{"id":49886,"date":"2021-08-06T07:56:34","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T11:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=49886"},"modified":"2021-08-06T07:56:34","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T11:56:34","slug":"summer-fm-dx-drive-by-sporadic-e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/08\/summer-fm-dx-drive-by-sporadic-e\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer FM DX: Drive-by Sporadic E"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, TomL, who shares the following guest post:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Summer DX \u2013 Sporadic E, FM band<\/h1>\n

\u201cSporadic E\u201d DXing is a specialty of some DXers.\u00a0 I have never dabbled in it being content with mediumwave or shortwave listening.\u00a0 However, it was truly fun to spontaneously hear this happen while driving on the Interstate highway, Wednesday August 4 around 6pm Central Time.<\/p>\n

To quote from an ARRL propagation article:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs frequency increases still further, signals will eventually pass through the F1 layer to the F2 layer. Because this is the highest reflecting layer, the distance spanned by signals reflecting from it is the greatest. The maximum skip distance for the E layer is about 2000 km. For the F2 layer that increases to about 4000 km\u2014a significant gain.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I was listening to the local classical music station WNIU in DeKalb, IL which is a good 50 kW transmitter about 10 miles behind me near the Interstate highway.\u00a0 A different station was breaking through. Eventually, I heard a familiar Christian song \u201cYou Make Me Brave\u201d swamp the classical music. I noticed it was a remake of a song made about 10+ years earlier. The two signals fought it out and then I heard the station ID \u201cSpirit FM\u201d and a short humorous segment called \u201cAttitude Adjustment\u201d, then more music.\u00a0 Finally the local classical music station won out and I thought I would look up the station ID of that contentious station later.<\/p>\n

When I googled \u201c90.5 Spirit FM\u201d, it came up with a station in Tampa Bay, FL called WBVM. Cool!\u00a0 Just to be sure, I went to the station web site and looked up their playlist and this confirms what I heard:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Curious about the transmitter, Radio Locator said it was a 100kW station and gave the Long\/Lat coordinates.\u00a0 I then went to Google Earth and mapped an approximate distance of 977 miles (1572km), give or take 10 miles:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I did not have time to get on the shortwave radio to see if the 10 meter band was busy since I had things to do.\u00a0 But it is a very nice surprise to hear in my old car radio an FM station almost 1000 miles away. For one thing, Analog radio is still fun.\u00a0 Secondly, things are busy this summer if you are at the right frequency and time!<\/p>\n

Happy Listening,<\/p>\n

TomL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, TomL, who shares the following guest post: Summer DX \u2013 Sporadic E, FM band \u201cSporadic E\u201d DXing is a specialty of some DXers.\u00a0 I have never dabbled in it being content with mediumwave or shortwave listening.\u00a0 However, it was truly fun to spontaneously hear this happen while driving on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3781,3194,3],"tags":[2918,2919,8341,5119],"class_list":["post-49886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fm","category-guest-posts","category-news","tag-fm-dx","tag-fm-dxing","tag-sporadic-e","tag-toml"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-cYC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20048,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/fm-dxing-troys-unexpected-catch\/","url_meta":{"origin":49886,"position":0},"title":"FM DXing: Troy’s unexpected catch","author":"Thomas","date":"July 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"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.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FM"","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Troy-FM-DX","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Troy-FM-DX.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Troy-FM-DX.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Troy-FM-DX.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Troy-FM-DX.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63080,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/sporadic-e-and-fm-dxing\/","url_meta":{"origin":49886,"position":1},"title":"Sporadic-E and FM DXing","author":"Thomas","date":"June 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Alan, who shares this Radio World piece which explores the fascinating world of long-distance FM reception via sporadic-E (E-skip), including rare double-hop events:\u00a0Double-Hop Dreams and the Mystery of Long-Distance FM \u00a0A great read for anyone interested in the world of VHF propagation! Alan also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DX"","block_context":{"text":"DX","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/dx\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/XHDATA-D-808-RDS-FM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/XHDATA-D-808-RDS-FM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/XHDATA-D-808-RDS-FM.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/XHDATA-D-808-RDS-FM.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33161,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/impressive-transatlantic-fm-dx-newfoundland-to-northern-ireland-on-88-5-mhz\/","url_meta":{"origin":49886,"position":2},"title":"Impressive Transatlantic FM DX: Newfoundland to Northern Ireland on 88.5 MHz","author":"Thomas","date":"July 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Southgate ARC) 88 MHz Trans-Atlantic signals heard in Ireland On Sunday the 8th of July 2018, there was a remarkable opening on the VHF bands across the North Atlantic. While there were plenty of strong multi-hop Sporadic-E signals on the 28 MHz and 50 MHz bands, the maximum qusable\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DX"","block_context":{"text":"DX","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/dx\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Elad-FDM-S2-FM-DX.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Elad-FDM-S2-FM-DX.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Elad-FDM-S2-FM-DX.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":65912,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/dx-central-sedap-a-sporadic-es-data-analysis-dashboard\/","url_meta":{"origin":49886,"position":3},"title":"DX Central SEDAP: A Sporadic Es Data Analysis Dashboard","author":"Thomas","date":"May 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor, Loyd Van Horn, who shares the following announcement: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DX Central Unveils SEDAP: The World\u2019s Most Advanced Sporadic Es Data Analysis Dashboard for the FM DX Community MANDEVILLE, La. \u2014 April 29, 2026 \u2014 DX Central is proud to announce the official launch of\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\/2026\/04\/SEDAP-Banner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEDAP-Banner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEDAP-Banner.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEDAP-Banner.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, 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