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Non-Road Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: Roadgeekteen on November 20, 2020, 06:28:23 PM

Title: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on November 20, 2020, 06:28:23 PM
My guess is somewhere in the middle of Nevada.
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: bulldog1979 on November 20, 2020, 06:47:56 PM
 United States National Radio Quiet Zone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Quiet_Zone)?
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: US 89 on November 20, 2020, 06:52:32 PM
Quote from: bulldog1979 on November 20, 2020, 06:47:56 PM
United States National Radio Quiet Zone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Quiet_Zone)?

fixed your link
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: Dirt Roads on November 20, 2020, 06:55:46 PM
Beat me to it.  Pocahontas County, West Virginia has the National Radio Quiet Zone surrounding the Green Bank Radio Observatory.  It's almost 110 miles square (a slight rectangle about 13,000 square miles), so that it covers the Naval Radio Station in Sugar Grove over in Pendleton County.  No AM, FM, short wave, VHF, UHF/DTV or even high-pow WiFi.  Complete and blissful radio silence.
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: Dirt Roads on November 20, 2020, 08:05:02 PM
Quote from: bulldog1979 on November 20, 2020, 06:47:56 PM
United States National Radio Quiet Zone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Quiet_Zone)?

Quote from: US 89 on November 20, 2020, 06:52:32 PM
fixed your link

Quote from: Dirt Roads on November 20, 2020, 06:55:46 PM
Beat me to it.  Pocahontas County, West Virginia has the National Radio Quiet Zone surrounding the Green Bank Radio Observatory.  It's almost 110 miles square (a slight rectangle about 13,000 square miles), so that it covers the Naval Radio Station in Sugar Grove over in Pendleton County.  No AM, FM, short wave, VHF, UHF/DTV or even high-pow WiFi.  Complete and blissful radio silence.

For the record, the entire Zone is not totally devoid of radio signals (and there's quite a few transmitting from Sugar Grove).  I've been able to pick up stations from Elkins, Harrisonburg and White Sulphur Springs while inside the Zone, and the one in Marlinton is close and fairly strong along the south edge.  But I've never picked anything up while passing through Green Bank.
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on November 20, 2020, 09:28:11 PM
So that area wins, but for outside that area, where is it?
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: Duke87 on November 21, 2020, 01:54:34 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on November 20, 2020, 09:28:11 PM
So that area wins, but for outside that area, where is it?

There are other places in the lower 48 where the radio will get you nothing but static on every channel.

US 12 in northeastern Idaho is very good for this - over 100 miles from Lolo to Kooskia, with a lot of absolutely nothing in between. And, because the terrain is mountainous and you're in the bottom of a valley, no reception of anything terrestrial to be had for much of the way.
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: bandit957 on November 21, 2020, 09:14:34 AM
I was always under the impression that K-92 in Roanoke would come in really good in the Quiet Zone. But I don't think I've ever been to the Quiet Zone, though I was probably pretty close just recently. I do remember K-92 making it all the way to Beckley once.
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: kkt on November 21, 2020, 06:23:34 PM
The original question was about FM.  FM doesn't have really great range.  I'm sure there are lots of places with no FM stations.  Eastern Oregon, Nevada as mentioned already, coastal Washington State west of the Olympic Mountains from Seattle and Tacoma.
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: ftballfan on November 21, 2020, 11:49:20 PM
Some possible candidates:
Western South Dakota
Southwest Texas
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: Henry on November 23, 2020, 12:25:17 PM
Quote from: ftballfan on November 21, 2020, 11:49:20 PM
Some possible candidates:
Western South Dakota
Southwest Texas
MT and WY are a couple more.
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: ErmineNotyours on November 24, 2020, 12:42:01 AM
Quote from: Dirt Roads on November 20, 2020, 08:05:02 PM
Quote from: bulldog1979 on November 20, 2020, 06:47:56 PM
United States National Radio Quiet Zone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Quiet_Zone)?

Quote from: US 89 on November 20, 2020, 06:52:32 PM
fixed your link

Quote from: Dirt Roads on November 20, 2020, 06:55:46 PM
Beat me to it.  Pocahontas County, West Virginia has the National Radio Quiet Zone surrounding the Green Bank Radio Observatory.  It's almost 110 miles square (a slight rectangle about 13,000 square miles), so that it covers the Naval Radio Station in Sugar Grove over in Pendleton County.  No AM, FM, short wave, VHF, UHF/DTV or even high-pow WiFi.  Complete and blissful radio silence.

For the record, the entire Zone is not totally devoid of radio signals (and there's quite a few transmitting from Sugar Grove).  I've been able to pick up stations from Elkins, Harrisonburg and White Sulphur Springs while inside the Zone, and the one in Marlinton is close and fairly strong along the south edge.  But I've never picked anything up while passing through Green Bank.

Radio Locator log for Green Bank, WV. (https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=green+bank%2C+wv&x=16&y=2)
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: tman on November 24, 2020, 08:57:49 PM
Quote from: Henry on November 23, 2020, 12:25:17 PM
Quote from: ftballfan on November 21, 2020, 11:49:20 PM
Some possible candidates:
Western South Dakota
Southwest Texas
MT and WY are a couple more.

Last fall, I took a trip to western Nebraska, and at certain points, my Camry could only pick up 1 FM and 1 AM station each. They were both public radio of some sort, I believe.
As I remember, this was roughly midway between Thedford and Alliance on NE-2. That wins for me (people expect Nebraska to be desolate, but I was still blown away how empty this swath of the state was.)
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: TravelingBethelite on November 26, 2020, 11:14:02 PM
On a trip I took out to west Texas a few months ago, I stopped for the night in Junction (I-10 at US 83/377). On my little Grundig G8 Portable (noted as a strong FM receiver), the scan function only picked up 2 or 3 stations, though I seem to recall Radio Locator showing up a few more. I found no others scanning manually, and I can't remember any place having less (carrying that radio around for a while).
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: zachary_amaryllis on November 26, 2020, 11:58:53 PM
Not much to hear in sterling co ...
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: vtk on November 27, 2020, 03:18:32 AM
We're not counting in tunnels are we?
Title: Re: Which place in the lower 48 has the least FM radio stations in range?
Post by: bandit957 on November 27, 2020, 08:29:38 AM
On my 2017 trip to Big Bend National Park, we somehow picked up a San Angelo station on the car radio as we were leaving the park, but it wasn't very clear.