If you’re out on the road this week, you’re bound to get bored at some point. The highway gets long and since we’re in the shortest days of the year, it’s dark and cold much of the time in North America. Would you like to make the most of it, with little more than your car radio at your side?
AM radio is a strange beast that’s been a boon to radio hobbyists for as long as it has been around. Due to the nature of the AM radio dial, the signals can bounce off the atmosphere and are received far from their place of origin. At night, layers of atmosphere dissipate, meaning that the “skip” of the signal can be even further. An AM station with little interference and moderate strength can be heard thousands of miles away at night, and even the smallest of stations might be heard many countries away. So if you’re on the road after dark this Christmas, start with a few of these suggestions to make the hours go by.
650 WSM, Nashville. This station, located in the country-music holy site of Opryland, has been on the air for over eighty years. The station has a deep connection with country music and the music scene in Nashville — enough so that listeners and musicians joined in protest when owners threatened to change the station to a Sports Talk format. The music is a mixture of old-time country and bluegrass, and new music you’d expect the old-timers to respect, with announcers that seem to exude the down-home feel of the music.
740 CFZM, Toronto. It’s undergone a few name changes, but for the past decade or so, this has been a beacon of “Adult Standards,” the big-band era of the 40s and 50s, on the AM dial in the midwest and northeast United States. The station’s website plays this up with pictures of the announcers in the dress of the era and nicknames from the time. Other programs on the station dive into love songs, radio dramas, and oldies countdown shows, giving the station a bit of an old-time feel to match the music.
830 WCCO, Minneapolis. The “Big 8-3-0″ is still something of a standard in Minnesota. It’s one of the few stations receivable in almost any corner of the state, and while its influence has faded somewhat thanks to the loss of sports coverage and media changes in general, WCCO still keeps itself relevant by being featuring local news, announcers, and information 24/7 — a rare thing these days.
860 CJBC, Toronto. How is your French? Canada’s French public-broadcaster Société Radio-Canada broadcasts news and talk programs most of the time, but also has been known to veer into musical programs. You might even hear a little French rap music now and then.
870 WWL, New Orleans. This station has changed hands and formats numerous times in its 80+ years of operation, these days focusing on news and the New Orleans Saints games. While still worth listening to, the station became famous nationally in 2005 during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. WWL was one of the very few stations still broadcasting live during the storms (at one point broadcasting from a makeshift studio in a closet). During the height of the confusion and disaster, they joined with other stations in town to form “United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans,” a group of stations within the affected areas that worked together to get as much information out to victims as possible.
990 Winnipeg/540 Regina – CBC Radio One. Canada’s English Public Broadcaster has a few AM stations in major cities, but these two cover quite a bit of the northern US at night. Listen for news and insightful talk programs that sound much like NPR, but with a much more Canadian angle. For an extra treat for late-nighters, check out their international overnight programming from other countries.
And here’s a few long shots. You might get them just fine, you might barely hear them, or you may strike out, but it’s fun to at least try:
- 530 CIAO, Brampton, Ontario. Other than tiny stations aimed at informing travellers, the 530 frequency is not assigned to any full power stations in the US. In fact, one of the few on the continent is CIAO. It’s also unique in the music and programming they play — much of the music and news is aimed at the minorities in their listeneing area, specifically those from Southeast Asia, Poland, or the Philippines. The station itself has somewhat low power, but since little else is in the way, give it a shot — there’s not much else like it on the dial.
- 1610, The Carribean Beacon, Anguilla. The island country east of Puerto Rico unfotunately does not originate its own programming on this station. It’s from a deceased television preacher named Gene Scott and his widow Melissa. Years after his death the station runs taped programs of him preaching, with his wife now adding her voice along. Admittedly, it’s not the most compelling thing to listen to (although Dr. Scott was known to chomp on a cigar while preaching, occasionally meandering into talking about his prized horses; even in the world of TV preachers, he was a bit of an odd duck), but it is a chance to hear a station from far off lands from the comfort of your own car driving down the road.
Wow! Makes me want to go on a roadtrip – the only station that comes in here reliably is the “mighty” KFGO.