740 AM station

[jonman]

I get 740 late at night here in Michigan. I sleep with a walkman on at night and look for 740 when Coast to Coast is boring. I like the station, but wish it had a better sound quality then offered within the AM band.

[Jeffhs]

I live in northeastern Ohio, over thirty miles from Cleveland but within a mile of the south shore of Lake Erie. AM 740 comes in here quite well all the time, which is good because the "music of your life" format left the Cleveland area in 2000 or so after having been transferred to several other stations. There was a station on 850 (the last one in this area to do this format) which ran MoYL for several years, then the station increased its power to 50kW and shortly thereafter switched to ESPN sports. The big-band music went with it, or more accurately, the format disappeared from the AM radio dial entirely in this area. There are still a couple of 5kW AM big band stations I can hear here from out of town (1390 and 1590, both anywhere from 35 to 90 miles east of here), but, again, nothing left in the Cleveland area.

Sheeesh! I know Cleveland is the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but, IMHO, it was a a bit much when the city decided to convert every one of its radio stations, AM and FM, to talk/sports/religion and rock and roll, respectively, a few years ago. The only place on FM where big band may still be heard in this area is WKHR-FM 91.5, a small station operated by a school district in the next county south of me. The reception is great in my area and likely throughout the greater Cleveland area as well, owing to the fact that the station's transmitter and antennas are located in Geauga County, Ohio, the elevation of which above sea level is the highest in the area. (The station also streams online at www.wkhr.org.) I feel sorry for the young high school kids who spin the music on that station, however, as they weren't even born when that type of music was king on AM radio. IMHO, it must bore them blamed nearly to tears to have to play music several decades older than they are. (I'm sure they don't listen to that station when they are at home.) I bet many of them wish they had enrolled in a school with a rock-and-roll FM station, as most of the college FMs are in this area. I don't know what the powers-that-be at the 91.5 station were thinking when they decided to program that station with music far older than (and certainly unfamiliar to) the kids who play it on the air.

BTW: The reason AM 740 is unlistenable in Missouri, Oklahoma, and points west is probably because the station's primary coverage area is greater Toronto and the eastern Great Lakes region of the U. S. (Lakes Erie and Ontario), not to mention the northeastern United States. The signal, although it is 50kW, is not meant to reach much further west than northern Ohio or southeastern Michigan (signal pattern restrictions). You might be able to hear it in Detroit or southwestern Ontario, but finding 740 could be a challenge because the Motor City's WJR-760 is a 50kW station, and right next to 740. At night the problem is worse because, at least here in the Great Lakes area, station WSB-AM in Atlanta, also 50kW, booms in at 750--right in between 740 and the Detroit station. If you have a relatively selective receiver this may not be much of a problem, but cheap AM portables with next to no selectivity may only receive 750 and 760, depending entirely on how strongly those stations are audible in your area. If you cannot hear AM 740 OTA for any reason, the station now streams over the Internet as well at www.am740.ca as was mentioned in a previous post.

[Tony V]

I pick up AM740 all the way down here in VA at night. Good mix of music and is a good way to test out my radio collection as theres nothing local worth listening to anymore. Its very rare when i dont pick it up at night. Weekends are the best time to listen in as thats when they play the big band and do-wop. It comes in loud and clear from 7pm till 11pm EST.
-Tony

[Bill H]

I can get it in Northern NJ as well on a good night. Easy S9+. I like to tune around the dial see what I can get at different times. I have an old Atwater Kent 35 that I'll fire up on a longwire to see what I can grab.......