Montana/Idaho road trip thread 2024

[crainbebo]

I'm back on the road again as I get closer to moving permanently to Idaho later this summer. Yesterday, I slept in Sandpoint ID, tonight, it's Corvallis MT for the 50 Mile Yard Sales - heading on a hike Sunday in the Bitterroots and Monday I'm off to west central ID where I will be signing my teaching contract - YAY!

Noted Es in Spokane on 6/27. KUUT-89.7 Farmington NM and KANW-89.1 Albuquerque, KUUT with Najavo language programming / mention of Hantavirus on the Nation, and KANW with weather forecast and RDS. Nothing else heard Es-wise, given that the Spokane radio dial is so jam-packed. It's borderline ridiculous. HD hash and translators everywhere. Of course none of this would stick around when the dial cleaned up in the Newport/Priest River area.
Recently new to air are KOTF-89.1 Hayden ID and KSBF-88.9 Bonners Ferry, both religious stations.

Today I was on the road in Sanders County MT visiting the county-wide yard sales. From Heron onward, the sales were on - constant yard sale signs everywhere. Hwy 200 is a BEAUTIFUL drive that is highly recommended. I did it last year too.
Noted KWIQ-100.5 Moses Lake and KEYG-98.5 Grand Coulee around Clark Fork ID (160 and 130 miles)...this was also where KTFZ-88.1 Thompson Falls started mixing with KYRS Medical Lake.
KMBI-107.9 was noted as far east as the Paradise MT turnoff to Highway 135. There are a lot of mountains, so Spokane FMs do not get out as well to the east. Started hearing KIBG-100.7 and KKMT-92.3 just above Trout Creek, roughly MP23 on Highway 200. Last time around, they barely made it to Thompson Falls, but the Nissan Rogue I am renting was able to pick them up much further.

I am now staying for the next couple of days in Corvallis MT, and since I finally have time to do a scan, here it is. With the TEF6686, interesting stuff shows up that I didn't realize I could get:
88.1 K201IN Hamilton (KAWZ)
88.3 KJCG Missoula
88.7 KXEH Victor
88.9 very weak KFRD Butte
89.1 KUFM Missoula
89.5 weak K208EF Missoula (KMBI)
89.7 noted a very weak KQLR Whitehall MT with K-LOVE on Highway 93. Not hearing them at this vacation rental, which is 5-6 miles east of the highway. Mountain blockage
89.9 weak KBGA Missoula
90.3 KJFT Arlee
90.5 KJLF Butte very weak
90.7 KMZO Hamilton
91.1 KMZL Missoula
91.5 K218AI Rattlesnake (KUFM) but no sign of the Darby KMZO translator!
91.9 KUFN Hamilton
92.3 KKMT Ronan
92.5 KAAR Butte
92.7 K224AA Missoula (KGRZ-AM)
93.3 KGGL Missoula
93.7 K229BU Missoula (K-LOVE)
93.9 Tr fadeup from KZBQ Pocatello ID tonight (252 miles)
94.1 KOPR Butte
94.3 K232CI Missoula (The Ride)
94.9 KYSS Missoula
95.3 K237DZ Missoula (KRBG Radio By Grace)
95.5 KMBR Butte
95.7 K239AP Missoula (ALT FM)
95.9 KHNK Columbia Falls MT (very weak)
96.3 KBAZ Hamilton
96.5 Tr fadeup from KLIX Twin Falls ID (260 miles)
96.9 K245AP Missoula (ZOO FM)
97.5 KYMI Charlo
97.9 KDXT Lolo
98.3 K252AP Missoula (KGVO)
98.5 KBBZ Kalispell (weak)
98.7 KHKM Hamilton (Today's Christian Country...TERRIBLE audio, sounds like an AM radio)
99.1 UNID that is still stumping me! Hot AC music and a few '80s/'90s with random IDs as "Magic 99". I can't find this anywhere on Radio-Locator or the WTFDA DB, and even Google is stumping me. This is NOT KTMG Prescott AZ via E-skip...it's constant all night long, noisy and multipathed. My guess is it's based somewhere down the valley. (Look at 104.9 for another stumper)
99.3 KQEZ St. Regis (via Missoula booster, weak)
99.5 KBLL Helena
99.7 K259DD Missoula (KMPT)
100.1 KZOQ Missoula
100.3 very weak KLSK Great Falls MT noted earlier
100.7 KIBG Bigfork
101.1 KZMT Helena
101.5 KAMM Frenchtown
101.9 very weak KXZI-LP Missoula, can barely hear a trace
102.5 KMSO Missoula
102.9 K275BS Missoula (ESPN Radio)
103.3 KDTR Missoula
103.7 K279CP Missoula (KHDV)
104.1 K281CH Missoula (Boomer)
104.5 KKVU Stevensville
104.9 ANOTHER stumper! Classic hits with random "Cool 105" or "Kool 105" IDs/jingles. Stevie Wonder, Ambrosia, a lot of usual staples. A pirate, perhaps? Related to the 99.1?
105.1 extremely weak KWOL-FM Whitefish
105.3 K287AW Hamilton (KKVU)
105.9 KYJK Missoula
106.1 weak KZFN Moscow ID faded up
106.3 K292GH Hamilton (KMSO)
106.7 KXDR Pinesdale
107.1 K296FM Missoula (KDXT)
107.3 faint fadeup briefly, thinking KIMO Helena MT
107.5 KENR Superior
107.9 KHDV Darby

More to come later!

 

[crainbebo]

More DX to add from today...went around to the various 50 Mile Yard Sales in the valley. Also some from the Airbnb.
88.5 KYPH Helena
90.1 KUKL Kalispell
91.5 DARBY SOS TRANSLATOR IS OFF. I was in Darby for a few sales. Nothing but static on 91.5. It's a nice little town, full of western-type buildings and was where a lot of 'Yellowstone' was filmed. Went to Darby on the first road trip in April 2023.
91.7 - Had a fadeup here, not Es, sounded classical, thinking KRFA Moscow ID. Not Billings.
92.9 KLFM Great Falls briefly
95.7 KEZJ-FM Twin Falls ID with Taste of Country Nights. Good fadeup over K239AP Missoula. 260 miles.
97.1 KALS Kalispell
98.9 KKZX Spokane briefly with local ad mentioning Airway Heights, around Victor MT. 169 miles
100.7 KXLB Bozeman weakly comes in mixed with KIBG at the homes that are near the base of the Bitterroot Mtns (there were a few sales up from the highway). Also heard: KSNA Idaho Falls (nice fadeup, 100.7 MyFM) and Spanish music, very likely KPDA Mountain Home ID.
101.1 K266BK Missoula (KAWZ) just barely there at this location, if I take out KZMT Helena
102.7 probably KINX Cascade MT with news/talk, came in at the same time as KLFM.

Tomorrow is a hiking day (after church). I'm heading up to St Mary Peak, 9300 feet elevation above Stevensville! Trail conditions seem OK and I hope I don't get altitude sickness. The radio dial should be crazy up there.

 

[MarioMania]

Nice

I don't know why these kinds of thread are not popular on here

 

[crainbebo]

Tonight I'm staying in McCall, ID at the Best Western. Today I signed my contract for that 5th grade teaching job and got a tour of the school! So today was a very important day.

At Lost Trail Pass (7000 feet) on US-93 going into ID, I had several Missoula FMs, KOPR-94.1, KMBR-95.5, the Hamilton FMs, KQRV-96.9 Deer Lodge, KGLM-97.7 Anaconda, KZMT-101.1 Helena, and the Salmon ID FMs. There's a pirate FM in Sula on 102.1, no ID, gets out for several miles. Random mix of music, Sheryl Crow into a classical tune.
However, the bandscan around Gibbonsville ID was completely dead except for TWO FMs...KSRA-92.7 and KYSS-94.9, both weak. In Salmon there were more FMs that came in - KFTZ-103.3 Idaho Falls (150mi), KZMT-101.1 Helena (130 mi), KBZM-104.7 Big Sky, and a few Missoula's.
Several Pocatello FMs made it into Challis. But as I got onto Highway 75 the ENTIRE BAND WENT DEAD...and stayed dead for at least 30 miles!!!! There wasn't a single FM station coming in at times, and only KBOI-670 on AM. Completely surreal. There were even areas where the SiriusXM signal faded out. An E-skip paradise.

Boise FMs started to come in around the Stanley area, and a little further east. Mostly the full-power FMs, with translators missing (107.5's for KIDO got out well, same with the 105.5 that relays KFXD-630). Some McCall FMs too, namely KGSY-88.3 and the Project 88.7 relay on 89.1.

Here in Valley County, there are several Boise FMs that barely make it in, and several more that do really well. KSRV-96.1 and KKGL-96.9 are very strong, also KBSU-90.3, KXLT-107.9, KQBL-101.9, KQFC-97.9, KZMG-102.7, KSAS-103.5 and KAWO-104.3. Baker City shows up on 88.9, 91.9, 104.7 and 102.3.
No Es DX at all the past couple of days. Solar activity is high, CMEs and whatnot.
Noted tropo scatter at Payette Lake - KPBX 91.1 and KKZX 98.9 Spokane, 194 miles.

 

[Martianwxp]

Check out AM 1080 KVNI from CDA ID. 10k day power after sunset for an hour or 2. Picked it up on the Corrine UT SDR with KRLD Dallas underneath. Heard also on the Missoula SDR. Last year heard KVNI on the Prince George SDR at 3 in the afternoon. It's my Classic Hits goto.

 

[davideduardo]

Tomorrow is a hiking day (after church). I'm heading up to St Mary Peak, 9300 feet elevation above Stevensville! Trail conditions seem OK and I hope I don't get altitude sickness. The radio dial should be crazy up there.

As someone who lived for a decade at 10,000 feet and did work at close to 13,000 feet there are a couple of easy steps to avoid problems.

First, no exertion. Don't do endurance hiking for long distances, engage in lifting or the like. Rest often, even if you don't think you need it.s A day or two after I went for my internship in Mexico City in 1963 at just 7500 feet I was taken to a party where they wanted to see the Gringo dance the Twist. I got very dizzy and nearly fainted, which I think was their way of poking fun at me.

Second, remain hydrated. High altitudes often are dry. Drink water and liquids. Avoid coffee and never drink alcohol.

If you do those two things, you should be fine. Altitude tends to affect seniors and those overweight, smokers and the like more than healthy young folks. I used to hear a number of times a year of tourists visiting Quito and having heart attacks even before getting out of customs. Yet a million of us lived there quite normally... but we loved it when our local teams played coastal ones in our home stadium and ran out of energy even before the first half was over! Our Altitude Advantage.

 

[secondchoice]

Tonight I'm staying in McCall, ID at the Best Western. Today I signed my contract for that 5th grade teaching job and got a tour of the school! So today was a very important day.

At Lost Trail Pass (7000 feet) on US-93 going into ID, I had several Missoula FMs, KOPR-94.1, KMBR-95.5, the Hamilton FMs, KQRV-96.9 Deer Lodge, KGLM-97.7 Anaconda, KZMT-101.1 Helena, and the Salmon ID FMs. There's a pirate FM in Sula on 102.1, no ID, gets out for several miles. Random mix of music, Sheryl Crow into a classical tune.
However, the bandscan around Gibbonsville ID was completely dead except for TWO FMs...KSRA-92.7 and KYSS-94.9, both weak. In Salmon there were more FMs that came in - KFTZ-103.3 Idaho Falls (150mi), KZMT-101.1 Helena (130 mi), KBZM-104.7 Big Sky, and a few Missoula's.
Several Pocatello FMs made it into Challis. But as I got onto Highway 75 the ENTIRE BAND WENT DEAD...and stayed dead for at least 30 miles!!!! There wasn't a single FM station coming in at times, and only KBOI-670 on AM. Completely surreal. There were even areas where the SiriusXM signal faded out. An E-skip paradise.

Boise FMs started to come in around the Stanley area, and a little further east. Mostly the full-power FMs, with translators missing (107.5's for KIDO got out well, same with the 105.5 that relays KFXD-630). Some McCall FMs too, namely KGSY-88.3 and the Project 88.7 relay on 89.1.

Here in Valley County, there are several Boise FMs that barely make it in, and several more that do really well. KSRV-96.1 and KKGL-96.9 are very strong, also KBSU-90.3, KXLT-107.9, KQBL-101.9, KQFC-97.9, KZMG-102.7, KSAS-103.5 and KAWO-104.3. Baker City shows up on 88.9, 91.9, 104.7 and 102.3.
No Es DX at all the past couple of days. Solar activity is high, CMEs and whatnot.
Noted tropo scatter at Payette Lake - KPBX 91.1 and KKZX 98.9 Spokane, 194 miles.

Has any of the Canadian wildfire smoke wondered down there? IIRC the smoke visited a lot of the border states last week. I hope you will be safe.

 

[crainbebo]

I was perfectly fine at the peak! Lots of water and frequent snacks helped. Boost Oxygen too, although some people think its trash...my dull headache faded away quite a bit after just a couple puffs of the can at 8500+ feet.

Got back to Yakima last night. Some random musings:
There was brief E-skip yesterday in the Weiser ID area. All heard between 10:25 and 10:55 PT, but not all at once: KBAH-90.5 Plainview TX (RDS), KAMY-90.1 Lubbock (RDS, myflr.org, with a Phillips Craig and Dean song), KLBB-93.7 Lubbock (local ad), KFMX-94.5 Lubbock (station ID), one of the Air 1s on 91.9 (KPGA or KXRI), and an unid on 88.1 over KRRB Kuna, likely KTXT. All about 1100 miles distance. KBAH-90.5 was 1070 miles.

I-84 in the Baker City/La Grande area was quite interesting - several Boise FMs made it, Tri-Cities too, especially in La Grande, KXDD-104.1 Yakima, KPQ-102.1 Wenatchee, KNLR-97.5 Bend, and for a brief while, the KKOO-1380 Ontario translator on 101.5 made it up there.

I will have a full scan from the Blue Mountains viewpoint coming later. This was the one west of Meacham with a full view to the northwest, and signals from Wenatchee to Yakima to Moses Lake were crazy strong, even translators.

 

[MarioMania]

Congrats on your Job Crain

 

[boiseengineer]

The 101.5 "KKOO" translator actually is on Deer Point with the other Boise FMs and rebroadcasts 102.7 KZMG-HD2 also on Deer Point.
1380 Ontario turned in the license in November 2019 and the remaining tower was dropped then. Currently the translator & HD2 are simulcast on 1260 KKOO Weiser (ex KWEI).

 

[crainbebo]

Whoops, I messed up the frequencies. I should have remembered 1260 KKOO vs. the defunct 1380 KSRV. KSRV used to be a regular at sunset in and out with KRKO and KTKZ. The one that pops up A LOT especially during severe Au is KLPZ Parker AZ. Are they *really* on 58 watts power? Because that's a mighty powerful fifty-eight watts! They are common whenever the sun burps up a storm. Even more common than Santa Maria (KVSM). I haven't heard KOSS-AM Lancaster CA yet but they are on very flea power at night (20 watts).

 

[boiseengineer]

For then next week or so many Deer Point FMs will be lower power while KBOI-TV (no ownership relation to KBOI Radio) replaces an antenna. Moving from RF Ch 9 to RF Ch 20. There's other work on other towers being done so this will be a summer of power reductions.