Wouldn’t that spoil the serenity though?
Seriously though, well done on the Sydney and Melbourne achievement!
I’ve achieved Brisbane and Wollongong at the same time (at Port Macquarie) but that is more essily achieved given that’s via a coastal duct.
Ah Healesville, the home of that flea-powered Flow FM translator that can be heard hundreds of kilometres away. And I’m super pleased to hear about Marysville, a beautiful little town that copped the full brunt of those awful fires
Congrats on the Syd/Melb crossover. It’s normally very hard to do halfway on the Hume (or thereabouts), as Wagga kills most of the Melbourne stations and Albury kills the Sydney ones. You’ve evidently played your cards (and your frequencies) very well. Even in extreme DX conditions I never quite got Sydney down in Melbourne, but like others have done so from Brisbane
Melbourne DAB+ was coming in at 2 bars outside the motel, so RF was killing reception somewhat. Analogue FM from Mount Dandy exhibited some multipath (ghosting) throughout Healesville; the culprit was revealed in the light of day: Warramate Hill. This probably explains why Flow FM was granted a tx up there and why Melbourne FM can’t be received in Sydney (roughly on the same azimuth). The ERP restrictions also play a big role too, of course.
I’m currently at Apollo Bay; nothing from Melbourne DAB+ in my motel- I will try out on the (bleak) headland in the morning. The weather is very brass monkey with 7C recorded at sea level; 4C on the adjacent Otway Ranges. Perfect weather for footy at Kardinia, eh egg man?
On another note, i’m receiving Surrey / North Sussex DAB from SW London coming at 2 bars.
I managed to record an ID of King Island Radio on 100.5 MHz, from the Marriners Lookout above Apollo Bay. Launceston, Burnie, and Lileah (far NW Tas) are all permanent reception at this location. Melbourne DAB+ is poorer than I expected down here with weak reception possible outside the motel; driving to the breakwater yielded no reception at all! Atop the Otway Ranges at Beech Forest (near the Otway Fly), Melbourne DAB+ was stable at 1 bar on the Sangean DPR-34.
I will be turning for home so to speak tomorrow; my next destination will be South Gippsland (Yarram) via Cape Liptrap, which should be a prime location for Tasmanian reception.
Funny you should mention that, because someone posted this in the “Regional Radio Ratings” thread, which the following is relevant for this thread:
As expected Tasmanian reception was stellar at Cape Liptrap despite the typical gloomy Victorian winter weather. I managed to receive the following on the Sangean PR-D15 (it was a park+walk affair, so couldn’t use the more sensitive car radio):
Hobart: 7SBS 105.7 (1 bar), 7XXX “Triple M” 107.3 (poor).
Launceston: 7LAA 89.3 “LA FM”, 7EXX “Chilli FM” 90.1, 7LTN 103.7, 7WAY 105.3 (1-2 bars stength); high powered ABCs up to 4 bars strength.
Devonport: 7TAB 101.3, 7DDD “Sea FM” 107.7 (1-2 bars).
Lileah: 7ABCRN 89.7, 7NT/t 91.3 (1-2 bars).
Burnie seemed to be covered up by Warrnambool on 101.7; there was some enhancement in that direction today which yielded 3HA/t Portland (92.9) at fair levels around Point Lonsdale earlier in the day. I also forgot to check 7DBS Wynyard at Cape Liptrap; it was booming into Portsea Beach at noon (recording to follow).
Cape Liptrap can be reached by taking a (slightly sketchy in a 2WD) dirt road out from Walkerville, VIC. It would be a pretty wild and wooly place in a cold front!
You seem to have better luck on getting Tassie stations in VIC than I did the other way around when I was down in Tassie back in March. The only FM stations from VIC I’ve gotten down there were the ABC’s Latrobe Valley FM services from Mt Tassie (appropriately enough!), which I received as far south as Ross (about half-way between Hobart & Launceston) on a very warm day (ie. high 20s/low 30s). This was received on my parents’ Forester car radio.
As you can figure out by now, I had no luck on receiving the Melbourne FM stations whilst I was in Devonport. The AM stations from Southern VIC (ie. Melbourne, Warragul) were well received across Northern Tasmania though, even during the day.
Yes, I’ve received the Launceston ABCs from Docklands in Melbourne.
Though I was on a south facing balcony 18 floors up too.
I did try to pick up the ABC’s Launceston FM services in Port Melbourne (where the Spirit of Tasmania docks), but nothing from them. The AM stations from Northern Tasmania were received quite well though.
I can say with some authority that Launceston is permanent into the southern slopes of the Otway Ranges as well as Portsea Ocean Beach. In the culture capital itself, some (slight) enhancement is needed. Launceston was patchy around Yarram on Friday morning; some elevation really made a difference to the signal. I went over Mount Tassie and duly stopped at the major transmission site (pics to follow).
I will be back in the big smoke tomorrow; I’m currently at Tuross Head between Moruya and Narooma. I had the good fortune of undertaking a fantastic side trip to Montague Island today; a brief break in the NPWS tour saw me whip out the Sangean DPR-34. Sydney FM couldn’t be received on the hill adjacent to the lighthouse; I had better luck with the car radio at Tathra (yesterday) and Mystery Bay (today).
Fantastic to know, thanks for sharing. I’ve never quite got far enough south to check some of those locations out, well not in recent times anyway. I do recall trying down Kilcunda/Wonthaggi way once in the depths of winter (the former was sitting in the car staring at Bass Strait) with no luck. As you say though, the slightest bit of enhancement and they’re present in Melbourne
A pleasure to provide the authoritative DX voice for the Education State (which you have forsaken for warmer climes). A tip for anyone using the Queenscliff-Sorrento ferry- you can clearly see the 3CAT/3BAY tx site at Murradoc Hill all the way across. It’s not a very impressive shot, though.
Leaving Tuross Head this morning, I had reception from C91.3, Edge 96.1 (v. strong), Move FM, Ramadan Radio Canberra (99.5 MHz, low powered), Radio Skid Row (very weak), JJJ Newcastle, and Sea FM/2GO Central Coast (quite strong). These signals were obtained from a sizeable north-facing hill above the golf club. None of these signals were present along the beach front! To me, it underscores the importance of choosing a DX site well above the average terrain. This dramatic signal amplification upon rising ~50 m was also noticeable around Apollo Bay and Yarram with certain Tasmanian FM signals.
Interesting list; thanks for posting.
A couple of obs - I thought that 89.1 and 90.7 might have been received from the South Burnett area. Also 92.3 and perhaps 95.5 from Wide Bay. Were Breeze 92.1 and ABC 91.7 too close to SEE for reception?
Did a road trip down to Canberra from Sydney today with the family for the long weekend, and was aided by what seemed to be some inland tropo along the route.
Nova 96.9 normally starts to fade on the car radio between Sutton Forest and Marulan. Today the signal was still relatively interference free to Marulan and only started becoming patchy about 40kn outside of Goulburn.
In the centre of Goulburn, Smooth Fm and Nova 96.9 were the strongest of the Sydney Fm stations.
Illawarra nationals from Knights Hill could easily be received in Goulburn and came in stronger then their Canberra equivalents. Power Fm was quite weak, i98 and Wave came in very weak.worse then Smooth / Nova.
Tonight smooth and Nova 96.9 could be received right along Lake George and only faded out on the southern side of the Lake George escarpment.
At my accomodation at Eagle Hawk on the Federal Highway outside the ACT. Eagle Fm was still well received as with the Illawarra nationals from Knights Hill.
Nova and Smooth could still be received in certain spots at this location.
Digital radio from Canberra was very weak inside my motel room at the Eaglehalk, Signal quality was good on the Pure Move but signal levels sat on the digital cliff. Outdoor reception was good with good signal quality and strength. Black Mountain is about 15km crows flight with Mt Majura blocking line of sight.
Heading up to Corin Forest today for snow play. In past have been able to get Sydney fm in certain places. Will also see if Canberra Dab gets up there.
To following up on my last post, did a day trip to Corin Forest from Canberra for some snow play and got some great permanent dx catches along the trip.
Snow Fm, from Mt Roberts near Cooma is not receivable in Canberra due to Terrain and because of open narrowcasting at Queenbeyan. It was booming in loud and strong from the Southern side of Tuggers Hill. Surprisingly it was not receivable at Corin Forest
Nova and Smooth Fm from Sydney were receivable at Gibraltar Fall near Corin Forest with excellent line of site to the north. On southern facing slopes, Nova suffered from co-Channel interference from the open narrowcasting Cooma service on 96.9.
All Orange Fm services including commercial and community could be received at Corin Forest.
Canberra Dab+ was receivable at Corin Forest on the Pure Move with the headphone antenna. While walking the signal varied from below the digital cliff to almost full signal.
For reliable Dab+ signal at this location you would require a high gain vertically mounted band 3 antenna with masthead amp.
Yes, it’s only around the Tuggeranong area in Canberra that I’ve been able to receive SNOW FM.
You dont need to be on a mountain for them to fight… this was in a metal garage at eudlo
Nice view 
Tonight seems to be one of those rare winter nights when FM reception seems to go to pot right across the board.
The major Sydney FM stations faded to static about 30 mins ago, even now they have still not returned to normal levels.
The weather is fine outside.