AM Radios

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by ChrisW6ATV

My best AM DXing event: After moving to the San Francisco, California area in 1984, using my new Sony multi-band radio and hearing WLS from Chicago on 890, almost 2000 miles away.

That was, if I remember right, the year before the FCC did away with AM clear channels, where there were only one or, at most, two stations on the frequency after dark. Any daytime stations on the clear channels were required to sign off at sundown. That was almost certainly why you heard WLS in San Francisco; the frequency must have been absolutely clear. This would be all but impossible today, since daytime-only stations on formerly clear channels are now allowed to operate full-time, with lower power and directional signal patterns after dark.

In Canada, the rules must be slightly different. Station CKLW in Windsor, Ontario has been the only full-time station on 800 kHz as long as I can remember, although there were a number of daytimers on the frequency which had to leave the air at sunset due to the Canadian station's seniority. I don't know how long CKLW has been on the air, but my best guess is at least 60-70 years. I live within one mile of the south shore of Lake Erie and can hear CKLW just fine, any hour of the day or night. When I was growing up in suburban Cleveland, the station also boomed in as well as any local station; CKLW was a music station at that time (late '60s-'70s). They did away with the music format some years ago, replacing it with talk, including at least one American talk host--I don't recall which one.