Dx'ing from a hotel

[drt]

I don't know if Mr. Cyberdad (or maybe even Mrs. Cyberdad) could help or not, but here's the situation.

I live in St. Petersburg, where nearly everything at night (and day) is either local or from Cuba and I was really looking forward to this trip to Albany NY.

Now, I'm here in ALBANY expecting to pick up a lot of stations, being on the 11th floor (or a 15 story hotel), but so far (I've only been here about 2 hours and only spent about 20 minutes trying to dx) but so far it's been lousy. I turned off all the lights, since the buzzing from the new type light bulbs were causing interference, turned off my XM unit as it was creating interference; turned off the computer and place the radio on the window sill and still am not receiving much of anything other than the local stations. I did receive 880 WCBS but not much better than I do in St. Petersburg minus the Cuban interference.

Any suggestions? Have I missed some type of interference?

I have noticed looking out the window that almost one half of the buildings within a two block area are about the same height and then the rest seem to be 5 or 6 stories or less; anybody dx'd in downtown Albany before. I'm on Lodge street if that means anything to anyone and I will be here through the weekend, but will only have limited time to dx.

drt
Today Albany,
tomorrow. the world!

 

[radioman148]

Have you tried DXing from a car radio just to see if it's conditions?

 

[drt]

Thanks Radioman but I drove from the Albany Airport to the hotel and the conditions between the airport and downtown were a bit different than I expected, but it wasn't completely dark; WCBS wasn't coming in as strong as I would have expected just before sunset, but it was listenable. (as it was so great to hear it w/o the Cuban interference). F'act of the matter is on those upper frequencies I can receive w/o the interference, I haven't heard any Cuban stations; at least not yet.

I have to say that from what I've heard so far, the local stations here far surpass the St. Petersburg/Tampa market and St. Pete/Tampa is a top 20 market. There is one commercial free station on 88.3 (have to find out who owns them) that has a good variety of music from the 70's and 80's. It seems as though the AM stations even have live weather and news after 7pm, whereas the stations in the Tampa area basically shut down their news departments after 7pm during the week and mid afternoons on the weekends.

After I started this thread I tried some more AM dx'ing and noticed that there were a lot of strange noises; almost like jamming on about a third of the frequencies below 960; even a local 900 had some of that in the background, but on certain frequencies, 600, 660,710 880,890 there was some type of electrical noise that was more or less jamming anything except a strong station.

With the radio on the window sill, with it's on top rotating antenna (Grundig satelite 750) I could null the jamming (or whatever it is), but unfortunately what was left was a very weak signal for WCBS; what surprised me was 1010 WINS was coming in it wpretty well and strong, but that's above the 960 frequency, where at the window everything was coming in fairly well, including WBZ 1030 and 1520 from Buffalo, three . stations that I never receive in St. Petersburg.

I noticed that there is a large satellite dish almost directly below my room, it is on top of the front part of the hotel (lobby and community rooms) on top of the third floor. (the back two thirds of the hotel is 15 stories); now whether that is the source of interference or not, I don't know.

drt, Albany,NY

 

[BRNout]

If you're dxing the AM band, you're actually better off taking the elevator down to the lobby and taking your radio out into the parking lot. Most hotels are constructed of concrete and are full of sources of interference (i.e. wireless internet, TVs, CFLs, hair dryers running in other rooms, etc.). And, height about ground level really doesn't do much for you anyway - as far as AM is concerned.

On the other hand, that high vantage point can do wonders for you if you're interested in dxing the FM band. But for AM, go outside.

 

[radioman148]

BRNout is right. You have to get outside when DXing on AM as I've found out when I've traveled.

 

[ddsparxx]

Motels can be just as bad. I was recently in one in Marion, NC, with 60 Hz buzzing and whoosing sound all over the AM band. I managed to ID some stations...630 WMAL DC, WKHW 1220 Cleveland, KMOX, WCBS, WFAN,WFNI, WBBR, WJKC 1270 Commerce, GA, WKDV 1460 in my hometown of Manassas, VA (I live 2 miles from its transmitter), 1140 WRVA, 1190 both WOWO and WLIB. And on 1160 I think I may have heard WYLL mixing with WFJF Tryon, NC (40 miles to the south near the SC border).
Marion, NC is 60 W-NW of Charlotte. Yes, I tried to DX inside the motel. Used the CCRadioW and Grundig AN200 loop.

 

[gar hi]

Hotels are one of the worst possible places for AM DXing.

If you're staying in a hotel somewhere and want to know what you can really hear from that location, take a drive to some local remote area and either use the car radio or your portable if you have it with you.

It doesn't matter how good a receiver you have if you're inside a hotel. The better the AM receiver, the more it magnifies all the interference too.

 

[Tincap]

Buildings and locations can be like a lottery. While doing some MW DXing, conditions in the cottage on Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia) were terrible, while in a high rise building in Hong Kong, I was very impressed with what I could catch.

~BG

 

[drt]

I know that dx'ing from the car or leaving the building is better, but I'm on a tight schedule here. I had about 90 minutes today where I could take the rental car (a Toyota Yaris) and did some dx'ing between 4:15 this afternoon and 5:37, since I had to be back at the hotel for an unveiling ceremony and an awards dinner that lasted until 9:30, after that too tired to go out driving in a town where I only know 2 or 3 main streets.

Anyway when I started out I could barely pick up WCBS 880 and all the other 50,000 watt non directional stations (WOR WABC, WFAN etc) not a hint of WINS 1010 though, but by I was headed back to downtown Albany, WCBS etc were all coming in fairly strong. The skywave, at least the first week of September starts earlier here than in St. Pete. Also was picking up WBZ Boston and KDKA, Pittsburgh and each of those were coming in when I left the parking garage shortly after 4pm (or 1600!)

Even with the lousy hotel reception, I have still picked up Zoomer 740 out of Toronto, 770 WABC, KDKA 1020 and WBZ 1030 (all night time dx'ing) as well as 1050 ESPN out of NYC and on 1010 I pick up WINS, but can plainly hear 1010 out of Toronto and still have yet to hear a Cuban station, what a difference when dx'ing at this latitude, rather than 27.75 north.

As far as the local radio scene goes, if I didn't know any better; I would think Albany is a top 20 market and that St. Pete/Tampa might be somewhere below market 50.

There is a talk station here that is live and local until 10pm, when they have Jim Bohannon on at 10pm and then another syndiacated program until 6am. The music stations also don't seem to be so redundant in their playlist and they have one college station that plays music from the late 60's through the 90's and since it's on the left side of the dial (88.3); it's commercial free!

drt

 

[radioman148]

I know that dx'ing from the car or leaving the building is better, but I'm on a tight schedule here. I had about 90 minutes today where I could take the rental car (a Toyota Yaris) and did some dx'ing between 4:15 this afternoon and 5:37, since I had to be back at the hotel for an unveiling ceremony and an awards dinner that lasted until 9:30, after that too tired to go out driving in a town where I only know 2 or 3 main streets.

Anyway when I started out I could barely pick up WCBS 880 and all the other 50,000 watt non directional stations (WOR WABC, WFAN etc) not a hint of WINS 1010 though, but by I was headed back to downtown Albany, WCBS etc were all coming in fairly strong. The skywave, at least the first week of September starts earlier here than in St. Pete. Also was picking up WBZ Boston and KDKA, Pittsburgh and each of those were coming in when I left the parking garage shortly after 4pm (or 1600!)

Even with the lousy hotel reception, I have still picked up Zoomer 740 out of Toronto, 770 WABC, KDKA 1020 and WBZ 1030 (all night time dx'ing) as well as 1050 ESPN out of NYC and on 1010 I pick up WINS, but can plainly hear 1010 out of Toronto and still have yet to hear a Cuban station, what a difference when dx'ing at this latitude, rather than 27.75 north.

As far as the local radio scene goes, if I didn't know any better; I would think Albany is a top 20 market and that St. Pete/Tampa might be somewhere below market 50.

There is a talk station here that is live and local until 10pm, when they have Jim Bohannon on at 10pm and then another syndiacated program until 6am. The music stations also don't seem to be so redundant in their playlist and they have one college station that plays music from the late 60's through the 90's and since it's on the left side of the dial (88.3); it's commercial free!

drt

Wonder if you get the chance at night whether in the hotel or outside if you can hear any of the Chicago 50KWs.

 

[drt]

So far no Chicago, at least inside this hotel, with the horrible reception issues; I was hoping with the AM that once I turned out all the lights and shut down the laptop etc, that I least on the 11th floor would be above the outside interference (neon signs, traffic lights etc), but I was wrong.

The big picture window in the room, where I place the radio faces east, so I suspect that at least inside that works against receiving the Chicago stations.

The only night here that I might have time to take the car out after sunset will be Friday; tonight is another event that will take up the whole evening. I do know that there is a local 900 that could prevent WLS from being received unless the Yaris' selectivity is great. I've been just happy to receive Toronto, NYC, Boston and Buffalo from here and all w/o Cuban interference.

drt

 

[Tincap]

I know that dx'ing from the car or leaving the building is better, but I'm on a tight schedule here. I had about 90 minutes today where I could take the rental car (a Toyota Yaris) and did some dx'ing between 4:15 this afternoon and 5:37, since I had to be back at the hotel for an unveiling ceremony and an awards dinner that lasted until 9:30, after that too tired to go out driving in a town where I only know 2 or 3 main streets.

Anyway when I started out I could barely pick up WCBS 880 and all the other 50,000 watt non directional stations (WOR WABC, WFAN etc) not a hint of WINS 1010 though, but by I was headed back to downtown Albany, WCBS etc were all coming in fairly strong. The skywave, at least the first week of September starts earlier here than in St. Pete. Also was picking up WBZ Boston and KDKA, Pittsburgh and each of those were coming in when I left the parking garage shortly after 4pm (or 1600!)

Even with the lousy hotel reception, I have still picked up Zoomer 740 out of Toronto, 770 WABC, KDKA 1020 and WBZ 1030 (all night time dx'ing) as well as 1050 ESPN out of NYC and on 1010 I pick up WINS, but can plainly hear 1010 out of Toronto and still have yet to hear a Cuban station, what a difference when dx'ing at this latitude, rather than 27.75 north.

As far as the local radio scene goes, if I didn't know any better; I would think Albany is a top 20 market and that St. Pete/Tampa might be somewhere below market 50.

There is a talk station here that is live and local until 10pm, when they have Jim Bohannon on at 10pm and then another syndiacated program until 6am. The music stations also don't seem to be so redundant in their playlist and they have one college station that plays music from the late 60's through the 90's and since it's on the left side of the dial (88.3); it's commercial free!

drt

Wonder if you get the chance at night whether in the hotel or outside if you can hear any of the Chicago 50KWs.

Should be able to get at least some of those Chicago torches in Albany, a I was able to catch them in Halifax NS.

And drt, as far as the Cubans are concerned, they may not be as local, as on your home turf, but they certainly make there presence known up here!

My FM band is pretty crowded here (and getting more so), but from my location here 270 KM (170 miles) north west of Schenectady/Albany, 99.5 WRVE 'The River' & 106.5 WPYX 'PYX 106' make semi-regular visits. On the AM side, 810 WGY usually makes its presence felt, although it does have to duke it out with the Cubans (and Franco-Country from NB), at times!

Enjoy your trip!

~BG

 

[BRNout]

Wonder if you get the chance at night whether in the hotel or outside if you can hear any of the Chicago 50KWs.

Well, I've spent many a night in the Capital District and can tell you that each of the 50 kw Chicago signals (except for WYLL) can be heard in that area at night. What's interesting is that - sometimes - you can pick up some of the highly directional 50 kw AMs from eastern New England. I've pulled in WRKO, WEEI and WCRN from just outside Albany and on more than one occasion. Look at the nighttime patterns for those signals and you'll see that all three aim almost all of their wattage to the east. Otherwise, you should be able to get pretty much any 50 kw signal from the northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern regions as well as Toronto/Hamilton and Montreal signals.

On the FM side, try and see if you can pick up 102.7 WEQX from Manchester, VT (which you can likely get) and 97.1 WZRT from Rutland, VT (a harder catch). Other FM dx opportunities come from the Berkshire region of MA - 95.9 WBEC Pittsfield, WUPE 100.1 North Adams, MA, and 101.7 WBRK Pittsfield. Those could be pretty challenging from downtown Albany, but I've gotten them from elsewhere in the area. Downtown Albany isn't the best spot to dx, but the high floor of the hotel may well offer you the opportunity to catch a few signals from outside the valley.

By the way, Albany-Schenectady-Troy is market #63.

 

[vibe]

I like one story motels or B and B's. Less external noise, much, much better Dx conditions. Of course, some of the 1 story motels can be dicey props but most are nice family owned places.

 

[radioman148]

I know that dx'ing from the car or leaving the building is better, but I'm on a tight schedule here. I had about 90 minutes today where I could take the rental car (a Toyota Yaris) and did some dx'ing between 4:15 this afternoon and 5:37, since I had to be back at the hotel for an unveiling ceremony and an awards dinner that lasted until 9:30, after that too tired to go out driving in a town where I only know 2 or 3 main streets.

Anyway when I started out I could barely pick up WCBS 880 and all the other 50,000 watt non directional stations (WOR WABC, WFAN etc) not a hint of WINS 1010 though, but by I was headed back to downtown Albany, WCBS etc were all coming in fairly strong. The skywave, at least the first week of September starts earlier here than in St. Pete. Also was picking up WBZ Boston and KDKA, Pittsburgh and each of those were coming in when I left the parking garage shortly after 4pm (or 1600!)

Even with the lousy hotel reception, I have still picked up Zoomer 740 out of Toronto, 770 WABC, KDKA 1020 and WBZ 1030 (all night time dx'ing) as well as 1050 ESPN out of NYC and on 1010 I pick up WINS, but can plainly hear 1010 out of Toronto and still have yet to hear a Cuban station, what a difference when dx'ing at this latitude, rather than 27.75 north.

As far as the local radio scene goes, if I didn't know any better; I would think Albany is a top 20 market and that St. Pete/Tampa might be somewhere below market 50.

There is a talk station here that is live and local until 10pm, when they have Jim Bohannon on at 10pm and then another syndiacated program until 6am. The music stations also don't seem to be so redundant in their playlist and they have one college station that plays music from the late 60's through the 90's and since it's on the left side of the dial (88.3); it's commercial free!

drt

Wonder if you get the chance at night whether in the hotel or outside if you can hear any of the Chicago 50KWs.

Should be able to get at least some of those Chicago torches in Albany, a I was able to catch them in Halifax NS.

And drt, as far as the Cubans are concerned, they may not be as local, as on your home turf, but they certainly make there presence known up here!

My FM band is pretty crowded here (and getting more so), but from my location here 270 KM (170 miles) north west of Schenectady/Albany, 99.5 WRVE 'The River' & 106.5 WPYX 'PYX 106' make semi-regular visits. On the AM side, 810 WGY usually makes its presence felt, although it does have to duke it out with the Cubans (and Franco-Country from NB), at times!

Enjoy your trip!

~BG

Tincap--

Which Chicago AMs did you hear in Halifax?

 

[ddsparxx]

Tincap,

I know I am kind of "butting into" into this conversations, but I am curious,

Did you hear any AMs in MD and VA in Halifax?

 

[Tincap]

Tincap--

Which Chicago AMs did you hear in Halifax?

Off the top of my head, WLS for sure (I'd have to dig up my old Halifax listings for any others). I recall picking up a nice signal from them, just after sunrise on a winter morning, while enjoying my first coffee of the day. I didn't get too many chances for serious DX in Halifax (where the interference problems were terrible), but Chicago was my most westerly catch.

On a side note, the Chicago stations came in very, very well during the pre-dawn darkness of New Orleans, while I was there about one year ago.

And ddsparxx, regarding MD/VA, if you include DC in the mix, I recall WTOP being there (but again I'd have to do some digging).

The most disappointing aspect for me, was that the electrical interference was so bad, at my location in Halifax. However, in my current location I'm pretty darn happy with the equipment and conditions. ;D

~BG

 

[ddsparxx]

I forgot to include DC. Thanks.

 

[cyberdad]

Sorry I'm arriving late to this movie....

As many of you know, I travel in my work and spend a lot of time in hotels (I'm lifetime platinum with Marriott).

It's true that hotels tend to be lousy DX venues.  But....You CAN DX in most hotels, although certainly not all of them. 

One thing to do is see if you can get a room on the top floor.  In many full-service hotels, the upper floor might be the concierge floor, all hospitality suites, or things of that nature so getting up there might be impossible.  But in quite a few mid-priced brands (Marriott Courtyard, Holiday Inn), you should be able to get a top floor room rather easily.  Not only are these obviously best for FM DX (unless you're close to a lot of transmitters), but generally the local, regional, and skywave a.m. signals will penetrate the top floor, even if they can't get through to any of the others.

The other thing to do is get close to a window.  Put the radio right up against the glass if you have to.  You may not have any signals at all on the nightstand next to the bed, but  three feet away by the window, there'll be all kinds of stuff. 

A lot of the economy hotel brands don't have the steel and concrete construction that wipes out signals....but they're perfectly fine places to stay.  Marriott's Fairfield Inn is a good example.  I'd say about 90% of these are great for DXing. 

One thing common to all brands and all types of hotels is that there are usually areas of high electrical noise.  Culprits can range from inside or outside lighting, elevator equipment, kitchen equipment, climate control stuff, and on and on and on.  The trick is simply to try different locations around the room and find a spot where you can null the noise and let the signals in. 

One of the worst spots I can think of for DXing is Central London.  I have a daughter who lives & works there as well as business colleagues there, so I'm in the Marriott Grosvenor Square once or twice a year.  Big old brick building, just around the corner from the American embassy which is a massive noise generator in and of itself.  Yet DXing from there  is no particular problem.  Position the radio (for me, usually just the Sony SRF 37 Walkman) in the right spot, null the noisemakers and dial in Spain, Russia, Turkey and loads of other places on any given night. Homesick for the U.S.?  Well there's U.S. Armed Forces radio from Germany putting in a very respectable signal on 873khz every night.  Even in the daytime France, Belgium, and the Netherlands are easily doable.

So the moral is "go ahead and bring your radio to the hotel".  More often than not you'll find a way to encounter some interesting DX.

 

[radioman148]

Tincap--

Which Chicago AMs did you hear in Halifax?

Off the top of my head, WLS for sure (I'd have to dig up my old Halifax listings for any others). I recall picking up a nice signal from them, just after sunrise on a winter morning, while enjoying my first coffee of the day. I didn't get too many chances for serious DX in Halifax (where the interference problems were terrible), but Chicago was my most westerly catch.

On a side note, the Chicago stations came in very, very well during the pre-dawn darkness of New Orleans, while I was there about one year ago.

And ddsparxx, regarding MD/VA, if you include DC in the mix, I recall WTOP being there (but again I'd have to do some digging).

The most disappointing aspect for me, was that the electrical interference was so bad, at my location in Halifax. However, in my current location I'm pretty darn happy with the equipment and conditions. ;D

~BG

Thanks Tincap