So my station is operating at 1700khz "The Valley 1700", everything is ok during the daytime, after sunset though I am completely blown away by some gospel station called Heaven 1700. I am forced to go to 1640khz where it is quieter. I am going to have to add some announcement about the frequency change after sunset. Does anyone have experience with this sort of thing?
By the way that station I looked it up, I guess it is coming from Hartford, and I am in MARYLAND. That's a huge distance, and the website claims it is operating under part 15 regulations! SUSPICIOUS
I have had similar trouble with 1700 as well but a different station.
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/info?call=WEUP&service=AM
Am 1700 WEUP Huntsville Alabama has a daytime power of 10 KW and a nighttime power of 1 KW. For a station running 1 KW at night, they sure own the airwaves here in London,Ky. I have moved my AM to 1650 day and night.
I still have the same coverage I had on 1700 am but a little less competition from nighttime skywave.
As part 15 stations we have little to no control over propagation and sometimes it's necessary to move to another channel.
Here in the house, I have another AM Transmitter operating on 540 am only because I like to listen to other material other than what is aired on 1650 am/95.5 fm...
It's really ashame I cannot get better coverage on 540 khz in this area as that channel is clear for me nearly day and night with exception to a few stations that are audible at night but are not loud enough to get a decent station i.d.
I have very few choices here for am or fm as this area seems to be very active for skip and local radio.
There's just something about the nice roundness of 1700 I guess everyone wants that frequency. It could be another station relaying their signal I guess where I'm at. Have a good one. The Valley 1640 just doesn't sound as catchy!
When I was a kid in the 60s it was very much the fashion in station promotion to drop the last digit on the AM freq. The AM 950 jingle was "KJR, Seattle, Channel 95." We didn't have the expanede band back then but 1610 was "Radio 161" so you could be "Valley 164" which would probably confuse the heck out of anyone under 40 🙂
listening to mainstream radio and then tuning into our stations.
The listener's would be so blown away from our great programming that they would probably come back for more.
In fact, they would probably love the idea that they don't have to remember one more digit. Considering all the pin numbers, passwords and account numbers we carry with us everyday.
It would be catchy and memorable at the same time.
"This is 165 am, London". Kind of sounds like a Longwave station. lol
I also find the AM Band to be so riddled with noise these days, it's really a wonder the FCC hasn't done anything to try and clean that up. In my area, there is always this frying noise, some of it is atmospheric but most of it is power lines and cable t.v. If the FCC wanted to push digital AM then they should seriously consider cleaning house first.
AM these days is a challenge for part 15 and commercial stations alike.
It's strange how the farther away one gets from an AM station (at night) the better the signal may be. For example WEUP is only about 45 miles NE of me, but at night their signal is non existent. However, I doubt their signal is being heard in Maryland, because their slogan is not "Heaven 1700," but instead "The People's Station" and their format is a urban Gospel format.
Hi Guys!
I don't live in Hartford, but I do live in Connecticut
and my wife and I drive through Hartford fairly
often. Just once, while doing just that,
we heard a strong station on 1700 kHz. I was
only able to listen for a short time and I don't remember
exactly where we were. The station did give an ID
but it went by so fast I couldn't make a note of it.
They did say they were Part 15, I definitely remember
that. We have been in Hartford since then, and I
have not heard the signal. I go to an eye doctor in
Hartford fairly often, because I had a detatched
retina that has been giving me problems.
Oh yeah, the format seemed to be gospel. Again,
I have not heard the signal while we have been
in Hartford since that one time.
I have heard WEUP, Huntsville, AL and WJCC,
Miami Springs, FL at my listening post here. During
the day at 10 kW and at night at 1kW, those
stations will not have a big groundwave compared
to stations on the low end of the band. But they
sure do skip far at night.
Radio sure has it's share of mysteries.
Best wishes to everybody!
Bruce MICRO1690/1700 (Off air for ground wire
work.) NANO 90.9 (Only listenable in our house
and yard. My kids seem to like it.)