Sam Lawson’s Audio Vault: 890 WLS-AM, Chicago with Larry Lujack, October, 1984 DXed from Spokane
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Advance disclaimer, you’ll have to wade through a bunch of noise and fading to catch all of this. It was recorded in Spokane around 4:30am Pacific Time, 6:30am in Chicago. Superjock was on the air with Jeff Hendrix and Catherine Johns in the newsroom. See if you can pull “Animal Stories” with Uncle Lar’ and Lil’ Tommy out of the slop.
Runtime: 8:39
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Sam Lawson
Student engineer at pioneer Nathan Hale radio station KNH 1210 in 1970 (prior to KNHC). Also attended North Seattle Community College and L.H. Bates in Tacoma (KTOY-FM). Sam’s career began as a KJR request line operator in 1970, with his first on-air job at KRKO in 1972. In 1976 he segued to overnights at KTAC as Cory Landon, then weekends at KING. In 1978 he moved to Lewiston, Idaho for afternoons on KOZE and KRLC. Throughout the ‘80s he was an announcer and/or engineer at "the best mix and biggest variety" of Spokane radio stations; including 97KREM, KZUN, KGA, KKER (The Sam & Pam Show), KZZU, PD of KJRB, 98 KISS-FM, and the voice of KAYU-TV. In 1989 he moved to Los Angeles as Assistant Chief Engineer and weekends at KZLA/KLAC. Also engineered for KBIG, KFI, Premiere Radio Networks, CBS Radio, and others. "After avoiding any actual work for nearly 45 years, now happily retired and very appreciatively back in the great Pacific Northwest!" ---Click here for other Sam Lawson articles ---and here for Sam Lawson airchecks
When I first started to go to eastern Washington in the late 80,s , I would try to dx WLS and instead I picked up a station in Canada on 890kc playing music.
WLS is receivable out here on a high end communications receiver & good outside antenna – it’s necessary to use filters to diminish adjacent channel splatter from KIXI but it IS audible some nights when AM propagation from the east is enhanced. The Canadian station Ed hears on 890 is my first radio employer – country station CJDC Dawson Creek in northeastern BC which, although only 10 kW has a blowtorch signal throughout the western states, provinces & northern territories.
With a Personal CD Player that has an AM/FM radio that I bought at Goodwill years ago(still works very well also), while I was on vacation in Northern Arizona and in Monument Valley, Utah a couple years ago, I was able to pick up at night, AM stations from Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Denver, even Des Moines and North Dakota…
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July 10, 2020 at QZVX
Gordy Iverson says:
Nice catch. KIXI 880 in Seattle prevents me from getting 890.
July 11, 2020 at QZVX
Edgar Bennett says:
When I first started to go to eastern Washington in the late 80,s , I would try to dx WLS and instead I picked up a station in Canada on 890kc playing music.
July 11, 2020 at QZVX
Mike Cherry says:
WLS is receivable out here on a high end communications receiver & good outside antenna – it’s necessary to use filters to diminish adjacent channel splatter from KIXI but it IS audible some nights when AM propagation from the east is enhanced. The Canadian station Ed hears on 890 is my first radio employer – country station CJDC Dawson Creek in northeastern BC which, although only 10 kW has a blowtorch signal throughout the western states, provinces & northern territories.
May 8, 2024 at QZVX
Adam Nickle says:
Impressive…
With a Personal CD Player that has an AM/FM radio that I bought at Goodwill years ago(still works very well also), while I was on vacation in Northern Arizona and in Monument Valley, Utah a couple years ago, I was able to pick up at night, AM stations from Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Denver, even Des Moines and North Dakota…