[mikewarot]

I love the idea, adding a destination would be nice.

Here in the US, at night time, the local stations shut down, or go low power, so that the Clear Channel stations can be heard over much wider areas. One example, is WLS at 890 in Chicago, once described as "a 50,000 watt clear channel blowtorch".

You should be able to hear it in Kansas at night.

[myself248]

Just a point of clarification, that should be little-c "clear channel stations can be heard".

The lower-case term means "station that doesn't share its frequency with any others".

The upper-case is a trademarked brand for a radio conglomerate widely blamed for hastening the demise of the medium by homogenizing content and removing local newscasters and DJs from countless stations across the land.

[wyclif]

Back in the 1990's, I used to drive across the US a lot. Not a professional driver, just some big road trips and also helping a few friends move to other cities. Our fave thing to do on these road trips was listen to small town radio, not the big channels.

I'd hear weird music and local news. Little Mom and Pop stations in southern Indiana that only play old timey bluegrass. Cow college stations playing stoner 60's rock. Country farm auctions on the radio, maybe talking about crop prices. And lots of storm chaser radio in Kansas and Nebraska.

[chiph]

Check out NC State student radio out of Raleigh. They got a transmitter upgrade a few years ago so now you can hear them beyond the city limits (FM 88.1). And of course they stream. It's a really well run station and you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference from a commercial station, except there are very few ads and the DJs are allowed to pick the format of their time slot.

Friday nights are Penitentiary Request Rock - the inmates at nearby Central Prison will mail in song requests to the DJ. Only in America :)

https://wknc.org/