My dad lives pretty close to Cincinnati but has been trying to pick up the Indians broadcasts on the radio. Most of the Indians affiliates closest to Cincy are relatively low-power stations. But the flagship station, 1100 in Cleveland, is a 50,000-watt clear-channel station. I have been able to clear the station pretty clearly in the evenings from my place near Philadelphia.
But my dad cannot pickup the station and he is half the distance that I am. This weekend, I brought him my old Radio Shack shortwave/AM radio that served me very well over the years. And he still can’t get a hint of a signal even at night.
Dad thinks that the station only broadcasts in a certain direction in the evenings such that the signal reaches me 400+ miles east but he can’t get it 200 miles to the southwest. Is that possible? If that’s the case, is there any radio I could get him that would pick up the broadcasts he is looking for?
WTAM broadcasts non-directional day and night. Probably what is happening is the signal is “skipping” over him.
To keep it simple and not go into any big scientific explanations, distance listening of MW AM signals is accomplished by “skywave.” The signal skips along a portion of the ionosphere and is reflected back to earth. The next night, it could be completely different and the signal could boom in to where he’s located.
you can receive the signal directly if close or through reflections.
radio signals are reflected off the ionosphere and earth and can travel in these bounces. if you are in the area where it bounces off the earth then you will receive it. if you are in the area where it bounces off the sky then you will not receive it.
Does he live in a stucco or metal clad house (aluminium siding, eg)? It may be creating a Faraday Cage, which very effectively shields radio signals. (the stucco has a wire mesh underneath it). Try just a few feet of wire out a window (on the side of the house facing the transmitter) hooked up to antenna or antenna input of the radio.
He might want to try suspending the wire horizontally off the ground, since the signal would be coming almost straight down from the sky. I was able to pull in an AM station from Denver in Los Angeles this way.
Good point Harvey, but a 50 kwatt transmitter using a “drooped” wire ant. would be suitable for even a low grade reciever withing 100 mles… still, you are correct in the physics of the matter
Does your dad have broadband internet? It looks like you might be able to receive it via streaming audio. I can listen to what appears to be that station at http://www.wtam.com/cc-common/radio_app/ .
Internet is not an option, unfortunately. His place shouldn’t be a major issue in terms of the construction, but any sort of elaborate antenna would be out of the question as he doesn’t own. Was hoping for some uber-radio I could get him that would help out.
unless the radio is really junk or you have a noisy (radio interference) spot then you could be OK. i use an old boom box with an internal rod antenna to pick up (at night) a clear channel from the frozen north, works better than other (higher priced) radios at that location in my house.
even if a radio doesn’t provide for an external antenna you can rig one. radio antenna length and design govern what frequencies they are best for; don’t be concerned with that for now. take some door bell or telephone wire and hang it out a window without touching the ground or metal, hang other end over the radio (how close to the radio and which direction will make a difference, change for the best).
an AM/SW radio may only use its external antenna connection for the SW bands. the AM broadcast band might only use its internal antenna, the manual will describe.
that type of thing can vary with the sun. at times of a strong ionosphere and good propagation all you’ll be able to heard are Canadian and Mexican stations.
You won’t be able to listen to broadcasts of ballgames that way, since it’s syndicated content. You have to subscribe to the MLB Gameday Audio package - It’s $19.99 for the season, and worth every penny. Reception is crystal clear, you can get every game, and the cost is less than investing in antennas or other radio equipment. You can also get the MLB Gameday content on your mobile device.
am signals are pretty much line of sight so if he lives in a low place or there’s hills between him and the station that may be the trouble .
you could try a cheap oputside antennae.
Google “resonant loop antenna”. A few turns of wire on a 4’ square wooden frame and a variable capacitor can have fairly impressive gain and directionality. If you have some acreage a Beverage antenna will work very well.
There are also signal booster devices that are a regenerative receiver just short of, or slightly into self oscillation. These require no wired connection to the receiver proper…just placed nearby. They actually work to a fair degree, but must be tuned to the station exactly. They may reduce the bandwidth to the point of making music sound even worse than it usually does on AM, but should work well for the play-by-play of a ball game…the roar of the crowd may sound a bit off though.
Oh, and AM signals are NOT line of sight. Ability to cover beyond the horizon is why there are still AM stations at all. Actually, it is the frequency that determines propagation, not the modulation, but AM is synonymous with medium wave frequencies in commercial broadcasting.