Best City in the U.S. to FM DX

[ScottBurns]

I am an active FM DX'er, and I am looking for opinions on which city/region of the country features the best/most consistent opportunities for FM DX'ing. The DX'ing can include tropo, e-skips, or anything else. My number one pick is the Tampa Bay area. From early summer through early winter, it seems that there is good DX'ing in Tampa nearly weekly. My best catches actually came on Clearwater Beach, when the FM band was allowing me to pick up stations from coastal Mexico and throughout the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Other great FM DX'ing spots:
1. Santa Barbara - especially on Hendry Beach. On the best of days, one can pick up stations from San Diego through San Francisco.
2. Hilton Head, SC - I have encountered good northward DX'ing there...

 

[vibe]

What about Colo Springs with Pikes Peak in their backyard so to speak? Been there but never climbed the mountain although I had a VERY sensitive FM radio in the Van at the time.
That was a long time ago (1973) when the band wasn't cluttered.

 

[gar hi]

My number one pick is the Tampa Bay area. From early summer through early winter, it seems that there is good DX'ing in Tampa nearly weekly. My best catches actually came on Clearwater Beach, when the FM band was allowing me to pick up stations from coastal Mexico and throughout the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Being here in Tampa, I learned early on that March and April have almost constant tropo and you don't have to go to the Gulf to get stations from New Orleans and even Houston on the real good days.

It was only a few years ago I still had an analog TV in the bedroom where I lived at the time with nothing but rabbit ears and the local stations would almost always have strong co channel interference with all those lines and sometimes bars covering the screen in the morning and evening.

Even during the middle of the day, it was still there but not nearly as strong.

 

[ddsparxx]

I'm not sure if any of the big cities would be a good choice because of the IBOC from the stations that broadcast in HD. Smaller cities would be better. Right now I am thinking one good choice would be Salem, OR. I once heard Seattle's KING 98.1 over there. There appears to be no FM station in Salem except for one small local non-commercial station there.

Another would be Portland, ME, I think several stations from Boston would be heard there; I once heard WJFD-FM from New Bedford, MA there, probably with tropo. (I once heard Lewiston, ME's 107.5 at the Halibut State Park on the MA coast, easy reception)

 

[BRNout]

Another would be Portland, ME, I think several stations from Boston would be heard there; I once heard WJFD-FM from New Bedford, MA there, probably with tropo. (I once heard Lewiston, ME's 107.5 at the Halibut State Park on the MA coast, easy reception)

Without the aid of tropo, no Boston signals are heard in Portland; most die out around York, 99.5 and 93.7 (based north of Boston) make it up to around Kennebunk - but not all the way to Portland. It's just a little too far. But, you do get signals from Portsmouth and Dover, N.H. as well as 94.9 and 103.7 from Mt. Washington. A better dxing place is Boothbay/Boothbay Harbor, ME, from which I've picked up not just WHEB 100.3, WOKQ 97.5, WPKQ 103.7 and WHOM from NH; but 92.5 WXRV Haverhill, MA and signals from the Augusta, Rockland/Penobscot Bay, and Bangor markets. Pretty good range from there.

About the best "city" from which to dx, you'd need to define "city" a little better. I say that because one could interpret that as major city; city proper; metropolitan area; or merely any town or community. Even metro areas get a little gray: an argument could be made for the NY metro area because it includes much of Long Island (great dx spot); NW and central NJ (with access to multiple markets) and SW CT (also multiple markets). But, very few big cities and associated inner-ring suburbs are good dx spots because the FCC has so filled the band with clutter from translators and low-powered stations and from IBOC hash that it's difficult from many out-of-market signals to penetrate that wall. Outer suburbs and areas between markets are usually the best.

Even Pikes Peak isn't what it used to be because the band is filled with multiple signals based in Front Range communities from Ft. Collins to Pueblo. They actually fight each other now - making it very difficult for the formerly available signals from WY, western NE and western KS to be received there now.

 

[crainbebo]

Anywhere where there's little or no IBOC or a million god radio translators. IBOC and translators killed the FM DXing if you're in huge markets.
I'm going back to Yakima this summer, there's only 2 IBOCers, 90.3 (public radio) and 91.9 (Mexican). But there's about 5-6 translators transmitting god radio, but I'll try to null them out. There's a lot of open frequencies, 93.5, 101.3, 106.1, 106.9, etc.

-crainbebo

 

[pqgeorge]

I would have to say, Wilmington, NY (12977), 10 miles away from Lake Placid, NY was one of the best FM DX spots around. This was the home of the 1995 and 2000 WTFDA Conventions. Since there virtually no strong locals at that time you could DX on almost every frequency. Using a Channel Master Stereo-Probe 9 antenna with a nice clean 18 db. antenna amp at the receiver (SONY STR VX-750 w/110 kHz, IF filters), we were able to get stations over 300 miles away through meteor scatter, airline scatter and some ground wave enhancement. The Buffalo and Rochester stations were coming in at regular intervals at over 200 to 300 miles away. There is a lot of knife-edge refraction on the opposite direction away from Montreal courtesy of Whiteface Mountain bringing almost all of the Montreal FM stations in clean crisp Stereo from nearly 100 miles away.

Of course now, with too many multiple translators of the same NPR station and a lot of drop-ins being put on the air, it's really not a great place for DX'ing so much anymore. With multipath, it's a nightmare. Many Montreal stations are co-channel with new stations, killing the reception of them. CHOM/97.7 is being stepped on by a new drop-in in Vermont. It was fun while it lasted.

 

[gar hi]

I can't wait for the tropo to get going this year.

My Sangean PR-D5 not only has great FM reception, it also has that (I don't know exactly what you call it) station and song ID thing that runs below the frequency in the display window.

 

[w9wi]

My vote would be for a lightly-populated place on the Gulf Coast. (The only problem with Tampa is too many local stations....)

Apalachicola, Florida; Venice or Grand Isle, Louisiana; Matagorda, Texas or somewhere in Kenedy County.

Some simply AMAZING TV DX has been had from the mountain in Monterrey, Mexico. (but the local FM dial is pretty badly crowded there too)

 

[ddsparxx]

Another would be Portland, ME, I think several stations from Boston would be heard there; I once heard WJFD-FM from New Bedford, MA there, probably with tropo. (I once heard Lewiston, ME's 107.5 at the Halibut State Park on the MA coast, easy reception)

Without the aid of tropo, no Boston signals are heard in Portland; most die out around York, 99.5 and 93.7 (based north of Boston) make it up to around Kennebunk - but not all the way to Portland. It's just a little too far. But, you do get signals from Portsmouth and Dover, N.H. as well as 94.9 and 103.7 from Mt. Washington. A better dxing place is Boothbay/Boothbay Harbor, ME, from which I've picked up not just WHEB 100.3, WOKQ 97.5, WPKQ 103.7 and WHOM from NH; but 92.5 WXRV Haverhill, MA and signals from the Augusta, Rockland/Penobscot Bay, and Bangor markets. Pretty good range from there.

You may be right. I went up to Maine only once and there was tropo opening there at that time. I was thinking that signals traveling across a portion of the ocean between the Boston area and Portland.

 

[Bongwater]

Anywhere where there's little or no IBOC or a million god radio translators. IBOC and translators killed the FM DXing if you're in huge markets.
I'm going back to Yakima this summer, there's only 2 IBOCers, 90.3 (public radio) and 91.9 (Mexican). But there's about 5-6 translators transmitting god radio, but I'll try to null them out. There's a lot of open frequencies, 93.5, 101.3, 106.1, 106.9, etc.

-crainbebo

106.9 is usually KMOK Lewiston....though I have heard KRWM Bremerton pop up a few times on some good tropo nights. 106.1 is KZFN Moscow, but occasionally KBKS Tacoma can be heard too. 101.3 is KGDN Pasco (one of Tom Read's ACN stations) in most of Yakima and I can sometimes hear KOZI Chelan under the splatter of KUJJ's Yakima translator on 93.7.....

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Scott, if you ever have the desire to just open your ears and keep your eyes closed during some 3-day/11-night stay in pictureque Hazleton PA, you might have found a DXing itinerary.

Hazleton is about :20 up I-81 from me. I believe they are the highest-up spot in Eastern Pennsylvania. I took what was probably some trope through there one afternoon drive and the 'seek' button stopped on just about every frequency.
Translators, full-powers, a stray LPFM, locals, pirates .......
NYC, Philly, and the immediate NE PA region -- many of whom share NYC's channels -- plus some Baltimore and even Binghampton seem to be tauntingly within, or at least near, the twilight shadows of the weatherblasted Hazleton bluff.

Budget DX, hi!

 

[ScottBurns]

Maybe "city" was the wrong term. I should have said "region" or "place in the country." I would love to give Hazleton, PA, or any of the other places you all have mentioned, a try. Mount San Jacinto, in Palm Springs, is another great DX'ing spot. It is the one place of which I can think that L.A., San Diego, and Las Vegas stations are all audible...

 

[crainbebo]

Well, with my Sangean ATS-909 in the middle of May last year, KGDN 101.3 was pretty weak, there was something on 93.5 I couldn't decipher, probably "Mix 93.5" KWCQ Condon, OR, 106.9 was absolutely quiet, and 106.1 was quiet too. BUT...in Aug. 2008 I found a Spanish on 106.1 from somewhere, don't know if it was a pirate/Part 15 or what. The closest Mexican on 106.1 is KLMI Rock River, WY some 700 miles out and that's wayyyy too far for knife-edge refraction or line of sight. There wasn't any Es that day.

-crainbebo

 

[BRNout]

Well, with my Sangean ATS-909 in the middle of May last year, KGDN 101.3 was pretty weak, there was something on 93.5 I couldn't decipher, probably "Mix 93.5" KWCQ Condon, OR, 106.9 was absolutely quiet, and 106.1 was quiet too. BUT...in Aug. 2008 I found a Spanish on 106.1 from somewhere, don't know if it was a pirate/Part 15 or what. The closest Mexican on 106.1 is KLMI Rock River, WY some 700 miles out and that's wayyyy too far for knife-edge refraction or line of sight. There wasn't any Es that day.

-crainbebo

Isn't KLMI a classic hits format? http://www.1065theriver.com/

A Mexican regional formatted signal at 106.1 that's licensed to Wyoming (but programming to the Salt Lake market) would be KBMG Evanston. Which is still a good 700 miles from that location.

 

[ddsparxx]

Maybe "city" was the wrong term. I should have said "region" or "place in the country." I would love to give Hazleton, PA, or any of the other places you all have mentioned, a try. Mount San Jacinto, in Palm Springs, is another great DX'ing spot. It is the one place of which I can think that L.A., San Diego, and Las Vegas stations are all audible...

That's OK, Scott.

One region I like not far from my home is Lake Anna St. Pk in north central VA where Richmond, DC, and all around is heard at almost every FM frequency of the band. When the title said "city," I assumed, a city.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Maybe "city" was the wrong term. I should have said "region" or "place in the country." I would love to give Hazleton, PA, or any of the other places you all have mentioned, a try. Mount San Jacinto, in Palm Springs, is another great DX'ing spot. It is the one place of which I can think that L.A., San Diego, and Las Vegas stations are all audible...

That's OK, Scott.

One region I like not far from my home is Lake Anna St. Pk in north central VA where Richmond, DC, and all around is heard at almost every FM frequency of the band. When the title said "city," I assumed, a city.

Driving Skyline Drive in northern VA is a treat. Pick your FM frequency of choice & drive. As you wind your way amongst the mountain peaks, 2 or sometimes 3 signals will vie for your attention. Of course, you'll always be on the wrong side of the mountain at ID time!

 

[ddsparxx]

I've done that before but didn't spend much time doing it. I may do it again as soon the weather gets warmer and drier, and after all this snow is gone.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

I think the Carolina Coasts are the best, I once picked up two FMs from Spain ...Loca FM 99.1 Madrid and Candina 100,, Both were strong enough to light up the RDS. thats 4000 . A few days later in the same spot in Myrtle Beach SC I DXed OZ FM 94.7 all the way from Newfoundland. And although I havent been there, I heard that all the Tampa and Miami stations come in all the way down to Cuba.

 

[radiojay1]

Not a city, but I would say Cape Cod, Massachusetts is a great place even for regular daytime reception especially near the water. My favorite place to DX there is the Marconi Station Site in Wellfleet. I have a RadioShack PRO 97 Scanner which I also use to DX, and can get several NOAA weather frequencies from New Hampshire and Maine. Public safety, aircraft, and marine from 100 miles or more could be heard. On the car radio the FM selection is good, all the Boston and Providence stations and some Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine FMs. AM within 200 miles could also be heard. At night there was always tropo, enhancing the FM reception, and also the scanner bands. I also have a RadioShack DX 360 portable radio and daytime shortwave reception at the Marconi Site was impressive. Nighttime AM and shortwave reception was amazing on Cape Cod. CB also heard on the PRO 97 scanner, was sometimes active in daytime, but late afternoon and night was great. I could always hear truck drivers, many of them southern. I once heard FM E-skip from the southeast and central USA while driving to and at the Marconi Site. I can imagine the incredible reception you could get with a great antenna in that area.