DXing at O'Hare Airport

[ScottBurns]

Quick question for anyone from Chicago: A year or so back, I was stuck for a day at O'Hare Airport. I had a Walkman, so while I was DXing, I picked up a station that identified itself as "Michiana's Best Country." I assume that "Michiana" refers to the area that stretches between Northeast Indiana and Southwest Michigan. Is it normal to be able to DX Michiana stations from O'Hare? Can anyone help me identify the station that I picked up? Thanks in advance.

 

[roadrunner]

Not from Chicago, but originally from Michiana (South Bend area). Probably WBYT 100.7 although I looked at their website and it says "Today's best and most country".

 

[Lawppy]

Michiana is generally accepted as the state line region of Michigan and Indiana.

Another country station, Cat Country 99.9 (WHFB-FM Benton Harbor) uses the 'Michiana's Best Country' slogan. This would be an even better catch with another 99.9 in nearby Kankakee.

 

[fybush]

Do you remember a frequency? That would help...

ORD is an interesting place to DX - lots of images from the aviation frequencies can make anything above 97 a challenge.

OTOH, I was sitting there one day between planes and trying to grab an ID from WIIL 95.1 up in Kenosha...when the trop came up and there was WAJI in Fort Wayne (~200 miles to the SW) instead.

 

[ScottBurns]

I know it will not help much, but I think the frequency was somewhere between 99 and 101. Thus, the 99.9 signal is a definite possibility. It was winter, so I didn't think that tropo was a possibility. However, given the distance, I guess that must be what it was. I also DX'd a Lake County station that day. I know that is not as impressive, but it was some distance from O'Hare...

Thanks for your help.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

I listened to the 99.9 from the Kankakee area at night when they aired Dance Music, and back in the 80s and 90s when it was CHR WBUS The Bus.. All through Chicago, and this was in Winter, the Kankakee station was getting beat up by that country station from Benton Harbour, and ive heard that just east of gary you completely loose the Kankakee station and the Benton Harbour Country station is just booming in.. Both stations are short spaced and on 50kw torches, and there were patches around Chicago, even out to Aurora out west, and in Northwest Indiana where the Country station would take over.. The travel over Lake Michigan makes the Benton Harbour country station very easy to get into Chicago, and the Kankakee station pretty much fades out north of Dowtown if driving toward wisconsin and gets over powered by the benton Harbour station, so im guessing this is most likely what you heard.. DX around water is very common this time of year and wont go away till about mid January.. I would bet money that what you heard was the Benton Harbour country station on 99.9 since O hare is somewhat North and West of Dowtowm,, I bet if you got up and walked around you would have picked up a mix of both stations, but also the Kankakee 99.9 often suffers minor problems that knocks them off air for hours at a time, so that may have also been the case.. When The Kankakee station is off air the Benton harbour station booms in almost local in Chicagoland.

 

[dxer720]

I lived in Kenosha for 10 years & there were very few times when WHFB 99.9 didn't come in there. The nearest station to K-town on 99.9 was a country station from Janesville, WI.

Airports tend to have lots of open space beyond the terminal building. You could have also been near an East-facing window as well.

I would say that was some good DX for a Walkman-type radio, but some of those radios (especially on FM) can be DX machines.

One of my best DX catches was on an Aiwa Walkman-type. I heard a 19-watt FM translator at 156 miles.