No skywaves (Was Re: Stations where the sun never sets)

[mwaters@wesleyan.edu (Martin J. Waters)]

>John Bolduc wrote:
>Speaking of WJIB and recent DX conditions, the BIG 740 with the BIG Show
>>was coming in 4by4 last night in Salem Depot NH after 9PM.
<snip>
>Going back to the WMVU (900 Nashua) case of seeming to be on full power
>after sunset the last few days...  If I can hear WJIB from Cambridge on
>flea power some 25 miles or so away, I'm pretty sure then that WMVU was
>operating at reduced power also.

        The lack of skywave signals during the past week has been
relatively extreme, IMO. And it certainly could explain why flea-power
signals sounded like stations had left the day power on. With no skywaves
coming in, every channel is a clear channel and a few watts can go a long
way. I heard similar results from WMRD/ 1150 in Middletown, Connecticut, 60
watts at night and usually not listenable where I am. Clear as could be,
and if you didn't know about the skywave situation you'd bet the rent that
it had left the 2.5 kW daytime power on, whciuh m,as far as I know, it
never does. Same from WNTY/ 990 Southington, Connecticut. I was even able
to get WWCO/1240/Waterbury, Connecticut, which usually is lost to skywave
bombardment 30-60 minutes before sunset.
        Thursday night-Friday morning, May 7-8, the skywave effect seemed
to have been pretty much on total vacation. The past couple nights since
then, there's been a bit of an increase in skywaves, but nothing near
normal. In Conn., I was getting 540/WLUX almost as well as in the daytime
and it went right up the dial. The local stations that usually get some
background interference were absolutely clear as bells. WICC/ 600,
Bridgeport, sounded great. WELI / 960, which gets such vicious skywave
interference that although I'm only nine miles from its towers you don't
usually want to listen to it at night, had no interference. WTIC even
benefited -- no splash from WBAL and no murmurs from the station on 1080 in
Miami that's allowed to run too much power (IMO). WOR didn't suffer its
usual interference. WBZ was getting here only by groundwave (it's usually
stronger here at night when the skywave adds to the signal), but it sounded
OK because there was none of the usual garbage that crops up on the
so-called clear channels. WINS (which you usually can't really listen to
here at night) and WEVD from NY sounded great, without the usual Canadian
skywaves pounding on them. WDRC/1360, Hartford, which I usually cannot pick
out from the mush at night, was more than listenable with only slight
interference in the background. WPOP/1410 was solid instead of poor to
fair.
        Up until about 10 p.m., skywaves were just not there except a few
in the 1500s. On 1110, I wasn't getting WNNW, WBT or CKTY. I was getting
nothing. CBL, WJR, the Canadian on 860, WBAL, WTAM, WWVA, WHAM, WOWO, WTOP
- -- all not heard, and they usually thunder in. A very pronounced effect.
Around 3 a.m. some of these stations were coming in, but very weak. The
suppression of skywaves seemed greatest for stations to the south. Even in
the middle of the night, WBAL was as if it was off the air. Interestingly,
the loudest skywave was WNRB, booming in. Part of that might be because
WNLC in New London remains off the air, but it was more than that the other
night. It was stronger than usual. WPTR (different calls nowadays?) on 1540
also was very strong.
         WDRC was especially striking to me and it shows how the FCC has
made AM assignments as if the skywave effect had been repealed. In the
1960s, where I live, 30 miles from Hartford, teenagers such as my wife grew
up listening to WDRC on their cheap transistor radios. Today, no chance. On
some nights, you can sort of get on the Superadio. I once used it an as
example to her of how the AM band has been trashed by too many nighttime
signals. Meanwhile, there's a CP in NJ for another 400 watts at night on
1360. Oops. How'd one of me feet get on the edge of that soapbox? Down you
nasty soapbox. Down. Let go of my leg <g>.

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