DX'ing your Hometown stations

[JaxRadioFan]

Having been on a road trip recently, I found some time to dx my Jacksonville Area stations from the Disney area south of Orlando. In the past I would get most of their 100 KW FMs and 48 KW 99.9 WGNE. However, this time it was only 96.9 and 690. Seems like there are FM translators going up all over the place in the Orlando area. I frequently will dx as I'm traveling. As I was heading to south Florida in February down I-95, WOKV was picked up down to Stuart when a Cuban station started to fight it. Going north on I-95 WOKV will make it into NC just past South of the Border. Being that I have been dx'ing AM and FM on and off for more than 40 years and lived in a half dozen cities and towns across the nation here are some memorable bests.
Jacksonville WKQL 96.9 received in Stratford, CT late 1990's in summer
Albuquerque KKOB 770 received in San Francisco late 1980's late winter
Watertown, NY WCIZ 97.5 Received in Jacksonville, FL 1994 Summer
Bridgeport CT, WICC 600 received from Nags Head NC 2008 Summer

 

[cd637299]

At Cape Hatteras in Nov 1997, I was able to hear hometown (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale) WIOD 610 in the daytime along with WJNO 1040 Boynton Beach (now WLVJ). I don't recall, but I am sure that WOKV was no problem.

Was in Bermuda June 2005 with two Superadios & Select-a-Tenna, to see what could be heard in the dead of daytime there. NYC, Boston, Philly, and even Puerto Rico stations were there. I crowned WTAR 850 Norfolk as the strongest day signal from the mainland......As far as Miami, I got WWFE 670, WINZ 940, and even WQAM 560 faintly, which really shocked me. Also faintly heard WFTL 850 West Palm Beach by nulling WTAR. (From Bermuda, NYC is about 680 miles, and Miami about 940 miles.)

I have yet to catch a south FL FM station via E-skip from 1000 miles away, though! That would be interesting.

cd

 

[KyleSmith1988]

I have yet to catch a south FL FM station via E-skip from 1000 miles away, though! That would be interesting.

I'll never forget the time I did receive WMBX 102.3 from the Palm Beach, Florida area,
from all the way up in Toms River NJ in 2003, when I still lived up there.

 

[gar hi]

I was born and raised in south Jersey across the river from Philadelphia and I've been in Florida for 29 years.

Although hearing AM stations from the northeast and Philly stations such as WPHT are a nightly occurrence, I never heard an FM station from back home until the big E Skip event one day last summer.

I had been looking forward to that day for so many years!

Here's my video catch of WIOQ (Q102) Philadelphia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O38Ij1HDj10

 

[w9wi]

My hometown is Madison, Wis.; I'm DXing from Nashville...

I've caught two Madison AM stations from down here. Don't remember the circumstances for WIBA-1310. For awhile I was running automated recordings for a minute either side of the hour, on a different frequency each night. Early one morning, the 970 recording caught the NPR sounder & an ID for Wisconsin Public Radio in general and WHA Madison in particular.

On TV, channels 21 (WHA-TV), 27 (WKOW-TV), and 47 (WMSN-TV) all appeared in various tropo openings in 1995, 1998, and 2000.

On FM, WOLX-94.9 is actually a surprisingly frequent tropo visitor in late summer.

===

Nine more Wisconsin FM stations (most from Milwaukee) and four TV stations (as far north as Wausau) have been logged by tropo. E-skip delivered ten FMs from the northwestern part of the state. Other Wisconsin AMs logged include WTMJ-620, WAUK-540, and WFAW-940 (all fairly frequent); WSSP-1250 (occasional); WLBL-930 (unattended, same way as WHA-970); and WISN-1130 and WOKY-920 on DX tests.

 

[tomservo]

This is an interesting subject!

My hometown is Birmingham, AL and I've heard its stations several times while away. While travelling to Chicago, I have heard WJOX 690 and WXJC 850 both at sunset in Kentucky, strong enough to stop the radio's scan. In fact I did that coming and going on that trip. That may be the furtherest away I've heard B'ham radio, at around 250 miles (just north of Bowling Green on I-65.)

When I lived in N central Mississippi, my town (Grenada) had a translator on 103.1 that was supposed to relay a religious station from Bruce, MS, on 94.5 The Bruce station was forever in financial or physical disarray and rarely on air. So pretty much every morning in the summer, WJOX-FM from Birmingham — also on 94.5 — would boom in like a local through the translator. During those summer mornings it wasn't unusual to hear it on 94.5 as well, along with "The Eagle" WBPT on 106.9 and "Rock 99" WZRR at 99.5. That's about 175 air miles. At night it wasn't unusual to also hear WERC on 960. It was easy to ID because it was the same Clear Channel lineup and announcers as WREC 600 in Memphis. Also in Grenada, I was able to see WCFT-TV 33 once right before the analog shutdown. It was weak but visible along with Tuscaloosa-licensed WUOA, which was then on RF channel 23. That only lasted a few hours on one day, IIRC.

I live on the Alabama Gulf Coast now in Baldwin County, and while I'm still a good 220 miles from my hometown, I still hear them almost nightly. Again, WERC on 960 tends to be a regular, if not very strong, signal here on the coast. And Crestview, FL's WAAZ on 104.7 still signs off at midnight every night (how many 100 kW FMs still do that?) and it's not unusual to hear WZZK from Birmingham floating in during the humid summer months.

 

[cd637299]

Oh yeah, I do remember this one...in Nov 1983 driving thru Charlotte NC, the former WGBS 710 in Miami was loud and clear right before sunset, with Al Abreira (sp?)'s traffic report, and I think that the signal went "poof" minutes later.

This was 2 years before it went to WAQI and I assume the programming caused Castro to make a mess of the frequency.....

cd

 

[ftballfan]

That rarely happens for me, but I've heard the following locals of mine in the Allendale/Grand Rapids/Grand Haven area:
90.3 WBLV Twin Lake
91.1 WOLW Cadillac
92.9 WJZQ Cadillac
94.1 WWKR Hart
94.9 WKZC Scottville
97.7 WMLQ Manistee
99.7 WZDR Sturgeon Bay, WI
101.9 WLDR Traverse City
102.7 WMOM Pentwater
103.5 WTCM Traverse City
105.7 WAPL Appleton, WI (265kW GONE!! at Grand Haven)

I have picked up WTCM in Lansing and Flint, along with WZDR (WLYD at the time) in Mackinaw City. I have also picked up multiple Grand Rapids stations in Manistee (WBBL and WBFX being the most common) and in Flint.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Despite it being the size and population of Philadelphia, my born-and-raised hometown of Queens NYC does not have an AM station licensed to it per se. I believe I've logged every 'New York City' licensed station here, though.

The more recent 'home town', Long Island (14 years there), doesn't have a COL with that name, either. From the permanent home here in NE PA now, 140 miles west of the closest village in Nassau County, I never thought I'd hear very much on AM from the Island. Only one AM station operates full-power at night (WGBB) and many of the rest are/were directional away from us.

Well, WLIX 540, WHLI 1100, WTHE 1520, WGSM 740, WNYG 1440 and WLIM 1580 later .....

Reciprocally, it was kinda cool, some years ago, me driving along its South Shore on a weekend off, tuned to WFIL, 100 miles away. I hear this odd voice coming out of the speaker, doing a station liner/separator. I had to laugh. It was me, lol. I'd done some liners for them for when they switched to Beautiful Music (WEAZ). They were still playing them after I'd left.

Thanks for the memories, Jax !

 

[charlestondxman]

With Charleston, I've picked up their stations in numerous spots. Many of the AMs have good signals. I've heard 910 AM with 500 watts as far N as Asheville and Athens, GA. I've heard 1340 as far as St. Augustine, FL.

I've heard the AMs daytime off shore of the South Florida coast. 730 is the strongest. I've heard FMs in a lot of spots. 102.5 and 104.5 have been heard at Concord Mills Mall. I've heard them around Charlotte several times.

I've also heard the FMs down to Daytona Beach during the summer.

 

[schmave]

I haven't had too many opportunities with Columbus stations, but a few stand out.
* I heard WTVN (610 AM) in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, about 300 miles NNW of Columbus, back in February 2000 when I was in Mount Pleasant, Mich. It was shocking, in large part because it's well west of the main nighttime lobe that pumps 25-30K ERP straight up 23 toward Toledo and Detroit at night.
When I attended college in Toledo, WTVN was reliable day and night, but with a good deal of fading at night. I was about 15 miles inside the cancellation zone, judging from listening on trips between Toledo and Columbus after dark.
* Only once, I heard WBNS (1460 AM) in Toledo. It was extremely weak. This was probably in the summer of 1999. The night pattern somewhat favors that slightly NNW direction; it goes north and south from two towers on the east side of Columbus and maybe lasts 15 miles east or west. But again, I only heard it once, even though I tried several times after the initial catch.
* The only Columbus FM I ever heard up there was WNCI (97.9) one morning on the way to class in early 2000. It was clobbering WJLB out of Detroit. This was the only time I ever caught an FM station in Toledo. A lot of them are co-channel with Detroit, however.

 

[DeadElvis]

When I was in High School, many years ago, I worked for then-WPMP, a 5kW daytimer on 1580 in beautiful Pascagoula, MS. On a trip once, while driving through Dalton, GA, there it was at sundown, big as can be. I found that cool, as I was still working there at the time.

WPMP had a two-tower DA. N. Georgia was right inside the pattern. So, it shouldn't be a huge surprise.

DE

 

[rbrucecarter5]

As the usual complement of stations in my home town are what prompted me to become a DX'er in the first place, I am not eager to hear them again now that I have moved away.

That said - I did receive a Midland FM on my car radio in Dallas about 12 years ago. Given that its format was country, I logged it as a DX acquisition and tuned away.

I did go to college for a time in Lubbock, TX. About 22 years ago, there was an episode of incredible e-skip in Daytona Beach, and KTXT FM came in - along with dozens of other 88.1's on the frequency. Every frequency was jammed with e-skip from dozens of stations that afternoon. I've never hear anything like that before or since.

I lived for a few months in Atlanta one time. I note that there is a gas station in Lake City, FL where you can consistently get was used to be WFOX 97.1 from Gainesville GA. I think that gas station went out of business, but the strange node in the parking lot persists. Absolutely reliable reception of 97.1.

 

[crainbebo]

I've heard my local KMPS and KUBE, as well as KIRO/KUOW at Gresham, OR, 150 miles distance. Probably tropo however.
I get KOMO, KTTH, a weak KVI and KIRO in the daytime on AM in Portland, again 150 miles.
KOMO 97.7 (semi-local in my hometown), Oakville, WA, comes in 24/7 in Yakima, around 120 miles E and across mountains.
Heard about every Seattle station at Pacific Beach/Moclips, WA when I was last there July 2011. 100-110 miles.

-crainbebo

 

[boiseengineer]

Waaay back in the late 60s in Trinidad CO remember hearing a just decernable KBOI and another station under it. This mind you was near noon. Always wondered if it was WMAQ or maybe a Mexican.

 

[Buckeyes2001]

My dad told me once that back in the 70s sometime he was in the Pensacola, FL area and was getting some of our stations from home like 105.7 and 106.5 from Cleveland down there via E-skip. The best I have been able to do with getting hometown stations from afar is getting WTAM in South Carolina and in Iowa. For FM, I got WNWV 107.3 just south of Detroit around the IBOC of WGPR 107.5. In Columbus, I once heard WNCX 98.5 one morning and WDOK 102.1 on another day in the afternoon. I also got WJW Channel 8/Cleveland from Columbus during tropo once. The terrain between Cleveland and Columbus usually prohibits signals from Cleveland reaching Columbus and vice-versa. There is a gradual elevation rise that peaks around Mansfield.

 

[radioman148]

Waaay back in the late 60s in Trinidad CO remember hearing a just decernable KBOI and another station under it. This mind you was near noon. Always wondered if it was WMAQ or maybe a Mexican.

At noon--was that in winter?

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I recall picking up Cincinnati stations over the years while I was in different parts of the country. Certainly WLW & WCKY, the two 50,000 watt outlets were received in many places. I recall sitting in Wrigley Field for a Reds-Cubs game on a Saturday afternoon and listening to the game via WLW. I also recall going to the roof of a motel in Queens, New York and picking up WCKY. Of course, there are multiple stories over the years how those two stations were heard by listeners in various parts of the country.

I recall being happily surprised at how WKRC (550-AM) came in during the day in south-central Kentucky - about 160 or so air miles from Cincinnati. WSAI (1360-AM) would come and go in that same location in Kentucky at night. I also found out that WSAI was listened to at night in Harlan County, Kentucky - so well, in fact, that people sat it on the push-buttons of their car radios.

 

[spunker88]

This can be fun to do on GlobalTuners. I was using the tuner near Montreal one day to see if I could get stations near me when I was receiving Montreal locally during a tropo opening. I may try this during ES sometime, but I'm usually way to busy DXing locally when an opening happens. Maybe when I'm not home during an opening I can try this out.

 

[boiseengineer]

At noon--was that in winter?

A hot summer day. But that Buick car radio was also a hot performer.
I can date it by the fact I also heard a solid signal from KRVN testing/proofing thier *NEW* 880 facility.
Remember that Trinidad is above 6000 feet elevation and the golf course we were at was way away form everything at that time. Don't remember any other DX.