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DX'ing?

Started by TravelingBethelite, March 27, 2020, 12:45:19 PM

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TravelingBethelite

I had seen the thread on how far away you can receive your local radio stations. By extension, I was wondering if anyone else here engaged in long-distance listening (especially on FM).

Anyway, last night there was a great opening to the east. Where I currently am in east-central Texas, I was picking up stations from Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and even Gulfport, MS. Easily surpassing my previous record (201 miles) by nearly double (471 miles).
"Imprisoned by the freedom of the road!" - Ronnie Milsap
See my photos at: http://bit.ly/1Qi81ws

Now I decide where I go...

2018 Ford Fusion SE - proud new owner!


Life in Paradise

Quote from: TravelingBethelite on March 27, 2020, 12:45:19 PM
I had seen the thread on how far away you can receive your local radio stations. By extension, I was wondering if anyone else here engaged in long-distance listening (especially on FM).

Anyway, last night there was a great opening to the east. Where I currently am in east-central Texas, I was picking up stations from Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and even Gulfport, MS. Easily surpassing my previous record (201 miles) by nearly double (471 miles).
I haven't DX'd FM so much as I have the AM band and television.  Television isn't as fun anymore with the digital signals as compared to the old analog.  From my area near Evansville, IN I had picked up Cuba on a very strange day (1100+ miles), another day UHF stations from Chicago (300 miles away), and yet another day Regina, Saskatchewan (about 1200 miles).  Alas, I've become older and don't have as  much fun as before.

CNGL-Leudimin

I love DXing. Why listen to a local station when you can listen to another station of the same network hundreds of (km/miles, pick what you like more) away. There are two main ways to do this on the FM band: Tropospheric ducting, which happens when there is a temperature inversion (gotta love foggy days :sombrero:); and Sporadic-E or E-skip, which happens when a layer of the ionosphere, the E layer, becomes densely ionized and reflects signals back and happens mostly during Summer. Last year I picked up a Moroccan station this way.
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

ftballfan

From Manistee, MI, I have gotten tropo-enhanced stations from as far away as Kearney, Nebraska (nearly 700 miles!) with just a portable radio with its included whip antenna. I've gotten stations from as far away as El Paso, TX and Miami, FL via E-skip.

Lake Michigan (and the other Great Lakes) can also affect signals dramatically. At times, stations from Green Bay, Milwaukee, Wausau, Escanaba, Marinette, and Marquette can come in very strong. On multiple occasions, I've received a 250 watt translator from Wausau, WI that is on an adjacent frequency to a station three miles away.

nexus73

Back when I was a teen, 2m propagation was taking place on a simplex frequency in this area.  Coquille OR was the receiving location.  Crescent City CA was where the transmission came from.  It was static-filled but readable.  The distance covered would be about 120 miles.  Power levels were likely 25W or less with the antennas being vertical ones instead of steerable yagis, so this was not taking place with optimum equipment and power levels.

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.


nexus73

US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

bandit957

I remember once in 1990 (just outside Cincinnati), I faintly received a Chicago oldies station and a Detroit oldies station battling it out on the same dial position. By coincidence, these stations were owned by the same company. (I had the old M Street Radio Directory to look it up.)
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

SectorZ

With an old stereo that I had from 1990 to 2012, I used to in the mid-90's try to see how far I could reach out at night on the AM dial. I forget what station it was, but from where I am now I got a sports station in Minneapolis, which floored me. I used to routinely listen to Orioles games on their flagship AM station at night in the early 90's with virtually no static at all.

Never tried it with FM, but I remember one time in my car driving home from Hamden CT that I was trying to listen to 93.7 in Providence and it was being heavily interfered with by a station in Philly at the same signal. Only happened once out of more than a dozen times making that drive.

Now that I inherited the house I grew up in, my late father left a stereo in the garage with a large wire antenna array hooked up to it. I wonder if I should try on that. I've used to it only to listen to one single Boston station since moving back.

SectorZ

Quote from: Life in Paradise on March 27, 2020, 01:08:56 PM
I haven't DX'd FM so much as I have the AM band and television.  Television isn't as fun anymore with the digital signals as compared to the old analog.  From my area near Evansville, IN I had picked up Cuba on a very strange day (1100+ miles), another day UHF stations from Chicago (300 miles away), and yet another day Regina, Saskatchewan (about 1200 miles).  Alas, I've become older and don't have as  much fun as before.

Amazing on those TV signals. I never tried to get anything further than NYC from north of Boston, watching Yankees broadcasts on WPIX back with Phil Rizzuto did the games. Getting a signal over 1000 miles away is mind-blowing.

thenetwork

As far as TV DX-ing, during my freshman year at the University of Toledo in the 80s, I lived on the 11th floor of the high rise dorm.   One evening, the TV in my room pulled in close to 60 of the available 83 UHF/VHF channels from Youngstown, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago and a good chunk of the Michigan Mitt.  Never got that many channels before, and never again after that one night.

bandit957

I remember a brief period when a few people around here regularly listened to WBZ Boston - which became popular because Dave Cowens played for the Boston Celtics.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

Sctvhound

Quote from: bandit957 on April 13, 2020, 01:18:39 PM
I remember once in 1990 (just outside Cincinnati), I faintly received a Chicago oldies station and a Detroit oldies station battling it out on the same dial position. By coincidence, these stations were owned by the same company. (I had the old M Street Radio Directory to look it up.)

104.3. Then it was WJMK and WOMC.

I've had a lot of experience DXing distant stations. Multiple times from Charleston I've gotten FM stations from Detroit, Toronto, Quebec, Minneapolis, and northern Ontario.

The furthest I've gotten from here is a couple of stations from San Angelo, TX and one from Lubbock.

Route66Fan

#13
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 12:18:14 PM
Quote from: Route66Fan on April 13, 2020, 02:17:25 AM
Here is some FM DX E-Skip from Carrollton, MO, originally recorded on 5-25-2014, that I finally got around to uploading.
KBNA 97.5FM, El Paso, TX
KWKM 95.7FM, St. Johns, AZ
KYOT 95.5FM, Phoenix, AZ
KLAQ 95.5FM, El Paso, TX
KHFM 95.5FM, Santa Fe, NM
KLQT (Now KOLZ.) 95.1FM, Corrales, NM
KWYK 94.9FM, Aztec, NM
KYSE 94.7FM, El Paso, TX
KXXI 93.7FM, Gallup, NM
KSBV 93.7FM, Salida, CO
KCCY 96.9FM, Pueblo, CO
KYGO 98.5FM, Denver, CO
KEKB 99.9FM, Grand Junction, CO
KEGA 101.5FM, Oakley, UT
KTAK 93.9FM, Riverton, WY
KCHH 95.5FM, Worden, MT

That's an amazing list of FM DX stations!  You must have been in a super sweet spot without a ton of local FM stations present to block the signal.

Rick
Yeah, it is a pretty good area, only a couple of full power & one low power FM stations. In the past few years, I've gotten some better FM receivers (Including a couple of SDR's.) & have made some modifications to some other FM radios by replacing the wide-band ceramic IF filters in them with narrower band, 150khz, filters, to improve the receivers sensitivity & selectivity. I do have some other recordings to upload eventually.
Better Selectivity and Sensitivity From Virtually any FM Radio!

nexus73

Quote from: Route66Fan on April 17, 2020, 03:11:30 AM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 12:18:14 PM
Quote from: Route66Fan on April 13, 2020, 02:17:25 AM
Here is some FM DX E-Skip from Carrollton, MO, originally recorded on 5-25-2014, that I finally got around to uploading.
KBNA 97.5FM, El Paso, TX
KWKM 95.7FM, St. Johns, AZ
KYOT 95.5FM, Phoenix, AZ
KLAQ 95.5FM, El Paso, TX
KHFM 95.5FM, Santa Fe, NM
KLQT (Now KOLZ.) 95.1FM, Corrales, NM
KWYK 94.9FM, Aztec, NM
KYSE 94.7FM, El Paso, TX
KXXI 93.7FM, Gallup, NM
KSBV 93.7FM, Salida, CO
KCCY 96.9FM, Pueblo, CO
KYGO 98.5FM, Denver, CO
KEKB 99.9FM, Grand Junction, CO
KEGA 101.5FM, Oakley, UT
KTAK 93.9FM, Riverton, WY
KCHH 95.5FM, Worden, MT

That's an amazing list of FM DX stations!  You must have been in a super sweet spot without a ton of local FM stations present to block the signal.

Rick
Yeah, it is a pretty good area, only a couple of full power & one low power FM stations. In the past few years, I've gotten some better FM receivers (Including a couple of SDR's.) & have made some modifications to some other FM radios by replacing the wide-band ceramic IF filters in them with narrower band, 150khz, filters, to improve the receivers sensitivity & selectivity. I do have some other recordings to upload eventually.
Better Selectivity and Sensitivity From Virtually any FM Radio!

Coos Bay OR is about 75 airmiles from Eugene, which had an AOR station my friend wanted to listen to.  In between these two cities lays the Coast Range so he put up a FM yagi on top of a tall tree, then added a pre-amp between the antenna and stereo so he could hear the station.  It worked quite well and would make an interesting way to see what the results of trying to receive more distant regional stations is like.

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

cwf1701

Depends on what part of the country you are in, at night you could get two different AM stations on the same channel. one year, when i was visiting family in Alabama, i tuned a radio i took along on the trip and tuned the radio to 800 and got CKLW in Windsor and re-positioned the radio and got Trans World Radio in the Netherlands Antilles.

golden eagle

Here in Jackson, MS, I've gotten stations as far north as Bridgeport, CT and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and as far west as the Four Corners Area. In Atlanta, I got a rock station out of Manhattan, KS.

I once put a TV cable on the back of an old stereo and got WMIL out of Milwaukee rather clearly.

MikeTheActuary

My primary hobby these days is amateur radio. 

I do lots of DXing.  :D

My 10 most recent contacts can usually be found listed here: https://www.clublog.org/last10_iframe.php?call=n1en

A map showing a sample of the 100k contacts I've made: http://www.hrdlog.net/Map2.aspx?user=N1EN

And about a year and a half ago, here's what I posted on a related thread focused on the MW broadcast band: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=23797.msg2365738#msg2365738

KEVIN_224

Quote from: golden eagle on April 19, 2020, 09:31:55 PM
Here in Jackson, MS, I've gotten stations as far north as Bridgeport, CT...

Likely these stations:

WEZN-FM 99.9 Bridgeport ("Star 99.9")
WEBE-FM 107.9 Westport ("WEBE 108"...pronounced as "Wee-bee"). Their transmitter is atop a smokestack of a power plant, next to I-95.

Flint1979

Quote from: bandit957 on April 13, 2020, 01:18:39 PM
I remember once in 1990 (just outside Cincinnati), I faintly received a Chicago oldies station and a Detroit oldies station battling it out on the same dial position. By coincidence, these stations were owned by the same company. (I had the old M Street Radio Directory to look it up.)
I'm just guessing it was WOMC and WJMK on 104.3.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: Flint1979 on April 20, 2020, 07:30:44 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on April 13, 2020, 01:18:39 PM
I remember once in 1990 (just outside Cincinnati), I faintly received a Chicago oldies station and a Detroit oldies station battling it out on the same dial position. By coincidence, these stations were owned by the same company. (I had the old M Street Radio Directory to look it up.)
I'm just guessing it was WOMC and WJMK on 104.3.

Those 2 cities are fairly far apart compared to Philly and NYC, which often have stations on the same dial position.  Chicago - Detroit are about 230 miles apart as the crow flies; Philly & NYC are only 80 miles apart.  Many years ago, Philly's 100.3 changed formats and decided to call themselves Z-100...even though a station on 100.3 in NYC had the same format and had been using Z-100 for years.  That caused a great deal of confusion, and eventually Philly's station changed their name (Y100 or something like that).

bandit957

Quote from: Flint1979 on April 20, 2020, 07:30:44 AM
Quote from: bandit957 on April 13, 2020, 01:18:39 PM
I remember once in 1990 (just outside Cincinnati), I faintly received a Chicago oldies station and a Detroit oldies station battling it out on the same dial position. By coincidence, these stations were owned by the same company. (I had the old M Street Radio Directory to look it up.)
I'm just guessing it was WOMC and WJMK on 104.3.

I'm pretty sure it was. This wasn't long before there was a station on 104.3 around here.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

golden eagle

Quote from: KEVIN_224 on April 19, 2020, 11:32:19 PM
Quote from: golden eagle on April 19, 2020, 09:31:55 PM
Here in Jackson, MS, I've gotten stations as far north as Bridgeport, CT...

Likely these stations:

WEZN-FM 99.9 Bridgeport ("Star 99.9")
WEBE-FM 107.9 Westport ("WEBE 108"...pronounced as "Wee-bee"). Their transmitter is atop a smokestack of a power plant, next to I-95.

It was WEBE.

Flint1979

I was thrilled to pull KOA in Denver in. That's about 1,000 miles away.

TravelingBethelite

Quote from: golden eagle on April 20, 2020, 04:52:22 PM
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on April 19, 2020, 11:32:19 PM
Quote from: golden eagle on April 19, 2020, 09:31:55 PM
Here in Jackson, MS, I've gotten stations as far north as Bridgeport, CT...

Likely these stations:

WEZN-FM 99.9 Bridgeport ("Star 99.9")
WEBE-FM 107.9 Westport ("WEBE 108"...pronounced as "Wee-bee"). Their transmitter is atop a smokestack of a power plant, next to I-95.

It was WEBE.

One of my home stations. I fondly remember driving around listening to it as a kid. That would be an ultimate catch in my book, if I could catch it via E-skip here in Texas.
"Imprisoned by the freedom of the road!" - Ronnie Milsap
See my photos at: http://bit.ly/1Qi81ws

Now I decide where I go...

2018 Ford Fusion SE - proud new owner!



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