Such a dinosaur I am; and very happy to be that way. I\u2019m something of an oddball regarding technology. Although my job in computer support takes me on lots of journeys with new devices and gadgets; my love for simplicity keeps me grounded in an \u201cantique\u201d world. My job can get rather stressful at times; so in an effort to take care of myself I\u2019ll often seize the opportunity to take some quiet time. Meditation if you will. I keep it simple, I just step away from all the gadgets and reflect on what I\u2019m grateful for; and then ask The Great Committee In The Sky for guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then of course\nthere are other times when I\u2019ll turn to technology for a diversion.\n Maybe I\u2019ll play a CD… or a record!<\/strong><\/em> That\u2019s right\nfolks, I actually said I listen to records!!! And some youngsters\nactually think records are way cool!! Oh God Oh God\u2026 So yes I\u2019m\na dinosaur and I\u2019m not afraid to admit it. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n So there, nyaa\nnyaa na boo boo!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m one of\nthose weirdos who thinks paying for satellite or cable TV is a waste\nof money. There\u2019s lots of stuff still available for free… for\nexample, we actually use a TV antenna for most of our viewing\npleasure. I say most, because we do have access to the interwebs and\nget TV stuff from our Roku. But no cable or dish. Nope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also love a\nvery archaic device called the radio. My TV antenna looks like a\ngiant fish skeleton on a pole, and not only does it work well for\ntelevision, it also does a great job of grabbing lots of FM stations.\n Much of my FM listening revolves either around NPR or music. NPR is\ngreat for staying informed, but when I hear all the reports about war\nand suffering and cockamamie government shutdown stuff with climate\nchange mixed in for good measure, I get a really heavy heart. So\nwhen I\u2019d rather hide on the harsh realities of the world I seek out\nsome good old rock \u2018n roll. Unfortunately most commercial radio\nstations seem to have their music selections stuck on AC\/DC, Bob\nSeeger, and Lynard Skynard. WAY too much repetition. WAY too much\nrepetition. WAY too much\u2026 well you get the idea. That’s when I’ll\nlook for those oddball \u201ccommunity radio\u201d stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other\nhand, you have AM radio. Say what??? Anyone besides me remember AM\nradio? May sound like a silly question, but with all this\n“subscription addiction” (satellite radio, cable TV, etc.)\nlots and lots of people are amazed to “discover” AM radio. \n AM is short for \u201camplitude modulation,\u201d which is the oldest\nmethod of adding audio to a radio signal so it can be broadcast. The\ntechnology dates back to 1906, which is why many radio hobbyists\nrefer to it as \u201cancient modulation.\u201d For more info click here: \nhttp:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/AM_broadcasting<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n AM radio was\npretty much all we had available for music when I was a kid. So for\nme, it\u2019s like an old friend; and I\u2019m very thankful that it\ndoesn\u2019t seem to be going away any time soon. We live in an area\nwhere Chicago stations come in all day long, and I still find myself\nclinging to ancient stations with only 3 call letters. WGN (720 on\nyour AM dial) is one of my favorites\u2026 those kids seem to have a\ngreat time being on the radio and they make me laugh. And now, West\nMichigan has its very own Public Radio Oldies Station!! Say wha??? \nYES!! Commercial free oldies, 24\/7!! And what\u2019s even more awesome\nis they stream it to the whole planet here: \nhttp:\/\/www.wgvu.org\/realoldies\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that it’s\nwinter outside, I leave for work when it\u2019s dark. And of course,\nit\u2019s pretty much getting dark again when I get home. Something\nmagic happens to the AM radio band after the daylight goes bye bye: \nSKIP. <\/strong><\/em>Skip is a very old radio term that describes\nwhen radio waves are sent from the earth and into the sky, then\nbounce back down again. If you could watch skip happening, it would\nlook somewhat similar to when a well tossed stone skips across water.\n Skip is especially prevalent on the AM band between dusk and dawn. \nSure, the AM radio is plagued by noise and fading, but there are many\nhigh powered stations that provide reliable listening over a very\nwide geographical area. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n In my\nprofessional opinion, this boils down to just plain fun. So when I’m\ndriving around in the dark, especially during a long drive, I really\nenjoy frolicking about on the AM radio band. For example: I\nrecently tuned to 540 AM on the way to work and was listening to the\nCBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) out of Regina, Saskatchewan. \nA mere 1000 miles away!! Never bothered to check down on that part\nof the dial before. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another time: \non our way down to Florida to celebrate my Father-In-Law’s 85th<\/sup>\nbirthday, it was getting late outside and we were really<\/strong><\/em>\nready to be done driving. Just a few miles from the Florida border,\nwe heard on one of the local FM stations that the Chicago Bears were\nplaying against the Philadelphia Eagles, and that they might actually\nhave a shot at the playoffs. Well normally we don’t really give a\ngolly gosh darn about football. But the Bears haven’t been in the\nSuperbowl for a loooonnnnggg time… so we thought we’d try to catch\nthe game. Tuned around FM… nothing. Then I tried one of my\npresets: 780 on my AM dial, and lo and behold, WBBM was coming in\nclear as a bell out of Chicago!! So we got to listen to the game,\nlive from Soldier Field. Cool, huh??<\/p>\n\n\n\n So my friends, I\ninvite you to give this very old medium a whirl. You just might\naccidentally have some fun! There are lots of listings on the\ninternet for AM radio stations if you care to check out other areas\nof the country and \/ or the world. If you find one you like, you\nmight also be able to stream it from the webbernet if the snap\ncrackle and pop starts to bug you. As far as broadcasters, I found\nnice listing here: http:\/\/www.northpine.com\/broadcast\/50kwam.html<\/p>\n\n\n\n I leave you with\na very short list of stations that are pretty easy to pick up between\ndusk and dawn, especially if you are here in the Midwest:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 650\n WSM Nashville, Tennessee (Check out the Grand Ole Opry on\nSaturday Nights!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 700\n WLW Cincinnati, Ohio<\/p>\n\n\n\n 720\n WGN Chicago, Illinois (Home of the Chicago Cubs! Lots of other\nentertaining stuff too.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 740\n CFZM \n\u201cZoomer Radio\u201d in Toronto, Canada (Wonderful music variety,\nexcellent sound quality.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 750\n WSB Atlanta, Georgia<\/p>\n\n\n\n 760\n WJR Detroit, Michigan<\/p>\n\n\n\n 770\n WABC New York City (This was a big rock \u2018n roll station when I\nwas a kid growing up on Long Island, NY. Mostly talk now… ah\nwell).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 780\n WBBM Chicago, Illinois (All news all the time.)(I use this\nstation for an “alarm clock” when I take a nap at lunch)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 830\n WCCO Minneapolis, Minnesota \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n 840\n WHAS Louisville, Kentucky<\/p>\n\n\n\n 880\n WCBS New York City (News Radio.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 890\n WLS Chicago, Illinois<\/p>\n\n\n\n 990\n CBW Winnipeg, Manitoba (CBC Radio)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1020\n KDKA Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (One of the oldest stations on the\ndial.) \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1030\n WBZ Boston, Massachussetts<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1040\n WHO Des Moines, Iowa<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1060\n KYW Philadelphia, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1140\n WRVA Richmond, Virginia<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take care and Happy Listening!<\/p>\n\n\n\n