Interesting FM DX on drive to near Atlantic City, NJ

[Xale57]

I went to a place outside of Atlantic City today. To make it worthwhile on the trip, I wanted to see how NYC stations did down the parkway passed Toms River. I expected to lose all of the stations by Exit 67, but it kept steady. Weak, but there. 103.5 was staticky but still holding on when I got off of Exit 48 (88 miles from Empire) WJKI was mixing in and adjacent 103.7 splattered over just a few miles down. 106.7 Lite FM, I continued getting in spots but I was amazed by the range, unless some tropo going on.

Going back, I took Route 539 which runs about 5-10 miles West of the Garden State Parkway. I was getting stations like 95.7 BEN pretty good but no 100.3 WRNB (weaker to the East to protect 100.1) or at least it was likely both WRNB and WHTZ mixing with 100.1 WJRZ's HD hash. I didn't get 100.3 WRNB until I was in Manchester, which is the closest to Philly I was on the whole trip, but it was mixing with Z100 as expected. Philly stations were solid in Manchester but started fizzing out around Lakehurst going back East on Route 70.

It was a fun drive for sure and finding out the range of both Philly and NYC stations and how they did in a lot of those areas. Above Exit 100-105 is around the area you start to lose Atlantic City/Philly stations and NYC comes in strong.

 

[kevtronics]

Toms River FM bandscan in 2012:

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

@ Xale57:

Though I've dabbled in FM DXing -- with nowhere near the fascination and fervor of many others here -- I have noticed a few things .... maybe minor, maybe not.
On a few occasions here, the second-highest incorporated community in Eastern PA*, I had been 'volunteered' to check the coverage of an LPFM run by some friends. On those days, plus others of simply motoring around actually DXng on FM, I would detect a LACK of tropo during days when it was clear as distilled water out. Binghamton NY, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, etc. were clear. IIrc, some kind of North- or Northwest wind was out as well.
I'd thought that maybe it was more an absence of trope and more of a default thing ..... the way Southern AM stations come in with a blazing Aurora swallowing up everything from Northern latitudes that usually come in.
I could be way off-base here; FM DXers would know. But anyway, I have to ask you what the weather was like where you were Wednesday on the shore.

* Hazleton is higher above sea level than we are here.