AM and FM DX

Yes, that was its predecessor name: C FM which sounded ‘Sea FM’ in line with their coastal markets.

All Sea/Hot/Star stations owned by SCA save for Gosford and Gold Coast have been renamed Hit.

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Yesterday, on the Granite Belt, checked car radio at Thulimbah, just north of Stanthorpe.

There’s a great place for breakfast, lunch, morning or afternoon tea: Sutton’s Juice Factory, Cidery & Cafe.

There, I checked on Brisbane reception in the car.

From up to 155km away, Triple M Brisbane easily received. Along with all other Mt Coot-tha signals.

Around 172km, 612 ABC Bris easily received. Did not try other Brisbane AM signals.

Mt Nardi national signals + 2ZZZ 100.9 also easily received in these higher parts of the Granite Belt. Dalveen in the north to Applethorpe just north of Stanthorpe is over 900m ASL, Stanthorpe is at 800m ASL or less, quite a drop in a few km.

Glen Innes ABC 10kW service on AM 819 provides useful NSW reception as far north as Killarney and Queen Mary falls. Especially useful in NSW on the Mt Lindesay Rd from Legume to Liston where coverage of FM 94.5 from Mt Nardi disappears as you wind down into picturesque valleys (well worth the drive from Tenterfield to Woodenbong or onto Rathdowney or Kyogle depending if travelling north/south).

FM 91.5 country narrowcast from Toowoomba’s Mt Kynoch is also in range as you begin the descent over the many kilometres from Dalveen to Warwick. Available in high spots around Warwick itself.

The radio black spot is Killarney, there are no legacy Band III Brisbane TV aerials (you do see some on the Granite Belt and more in Warwick) and certainly no FM reception. No River 949 reception either. Local signals are fair to good.

4WK run liners saying “80 years, Boonah’s 4WK”. Certainly not in the main street. Lots of electrical noise which I’m sure would be present inside businesses. What’s interesting is the drop in electrical/terrain noise once you exit the urban area of Ipswich. Exit south towards Boonah from the bypass and AM reception from sites on the Downs and beyond improves to listenable levels down to Boonah.

As you approach the mountain range, ground waves seem to float over receivers, closer to the Allora 4WK site and yet no signal of useable levels until top of the range at Teviot Falls (another recommended drive, Boonah to Killarney)

Next time… will try the 56 metre climb over a couple of kilometres up to Passchendaele Ridge to view the TV/FM mast (not a tower sadly, a guyed mast I understand), perhaps photos.

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C FM relaunched as Hot FM in 2013 before becoming Hit back in 2016. In retrospect, I’m surprised the name didn’t change earlier after MRRW acquired both RG Capital (who had the Sea brand) and DMG (who had the Hot brand)

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Just had Cairns North ABC into Brisbane.

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Subsequently Port Moresby received on several frequencies. I’ll post details later.

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Eskip or tropo??

Both were skip.

Port Morseby stations received were 89.9, 90.7, 93.1 and 93.9. All but the first had to overcome much closer signals. All are about 1kw.

Also received was “Tribe 92” with clear ident on 92.3 . It isn’t listed at Port Moresby though it would match the 800kHz spacing.

https://www.nbcpng.com/tribe-fm

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Well done on catching Pot Mosbi ‘raskoling’ its way onto the SEQ dial. We in Sydney are too far for single hop Es to PNG and also (generally) too close for double hop. Southern NSW and- probably- Tasmania- are better locations for 2Es to PNG.

PNG has only been received once or twice in Sydney to my knowledge.

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Yep, Sutton’s is a mandatory stop for us on every Granite Belt trip (the apple pie with the cider ice cream is amazing). As you say you’re just about at the peak of the summit there, and yes Brisbane reception in the car is quite achievable. Never actually visited the TV site nearby myself but been past numerous times, and sampled some of the local vino almost under the shadow of it (Robert Channon on Amiens Road makes a terrific verdelho), though sadly my radio time is generally limited out there as I’ve normally got company while I’m there

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I’m blocked for Port Moresby & East Timor here by the ABCs at Mt Ulandra. I aim right at them when aiming towards PNG.

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Maryborough 99.3 is also permanent going down the big hill towards Warwick from the GB. I assume it is anyway, because I went through on a typically blustery August day with westerly winds.

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With the blustery westerly winds today in Sydney the Central Coast Fm stations were weaker then normal, and in places completely loosing signal on the car radio. With no Rhema, this allowed a very rare catch of 94.9 Power fm in Schofields. It was very weak but had no co-channel. I can see how Rhema completely masked it.
What was surprising considering the conditions Wollongong / Illawarra was at normal strength, and Eagle Fm was received at slightly higher levels. Only the Central Coast Fm stations were affected.

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Just out interest why does wind impact fm reception? I think it impacted SWR on my commute to work.

Narrowcast 92.3? The country licence that has its site on the River Heads Road? Or it did.

I think the wind does not allow ducts to form. For me it seems to provide worse then normal reception in the case of the Central Coast stations.

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Seabreeezes are okay, particularly those from the north east.

Its just the westerlies that seem to kill it.

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Yes Tropo is good with NE Seabreazes as it is normally associated with high pressures systems and humid weather.

Westerlies don’t allow ducts to form and in some cases produce worse reception when there is no ducting in stable weather conditions.

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When you have westerlies at low levels, the atmosphere is well mixed which means that there’s a uniform temperature profile (decreasing with altitude). The warm/hot and dry conditions that result also produce significant powerline noise, further masking weak troposcatter signals. What you need for tropo is an inversion in the lower or middle atmosphere (troposphere)- a cooler layer undercutting a warmer layer- inverting the temperature profile.

Classic coastal ducting occurs when a seabreeze introduces cooler maritime air to the surface, undercutting a typically warm to hot airmass above. That’s why coastal Sydney can be cooler than the top of the Blue Mountains in summer. Tropo can also occur when cool, dense southerly air undercuts a hotter airmass; this is frontal inversion tropo. I’ve found that weaker southerly changes can produce great tropo at times, mainly to the southern inland (Canberra etc.).

When you get cooler air overriding warmer air, humidity increases because the cooler air acts like an evaporative cooler. You basically trade off heat for humidity.

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Thanks for the explanations, you certainly know your stuff there.

I am getting better than average reception tonight, after a quiet couple of weeks on the DX front.

Wave FM and i98 receivable with RDS, most Sydney community radio stations are also being received.

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