The lists below show the local FM stations that I can receive year-round in my Northern Virginia home during normal conditions both without DX enhancement and nighttime skywave enhancement.
= Very strong signal
= Strong signal
= Acceptable signal
= listenable signal
= poor signal
= station broadcasts HD Radio
Daytime AM signals (groundwave)
540 WGOP Pocomoke City, MD
“540 WGOP” – classic hits
101 miles from my home
WGOP, first logged as a nostalgia station in 2008, can only be heard in my car. Its weak signal cannot be heard indoors.
570 WWRC Washington, DC
“570 The Answer” – conservative talk
32 miles from my home
WWRC is a local-grade signal almost all day and night at my home. It is simulcast on nearby Warrenton, VA’s 1250 WRCW. From the late 1950s until 1992, the signal was the AM side of classical WGMS, which was heard on DC’s 103.5 FM until 2006.
600 WCAO Baltimore, MD
“Heaven 600” – religious
59 miles from my home
WCAO is much more stronger in my car than indoors. It broadcasts HD Radio, but I have never decoded it at my home.
630 WSBN Washington, DC
“The Sports Capitol; ESPN Radio” – sportes
25 miles from my home
WSBN is Washington, DC’s ESPN Radio affiliate. The signal, up until 2019, was WMAL with a talk radio format. WMAL was also simulcated on 105.9 WMAL-FM Woodbridge, VA. The FM side of WMAL still exists today.
730 WTNT Alexandria, VA
“La Capital” – spanish
10 miles from my home
“La Capital” is a very strong signal heard 24 hours at my home. It can also be heard on 102.9 W274BH Chantilly, VA in the western suburbs of Washington, DC. It was first logged in 2006 as “Triple X ESPN Radio” WXTR with a sports format.
780 WAVA Arlington, VA
“105.1 WAVA” – religious
17 miles from my home
780 WAVA is co-owned with 105.1 WAVA-FM. It airs a religious format, including mostly preaching programs.
820 WWFD Frederick, MD
“The Gamut” – AAA
53 miles from my home
WWFD is the first all-HD Radio signal in the United States, meaning those with analog AM radios cannot receive the station at all. It dropped analog programming and went all-digital in 2018. It airs “The Gamut,” an AAA-formatted signal heard on multiple FM translators in the Washington, DC area, including an HD Radio subchannel of Washington’s 103.5 WTOP. At my home in Virginia, WWFD is a weak signal, often subdecoding on my radios but rarely decoding fully. It was first logged in 2008 as politics-formatted “Federal News Radio.”
900 WCLM Laurel, MD
“Radio America 900” – spanish
36 miles from my home
WCLM has been airing Spanish music since I first logged them in as WILC in 2010. The call letters changed to WCLM in 2018. They are a strong signal in my car, but very weak to undetectable indoors.
920 WURA Quantico, VA
“Radio Unida” – spanish
7 miles from my home
WURA first signed on in 2010. It is a very strong signal that can be heard all day and night at my home, often clobbering 910 and 930 AM to the point where other signals cannot be heard.
980 WTEM Washington, DC
“The Team 980” – sports
25 miles from my home
WTEM was “Sports Talk 980” for years, but it recently changed its name to “The Team 980.” It is a very strong signal heard all day, although it battles with Troy, NY’s 980 WOFX at night. The signal has a long history as WRC, which aired NBC radio in the 1940s and had a news and CHR format from that point until the 1970s. It began its current sports format in 1998.
1030 WWGB Indian Head, MD
“Poder 1030” – spanish
25 miles from my home
WWGB is a strong signal at my home. It has aired a Spanish format since my first logging of them in 2006.
1050 WBQH Silver Spring, MD
“La Mera Mera” – spanish
27 miles from my home
First logged as an AM simulcast of Washington, DC’s 103.5 WTOP news format, the station flipped to Spanish as WBQH by 2011. It is a strong daytime signal that cannot be heard at night. WBQH is also heard on translator 93.5 W228DI in Silver Spring, MD. The signal has been home to over a dozen callsigns and formats over the years, most notedbly WGAY upon its debut in 1946.
1090 WBAL Baltimore, MD
“WBAL Radio 1090” – news/conservative talk
55 miles from my home
WBAL is a news/talk station that can be heard strong during the day, but weak at night.
1120 WUST Washington, DC
“New World Radio” – ethnic from my home
17 miles
WUST is a daytime-only signal that often renders adjacent frequencies useless on all of my home radios due to its strength. It airs brokered ethnic programming and is co-owned with 1190 WCRW.
1190 WCRW Leesburg, VA
“China Radio International” – ethnic
17 miles from my home
1200 WAGE Leesburg, VA, a talk station, signed off in 2011 and moved to 1190 AM. The new signal, WCRW, had an AC format. In 2019, I noticed the station had an ethnic format. WCRW is co-owned with 1120 WUST.
1250 WRCW Warrenton, VA
“570 The Answer” – talk
28 miles from my home
WRCW was first logged at my home in 2006 as religious “WPRZ.” Today, it is a simulcast of Washington, DC’s 570 WWRC. Its signal is weak at my home during the day.
1260 WQOF Washington, DC
“Relevant Radio” – religious
25 miles from my home
A daytime-only signal, WQOF relays the Relevant Radio network. For a short time in 2018, WQOF, then WSPZ, relayed DC’s 105.1 WAVA. I first logged the station in 2006 as WWRC “Progressive Talk 1260.” By 2011, the station was known as “1260 WRC-AM.”
1310 WDCT Fairfax, VA
“WDCT 1310 AM” – ethnic
13 miles from my home
WDCT is a very strong signal at my home, heard only during the day. It airs a Korean religious format.
1340 WYCB Washington, DC
“Spirit 1340” – gospel
23 miles from my home
Even though WCYB is very close to my home, it is a very weak signal at 1000 watts. It also airs on an HD Radio subchannel of DC’s 104.1 WPRS.
1390 WZHF Capitol Heights, MD
“Radio Sputnik” – Russian talk
23 miles from my home
WZHF has aired a Spanish format since my first logging of them in 2006. It is a daytime-only signal. The station’s city of license was Arlington, VA until 2014. It began airing “Radio Sputnik” programming in 2014 and can also be heard on DC-area translator 105.5 W288BS.
1420 WKCW Warrenton, VA
“WKCW” – adult hits
27 miles from my home
An oddity among AM radio stations in the 2010s, WKCW airs a traditional adult hits format, much like a “Jack FM” signal would. I first received them in 2006 when they aired a Spanish format.
1460 WKDV Manassas, VA
“La Ley” – spanish
15 miles from my home
1460 WKDV airs a Spanish format and can also be heard on translator 106.3 W292BC Gainesville, VA.
1480 WPWC Dumfries, VA
“Radio Zion 1480 AM” – spanish
15 miles from my home
WPWC was first logged as “Radio Fiesta” with a spanish format in 2006. It’s a strong 24-hour signal heard at my home.
1500 WFED Washington, DC
“Federal News Network” – politics
28 miles from my home
1500 AM was first logged in 2006 as WTOP, a simulcast of all-news 103.5 WTOP-FM in Washington. It then flipped to “Federal News Radio,” a political talk format that airs 24/7. It remains a sister signal of WTOP to this day, as it shares owners and studios.
1560 WKIK La Plata, MD
“Country 102.9 WKIK” – country
17 miles from my home
A weak but consistent signal, WKIK-AM simulcasts 102.9 WKIK-FM, a country signal serving southern Maryland. It can be heard all day and night at my home.
1580 WJFK Morningside, MD
“El Zol Deportes” – spanish sports
24 miles from my home
First logged as WPGC “Heaven 1580” with a religious format in 2006, the signal flipped to WHFS “The Big Talker 1580” with a talk format in 2011.
1610 W??? Ft. Belvoir, VA
“Belvoir Radio 1610” – information
Heard about 5 miles north of my home in Lorton, VA, low power 1610 AM airs a loop of information for visitors and residents of the Ft. Belvoir Army Base. It cannot be heard at my home due to its weak signal.
1630 WQHK899 Woodbridge, VA
Northern Virginia Community College information
WQHK899, at one point, had detailed information for visitors of Northern Virginia Community College. Today, it airs a short loop of a computer-synthesized voice saying “Northern Virginia Community College. Welcome to NOVA” without any further information. The signal is weak at my house but local-grade in my car. It can be heard day and night.
1630 WPHG707 Oxon Hill, MD
testing
Heard only in my car about 10 miles north in Springfield, VA and points north, WPHG707 is a Maryland Department of Transportation radio station. It airs a computer synthesized voice with a loop that simply reads “This is a test.”
1690 WPTX Lexington Park, MD
“WPTX” – AC
46 miles from my home
Weak in my car and unlistenable at my home, WPTX airs an adult contemporary format. It was first logged in 2006 with a sports format.
Nighttime AM signals (skywave)
AM reception at night is much different than during the day. AM signals bounce off the E-layer of the atmosphere between sunset and sunrise, often resulting in interesting receptions of hundreds of miles away. The stations below are the signals that I often receive at night via skywave. For brevity, I have not included the local stations linked above that also come in at night during groundwave propagation.
550 WGR Buffalo, NY
“WGR Sports Radio 550” – sports
295 miles from my home
650 WSM Nashville, TN
“650 AM WSM” – country
555 miles from my home
660 WFAN New York, NY
“WFAN” – sports
223 miles from my home
670 WSCR Chicago, IL
“670 The Score” – sports
612 miles from my home
700 WLW Cincinnati, OH
“News Radio 700 WLW” – news
382 miles from my home
710 WOR New York, NY
“710 WOR” – talk
223 miles from my home
720 WGN Chicago, IL
“WGN Radio” – news/talk/sports
612 miles from my home
740 CFZM Toronto, ON
“Zoomer Radio” – standards
364 miles from my home
750 WSB Atlanta, GA
“News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB” – news/talk
512 miles from my home
760 WJR Detroit, MI
“News Talk 760 AM” – news/talk
395 miles from my home
770 WABC New York, NY
“77 WABC” – news/talk
228 miles from my home
780 WBBM Chicago, IL
“News Radio 780 and 105.9 FM” – news
611 miles from my home
800 CKLW Windsor, ON
“AM 800 CKLW” – news/talk
382 miles from my home
810 WGY Schenectady, NY
“AM 810, 103.1 News Radio WGY” – news/talk
333 miles from my home
840 WHAS Louisville, KY
“840 WHAS” – news/talk
443 miles from my home
880 WCBS New York, NY
“WCBS” – news
238 miles from my home
890 WLS Chicago, IL
“89 WLS” – news/talk
593 miles from my home
1000 WMVP Chicago, IL
“ESPN Radio” – sports
605 miles from my home
1010 WINS New York, NY
“1010 Wins” – news
223 miles from my home
1020 KDKA Pittsburgh, PA
“News Radio 1020 KDKA” – news
194 miles from my home
1030 WBZ Boston, MA
“WBZ News Radio 1030” – news/talk
418 miles from my home
1080 WTIC Hartford, CT
“WTIC News Talk 1080” – news/talk
318 miles from my home
1100 WTAM Cleveland, OH
“News Radio WTAM 1100” – news/talk
293 miles from my home
1110 WBT Charlotte, NC
“News 1110, 99.3 WBT” – news/talk
443 miles from my home
1120 KMOX St. Louis, MO
“News Radio 1120 KMOX” – news/talk
443 miles from my home
1140 WRVA Richmond, VA
“News Radio 1140 WRVA” – news/talk
87 miles from my home
1170 WWVA Wheeling, WV
“News Radio 1170 WWVA” – news/talk
217 miles from my home
1210 WPHT Philadelphia, PA
“Talk Radio 1210 WPHT” – talk
151 miles from my home
1220 WHKW Cleveland, OH
“AM 1220 The Word” – religious
298 miles from my home
1520 WWKB Buffalo, NY
“ESPN Radio” – sports
295 miles from my home
1530 WCKY Cincinnati, OH
“ESPN Radio” – sports
396 miles from my home
1560 WFME New York, NY
“Family Radio” – religious
227 miles from my home
FM Radio DX 