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radioman23
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What are the strongest FM's in your area of the country. In Atlanta...97.1 FM can be picked up as far north as the Blue Ridge Parkway and south to central Georgia. Some days it can be picked up in north Florida.
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The big FM's between Dallas & Fort Worth, Texas have tremendous signals...partly from the height & partly from the flat terrain for hundreds of miles surrounding them. I assume you're wondering about stations that cover extraordinarily well 24/7 without the benefit of tropo or enhanced ground wave.
Many examples were given in a thread I started a few months ago...
http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=125860.0
Many examples were given in a thread I started a few months ago...
http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=125860.0
I forgot the calls, but a station near Santa Barbara, Ca has a big footprint.
The station that you might be thinking of is 103.3 FM KVYB. For the SF Bay Area, there isn't one station that has a killer signal because of limitations from the geography of the Bay Area. However the SF signals are known to reach all the way into the Sierra Nevada foothills. It's not quite fair to say they have a killer signal, as the elevation is a factor in reception of those stations.
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rbrucecarter5
Guest
radioman23 said:
I can confirm that. There are areas of Lake City, FL, where you can get it dependable regardless of time of year or time of day.
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rbrucecarter5
Guest
BobOnTheJob said:
I can also confirm this - I had dependable reception of DFW stations in Midland, TX and Lubbock TX, over 300 miles away! Not dependent on time of day or time of year. Although skip did improve the signals when it occurred.
Perhaps WEBE-FM 107.9 of Westport, CT? This 50,000 watt AC staple of southwest CT (WEBE 108) has a side-mounted transmitter on a smokestack, which is quite visible from I-95 in Bridgeport. I usually get them quite well 40 air miles away in New Britain. As far as I know, Connecticut has no 100,000 watt radio stations.
KML-224 said:
Nah. WEBE is pretty much in the "garden variety" category. They already have reception holes as close to their tx site as Bristol and start to lose it to WXKS by the time you get into Tolland/Willington. Basically, they go out about 60 miles and that's about it.
In CT, none of the stations have truly impressive signals - though I'd probably nominate WDRC-FM as having the best. WKCI is also very strong, being quite listenable from the Springfield, MA area through much of Long Island (even the south shore).
As noted above, New England's best signal by far goes to WHOM. Other honorable mentions include WBLM 102.9 Portland, WEZF 92.9 Burlington, VT, WVPS 107.9 Burlington, WEQX 102.7 Manchester, VT, WPKQ 103.7 Berlin, NH (from Mt. Washington) and the grandfathered WGBH 89.7 Boston.
I've gotten it as far out as Piscataway, NJ in the winter/fall. And warm summer days can help that via tropospheric ducting. Once I picked it up via tropo under WRNB in Malvern, PA! But it's not a superstation by any stretch of the imagination. Just an average class B with a roughly 60 mile range. Plot it on a map and compare with other regional signals and you'll see that in Southern New England alone, WWLI Providence, WEEI-FM Westerly, and most B1 signals from Needham and Boston do at least as well - if not better. Even WRKI is comparable.
Speaking of the NY area, I must echo the earlier post that 97.1 and 103.5 are the two best signals from the NYC market. They go farther into CT and they also were the only two NY city signals that I used to pick up regularly from Chester County, PA too. Perhaps it has to do with dial position as much as anything else, but both do really well.
Speaking of the NY area, I must echo the earlier post that 97.1 and 103.5 are the two best signals from the NYC market. They go farther into CT and they also were the only two NY city signals that I used to pick up regularly from Chester County, PA too. Perhaps it has to do with dial position as much as anything else, but both do really well.
Perhaps the biggest station in VA is WSLQ 99.1 in Roanoke, with 150kW and 1991 height above average terrain (according to Radio-Locator). The slightly smaller station WSLC 94.9 100kW and about 2000 HAAT could be heard as far away as Fauquier County, VA along Rt 17. Can't hear 99.1 b/c El Zol 99.1 in Annapolis, MD is in the way.
In Chicago we used to have 3 hugely powerful FM stations, now only one remains.
WFMT 98.7 had 135kW ERP, WEAW-FM 105.1 had 180kW ERP and the one that remains is WMBI-FM 90.1 with 100kW ERP.
WMBI has a rather impressive signal radius, perhaps 100 miles. They are wise to have their tower in Addison, IL so very little of their signal gets 'wasted' over Lake Michigan like the stations in the loop. And since the metro area has grown steadily westward, their reach is better into cities like Joliet, Naperville and Elgin.
WFMT 98.7 had 135kW ERP, WEAW-FM 105.1 had 180kW ERP and the one that remains is WMBI-FM 90.1 with 100kW ERP.
WMBI has a rather impressive signal radius, perhaps 100 miles. They are wise to have their tower in Addison, IL so very little of their signal gets 'wasted' over Lake Michigan like the stations in the loop. And since the metro area has grown steadily westward, their reach is better into cities like Joliet, Naperville and Elgin.
stormy01 said:
Smart move by the engineers at WMBI-FM.
This is a repeat thread, but in my area, there are several FM stations which have powerful signals, like WIWF 96.9. That signal can be heard through almost the entire SC coast, as you can hear it normally all the way in Hilton Head, and it usually comes in around Myrtle Beach.
Jacksonville's FMs like 96.9, 99.1, and 102.9 are very powerful, as they frequently come in around the Hilton Head Island area, around 140 miles away, and frequently mix with the much closer Charleston stations. Down in that area, many of Orlando's FMs also come in well on the car radio, but only a few come in around Charleston (like 105.1 and 105.9).
Jacksonville's FMs like 96.9, 99.1, and 102.9 are very powerful, as they frequently come in around the Hilton Head Island area, around 140 miles away, and frequently mix with the much closer Charleston stations. Down in that area, many of Orlando's FMs also come in well on the car radio, but only a few come in around Charleston (like 105.1 and 105.9).
Seattle FMs are on Cougar or Tiger Mountains, so they get a good range of coverage. I've heard 94.1 KMPS about 60 miles away around Cle Elum. Same with KWJZ. After about South Cle Elum, Seattle FMs are gone and replaced by Ellensburg, Yakima and some Tri-Cities stations. I also heard KING, KWJZ and KPLZ about 100 miles away near Pacific Beach, WA. Canadians battle with Seattle stations as soon as you pass Mt. Vernon, then in Bellingham, Canadians have won the battle. Like what Bongwater said, KNBQ has a great range too.
-crainbebo
-crainbebo
In Michigan and Wisconsin, I can think of:
93.7 WBCT Grand Rapids, MI - 320kW @ 781 ft
97.1 WGLQ Escanaba, MI - 100kW @ 1070 ft
103.5 WTCM Traverse City, MI - 100kW @ 991 ft
104.1 WVGR Grand Rapids, MI - 96kW @ 725 ft
104.5 WAXX Eau Claire, WI - 100kW @ 1801 ft
105.7 WAPL Appleton, WI - 100kW @ 1175 ft
105.7 WOOD Grand Rapids, MI - 265kW @ 581 ft
WGLQ, WTCM, and WAPL are regulars in Manistee while WBCT was an occasional pickup until another station signed on on 93.7 in Harrietta (about 30 miles away). WVGR and WAXX are rare while WOOD has been more common than usual this summer, mixing in with WAPL a number of different times.
93.7 WBCT Grand Rapids, MI - 320kW @ 781 ft
97.1 WGLQ Escanaba, MI - 100kW @ 1070 ft
103.5 WTCM Traverse City, MI - 100kW @ 991 ft
104.1 WVGR Grand Rapids, MI - 96kW @ 725 ft
104.5 WAXX Eau Claire, WI - 100kW @ 1801 ft
105.7 WAPL Appleton, WI - 100kW @ 1175 ft
105.7 WOOD Grand Rapids, MI - 265kW @ 581 ft
WGLQ, WTCM, and WAPL are regulars in Manistee while WBCT was an occasional pickup until another station signed on on 93.7 in Harrietta (about 30 miles away). WVGR and WAXX are rare while WOOD has been more common than usual this summer, mixing in with WAPL a number of different times.
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