Strange Broadcast Band Propagation

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Has anyone noticed strange propagation during the daylight hours recently on the AM broadcast band?

This past week I've noticed severe fades at times on WRVA, a 50 kW clear channel station about 50 miles away. Normally, WRVA is full strap steady during the day and most of the night too. The only time I've ever noticed fading on WRVA was around the twilight hours. But the fading I heard this week was in the middle of the day.

I've also noticed that several other fairly local stations that normally fade out night have remained faded out well into the morning hours - at least till 9AM. Even after these stations come up out of the noise, I can hear one or more stations in the background, sometime loud enough to drown out the local stations. I've never heard anything like this on these local stations in the middle of the day.

I don't think it has anything to do the shorter days, because I didn't notice this type of propagation back in December, even around the shortest day of the year.

What say?

[Jim, W5JO]

There is a station about 40 miles South of me on 1550 that I like.  The only time I can hear it is between about 11 AM and 2:30 PM.  It is low power, probably 500 watts maybe, with a single omni tower.  WBAP a 50 KW station about 120 miles away is the same way, ok in the middle of the day.  At night I can barely hear it at all but it is not supposed to be that way.  The entire band is really long from about 3 PM until 10 AM the next day..

Want to hear something?  Tune down to the old NDB frequencies from 200 to 480 and see who many you can hear on a frequency.

[Joe-N2YR]

516.00, YWA (BEACON), PETAWAWA, ONTARIO

This one has been consistant for about two weeks now. As I am posting this a RTTY signal just fired up just a Kc or two above. NAVTEXT perhaps?

[The Slab Bacon]

whatever is causing the wierd propagation on the BCB prolly sas something to do with crappy operating condx that have been had on 160 lately. Watcha think??

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Could be. Although, 160 seemed to be pretty good most nights this week. Wednesday night the band was in excellent shape - no noise and big signals. Heard lots of people on there last night, including John - KC2FXE running his new 813 rig.

[K1ETP]

Al Gore says its global warming 

[Tom WA3KLR]

The 1885 kHz AM Hi-Noon Round-up Saturday December 30th was a bust, much worse than the Hi-Noon get-together last July and the previous January.

The D and/or E layers are definitely behaving differently lately.

One day recently I listened to 1690 kHz WPTX in Lexington Park MD about 170 miles south of me.  The signal is down from 10 a.m. to around 3:30 p.m.  I don't know if this is different than normal though.

[wb1aij]

On Friday, 5 Jan. I was listening to WDRC 1360 on my way home from work about 4 PM EDT. The 5000 watt station was about 30 miles by air and is usually strong. I was in Middletown, Ct. going toward Hartford where the radio station lives. (Actually Bloomfield which is a bedroom community close to Hartford)It faded out so much a few times as I drove toward it that another station complety covered it. I thought at the time that maybe they were using a low powered back-up transmitter until I read your posting. This NEVER happens during the day...until now. very interesting.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Maybe:
Sun is hanging over the Southern Hemisphere; unusually warm weather in the Northeast so far this winter; depending on time of day, D-layer is totally confused; doesn’t know whether to absorb, reflect, or let the signal pass to the E-layer so it does a little of each.

[W1RKW]

I believe that the strange behavior we're experiencing here on terra firma as of recent is a result of astrophysical anomolies with maybe some geophysical thrown in.  It's effecting climatelogical, atomospheric and electromagnetic (radio) behavior.  Global warming which maybe plausible is a consequence as well (as I bite my tongue).

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Ah, it all makes sense now.

[W1ATR]

I believe that the strange behavior we're experiencing here on terra firma as of recent is a result of astrophysical anomolies with maybe some geophysical thrown in.  It's effecting climatelogical, atomospheric and electromagnetic (radio) behavior.  Global warming which maybe plausible is a consequence as well (as I bite my tongue).

You don't mind if I use this sweet pick-up line to meet girls, do you?

JK