Whos still listens to Am and what program are do you listening/listen to?

[satkinsn]

Have managed a rough equivalent to AM, as baseball season peaks. I'm using the MLB app to follow the AL East pennant race, and it lets me pick an audio stream to listen to a game - essentially, whichever local radio station is broadcasting a given team's season. So for instance, I've listened to the Toronto-Yankees series by picking the Toronto stream, though I could also choose WFAN out of New York. Getting it through my computer or my cell phone is on the medium to low fi side.

BTW, the MLB At Bat audio package is a good deal, I think. $20 for a year of listening. You could get the same thing free by searching out individual stations, but this puts all the streams in one place plus stats, schedules, news.

s.

 

[bobschneider]

One thing I meant to write a couple of weeks ago, but didn't; I think I prefer AM on AM, as opposed to FM translators. I've heard both Beck and Rush in greater fidelity, and while you'd think that would be better, to me it isn't. Rush sounds more like Rush on AM, Beck more like Beck. Rush's voice is just...weird when you can hear all of it. Higher-pitched and off somehow. The change to Beck's voice isn't as noticeable, but his voice loses some of its distinctiveness, becomes kind of anonymous..

s.

You mean these guys, of course. But I find they sound better in better fidelity

 

[Max77]

In many countries much of the AM bandwidth stands totally empty ...now most regular folks use the internet but do anyone know if there are any plans anywhere in the world to use this empty bandwidth for anything ? Are there any plans to use it again or will it just die ....is there no technology that could make AM a good medium again?

I can't see AM really making a comeback. There are a number of long time AM stations here in Chicago, others come and go, but in a world where even FM is an after thought for most people, AM will be lucky to remain stagnant, let alone grow.

 

[bjlefebvre]

For AM, it's just about only baseball for me. I like to listen to games while I can chill with a beer or do some yardwork/housework/whatevs work. Sitting down for a whole game in front of the TV is just too much couch time. As for the MLB app - I like using it to tune into the different local stations (and always interested in what advertising is targeted at what market, although the commericals themselves are generally awful). But it's actually only $20 for regular season ,no? Don't they charge separately for post-season?

 

[bjlefebvre]

I think the odd Internet-streaming stations are today's version of AM. You can get some great music selection that has a different type of "low fi" flavor (compression) compared to AM. Lord Sutch Radio is good, and there are others like it. The only thing I really miss is the DJs, actually. But there's also the college stations that stream - CJAM in Windsor still has the DJs break in - Willy Wilson (used to have a great blues show on Detroit WDET) has a really good psychedelic rock show that streams on there.

 

[Lazarus Long]

I listen to baseball on AM. I also listen to coast to coast am once in a while, but I stream that from youtube. It's on way too late for me.

 

[satkinsn]

But it's actually only $20 for regular season ,no? Don't they charge separately for post-season?

Nope. $19.99 covers everything. Whatever its faults in general, MLB is sane about this stuff. We've got a month of baseball left plus playoffs and I just got an offer for the TV service for $9.95 for rest of season, including everything.

s.

 

[bjlefebvre]

Nope. $19.99 covers everything.

Nice. I could have sworn a few years ago they were charging seperately for post season, at least on the Android app. Drove me nuts. Not that I didn't pay it in the end.

 

[dlrhawks]

I listen mainly to sports on AM, mostly MLB. I keep a Grundig S350 just for this purpose. It's AM tuner is outstanding. My Zenith Transoceanic also has an outstanding AM tuner but given it's bulk I don't use it nearly as often.

I can pick up the Cardinals, Indians, Royals, Pirates, Tigers, Cubs, Brewers, Twins, White Sox and Reds on AM here in eastern Iowa. Daytime can be troublesome for most of these, which is why I have the $20 MLB internet sub. And I agree with what's been posted prior...I guess since I grew up listening to baseball this way, listening to the internet feeds just ain't the same. For me, it's the "last resort" safety net.

My cabin, right on the Mississippi River with a 500 foot bluff directly to the west of me, necessitates using radio a lot. Cell reception is spotty at best, DSS I'd have to put in a 75 foot tower, XM is also spotty at best, and DSL is too expensive for what amounts to being weekends barely half the year.

Whereas AM is free of charge.

 

[satkinsn]

I haven't bought the $9.95 TV special yet - and I didn't buy the TV package earlier in the year; as much as I like watching baseball, I'm really enjoying listening to the games. The AL East is a whole lot of fun right now.

s.

dirhawks - So, I'm interested - If cell is marginal and other broadband is a non-starter, how do you use the MLB app?

 

[dlrhawks]

I mainly use the MLB app during the daytime or in my car when I'm not able to pick up the station I need (KMOX 1120 out of St. Louis), and St. Louis isn't playing the Cubs or Brewers (depending on where I'm at).

KMOX usually doesn't come in till roughly 1.5 to 2 hours before sundown here in east central Iowa. Heavy storms also obviously can force me to the internet/phone. There are no local Cardinals affiliates near Cedar Rapids. 95.1 FM in Maquoketa isn't powerful enough, 1280 AM daytime out of Newton only comes in on nice weather days, and powers down by sundown.

For my car though it's almost always (for Cards games) my phone. I own BMW's, which have terrible radio antennas. Nightime can be good, but I don't really drive at night often. Daytime...I'm lucky to pick up anything AM beyond 30 miles from the tower.

I'd say I'm using the app roughly a third of Cardinals games in full. 6PM central game starts, I often start with the app, then switch to AM as the night falls. Dead of summer...that can be 8PM. Spring and fall, I usually can get KMOX by 630-645PM.

 

[satkinsn]

From 2013, a delightful NYT piece on KMOX:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/30/s...ach-of-cardinals-baseball.html?pagewanted=all

s.

 

[Splatter Pak]

My old-time favorite classical station, KXTR, got moved to the AM band some years ago. Having moved back to KC from New Mexico, I lacked any tuner having the bandwidth to get 1660. I bought an ADS T2 tuner the other day, and it did, so I dialed it up...and got a ball game. AM is over for me.

 

[KA2Z]

Coast to coast with George Noorey to get the latest UFO and strange phenomenon updates.

 

[kf2dx]

I enjoy CHZM 740kc 50,000 watts clear channel from Toronto. Real programs hosted by real DJ's. They cover 26 states at night with their big signal (try that FM!). I often listen to the Stardust program at 11:00 PM weeknights , great variety of music and a super jock.

 

[musichal]

Well, this is the time of year to drag those AM radios out and try a little nighttime is the righttime dxing. After my three hours of FM jazz on the Kenny (all the broadcast jazz in OKC), which is now playing until midnight, I'll slap new batts in the CCraneEP and play for a bit - try to sleuth something other than politics or religion. May bust out the Panasonic for some SW scanning, too.

 

[Pio1980]

Another way to make AM reception interesting and challenging is to do it with a crystal set radio, a simpler form of radio that gets all of its power thru the antenna system from the station signal.
Making an efficient low insertion loss version will make reliable long distance AM reception possible and rewarding. Do a websearch for DX crystal radio sets.

 

[musichal]

Another way to make AM reception interesting and challenging is to do it with a crystal set radio, a simpler form of radio that gets all of its power thru the antenna system from the station signal.
Making an efficient low insertion loss version will make reliable long distance AM reception possible and rewarding. Do a websearch for DX crystal radio sets.

I've looked at them online quite a number of times, and thought they would be fun, but they're just a bit too unwieldy for my needs. The Crane is big enough; last night I dx'd with my Panasonic RB-40, one of those 5x7-sized portables. I'd like to get away from town one evening and play with those two radios away from so much RFI to see what they'll really do - might be able to talk Christine into that some night, as she's my driver.

 

[jlovda]

I own a Zenith Transoceanic 3000. Most 1950's and 60's vintage mid-sized Zeniths have a three gang front end and are quite good at night.

When I lived in Chicago during my high school years I built an extremely simple crystal radio using a Miller ferrite core coil, single tuning capacitor, 1N34 diode with a fifty foot wire on the side of the house. I mainly got all the 50KW stations in the Chicago area (there were quite a few).

 

[likebike23]

I recently picked up a Zenith Trans-Oceanic Royal 1000-1 radio and have been using it to listen to Cool Oldies on WACM 1270. I really don't like talk radio or sports radio so I was happy to find a channel that actually plays music.