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DXing In Hawaii
- Thread starter radioman148
- Start date
F
frcradio
Guest
In late spring/early summer an atmosheric duct sometimes forms that allows hams on VHF
to work the California to Hawaii path with low power, so FM radio could probably be heard too.
to work the California to Hawaii path with low power, so FM radio could probably be heard too.
A couple of years ago I had a trouble call about KANO in Hilo, on the east side of the Big Island. The transmitter was off the air. As I drove up to the Kulani Road transmitter site, I heard music on 91.1. Odd, I thought, as it was not what is usually played on KANO. As I listened further, I heard a commercial or two. Even more odd, I thought. Then the last commercial gave the phone number of the sponsor with a San Diego area code. Ah ha, 91X in Tijuana. Heard in Hilo and Mountain View. They were fairly solid for about an hour, at least until I restored service on the old KANO transmitter.
So it does happen every now and then. I don't recall what time of year it was, however.
And I never, ever hear any FM broadcasts from the mainland here on Kaua`i. AM? Sure, bombs in every night, even late afternoon critical hours. In the early morning, the west coast goes away and all I hear are Alaska, Japan, Australia, China and occasionally the odd duck from northern Europe. It is all hetrodyne squeals for a number of hours overnight, for sure.
So it does happen every now and then. I don't recall what time of year it was, however.
And I never, ever hear any FM broadcasts from the mainland here on Kaua`i. AM? Sure, bombs in every night, even late afternoon critical hours. In the early morning, the west coast goes away and all I hear are Alaska, Japan, Australia, China and occasionally the odd duck from northern Europe. It is all hetrodyne squeals for a number of hours overnight, for sure.
Well arrived on Oahu this afternoon--no tsunami problems 
This evening in the rental car heard the easy ones--KTNQ & KFAX which pound their 50KWs straight out here in the pacific.
Always dependable KNX was there along with KPNW & KEX. Surprised at how well KSL comes in considering they're almost another 1000 miles inland from the west coast.
Will report more in a day or two.
This evening in the rental car heard the easy ones--KTNQ & KFAX which pound their 50KWs straight out here in the pacific.
Always dependable KNX was there along with KPNW & KEX. Surprised at how well KSL comes in considering they're almost another 1000 miles inland from the west coast.
Will report more in a day or two.
Hope you get to listen for some X banders while you're there.
If you happen to hear French on 1700, it's most likely the Hatian station from Miami Springs.
Another one you may try is on 740 WYGM from Orlando. It's a long haul and KCBS may be there too but they send their nighttime signal in a very concentrated area to the WSW.
If you happen to hear French on 1700, it's most likely the Hatian station from Miami Springs.
Another one you may try is on 740 WYGM from Orlando. It's a long haul and KCBS may be there too but they send their nighttime signal in a very concentrated area to the WSW.
Don Mussell said:
Tropospheric ducts are elevation-sensitive.
Hams have noted it's usually (but not always!) necessary to drive to elevated locations to work either end of the California<=>Hawaii duct. There are reports of the duct being worked on the 146MHz ham band from locations in the city of Honolulu but they're very rare.
I don't think the duct has ever been worked in the Hawaii-to-California direction on the broadcast bands. It's certainly possible, I suspect the biggest reason it hasn't been reported is the lack of open frequencies on the California end -- the local stations clobber the Hawaiian DX.
What I believe is the current tropospheric DX record involves reception of FM signals from the Puerto Vallarta area at an elevated site on the Big Island.
Glad you arrived safely, Radioman, and that the tsunami threat turned out to be a non-issue.....for everyone. We'll wait to hear your reports.
As for the "ducting and elevation".... It should be easy enough to check it out. It's easy enough to drive up into the mountains, and IIRC, the only island with TV/FM sticks in the mountains is Maui. I never tried any FM DX-ing in the 60s when I was in high school, but did attempt some TV DX without much success. All I got were the Maui channels....which generally put in a slightly snowy, but definitely reliable and viewable signal into where I was living just west of Waikiki. (Near the Ilikai hotel, Ala Wai canal, and the old KPOI building/stick).
As for the "ducting and elevation".... It should be easy enough to check it out. It's easy enough to drive up into the mountains, and IIRC, the only island with TV/FM sticks in the mountains is Maui. I never tried any FM DX-ing in the 60s when I was in high school, but did attempt some TV DX without much success. All I got were the Maui channels....which generally put in a slightly snowy, but definitely reliable and viewable signal into where I was living just west of Waikiki. (Near the Ilikai hotel, Ala Wai canal, and the old KPOI building/stick).
gar fla said:
Tonight I heard XEPE on 1700--the only X bander I've ever heard here on that frequency. I'll listen for more X banders when I can.
WYGM would be an amazing catch from here, but the only thing I've ever heard on 740 is KCBS and that was once or twice last year very weak. Their directional pattern makes them tough to hear in Hawaii. KGO I've never heard. However, KTRB was coming in well tonight along with KPTK & KIRO Seattle. KTLK & KBLA also coming in tonight. Getting a carrier on 738. Don't know where that's from but I'm guessing it's not too far west of here because it came in soon after sunset.
More soon.
radioman148 said:
Radio Polynesie - Mahina, Tahiti - 20kW - about 2700 miles (4400 kM) from Honolulu - Source: WRTH '10 also see Radio Heritage Foundation website:
http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=10828 Radio Guides, left side.
Select a band: Short Wave (*) Medium Wave
/
[v] Download the Database
Click: (Show The Results)
Next page appears: select .pdf Adobe Acrobat file.
Enjoy! Keep sending us those updates! Thanks!
stormy01 said:
Thanks for your help as always Stormy. Went to the site, but don't see "radio guides" or "medium wave" as one of the selections on the left side.
Will report more DX as it happens. Sunset here in about 1 hour from now.
Here's a partial of Australians you can try from Hawaii (1116 Brisbane excluded).
576 2RN Sydney (ABC Radio National)
612 4QR Brisbane (ABC Local)
702 2BL Sydney (ABC Sydney local radio)
792 Brisbane (Radio National)
Are you hearing the weird music from Marshall Islands again on this trip?
-crainbebo
576 2RN Sydney (ABC Radio National)
612 4QR Brisbane (ABC Local)
702 2BL Sydney (ABC Sydney local radio)
792 Brisbane (Radio National)
Are you hearing the weird music from Marshall Islands again on this trip?
-crainbebo
crainbebo said:
Thanks Crainbebo for the Australian list. I'll try for those during the early morning hours while I'm here if I get the chance. Have not heard Marshall Islands music yet, but the carrier is there tonight on 1098.
Tonights DX report is a good one. At 6:06PM HST a good 30 minutes before Oahu sunset KTNQ was already coming in. That's always the first signal from the mainland to arrive. Soon after heard KTLK, KPNW, KEX--strong tonight. Then later 730 all traffic from Vancouver very well & KIRO & KPTK. The Pacific Northwest was coming in very well tonight. San Francisco not as strong as usual. Later on KNX quite strong and KSL continues to amaze me with it's solid signal using ND from 3,000 miles. However, the big catch from the mainland tonight was KOKC Oklahoma City, 3,700 miles at just after 7PM HST.
Some fading, but on the upswing a very good signal-- heard the Michael Savage show.
X-banders tonight were KDIA 1640, KHPY 1670, and XEPE 1700 the strongest x-bander.
A good DX night here. Probably won't be reporting tomorrow night as the wife has the evening all planned out.
More when it happens.
radioman148 said:
My apologies about missing some things there...try this:
Radio Heritage Foundation website:
Click on Radio Heritage Foundation Then, you will see:
Radio Guides, left side.
Click on "PAL AM Radio"
Select a band: Short Wave (*) Medium Wave
Enter your email address to access the PAL:
/
[v] Download the Database
Click: (Show The Results)
Next page appears: select .pdf Adobe Acrobat file.
[/quote]
this might be a long shot but try KMKY 1310 (Radio Disney) from San Francisco it will come in if KDIA does
gar fla said:
Actually, where I was living in Honolulu....just west of Waikiki, things were pretty dismal. Too many sticks in the immediate neighborhood. Totally overloaded my Hallicrafters S-120. Also relatively little shortwave DX to be had as well.
But....once you got away from the central part of the city, things REALLY could get interesting in a hurry. IME, the best DXing was on the north shore of Oahu as well as on Maui and the big island.
Gar & Cyberdad, You're both right.
Honolulu does present some problems for DXing. Strong stations are nearby and you do get quite a bit of bleed over.
For example, I am located just SE of the city, but I can't hear KNBR even though I know it would be quite listenable on the other islands because of the strong 690 in Honolulu. KFI is very tough to hear because of the nearby 650.
On the other hand it's a snap to hear DX of over 2,000+ miles in every direction when you turn on the radio during the dark hours.
Reminds me of what the AM band was like during the good old clear channel days of the 60s. It's like that all the time here. It was quite a thrill hearing Oklahoma City, almost 4,000 miles and so many choices up & down the west coast & pacific.
Honolulu does present some problems for DXing. Strong stations are nearby and you do get quite a bit of bleed over.
For example, I am located just SE of the city, but I can't hear KNBR even though I know it would be quite listenable on the other islands because of the strong 690 in Honolulu. KFI is very tough to hear because of the nearby 650.
On the other hand it's a snap to hear DX of over 2,000+ miles in every direction when you turn on the radio during the dark hours.
Reminds me of what the AM band was like during the good old clear channel days of the 60s. It's like that all the time here. It was quite a thrill hearing Oklahoma City, almost 4,000 miles and so many choices up & down the west coast & pacific.
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