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FM Bandscan at Blythe/Chukar Lakes in the Columbia NWR, 4/30/2021

C

crainbebo

Pictures coming soon. Hiked around on this partly sunny Friday afternoon to Blythe Lake and Chukar Lake in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, south of Potholes Reservoir. This is about 12 miles south of Moses Lake, WA. Our own DX_Sphere lives in Moses Lake and knows the dial more than I do. But what a place to DX from. All types of activity scattering in - British Columbia, NW WA, and to the east, stations as far as Montana! Here's the scan.
Wildflowers included phlox, wild shasta daisies and balsam root on the hills. Wildlife: Many birds including red-winged blackbirds and red-tailed hawks, and one rubber boa snake (too quick to get a picture). Also saw a Rocky Mountain wood tick crawling on the old jeep trail. Thankfully it did not get on me. No rattlesnakes.

88.1 KTCV Kennewick / KYRS Medical Lake
88.3 KMLW Moses Lake
88.5 KLRF Milton-Freewater OR
88.7 KDMB Moses Lake
88.9 KCSH Ellensburg
89.1 KFAE Richland
89.3
89.5 K208BY Moses Lake (KGIO)
89.7 KWWS Walla Walla
89.9 KPLW Wenatchee
90.1 KOLU Pasco
90.3 K212DB Moses Lake (KAWZ) / K212FK Wenatchee (KLWS)
90.5 KQBC Benton City / CBCV Victoria BC (briefly with CBC News)
90.7 KNWR Ellensburg
90.9 KRBM Pendleton OR
91.1 KPBX-FM Spokane / KYPL Yakima
91.3 KGTS Walla Walla
91.5 KLWS Moses Lake
91.7 KBLD Kennewick
91.9 KPBW Brewster / KDNA Granger / KSFC Spokane (wow! 2.2KW. Never heard anywhere in central WA before and especially with KPBW.)
92.1 KUMA-FM Pilot Rock OR / K221BI Wenatchee (KWLN) / CBU-FM1 Victoria BC
92.3 KZUS Ephrata
92.5 KZHR Dayton
92.7 K224EW Othello (EWTN Spanish)
92.9 KZZU Spokane / KISM Bellingham / tentative KDBL Toppenish
93.1 K226AK Ephrata (KFAE)
93.3 KRKL Walla Walla
93.5 KWDR Royal City / KOZI-FM Chelan (pulled out from underneath nearby KWDR. Very impressed.)
93.7 KDRK Spokane
93.9 KTAC Ephrata
94.1 KCLK-FM Clarkston
94.3 K232ED Sunnyslope (Jack FM Wenatchee)
94.5 KATS Yakima / KHTQ Hayden ID
94.7 KZAL Manson
94.9 KIOK Pasco
95.1
95.3 K237AW Chelan (KCSY) / KXLE-FM Ellensburg / KPND Deer Park / K237DP Kennewick (KLKY)
95.5
95.7 KKSR Walla Walla
95.9 KZML Quincy
96.1 KFOO Opportunity / KLKY Stanfield OR
96.3 KRCW Royal City
96.5 K243CD Brewster (KDMB) / KJAQ Seattle
96.7 KWWW Quincy
96.9 KZTA Naches / KEZE Spokane
97.1 KXRX Walla Walla
97.3 KKRS Davenport
97.5 KOLW Basin City
97.7 KYSN Wenatchee
97.9 KZTB Milton-Freewater OR
98.1 KISC Spokane / K251AZ Malaga (KEYG-FM)
98.3 KEYW Pasco
98.5 KEYG-FM Grand Coulee
98.7 K254DP Pasco (KFLD) / KMNA Mabton / tentative KFXP-LP Wenatchee
98.9 KKZX Spokane
99.1 KUJ-FM Burbank
99.3 KDRM Moses Lake
99.5 KZLY Ione OR / KQBG Wenatchee / KZZL Pullman
99.7 K259CR Milton-Freewater OR (KTEL-AM) / KHHK Yakima / unid country station for about 30 seconds, likely KMTK Bend OR
99.9 KXLY-FM Spokane
100.1 KQFO Pasco
100.3 CKKQ Victoria BC / KXAA Cle Elum
100.5 KWIQ-FM Moses Lake
100.7 KHSS Athena OR
100.9 KARY-FM Grandview
101.1 KEYF Cheney / K266AZ Ephrata (KPLW) / KOHO Leavenworth
101.3 KGDN Pasco
101.5 KATW Lewiston ID
101.7 KZXR-FM Prosser
101.9 KZIU Weston OR / KTSL Medical Lake
102.1 KPQ-FM Wenatchee
102.3 K272ED Kennewick (Tri-Country KWDR) / KICR Coeur D'Alene ID (had to be. Brooks and Dunn song not // KWDR. ONLY 172 WATTS!!!)
102.5 KRAO Colfax
102.7 KORD Richland
102.9 KEFA-LP Wenatchee / KZTM Centralia
103.1 KYKV Selah (or K276EU Kennewick, or both) / KCDA Post Falls ID / CHTT Victoria BC (Jack 103.1...a real surprise!)
103.3 KWLN Wilson Creek
103.5 KWHT Pendleton OR
103.7
103.9 KBBD Spokane / K280BZ Wenatchee (KWWW)
104.1 KXDD Yakima / KAFE Bellingham
104.3 KHTR Moscow ID / K282AA Kennewick (KMBI)
104.5 KNHK Newport / tentative KKVU Stevensville, MT (Top 40. This is not KLSW, and there are very few 104.5's in the PacNW. Would have been 251 mi.)
104.7 KKRV Wenatchee
104.9 K285FN Kennewick (Exitos) / tentative KEEH Spokane
105.1 KWOL Whitefish MT (positive ID!!! 'Kool 105' First Montana on tropo, anywhere! 62KW 252mi.) / K286CA East Wenatchee (KKRV)
105.3 KONA-FM Pasco
105.5
105.7 KZBD Spokane / KRSE Yakima
105.9 Nothing...I tried very hard for KYJK in Missoula, but nothing came out of it when I was getting Whitefish 105.1. They are fairly low power anyways, at 1.95KW.)
106.1 K291CS Ephrata (KTBI)
106.3
106.5 KEGX Richland / KSPO Dishman (wow! Through the Eagle! First time I've ever heard this one anywhere in central WA. This is the mothership for the American Christian Network, KTBI/KTAC/KYAK etc., if I recall.
106.7 KKWN Cashmere
106.9 K295AU Moses Lake (KGTS)
107.1 K296BP Ephrata (KGIO)
107.3 KFFM Yakima / K297BE Kennewick (KWCQ 'The Beat')
107.5 (Tried for KENR in Superior MT, with high power. Nothing.)
107.7 KWVN Pendleton OR
107.9 KMBI-FM Spokane / possibly someone else
 
I missed a log, looking back. On 105.7, CBU-FM Vancouver also came in for a brief period, with classical parallel to 92.1.

100KW 237mi.
 
Many of the Cascade mountain spots were awesome too...but it was very interesting to hear stations from four states + BC on just general / aircraft scatter / troposcatter conditions. With the south blocked, the weaker Tri-Cities FMs were not as audible and easy to pick other stations out of. Without those coulees, Tri-Cities FMs would be rock solid, RDS and all, like they are in most of that area. I would have never gotten KSPO-106.5 without that feature.
 
Nice bandscan. Noticed that some of the Spokane stations didn't come through, but Victoria stations were very impressive.

No yellow headed blackbirds? I remember seeing them when we'd go to Eastern WA on camping trips when a kid.
 
KAGU and KEWU were blocked by locals. Also, KPKL 107.1 in Deer Park was nowhere to be found, with a translator up in Ephrata blocking it.
 
boombox4 said:
Nice bandscan. Noticed that some of the Spokane stations didn't come through, but Victoria stations were very impressive.

No yellow headed blackbirds? I remember seeing them when we'd go to Eastern WA on camping trips when a kid.
Click to expand...

Up above the bandscan location, many Spokane FMs come in extremely clear. I've received KAGU and KEWU from Moses Lake - in fact, it's normal during the morning hours even with those locals. KPKL Deer Park has too low of power, since it was rare for me to receive even without the translator in Ephrata.
 
crainbebo said:
Many of the Cascade mountain spots were awesome too...but it was very interesting to hear stations from four states + BC on just general / aircraft scatter / troposcatter conditions. With the south blocked, the weaker Tri-Cities FMs were not as audible and easy to pick other stations out of. Without those coulees, Tri-Cities FMs would be rock solid, RDS and all, like they are in most of that area. I would have never gotten KSPO-106.5 without that feature.
Click to expand...
Ditto on that. I did two bandscans at Blewett Pass the other day - different receipts at each location... I might as well post a list in here now; videos will come at a later time when I don't have classwork to do.
 
I've never been on the east side of the mountains, but it's amazing how the terrain over there provides the right conditions for some of these catches. Great catches are possible anywhere, of course, but there seems to be something really unique about being able to lock on a signal from two states away.
 
Pictures, pictures, pictures...

Phlox flowers - P1080813
Blythe Lake - P1080815
A majestic coulee formation - P1080824
End point at the marsh boundary (private government land) - P1080829
KPBX RDS - P1080835
KHTQ RDS (notice the 1/2 - their long-time slogan is Rock 94 1/2) - P1080838
KHTR RDS - P1080839
Coulee slope full of balsam root - P1080837
Pothole 'crater' formation - P1080840

A few audio files will come tomorrow or this weekend. I have been very busy with college stuff and other errands.
 
Long-awaited, I am sorry for the wait. Audio clips coming to you now!
CHTT 103.1 - CHTT 103.1 Victoria BC 4 30 21 Blythe Lake WA
KXLE 95.3 - KXLE 95.3 Ellensburg from Blythe Lake 4 30 21
KDRK 93.7 / KKRS 97.3 - KDRK 93.7 and KKRS 97.3 from Blythe Lake WA 4 30 21
K237AW 95.3 (w/ KCSY) and an unid Country on 99.7, likely Bend - UNID 99.7 likely Bend OR and 95.3 K237AW Chelan from Blythe Lake WA 4 30 21
Starts with an unid Religious station, then cuts to CBCV-90.5 Victoria BC w/ CBC News, talking about the Ontario COVID lockdown - CBCV 90.5 Victoria BC CBC News 4 30 21 from Blythe Lake WA
KAFE - KAFE 104.1 Bellingham WA 4 30 21 Blythe Lake
KWOL 105.1 MT and KEYF 101.1 - KWOL 105.1 Whitefish MT and KEYF 101.1 Cheney from Blythe Lake 4 30 21
 
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