Soxless Boss

[Cohasset / Hippisley]

Doug Drown wrote:
> I didn't realize WBZ was directional west; I had thought it was
> non-directional.  The station's signal is amazing.  I've picked it up during
> daylight hours all the way from Sackville, New Brunswick to Port Jervis.
>   

As I recall, WBZ uses two towers (probably a quarter wavelength, or 
about 230 feet, apart) to create a cardioid pattern with the null 
essentially due east and a very broad maximum from North through West to 
South -- just about ideal for its primary intended coverage area.  
Somewhere in my files I still have one of the ad sales fliers featuring 
their coverage pattern.

With a decent receiver and minimal line noise it's often audible in 
Central NY during the day.  It's 9:30 a.m. as I type this, and I'm 
listening to WBZ here in Old Forge, in the western Adirondack Mountains, 
maybe 30 miles east of Watertown NY and the eastern end of Lake Ontario.

But then, I also remember hearing WMEX (1510) on my car radio at mid-day 
many times as I drove around the Syracuse NY and Finger Lakes region  
back during previous sunspot minima.  I believe WMEX was 5 KW daytime.  
Today I'm hearing at least three different stations on 1510 at my desk, 
so I don't know if that would still be possible.

Bud Hippisley