WWJ signal problems? (+ WJR audio distortion)

[SolarMax]

Was trying to listen to WWJ this morning, ahead of the THREE HOUR UM pregame block. Very weak signal, almost overwhelmed by local electrical noise, and lots of crackling and breakup on audio peaks. Something obviously amiss!

[k8jd]

I will have to listen later, radios in the computer room have too narrow bandwidth to give a full audio reproduction.
Location of reporting users ?

[CK-722]

Hopefully, Rich will check in on this.

As I have heard, WJR still has two tube 50 kW transmitters out there in Riverview, and they sound better than the solid state ones.

Is it fading or cochannel interference that some of you are hearing? There are some Daytime ~5 kW nondirectionals in the WJR and WWJ post sunset period that may be legally interfering before their LSS.

As far as antenna and transmitter problems, they could both have nondirectional AUXs in the SF/OP/ROT area. Many of the bigger Chicago AMs now have AUXs. WWJ could probably use the WOMC/WEXL tower site for an AUX. The Chicago AUXs are diplexed on AM towers they own. A 5 kW AUX in the extreme SE Oakland County area would have a surprisingly robust signal for a large percentage of the Metro Detroit population.

[SolarMax]

I will have to listen later, radios in the computer room have too narrow bandwidth to give a full audio reproduction.
Location of reporting users ?

Sounded much better later in the morning.
QTH=NW Detroit

[SolarMax]

... 760 WJR has sounded terrible lately...

I rarely give ears to WJR. However, last week, listening in the car, they were carrying MSU football, which throughout sounded like the worst glitchy cell phone connection ever (same low quality today BTW), Happened by Fox Sports on SiriusXM, carrying the "home" PBP feed with Blaha, and by comparison, it sounded like a direct audio line (as much as SXM could be). So the feed from the game leaving the site OK, sounds quite good on sat radio, sounds horrible on "the Great Voice." Hope the sponsors are happy.

[mike.thompson.86]

Yeah, I'm in White Lake, and WWJ has been very inconsistent lately. Barely listenable in the early morning hours before the sixth antenna turns on. It's much clearer when I get to Novi where I work, but still not as good as it used to be Also, my car's A/C is interfering with AM lately, not sure what to do about that.

[Rich]

Hopefully, Rich will check in on this. As I have heard, WJR still has two tube 50 kW transmitters out there in Riverview, and they sound better than the solid state ones. ...

Well, better most likely is the subjective conclusion of listeners based on what their ears tell them, and which for them, that belief is true.

I know that WJR is, or at least was using a Harris DX-50 solid-state transmitter as their main transmitter. The DX series of Harris AM broadcast transmitters generates the fully-modulated r-f output waveform completely by digital means, and with noise, harmonic and audio intermod distortion so low it is difficult to measure accurately in a test lab — far less than any "tube" transmitter using high-level plate modulation of the carrier, or the carrier/peak tube design of their previous Continental 317 transmitter.

I don't know if WJR is still using their DX-50, but if they are and their audio sounds bad to some listeners, that is virtually impossible to have originated within the transmitter itself.

When I check out the nighttime skywave of WJR in west central Illinois using my Tecsun PL-880 set for 5 kHz audio bandwidth (which I frequently do), their audio sounds clean and usually louder/denser than what I hear from WBBM and other Class A stations in that same time frame.

[CK-722]

Hopefully, Rich will check in on this. As I have heard, WJR still has two tube 50 kW transmitters out there in Riverview, and they sound better than the solid state ones. ...

Well, better most likely is the subjective conclusion of listeners based on what their ears tell them, and which for them, that belief is true.

I know that WJR is, or at least was using a Harris DX-50 solid-state transmitter as their main transmitter. The DX series of Harris AM broadcast transmitters generates the fully-modulated r-f output waveform completely by digital means, and with noise, harmonic and audio intermod distortion so low it is difficult to measure accurately in a test lab — far less than any "tube" transmitter using high-level plate modulation of the carrier, or the carrier/peak tube design of their previous Continental 317 transmitter.

I don't know if WJR is still using their DX-50, but if they are and their audio sounds bad to some listeners, that is virtually impossible to have originated within the transmitter itself.

When I check out the nighttime skywave of WJR in west central, Illinois using my Tecsun PL-880 set for 5 kHz audio bandwidth (which I frequently do), their audio sounds clean and usually louder/denser than what I hear from WBBM and other Class A stations in that same time frame.

Guitar players and enthusiasts, and audiophiles (plural) still often prefer tube amplifiers. There are shops that specialize in rebuilding guitar tube amps, and particularly McIntosh home audio tube amps, which are still in great demand. The popularity of vinyl has added to that.

[k8jd]

May be multipath in the early hours with mix of sky and ground wave ?

[Ben Zonia]

There have been a lot of CH signals recently. WWJ is so strong in Northern MI, it drowns out the interference.

[WOHO]

WWJ is still weak to the south. I can't get an "HD" lock in Monroe, barely lock in downriver. WJR must have had a PD play with what WAS once the most perfect audio processing in the country when Ed B was the man behind the Great Voice of the Great Lakes.

[k8jd]

Weak in the South ? that's why they have all those phased towers, nearly all the RF is going North !
When WJBK had 12 towers you could not hear it west of Inkster Rd in Livonia, after sunset. BUT it was booming in the far northern suburbs !
When I was driving North on I75, and could just start seeing the towers, I could hear the Toledo station on 1470 and when I passed the towers it disappeared. forever !
Some antenna systems have real F/B rejection of RF fields..