DX commute...

[ajstriker]

The commute in this morning (8/21/08) was rather interesting.

1. Leave Watertown (50 miles west of Milwaukee). Got no reception from any Milwaukee radio stations, nothing...usually I can pick up all of the Milwaukee FM's pretty well. Scanned the dial and picked up WOOD from across the lake in MI (got an HD lock on it too), got WIXX from Green Bay, both interference free. Picked up 102.9 WBDL from Reedsburg (91-ish miles away) with little to no static. As I got closer to Milwaukee, WMYX began to come in, along with WLUM and WQBW, but not until I was less than 20 miles out. 102.9 didn't fade into WHQG until I was almost to Waukesha (less than 15 miles away - and WHQG is a 50,000 watt station).

My question: was this morning a BAD day for tropo interference around Wisconsin, or was it just me?

[BroadcastDoc]

It was a bad day. I had to field calls from listeners wanting to know if something was wrong.

It was fun listening to my iPhone in the car with the modulator set to 100.3...I'd be listening to my music, then WILV-HD in Chicago would take over. Had to set my receiver to analog.

Friend of mine called to tell me he was listening to MYX and Kiss like a local in his office in Door County!

[w9wi]

It was a bad day. I had to field calls from listeners wanting to know if something was wrong.

It was fun listening to my iPhone in the car with the modulator set to 100.3...I'd be listening to my music, then WILV-HD in Chicago would take over. Had to set my receiver to analog.

Friend of mine called to tell me he was listening to MYX and Kiss like a local in his office in Door County!

I'm on vacation & staying with my mother in Menomonee Falls. Got a Radio Shack DX-398 portable shortwave receiver with me.

Picked up Detroit stations (250 miles) on 93.1, 101.9, 102.7, 103.5, 104.3, 105.1, 106.7, and 107.5. 89X from Windsor, Ontario was in pretty well. A commercial station sure stands out on 88.7! Note that there are Milwaukee locals adjacent to most of these frequencies.

And, I heard some DX *over* the locals. Muskegon on 106.9, 98.3, 100.1, and 105.3; Green Bay on 104.9, Escanaba on 104.7. Note that the 98.3 local is licensed to Menomonee Falls - the same suburb where I'm staying. (and four blocks from the center of town -- but the transmitter has moved to near Miller Park, it's no longer a half-mile away...)

Some signals were coming in from the north too. Escanaba 104.7, 100.7 Crystal Falls. And 98.9 from Tomah, but they're in pretty much all the time.

Anyone know who the station is on 99.9 with conservative talk? (heard before this opening broke out, fighting with WJVL, Benton Harbor, and Nine FM from Chicago)

[Shane]

I've had FM listeners tell me some days they couldn't pick up their station and I couldn't imagine why. I guess it never occured to me that when the DX is rolling in the local signals might also be diminished. I don't think I've ever heard this myself but at least now I know the people reporting this to me had all their faculties intact.

[Deep Thought]

It definitely happens. A little higher up the band, channel 9 from Traverse City, MI used to come flying down Lake Michigan and overpower WGN-TV in Chicago. At the time I lived in Willowbrook, about 18 miles SSW the WGN-TV antenna and was using rabbit ears.

I've also personally experienced ducting take out a St. Louis class-C 50 miles away....from South Florida.

[w9wi]

I've had FM listeners tell me some days they couldn't pick up their station and I couldn't imagine why. I guess it never occured to me that when the DX is rolling in the local signals might also be diminished. I don't think I've ever heard this myself but at least now I know the people reporting this to me had all their faculties intact.

Usually the local signals aren't diminished, it's just that the DX signals are stronger than usual and able to override them.

It would seem possible (though I haven't observed it myself) that during an opening, distant IBOC carriers could mix with "semi-local" analog signals on adjacent frequencies and make them seem weaker than they really are. I've certainly observed it on AM.