What should I look for on the AM dial at night in the middle of nowhere in Alaska?

[fordranger797]

Hello friends,

It’s time once again for a road trip. This time, I’m traveling to Alaska to explore Denali (and I’m bringing a Tecsun radio).

I’m wondering if there’s anything in particular I should be on the lookout for. Obviously, this is probably a natural question for a certain Alaska resident who calls radio discussions home…

Let me know if there’s anything in particular you think of that might be worth trying to catch (in the middle of nowhere)!

 

[crainbebo]

At this time of year? Probably won't have as much luck as you would in the fall. Too much sun. 1090 Tijuana is HUGE up there at night, as is KFBK-1530, sometimes Seattle...check around sunrise for Aussies and NZ stations too on the 9khz channels (612, 1548, a few others are the best options).

 

[fordranger797]

At this time of year? Probably won't have as much luck as you would in the fall. Too much sun. 1090 Tijuana is HUGE up there at night, as is KFBK-1530, sometimes Seattle...check around sunrise for Aussies and NZ stations too on the 9khz channels (612, 1548, a few others are the best options).

I’ll give it a try! I had luck picking up some of the Japanese and Australian MW signals earlier this spring (but not in Alaska). I’m very curious to see if I can hear anything interesting. I’m expecting to pick up a lot of the standard west coast catches as well.

I’m also curious if there’s any chance at hearing anything from Europe. Im guessing it’s not likely (especially given the fact that Europe is moving away from AM).

 

[CentralFL]

I’ll give it a try! I had luck picking up some of the Japanese and Australian MW signals earlier this spring (but not in Alaska). I’m very curious to see if I can hear anything interesting. I’m expecting to pick up a lot of the standard west coast catches as well.

I’m also curious if there’s any chance at hearing anything from Europe. Im guessing it’s not likely (especially given the fact that Europe is moving away from AM).

That's impressive that you have picked up Australian MW stations in North America. Most of their stations are relatively low powered. Most are 10kw or less with 4 or 5 medium strength ones at 50kw.

 

[fordranger797]

That's impressive that you have picked up Australian MW stations in North America. Most of their stations are relatively low powered. Most are 10kw or less with 4 or 5 medium strength ones at 50kw.

To be completely fair, I've never picked up any of these stations from my home base in the Pacific Northwest. I've tried for years, but have never heard them (though I will never give up lol). Being able to finally hear some of them was quite a cool experience. I wonder if it's possible to hear them if I am camping in the middle of Denali National Park? That remains to be seen.

 

[CentralFL]

Let us all know. By the way, MW in Australia is far from dead. Many are still music stations playing oldies "classic hits" with a few Hot AC stations still on the band. This is probably b/c they have very few FM stations per market compared to most other nations.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Hello friends,

It’s time once again for a road trip. This time, I’m traveling to Alaska to explore Denali (and I’m bringing a Tecsun radio).

I’m wondering if there’s anything in particular I should be on the lookout for. Obviously, this is probably a natural question for a certain Alaska resident who calls radio discussions home…

Let me know if there’s anything in particular you think of that might be worth trying to catch (in the middle of nowhere)!

I was just about to say before i read "natural question for a certain alaska resident".. i know someone who knows the answer! Im at work and have some stuff to do, I'll provide an answer a bit later!.. i saw the title when strolling through new posts and was like.. "i must answer"

 

[wildthangjim]

That's impressive that you have picked up Australian MW stations in North America. Most of their stations are relatively low powered. Most are 10kw or less with 4 or 5 medium strength ones at 50kw.

One-time 5-year Perth resident here. The national broadcaster, ABC has quite a few 50kw regional stations, plus 50kw stations in each of the state/territory capitals. Probably 20-30 in total. This was set up to provide coverage across all of the country (it's a big place with large distances between major cities). I'm not sure of the history but when commercial broadcasting was begun, those stations were limited to 10kw (or maybe 5kw) to reduce interference. The good news for an AM DXer, this makes for a much clearer dial than in the US.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Let us all know. By the way, MW in Australia is far from dead. Many are still music stations playing oldies "classic hits" with a few Hot AC stations still on the band. This is probably b/c they have very few FM stations per market compared to most other nations.

Regular FM broadcasting came very late to Australia, with the first station hitting the air in 1974. It wasn't until the 1980s that commercial FM broadcasting commenced.

FM broadcasting in Australia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

One-time 5-year Perth resident here.

Is it true what they say about Perth being the San Diego of Australia?

The national broadcaster, ABC has quite a few 50kw regional stations, plus 50kw stations in each of the state/territory capitals. Probably 20-30 in total. This was set up to provide coverage across all of the country (it's a big place with large distances between major cities).

The ABC also had a number of domestic shortwave transmitters to reach rural areas of the country, those went back to the 1930s and were phased out by the early 1990s. There was also the Northern Territory shortwave service established in the early 1980s; that was shut down in 2017.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

You won't hear much distant AM here in the summer, it is light out right now till 2 am in my part of alaska, but it doesnt get completely dark

Youll get anchorage, fairbanks.. you might get some of the bigger stations from SEattle or San Fran but they wont be that good. Yeah.....1500-2000 mile of the 50kw bohemoths is "ehhh" out here.

You might might get some of the bigger asian guns but with summer comes more noise.

SW is great up here when conditions are good.

The picture below is 130am sunday listening to SIBC on 5020.

Spend your time on SW, it'll be way more fruitful than AM, i promise...... i only do AM DX from September to March

 

[fordranger797]

One-time 5-year Perth resident here. The national broadcaster, ABC has quite a few 50kw regional stations, plus 50kw stations in each of the state/territory capitals. Probably 20-30 in total. This was set up to provide coverage across all of the country (it's a big place with large distances between major cities). I'm not sure of the history but when commercial broadcasting was begun, those stations were limited to 10kw (or maybe 5kw) to reduce interference. The good news for an AM DXer, this makes for a much clearer dial than in the US.

Sadly, I probably won't be able to hear them on my trip. I looked for anything from Australia from my trip to Southeast Asia this spring, and didn't hear much of anything from that continent. I plan to try it again one day but I thought for sure I'd hear something this time (not meant to be).

 

[fordranger797]

You won't hear much distant AM here in the summer, it is light out right now till 2 am in my part of alaska, but it doesnt get completely dark

Youll get anchorage, fairbanks.. you might get some of the bigger stations from SEattle or San Fran but they wont be that good. Yeah.....1500-2000 mile of the 50kw bohemoths is "ehhh" out here.

You might might get some of the bigger asian guns but with summer comes more noise.

SW is great up here when conditions are good.

The picture below is 130am sunday listening to SIBC on 5020.

Spend your time on SW, it'll be way more fruitful than AM, i promise...... i only do AM DX from September to March


View attachment 9402

Thank you for your feedback (and the suggestion). I will try the SW band for sure. I will be hiking in Denali National Park, so there will be absolutely NO electrical noise. I've never been in a situation before where there's literally no electrical noise at all. I hope I might catch something interesting, though it sounds like it probably won't be as fruitful as I was hoping for. I wouldn't mind at least hearing KICY.

 

[KilowattKat]

No DXing suggestions....just make sure you bring plenty of mosquito repellent!

 

[wildthangjim]

Regular FM broadcasting came very late to Australia, with the first station hitting the air in 1974. It wasn't until the 1980s that commercial FM broadcasting commenced.

FM broadcasting in Australia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Is it true what they say about Perth being the San Diego of Australia?

The first commercial FM in Perth signed on in 1980. At least in Western Australia, most of the AM stations with music formats are in regional areas, serving places far from urban areas with limited FM coverage. Many are part of the Triple M network with a classic rock format. In Perth itself, the only AM music station is a classic hits station that simulcasts a suburban FM.

Perth has a lot of similarities with San Diego, beautiful beaches and sunny weather most of the time, relatively low humidity for an oceanfront area. However, unlike SD, in the summer it gets very hot all the way down to the beach. Perth is also 2-3 hours drive to the Margaret River wine region, very similar to the central California coastal wine areas. I miss it every day...