AM and FM DX

Appropriate given that we’re entering the soggy season for the South Wet Land Division.

Next to no chance of getting it over east, particularly with 2AY in the way and on roughly the same bearing from here. 756 hasn’t been logged in Cooma with a long wire yet; it too has to overcome a station from Legends, Wine and High Country in the form of 3RN Wangaratta.

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And 756 6TZ is only 2kw… 558 6WA is the only WA station I’ve logged in NSW, and it’s a litte further east and has 50,000 watts in its arsenal to help it across the Nullarbor.

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An observation re Brisbane commercial FMs that I’ve been meaning to post.

Triple M and B105 seem to have the strongest signal towards the Sunshine Coast compared to KIIS and NOVA.

But on the Gold Coast, it’s the other way around…KIIS and NOVA are stronger here than Triple M and B105

Not by a lot either way, only something a DXer would notice :slightly_smiling_face:

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Speak of the devil - just started raining here!

Ill head out tomorrow night with the TEF6686 portable. I’d say 2AY may still be a chance this end.

Case in point, 4QD 1548. Starts coming in as early as 1615 WA time, this time of year.

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Along with 6WA I can often hear 6NA Narrogin and sometimes 6VA Albany. 6RN Wagin can also be heard on 1296 mixing with Brisbane. I used to hear 1512 Morawa.

Surprisingly we logged 6PR and 6IX very clearly from Cairns:

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No surprise that SEN Melbourne was received but at low levels.

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Yeah I heard the same, cricket covering in time with local 693.

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Sounds like 2ST may have their new transmitter up and running. Flat conditions tropo wise, weak mono, but well above the noise floor. Previously below the noise floor.
Also stronger on the car too.

Anyone else noticing this?

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Perhaps because SCA doesn’t need its stations to be heard on the GC having stations there already as opposed to SC.

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I know B105 has a higher antenna height than the other commercials / Community stations, but this doesn’t explain why the others are better towards the Gold Coast v Sunshine Coast.

Is there a clearer path to north then south from the 10 tower?

Which wouldn’t explain why KIIS and NOVA are better towards the Gold Coast.

I cannot work it out either.
B105 should be the strongest commercial fm north and south.

When I was at Coffs Harbour KIIS 97.3 was the best of the Brisbane fm stations received. B105 and Triple M weren’t receivable at all. The Brisbane national fm stations which have the highest ERP could not be received either on the car radio which also doesn’t make sense.

Sydney is very simple, the 150KW DA commercial fm stations with the highest antenna height travel the furthest in all directions.
The only slightly odd exception is Smooth and Nova at Gore Hill, lower then Artarmon in elevation and antenna height but in some places gets out much better.

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Unlike Sydney where the main commercial FM antennas at both sites are 4 sided panel antennas so radiate roughly the same in each direction, I’m pretty sure the Brisbane FM antennas for the commercial stations are side-mount arrays, with the SCA antenna at the TXA T-Site being on the North Easterly tower leg I think, & the Nova antennas on the BAI tower being on the South Easterly tower leg, therefore the tower (behind the antennas), will both inhibit & enhance the radiation pattern in certain different directions.

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For the nationals, 106.1 Classic, and 107.7 Triple J, are they more similar to the setup we have in Sydney at Gore Hill / Artarmon?

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I have a feeling they are side-mount antennas as well, mounted a little bit above the Nova ones?

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Here are the two towers on Mt Coot-tha Txa and BAI

What looks to be the B105 antenna is much easier to identify then any of the fm antennas on the BAI tower.

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I assume this is the community fm tower

There’s a high res of BAI tower on Wiki

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Thanks for the high res image,
It looks like a 6 panel fm array antenna for the national fm’s above the 4 array fm antenna for Nova / KIIS 97.3.

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I can actually go one better, I’ve looked up my photos from when I was last up in Brisbane, BAI Site, antennas from the top are UHF (no longer used), VHF Channel 12, old VHF Ch.2 (no longer used), Nationals FM, Nova FM & the triangular shaped antennas lower down the tower are the original Nationals ABC Classic FM antennas.






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