  Keystone Member Username: Keystone Post Number: 233 Registered: 10-2003 |
Anyone else watch the CKLW documentary on PBS last night? Growing up listening to the Big 8, I had no idea of the reach of this station. At one time it was the 4th or 5th largest station in the country. Who can forget the '20-20 News' lead in? That style is still in use today (Howard Stern gives 100% credit to CKLW for his satellite news format). Great memories. | ||
Wash_man Member Username: Wash_man Post Number: 182 Registered: 05-2006 |
I saw the last part. Wished I had seen it all. I might donate to Channel 56 so I can get the full length DVD. I remember listening to the station as a kid. We didn't have FM radios in our home or cars. It was the only choice for kids/teens with only AM. Hearing the jingle on the show last night brought back many memories! | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 1728 Registered: 10-2003 |
I taped the CKLW documentary when it debuted on PBS sometime within the last couple years. I really enjoyed it and have watched it several times. Here's a link to the DVD website for ordering: http://radiorevolutiondvd.com/ Also the Big 8 website, which is updated as needed: http://www.thebig8.net/ (Message edited by Kathleen on November 27, 2006) | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 1805 Registered: 10-2004 |
"At one time it was the 4th or 5th largest station in the country." What country? When I listened to AM radio during the 1960s and 1970s (the time span when I chief engineered in commercial broadcasting) in WI or VA, CKLW boomed in fairly well. However, Bonaire in the Netherland Antilles was running ten times the power of the Big 8 back then (1/2 megawatt) and would usually be stronger in both VA or WI. | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 714 Registered: 10-2003 |
At one time they used the line "Serving 7 states and 3 Canadian Provinces...". The story goes that the rocker in Cleveland (WIXY 1260?) hired Steve Hunter for nights from The Big 8, the theory being that at CKLW Steve held the #1 rating in Cleveland for his time slot. Anyone enough of an engineer to tell me what CKLW's directional pattern was? (Message edited by douglasm on November 27, 2006) (Message edited by douglasm on November 27, 2006) | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 1810 Registered: 10-2004 |
The FCC maintains a database for patterns for US stations. They should be aware of CKLW's pattern because Canada was part of the 1947 radio treaty, along with Mexico. A general rule of thumb in AM propagation: the lower the frequency, the greater the range of the "ground wave." The higher MW frequencies provide more "skip." Commercial broadcasters are primarily concerned with the ground wave signal contours in their markets. Patterns and frequency assignments change over time, especially after all the changes to AM radio the past three decades. The current chief engineers on the dying Usenet broadcasting groups should be able to help. Myself, I left commercial broadcasting after a dozen years in it eons ago--just before the demise of AM radio and the economic overcrowding in broadcasting, in general. | ||
C_p Member Username: C_p Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2006 |
A big 8 listener, living in midwest Indiana 1963, the strongest station was WLS, but later in the evening you could bring in the " big 8 "on a transistor, made me feel I was back home in Motown. | ||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 6027 Registered: 10-2003 |
Sigh... and today it's the best place to listen to Dr. Joy Browne, U of M football and Windsor Spitfires Hockey. http://www.am800cklw.com/ | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 715 Registered: 10-2003 |
I checked with a friend of mine on CK's pattern. It's 50,000 watts went directional Northeast and East, with an exception of a pull in to protect Montreal. It did hav a Southwest lobe that covered some of Northeast Indiana. I remember that CKLW's direction saved our bacon in Jackson at WIBM, because The Big 8 didn't come in that well. Well enough, but.... Anybody remember WKNR's pattern that wouldn't cover the Grosse Points at night? Or WJBK's, that sent the signal basically up and down Telegraph? | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 1818 Registered: 10-2004 |
Does anybody remember a Canadian station during the 1970s that just played elevator music or something similar with very few spots? I believe it was sponsored by a Holiday Inn in or near Leamington. It was audible most nights in Madison WI. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 1819 Registered: 10-2004 |
The FCC signal contours were for steady (conductive) "ground wave" signals. So saying that CKLW covered NE Indiana was very conservative on whatever pattern it may have used. A few hours either side of local noon, most of its skywaves would have been severly attenuated, but, at other times, the lower-altitude iconospheric attenuation would have quite negligible, and the skip would be usually probable, enabling much greater DX. | ||
Missnmich Member Username: Missnmich Post Number: 548 Registered: 11-2004 |
I always listened to the Top 100 countdown of the year's songs on CKLW when I was at my aunt's house in Cleveland for Christmas. It came in loud and clear, just like the local WIXY (Keep on truckin') 1260. I could not pick up CKLW very well at home in Midland, but our local station used the same jingles -- replacing "Motor City" with "Chemical City". | ||
Karl Member Username: Karl Post Number: 5192 Registered: 09-2005 |
Perhaps 5 years ago NPR did a series on radio stations around the country, and CKLW was featured. I'm sure you can download the program and listen for free or cheap from their website (way back "then" I ordered cassettes and sent them to friends for Christmas) Folks remembered being at the beach when every radio there was tuned to CK. Things sure have changed. | ||
Erikto Member Username: Erikto Post Number: 482 Registered: 11-2003 |
I think the '3 Canadian provinces' claim wouldn't have made it past any fact checker, but it was a fun documentary nonetheless. Nobody I know who lived in Montreal knew about the station, and everyone I know in Toronto who listened to rock n roll radio told me CHUM was the place to be on the fm dial. I can't imagine the station reaching west of Ontario, Manitoba is FAR away. The happy guy with the deep voice from CKLW is one of Toronto's most popular tv news anchors, Mark Daily (correct spelling, I hope! Daley?). | ||
Citylover Member Username: Citylover Post Number: 1893 Registered: 07-2004 |
You may not be going back far enough in time Erik. Ask someone 50 or over and you may get a different answer as to what people were listening to. FM did not become popular until the late 60's early 70's. | ||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 6030 Registered: 10-2003 |
Erik, don't be so sure... I can pick up the current CKLW in Tobermory no problem, as well as Mississauga from time to time. Keep in mind AM signals travel quite a distance, in fact I can pick up 1010 CFRB here in Windsor every so often. Plus the clutter in the airwaves was much less 45 years ago. | ||
Goat Member Username: Goat Post Number: 9008 Registered: 10-2003 |
A person I know who resides in Stratford Ontario used to listen to CKLW on a daily basis back in the late '60s. Some days though it was a little harder to dial in but he told me he could usually hear it clear as the summer sky. | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 717 Registered: 10-2003 |
Missnmich.... .....Midland, MI? I don't remember WMDN being anywhere near that hip. WTAC out of Flint was the big shoe up there, laying waste to WSAM (sorry, Ken) and WBCM, even though WeeTAC's signal wasn't worth a hill of beans west of Bay City..... | ||
Jiminnm Member Username: Jiminnm Post Number: 1127 Registered: 02-2005 |
I spent a few summers in western Kentucky. CKLW faded in and out, but WJR came in strong at night for Tiger ball games. WLS out of Chicago also came in strong, as did stations from St. Louis, Cinci and Memphis. | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 718 Registered: 10-2003 |
WJR and CKLW are both 50,000 watts, the difference being that CK had a directional pattern, that is it's signal is beamed in a certain direction (note above posts) where as there was no other station in the United States or Canada broadcasting at 760 KHz, so WJR operated nondirectionally. KMOX, St. Louis is the monster there, WLW is the Cinci powerhouse. Somewhere around here I've got one of those "You were in radio before...." things. One of the lines is: You were in radio before 1990 if you remember using the term Clear Channel without refering to ownership.... (Message edited by douglasm on November 29, 2006) | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 1828 Registered: 10-2004 |
Due to their low frequencies, Chicago's WGN, WBBM, and the former WMAQ should be easy picks at night. Lower-powered pop pioneer WIND (560 Chicago) also came in 24/7 in Milwaukee, a hundred miles away. Chicago got much better frequency assignments than Detroit (three stations below WJR's and others at 780 and 820, among several others. | ||
Radiorick Member Username: Radiorick Post Number: 4 Registered: 06-2006 |
Very fond memories of listening to CKLW during the summers of 1969 and 1970 when I worked at the Saginaw YMCA's Camp Timbers near West Branch, MI. For some reason, the station's signal got there, but I was never able to pick it up very well, if at all, in my home town of Chesaning. Very strange since Windsor, Chesaning and West Branch appear to be colinear. Must have been the skip... | ||
Missnmich Member Username: Missnmich Post Number: 549 Registered: 11-2004 |
Douglas M. WMDN became WMPX in 1971, I was 15, and my hometown had its own rock station. Big deal. | ||
Vic_doucette Member Username: Vic_doucette Post Number: 304 Registered: 10-2003 |
Douglasm, please speak kindly of WSAM, and the rest of MacDonald Broadcasting, which was kind enough to give me a paycheck from 1978-1980. We all did the best we could within Mac's stringent guidelines. Vic Doucette, former Big Sam Jock/NABET member, monitoring from Florida. | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 720 Registered: 10-2003 |
BIG Sam Douchette? Sorry about the dig. Listened to WSAM in the late '60's, when WeTAC was the big gun. Knew Ken McD when he was part of Vuolo's grand scheme for WNRS/Z in Saline/Ann Arbor..... | ||
Detroitej72 Member Username: Detroitej72 Post Number: 417 Registered: 05-2006 |
A.M. See-Kay-El-Double-You, The Motor City... And who can forget Byron MacGregor's 20/20 news with the catch-phrase There is Fresh Blood on The Streets of Detroit. Later in the late 70's and early 80's, I loved to listen to Dick Purtain and Tom Ryan on the mornings. The final music ad, in the early 80's was 800, CKLW...ROCK AND TALK. Soon thereafter it became an all-talk station, sadly ending a long era in Detroit radio. | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 627 Registered: 11-2003 |
Livernois, did you ever get to hear the "Big R.A." Radio Antilles? The coolest station in the entire Caribbean. It broadcast a 200,000 watt signal from Montserrat. It was somewhere around 900 on AM dial. A unifying voice for all those tiny islands in the Caribbean. I think that the volcanic activity on Montserrat finally forced the station to close several years ago. | ||
Fastcarsfreedom Member Username: Fastcarsfreedom Post Number: 85 Registered: 11-2005 |
If anyone remembers some of the "voices" of 20/20 News... Keith Radford is now an anchor at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, NY. Mark Daly has various on-air duties at CITY-TV in Toronto. | ||
Erikto Member Username: Erikto Post Number: 485 Registered: 11-2003 |
Busted by CL... thanks Citylover for pointing out the AM/ FM difference I missed- being a radio deejay myself, it's, ahem, a little embarrassing. If I told you I used to train new on-air tech's you might laugh out loud... On the other hand, I have talked to people who listened to lots of rock n roll radio in the sixties and seventies in Montreal and in Toronto, and only a few Toronto music freaks remember CKLW, and I think they knew it by reputation, not from being able to tune in, maybe I'm mistaken about its range reaching T.O. but I'd bet money it never reached three Canadian provinces. I also forgot, Dick Smythe (sp?!) who talks about the '67 riot ended up on CTV. He sounds pretty liberal in 'The Big 8' compared to what I usually hear from him. |
