FM station with largest coverage map?

[Dondd]

Trusty says: I'll take height over power anytime....

I don't know, trusty. In Texas we often get an inversion layer that can cause the signal to skip right over the intended target. I know 93.3 had that problem when it moved from Killeen to Austin. Quite often they wouldn't be audible in Austin, but would be coming in loud and clear in San Antonio. A friend of mine had a station in Beaumont, and it happened so often, he installed a second antenna just a couple hundred feet off the ground, and a sensor that would switch from the 'High Tower' to the 'Low Tower' automatically.
But I'll never forget driving across Wyoming and being able to pick up practically every station in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and even some from Kansas! (that was my altitude. I was quite high.)
Likewise, Albuquerque stations come blasting in to the west, til you reach the continental divide, and they disappear. You can see the Sandia Crest from a hundred miles away.

In the late 70s, I recall receiving KEYN-FM 103.7 out of Wichita, KS, in western Kansas.
Driving from Great Bend, which was on the fringe of the station (it came in on car radios, not clock radios), I clearly remember receiving it in my dad's pickup via one of those FM converter radios that hooked up to an AM radio.
We listened to the station as far west as Scott City, KS, which is about an hour east of the Colo. state line and about 200 miles from Wichita !

A friend's dad, a traveling salesman living in Wichita, told us he received the station between Dodge City and Garden City, which is about 140 miles west of the transmitting tower, which is shared with a Wichita TV station.

The station is on a 1,000' tower and is 2392' above sea level.
KEYN-FM Radio Station Coverage Map

 

[Dondd]

Elevation is everything on FM. I drove through the Rocky Mountain National Park (12,000 feet) and did a bit of quick DX'ing. I easily had some 400 mile DX - every frequency was jammed. Next vacation to Colorado, I'll drive to the top of Pike's Peak (14,000 feet) and see what happens. Given that you can see 50 miles into Kansas, I am sure there will be some astonding DX. I have heard unconfirmed reports of DALLAS FM stations received on Pike's Peak. I am sure, though, that Wichita, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, and Lubbock are more realistic DX targets for that location, as well as Albuquerque. Perhaps some of the Arizona cities like Flagstaff and Phoenix as well.

It would be interesting to hear what you received on top of Pikes Peak.

 

[KeithE4]

The Phoenix FMs that run 100 kW from South Mountain (1500' HAAT) are good for a 100 mile radius or thereabouts.

WTTS 92.3 is good for close to that, with 37 kW on a 1250 foot tower in Trafalgar IN, halfway between Bloomington and Indianapolis. I've heard it from just north of Louisville to north of Lafayette.

 

[gar hi]

Maybe not the largest coverage but certainly 93.3 FLZ in Tampa has to be near the top.

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I could easily hear them in the Orlando area which is about the same distance as New York is from Philly and I've never heard any Philly FM stations up in North Jersey near New York.

I'm sure it happens during some tropo events but I'm talking about typical average conditions.

 

[Dondd]

Western Kansas, yes - look for stations from Goodland. Also, you can try for Scottsbluff and North Platte, NE. However, there is a lot of frequency duplication with local stations - more so than when I was up there.

It's pretty doubtful that you'd get stations from places like Dallas and Okla City on Pikes Peak - for one thing, you're getting a lot of RF from Denver/Colo Spgs/Pueblo stations up there that will fill much of the dial. Check out how many stations broadcast from Colo Spgs, Pueblo, Denver, Ft. Collins, Greeley, etc. Secondly, those places are hundreds of miles away - so you'd need some help from the troposphere for that to happen. Distant stations could, theoretically be received up to 250-300 miles away - mostly to the east, thanks to topography as well as line of sight.

As for FM stations from places like Albuquerque and Phoenix, forget it. Too far away and too much high terrain in the way. I tried for Grand Junction up there back in 1990 and didn't get anything further west than Aspen.

The radio locator maps limit the stations' signals considerably. Rather, they're highly conservative.
I recall driving east from Pueblo and listening to Solid Gold Saturday Night on 107.9 one weekend. We received it all the way to the Kansas state line, about 150 miles.
The station's tower:
Height above Avg. Terrain 2211 feet
Height above Sea Level 9606 feet

I have no issue believing people receive certain stations, like the Dallas stations in west Texas and the Houston FM into Dallas. I've received some stations much farther than the normal coverage contours.

 

[gr8oldies]

Actually just a *bit* higher - 2,063'? Something like that - more than 2,000, less than 2,100.

There was once a taller tower in Poland. It collapsed & they didn't rebuild it. I want to say 2,200' but could be wrong.

Neither tower houses(housed) FM stations though. The 2,063-footer in North Dakota belongs to KVLY-TV; the one in Poland was for a longwave (AM) station.

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I doubt terrain is much of an issue in the Grand Rapids market, it's pretty flat.

It's my understanding the FCC only protects these "superpower" stations from interference to the distance they'd reach if they were running the normal limit. In WBCT's case, while they're running 320,000 watts, the nearest other stations on 93.7 are authorized as if WBCT was only 20,000. So interference may limit them to no more coverage than a "normal" station.

They did have one heck of a signal across the lake in Wisconsin when I lived there. Essentially a local in Milwaukee. I have to bet WBFM in Sheboygan regrets moving from (I forget their old frequency, 97.7?) to 93.7!

WBCT should still get protection as if were a full Class C but encroachments are coming in. Before 80-90, it (as WJFM) was a frequent visitor to West Central Ohio.

 

[BIGSTICK]

This gets out way further than this map...

 

[ContinuousWave]

93.3 Austin has a 3000ft tower it is a blow torch to the north & south east
97.1 houston has great range in all directions

3000ft?? Nope nope nope....highest tower in the US is 2064ft in ND
Houston has several 2000ft towers and the stations can be heard 120 miles to east

 

[Dondd]

View attachment 1651This gets out way further than this map...

that's big

 

[Dondd]

The signal for KOSU-FM, the NPR affiliate in Stillwater, OK, travels much farther than the online map indicates.
While driving on I-35 recently, I picked up a consistent signal until Wellington, KS, just south of Wichita (on the map), another 39 miles north of the fringe contour, just north of Blackwell, OK.



This map is accurate on the south side of the coverage area, as the Washita Mountains are between Pauls Valley, OK, and Ardmore, OK, which blocks the signal.
Listening to the station driving south, the signal faded, but another public radio station, from Lawton, OK, to the west, or a translator of, was heard on that stretch of I-35.

 

[davideduardo]

The signal for KOSU-FM, the NPR affiliate in Stillwater, OK, travels much farther than the online map indicates.
While driving on I-35 recently, I picked up a consistent signal until Wellington, KS, just south of Wichita (on the map), another 39 miles north of the fringe contour, just north of Blackwell, OK.


View attachment 1652
This map is accurate on the south side of the coverage area, as the Washita Mountains are between Pauls Valley, OK, and Ardmore, OK, which blocks the signal.
Listening to the station driving south, the signal faded, but another public radio station, from Lawton, OK, to the west, or a translator of, was heard on that stretch of I-35.

Remember, though, that the station is protected only to about the area of the red contour. And 95% of the home and work listening will be inside that red contour.

 

[asugeorge1]

I would submit for your consideration KRUZ-FM 103.3 from Santa Barbara, California. They are 180 miles as the crow flies from my current location in Carlsbad, California in northern San Diego County and I am able to pick them up pretty clearly inside a house on my portable radio with RDS data and all. If I am driving around San Diego, you will hear the much more closer Q 103.3 from Temecula, California fighting it out with KRUZ-FM from Santa Barbara. This is no tropospheric ducting, KRUZ FM is just a super powerful station. Looking at KRUZ FM’s information, they are 105,000 watts so that might explain why I can pick them up here so well in Carlsbad!

Now I am not quite sure what the northern limits are of KRUZ FM, but it appears that the station can come in as far north as Paso Robles, California and even into southern Monterey County, California. That is quite the impressive range!

 

[asugeorge1]

The Phoenix FMs that run 100 kW from South Mountain (1500' HAAT) are good for a 100 mile radius or thereabouts.

WTTS 92.3 is good for close to that, with 37 kW on a 1250 foot tower in Trafalgar IN, halfway between Bloomington and Indianapolis. I've heard it from just north of Louisville to north of Lafayette.

I can attest to the range of the Phoenix FM’s. I have picked up KMVP 98.7 FM as far west as Live Oak Springs on the Interstate 8 in San Diego County, as far east as Lordsburg, New Mexico and as far north as the Navajo Nation. I have not really tested how far south you can pick up Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, but I know it WAS pretty clear around the outskirts of Tucson in Vail (there is an LP in central Tucson that restricts you from hearing it in Tucson proper). I presume you could pick up KMVP-FM as far south as the Mexican border in Lukeville, Arizona, but I have never been there. 93.3 KDKB-FM and 92.3 KTAR-FM both also have impressive signals.

 

[wildthangjim]

I would submit for your consideration KRUZ-FM 103.3 from Santa Barbara, California. They are 180 miles as the crow flies from my current location in Carlsbad, California in northern San Diego County and I am able to pick them up pretty clearly inside a house on my portable radio with RDS data and all. If I am driving around San Diego, you will hear the much more closer Q 103.3 from Temecula, California fighting it out with KRUZ-FM from Santa Barbara. This is no tropospheric ducting, KRUZ FM is just a super powerful station. Looking at KRUZ FM’s information, they are 105,000 watts so that might explain why I can pick them up here so well in Carlsbad!

Now I am not quite sure what the northern limits are of KRUZ FM, but it appears that the station can come in as far north as Paso Robles, California and even into southern Monterey County, California. That is quite the impressive range!

When I lived in Bakersfield in 1997, I remember KRUZ usually put in a solid signal, despite being on the other side of the coastal mountain range.

I used to drive between Houston and Dallas fairly often in the 80's and can remember several of the big Dallas stations (KZPS 92.5 for one) usually being listenable almost to Conroe. Coming back, KRBE 104.1 and KKBQ 92.9 hung in there til Corsicana most days.

 

[kwthom]

I can attest to the range of the Phoenix FM’s. I have picked up KMVP 98.7 FM as far west as Live Oak Springs on the Interstate 8 in San Diego County, as far east as Lordsburg, New Mexico<...>

I'm thinking KSNM in ToC makes it to Lordsburg before KMVP does.

I presume you could pick up KMVP-FM as far south as the Mexican border in Lukeville, Arizona, but I have never been there.

Oh, don't worry - one of the 'garden spots' of the desert southwest.

Like Why and Ajo, for example.

 

[cyberdad]

During the late 90s and early 2000s, 2-3 times a year, I had to make the drive up U.S. 101 from Encino to San Jose. With business appointments along the way. More than a 300+ miles with KRUZ invariably solid for the entire route.

 

[RF101]

While not the 100,000-watt Class C flamethrowers, I always am impressed by the coverage of the class B-B1-A FM stations along the western ridge of the Sierras in California. For example, KCRZ in Tulare County must have the best Class A station coverage around. The HAAT's in that region benefit from the high mountains to the east.

 

[crainbebo]

KPQ-FM 102.1 Wenatchee by a long shot. That 6800' Mission Peak transmitter location works the most incredible wonders. Can be heard in just about all of eastern Washington, and in Tri-Cities and Spokane, heard on radios that have good selectivity against 101.9 locals. I bet it could be heard all the way to western MT on high mountain peaks. We have a DXer who heard KPQ reliably at Mt. Spokane.
I've heard them in the Seattle area in many spots, including my old place in Bothell. Knife-edge off the Cascades probably helped. Heard them in Hoodsport several years ago, 130 miles W, next to Hood Canal.

KFFM 107.3 Yakima, too. They are reliable in areas that get little reception. They are variable but audible in Cle Elum, which is literally a big BOWL for FM. Locals and not much else, with hills blocking everything else. In town, forget listening to even 104.1 KXDD. I've heard them out to Moses Lake and I'm sure they can be heard into the Okanogan and Selkirk mountains. Yet in Tri-Cities, entirely blocked by a translator.

Over in western Washington, KXXO 96.1 used to have an even bigger range when they were at Rooster Rock, near the little town of Cinebar, WA. RELIABLY heard in every city and suburb in the Seattle area. Only when you hit Marysville did CHKG Vancouver take over with their Chinese programming. RELIABLY heard in Portland (of course, a 96.3 is now on), as well as the Washington coast. In South King County, they were just as strong as Seattle locals. They later moved to Capitol Peak near Olympia, which is not a bad spot either. I think it might be a little more noisier in the Seattle rimshot area, as 102.9 is on that same spot and where I lived was often multi pathed.

 

[crainbebo]

In the late 70s, I recall receiving KEYN-FM 103.7 out of Wichita, KS, in western Kansas.
Driving from Great Bend, which was on the fringe of the station (it came in on car radios, not clock radios), I clearly remember receiving it in my dad's pickup via one of those FM converter radios that hooked up to an AM radio.
We listened to the station as far west as Scott City, KS, which is about an hour east of the Colo. state line and about 200 miles from Wichita !

A friend's dad, a traveling salesman living in Wichita, told us he received the station between Dodge City and Garden City, which is about 140 miles west of the transmitting tower, which is shared with a Wichita TV station.

The station is on a 1,000' tower and is 2392' above sea level.
KEYN-FM Radio Station Coverage Map

Scott City? I heard KEYN in Ellensburg WA last July 7th! Of course, on a great E-skip opening. 1340 miles and IDed. Also heard KFDI, KHUT, and a variety of other stations from Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, even 90.5 KBXE in Bagley MN at the end of that opening.
When you've been DXing for several years, you get used to hearing the western KS stations and their (mostly) satellite formats at least once a summer. Hearing Southwest Kansas SuperHits (KAHE) 95.5 once during the hot summer is like going to visit family on Christmas. You do it once a year, but they show up every time...
Phoenix seems to be just as common, especially the stations below 96.3.

But I am not surprised by the signal. Kansas is flat rolling plains and perfect for long-range DX. 125 miles on a 100KW...and there are many in Kansas, shouldn't be hard in the right areas. Tropo also helps in the late summer. I've seen the TVFM logger blow up with great tropo in Missouri, east KS, NE at that time of year.

 

[Dondd]

KEYN-FM's tower is located on one of the Wichita TV towers (KSNW or KAKE, the NBC and ABC affiliates).
Below is the radio station's coverage map.

Tower height: 1,000'
Height above Sea Level 2392 feet

The distant contour, purple, resembles the TV stations' coverage area.



Here is KAKE-TV's coverage map, with detailed signal areas.
I post it to show the different levels of the TV station's coverage, with more detail than only circle lines.
So FM is similar to the TV contours, with a little bit larger listening contour.






Driving on I-35 recently, I could hear KEYN until almost Emporia (northeast of Wichita, en route to Topeka). The signal departed once I dropped down on the other side of one of the Flint Hills, which prevents penetration into Emporia.