I too was surprised! Thinking it was just abnormal conditions, I tried today while driving back to Mackay and 4CC and 4KZ were still coming in. Some spots were better then others.
This was the older superseeded model with whip antenna.
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I do recall 4CC was sometimes receivable in Maryborough/Hervey Bay. Not good quality but certainly better than 4RO.
Any trace of 4BU where you are? I’ve heard it travels north moreso than south.
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@NRN11
Great to read of your coverage in Airlie and Mackay. Doesn’t seem surprising to me. Lots of money was invested in AM sites in north Qld in the 80’s.
Unfortunate that SCA didn’t keep investing in AM 774 for the AM retransmission of 4TO (rusty masts), that signal also covered a long distance up and down the coast.
Al and Paul will be happy with the coverage of 4KZ. Often said coverage is better outside their licence area as it carries along the coast than within.
@Brianc68
Yes, 4CC travels south to Bundy and the Bay, once you’re out of the bush and in clear ground. One look at the many canefields around Bundaberg and Hervey Bay shows you good soil conductivity for ground waves.
4BU reception is good in Gladstone when not in an area of high electrical noise. Hitz covers well up to 1770/Agnes Waters.
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Yes, I remember getting good 4TO reception whilst holidaying at Airlie Beach in 1985.
Reception was just as good as 4AY despite 4TO being further north.
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4KZ also has a SW licence on 5055 kHz from Innisfail, but as far as I’m aware it isn’t active at the moment. I would be interested to find out if this is in train. Al at 4KZ is a bit of a DXer himself.
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See shortwave thread.
@dxnerd Here’s the link: Shortwave. HF Radio. High Frequency
Craig Allen’s inverted V has been on air this week.
I’ve been overseas for a number of weeks so just catching up here. While my trip was much more focused on food, wine and sightseeing than this stuff, we did stumble on reception of Moroccan radio (Medi 1) while in the south of Portugal (near Faro), about 300-400km across the water. The signal was so good and consistent that even the RDS AF function on the car radio was jumping between about three different frequencies along the coast.
@dxnerd Driving around the last few days I have bits and pieces of that 88.2 you speak of, but it’s hard to nail down. Could be from towards Beaudesert or the southern reaches of Logan somewhere. Signal is generally weak but I’ve heard him as far south as Ormeau on the M1 (on the tops of the hills) as well as along the Logan Motorway. Not receivable here in western Brisbane though
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88.2 can be heard on the top of Mount Cooties too (that’s where my video was taken from). I estimate he’s running at least 5-10 watts ERP given that the tx is likely on the roof of a suburban house, rather than an optimally placed hilltop. Last summer he was picked up via E-skip on several occasions from Cooma.
Tropo across the Mediterranean Sea is well documented and can be very intense at times due to an almost permanent high-pressure system in the region during the warmer months. Greece/Italy to northern Africa is likely common, as well as Israel/Cyprus on the longitudinal axis. The Hepburn tropo maps are certainly colourful most of the time, but even more intense tropo can be found across the Arabian Sea during the pre-moonsoonal period (April-June). Dubai FM into western India is one example of a common path.
I managed to snag a bit of 94.9 Power-FM RDS up here just south of Newcastle this evening.
Which made me think that those well documented issues further up this thread about Power FM seemingly losing, some, errr, power, made me wonder if this situation has now been rectified.
Have any of our Sydney posters noticed any improvement with Power FM in recent months?
There was some marginal enhancement last night; 97.5 2HD/t Port Stephens and 101.5 Great Lakes Forster were there with weak signals at the top of my street. Power FM’s deficiencies seem to be limited to the NE quarter (where they are supposed to limit power anyway). It’s still not a great signal here on the portables and car radio but it’s fine on the external Yagi.
Last time I was at Clovelly Beach, about a month ago, Power FM was really struggling with Rhema FM; at Kurnell, Rhema was totally dominant. I went out to St Marys last Saturday evening; the signal there-
you are west of Knights Hill- was a lot better.
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Power fm is still dominant over Rheema in the West and North West of Sydney although I’d agree with the observations of others - that it’s gotten weaker since it was relocated from the now defunct win tower.
My Xdr with omni antenna gets it at 2-3 bars and decodes the Rds almost instantly
Power Fm is practically unrecievable here at Stanhope Gardens with Rhema completely dominating on the car radio, and on the Digitek Dab+ / Fm tuner connected to the outdoor omni fm antenna. I can get Eagle Fm in more places here.
Rhema is in stereo and seekable.
Power Fm use to be received here and with RDS on the Digitek until they changed sites.
For some reason the Central Coast community stations have improved here with Coast Fm being the main example. I had to turn down the Fm gain on the masthead amp as Star 104.5 was spilling over onto 103.7 and that is some 53km away from the broadcast site.
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In southern Sydney, this is which dominates for the co-channels:
104.5 - Star 100% of the time (when mobile in the car). 2UUU Nowra never comes in.
98.1 - about 75% i98 and 25% ABC News, making it essentially unlistenable whilst mobile.
97.3 - ABC Illawarra 100% of the time. Lake Macquarie FM never comes in.
94.9 - Rhema 100% of the time. Power never comes in anymore; I couldn’t even find it in a null of Rhema using the Tecsun. Used to be Power FM about 80% of the time.
94.1 - about 60% todayscountry94one and 40% Pulse 94.1, making it essentially unlistenable whilst mobile
93.3 - Radio 50+ 100% of the time, though 2RPH is supposed to start on this frequency from Wollongong
92.5 - Usually ABC Central Coast; occasionally Youth Radio from Moss Vale
I’m surprised ABC News on 98.1 interferes with i98 as much as it does, given that it’s only supposed to be 200 watts.
For the Newcastle/Wollongong co-channels, they’re all Wollongong dominant. The only Newcastle services I get consistently are the ABC services on 102.1 and 106.1.
I’ve mentioned it before, but is it possible for the ABC to SFN the Gosford and Illawarra ABC News services on 90.9?
There are just two spots in Sydney where 2UUU is a permanent signal, though both are fairly obscure. The first is heading north at the intersection of Malabar Road and Maroubra Road, Maroubra. There is a large hill that almost entirely blocks Gosford at this spot, whilst the line of sight southwards over Maroubra Beach and Botany Bay is excellent.
The best spot for Illawarra and South Coast reception in the entire Sydney basin is Potter Point, Kurnell. It can be reached by taking the Sir Joseph Banks Drive turn off just before you reach Kurnell proper; the turn is marked by a large blue sign for the desalination plant. The road turns into a single lane ‘goat track’ with a zillion speed humps (designed to deter the local lads); after negotiating these you come to a small parking area decorated with household refuse. Walk out on the rock platforms and you will be rewarded with a spectacular view down the coast: on a clear day, Saddleback Mountain near Kiama can just be made out. From here 2UUU is a permanent, strong signal, with Bay and Basin FM there most of the time as well. With any enhancement, you’ll also receive Power FM/2EC from Batemans Bay (104.3/105.9), as well as 104.7 /106.3 Canberra. Best to go there during the day, as the spot is a noted place for undesirables (remember the speed humps).
At the intersection of the Princes Highway and Acacia Road, Sutherland (heading north), Lake Mac will come over the top whenever there’s slight enhancement.
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Lots of high spots in Charlestown at ground level as many of you will know, KO FM former studio site for one.
Here’s a new DX spot you can buy into 
:
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I’m at Charlestown, my building is at a slightly higher elevation than Highpoint, so even though I am only 6 floors up, I am still 138 M ASL, with a perfect LOS south… Even on a clear day, I can see the Wyrrabalong hill upon which the Wyong DTV transmitters are on without binoculars, which is 53 kms away.
My building runs SW-NE, and it’s quite long, which means it’s difficult to get signals from the north.
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I live in Logan and there is nothing on 88.2. But there is Tourist radio on 88.0
No wonder you obtain such great results to the south. I would like to test an 8 element Yagi from your location, though I know it’s probably impossible to put one up on the roof. Do you have access to a balcony? Other enthusiasts have rested 3 element Yagis on strategically positioned tables outside of their apartment, with fairly good results.
Very interesting, didn’t think the penthouse headline was any great advancement, as you write, you’re already close to that.
How have you calculated the 138m ASL?
I do have a balcony, but it’s not deep enough for an 8 element yagi.
You’ve got me thinking about a 3 element one, that would probably bring about a worthwhile improvement over a pair of rabbit ears.