AM and FM DX

Probably, most of my DX catches are from SA.

I think SBS Chill would be a winner for regional areas. Some of the council-owned SBS relays do relay Chill; examples include Parkes (101.3), Nyngan (103.9), and Port Macquarie (107.7). It makes for relaxing driving music.

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It’s a shame that it’s not the case in Strahan, Tasmania (94.7), where it just relays normal SBS multicultural programming. :frowning:

To get back on topic, you can’t really get much FM stations on the West Coast of Tasmania, where there’s only 7XS, ABC Northern Tasmania, RN, JJJ & SBS Radio. AM night-time skip improves the radio variety, where I can get 2CA, 3GG, Classic Rock Radio (from Melbourne) & 2CH, among a number of others, in Strahan.

At Devonport on Tuesday morning, I can get the Melbourne AM stations quite well, but not the FM stations (probably not the best conditions for it). At Port Melbourne on Monday afternoon, I can get the Northern Tasmania AM stations (7SD, 7BU & 7AD) quite well.

Bit of troppo from the north tonight

Getting HIT 107.9 Rocky around 7dbuv

edit: conditions getting better… Mackay coming in now

Whilst out in the car today, picked up a couple of the Cenn Cruaich ABCs - JJJ on 102.3 and News Radio on 106.3. None of the others though.

Digital Radio reception from Sydney in the car was better than it usually was too… fewer dropouts.

On holidays up at the Entrance on the Central Coast and have not noticed any enhancements at my location. However the Sydney fm’s actually seem to be weaker then normal breaking up on the car stereo in places when they are normally much stronger.

Sydney Dab+ can also received on the Pure Move but just above the digital cliff, and near the window with headphone antenna fully extended.

What I have noticed of interest is that Sea Fm is much lower in signal at this location compared to Star and 2GO. The latter can be received in stereo in any position on the Pure Move whereas Sea Fm has to have the headphone cable fully extended otherwise it is in mono.
The community stations are weaker again and only receivable in mono, and the national Gosford local services are very weak and cannot be scanned on the car stereo either.

Is this normal for the Entrance as I am normally at Green Point when on the Central Coast, which is a high signal area for all the Central Coast Fm stations?

I am a bit further north at Charlestown (about 50 kms as the crow flies) but up on a hill and yes, SEA FM is a tad weaker than STAR and 2GO, but there’s not much in it, and the reception of all 3 is very good where I am, on par with the local Newcastle stations.

As for the community and ABC stations, I would have thought you should be getting them ok, as they are 2kw and transmit from Somersby, only about 20 kms from your location… Up here at Charlestown, they come through in clear stereo, but there can be a bit of static depending on how I place my radio/antenna.

The ABCs are only 200 watts, way underpowered for it’s market, and News Radio on 98.1 in particular is known for suffering from co-channel interference on the Coast even without any ducting.

Does your Pure Move radio normally perform well on FM with the same headphones in other locations? I’m assuming that the 3.5 mm plug has 3 rings on it, one which is meant to provide the antenna connection, the other two being for left/right sound. If not, that could be part of the issue when dealing with not so strong signals.

Thanks for your reply, I am on holidays staying in a holiday rental at the Entrance, I live at Stanhope Gardens in NW Sydney, and when I am on the Central Coast normally stay at my inlaws at Green Point.

The Pure Move gives me excellent Fm and DAB+ reception at the other two locatons. At Stanhope Gardens I am able to receive Sea, Star and 2GO in stereo with the headphone cable. I can pickup the Newcastle Fm’s above the static, I can even get Eagle Fm when there is ducting.
At Green Point I can get DAB+ reception and all the high powered Sydney fm’s in Stereo.

Here at my location at the Entrance it just seems that anything coming from the Sea Fm tower is weaker then Star and 2GO which come from their own towers. Could it be lower antenna broadcast height. This does not make a difference in Sydney as Sea Fm is the strongest of the Central Coast fm’s on my home hifi?

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When I went to The Entrance I found Central Coast FMers was not the best. How do you go with JJJ and ABC Fine Music from Newcastle they should be good there. Central Coast is tricky area to provide reception as compared to the Gong with the escarpment providing good elevation though the gongs northern suburbs do have some issues. On the central coast, they would almost be better off to have dab radio with multiple repeaters scattered up and down the coast.

Another old recording. This is KNX 1070 Los Angeles I received in Brisbane. The reception corresponded to 6am-7am LA time just before their sunrise in January.

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How easy would it be to receive Radio Live NZ from Melbourne?

Fm signal strengths at Blue Bay, The Entrance on Pure Move Fm / Dab+ radio with headphone antenna. Signal strength display 0-5 bars.

92.5 - 0 bars but receivable with no static
92.9 -0 bars mono audiable above static
93.3- 3 steteo with headphones extended mono in all other positions
94.1- 3 bars stereo with headphones extended, mono in all other positions
94.9- 3 bars stereo with headphones extended, mono in all other positions
95.3- 0 bars similar strength to 92.5
96.3 - 3 bars stereo, same as 94.1
96.9- 0 bars same as 95.3
98.1 -0 bars same as 92.5
99.7 - 3 bars, stereo with headphones extended
100.5-0 bars no static
101.3- 3 bars, stereo with headphones extended, 0 bars and mono when not extended
101.7-0 bars mono but weaker then 95.3/96.9
102.1- 3 bars, stereo with headphones unextended
102.5 -0 bars, mono with no static with headphones extended
102.9 -0 bars, mono but RDS still receivable
103.2 -0 bars mono
103.7 -0 bars, mono but with RDS receivable
104.1- 0 bars mono similar to 101.7
104.5- 4 bars with RDS received
104.9- 0 bars similar to 102.5
105.3- 0 bars similar to 102.9
105.7-0 bars similar to 104.9
106.1- 1 bar and stereo with headphones extended (weakest of high powered Newcastle national fm’s)
106.5- 0 bars, mono and just above noise floor
106.9- 0 bars, mono but RDS receivable with headphones extended
107.7- 3 bars, stereo with RDS with out headphones extended.

Dab+ reception patchy, in certain positions receivable, but in other positions below the DAB+ cliff.

Strongest of the Central Coast Fm stations at this location Star 104.5, my assumption is the higher broadcast antenna Height is making the diffetence in this moderate signal strength area. Radiohead also reports Sea Fm is weaker then Star and 2GO at his location too.

Yes, it seems to be that SEA FM is the weakest of the 3 commercials on the northern beam, but is the strongest in a southerly direction.

On my Tecsun radio, my typical maximum readings indoors are:
2GO - 57db
Star - 56db
Sea - 52db

By way of comparison

JJJ - 102.1 58db, on 105.7 its 35db
ABC - 106.1 58db, in 92.9 its 39db

KOFM - 55db
HIT 106.9 - 54db
NEW FM - 57db (but it’s signal to noise ratio isn’t very good, even though that spur has gone away).
2NUR - 48db

Rhema 99.7 - 61db (I have a better LOS to the Rhema site which is south of Mt Sugarloaf)
Rhema 94.9 - 36db
Coast 96.3 - 39db
Today’s Country 94.1 - 38db
92.5 ABC - 35db
97.3 Lake Macquarie FM - 35db

TrIple M - 41db
2DAY FM - 41db
Smooth 95.3 - 38db
Nova 96.9 - 38db
WSFM - 37db
KIIS 106.5 - 33db

Fine Music 102.5 - 41db
Hope 103.2 - 32db
FBI 94.5 - 30db
2LND 93.7 - 17db
2MFM 92.1 - 18db
2OOO 98.5 - 11db
2SER 107.3 - 7db

Wollongong ABCs are permanently receivable here too
90.9 News Radio - 18db
98.9 JJJ - 22db
95.7 Classic FM - 20db
97.3 ABC Illawarra is difficult to get cleanly because of Lake Macquarie FM (which can be nulled out mostly).

Should 101.3 have the same beam north-south considering it is 16KW omnidirectional? Is the antenna height, and terrain to the north the reason the signal is slightly lower to the north? Maybe Rfburns can enlighten us?

Yes 99.7 gets down to the Central Coast much better then the Newcastle commercial fm’s. Not as strong as the national fm’s.
why did they choose this site other Sugarloaf?

Good question…
I have wondered that myself.
Maybe it’s cheaper to lease space on that tower than on Sugarloaf?

As for the vagaries in reception results for each station on a duopoly, this seems to be a common theme …

At my place for instance, KO has better reception than Hit106.9 - though it’s only slightly better, and I wouldn’t know it otherwise without the Teccy’s signal meter.

And whilst staying in Coffs at different places, I have noticed in some locations, 106.3 is better than 105.5, whilst in other locations in Coffs, 105.5 is better… and the results are sometimes 5-7db different, yet I’m within 3 kms of the Tx site for both.

In Port Macquarie, 102.3 seems to be consistently better than 100.7.

The Entrance & surrounds (Southern Shores of the Lake around to Chittaway Bay) are heavily shadowed from the Somesby TX sites, by the hills between Fountaindale & Matcham. One reason I want to move CoastFM to Mt Elliot, it will fix this coverage black hole.

Up around Lake Haven is a reception problem too, because there’s a narrow valley to the North West of the previously mentioned hills, between Fountaindale & Kangy Angy, but then there’s a large hill directly behind Westfield Tuggerah, that blocks the valley effecting reception.

All the Central Coast FM’s are omni-directional, but there’s a few things give them different signal strengths in different areas.

The antenna heights above Sea level are close to the same height, even though the towers are at slightly different heights on the hill.

2GO is furthest South with the antenna placement on the tower facing almost East, SeaFM is next going North, but their antenna placement on the tower is facing roughly South East (back into the Gosford CBD), Star104.5 is furthest North & their antenna placement on the tower is facing almost East.

This however is the biggest factor with all 3 commercial stations, they all have different antenna arrays which will throw the signal out differently (i.e. throw the main lobe further out from the tower or keep it closer in).
2GO has a 3 bay antenna array, SeaFM has a 6 bay antenna array, & Star104.5 has a 4 bay antenna array.

99.7 Rheema FM Newcastle is on a Gencom tower, & yes it was probably cheaper & easier to setup being there rather than on a Mt Sugarloaf site?
That particular TX site is also further South than Mt Sugarloaf & Rheema intended the 99.7 frequency to cover & serve the Central Coast also.
When they initially applied for the Gosford 94.9 licence, it was planed to just be a translator frequency for Rheema Newcastle & they were going to have all the same programming from Newcastle, but ACMA said no, they have to have different/local Central Coast programming on the 94.9 frequency.
Before they moved (recently) to the SeaFM site, Rheema Gosford was also at another Gencom site, lower down the hill & closer into the Gosford CBD at Kariong.

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Guys, when you’re DXing or even just receiving, don’t compare too much, your receiving signal strength with what may be coming out of the transmitter.

ERP is a mathematical calculated maximum estimate of radiated power at a defined distance from the transmitter antenna.

There’s many variables between the signal leaving the transmitter & leaving the TX antenna, then there’s variables in the air between the TX antenna & your receiver.

You’ve got losses in the cables, losses in the combiners, different gains in different antennas, (not all 4 bay or 6 bay antennas have the same gain), it depends on the antenna array design, not all transmitter power outputs will be the same they could have a + or - 10% variable accuracy.

Even though a licence may be omni-directional, FM antennas generally aren’t equal power in all directions, they will have lobes at different strengths.

Center fed & end fed antenna arrays throw the signal out differently, half wave or full wave spaced antenna arrays will be different too.
A 4 bay half wave spaced array will have a different output to a 4 bay full wave spaced array, add centre fed or end fed to that & they’ll be different again, even if they’re the same make & model antenna.

Receive signal strengths are relatable to the receiver more than the transmitter & how well the receiver will demodulate the signal & how good the audio will sound.

Just further to my last post about the Central Coast stations, SeaFM TX power wasn’t turned back up as high as it was before we replaced our antenna, so their ERP may be lower that it was 12 months ago, it’s roughly about 5kW out of the TX, 2GO are outputting a higher TX power in relation to SeaFM, because their antenna gain is different, 2GO is around 9-10kW out of the transmitter & I can’t remember what the Star engineer told me now, but they are running deliberately lower than max ERP somewhere around the 14.5 - 15kW ERP.

Between the 4 Central Coast community stations there’s about 100W difference out of the transmitter, but we all have different length cables into the combiner & different length paths through the combiner, (e.g CoastFM has the shortest coax length between the transmitter & combiner, but we have the longest path through the combiner), so our levels won’t necessarily be equal even though we’re all licence 2kW.

Power out of each transmitter differs, so that also changes the reflected power at each transmitter too, creating another variable, in the ERP & the signal strength you might receive.

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Yes, the Central Coast is a problematic area for terrestrial broadcasts, evidenced by the use of 3 digital TV sites. There’s no one site that will provide optimal coverage, I would think that whilst the use of Mt Elliot will fix issues at the northern end of the Coast, some areas towards the southern end of the Coast may well see issues with Mt Elliot that weren’t a problem with Somersby.

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Thank you that answers alot, and makes sense.
I wonder if and when Dab+ comes to the Coast whether they will be allowed to broadcast at the maximum of 5kw equivalent to 15KW 1/3 power?

I have a week off work this week and will do some coverage maps and post them up on the Dab+ forum if anyone is interested?

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Yes we need a power increase too.
If I can get what I want through ACMA, we won’t lose any coverage in the South from Mt Elliot, some parts will have stronger signals, same with the East (Terrigal, through to Erina), & definitely better in the North/North East.

Bigest losses which I’m trying to overcome, will be parts of North Gosford, Wyoming & the Gosford CBD from Mt Elliot.
Gosford CBD is already shadowed from Somesby by Presidents Hill, so it’ll be take from here & give to there from Mt Elliot.

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