At my home location near Campbelltown, with a good AM radio, I could get ABC Radio Canberra on 666AM, as well as ABC Central West from Cumnock (near Orange) on 549AM during the day.
On FM, that can depend on the weather conditions, as well as the type of radio I use, including the one that is hooked up to an external rotatable antenna. On a warm day, I could get the ABC FM stations from Taree/Port Macquarie quite well, and on a much more rarer circumstances, I could also receive them from Coffs Harbour. On a more normal day, I could get the ABC FM stations from near Coonabarabran via a rotatable antenna.
There is a certain spot at Bonville Headland Sawtell where you can get a relatively good signal from 99.1 ABC New England North West from Mount Dowe and other ABC stations from that site that arenât blocked by nearby services. I can also get the Southern Downs ABC stations across many parts of coastal Coffs Harbour sometimes.
I have heard NewsRadio from Brown Mountain via tropo on 89.7 at Boambee Headland
I am in NW Sydney too, my setup is a fm dab+ Digitech tuner connected to an outdoor omnidirectional fm antenna with a masthead amp.
Generally 103.5 2BA Batemans Bay is the furthest south I get, and Triple J from Mount Moombill near Coffs Harbour is the furthest from the north. I only get these signals when there is extreme enhancements.
Sometimes I receive 102.3 Classic fm Canberra, and 102.3 Triple J CW Slopes. Sometimes both at the same time if the enhancements are coming from the inland.
My most recent longest distance reception of an ABC station on fm was 93.9 Classic fm Hobart with SpE reception early this Winter. It was so strong at itâs peak that it had perfect fm stereo, and full RDS decode.
The most common Fm SpE signals into Sydney is Tasmania, Tropical QLD, NZ, and sometimes SA.
SpE fm reception normally starts around November and peaks around late December but can also occur in Winter too.
Furthest ABC Station I received that I can confirm on the FM Band would be the ABC Stations, 94.3, 101.5, 104.7, 105.5 from Townsville Queensland via E-Skip at around 1700km last summer in Moss Vale. I may had once got ABC Classic from Cairns back in 2019 as it was a mysterious weak station playing classical music on 105.9.
By Tropo, it would be the Mt Barrow ABCs (7NT on 91.7, 7ABCFM on 93.3) received earlier this year from Bowral at around 800km.
Permanently at Bowral on FM, it would be the ABC Services from Newcastle. Back in Moss Vale they would be the ABC Services from Coonabarabran but I only have a couple of portables and the car radio.
AM is a different factor, Daytime I could get a signal of 3WV Horsham during the day on the Sangean, Nighttime my record is probably 6WF on 720 from Perth
Southern Downs? Thatâs 104.9FM right? I thought that if you were located somewhere in Tamworth you could receive stuff from ABC Toowoomba, but I guess I proved wrong
Heading over to Rottnest Island this weekend and being a DXâer (which my partner doesnât mind surprisingly) Iâm more excited about the coastal AM and FM path opportunities than the quokkas and natural scenery! Any particular requests/suggestions for dx possibilities let me know - Iâll be taking my XHDATA D-808 and Tecsun AM loop (would prefer taking the PR-D3 for better AM signal but its too heavy to carry around for one night).
Would Geraldton be possible out there? (ABCs and commercials).
And I wondered if Hit 102.3 (6FMS) and Triple M 103.9 (6SAT) Lancelin would be in stereo yet, or in mono only still? Same with Triple M 101.5 Augusta (6TZ)âŚ
I imagine they are questions that couldnât be answered in Perth.
I would be interested to see how many Asian stations can be heard in the evening. Bangladesh on 693. Also try for Botswana (Voice Of America) on 909 kHz on or just before sunrise, if youâre up to it. Though they might have already signed off at WA sunrise as I just caught them signing off in Hay in June 2020. There is also 1530 VOA Sao Tome. 1539 from the UAE has also been heard quite well in WA.
This morning may be your best chance for some West Coast FM DX. In Bunbury, hearing weak ABC Classic 94.9 Geraldton, mixing with Hit Katanning. All other Geraldton stations co-channel blocked.
Lancelin 102.3 strong⌠no FM stereo. And no stereo on 6EBA 95.3 for some reason today.
1 surprise, a Newsradio station on 100.3, strong too. Can only find a listing for Kalgoorlie. Matched with Triple J 98.7. Very rare catch.
Its a difficult spot for DX since the most accessible hill by road is the FM/TV site for the area (Gan Gen Hill), too much overload there.
I settled for a spot near the Bowling Club, which is shielded to the south, so no Sydney reception whatsoever, which gives a better opportunity for northern signals to make their appearance.
Highlights
90.3 Triple M Laurieton (weak)
Coffs Harbour ABCs - 90.7 News weak, but the others were fair, but there was some fading at play.
Port Macquarie - both 100.7 and 102.3 were good, with RDS including song info. Community stations on 99.9 and 103.9 also received,
Taree - 2TLP 103.3 and SKY Sports 105.7 were notables, this is the furthest south Iâve received these. Shielding to the south helped to make these possible.
Kempsey - Hit 105.1 and 106.7 MMM faded in and out, but good enough for songs could be identified when present.
Coffs Harbour - weak Hit 105.5, fading in and out, nothing detected on 106.3
Marine Rescue site at the lighthouse good elevation for you?
Fingal Bay around the Barry Park lookout, corner Marine and Pacific Drive, howâs the for a spot? Can marvel also at the quaint fibro with outdoor toilet that has survived on the corner.
Tomorrow afternoons Hepburn Tropo Index is off the scale. Extreme 10+ the highest rating, sitting just off the coast. The ducts extend from the Mid North Coast right down to the northeastern tip of Tasmania. Hopefully the most extreme ducts form along the coastline rather then off shore as predicted.
Ducts of this intensity would show up on the Bom Radar, and would look like a line of Thunderstorms.
