Up at Mt Wellington this morning. Blowtorch strength as expected with the FM signals. Was also able to pull in the ABC stations from Mt Barrow. Listenable but not registering much on the meter. LAFM and Chilli were in too but only just above the noise level.
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Probably too much overload causing the weaker Launceston signalsā¦
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I remember being up there in summer, but still only 10C at the summit with some wind chill factor thrown in.
Is 99.3 āEdge Radioā displaying their RDS on your receiver up there? I know itās from a different Hobart site.
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99.3 is from Acton Park; here is the entry from the ACMA spreadsheet:
7THE transmits from Faulkner Hill (96.1) and Droughty Hill (92.1).
I do remember 99.3 being by far the weakest station out of Hobart; reception even at Sorell was starting to get patchy.
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On the car radio XL fm was stronger than Snow fm in Canberra. I think the issue going north is the CCI from SBS from the northern side of Mt Gray onwards, CADA is not quite as strong which allows XL fm to get through.
If XL was on 96.3, and Snow on 97.9 they would probably get into Sydney with really intense tropo.
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Of the co-channeled 963 allocations, Griffith/MIA is least congested market for quickest FM conversion and would assist in market coverage of both on the fringe of an evening.
Bunbury never seems a problem in eastern states.
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I think Griffith has a pretty wide coverage area, as for instance there is no commercial radio service in Hay. It wouldnāt surprise me if they kept 963 on, even if they got an FM conversion.
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Yeah that definitely comes into it. CADA bullies XL out of the way in a couple of spots though, namely Brooks Hill just south of Bungendore and as youāre going up the big hill to Googong from Queanbeyan (this is the most southerly location for CADA).
Pro tip: although it isnāt quicker now, an interesting alternative route through Canberra/Queanbeyan is Sutton Rd to Queanbeyan, Queanbeyan bypass and then Old Cooma Rd through Googong to the Monaro Highway (you come out near the solar farm). That will take you past the Googong spot which is also generally good for Sydney FM.
As for Snow and XL getting to Sydney via tropo, itās definitely possible. The Northern Beaches would have a shot at XL since CADA is fairly weak there. And even from Oatley Iāve detected Snow FM splatter on 97.8 (enough to read the ads). @Mechsta has logged Snow 97.7 from Coffs via tropo.
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Friends of mine are station managers of a different kind, a pastoral station north of Oodnadatta. The VAST box when they moved in has all TV channels and radio stations from each zone, no location specific services whatsoever, handy for timeshifting ABC/SBS programs.
Many who drive to WA for a holiday drive west and put the car and themselves on the Indian Pacific back to Adelaide (or Sydney if you really dislike driving) or vice versa.
I personally wouldnāt choose to holiday in WA until more of their population wake up and realise we are all Australians. To want to be cut off from the rest of us for so long over fear of Covid reminds us all of their hermit dwelling mentality.
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Yeah, transporting the car back and flying back is one option Iāve considered. That would cost about $1,300 but better than having to drive back.
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I think you can only take your car to/from Adelaide to Perth these days.
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Oh I meant like on a car carrier, not on the Indian Pacific.
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Thatās exactly what friend of mine did last month, rather than having endure the time consuming, boring & tiresome drive from Perth back to Syd. Think they picked up their vehicle from the Fairfield/Liverpool area.
Would have loved to have had remote access to their vehicle radio tuner during their drive over there - 
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Yet to receive Triple M Bunbury at night here yet, most nights itās 4WK & 2RG fighting it out, but in a surprise to me so far 4WK has consistently come in stronger than 2RG, I thought it would had been the other way around, considering Griffith is closer to Mt Gambier than Warwick is. I donāt know if that will change in the summer months or whether or not warmer weather conditions affect AM DX signals.
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Good to knowā¦ I suspected it might be a longshot, other than maybe before sunrise.
Have you received any other WA stations at night there? Iāve heard 6WA Wagin in Cobar, NSW, but that is it for me whilst in NSW or VICā¦ Iāve had 6SE Esperance when in Adelaide.
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No not as yet from memory but Iāll be on the lookout for any WA stations receivable in this part of SA.
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WA is easiest to hear on 558 and 1296, both from Wagin. You should also get 6NA Narrogin on 918 if you can null 4VL. 783 Albany is another target. Spirit Morawa on 1512 got out really well because of the high frequency; unfortunately itās gone the way of the dodo.
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Both Edge and 7THE have different LAPS than the commercial boys in Hobart, so the TX from different locations, but 96.1 off Faulkner does a very nice job of covering greater Hobart.
I think they also run AF, so it swaps around quite well.
Edge was the biggest winner (arguably) from DAB in Hobart, went from a coverage area the size of a small mini-bus to par with the other community and commercials.
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I know 7THE 96.1 has RDS AF. Have to āassumeā 92.1 does as well.
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There isnāt much point one frequency having AF if the other(s) donāt? I canāt imagine it would work properlyā¦.
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