I’ve been up on Mt Tamborine this weekend and wondered if there was tropo about or just had a great spot with excellent LOS. About 8am today I recorded the following:
98.3 Now FM Moree (and all the Mt Dowe ABCs)
97.5 Hit Dalby with RDS
All the Toowoomba stations with RDS (more on that later)
102.5 Breeze Tenterfield
89.5 2GF fighting with JJJ Nambour
95.1 and 95.9 were talking sport (presuming TAB Warwick and Gunnedah)
All the Mt Moombil ABCs (though these are fairly common even on the coast)
I confirmed my suspicions about 92.9 Toowoomba getting in up there very well. Not 500m from the Breeze transmitter site at Lahey’s Lookout and it was already causing problems, and even just a couple of km north you get 929Voice with full RDS over the top. Still seems a bizarre choice of frequency for that service (can also confirm it does not have RDS itself, much like it’s predecessor 88.9 did not).
Very good Southerly Tropo in Bowral
2EC and Power FM with RDS from both Batemans Bay and Bega (Sydney Null)
2EC Eden in a null of SBS Canberra. Same with Power FM Eden in a null of Newsradio Canberra
2EAR with RDS
Brown Mountain was in but no XLFM/Snow.
100.3 Braidwood was in again in a null of Campbelltown.
And yes I did check for Gippsland, Launceston, Northland but no sign/semi-locals.
Just checked and yes, Braidwood now has a light easterly with a high dewpoint, indicating that they are under the maritime inversion. The tropo may extend towards Canberra late tonight. The weather models have it wafting in sometime around 10-11 PM (Bungendore).
Brown Mountain would be in the maritime airmass whereas Mt. Roberts wouldn’t be (yet). Michelago/Bredbo often gets the easterlies after Bungendore. That explains the lack of XL/Snow.
Acacia Garden at the water tower has the goods tonight on the Tucson car radio
103.9 Power fm Eden, first time catch weak
104.7 Sea fm Eden weak
105.9 2EC Batemans Bay / Hit 105.9!Orange
106.7 2ST Ulladulla, first time catch
91.7 2ST very strong
92.7 Bay & Basin, first time catch
94.9 Power fm strong no CCI from RhemaCC
106.3 Eden
101.9 Classic fm 103.5 2BA,
103.7 2KY Nowra
Couple of interesting ones having just driven back from the Shoalhaven.
2ST 91.7 all the way, still with full RDS on the M7
Rheema 94.9 with full RDS over Power FM at Kiama bends. Interfering with it between there and Bombo. Also getting over it around the bottom of Ousley
SWR from Kiama (no RDS)
Lake Mac FM from Wilton with no i/f from ABC Illawarra
2ST 106.7 from M7/Sunnyholt interchange
Braidwood FM going past Acacia Gardens water tower (@Ant5476 I would have just driven past you )
If you saw a white Tucson SUV parked on the side of the road with the engine running and headlights on it was me.
Quite exceptional ducting tonight probably the grand final event of the season.
It was a southerly event, with signals from as far as Eden received, and nothing north of Newcastle.
That Rhema signal is a pesky signal. The Central Coast communities should have a restriction of 500W or less towards Wollongong to reduce CCI to Pulse, Power fm, and 2RPH but that would mean a brand new broadcast antenna and reception issues on the far southern edge arts of the Central Coast.
And lastly when you had Lake Macquarie over 2ILL, that may have been during the brief period of time when the Illawarra nationals where off air.
Great logs from many in the group.
This evening whilst mobile in the east of the city I was hearing a station in mono on 89.3 playing music. Strong signal. I thought perhaps this was 2GLF, but now I’m not so sure as 2GLF still has a stereo pilot carrier, listening at home.
One of many exceptional catches was beautiful strong signal of 89.5 ABC Classic Goulburn - couldn’t believe it!
Massive Canberra reception into Sydney this morning with 102.3 Classic being received in quite good stereo on the HIFI with dx setup.
The Canberra commercial fm’s Hit 104.7 and Mix 106.3 are strong enough to not have splatter from the locals.
On the car radio on the drive to work I had 89.7 News Radio Brown Mt. On 88.9 it was a three way battle between 2RSR, 2BRW and a News Radio outlet.
With the strength of Canberra into Sydney this morning, 8D dab+ Canberra could be a possibility with the right setup and the right LOS. ( Acacia Gardens Water Tower) Pity I no longer have my dab+ antenna.
Quite a big difference I would assume.
As I said earlier it is a pity I don’t have my old dab+ dipole antenna anymore.
When I changed my setup from Kurrajong Heights back to the main Sydney transmitters and Knights Hill I had to loose the vertical dipole, unfortunately it got taken in the council cleanup a few years ago now.
Possibly would have had a chance of getting Canberra 8D this morning considering the strength of the fm. If I had dab+ in my car I would have driven up the street to the Acacia Gardens water tower.