Now receiving Mt Dowe’s 2GGG 97.5 and MAX 91.3
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It’s odd that you can get 2GGG but not 2NOW.
Given the Moree licence area is closer to you than Gunnedah’s and they are on the same tower.
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2GG usually comes in stronger - it is mixed while NOW is vertical.
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Ah yes, I forgot NOW was vertical.
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I haven’t managed to hear Max 91.3 from here yet. It’s the only Narrabri channel that’s vacant here. When I eventually get the SDR set up, it’s possible I could zap Tuggeranong to get 99.1.
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Did the drive from from Melbourne to Warrnambool via Great Ocean Road today.
At Anglesea Lookout, most Melbourne stations including suburban community stations could be received there.
Of note, 93.5 and 94.3 were still 3WPH and MMM Gippsland. Latrobe ABCs also clear there. Couldn’t tell whether 103.9 was Life FM Gippsland or Good News Ballarat. 104.7 was News Radio Colac (instead of Gippsland FM), there was nothing on 99.9 that I could use as a guide for that (which Voice FM Ballarat uses). Bendigo and Ballarat Lookout Hill ABCs could be received, but none of them particularly strong.
Further down, discovered that the Mixx Colac relay into Lorne on 92.7 was off air totally. Still no Flow into Apollo Bay on 97.9.Melbourne FMs receivable right down to Apollo Bay, but we’re getting weak by then, Even DAB could be often received when not around a bend, and down into Apollo Bay as well.
My biggest disappointment was that the westerlies killed 90% of the Northern Tasmania reception, the ABCs off Mt Barrow only poking their heads through occasionally and then weakly. So no LAFM or Chilli sadly. Flow FM Beeches Forest on 90.9 doesn’t appear to have RDS.
Into Warrnambool, Western VIC ABCs off Mt Dundas clearly received. As was MIXX 88.9 Hamilton and 93.7 Portland (along with 92.9 3HA).
Alas SAFM and Lime FM Mt Gambier aren’t strong enough here for RDS (unlike at Victor Harbour when there in 2019). I didn’t notice any Mt Burr ABCs forgot to check for them specifically, but will try again tomorrow.
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I couldn’t get 92.7 in Lorne when I was there in September either, it appears to have been off air quite a while
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Anyone able to DX 89.9FM in the Hawkesbury at midday today… be interesting to see where it broadcasts from 
… please 
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Am hearing WHCR on 89.9MHz with usual weak noisy stereo signal.
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How far from the Hawkesbury are you DXing?
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A little S/W of the CBD.
S/N Ratio is about 10dB.
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Goulburn IMD update:
IMD on 95.1 is still there but you have to be in direct (visual) LOS with Mt. Gray to hear it. The genuine 2BS signal can even be received in some parts of Goulburn now, and it’s all 2BS (or static) once you get out of the urban area.
IMD on the other frequencies like 107.9 and 96.7 seems to be weak or non-existent now. So they have cleaned it up somewhat. If you were DXing with a Yagi in Goulburn it would still be problematic, though.
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Interesting about 92.7 Lorne, I noticed that over the new year when I was there too. Was 95.9 Apollo Bay on air? Or have Mixx just given up on the coastal relays altogether?
I hope the weather fines up for you. I did the drive in 2019 on one of the few sunny, still days they ever get down there (a high pressure system was directly overhead) and the dial was totally alight, it was incredible. I hope you get to experience something similar.
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95.9 in Apollo Bay is on air however I believe Ace has abandoned 92.7 Lorne. Don’t think they were getting many listeners there due to strength of Melbourne and Geelong stations. Likewise the signal on 92.7 was poor with plenty of co channel with ABC Classic Bendigo once you get higher into the hills
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That’s quite sad really. 92.7 Lorne was one of my first DX discoveries, back in probably the early 2000s? It used to be quite well receivable in southern Geelong, as Bendigo didn’t bother it so much there. In recent years RDS was also quite possible up on Mt Duneed when facing south/west.
Arguably the Surf Coast Shire is more suited to being in the Geelong licence area (particularly the Torquay/Anglesea/Lorne section) rather than Colac, and maybe that’s playing out. But if frequency was such an issue, couldn’t Ace have sought a better alternative instead of just turning the service off?
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March is the best month for DX in southern VIC and probably Tassie as well: lots of settled weather then. I was last down that way in late Feb/early March 2016 and had crazy conditions every day. A late season heatwave (up to 40C in Bendigo) helped, though.
The highlights from that trip were constant local strength reception of Mount Barrow all the way from Cann River to the Latrobe Valley, constant reception of King Island all along the GOR coast (+Mount Barrow, Burnie etc.) and the best catch of all was 100.9/107.3 Hobart blasting into Portland. Going the other way from Portland, I had 88.3 Riverina and 91.5 was a mess of Melbourne and Riverina. Also had both Adelaide and Melbourne FMs strong from Mount Gambier; Adelaide faded out just over the VIC/SA border east of Nelson.
89.9 Port Lincoln was in from Cape Bridgewater as well; disappointingly I didn’t manage anything from WA (would be there in the right conditions).
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Pretty good catch. Generally I’ve found Mt Gambier still favours Melbourne over Adelaide which I couldn’t receive at all when I last visited. From blue lake lookout I would get faint triplej from Ballarat on 107.1 but no sign of SAFM . From Cape Bridgewater you could get Melbourne fm’s quite easily including light fm on 89.9 outside of summer tropo
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My visit there in 2019 was exactly that. Had Triple M Melbourne booming in down in town itself but not much sign of Adelaide from memory. Didn’t get down to the Cape itself but did drive the coastal track from Mt Gambier to Portland (rather than the main highway) so maybe that helped.
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I should add that the Gambier catches were from Blue Lake. Fresh 92.7 was immensely strong; would have been easy RDS on the i30 (still had the non-RDS Astra then).
The i30 still hasn’t been out of Roachville (thanks to you know what). Unless you count the Crappital Territory of course. I should break that duck later in the month.
A more extended sojourn into the Stobie/OTR/frog cake/Farmers Union Strong state is also on the cards. Looking at some road cam footage on YouTube, regional SA looks like a driver’s paradise compared to the clogged roads in regional NSW. Whether it’s the coast or the mountains, a Conga Line is almost a sure thing around here.
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Part solved a summer FM DX mystery from February this year…
Heard again while I was local in Mandurah this week. Not a strong station - 1 watt LPON equivalent. Strongest around the Halls Head / Falcon area. Still can’t find an ACMA registration for this station.
Such a random station in a random location and been transmitting for some time. Nice frequency choice - clear of any other stations. Sounded pretty good too, stereo. I wonder whom would want to be responsible for this ‘pirate’ station?
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