DXING from Mount Washington, NH

[Raider57]

Has anyone ever tried dxing on top of Mount Washington? I went there last year and received a station on every frequency from the US and Canada.

 

[radioman148]

Has anyone ever tried dxing on top of Mount Washington? I went there last year and received a station on every frequency from the US and Canada.

What was the farthest distance you heard?

 

[Raider57]

I think WQPO from Harrisonburg, VA? It was a 100.7 frequency and I remember the station with its call letters being either WO or WQ something. On other frequencies such as 101.5 I received a french speaking station.

 

[EastBay]

How about on AM?

 

[radioman148]

How about on AM?

Yeah I'd be curious too. AM reception has got to be good up there.

 

[Raider57]

I tried for the New York AM's since I'm from the New York Area, no luck. Im not sure about the other cities.

 

[nd2023]

WHOM 94.9 has its tower on the top of Mt Washington, and it covers almost all of New England, as far south as Boston and the CT/MA state line. Tropo brings WHOM to Long Island and New Jersey.

 

[BostonRandy]

It's not uncommon for WHOM to hit Cape Cod, even in winter.

 

[ddsparxx]

I think WQPO from Harrisonburg, VA? It was a 100.7 frequency and I remember the station with its call letters being either WO or WQ something. On other frequencies such as 101.5 I received a french speaking station.

You're right. WQPO 100.7 in Harrisonburg.

 

[radioman148]

I tried for the New York AM's since I'm from the New York Area, no luck. Im not sure about the other cities.

Any other day time AM DX reported from up there?

 

[stormy01]

Hopefully one has a really good radio since 48kW ERP could cause most radios to have images up and down the dial.

Does anyone know if Clingmans Dome in Eastern Tennessee has FM radio stations on it? That would be a better bet if there are no stations on it so there's no local interference. At 6643 ft., the reception has to be incredible, from a map it looks like one could hear at least 7 states: TN, KY, VA, NC, SC, GA, AL and possibly FL. And then there's Pikes Peak at over 14,000 ft...

 

[BRNout]

I tried for the New York AM's since I'm from the New York Area, no luck. Im not sure about the other cities.

Any other day time AM DX reported from up there?

Geez, I don't know about how well AM DXing would be up there. As you know, AM isn't like FM when it comes to the necessity of a line of sight and the ground conductivity in the White Mountains is terrible with all that granite. No doubt that reception would be better than down in the valley below, but I seriously doubt that Mt. Washington is a great dx spot for AM. The fact that Raider57 didn't pull in any NY AMs tells you something. You probably can get the bigger Boston stations and others from around Maine, NH, VT and parts of Quebec. A good spot, but probably not spectacular.

However, on FM, it is a spectacular spot and you should be able to get stations from Montreal to Boston. Plenty of stations from the Eastern Townships of Quebec should come in well there, and most Burlington, VT market signals should too. Signals from Augusta, Lewiston/Auburn and Portland, Maine should do very well there and you'd certainly get the various signals from Laconia and Manchester, NH. It would make for a very full dial up there; likely multiple stations on the same frequency as you move your antenna around.

The Harrisonburg, VA station (if that's what you heard) must have been an atmospheric anomaly as I'd expect WTBM (OXO Country) Mexico, Maine to be dominant there. It's a repeater of WOXO Norway, Maine. Mt. Washington is within their expected contour. Beyond that station are CBF Montreal and WZLX Boston on the same frequency. Not to mention that there are another 4 or 5 stations at 100.7 between you and Harrisonburg, VA. Why would you get that station rather than the closer ones (even WLEV Allentown or WHUD from Westchester County, NY)? I doubt that's typical.

 

[Raider57]

I'm not sure what I might have received on the 100.7 frequency, it wasn't WLEV, WHUD, WZLX, WZXL, I recognize those frequencies from when tropo occurs and this station I didn't recognize, but I guess I have to make another trip to Mount Washington in the near future and find out.

 

[BRNout]

I'm not sure what I might have received on the 100.7 frequency, it wasn't WLEV, WHUD, WZLX, WZXL, I recognize those frequencies from when tropo occurs and this station I didn't recognize, but I guess I have to make another trip to Mount Washington in the near future and find out.

Was it country music? If so, then it was likely the 100.7 simulcast of WOXO. That's the most likely station you'd get on that frequency.

Would actually love to go up there myself and do some dxing right about now.

 

[RMarino]

Hopefully one has a really good radio since 48kW ERP could cause most radios to have images up and down the dial.

Does anyone know if Clingmans Dome in Eastern Tennessee has FM radio stations on it? That would be a better bet if there are no stations on it so there's no local interference. At 6643 ft., the reception has to be incredible, from a map it looks like one could hear at least 7 states: TN, KY, VA, NC, SC, GA, AL and possibly FL. And then there's Pikes Peak at over 14,000 ft...

I live in this area and I DX'ed FM and VHF/UHF TV atop Clingman's Dome about a year or two ago. In fact I reported my findings here on this board. If you can't find my post using the "search" then let me know and I'll dig out my log. I plan to go back very soon, mainly to see what LPTV stations I can receive up there.

And no, there are no FM transmitters on Clingman's Dome. The closest stations with any power to speak of would be about 15 air miles away on Bluff Mountain (WWST and WIVK)

 

[radioman148]

I tried for the New York AM's since I'm from the New York Area, no luck. Im not sure about the other cities.

Any other day time AM DX reported from up there?

Geez, I don't know about how well AM DXing would be up there. As you know, AM isn't like FM when it comes to the necessity of a line of sight and the ground conductivity in the White Mountains is terrible with all that granite. No doubt that reception would be better than down in the valley below, but I seriously doubt that Mt. Washington is a great dx spot for AM. The fact that Raider57 didn't pull in any NY AMs tells you something. You probably can get the bigger Boston stations and others from around Maine, NH, VT and parts of Quebec. A good spot, but probably not spectacular.

However, on FM, it is a spectacular spot and you should be able to get stations from Montreal to Boston. Plenty of stations from the Eastern Townships of Quebec should come in well there, and most Burlington, VT market signals should too. Signals from Augusta, Lewiston/Auburn and Portland, Maine should do very well there and you'd certainly get the various signals from Laconia and Manchester, NH. It would make for a very full dial up there; likely multiple stations on the same frequency as you move your antenna around.

The Harrisonburg, VA station (if that's what you heard) must have been an atmospheric anomaly as I'd expect WTBM (OXO Country) Mexico, Maine to be dominant there. It's a repeater of WOXO Norway, Maine. Mt. Washington is within their expected contour. Beyond that station are CBF Montreal and WZLX Boston on the same frequency. Not to mention that there are another 4 or 5 stations at 100.7 between you and Harrisonburg, VA. Why would you get that station rather than the closer ones (even WLEV Allentown or WHUD from Westchester County, NY)? I doubt that's typical.

AM can be helped by high elevations as I've found out in the Southern California mountains.

 

[radiorob2.0]

I tried for the New York AM's since I'm from the New York Area, no luck. Im not sure about the other cities.

Any other day time AM DX reported from up there?

Geez, I don't know about how well AM DXing would be up there. As you know, AM isn't like FM when it comes to the necessity of a line of sight and the ground conductivity in the White Mountains is terrible with all that granite. No doubt that reception would be better than down in the valley below, but I seriously doubt that Mt. Washington is a great dx spot for AM. The fact that Raider57 didn't pull in any NY AMs tells you something. You probably can get the bigger Boston stations and others from around Maine, NH, VT and parts of Quebec. A good spot, but probably not spectacular.

However, on FM, it is a spectacular spot and you should be able to get stations from Montreal to Boston. Plenty of stations from the Eastern Townships of Quebec should come in well there, and most Burlington, VT market signals should too. Signals from Augusta, Lewiston/Auburn and Portland, Maine should do very well there and you'd certainly get the various signals from Laconia and Manchester, NH. It would make for a very full dial up there; likely multiple stations on the same frequency as you move your antenna around.

The Harrisonburg, VA station (if that's what you heard) must have been an atmospheric anomaly as I'd expect WTBM (OXO Country) Mexico, Maine to be dominant there. It's a repeater of WOXO Norway, Maine. Mt. Washington is within their expected contour. Beyond that station are CBF Montreal and WZLX Boston on the same frequency. Not to mention that there are another 4 or 5 stations at 100.7 between you and Harrisonburg, VA. Why would you get that station rather than the closer ones (even WLEV Allentown or WHUD from Westchester County, NY)? I doubt that's typical.

AM can be helped by high elevations as I've found out in the Southern California mountains.

AM hardly exist if you are at a lower elevation surrounded by RF shielding mountains. Atop the mountain gives you a flat land representation of the AM dial. From Tennessee's Clingman's Dome during the day I could receive WSM, WHAS, WLW, as well as Lexington, KY and Atlanta. During the same visit I caught on the car radio WQDR Raleigh on the way to the Dome.

 

[RMarino]

AM hardly exist if you are at a lower elevation surrounded by RF shielding mountains. Atop the mountain gives you a flat land representation of the AM dial. From Tennessee's Clingman's Dome during the day I could receive WSM, WHAS, WLW, as well as Lexington, KY and Atlanta. During the same visit I caught on the car radio WQDR Raleigh on the way to the Dome.

Even at ground level (around Gaitlinburg, Knoxville, etc.) you can hear WSM, WHAS, WLW, and WSB during the day as long as you have a decent receiver and are not hear any power lines. So I'm still not convinced that elevation makes that much of a difference. But next time I go up to Clingman's Dome, I will pay more attention to the AM band.

 

[radioman148]

Atop a mountain near Palm Springs, Ca I had a clear shot at AMs from San Diego, LA, and even as far as Phoenix.
Lots of low powered AM stations came in at this location. These same stations were not heard on the desert floor.
Another time I was parked high above Laguna Beach where I could hear San Francisco's KGO, KCBS, & KNBR clearly around 1PM.
The ocean was a factor, but I could not hear these stations when I was down lower near the beach.

 

[rjoc]

WHOM 94.9 has its tower on the top of Mt Washington, and it covers almost all of New England, as far south as Boston and the CT/MA state line. Tropo brings WHOM to Long Island and New Jersey.

WHOM used to cover practically the entire state of Maine, but is now hampered by WSYY also on 94.9 from Millinocket in North-Central Maine. WSYY moved to 94.9 back in late 80s and ruined the WHOM signal north of Bangor.

Also atop Mount Washington is the transmitter for WPKQ 103.7 with country music, I believe they re-broadcast WOKQ 97.5 from Dover NH much, if not all the time. (It's the larger of the two FM towers up there.)

I have heard WHOM as far east as Yarmouth, and Cape Sable, Nova Scotia.