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Retro FM (and AM) bandscans

C

charlestondxman

I know many of you have been DXers for a long, long time. I have been going on 20 years (I started at 7 or 8, now I am 27). Charleston, SC with so many translators shoehorned in, has changed so much from what I remember starting out in the early 2000s.

Charleston has 32 or 33 FM stations now on the dial that most radios can hear. When I started DXing, we had about 18 FMs in the market.

92.5 locally was a move in from Manning about 60 miles away. I used to be able to hear Orlando or Savannah on 92.3 almost every day.

Rundown of what I used to hear usually on the frequencies now covered with translators and IBOC (plus a couple new full-power stations):

88.1- Sumter, SC
94.7- Sumter or Raleigh during decent tropo
95.5- Savannah or Sumter
95.7- Lumberton, NC
95.9- Dublin, GA
96.3- Aiken, SC
98.5- Pawleys Island (near Myrtle Beach) or Columbia
99.3- Cocoa, FL or Kingstree
100.1- Rincon, GA (near Savannah)
100.3- Orlando during tropo
100.7- Brunswick, GA or Rocky Mount, NC
101.3- Sumter, SC (The Big DM, was actually rated in Charleston’s market as late as the 90s) or Wilmington, NC
102.1- Savannah or Pamplico, SC (near Florence)
102.7- Wilmington, NC
102.9- Jacksonville or Florence, SC
103.7- Charlotte
104.3- Augusta
104.7- Columbia or Charlotte
104.9- Myrtle Beach or Ridgeland, SC
105.1- Orlando
107.3- Claxton, GA
107.7- Orlando

And that was only 10-12 years ago. That was fairly normal reception. Tropo events only made the dial even more varied. Who knows what I could have gotten if I had DXed in the 80s or early 90s.

What do you remember about how much less crowded the dial was?
 
I'm going to go back-way back on this topic. Late 70s/early 80s in my small town southeast of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Imagine the world where most small stations signed off at 10, 12midnight or 1am. Commercial band only.

92.1 WERM Wapakoneta, OH days/WBST Muncie IN after 10pm
92.3 WCOL-FM Columbus OH or WGTC, Bloomington IN
92.5 WMHE Toledo OH (most often) or WWEZ, Cincinnati
92.7 WADM, Decatur IN. S/off at 10:15pm but nothing dominated overnight
92.9 WNDU-FM South Bend IN or WVLK-FM, Lexington KY (I don’t remember WCTM, I did get the Eaton allocation after it became WJAI.
93.1 WNAP Indianapolis or WDRQ Detroit
93.3 WAWK Kendallville IN or WAKW, Cincinnati (interesting about those calls)
93.5 WAWR Bowling Green OH occasionally
93.7 WFCJ Miamisburg OH, often WJFM Grand Rapids
93.9 CKLW-FM Windsor sometimes
94.1 WSAI-FM or whatever the calls were that week, Cincinnati
94.3 WKKI (WMER), Celina, OH. When not 24 hrs, WDIF, Marion OH
94.5 WLAP-FM, Lexington drifting in
94.7 WFBQ, Indianapolis, WVKO-FM, Columbus OH, or WMJC, Birmingham MI
94.9 WCNW-FM Fairfield OH
95.1 WPTH Fort Wayne
95.3 Either WBZI, Xenia OH or WKTN, Kenton OH
95.5 Detroit if anything
95.7 WPTW-FM, Piqua OH. Off at night but don’t remember what came in
95.9 Nothing really, sometimes WYAN, Upper Sandusky OH
96.1 WQLK Richmond IN
96.3 WLVQ Columbus OH or whatever was on in Detroit
96.5 WQMS Hamilton OH
96.7 WCSM-FM Celina OH (employer at one time). After midnight, sometimes WUFM Albion MI
96.9 various DX
97.1 WBNS-FM Columbus OH
97.3 WMEF Fort Wayne
97.5 not sure
97.7 WTGN, Lima OH
97.9 WNCI, Columbus OH or Anderson IN
98.1 WKQQ Lexington KY
98.3 WOGM (WTOO-FM) Bellefontaine OH or WIUC Winchester IN
98.5 WNWN Stereo Country 98 Coldwater MI
98.7 Detroit
98.9 WERT-FM Van Wert OH. Off by 10pm but don’t remember another
99.1 WHIO-FM Dayton OH
99.3 Nada
99.5 WSMJ Greenfield IN maybe
99.7 WRMZ Columbus OH
99.9 WVUD Dayton OH
100.1 WCRD Bluffton IN, very rarely WLKI Angola IN
100.3 WCNB-FM Connersville, IN, WCLT-FM Newark OH both off by midnight or 1am, than WNIC Dearborn MI had the freq to itself if the band was right
100.5 WHMQ Findlay OH or WWKI Kokomo IN
100.7 WEEC Springfield OH
100.9 WPGW-FM Portland IN –off by 10 but nothing else
101.1 WRIF Detroit if anything
101.3 WRIA Richmond IN
101.5 WCSI-FM Columbus IN occasionally
101.7 WCOM Urbana OH
101.9 WKRQ Cincinnati
102.1 WIMA-FM Lima OH
102.3 nada
102.5 WMDH NewCastle IN
102.7 Sometimes WEBN Cincinnati
102.9 WBLY-FM Springfield OH
103.1 WHLT-FM Huntington IN
103.3 WXTZ Indianapolis or WKFR Kalamazoo MI
103.5 WOKV (WYCH) Hamilton OH or WMUZ Detroit
103.9 WXKE, Fort Wayne, WDJX, Xenia OH or WBBY, Westerville OH. Got them all in rapid succession one night
104.1 WLBC-FM Muncie IN. Off at midnight then sometimes Evansville IN
104.3 WOMC Detroit
104.5 WWST Wooster OH
104.7 WTUE Dayton or WIOT Toledo
104.9 WLSR Lima OH
105.1 WUBE Cincinnati
105.3 WCLW-FM Mansfield OH most often, or WASK-FM Lafayette IN
105.5 WMVR-FM Sidney OH
105.7 not sure
106.1 WVNO Mansfield OH
106.3 WPNM Ottawa OH
106.5 WDRK Greenville OH
106.7 WJZZ Detroit
106.9 WMRI Marion IN or WMRN Marion OH (both beautiful music)
107.1 WDOH Delphos OH
107.3 WRSW Warsaw IN if anything
107.5 WGRP (?) Detroit
107.7 WDAO Dayton OH
107.9 Don’t remember
 
gr8oldies said:
I'm going to go back-way back on this topic. Late 70s/early 80s in my small town southeast of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Imagine the world where most small stations signed off at 10, 12midnight or 1am. Commercial band only.

92.1 WERM Wapakoneta, OH days/WBST Muncie IN after 10pm
92.3 WCOL-FM Columbus OH or WGTC, Bloomington IN
92.5 WMHE Toledo OH (most often) or WWEZ, Cincinnati
92.7 WADM, Decatur IN. S/off at 10:15pm but nothing dominated overnight
92.9 WNDU-FM South Bend IN or WVLK-FM, Lexington KY (I don’t remember WCTM, I did get the Eaton allocation after it became WJAI.
93.1 WNAP Indianapolis or WDRQ Detroit
93.3 WAWK Kendallville IN or WAKW, Cincinnati (interesting about those calls)
93.5 WAWR Bowling Green OH occasionally
93.7 WFCJ Miamisburg OH, often WJFM Grand Rapids
93.9 CKLW-FM Windsor sometimes
94.1 WSAI-FM or whatever the calls were that week, Cincinnati
94.3 WKKI (WMER), Celina, OH. When not 24 hrs, WDIF, Marion OH
94.5 WLAP-FM, Lexington drifting in
94.7 WFBQ, Indianapolis, WVKO-FM, Columbus OH, or WMJC, Birmingham MI
94.9 WCNW-FM Fairfield OH
95.1 WPTH Fort Wayne
95.3 Either WBZI, Xenia OH or WKTN, Kenton OH
95.5 Detroit if anything
95.7 WPTW-FM, Piqua OH. Off at night but don’t remember what came in
95.9 Nothing really, sometimes WYAN, Upper Sandusky OH
96.1 WQLK Richmond IN
96.3 WLVQ Columbus OH or whatever was on in Detroit
96.5 WQMS Hamilton OH
96.7 WCSM-FM Celina OH (employer at one time). After midnight, sometimes WUFM Albion MI
96.9 various DX
97.1 WBNS-FM Columbus OH
97.3 WMEF Fort Wayne
97.5 not sure
97.7 WTGN, Lima OH
97.9 WNCI, Columbus OH or Anderson IN
98.1 WKQQ Lexington KY
98.3 WOGM (WTOO-FM) Bellefontaine OH or WIUC Winchester IN
98.5 WNWN Stereo Country 98 Coldwater MI
98.7 Detroit
98.9 WERT-FM Van Wert OH. Off by 10pm but don’t remember another
99.1 WHIO-FM Dayton OH
99.3 Nada
99.5 WSMJ Greenfield IN maybe
99.7 WRMZ Columbus OH
99.9 WVUD Dayton OH
100.1 WCRD Bluffton IN, very rarely WLKI Angola IN
100.3 WCNB-FM Connersville, IN, WCLT-FM Newark OH both off by midnight or 1am, than WNIC Dearborn MI had the freq to itself if the band was right
100.5 WHMQ Findlay OH or WWKI Kokomo IN
100.7 WEEC Springfield OH
100.9 WPGW-FM Portland IN –off by 10 but nothing else
101.1 WRIF Detroit if anything
101.3 WRIA Richmond IN
101.5 WCSI-FM Columbus IN occasionally
101.7 WCOM Urbana OH
101.9 WKRQ Cincinnati
102.1 WIMA-FM Lima OH
102.3 nada
102.5 WMDH NewCastle IN
102.7 Sometimes WEBN Cincinnati
102.9 WBLY-FM Springfield OH
103.1 WHLT-FM Huntington IN
103.3 WXTZ Indianapolis or WKFR Kalamazoo MI
103.5 WOKV (WYCH) Hamilton OH or WMUZ Detroit
103.9 WXKE, Fort Wayne, WDJX, Xenia OH or WBBY, Westerville OH. Got them all in rapid succession one night
104.1 WLBC-FM Muncie IN. Off at midnight then sometimes Evansville IN
104.3 WOMC Detroit
104.5 WWST Wooster OH
104.7 WTUE Dayton or WIOT Toledo
104.9 WLSR Lima OH
105.1 WUBE Cincinnati
105.3 WCLW-FM Mansfield OH most often, or WASK-FM Lafayette IN
105.5 WMVR-FM Sidney OH
105.7 not sure
106.1 WVNO Mansfield OH
106.3 WPNM Ottawa OH
106.5 WDRK Greenville OH
106.7 WJZZ Detroit
106.9 WMRI Marion IN or WMRN Marion OH (both beautiful music)
107.1 WDOH Delphos OH
107.3 WRSW Warsaw IN if anything
107.5 WGRP (?) Detroit
107.7 WDAO Dayton OH
107.9 Don’t remember
Click to expand...

No 103.7 or 105.9? Did you ever get WOOD-FM on 105.7?
 
MY historic FM Band is very simple...

I have been DX'ing, informally, since 1973, when I discovered that the nighttime menu freed me from the menu of 7 AM and 5 FM stations, of which only two and later sometimes three played contemporary music. But the logs are all mental - informally, I say.

But your FM bandscans made me laugh! I can tell you with certainty that in Roanoke VA in 1973, an FM bandscan would yield exactly and only those five signals, as we lived "up the holler" in the valley. Had to go to my grandfather's house to watch ABC tv as well. It was a banner day when I discovered that a sixth FM signal could be obtained with a great deal of work, namely WVVV Blacksburg at 104.9. By 1981 or so I had discovered driving up the mountain to hear WKZL at 107.5 from Winston-Salem NC...

AM, well that's where the fun was! We got a local grade signal on WOWO and routinely heard WHO, and the regular menu included at least 15 top-40 stations you'd all remember...

Instead of an incomplete log of what I listened to, and maybe a little off-topic, I can tell you what I could NOT get and wanted really badly:
1200 WOAI (grandparents lived in SA)
1030 KDKA (at least I never confirmed it)
1160 KSL (not sure if we ever heard KOA Denver, but this was the out west signal I wanted b/c I thought 1160 was a cool number!)
1310 WGH, Newport News - all beamed to sea at night, never gonna happen
690 WAPE (to which I listened regularly at the beach in SC) had a friend at camp who said he'd heard it an night ONCE in West Va. but also a big directional challenge.

1140 WRVA was not much to be found, either, and of course I only later learned that it was directional.

Would love to see a really detailed AM log from back in the day, and sorry not to be able to add one for you!
 
I hear Roanoke stations probably 3-4 times a year in Charleston. WSLQ on 99.1, 94.9, 92.3, and 89.1. I used to hear them a few more times.

I’d get stations from all over North Carolina before all of the IBOC started. I heard WFMX 105.7 from Statesville one time on a Walkman. Greensboro 97.1 is still listenable. I used to hear 92.3 from the Triad frequently, along with 94.1. This was in the 2000s.
 
103.7 now has the powerhouse 24 hour signal of WCKY-FM, which has tower danced into the Toledo market. Then, that station was lowly WTTF-FM and I never heard it. How could I forget WPBF(WPFB-FM), Middletown, OH on 105.9? I did indeed hear WOOD from time to time



ftballfan said:
No 103.7 or 105.9? Did you ever get WOOD-FM on 105.7?
Click to expand...
 
charlestondxman said:
I hear Roanoke stations probably 3-4 times a year in Charleston. WSLQ on 99.1, 94.9, 92.3, and 89.1. I used to hear them a few more times.

I’d get stations from all over North Carolina before all of the IBOC started. I heard WFMX 105.7 from Statesville one time on a Walkman. Greensboro 97.1 is still listenable. I used to hear 92.3 from the Triad frequently, along with 94.1. This was in the 2000s.
Click to expand...

It surprises me that you'd ever hear WXLK/92.3 Roanoke in Charleston, SC, given WKRR Asheboro (which can't be more than 120 from WXLK) is throwing 100kw into the air also on 92.3 almost directly between you and "K-92". Do you think that WKRR was off-air at the time?
 
bgfred said:
It surprises me that you'd ever hear WXLK/92.3 Roanoke in Charleston, SC, given WKRR Asheboro (which can't be more than 120 from WXLK) is throwing 100kw into the air also on 92.3 almost directly between you and "K-92". Do you think that WKRR was off-air at the time?
Click to expand...

Tropo can do odd things with radio signals. In west central Michigan, I have gotten inland Wisconsin over same-frequency stations along Wisconsin's Lake Michigan shoreline, such as:
92.9 WYNW over WKZY (over WJZQ as well)
93.9 WMMA over WDOR
94.7 WOZZ over WZOR
96.7 WHTQ over WBDK (over WLXV as well)
104.1 WXVM over WRLU
104.9 WCWB over WPCK
106.9 WPAK over WLGE
 
The Roanoke receptions were kind of all during the same time of year. Either during April and May or September and October. They don’t come in during the summer.
 
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