM showed me which sets had the best AM response when that AC legend stuff and the thunder FX were cued up and rolled (the rest makes my toenails curl-PAH)!

Some people suggest putting on a "Part 15" transmitter of your own, but I doubt you would care for that as serious about your Amateur license as you seem. It's a lot of hassle to entertain a dozen neighbors and keep a job, for no money intake.

Now playing-"Big Shot" by Billy Joel
 
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Jeffhs said:
Many of the AM stations in Cleveland are operated by Clear Channel

Hi Jeff, this is not true. We only own 3 stations in area that I am aware of. WTAM, WREO-Ashtabula and WHLO in Akron. The rest are owned and operated by everyone else. It costs way too much money to operate a successful and profitable AM these days.
Cleveland and most major cities have become RF hell. The new allocations of bandwidth to cell phone, pagers and other services the past 20 years have created a lot of interference. You can't drive 5 miles without running into all these new cell towers. Not to mention that every broadcaster has leased space on their towers to these companies which has loaded down the signals. I have noticed that WJR and CKLW from Detroit no longer have the punch they used to have due to the interference. Throw into that the aforementioned solar flares, and all the digital noise from our computers etc, it won't be getting better.
 
Oooops!--I goofed!

Macdaddy said:
Hi Jeff, this is not true. We only own 3 stations in area that I am aware of. WTAM, WREO-Ashtabula and WHLO in Akron.

Whoops! I knew I'd made a mistake the minute I reread my post after I submitted it--sorry about that. I meant to say CC operates several FM stations in Cleveland (WMJI, WMMS, WGAR, WAKS, WMVX) in addition to the three AMs you mentioned.

BTW, I am listening to Majic 105.7 as I write this (it is my favorite oldies station), and it sounds great, even here at the eastern edge of its coverage area (I live in Fairport Harbor). Even with a 16kW ERP signal originating from Broadview Heights, the station puts in a very good stereo signal here.

I think Majic is doing an excellent job as well of filling in the gap left when Willoughby's WELW switched from oldies to talk three weeks ago;all I can say is, I hope Majic keeps up the good work, as it is now the only oldies station in northeastern Ohio that I am aware of, even though it only plays '60s-'70s oldies most of the time.
 
Jeff,
That's ok we're not that big bad of a wolf! Actually I will be interested in everyones feedback after the first few weeks of the year to see what you think of the "less is more" if you live in a city served by clear channel. I will pass along the comments to management as well as sending a cc right to the president of the company as I think he would be very interested.
 
Macdaddy said:
Jeff,
That's ok we're not that big bad of a wolf! Actually I will be interested in everyones feedback after the first few weeks of the year to see what you think of the "less is more" if you live in a city served by clear channel. I will pass along the comments to management as well as sending a cc right to the president of the company as I think he would be very interested.

You can be certain I will be interested as well to read the comments on CC's "less is more" policy. I have grown weary of long strings of commercials on most radio stations in Cleveland, and am glad to hear CC is finally taking steps to do something to at least alleviate the problem on their O&Os (owned and operated stations).

Perhaps other companies such as Infinity will take the hint and institute their own version of CC's plan. Personally, I hope they do. The commercials have gotten out of hand on most stations, not just in Cleveland, but in every city and town with at least one station. Something must be done about it, before people stop listening to radio altogether--or before they abandon commercial radio for NPR.
 
you should move to Australia

Jeffhs said:
I gave up on AM, for the most part, months ago. In addition to the interference from the CPU in my computer and generally high noise levels in the apartment building where I live, the AM stations' signals aren't that strong here anyway. Five years ago, I moved from a well-populated Cleveland suburb to a small town 45 miles from all Cleveland AM, FM and TV stations and am resigned to the fact that my AM reception is and will be poor here, even without my computer operating. Cleveland only has six AM stations anyhow, not counting the ones in the suburbs. Every one of the city's own stations is talk, news-talk, religion or sports, no music. Heck, even the oldies station dropped its format almost three weeks ago in favor of syndicated talk, making it the last AM station in the Cleveland area to do so.

To my way of thinking, there is absolutely nothing worth listening to on AM radio anymore (except for a couple programs on WJR and CKLW from Detroit on weekends), "

In Oz we have wider spacing and the ABC's Radio National, only AM I listen to, except their local service!

http://abc.net.au/rn/default.htm

worth a look.

BUT, If you HATE libruls, don't bother. NOT a 'Republican' (US) world view in sight.

:naughty:

Timbo
 
My antenna's not grounded properly! Has anyone gone out to the car antenna and grabbed it with the volume turned up on a known station that;s hard to get and found it gets MUCH LOUDER?

Try that. And put a filter on the stereo's PS or antenna too. Some cars outta be required to carry a jamming license as they are STRONGER than most 5 kw directionals at night! If the noise races up and down or stops when you accelerate, brake or let off the gas, it's your CAR!
 
Timbo, whatever happened to...

that "public" station somewhere around Brisbane? that actually went from FM to AM and claimed at first that they would try to air with the C-QuAM exciter and it was taking a good while to get on the air? I stopped hearing about it after a while. I think they called themselves "Switch"? I know they have those authorizations for specific services that small broadcasters compete for and that's what it was.
 
Fluorescent lights and lamp dimmers are two more noise-makers.

Run any kind of coax from your receiver to outdoors. Ground the braid or not, whatever's best. Hook 20 feet or more of whatever wire you have handy onto the center conductor. Tie a weight to the other end and toss it on a tree, roof peak, fence, anything. The longer the better, but anything is better than nothing. I have 150' or so of thin enamelled wire for mine. It's ok to splice or mix wire types.

This should really help pull in more signal and lessen or eliminate the household interference.

If your radio doesn't have an external antenna connection, just connect a loop of wire to your coax and place the loop near the radio where it can inductively couple to the set's antenna.

-Ed
 
bad am

Everyone has bad AM reception; lots of articles about how to improve but it takes lots of homework. Good luck!!!!! :banana:
 
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