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FM Dx'ing the Bahamas from Florida

I dont think their are many FMs in the Bahamas,, if so they are probably low power and on shared Miami Freqs.
 
In Nassau, from memory, there are at least 8 FMs. Many are Urban, with Caribbean music mixed in. Several are Gospel, and others are news-based.

On the flip side, the only Florida FM I have DX'd from the Bahamas is WKIS/Boca Raton.
 
I got this list from http://fmscan.org/
set parameters to: frequency: 65 to 108 MHz, output limit 200, tropospheric conditions: 0, receiver antenna HAAT: 10 m, Threshold: 0 dB, weaker signals range: 0 dB, radius 600 km, exc. inactive, (81w55/29n24)-(70w05/18n36), prediction mode

MHz Cty program transmitter Pdir Pmax Dist azi dBµV
89.9h BAH Splash FM Spanish Wells (elu) 20 187km 337° 22f info
92.5h BAH Splash FM Nassau (npr) 2.3 177km 311° 13f info
94.9h BAH More 94 FM Nassau (npr) (1) 177km 311° 7f info
97.5h BAH Love 97 FM Nassau (npr) (1) 177km 311° 7f info
97.7h BAH Heaven 97 Georgetown (yni) 2 60km 158° 42 info
98.7h BAH Y98 Nassau (npr) (1) 177km 311° 7f# info
100.3h BAH 100 Jamz FM Nassau (npr) (1) 177km 311° 7f info
101.9h BAH Joy FM Nassau (npr) (1) 177km 311° 7f info
102.9h BAH Island 102.9 FM Nassau (npr) (1) 177km 311° 7f info
104.5h BAH ZNS FM-Power 104.5 Nassau (npr) 10 177km 311° 21f info
105.9h BAH Gems FM Nassau (npr) (1) 177km 311° 7f# info
107.1h BAH ZNS 1 Nassau (npr) 0.5 177km 311° 5f info

...while you're at it, perhaps DXers in FL can try for Bermuda...

MHz Cty program transmitter Pdir Pmax Dist azi dBµV
89.1h BER ZBM-FM 89 Hamilton (-) 15 6km 232° 88 info <--- I have heard this a few times here in No. Illinois!
94.9h BER ZFB-Power 95 FM Hamilton (-) 1 6km 232° 75 info
98.1h BER Kjaz 98.1 FM Hamilton (-) 1 6km 232° 75 info
106.1h BER VSB-FM Mix 106.1 Hamilton (-) 2.5 6km 232° 79 info
107.5h BER Hott 107.5 Hamilton (-) 1 6km 232° 75 info

Clicking on the frequency will get you to a map of the predicted coverage area, but we know that you will need tropo to reach FL....
 
I've heard 89.1 Bermuda (from my home in South FL) doing a talk show....I decided to call in. My voice as "DX" can be weird. That was on July 7 last year.

To be honest, Bahamian FM, despite proximity and even decent power, is no easy trick here. A few frequencies that should be "open" are either IBOC or occupied by pirates. Lately my easiest (if that's the word) catch is Star 106.5 Nassau, as my 106.7 does not use IBOC now.

There's also Inspiration 107.9 Nassau, ex-AM 1240, which I caught I think last November over WIRK. I don't think 1240 is used any more there.

cd
 
I also think that Freeport Grand Bahama had a couple of FM's as well. I seem to remember a 96.1 while I was there a couple of years ago. I heard 100 Jamz being played more than anything else as I traveled around Freeport.

Other than the AM ZNS stations, (810 & 1540 I think) the only one I heard from Ft. Lauderdale, was 100 Jamz.

I got that on an old Sangean ATS-800 sitting on the ocean side of the hotel in Ft. L.
 
As the earlier post noted, 100 Jamz is based in Nassau. I think there are transmitters for the other islands. The same thing is true on Y98; I heard a jock mention that "if you are in Nassau..." This seems to indicate that there is a Y98 translator.
 
When driving once from Miami to Cocoa Beach a few years ago, I went out of my way to try to pick-up F.M. stations from the Bahamas. What I thought would be a rather easy task was not. Every frequency I tried was covered up by a Florida F.M. station.

I encountered a similar problem when I tried to pick up Cuban F.M.'s while driving through the Florida Keys. (although in that case, the linguistic barrier impeded me. It took longer to confirm that a Spanish-speaking F.M. was - in fact - a Florida station!)
 
Speaking of DX'ing, do any of you fellow South Floridians have a favorite spot to DX? The beaches are all good choices, but the DX'ing seems to be best in northern Palm Beach County/southern Martin. I have gotten a few nice catches on the beach in Singer Island. On Saturday morning, I picked up Daytona's CHR station (on 103.3). It has been a while since I have been able to pick up that one.

Also, when driving west on I-595 - although it is not DX'ing - many of the Fort Myers FMs become audible. This occurs well before the end of Broward County.
 
ScottBurns said:
Speaking of DX'ing, do any of you fellow South Floridians have a favorite spot to DX?
Click to expand...

I found that the north end of Marathon was good. There is some wasted 1170-1190 space due to the VOA transmitter, but there is so little power of the back end of that array that its not a pest. The location is out of the lobe of all but a few South FL stations, most of which shoot from the west of Mia, FTL or WPB to cover their markets.

With a good receiver, the Africans are very easy to pick off on a good night, and the Brazilians and Argentines are very nice in early morning hours; there is also a lot of Texas, LA, MS to be heard from stations there that also shoot towards the ocean from inland. And, of course, the world's best key lime pie comes from Marathon.
 
I have never tried to do any AM DXing from Marathon, but Mr. Eduardo is correct. Many Florida markets are catchable there. Many Fort Myers stations, as well several Miami and West Palm FMs, are easy catches in Marathon. My best FM intra-Florida catch from Marathon: 102.5/The Bone.
 
I will chime in here....never DX from Marathon proper. Ya gotta get away from the power lines. Mile Marker 39.8, Veterans Park, is the berries, because the restroom building has electricity! TV/VCR combo + FM rx & I'm ready to roll.

Mile Marker 35.1 is better than that due to the elevation, but no electricicals.

cd
 
While in the Keys, AMs from Cuba were quite easy to pick up. Radio Reloj on 570 and 950 were fairly reliable day and night. If one was fuzzy, the other usually was listenable. Of course, they're easy to find with the click every second of the clock and the I.D. and time every minute. But I also heard other Cubans playing a mix of local and international hits. I was surpirsed to hear Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark. I was also surpirsed that the Cuban news didn't sound heavy handed or overly propaganda-laden... although my Spanish is limited. For that matter, 1180 Radio Marti also didn't sound overly biased the few times I listened.

I really didn't look for Cuban FMs. Nothing noticable jumped out, such as an FM frequency with Radio Reloj's clicks. My rental car's radio was good but I could barely pick up 101.1 WAVV from Marco in the Key West-Marathon area. I figured if that blowtorch was barely audible, probably nothing from Mainland Florida would be easy to get on FM, although Miami's more powerful AMs (940 WINZ, 710 WAQI, 560 WQAM) and a couple of AMs from the Naples area came in pretty well. 610 WIOD was weak in Key West and Marathon, but started to come in around Islamorada. I forgot to listen for 50,000 watt ZNS Nassau 1540 in the Keys. I heard it a few times around Miami, although sometimes it was hard to pick up due to the 1550 in Coral Gables. On a Saturday they were covering a street festival. Geez, it sounded like college radio when I heard it, with the hosts saying hello to personal friends by name and talking over the vocals of recorded music.

I was tempted to try disconnecting the motel's TV from the cable and try putting rabbit ears on it but after thinking about not wanting to add more to my carry-on than I needed, I decided against it. I understand TV signals from Cuba are not usually available in the Keys unless there's a tropo condition in effect. 90 miles plus low TV towers in Cuba mean it's a tough catch, from what I understand.

I never had the Key Lime Pie but I had a Margarita at Jimmy Buffet's bar. And the snorkelling was great. I was amazed at the different colors of the waters, yet they were so clear you could see your toes wiggle. Great vacation.


Gregg
[email protected]
 
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