I listen to the AM radio bands at night and I really like the big 50,000 watt stations. Some HAMS can hear European stations, with the right gear and antennas, but they can be expensive and complicated to operate. You can spend a fortune on receivers but I’ve always adhered to the KISS principle. (Keep it Simple Stupid).
One of the best, and cheapest radios on the market, is the GE Super Radio. I bought mine for $40 bucks at the local Circuit City store many years ago. It’s an ugly - black- plastic- lunchbox- looking thing but the “circuitry” inside is AMAZING ! It has a BIG speaker and is pleasant to listen to. It’s GREAT for talk radio!
There were all kinds of stations popping up on the new 1700 MHz area when it was expanded by the FCC several years ago. I could hear a little 10 watt tourist information station (TIS) at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and another TIS station on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There is a Grand Turk and Caicos Island station hiding behind the KDKA station on 1020 MHz. Sometimes around sunset, you can hear it on your car radio in West Virginia. It’s always been fun logging them.
You hear an exchange of ideas on talk radio. Not always the ones you want to hear, but nevertheless different views. I can hear the weather, traffic, and sports. And I can do it while working on the computer or playing the guitar. Radio is NOT confining.
This evening I’ve heard Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, New York, Illinois, Virginia, and Iowa. Several years ago, I even logged California.
That cheap ugly radio is one of the best investments I’ve ever made!
The next time you are tuning around the band and hear the call letters of a station in the far distance...
You can enter the call sign, frequency, or zip code. This site will even show you the radiation pattern of the antenna's and the power levels of the transmitters.
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