[GoMarquette.com] MU's Flagship Radio Station To Move Down Dial To 540 AM

[GoMarquetteSays]

MU's Flagship Radio Station To Move Down Dial To 540 AM
         

Milwaukee - Good Karma Broadcasting President/CEO Craig Karmazin announced today that the company has purchased 540AM WRRD from Salem Communications. This will enable Milwaukee's ESPN Radio 1510 Days / 1290 Nights programming to move and the station to become 540 ESPN.

In February, Milwaukee's ESPN Radio will begin simulcasting its current programming that airs on 1510/1290 on 540AM to allow listeners some time to make the permanent switch. Plans for a separate format on 1510AM will be announced at a later date.

"540 ESPN will provide our listeners with a consistent 24-hour signal," said Bill Johnson, Program Director of Milwaukee's ESPN Radio. "We are very excited, not only for our listeners, but for our advertisers, broadcast partners, and our staff."

"A consistent 24-hour station with the on-air quality of the 540 signal is only possible because of the loyalty that our advertisers, listeners, and other partners have shown us during our time in Milwaukee," said Karmazin. "I want to thank those who have been a part of our growth and invite everyone in Southeastern Wisconsin to program the first preset on their car radio to 540 ESPN."

Some of the benefits of the switch to 540 are that "Mike and Mike in the Morning" will air in its entirety from 5am-9am, "The World's Greatest Sports Talk Show" with Homer will now air year round from 2pm-6pm Monday through Friday, and Marquette basketball fans in suburban areas will enjoy a clearer signal for the team's games at night.

Release courtesy of ESPN Radio 1510 Days / 1290 Nights
         

http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/012208aae.html
         

[NavinRJohnson]

Looks like you will finally be able to pick up the games if you are outside a 1 block radius of the tower.

[IlikecreansoIcantposthere]

MU's Flagship Radio Station To Move Down Dial To 540 AM
       

Good Karma Broadcasting President/CEO Craig Karmazin announced today that the company has purchased 540AM WRRD from Salem Communications. This will enable Milwaukee's ESPN Radio 1510 Days / 1290 Nights programming to move and the station to become 540 ESPN.
       

http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/012208aae.html
       

comes in clear here in IL...much better then the current station

[mu_hilltopper]

Looks WAY better.

540AM:  NIGHT TIME


DAY TIME


1510:

[Eye]

Looks like there's even some hope for those of us in the West Central portion of the state. Fantastic!

[ChicosBailBonds]

Good move...better late then never.  Long overdue

[IAmMarquette]

Tech question: Why is the coverage area larger at night than it is during the day?

[mu_hilltopper]

Actually, you've got that oddly reversed.  I was surprised to see the daytime coverage was higher.

I think there's two things going on .. signals travel farther at night .. but often, stations turn their wattage down at night as well .. I assume because signals travel father, but also, fewer people are listening.  Saves power.

Maybe someone from WMUR can set us straight.

[mwbauer7]

I've always thought what IAM said.

When I took Dr. Grahms' History of Jazz with Marcus Jackson and Dameon Mason, he always said he could hear more AM stations at night.

[Sir Lawrence]

Actually, you've got that oddly reversed.  I was surprised to see the daytime coverage was higher.

I think there's two things going on .. signals travel farther at night .. but often, stations turn their wattage down at night as well .. I assume because signals travel father, but also, fewer people are listening.  Saves power.

Maybe someone from WMUR can set us straight.

They turn the wattage down at night because the FCC requires them to do so.  Your assumption regarding signals traveling farther at night is correct.  As a result, if there wasn't a requirement for certain stations to turn down their signals, there would be crazy interference problems all over the fruited plain.  WISN, for example, is a station that switches to lower wattage at exactly sunset every day.  FCC makes it a condition of its license. 

From wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AM_broadcasting

"Medium wave and short wave radio signals act differently during daytime and nighttime. During the day, AM signals travel by groundwave, diffracting around the curve of the earth over a distance up to a few hundred miles (or kilometers) from the signal transmitter. However, after sunset, changes in the ionosphere cause AM signals to travel by skywave, enabling AM radio stations to be heard much farther from their point of origin than is normal during the day. This phenomenon can be easily observed by scanning an AM radio dial at night. As a result, many broadcast stations are required as a condition of license to reduce their broadcasting power significantly (or use directional antennas) after sunset, or even to suspend broadcasting entirely during nighttime hours. (Such stations are commonly referred to as daytimers.)"

[TVDirector]

has everything to do with frequency allocations and licenses.
there are still tons' o daytimers-
stations that are licensed to just broadcast their signal during the day.

power changes as does directionality of the antenna at night to assure radio signals to reach communities (usually small) that lose their daytimers at sundown... explains why you can pick up KMOX or CKLW at night, but not during the day.
if you are within a click or two on the am dial, forget about reception, which is why you don't pay much credence to the fringe reception areas.

[scooter]

Okay, i'm really showing my age here.  When I was a kid and the Milwaukee Bucks were an expansion franchise,  I had this old clock radio and late at night (after 10:00) I would lay in bed and turn the dial until I picked up games from all over the country.  After the Bucks games, I used to be able to listen to Chicago games of course, but I could also get Cleveland (I believe it was "three W E), Cincy and Pittsburgh on occasion.  Many stations "power down" after a certain time at night and that "clears the airwaves" I believe.  I'm in Atl now and a few years ago I remember listening to Braves games on a very strong AM station (750) as I traveled to Wisconsin - sometimes I'd be north of Nashville and still get the station.  They've since changed stations.

[IAmMarquette]

Actually, you've got that oddly reversed.

Oops. My bad.

[Ahoya06]

I've always thought what IAM said.

When I took Dr. Grahms' History of Jazz with Marcus Jackson and Dameon Mason, he always said he could hear more AM stations at night.

Dr. Grams was a trip. I took his Radio Programming class for fun, and he was quite the character. Lots of colorful language in his classroom.

He also decided we'd "learned everything we needed to know" for the semester around mid-October, gave us our final assignments, and told us he'd see us in 2 months to turn them in on Finals week. Outstanding.

[MUEng92]

FINALLY!!!!

I heard them talking about it on 1510 on the way home from work.  As 1510 went off the air at 5:15, I tried 540.  It came in as clear as 620 (much clearer than 1130 I might add) in western Waukesha county.

Only good sports news I have heard in 3+ days!

[Eye]

Some large stations are clear channel stations, too, where they're the only station in the country on that frequency. I'm pretty sure KMOX and WSB (neither of which carry Cardinals or Braves game anymore BTW, which stinks) are. Others off the top of my head IIRC -- WFAN in NY, WMAQ in Chicago, WLW in Cincinnati (Reds, UC), WGN in Chicago (Cubs), WJR in Detroit (no Tigers there anymore either), WBBM in Chicago, WHAS in Louisville (lots of UL and UK games), KOA in Denver (Rockies there!), KDKA in Pittsburgh (no Pirates anymore IIRC). Amazing the things I used to do to listen to MU and the Cubs 15 years ago before every game was available on TV.

[Tommy Brice for Coach]

Thank god - ESPN 1510/1290 has pitiful reception right now

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

This is fantastic news for those of us who like to listen to the post-game show.

[ultimate]

Wow!! After this news I almost feel I should make a donation to that Athletic Department I've heard about that has a crazy amount of expenses and only a basketball team to make money

Seriously...that's outstanding news!!

[TallTitan34]

For those of you in the Chicago suburbs and southern Wisconsin, ESPN Radio in Rockford has a pretty strong signal during the daytime.  Marginal during nitetime though.

[MR.HAYWARD]

THERE IS SOME AM STATION OUT OF TENNESEE TOO THQAT COVRS ABOUT EVRYTHING EAST OF THE MISSISSPPI.  vOLS GAMES FROM ANYWHERE. lISTENED TO THE GAS MU GAME VERSUS TENN IN 2001.  FROM 800 MILES FROM TENNESSEE

[MUDPT]

WMAQ radio no longer exists.  670 is WSCR, sports radio which you can get pretty well.

[Eye]

My bad DPT. Same frequency, forgot about the format change.

[77fan88warrior]

I turned on 540 in Glenview, IL today around 3 p.m. and reception was great. It should be even better than 1130 was in old days.

[Eye]

Just an update for West Central Wisconsin, no reception tonight in Tomah, but didn't expect any either. Picking up some Canadian station.