Robert L. Herman wrote:
Hello all.

I'd like to know what's wrong with WKMI 1360 here in Kalamazoo? I noticed
during late October or early November that the sound on this station was
very distorted. At first I thought it was my stereo equipment but when we
purchased a new car and drove it home. We turned on 1360 to hear the Rush
Limbaugh program while we were driving. At first I thought that the cars
radio was defective but when I went into the house and switched on the
stereo I got the same distorted sound.

While driving back from a trip to Detroit we switched on WKMI between
Battlecreek and Kalamazoo and yes the same problem occurs. I know that it
must be a problem with KMI because if you compare the sound of the Rush
program with WBCK 930 and WKMI 1360 the sound on 930 is much better.

Does this happen only at certain times of day? (and only if you're at
some distance from Kalamazoo, maybe 30-50 miles) From mid-afternoon
through mid-morning and overnight, sometimes a station's skywave signal
interferes with its own groundwave signal. That's why Chicago stations
will sometimes sound distorted when monitored 75-100 miles away. The
distortion will change in nature over time (2-3 minutes) and will
occasionally disappear altogether.

Alternatively...

does it happen only in certain areas, clearing up in other parts of
town? Some stations have directional antennas that are too selective -
more directional on 1360 than they are on 1359 and 1361. The result is
that if you're in the "wrong" direction from the station - a direction
in which they don't send most of their signal - you may receive "too
much" audio by comparision to the "carrier" signal. This results in
distortion. WKMI is only directional at night, so if this is the
reason, the distortion should disappear during the day.

Of course, it's also very possible the station is brokengrin!
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com