• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Looking forward to some amazing DXing!

gar hi

gar hi

Hi, it's 'gar fla' from Tampa and I will be moving to Hawaii on the 1st.

That's why I had my username changed.

My older brother has lived on the big island for 10 years and has been telling me for a long time how nice it is.

It really was time for a big change in my life and I decided to move there. It's something I never imagined doing only a few weeks ago.

I will be living in the town of Mountain View which is not far from Hilo.

According to Radio Locator, there are only 3 AM stations from Hilo but I suspect I will be able to pick up some from Honolulu in the daytime even though they all show my location as being slightly beyond the 'fringe'.

But at night, it's going to be so fascinating to hear what I can get from the mainland on my PR-D5!

I don't know what to expect on FM or whether or not there is tropo that will let me hear any of the Honolulu stations.

Anyway, I just had to announce the news. So now, we will have a resident member of our forum who can report from Hawaii!
 
Congratulations Gar. I've had the pleasure of DXing from Hawaii and it is fantastic. Not only will you hear amazing DX from the mainland, but you will hear Australia and the far east as well. I will be looking forward to your MW DX reports.
Good luck to you on the move and in your future!
 
Last edited:
Congratulations, and best of luck with the move. Be sure to keep us posted on what turns up on your radio out there. As I've posted before, I spent my junior year of high school in Honolulu. That was a lousy DX spot, loaded with strong local signals that completely covered the AM dial. But on one rare occasion when I got over to the other side of Oahu at night, the result was WBAP, WWL, and WLS for openers! (the Honolulu 870, KAIM, was off).

I only made it to the Big Island once. Kona coast, which is on the other side of the island (and the other side of the mountain) from Hilo. My memory is that the Honolulu AMs were available with good signals 24/7, although subject to convergence fading. Similar to what I encountered on a visit to Maui in 1994. At night, I went up to a rooftop deck at the hotel where we were staying, and was immediately greeted by a good signal from KEX on 1190 from Portland.

Happy Hunting!
 
Wow.

Living the dream! The Big Island is a wonderful choice.

Love Hilo, mostly because it has kept its Hawaiian charm, though drug problems have affected it like every other town.

Last time we visited, I took my Eton E100 with me when we went to "see the stars" on Mauna Kea. At the top, some great local FM and AM DX. Got some good AM DX late evening while driving down the mountain. Wife wasn't happy with me tuning while driving in the fog. Can you imagine that?
 
Thanks for all the replies and good wishes. And Mauna Kea will be an eventual destination to check out, Icangelp. I've seen videos people made while driving up to the top and they are amazing.

I'll be living in a very remote area, so there won't be the usual annoying sounds interfering on AM that we all now have to put up with today.

I'm just anticipating the first time I take my radio out and see what I can get. All those stations from the west coast and parts of the west are fascinating enough but I've heard even WABC has been received there sometimes.

http://www.musicradio77.com/introduction.html

Even with KOB on the air, maybe the conditions were right at times to favor the more distant WABC.
 
Gar, besides reception conditions which as we all know are variable you will find the timing will have a lot to do with your reception.
For example, if you want to DX the US mainland the best time is the first few hours after your local sunset. After that many powerful stations from the far east start coming in and take over.
When I was there in the late 70s I heard WLS & WBBM from Chicago, but if I wanted to try for anything from the eastern half of North America I had to try by 10:30--11PM Hawaii time. After that the far east dominated most of the frequencies. Before your local sunrise you should have some excellent chances for Australia. Five years ago I heard 1116MW out of Brisbane many mornings. I'm sure after you're there awhile you will get the handle on the best times to try for the places & stations you want to hear. Of course, the seasons will play a big role in your medium wave DXing and the great thing is you've got fall and winter reception conditions coming up.
I'm sure we will all be anxious to hear about your DXing (I know I will!)
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom