DXing Season TV & FM

[danikayser84]

My most frequent tropo catches from Schenectady, NY tend to be Utica, Syracuse, Rutland, Hartford, Poughkeepsie and even NYC (you'd be surprised at how often WQHT shows up during tropo)... furthest I've ever gotten was Baltimore or Washington DC (IIRC, 92Q was almost completely knocking out local FLY 92... don't remember well though), also have gotten WYSP/Philly before during tropo

I tend to use 106.9 (closest 106.9 to here is WCCC in Hartford) and 99.1 (closest WAAL in Binghamton or maybe WAWZ in north NJ) for look for tropo/E-skip as those are the emptiest channels here, too

 

[cd637299]

If I get a E-skip on Analog Ch 2..Is there a possibly the FM band has e-skip??

It might. FM stations can run more audio power than lowband TV stations. Funny you mention this....from south FL today I caught ch 2 Montreal---AND a yet-to-be-ID'd-maybe-never-to-be-ID'd---DTV 2 (I am at work & will check when I get home). But nothing IDable or even listenable much on FM, or ch 3-6!

cd

 

[MarioMania]

Well I'm in Vallejo

How can I tell if it's a station far away??..I use mosty my walkman and sometimes my DX-380(when I have batteries)

 

[cd637299]

Well I wouldn't recommend a Walkman for E-skip DX, although it's certainly possible.

Best thing to do is to have www.radio-locator.com handy....listen to the kind of music, and know the frequency....see if anything matches. It was mentioned that it's good to Google local commercial sponsors you hear.

cd

 

[MarioMania]

Well I have no choice

also I live in a area is not too kind with Analog TV or Radio

The stongest stations I get is, and that's with the antanna down

KISQ 98.1
KLLC 97.3
KFRC 106.9

living down here is shitty with reception

 

[nd2023]

You can get a decent radio for as little as $50. The Insignia HD radio is a very sensitive and selective portable that blows every radio out of the water. It even decodes RDS and HD, 2 ways which you can instantly ID a station. It's nice when the e-skip station you're getting transmits in HD, and the call letters immediately appear on the screen so you don't have to wait for the song to end. The latest version seems to be resistant to overload. I can stand under a 50000 watt station's tower and the radio won't even desensitize, let alone splatter the powerful station all over the dial.

 

[DeadElvis]

If I get a E-skip on Analog Ch 2..Is there a possibly the FM band has e-skip??

Sure. There is a possibility.

Remember, though, that Ch. 2 is below 60 MHz. FM begins at 88 MHz. That's quite a difference. And, as we go higher up the spectrum, it's tougher and tougher for the MUF to rise. Therefore, an MUF rise of 20+ MHz is less common at 60 MHz than -- say -- 28 MHz, the 10m ham band. So, an opening on Ch. 2 may not mean much at FM broadcast.

Keep an eye for channel 6 to open up. 6 is just below FM; if it's open, FM almost has to be. Sadly, though, with few TV stations left on low-band TV, using 2-6 as a DX beacon is significantly more difficult.

Enjoy.

DE

 

[MarioMania]

Except in Mexico

like XETV in San Diego

 

[Dtv]

Dtv dxing can be fun, last year out of the clear blue I got wmur, from NH here in se mass. And it was clear for around a hour.

 

[WPPCProductions]

I like to how all of you DX DTV.The closes dtv station tower is only about 10 miles from here and I dont receive jack.

 

[cd637299]

I caught my 9th DTV via E-skip today, WMC DT 5 Memphis, from south FL, about 750 miles.

But I'm sure that if WMC could move to UHF, they'd do it in a heartbeat, despite the power bill. They don't exist just for DXn.

cd