AM and FM DX

Or Radio National, also due to move from 1098 to 97.9… Overmods Paradise.

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Newcastle, Port Stephens, Forster and Manning River are coming in quite well into Sydney at the moment.

ABC Classic FM Newcastle is almost the same strength as the locals:

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Radiohead - did you confirm that RN is definitely converting over to FM?

I’m pretty sure yes it is, RN shares the site & mast with 2GN, so they both need to go, so the site can be used for something else.
The supposed push to move off AM for these regional broadcasters is the AM sites are too expensive to upkeep, if 2GN didn’t want to sell off the site for other use, they could’ve sold it to BA & leased back access, for very little money & not have to worry about upkeep.

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Wow. This FM BCB tropo event was always going to especially favour those nearest the coast. I expected @Radiohead to do well at Newcastle from the Hepburn map forecasts. Manning River faded not long after sunrise for me.
Not often I sacrifice sleep in the early morning hours for DX, but when the heat woke me up in the wee small AM hours the tropo occurring at the time along the Central to to MidNth Coast was too good to resist. Managed to log 102.3 Port Macquarie. After 5am it was all starting to weaken. Will post logs & screenshots later.

Appears from forecast that the tropo action off the NSW coast will be focused on the south-coast tonight.

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Had 92.9, 93.9, 100.9 and 101.7 Hobart via E’s today on my Digitech radio at Mudgeeraba. Kind of surprised to have E’s when I thought it had all died down.

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2NSB 99.3 is currently off air so a good chance for people in Sydney to pickup Brock.
I am receiving it in scratchy mono but strong enough to seek on the Digitech Tuner connected to my outdoor match master Omni fm antenna.

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Thanks @Ant5476 :+1:
I read recently that 2NSB had a 50W FM exciter for sale.
Perhaps they’re doing a FM TX upgrade at the moment?
Be nice (if not selfish :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:) for the install to take long enough for tropo to bring in some further DX on this frequency - lol.

Can currently hear weakly 99.3 BRock with Mick Malloy show.

UPDATE: 2NSB returned to air before 1730 AEDST

Canberra Ionosonde showing brief SpE peak @3.25pm AEDST. :+1:

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I know the ABC asked for a frequency (97.9) for it, and they get what they want of course.

Question is when… as I know they asked for additional frequencies in Port Stephens and Dubbo years ago that they still haven’t used yet.

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Looking forward to this!

As my location favors the south.

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Check out the BOM weather radars for Sydney / Wollongong. You would think there was a line of thunderstorm going up the coast from Bega to Newcastle, but there is not a cloud in the sky.

The Tropo ducts are so strong they are appearing on the BOM weather radar. It is so intense around Ulladulla you would think there is a stationary hail storm above.
In the south the duct is going inland to Cooma.

Looking forward to everyone’s catches tonight.

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To start things off, strong ducting from the south with the strongest duct so far this evening from Saddleback Mountain. 94.1 Pulse fm at the strength of the Illawarra nationals fm’s, with full RDS. The strongest reception of this station I have had so far. This duct is now starting to enhance Power fm up to similar levels.

Weak 2BA Batemans Bay,
Weak Eagle fm,
The ducting looks to be going inland so later when the sea breeze hits possibly some Canberra, and stronger Goulburn.

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Received a station rarely received at my location tonight.
2SSR 99.7

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It’s very selective duct tonight… Eden is excellent, Power 103.9 hitting 28db with full RDS. 2SEA 104.7 also a first time RDS hitting 25db. 2EC 105.5 also good. SKY on 107.1 a bit weaker.

No ABCs though, too much splatter on 106.3 and Move won’t, well move off 107.9.

Power 102.5 there too but not as good as Eden.

Batemans Bay ABCs weak though, no commercials.

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Ditto to all of the above here too.
Although 94.1 is weaker now to what it was an hour or so ago.
Am also receiving weak 91.7 2ST & something starting to come through on 92.7.
If you look at a map with these TX sites, these are 3 of the closest coastal FM transmitters of substantial power to the sea coast within 150kms of Sydney.

VOX or Power FM signals haven’t been enhanced yet (located further inland)

Hopefully the duct travels further inland than forecasted.

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Aside from reception of the main Wollongong/Illawarra FM signals (including RDS from i98 earlier), Pulse 94.1 is coming into this location of Sydney. Weaker now than it was earlier though.

94.9FM seems to be a mix of both Power FM and Rhema, ditto 102.9FM with 2ST Bowral and Triple M Newcastle.

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Update: 9:35, receiving 2HD on 97.5 and 2PSR on 100.9
Edit: 2GLA 101.5 and 2NC 95.9 also being received.

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At 9:45pm
94.1 Pulse fm has dropped right off for me too and is now just above the noise floor

103.5 2BA still in but quite weak.
This is the furthest south I receive with tropo.

103.7 Weak Sky Sports, so 91.7 2ST should be no problem with ducting.

94.9 Power fm has dropped in strength but still strong enough for full RDS decode.

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Yup same here with all the south coast tropo.
Like someone suddenly threw the ‘tropo-off’ switch.
20 minutes ago 104.5 Star FM was so so weak when the tropo was still happening, never seen it so weak. Now it’s back to normal strength
but basically all tropo gone now…

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For me at 10pm, South Coast tropo is still there, Eden a bit weaker than earlier, Batemans Bay getting a bit stronger, now getting 106.7 2ST.

There are signs it’s moving inland now too, 2WKT is starting to dominate on 107.1 over SKY Eden (though can null in either), 102.9 2ST is starting to give Triple M Newcastle some grief. Eagle FM starting to build.

Expecting Canberra to appear soon.

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