At night, why might I have difficulty hearing a Tech radio broadcast but be able to pick up a Georgia or Tennessee game?
A. It is very possible you may live in a part of the state that, at night, struggles to hear that evening’s Virginia Tech game but picks up Georgia or Tennessee through an Atlanta or Nashville station. What you are hearing out of Atlanta and Nashville are 50,000-watt clear-channel stations. A clear-channel station is one that, at night, does not have to decrease its power. Any other station that has the same frequency (example: AM-750) must cut its power at sunset. The clear-channel station signal travels much further distances without interference from other stations on the same frequency. The FCC (Federal Communication Commission) stopped the practice of awarding stations clear-channel licenses many years ago and the Commonwealth of Virginia has only one such station, Richmond’s WRVA, which carries Virginia Tech game broadcasts. That is why in some Virginia areas you can’t hear a Saturday night game on the same station you may listen to on a Saturday afternoon. It is also why we have
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