MUF at a spotty 103.7 on this Juneteenth opening. Idaho has had a skip drought since June 9th. This was worth the wait. I have not heard DX from these regions in many years, and some of these stations are not possible from my Yakima home on Es due to the distance! This included a 250 watt translator from MN, stations from Michigan (!!), and an UNID on 103.7 that could be a TWENTY-THREE-WATT low-power transmitter in rural Manitoba.
Skip started just after 7:30PM and finished out just after 9PM MT.
7:36PM - 88.7 WMLS Grand Marais, MN; with RDS and Classical music over Project (KOAY), PI 7588, "MPR". NEW #259 from Cascade, 6KW at 1,244 miles.
7:38PM - 89.3 WIRC Ely, MN; with The Middle talk show, MPR News references and RDS PI 6B84, "MPR News". NEW #260, 18.5KW at 1,176 miles.
7:39PM - 89.7 WLSN Grand Marais, MN; with MPR News // 89.3, based on path and WMLS log. NEW #261, 6KW at 1,244 miles.
7:41PM - 92.5 WIRN Buhl, MN; // 89.3 and 89.7 with The Middle with Jeremy Hobson, RDS popped in too, PI 6B8F, "MPR News." NEW #262, 26KW at 1,131 miles.
7:43PM - 93.9 WTBX-FM Hibbing, MN; RDS and ID. PI 8705. NEW #263, 100KW at 1,120 miles.
7:47PM - 94.3 CJSD Thunder Bay, ON; with RDS PI CB2F, "Rock 94 is Thunder Bay's Rock Station" in Radiotext. NEW #264, 93KW at 1,303 miles...first time ever hearing Thunder Bay...from WA or ID!
7:49PM - 91.5 CKPR-FM Thunder Bay, ON; with "Vogue" by Madonna and ID sweeper overpowering KBSX Boise. NEW #265, 100KW at 1,303 miles.
8:00PM - 95.7 WHWL Marquette, MI; tracked this one down after it was in for 25 minutes, J. Vernon McGee 'Thru the Bible,' instrumental music bed, then announcer "Focus on the Family is coming up next at 10 Eastern. You're listening to WHWL in Marquette..." This one blows me away!! I have been wishing for Es to UP MI for YEARS. From central WA, I had Ironwood and Ontonagon (WUPY) in single-hop range, and the two from the former town would have been possible from Ellensburg. It took a move, but I finally bagged The Great Lakes State!! NEW #266, 100KW at 1,385 miles! So far, this is my furthest FM DX from Cascade. There's a swath of east coast states in double-hop range, including OH, mainland MI (Detroit is 1650 mi), and KY.
8:06PM - 90.1 WNMU Marquette, MI; my SECOND Michigan station popped in with a big signal...Bird Connection promo, and ID "Public Radio 90." This was in and out for over half an hour. NEW #267, 100KW at 1,365 miles.
8:24PM - 103.7 UNID that I am going to research. The station IDed as NCI-FM, which is the Manitoba First Nations network. Country song, DJ sweeper, and then he went into celebrity birthdays. There is nothing in the databases for a 103.7 in Manitoba with NCI. However, I did get word that there is a new First Nations station in Hollow Water, Manitoba that could be the NCI in question. I will be contacting them and trying to get a hold of an engineer to confirm. If this is true, the station has *23 WATTS* of power which would SHATTER my personal FM Es low-power records dating back years. The low-power record is KRAZ-105.9 Santa Ynez CA, heard in Ellensburg WA in 2021 with a whopping 65 watts.
At the same time, I had a very, very strong 92.9 SRC/CBC French station. Highly suspect CKSB-1, Ste-Rose-du-Lac, MB.
8:27PM - 88.9 K205GG Grand Rapids, MN; TRANSLATOR log with fadeup for the Faith Radio app and "MyFaithRadio.com". The station repeats KDNI-90.5 in Duluth. NEW #268, 250W at 1,094 miles. This is translator #2 on Es this season from Idaho.
8:32PM - 88.9 WOJB Reserve, WI; this station was dominant with music, but with constant technical issues and songs stopping, starting over again, and plenty of dead air. RDS finally hit with "WOJB" ID in the Radiotext. NEW #269, 100KW at 1,201 miles.
8:33PM - 92.5 KXKK Park Rapids, MN: ad for Emcon Minnesota, 218 area code. NEW #270, 10KW at 1,025 miles.
Just had Marquette 90.1/95.7 and WLSN-89.7 for 15 minutes, until:
8:51PM - 90.1 KOJB Cass Lake, MN; huge signal, almost 50 dBu with non-stop music and RDS. NEW #271, 18KW at 1,063 miles.
8:57PM - 93.7 WCYE Three Lakes, WI; country music, Taste of Country Nights promo and ID "Coyote 93-7". NEW #272, 100KW at 1,302 miles.
9:00PM - 88.5 WGRH Hinckley, MN; weather for the Iron Range, Your Classical MPR TOH ID. NEW #273, only 1,300 watts at 1,120 miles.
9:02PM - 96.7 WJJH Ashland, WI; ad for the Washburn Marina, 715-373-5050, and ID "J-Rock WJJH". NEW #274, 50KW at 1,221 miles.
Skip faded down after that. LOTS of fun. I also had an UNID on 92.9 around 7:45 that I need to listen to again with an ID.
Pictures from the TEF are also coming.
Skip started just after 7:30PM and finished out just after 9PM MT.
7:36PM - 88.7 WMLS Grand Marais, MN; with RDS and Classical music over Project (KOAY), PI 7588, "MPR". NEW #259 from Cascade, 6KW at 1,244 miles.
7:38PM - 89.3 WIRC Ely, MN; with The Middle talk show, MPR News references and RDS PI 6B84, "MPR News". NEW #260, 18.5KW at 1,176 miles.
7:39PM - 89.7 WLSN Grand Marais, MN; with MPR News // 89.3, based on path and WMLS log. NEW #261, 6KW at 1,244 miles.
7:41PM - 92.5 WIRN Buhl, MN; // 89.3 and 89.7 with The Middle with Jeremy Hobson, RDS popped in too, PI 6B8F, "MPR News." NEW #262, 26KW at 1,131 miles.
7:43PM - 93.9 WTBX-FM Hibbing, MN; RDS and ID. PI 8705. NEW #263, 100KW at 1,120 miles.
7:47PM - 94.3 CJSD Thunder Bay, ON; with RDS PI CB2F, "Rock 94 is Thunder Bay's Rock Station" in Radiotext. NEW #264, 93KW at 1,303 miles...first time ever hearing Thunder Bay...from WA or ID!
7:49PM - 91.5 CKPR-FM Thunder Bay, ON; with "Vogue" by Madonna and ID sweeper overpowering KBSX Boise. NEW #265, 100KW at 1,303 miles.
8:00PM - 95.7 WHWL Marquette, MI; tracked this one down after it was in for 25 minutes, J. Vernon McGee 'Thru the Bible,' instrumental music bed, then announcer "Focus on the Family is coming up next at 10 Eastern. You're listening to WHWL in Marquette..." This one blows me away!! I have been wishing for Es to UP MI for YEARS. From central WA, I had Ironwood and Ontonagon (WUPY) in single-hop range, and the two from the former town would have been possible from Ellensburg. It took a move, but I finally bagged The Great Lakes State!! NEW #266, 100KW at 1,385 miles! So far, this is my furthest FM DX from Cascade. There's a swath of east coast states in double-hop range, including OH, mainland MI (Detroit is 1650 mi), and KY.
8:06PM - 90.1 WNMU Marquette, MI; my SECOND Michigan station popped in with a big signal...Bird Connection promo, and ID "Public Radio 90." This was in and out for over half an hour. NEW #267, 100KW at 1,365 miles.
8:24PM - 103.7 UNID that I am going to research. The station IDed as NCI-FM, which is the Manitoba First Nations network. Country song, DJ sweeper, and then he went into celebrity birthdays. There is nothing in the databases for a 103.7 in Manitoba with NCI. However, I did get word that there is a new First Nations station in Hollow Water, Manitoba that could be the NCI in question. I will be contacting them and trying to get a hold of an engineer to confirm. If this is true, the station has *23 WATTS* of power which would SHATTER my personal FM Es low-power records dating back years. The low-power record is KRAZ-105.9 Santa Ynez CA, heard in Ellensburg WA in 2021 with a whopping 65 watts.
At the same time, I had a very, very strong 92.9 SRC/CBC French station. Highly suspect CKSB-1, Ste-Rose-du-Lac, MB.
8:27PM - 88.9 K205GG Grand Rapids, MN; TRANSLATOR log with fadeup for the Faith Radio app and "MyFaithRadio.com". The station repeats KDNI-90.5 in Duluth. NEW #268, 250W at 1,094 miles. This is translator #2 on Es this season from Idaho.
8:32PM - 88.9 WOJB Reserve, WI; this station was dominant with music, but with constant technical issues and songs stopping, starting over again, and plenty of dead air. RDS finally hit with "WOJB" ID in the Radiotext. NEW #269, 100KW at 1,201 miles.
8:33PM - 92.5 KXKK Park Rapids, MN: ad for Emcon Minnesota, 218 area code. NEW #270, 10KW at 1,025 miles.
Just had Marquette 90.1/95.7 and WLSN-89.7 for 15 minutes, until:
8:51PM - 90.1 KOJB Cass Lake, MN; huge signal, almost 50 dBu with non-stop music and RDS. NEW #271, 18KW at 1,063 miles.
8:57PM - 93.7 WCYE Three Lakes, WI; country music, Taste of Country Nights promo and ID "Coyote 93-7". NEW #272, 100KW at 1,302 miles.
9:00PM - 88.5 WGRH Hinckley, MN; weather for the Iron Range, Your Classical MPR TOH ID. NEW #273, only 1,300 watts at 1,120 miles.
9:02PM - 96.7 WJJH Ashland, WI; ad for the Washburn Marina, 715-373-5050, and ID "J-Rock WJJH". NEW #274, 50KW at 1,221 miles.
Skip faded down after that. LOTS of fun. I also had an UNID on 92.9 around 7:45 that I need to listen to again with an ID.
Pictures from the TEF are also coming.
