I was out at Port A over the weekend out on the beach with my walkman and I could pull in KBTQ, KTEX and KBFM, and most of the other Valley stations very clear like a local almost. What makes it travel much better over the gulf? I even picked up The box in Houston like a local. And it was like that almost all day.
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Its funny how FM Travles over the gulf
- Thread starter jras20
- Start date
Ive noticed the same thing. When I am down at Magnolia beach (near Port lavaca) I can pick up Houston stations with ease...but When Im in PL, they are not listenable.
Ive also picked up great skip across the Gulf. Earlier this summer I was picking up stations from The Florida Keys...which tickled me pink cause Key West is my fav vaca spot of all time!
Ive also picked up great skip across the Gulf. Earlier this summer I was picking up stations from The Florida Keys...which tickled me pink cause Key West is my fav vaca spot of all time!
jras20 said:I was out at Port A over the weekend out on the beach with my walkman and I could pull in KBTQ, KTEX and KBFM, and most of the other Valley stations very clear like a local almost. What makes it travel much better over the gulf? I even picked up The box in Houston like a local. And it was like that almost all day.
Ahh yes...tropospheric ducting. It's really bad here in Corpus Christi this summer. One of the worst tropo seasons I have ever heard. Just about every station here in town has been getting hammered by tropo. Especially all the lower power stations and rim shots. Some nights they are completely overpowered and drawn out.
But to answer your question about why the gulf is a big factor, here ya go...a direct copy and paste from dxinfocentre:
Tropospheric (a.k.a. "Tropo") DX modes are defined by the mechanics behind them. A Tropo DX mode is any condition that scatters, reflects or refracts signals in the Troposphere allowing long distance reception (and hence interference) to occur in the VHF, UHF and/or microwave radio bands.
Refraction occurs when the normal Index of Refraction has been altered. Vertical boundaries between different types of airmasses usually cause this..where a temperature inversion (warm air over cooler air) exists. This causes signal enhancement. When the vertical boundary becomes especially sharp, the amount of refraction becomes so severe that signals extend a great distance as though caught in a duct...thus the reference to tropospheric ducting.
Although a temperature inversion is key, the most important influencing factor is water vapour (humidity). Thus..a warm dry airmass on top of a cooler humid airmass produces the best conditions. Dry Mexican air flowing across the Gulf of Mexico or Dry Saharan air flowing across the Meditteranean are two examples of prime tropo-producing conditions. High pressure subsidence (the sinking and drying out of air)..if it occurs over the oceans..can produce reception across several thousands of km! Hawaii to California reception..both on UHF and VHF..is not as uncommon as one might think. On the other hand..high mountains can physically block tropo DX..and deserts are generally too dry for tropo. Thus..tropo is rare in the very mountainous or dry regions of the world.
Interesting discussion. I have wondered why the Valley FM stations seem to dx more commonly in Corpus when S.A. and Laredo are also about 150 miles away.
Tropo has been used by the military
In the years before satellites, the military used what was called Forward Propagation Tropospheric Scatter (FPTS) to communicate over very long distances. A high powered signal would be aimed in the direction of the receivers hundreds of miles on the other side of the horizon.
The signal would go past the horizon far into the atmosphere until it reached the troposphere level, bounce off like a bank shot on a pool table and scatter into the area where the receiving antennas were located. The receiver station re-amplified the signal and retransmitted it over the horizon to the next station. This system was used around the world until satellites rendered it obsolete in the 60s and 70s.
As some of us have observed, tropo scatter can even cross oceans. I worked on the Air Force transmitter site in the Azores Islands in the Atlantic, and we were the relay station for communication between the U-S and all the military bases in Europe.
In the years before satellites, the military used what was called Forward Propagation Tropospheric Scatter (FPTS) to communicate over very long distances. A high powered signal would be aimed in the direction of the receivers hundreds of miles on the other side of the horizon.
The signal would go past the horizon far into the atmosphere until it reached the troposphere level, bounce off like a bank shot on a pool table and scatter into the area where the receiving antennas were located. The receiver station re-amplified the signal and retransmitted it over the horizon to the next station. This system was used around the world until satellites rendered it obsolete in the 60s and 70s.
As some of us have observed, tropo scatter can even cross oceans. I worked on the Air Force transmitter site in the Azores Islands in the Atlantic, and we were the relay station for communication between the U-S and all the military bases in Europe.
jras20 said:I was out at Port A over the weekend out on the beach with my walkman and I could pull in KBTQ, KTEX and KBFM, and most of the other Valley stations very clear like a local almost.
Besides being one of my favorite places to kick back, I've always found Port Aransas to be a great spot for DXing. The AM band is pretty full during the day there, with stations from the Valley all the way over to New Orleans. That in itself isn't really that surprising but I remember on many occasions I was able to receive steady, listenable signals on every FM frequency for hours at a time. Stations would be coming in all the way from the Valley (along with stations across the border in Tamaulipas), the Houston and Beaumont area and several from Lake Charles and Lafayette LA. One of the most interesting times was when there was what seemed like a wild mix of both tropo and E-skip, with stations from San Antonio, Houston and the Valley mixed in with ones from places like Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.
In Poart Mansfield three weeks ago, the Houston Stations were coming in like local stations, whereas the west Valley stations couldn't be heard at all. I can remember several years ago being in downtown Harlingen and picking up a station out of Orlando Florida. My favorite was picking up "The End" out of New Orleans one afternoon in McAllen. I called the guy up and he put me on the air!
The best RGV reception story I ever heard came from the old KRGV-AM. Just after I went to work there in 1978 the CE told me that he had once received a reception report from....New Zealand.
As it turns out, the old 1290 nighttime pattern included the southern tip of Baja California. Had I not seen the report myself, I wouldn't have believed him.
As it turns out, the old 1290 nighttime pattern included the southern tip of Baja California. Had I not seen the report myself, I wouldn't have believed him.
P
purpledevil
Guest
All you have to do is to listen for the Cuban stations coming clear across the Gulf to understand just how well signals travel across the water. I have caught several Cuban and Mexican stations here in Houston, and others have reported a Cuban station "Radio Reloj" overpowering local KBME on 790. KCTA/Corpus Christi has much stronger penetration than some of the "local" AM signals here in town. Even better than fellow 50kwer WWL.
Ditto on that. Back in the 70s when I did a night-time call-in show on KTRH it was common to get calls from the Panama Canal Zone and Nicaragua. I also had regular listeners and callers from off-shore oil rigs hundreds of miles out in the Gulf.
Re: Its funny how FM Travels over the Gulf
As a Ham radio operator, I've talked several times, with no problem, to New Orleans, LA from Gulf Shores, AL with just a 5-watt handy-talkie. There's been several times we Hams have also talked with Mexican Hams across the Gulf, as well...and all FM, too.
Somethin' about that water....!
As a Ham radio operator, I've talked several times, with no problem, to New Orleans, LA from Gulf Shores, AL with just a 5-watt handy-talkie. There's been several times we Hams have also talked with Mexican Hams across the Gulf, as well...and all FM, too.
Somethin' about that water....!
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