{"id":20048,"date":"2016-07-17T06:00:52","date_gmt":"2016-07-17T10:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=20048"},"modified":"2016-07-15T09:39:16","modified_gmt":"2016-07-15T13:39:16","slug":"fm-dxing-troys-unexpected-catch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/fm-dxing-troys-unexpected-catch\/","title":{"rendered":"FM DXing: Troy’s unexpected catch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Troy-FM-DX\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor,\u00a0Troy Riedel, who writes:<\/p>\n

Thomas, if I were to read this on your blog, I would not have believed the following.<\/p>\n

I live in Virginia nearly equidistant from RIC\/Richmond Int’l AP (east of Richmond) and PHF AP (in Newport News). I had a 1:40 P.M. doctor’s appt. [July 12] and I took to I-64 East en route to the doctor near Newport News. My Silverado has an XM Radio that I typically listen to, but the reception is bad in the summer because of the wooded nature of the interstate.<\/p>\n

I hit the “FM” button and I quickly found a station at 105.7. There were two other 105.7 stations that periodically interfered, but one station was dominating\/booming. After music I heard commercials about concerts in Iowa. I heard an Iowa Lottery Commercial. And a Lasik commercial – yes, all from Iowa<\/em>. I heard a weather forecast that definitely wasn’t for Virginia. After 10-12 minutes I got a station I.D.. It was KSUX Sioux City, Iowa<\/a>. Sioux City, Iowa is 1,332 miles away or an estimated 22-hour drive!<\/p>\n

KSUX dominated the airwaves until I got very close to my Newport News, VA appt. By then (around 12:55 P.M.) I had picked-up one of the other two stations that were competing on 105.7. It was a station on the Outer Banks, NC (about 2.5 hours by car away).<\/p>\n

When I went back to my Silverado at exactly 2 P.M., the KSUX was barely audible as the Outer Banks, NC station was now the most clear. I drove back towards my home on I-64 West and after a few miles (5-10 at most) the third of the three stations became clear. The third station was “Kiss 105.7” originating in Richmond, VA. That means the Sioux City, Iowa station, 1,332-miles away, had obliterated the Richmond, VA signal from 12:30 P.M. to almost 1:00 P.M. even though at this juncture of my drive Richmond was 45-55 miles away.<\/p>\n

The KSUX Sioux City, IA station … even though weak on the drive home … still occasionally popped through the airwaves to cause interference with the Richmond, VA signal.<\/p>\n

If I hadn’t heard it, I would have never believed it. I did a quick check and I didn’t see anything regarding closer stations possibly simulcasting the KSUX signal. It appears to be 100% legit.<\/p>\n

I’m dumbfounded. It’s a head scratcher for sure.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thanks for sharing your experience, Troy. You, sir, were the recipient of some excellent FM DX openings!<\/p>\n

FM DXing conditions<\/h2>\n

There are a few conditions that make for proper FM DX:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Sporadic-E<\/strong> and tropospheric ducting<\/a><\/strong> (DXers often call this,\u00a0“Tropo”)<\/li>\n
  2. Meteor scatter<\/strong>, where signals bounce off of ionized trails left by meteors<\/li>\n
  3. Also, when there is exceptionally high sunspot activity<\/strong>, FM signals have been known to bounce off the ionosphere (like shortwave signals)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I strongly suspect you were enjoying FM DX from sporadic E.\u00a0If memory serves (and keep in mind, I’m currently vacationing in an off-grid cabin without<\/em> Internet), we had a K Index of 5 or so on July 12–at least, I believe I heard a ham radio operator report this on 40 meters that day. I can confirm that the HF bands were absolutely obliterated parts of that particular day. Conditions were very unsettled for the HF (high-frequency) bands, but potentially excellent for sporadic E.<\/p>\n

    \"Source:<\/a>

    Source: Wikimedia<\/p><\/div>\n

    Fred Osterman writes about Sporadic E on DXing.com:<\/p>\n

    Sporadic-E propagation is caused by patches of intense ionization in the E-layer of the ionosphere (approximately 35 to 60 miles above the Earth’s surface). Signals on frequencies above 30 MHz normally pass through the ionosphere and into space. However, sporadic-E “clouds” are capable of refracting such signals back to Earth. The term “clouds” is an apt way to describe the patches of highly charged particles that form during a sporadic-E event. Like clouds, these patches move and are highly irregular in size and shape. It is possible to track the movement of a sporadic-E “cloud” by noting the locations of stations that fade in and out on a frequency as the cloud moves.<\/p>\n

    Sporadic-E propagation can occur any time of day or year. However, sporadic-E is most common from about mid-May to late July, with another peak a week before and after the winter solstice. Sporadic-E seems to be most common from about mid-morning to noon, local time, and again from late afternoon through the evening hours.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    If you’re interested in chasing a little FM DX (’tis the season–!), read Fred’s full article about FM and TV DXing on DXing.com<\/a>. What I like about Fred’s article is that it’s simple and easy to understand.<\/p>\n

    Post<\/em> readers:<\/strong>\u00a0Has anyone else enjoyed a little FM DX this summer? Please comment! This is a part of the DXing hobby that I rarely feature on the SWLing Post<\/em>, but would love to highlight more often. Let me know<\/a> if you’d like to write a guest post on this topic!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Troy Riedel, who writes: Thomas, if I were to read this on your blog, I would not have believed the following. I live in Virginia nearly equidistant from RIC\/Richmond Int’l AP (east of Richmond) and PHF AP (in Newport News). I had a 1:40 P.M. doctor’s appt. [July 12] and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3781,3],"tags":[2918,2919,3264,4581],"class_list":["post-20048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fm","category-news","tag-fm-dx","tag-fm-dxing","tag-fred-osterman","tag-troy-riedel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-5dm","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29272,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/c-crane-ccradio-ep-pro-a-new-enhanced-version-of-the-ep\/","url_meta":{"origin":20048,"position":0},"title":"C. Crane CCRadio-EP Pro: a new enhanced version of the EP","author":"Thomas","date":"November 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel, who notes that C. Crane has developed an enhanced version of the original CCRadio-EP AM\/FM portable. C. Crane includes the following description on their website: The new CC Radio-EP PRO is an enhanced version of the original EP. It has the same\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/C.Crane-CCRadio-EP-Pro.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/C.Crane-CCRadio-EP-Pro.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/C.Crane-CCRadio-EP-Pro.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47963,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/am-dxing-with-the-sangean-pr-d15\/","url_meta":{"origin":20048,"position":1},"title":"AM Dxing with the Sangean PR-D15","author":"Troy Riedel","date":"February 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Guest Post by Troy Riedel Since the demise of my Sony ICF-SW100, I\u2019ve decided to do some AM Dx\u2019ing. 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Male and female voices singing in harmony: You\u2019re the reason our kids are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FM"","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/tecsun-880-with-whip-extended-004-001-768x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/tecsun-880-with-whip-extended-004-001-768x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/tecsun-880-with-whip-extended-004-001-768x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29615,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/c-cranes-latest-deal-free-shipping-on-the-cc-pocket-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":20048,"position":3},"title":"C. 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