I’ll be flying through Hartsfield-Jackson within a few months, and while I wouldn’t have time to leave the airport to go anywhere, if I’m able to spend more time in the city, where would be a good location for bandscans (AM and FM)?
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Best location for bandscans
- Thread starter ksradiogeek
- Start date
Also, isn’t ground conductivity for AM especially poor in the Southeast?
Yes. Also, almost all of the AM stations started out as 5kw or 1kw and then were upgraded and shoe-horned in. To me, AM radio seems to be a noisier band than it is in other major metro areas.
Top of Stone Mountain.
To add, is there a certain spot in the terminals or even on the top of the parking garages that can net a lot of the locals, AM and FM?
One of the WORST rock for AM ground conductivity is granite.
The best is sea water with 5000 millimhos (or millisiemens) per meter. The midwest farm land is 15 - 30. Most of the southeast is 2 - 4. Atlanta is 1.
https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/m3-ground-conductivity-map
I was thinking more FM for Stone Mountain. I’ve been able to receive everything FM on top of the mountain. Does the ground conductivity also apply to FM? I’ve noticed TV and FM stretch much farther when I’ve been in the Midwest versus the Southeast but I always thought that was because the Midwest was more flat and was blocking less signals. Airport-wise, I used to fly Delta all the time and would take my TV and radio with me and had no problem receiving signals anywhere in Hartsfield-Jackson. Try staying close to a window in the terminal. All of the local TV stations are able to be scanned and most all FMs can be received including the ones off to the Northeast of town. Most all of the TV antennas and the in-town FMs are in one of two spots. One at 1800 Briarcliff Road and the other near Moreland Avenue and I-20 which both are not far from the airport. I have scanned the signals at the nearby Starlite Six on Moreland Avenue and got similar results. There’s not much interference inside the airport surprisingly. Analog TV was the same way when I was a kid coming in the airport with my portable Sony Watchman.
And Delta (as far as I know) a few years ago started allowing FM radios in-flight and continue to do so. Some flight attendants may not let you, some may be OK. The only airline to allow this in their rules of personal electronic devices. So if you want to listen to 300-mile distant FMs at 37,000 feet, you're likely OK on Delta's planes.
I have never heard of any issues but I have never really researched ground conductivity effects on FM signals but there are many papers on it’s effect on AM low and medium wave. Without getting too techy this is a good article:
https://electronicsforu.com/resources/learn-electronics/ground-wave-propagation
The ground reflection part of this article is not fiction. At Eglin AFB we had a line of site microwave shot using TRC 97’s that went across and brackish swamp creek about a mile from its entrance to the Gulf for a JCS exercise. On two perfectly clear evenings in a row, the Gulf had an extreme hightide and the link went out. The Major who was running this part of operation wrote it as up the swamp water reflecting the signal and causing an out of phase signal. He produced a copy of the tide tables to back it up. It never happened again but the tide was not that high again while we were there either. Most FM stations now have a “circular polarized” antenna which should make any vertical reflection an non-issue.
The Southeast generally has higher humidity than the Midwest. The high humidity has a negative impact on FM signals. Higher humidity can mean more thermal inversions and occasionally Tropospheric ducting especially around the Gulf Coast can be an issue too. Flatter land yields a greater the line of sight factor favors most of the Midwest too. I know there are some very flat parts of the Southeast too, but i assume we are talking about southern part of the Appalachian mountains.
Back in the day, when I lived in S. Florida, I would listen to WQAM’s killer AM signal out of Miami and wonder why it was so much stronger than most other Miami stations while being only 5kw. Of course, being on 560 kc didn’t hurt, but then I discovered where their tower was located.
Go to Google Maps and locate NE 15th St. (Venetian Causeway) in Miami. As it begins to cross Biscayne Bay from the mainland, there is this little square object right south of it (between Venetian and MacArthur causeways). That used to be the platform of the WQAM tower – sticking in all that salt water. Can’t beat that.
(If you want to see it in its glory, go to historicaerials.com.)
Go to Google Maps and locate NE 15th St. (Venetian Causeway) in Miami. As it begins to cross Biscayne Bay from the mainland, there is this little square object right south of it (between Venetian and MacArthur causeways). That used to be the platform of the WQAM tower – sticking in all that salt water. Can’t beat that.
(If you want to see it in its glory, go to historicaerials.com.)
K
kf4rca
Guest
When I lived in Charleston SC, all the AM's had their towers in the swamp. There were a few that you could only reach the tower at low tide. Needless to say their coverage was awesome for the power they were running.
One other benefit was that the real estate was cheap.
One other benefit was that the real estate was cheap.
Trusty,
Didn't a Tampa station -- WALT -- have their towers on a bridge across Tampa Bay?
A long-time friend of mine built a "home-made" AM station from some kit he bought from Radio Shack. His house was near some railroad tracks. He ran the antenna up into some trees that were close to the rails and got some awesome coverage in DeKalb County.. Even at night! Used 680 (this was about 5 years before WRNG). Was able to get about .185 miles in the daytime; night he got covered by that station in North Carolina.
Didn't a Tampa station -- WALT -- have their towers on a bridge across Tampa Bay?
A long-time friend of mine built a "home-made" AM station from some kit he bought from Radio Shack. His house was near some railroad tracks. He ran the antenna up into some trees that were close to the rails and got some awesome coverage in DeKalb County.. Even at night! Used 680 (this was about 5 years before WRNG). Was able to get about .185 miles in the daytime; night he got covered by that station in North Carolina.
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There are lots of Atlanta AMs in floodplains near creeks...WCNN, WDWD, and all of those stations near Ptree Creek off Cheshire Bridge (WQXI, WMLB, WNIV, WGKA, WAFS, etc.).
Is the WDWD plant in Powder Springs the "newest" AM plant in ATL? Not counting those that have piggybacked onto someone else's old tower. I remember reading when it flooded, but it wasn't that big of a deal since the transmitter shack is up on 12' poles, like a modern beach house. Knocked the station off the air but didn't damage anything.
Is the WDWD plant in Powder Springs the "newest" AM plant in ATL? Not counting those that have piggybacked onto someone else's old tower. I remember reading when it flooded, but it wasn't that big of a deal since the transmitter shack is up on 12' poles, like a modern beach house. Knocked the station off the air but didn't damage anything.
Practically all Tampa Bay AM's are in the swamp (or bay), the most noticeable are the WDAE/620 towers (WSUN "back in the day...") which was the first DA in the nation.
On the Gandy Bridge causeway:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/S...cc4003bcd48bff!8m2!3d27.7676008!4d-82.6402915
...and, of course, we'll never forget 680/Decatur: "...Wooly Bully all the time..." :-D
I bought one of those kits in the 70s. I remember having to create a coil (correct term??) by wrapping green winding wire round and round and round a square piece of plastic. It was powered by a 9 volt battery. I got a power supply for it and connected the antenna wire to our roof top VHF antenna. I covered about a six or seven house area with that 9 volt power supply. I had it connected to my 8-track player/recorder. I recorded programs on an 8-track tape and would let it play over and over. All of this was from our good friends at Radio Shack. I had forgotten just how much stuff I got from there in my younger years.
K
kf4rca
Guest
There was a station built partially in the swamp in Charleston. From the front it was on dry land, but the back was on creosote poles. It was about a 50x50 building built in the late 40's.
It was at one time a very successful country station on 1450 KHz (1KW/250 ND) but had lost that when FM took over.
I remember visiting there and for some reason went into the workshop area behind the CCA transmitter and there was a steel grate in the floor.
Looking thru the steel grate you could see water about 10-12 feet down. I thought that was very odd.
The station went dark sometime in the 80's and today that building is a private residence.
It was at one time a very successful country station on 1450 KHz (1KW/250 ND) but had lost that when FM took over.
I remember visiting there and for some reason went into the workshop area behind the CCA transmitter and there was a steel grate in the floor.
Looking thru the steel grate you could see water about 10-12 feet down. I thought that was very odd.
The station went dark sometime in the 80's and today that building is a private residence.
K
kf4rca
Guest
The old 1450 (transmitter & studio) was located at 42 10th Avenue. It looks like the new 1450's transmitter is sharing the WOKE tower which is up the river a little ways.
Googling the old address, shows a structure that appears to be boarded up. My guess of 50x50 (2500 sq ft.) was very close. Zillow says its actually 2280 sq. ft.
At the old address, the tower was just to the left rear of the building. Gone now, I'm surprised that they let go of it as a tower site, as it could be leased out.
Googling the old address, shows a structure that appears to be boarded up. My guess of 50x50 (2500 sq ft.) was very close. Zillow says its actually 2280 sq. ft.
At the old address, the tower was just to the left rear of the building. Gone now, I'm surprised that they let go of it as a tower site, as it could be leased out.
Things have changed in the last 20 years so this may not be the case anymore but I've lived in St. Louis, south Georgia between Macon and Savannah and North Carolina. The Raleigh stations (most located just east of Raleigh in Clayton) have been the most impressive with signal. I consistently could pull WRAL and WQDR all the way down to about Manning South Carolina on I95 going south.
Geography matters as well because 106.7 has one of the most impressive signals as of today. I know 97.1 has a stronger signal and maybe it's just lack of interference but I pull 106.7 easily to about the Alabama border on 20 West and just southeast of Macon (mile marker 15'ish on Interstate 16).
Augusta station also has an impressive signal but it's also pretty high up.
Geography matters as well because 106.7 has one of the most impressive signals as of today. I know 97.1 has a stronger signal and maybe it's just lack of interference but I pull 106.7 easily to about the Alabama border on 20 West and just southeast of Macon (mile marker 15'ish on Interstate 16).
Augusta station also has an impressive signal but it's also pretty high up.
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