Montana Road Trip, Part Deux (plus Es logs!!)

crainbebo · Jun 23, 2023

Back on the road today (Thursday) through Sunday night, stopping again tonight at Sandpoint ID's Hotel Ruby. Then off to the Sanders County Yard Sale along Hwy 200 between Heron and Plains MT, down to St. Regis, east to Missoula, down into the Bitterroot Valley for the Bitterroot 50 Mile sale between Lolo and Darby this Saturday, and heading west on Sunday. I will be taking a hike up in the Lookout Pass area early Sun. afternoon.

And what a way to start it off. Between Othello and Hatton Coulee Rest Area on WA State Route 26, there was a nice Es opening, MUF was 99.7. Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska stations at ridiculous signal strengths (one was at FIVE bars out of five, KTGL-92.9). All skip was heard today between 1:10 and 1:30, and an unid 90.5 NPR (KXCV MO?) stayed in well past 2pm along with KUSO-92.7 in Albion NE for a brief time around Ritzville WA. Signals as I heard them:

88.1 KJTY Topeka KS, with a fundraiser, Family Life Radio mentions (75KW, 1294 miles)
UNID 88.9 K-LOVE, extremely strong. Plus an UNID with an instrumental, MIDI-type version of 'Breakout' by Swing Out Sister. Suspecting KJLU Jefferson City, pretty long skip into MO, at 1462 miles.
89.3 KCUR-FM Kansas City MO RDS (100KW 1336 miles)
94.1 KFKF Kansas City KS ID 'You're in KF Country' 100KW 1338 miles
93.7 KAIR Horton KS Weatherology WX, Hot Country 93.7 ID - 25KW 1279 miles
98.1 KMBZ Kansas City with traffic update mentioning I-35 (98.5KW 1337 miles)
98.9 KQRC Leavenworth KS The Rock 98.5KW 1337 miles
95.3 KHCA Wamego KS big signal, Angel 95 (6KW, 1245 miles)
92.1 KREP Belleville KS with local ads, Cenex feeds, Belleville mentions (14.5KW 1169 miles)
92.9 KTGL Beatrice NE Local ads, huge signal 5 BARS!! RDS 'The Eagle' 100KW 1182 miles
97.7 KMTY Gibbon NE 'Tri-Cities Best Rock' 50KW 1084 miles
96.5 KRGI-FM Grand Island local ads, Jake's Bar in Saint Paul NE, Country 96 (100KW 1095 miles)

finally - 92.7 KUSO Albion NE, US 92 ID, 50KW at approx. 1050 miles around Ritzville WA. This was heard around 2:10PM today.

Other FM DX highlights:
89.1 KFAE Richland WA TOH ID, heard at Diamond Lake WA, near Newport. 100KW, 169 miles
90.1 NPR at Elk WA (just south of Diamond Lake) very likely KUKL Kalispell MT, about 140 miles to the east. Didn't seem to be KQWS Omak.
an UNID 106.9 with '80s rock in north Spokane neighborhoods, likely Nelson BC.

In addition, after having dinner tonight, I went up to the 4700' level at Schweitzer Village above Sandpoint and heard the following MT stations:
- 91.5 KPLG Plains
- 89.1 KUFM Missoula
- 93.3 KGGL Missoula
- 94.9 KYSS-FM Missoula
- 98.5 KBBZ Kalispell
- 105.1 KWOL-FM Whitefish
The Missoula FMs are 153 miles away.

Off to bed shortly, gotta get up early.

crainbebo · Jun 24, 2023

Spent today traveling on ID, then MT, Highway 200 between Sandpoint ID and Plains MT today. Took 135 to St. Regis, then east on I-90 to Missoula where I am staying tonight (again). FM synopsis along the way:

93.3 KGGL Missoula noted the whole way, and KUFM-89.1 was pretty close. KYSS joined a bit later, but still in Idaho (Clark Fork area).
There is a new FM station in Thompson Falls, KTFZ-88.1. It relays KUFM. Power is 545 watts and gets out well, fine signal in Heron mixed with a weak KYRS, and full-quieting by Noxon. 90.3 K212AO also gets out well (with KMBI). 103.9 K280BE is much weaker. It relays KPBX, previously KXLY-FM.
91.5 KUBS and 92.3 KWHJ-LP Newport both got out very well, heard as far as 5 mi E of Noxon. That's over 60 miles. KKEH-91.7 Sandpoint gets out even further into MT. Heard weakly almost to Thompson Falls before it faded away (100 W at 74 miles! They are on a high mountain, however.)

KRKL-93.3 Walla Walla noted at Hope ID, fading up over a weak KGGL. 179 miles to the SW. Spokane stations, even translators are relatively solid at this point, given the straight shot over the lake to CDA/Post Falls.
94.5 KHTQ and 95.3 KPND heard as far as the hill above Plains MT. That's about 110 miles to the SE through several mountain ranges.
KIBG-100.7 not heard until Thompson Falls, and even then it was weak. MIGHT have been traces in Trout Creek. Meanwhile, KKMT-92.3 was much easier to hear and was confirmed at Trout Creek, maybe a little west.

There was a brief low-FM Es opening in Thompson Falls this afternoon, roughly 1PM MT. Only one station IDed, plus a 90.5 with SS religion. It was KTHF-89.9 Hammon OK, with The House FM over a very weak KBGA Missoula. 26.5KW at 1167 miles.

Went up the hill into Hot Springs MT on Hwy 28 as well. Kalispell FMs were solid, except for 103.9 (barely there), and hardly any trace of translators except for 93.5 K228FM in Whitefish, repeating YNOP, oddly enough.

Got a 27 min. recording of KTGC-LP 101.3 in St. Regis. Mostly running modern rock, and some '80s hits (like Chicago 'Hard to Say I'm Sorry'). Heard about 10 miles into the mountains on Highway 135, barely noted at Quinn's Hot Springs Resort. Distorted audio. Operated by the St. Regis K-12 School. ID and PSA for the St. Regis Public Library heard, with a high school-aged announcer and an 'echo effect' in his voice.

At the hotel in Missoula, I'm pretty close to the tower on Mt. Dean Stone that holds KZOQ, KBAZ, KKVU, KMZL, and several other stations, so not even the translators are nullable. I get full-quieting on KKMT 92.3 and KIBG 100.7, and a weak KWOL 105.1 (possibly KHNK-95.9 as well). Hamilton FMs are weak here since the hill above Lolo blocks it.

More tomorrow

crainbebo · Jun 24, 2023

A jaunt through the Bitterroot Valley today for the 50 Mile Yard Sale. The band sounded a little different in June than it did in April (probably seasonal FM conditions). KIBG-100.7 got out further south than last time. They made it into Hamilton, 107 miles away. KKMT-92.3 was even stronger. I heard traces of KWOL-105.1 Whitefish as far S as Stevensville, about 130 miles.
To the east, 88.5 had a weak KYPH Helena with Yellowstone Public Radio, 90 mi+ over the mountains. 88.9 was a very weak KFRD Butte. 90.5 had KJLF Butte with YNOP. 94.1 KOPR was strong enough for RDS, but I did not hear KAAR-92.5 or KMBR-95.5 for some reason. Nothing from Bozeman.
I mostly kept it on The Drive 107.9, the classic hits station in Darby, or KIBG when it was strong enough.
No Es today and even 6 meter propagation is pathetic nationwide for ARRL Field Day.

Due to unforseen circumstances, I am staying in Missoula through Monday morning or early afternoon. I have an entire day (Sunday) open for Es DX. Fingers crossed!

By the way, The Big 100 continues to amaze me with their wide playlist of music. 'You Still Touch Me' by Sting, a live version of Jefferson Starship's 'Play on Love', Steely Dan 'Deacon Blues,' 'I Go to Extremes' Billy Joel, much more. None of these songs would be heard on a Yakima station, except for the Steely Dan when KARY airs Yacht Rock Radio. I have some high-quality airchecks coming.

pclover · Jun 27, 2023

Several of these i've had here during Es events of course. Alot of them this year on the 11th.

https://www.fmlist.org/fm_logmap.php?datum=2023-06-12&omid=4979&band=ALL

crainbebo · Jun 27, 2023

I am finally back home after a wild ride in Montana and Idaho. Some synopsis from Sunday and Monday...

Sunday, took a quick drive over to Clinton MT after church, this is 15 miles SE of Missoula as I-90 heads for Granite County. KOPR 94.1 Butte was obviously strong at that point, but I also heard KLFM-92.9 and KMON-94.5 from Great Falls with weak signals. I did not hear KIMO, KLSK, or other Great Falls/Helena FMs.

Monday, left Missoula and headed for home...but not before a hike! Stevens Lakes, just south of Mullan ID, starting on an old mining road. And boy is it a steep trail. Not quite a vertical, but still steep for my legs. The views and waterfalls were worth it, however. There will be some pictures posted in the coming days. Here's what the scan looked like from this lake, elevation 5,550 feet.

88.1 KTFZ Thompson Falls MT / KYRS Medical Lake WA
88.3 KWIS Plummer / tentative KJCG Missoula
88.5 KRFY Ponderay (very weak)
88.7 KIYE Kamiah / weak KAGU Spokane
89.1 KUFM Missoula
89.3 KLGG Kellogg
89.5 KEWU-FM Cheney WA
89.9 KYMS Rathdrum
90.1 KUKL Kalispell
90.3 KPBZ Spokane / likely K212AO Thompson Falls (with KMBI)
90.7 KZNP Mullan
90.9 KSPL Kalispell (but couldn't confirm. May have been KKRH Grangeville ID per 92.7 log)
91.1 KPBX-FM Spokane
91.5 KPLG Plains MT
91.7 KRFA-FM Moscow / KKEH Sandpoint, at only 100 watts
91.9 KSFC Spokane
92.1 KXJO St. Maries (either this or KIBX Bonners Ferry, // KPBX)
92.3 KKMT Ronan MT
92.5 K223AN Coeur D'Alene (KVNI-AM)
92.7 KORT-FM Grangeville ID
92.9 KZZU Spokane
93.1 K226CT Lewiston ID (KRLC-AM) 250W 91mi
93.3 KGGL Missoula
93.7 KDRK Spokane
93.9 K230BC Ronan (KERR-AM) very weak, 250W 73 mi
94.1 KCLK-FM Clarkston WA
94.5 KHTQ Hayden
94.9 K235CP Coeur D'Alene (KEEH) / KYSS-FM Missoula
95.3 KPND Deer Park WA
95.7 K239AP Missoula (KGGL-HD3 Alt FM, very weak)
95.9 KHNK Columbia Falls
96.1 KFOO-FM Opportunity
96.3 KBAZ Hamilton MT
96.5 KOZE-FM Lewiston ID
96.9 KEZE Spokane
97.1 KALS Kalispell
97.3 KKRS Davenport
97.5 KYMI Charlo MT
97.7 KZBG Lapwai ID (only 535 watts, 91 mi)
98.1 KISC Spokane
98.5 KBBZ Kalispell
98.9 KKZX Spokane
99.5 KZZL-FM Pullman
99.7 KQRK Pablo MT
99.9 KXLY-FM Spokane
100.7 KIBG Bigfork MT
101.1 KEYF Cheney
101.5 KATW Lewiston ID
101.9 KTSL Medical Lake
102.3 KICR Coeur D'Alene
102.7 KCHW Chewelah
103.1 KRVO Columbia Falls MT / KCDA Post Falls
103.3 K277CQ Sandpoint (ROCK 103)
103.5 KTWD Wallace
103.9 KBBD Spokane
104.3 KHTR Pullman
104.5 KJYR-FM Newport WA
104.7 K284BW Moscow ID (awesome surprise - KHTR-HD2 Hits 104.7 - 100W 70mi)
104.9 KEEH Spokane
105.1 KWOL-FM Whitefish MT
105.3 K287AZ Kellogg (KPLG/YNOP)
105.7 KZBD Spokane
106.1 KZFN Moscow ID
106.3 KDBR Kalispell
106.7 KTPO Kootenai (very, very weak, tentative)
106.9 KMOK Lewiston ID
107.5 KENR Superior MT
107.9 KMBI-FM Spokane

crainbebo · Jul 2, 2023

Pictures are still coming from Stevens Lake and possibly other areas on the trip, but I have attached some high-quality unscoped airchecks from various ID/MT stations that I listened to. None of these stations stream. Some are in mono due to signal strength (like the KIBG airchecks, I was 50 miles or more from the transmitter).

KTPO 106.7 Kootenai / Sandpoint - MAX FM classic hits - 6/22/23 around 10PM. KTPO 106.7 Kootenai ID 6 22 23 10PM - MAX FM

KIBG 100.7 Bigfork 'The Big 100' with Brian James, about a half-hour taped in the morning hours of June 24th. Mono audio. They have a great playlist as you can hear in these airchecks, wide for a classic hits station, ranging from Beatles' hits of the '60s to early 2000s fare - I heard 'The Game of Love' Michelle Branch/Santana a little later on that day.