Sleeping Bear Dunes 7/11/2015

[ftballfan]

Location: Two bandscan locations, both along Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. Location 1 was clear to the northeast while location 2 was clear to the west (distances measured from 44* 51’ 58” N; 86* 3’ 27” W)
Radio: Tecsun PL-390 with included whip extended

87.7 – WRME Chicago, IL (3kW @ 219.5 mi)
88.1 – WBLW Gaylord, MI (5kW @ 67.3 mi)
88.3 – WTCY Greilickville, MI (4.4kW @ 15.5 mi)
88.5 – WIAB Mackinaw City, MI (20kW @ 88.7 mi)
88.5 – WPVM Sturgeon Bay, WI (15kW @ 64.5 mi)
88.7 – WIAA Interlochen, MI (100kW @ 44.2 mi)
88.9 – WCRR Manistique, MI (24.5kW @ 78.8 mi)
89.1 – WLKB Bay City, MI (50kW @ 136.9 mi)
89.3 – WPNE Green Bay, WI (100kW @ 100.9 mi)
89.3 – WTLI Bear Creek Township, MI (50kW @ 67.3 mi)
89.5 – CBSM Sault Ste. Marie, ON (46kW @ 147.2 mi)
89.5 – WBEW Chesterton, IN (4kW @ 228.6 mi)
89.7 – WHND Sister Bay, WI (22kW @ 56.7 mi)
89.9 – WLJN Traverse City, MI (100kW @ 20.4 mi)
90.1 – WHBP Harbor Springs, MI (1.2kW @ 66.7 mi)
90.1 – WORQ Green Bay, WI (11kW @ 103.3 mi)
90.3 – WHBM Park Falls, WI (35kW @ 218.2 mi)
90.5 – WPFF Sturgeon Bay, WI (100kW @ 64.5 mi)
90.5 – WPHN Gaylord, MI (100kW @ 94.7 mi)
90.7 – WHAD Delafield, WI (72kW @ 172.2 mi)
90.7 – WNMC Traverse City, MI (600W @ 19.4 mi)
90.9 – WTCK Charlevoix, MI (5.5kW @ 66.7 mi)
90.9 – WUPJ Escanaba, MI (100kW @ 99.0 mi)
91.1 – WGTD Kenosha, WI (3.2kW @ 179.8 mi)
91.1 – WOLW Cadillac, MI (50kW @ 44.2 mi)
91.3 – WJOG Good Hart, MI (6kW @ 66.8 mi)
91.3 – WRMW Peshtigo, WI (5.4kW @ 64.5 mi)
91.5 – WICA Traverse City, MI (4kW @ 20.1 mi)
91.7 – WCML Alpena, MI (92kW @ 94.7 mi)
91.7 – unID religious music (WQQA? W219DK?)
91.9 – WHDI Sister Bay, WI (11kW @ 56.7 mi)
92.1 – WLTU Manitowoc, WI (3.7kW @ 93.0 mi)
92.3 – WBNZ Frankfort, MI (50kW @ 18.4 mi) – running much less than 50kW, but no STA
92.3 – WJPD Ishpeming, MI (100kW @ 133.1 mi)
92.5 – WFDX Atlanta, MI (100kW @ 84.3 mi)
92.5 – WMBZ West Bend, WI (17.5kW @ 149.3 mi)
92.7 – WRPP Manistique, MI (51kW @ 78.8 mi)
92.9 – WJZQ Cadillac, MI (100kW @ 46.3 mi)
93.1 – WIMK Iron Mountain, MI (100kW @ 117.0 mi)
93.1 – WXRT Chicago, IL (6.7kW @ 219.5 mi)
93.3 – WKQZ Midland, MI (39kW @ 120.2 mi)
93.3 – WLDB Milwaukee, WI (16kW @ 153.0 mi)
93.5 – WBCM Boyne City, MI (14kW @ 65.8 mi)
93.7 – WKAD Harrietta, MI (4.3kW @ 46.7 mi)
93.9 – WDOR Sturgeon Bay, WI (77kW @ 64.5 mi)
93.9 – WNBY Newberry, MI (50kW @ 118.8 mi)
94.1 – WUPK Marquette, MI (4.4kW @ 133.1 mi)
94.1 – WWKR Hart, MI (5kW @ 82.7 mi)
94.3 – WFCX Leland, MI (20.5kW @ 19.5 mi)
94.5 – WKTI Milwaukee, WI (14kW @ 153.2 mi)
94.5 – WYPV Mackinaw City, MI (50kW @ 88.7 mi)
94.7 – W234BU Traverse City, MI (250W @ 20.1 mi) – WIAA (FM) translator
94.7 – WLS Chicago, IL (4.4kW @ 221.0 mi)
94.9 – WKJZ Hillman, MI (50kW @ 105.3 mi)
94.9 – WKZC Scottville, MI (17kW @ 58.6 mi)
94.9 – WUPZ Chocolay Township, MI (100kW @ 133.0 mi)
95.1 – W236BU Traverse City, MI (10W @ 19.4 mi) – WCMW (FM) translator
95.1 – WLST Marinette, WI (100kW @ 79.6 mi)
95.3 – WGVS Whitehall, MI (2kW @ 105.3 mi)
95.3 – WWSS Tuscorora Township, MI (17kW @ 79.1 mi)
95.5 – WQEZ Glen Arbor, MI (21kW @ 4.3 mi)
95.7 – WHWL Marquette, MI (100kW @ 130.5 mi)
95.9 – WLJW Fife Lake, MI (19kW @ 46.3 mi)
96.1 – WHNN Bay City, MI (100kW @ 148.5 mi)
96.1 – WLKG Lake Geneva, WI (6kW @ 196.3 mi)
96.3 – WLXT Petoskey, MI (100kW @ 65.8 mi)
96.5 – WKLH Milwaukee, WI (20kW @ 153.0 mi)
96.7 – WBDK Algoma, WI (8kW @ 67.3 mi)
96.7 – WLXV Cadillac, MI (7.2kW @ 41.6 mi)
96.9 – WWDV Zion, IL (50kW @ 186.7 mi)
97.1 – W246CW Long Lake Township, MI (10W @ 19.8 mi) – WTLI (FM) translator
97.1 – WGLQ Escanaba, MI (100kW @ 97.7 mi)
97.3 – WHDG Rhinelander, WI (100kW @ 157.2 mi)
97.5 – WKLT Kalkaska, MI (32kW @ 40.6 mi)
97.7 – WMLQ Manistee, MI (2.5kW @ 46.8 mi)
97.7 – WQDC Sturgeon Bay, WI (1.85kW @ 64.5 mi)
97.9 – WIHC Newberry, MI (50kW @ 118.8 mi)
97.9 – WLUP Chicago, IL (4kW @ 219.5 mi)
98.1 – WGFN Glen Arbor, MI (21kW @ 4.3 mi)
98.3 – WCCQ Crest Hill, IL (3kW @ 260.1 mi)
98.3 – WRUP Palmer, MI (2.6kW @ 141.9 mi)
98.5 – WQLH Green Bay, WI (100kW@ 103.5 mi)
98.5 – WUPS Harrison, MI (100kW @ 76.2 mi)
98.7 – unID talk (not WLDN, as they were airing the Tigers at that time)
98.7 – WLDN Ludington, MI (5.5kW @ 68.2 mi)
98.9 – WEMP Two Rivers, WI (6kW @ 104.2 mi)
98.9 – WKLZ Petoskey, MI (100kW @ 68.6 mi)
99.1 – WIKB Iron River, MI (60kW @ 147.7 mi)
99.1 – WMYX Milwaukee, WI (50kW @ 166.1 mi)
99.3 – WATZ Alpena, MI (17kW @ 123.5 mi)
99.3 – WOUF Beulah, MI (50kW @ 18.4 mi) – they were on and parallel to 101.9 on 7/11. Heard them again on US-31 near the fish hatchery. Running very low power (guessing only a couple hundred watts)
99.3 – WOWN Shawano, WI (14kW @ 112.2 mi)
99.5 – WPKR Omro, WI (25kW @ 147.9 mi)
99.5 – WUSN Chicago, IL (5.7kW @ 219.5 mi)
99.5 – WYSS Sault Ste. Marie, MI (100kW @ 132.8 mi)
99.7 – WDKF Sturgeon Bay, WI (46kW @ 78.9 mi)
99.9 – WHAK Rogers City, MI (50kW @ 110.7 mi)
99.9 – WHFB Benton Harbor, MI (50kW @ 201.1 mi)
100.1 – unID smooth jazz/soft AC version of Spill the Wine
100.1 – W261CI Escanaba, MI (50W @ 77.8 mi) – WHWL (FM) translator
100.1 – WSJP Port Washington, WI (6kW @ 138.7 mi)
100.3 – WQON Grayling, MI (60kW @ 70.2 mi)
100.3 – WUPT Gwinn, MI (100kW @ 133.0 mi)
100.5 – CHAS Sault Ste. Marie, ON (14kW @ 145.2 mi)
100.7 – W264CF St. Ignace, MI (250W @ 88.7 mi) – WCBY (AM) translator
100.7 – WKKV Racine, WI (50kW @ 173.6 mi)
100.7 – WOBE Crystal Falls, MI (100kW @ 117.0 mi)
100.7 – WWTH Oscoda, MI (20.5kW @ 133.4 mi)
100.9 – WICV East Jordan, MI (2.8kW @ 51.6 mi)
101.1 – WGRY Roscommon, MI (3.4kW @ 70.2 mi)
101.1 – WIXX Green Bay, WI (100kW @ 100.9 mi)
101.3 – WSUE Sault Ste. Marie, MI (100kW @ 135.6 mi)
101.5 – WJNR Iron Mountain, MI (100kW @ 117.0 mi)
101.5 – WMJZ Gaylord, MI (50kW @ 81.6 mi)
101.7 – WMRR Muskegon Heights, MI (12kW @ 115.6 mi)
101.9 – WLDR Traverse City, MI (100kW @ 19.0 mi) – clearly running much less than 100kW with no STA, signal had some weak spots along M-22 between Glen Arbor and Leland. At times between those two, the 102.3 in Petoskey was stronger!
102.1 – WRKU Forestville, WI (2.6kW @ 67.3 mi)
102.3 – W272CR Petoskey, MI (250W @ 51.8 mi) – WMKT (AM) translator
102.3 – WXLC Waukegan, IL (3kW @ 196.4 mi)
102.5 – WCMM Gulliver, MI (100kW @ 78.9 mi)
102.7 – WMOM Pentwater, MI (6kW @ 70.4 mi)
102.7 – WRVM Suring, WI (100kW @ 115.1 mi)
102.9 – WMKC Indian River, MI (100kW @ 66.6 mi)
103.1 – W276BC Ellison Bay, WI (38W @ 56.5 mi) – WRVM (FM) translator
103.1 – WOGB Reedsville, WI (3.6kW @ 101.3 mi)
103.3 – WFXD Marquette, MI (100kW @ 141.9 mi)
103.5 – WTCM Traverse City, MI (100kW @ 33.2 mi)
103.7 – WHYB Menominee, MI (13kW @ 80.0 mi)
103.9 – WCMW Harbor Springs, MI (12kW @ 66.7 mi)
104.1 – WRLU Algoma, WI (2.4kW@ 67.3 mi)
104.3 – CJQM Sault Ste. Marie, ON (100kW @ 145.2 mi)
104.3 – WKZG Seymour, WI (5.6kW @ 114.5 mi)
104.5 – WZTC Traverse City, MI (1.75kW @ 19.4 mi)
104.7 – WDDW Sturtevant, WI (4.2kW @ 165.0 mi)
104.7 – WYKX Escanaba, MI (100kW @ 94.0 mi)
104.9 – W285ET East Bay Township, MI (10W @ 19.8 mi) – WTLI (FM) translator
104.9 – WPCK Denmark, WI (10kW @ 87.9 mi)
105.1 – WGFM Cheboygan, MI (43kW @ 67.3 mi)
105.1 – WSBW Ephraim, WI (3.1kW @ 56.6 mi)
105.3 – WRLO Antigo, WI (100kW @ 154.6 mi)
105.5 – WSRJ Honor, MI (17kW @ 18.5 mi)
105.7 – WAPL Appleton, WI (100kW @ 101.3 mi)
105.9 – WKHQ Charlevoix, MI (100kW @ 51.8 mi)
106.1 – WMIL Waukesha, WI (12kW @ 153.0 mi)
106.3 – WKLA Ludington, MI (4.9kW @ 58.6 mi)
106.3 – WOEZ Onaway, MI (31kW @ 99.6 mi)
106.5 – WYTE Marshfield, WI (100kW @ 187.4 mi)
106.7 – WPPN Des Plaines, IL (50kW @ 211.8 mi)
106.7 – WSRT Gaylord, MI (100kW @ 60.7 mi)
106.9 – WLGE Baileys Harbor, WI (6kW @ 54.8 mi)
107.1 – WCKC Cadillac, MI (2.75kW @ 59.8 mi)
107.1 – WZVN Lowell, IN (2.65kW @ 253.2 mi)
107.3 – WUPF Powers, MI (50kW @ 85.8 mi)
107.5 – WCCW Traverse City, MI (50kW @ 19.3 mi)
107.5 – WGCI Chicago, IL (3.7kW @ 221.0 mi)
107.7 – WMQT Ishpeming, MI (100kW @ 136.7 mi)
107.7 – WVCY Milwaukee, WI (43kW @ 165.5 mi)
107.9 – WBCV Wausau, WI (100kW @ 166.2 mi)
107.9 – WCDY McBain, MI (3.1kW @ 59.7 mi)
107.9 – WCZW Charlevoix, MI (5kW @ 51.1 mi)
107.9 – WMUS Muskegon, MI (15kW @ 110.6 mi)

 

[cyberdad]

Impresive scan. Great stuff, and thanks for the report. Also, great to see you back on the board. Don't be a stranger!

 

[1L6E6VHF]

You found my "secret"!

This is a fantastic place for tropo (tropospheric refraction) DX at VHF and UHF.

Try taking a portable digital TV there on a hot afternoon. Get Chicago TV stations using an unfurled jumbo paper clip for an antenna.

Interestingly, the height only makes a nominal contribution to the range when tropo is in. One can sometimes get the same results at lake level. At manistique, the same stations may be received, only the stations are 90 miles further away as a result.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Interesting AM DXing in that area also. My family used to vacation at Crystal Lake near there back in the 1960s. I remember listening to WDOR 910 and WDBC 680 across the lake. It was the first I heard that WISN was 50000 watts, though with the radio I used, it wasn't immediately apparent that they had changed frequencies to do it. I heard it during the early morning Critical Hours. The radio I used inside didn't get much during the daytime except WCCW 1310 and WTCM 1400, and that was pretty weak. WDBC went from 1000 to 10000 watts daytime at some point and then that was heard. On the Delco car radio, you could get WJR in the daytime with the telescoping antenna fully extended. WDOR was mainly heard on the car radio also. We went to Sleeping Bear Dunes once when I was there. I tried to go down a sand hill too fast and fell down. That dune sand is one of the most signal absorbing soil types there is. I was surprised that we lost some of the better AM signals from downstate in the daytime by the time we got there and heard Wisconsin stations.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

The AM propagation across the Lake has to do with conductivity. Pure water, like a spring fed Lake, has much lower conductivity than Lake Michigan, which has a lot more ions than spring fed Lakes do. The FM and TV propagation has to do with being almost perfectly flat for short distances, and no hills except waves if you consider that a hill. Then of course there us the tropospheric heating effects which result in bending, reflection and ducting of signals. In some areas like Southern California and Baja California, temperature inversions occur most of the time. In extreme cases, reflection can occur all the way up to optical frequencies, causing large objects like mountains beyond the horizon to be visible at times. I have never seen this. Maybe someone with more experience in those areas like pianoplayer or David can describe it better. The novel "The Pearl", by John Steinbeck, which took place in La Paz, BC describes the effect. It is apparently a real phenomena, though described in fiction.

 

[gar hi]

Those are some impressive catches, ftballfan.

And I Googled to see exactly where that location is and the scenery is awesome!

I just assumed the land in that region was a lot more flat.

Tropo seems to be very common around Lake Michigan from the reports I hear.

Is there such a thing as 'Lake Effect Tropo'?

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Any large body of water can have troposperic effects. The larger the body of water, the greater the area of effect. The essentially flat surface has more even air masses, and the lake temperature interacts with the air temperature to create gradients of temperature and humidity. This creates gradients in the index of refraction, which bends and reflects electromagnetic signals.

The most common lake effect tropospheric DXing situations I have encountered in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan are across Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie.

Tropospheric effects far beyond the horizon favor high ERP over low ERP. Chicago area FMs and TVs with high ERP have always been more likely to be logged on a somewhat regular basis. When analog TV stations such as WLS-TV 7 and WTTW 11 were 316000 watts visual, they came in much stronger and more often than the lower ERP stations. WGN-TV 9 analog with 112000 watts visual from the Hancock building was intermediate in strength. Because CKLW-TV/CBET 9 and WWTV 9 used to sign off at night, WGN-TV 9 with its 24 hour schedule was also often seen with a good outdoor antenna in Lower Michigan, often fading in and out nearly every night, but usually with a barely visible picture.

 

[gar hi]

I know tropo is more likely over water but it seems a lot more consistent on the Great Lakes than it does over the Gulf of Mexico which is a lot larger.

Maybe the conditions up there are more conducive this time of year to create tropo

But then again, the form of tropo most associated with the Gulf of Mexico is tropospheric ducting which carries signals several hundreds of miles and I think the tropo over the Great Lakes is more the tropo 'enhancement' type.

 

[davideduardo]

But then again, the form of tropo most associated with the Gulf of Mexico is tropospheric ducting which carries signals several hundreds of miles and I think the tropo over the Great Lakes is more the tropo 'enhancement' type.

I always thought that tropo was reduced the closer you got to the Equator. In my roughly 30 years in Puerto Rico, it was an infrequent occurrence, and I never heard of a station's signal being compromised by incoming tropo signals. Of course, that could be because there are few land areas near PR from which tropo could come, and none are within 500 miles to the north or south.

Similarly, I never noticed trop while in Quito, Ecuador but that might be because the closest FMs at the time were in San Jose, CR and Lima, Peru. However, on several occasions I did get what appeared to be some sort of skip when I got one of my QUito stations in Guayaquil despite total horizon blockage for HCTM1 and HCTT1, both of which were on the eastern side of the Pichincha volcano with no line of sight to Guayaquil. .

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

There might not be the large temperature differences between the water and the air at certain times of the year in the tropical regions. In the temperate regions, the water is cooler than the air in the Spring, and warmer than the air in the Fall. The greater the temperature differential, the more difference in the index of refraction. The water temperature lags the seasons. I would think the water temperature and air temperature in Ecuador would be pretty consistent throughout the year. The lack of signals at certain distances would also be a factor. The signal strength would need to be observed over time to see the variations. With modern AGC, you can have a large change in signal strength without noticing it without a signal indicator.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

David, have you ever observed the Fata Morgana (the name of what I described earlier) in the subtropics, and what was FM and TV like when it was present?

 

[gar hi]

I always thought that tropo was reduced the closer you got to the Equator. In my roughly 30 years in Puerto Rico, it was an infrequent occurrence, and I never heard of a station's signal being compromised by incoming tropo signals. Of course, that could be because there are few land areas near PR from which tropo could come, and none are within 500 miles to the north or south.

My best tropo catches by far have been over the Gulf of Mexico as far as distance is concerned.

During the days of analog TV, in the spring and early summer on my TV with rabbit ears, it was common for the local stations to get those lines and sometimes bars from co channel interference.

When it would get strong, the local stations would roll a message across the bottom of the screen saying ... "Atmospheric conditions are causing interference with our signal"

The tropo ducting on the Gulf is not as common as the tropo enhancement up north on the Great Lakes region but from Tampa, I've heard in the past few years ....

Houston, Texas @ 789 miles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOgRrH1Q_Xw

Lafayette, Louisiana @ 600 miles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDjpaQ45tPo

Brownsville, Texas @ 936 miles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkRK9nP1Li8


But my best Tropo catch all the years I lived up north in New Jersey was from Roanoke, Virginia @320 miles.

 

[davideduardo]

David, have you ever observed the Fata Morgana (the name of what I described earlier) in the subtropics, and what was FM and TV like when it was present?

For a while, I sailed a lot when in Puerto Rico. On several occasions I saw those mirage like appearances on the horizon, generally when there had been weather changes such as cooling or warming over normal. The interesting thing is that the images tended to flutter or change like a mirage, but were identifiable as things just over the horizon, even if quite distorted.

Like the green flash at sunrise, you have to spend a lot of hours at sea and very close to sea level (I have heard of folks on cabin cruisers and yachts where the ones on the lowest deck saw the phenomena and those on higher decks did not).

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

One thing I notice, is that there are almost no stations logged from Eastern and Southern Michigan. Up until about the late 1980s to early 1990s, when Docket 80-90 and related upgrades and drop in stations began signing on and duplicating long clear FM channels, almost all of those stations could be logged nearly as easily as these stations were. That was the consequence partly of dedicated channels, either A or B-C. The long distance separation requirements for Class B and Class C stations, along with low ERP and HAAT by many Class B and Class C stations in less populated areas, allowed this. Often a Class C allotment not only precluded cochannel stations, but stations on 1st, 2nd and 3rd adjacent channels over large areas. Many Class Bs also had a fairly large footprint, despite many short spaced facilities with typically 10 kW ERP mounted on AM towers. The unduplicated channels could be first, second, or third adjacents, allowing Class As openings over wide areas where a weak Class C was just 50-100 miles away. One good example was WDZZ 92.7 Flint, which I heard blasting in in places like Grand Rapids and Charlevoix, in the car and on good portables with just the normal antenna. High ERP grandfathered stations like WJFM/WBCT 93.7 Grand Rapids and WOMC 104.3 Detroit would regularly fade in and out for hundreds of miles. Almost all the Class Bs, and many of the Class As could be heard far and wide in Michigan.