That’s interesting, as my view to the north is obstructed by terrain but to the west I can see the horizon. Mount Moombil isn’t always there on my setup either, however. And the Central Western Slopes stations come and go a lot. I guess I’d probably need some more elements on my 3-element yagi to get the Mount Panorama stations.
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Yes the coastal stations come in better here especially from the north - you can see the Glasshouses from my house (on a clear day). The Cooloola stations are stronger than Mt Nardi generally. Though I get Coffs on 92.3 with antenna facing south, Kix is at good strength from the north.
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I have, in very strong tropo only, had issues on 94.5 and maybe 95.3, but otherwise Mt Nardi is a local here. The ABCs are two bars (of three) on the Sony, and I have a permanent weak but audible signal from ZZZ FM. That is with an antenna pointing SSE though, so beamed directly at them, but I don’t imagine it’d be much different at this location even if I spun it around - it wasn’t with the old omni I had.
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My post was a bit ambiguous; I meant to convey that I got CWS/Orange a bit stronger than you. Mind you I had an 8 element beam and a great takeoff westward. Orange was a bloody pest and it was hard to get Batemans Bay over it, especially Power FM and 2EC. Funnily enough down here, I can separate BB and Orange perfectly, probably because they are near perpendicular to one another from Bungendore (N vs ESE).
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For meteor FM DXing:-
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower will peak between May 4 and May 7, but meteors will be visible from late April through mid-May. If you’re really keen, keep watch anytime between April 19 and May 28.
May 5 and 6 will be the best days to see them.
The best time to see the Eta Aquarids is in the pre-dawn hours, specifically from 3am to 5am, when the radiant point in the eastern sky is highest.
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A few more new catches for me tonight
89.9 4DDD Dalby - weak
92.3 HPON Maryborough - weak
93.9 4RUM Bundaberg - weak
94.5 4PNN Sunshine Coast - fair (in a null of 2NNR Lismore)
95.5 HPON Bundaberg - weak
105.1 4WRB Maryborough - weak
106.7 4RBL Wide Bay - weak
107.5 4FCR Maryborough - weak
Also
4CEE 101.9 Maryborough faded up briefly strong enough for Hit101.9 RDS.
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Here in the UK, in NW Europe, autumn is often the time of year when the biggest tropo openings occur. October and November are probably the best months for this. November 2024 was very good with high pressure dominating for the first half of the month, and consequently resulted in excellent tropo at times with signals at >1000 km received on the FM band.
Is it different in Australia?
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Depends on where you are. Generally tropo is more intense in the summer months here. We are under the subtropical ridge most of the year in mainland southern Australia whereas in NW Europe, high pressure is fairly transient except in autumn. I am only at 35 degrees south whereas London is 51 degrees north- a huge difference.
Coastal tropo mainly depends on the temperature gradient between land and sea which is greatest in late spring and early summer here.
Tropo at higher latitudes (Tasmania) may peak in early autumn, when the subtropical ridge is far enough south. @Radiohead found this out when he had Power FM Nowra blasting into Scottsdale. I also had decent tropo on the South Island of NZ in March; March is generally the most settled month around Dunedin (similar to September in NW Europe) which is why I went then.
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Went up to Mount Tamborine today
To my surprise, I got this (only partial / weak).
Also partial RDS reception of 4WK 95.5 Toowoomba.
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Wow that’s a good effort given its TX location
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That’s really good for Noosa, as there is much enhancement around at the moment. There was some early in the morning up to CQ but only low level.
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That western ridge of Mt Tamborine is excellent for Toowoomba - you’re pretty much looking straight across the Scenic Rim/Lockyer Valley at the range.
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That’s pretty much where i was
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Looked to have been a bit of enhancement on the drive back from the Gold Coast today (in Coffs Harbour tonight)
Heard 88.7 Classic FM Sunshine Coast on the Pacific Hwy near Byron Bay, and 98.9 4AAA Brisbane popped up on the car radio with RDS near Woodburn, though for some reason that part of the Northern Rivers seems to often Brisbane FM signals.
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With the new feed in installed for my radio setup, the noise floor has dropped quite a fair bit and opened up some more potential tropo reception when the conditions are suitable.
On MW it seems to have also helped, though nothing really new so far.
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Yes, it’s there on the bypass and in town as of a fortnight ago.
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Nova 100.3 is off air right now. Not sure if this is planned maintenance or a fault.
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Hobart FM full blast into Mount Macedon at midday today with RDS. Only dropped in strength as you approached Macedon town. I have a video which I will upload.
Also got 5SE 90.5 and Vision Radio St Arnaud (106.1). Did not notice Nova off air.
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