Denver, Yorkton .. next stop is Boise

[radiofan]

I was awake just before 5 this morning, so did a quick bandscan. KOA 850 from Denver was booming in with no sign of KHHO Tacoma.

CJGX 940 from Yorkton SK was dominating the frequency. Haven't heard them for a year or two.

I listened to KBOI 670 for awhile and their almost local signal. I guess Boise has grown a bit in the past few years, I was surprised to hear traffic reports from the KBO-I in The Sky.

[Russ_Byth]

You doing the scanning on a 'regular' radio, or in the RF-mobile? Which would be better for the average Joe?

[jon]

A few comments about DX'ing in a moving vehicle from someone who does it from time to time. I don't have THAT much experience because I don't normally drive in the dark. When you are this far North, it is light so late, especially with Daylight Saving Time, in the Summer, I'm rarely out in the Dark. And, in the winter, Dark just makes Ice harder to see and avoid, so I avoid driving in the Dark for safety reasons.

That said, I have consistently had very good results with the stock AM radio in low-end Chrysler and Ford cars over nearly 20 years now. But, it was a real eye-opener one day when I left the radio on a fairly quiet frequency as I turned the ignition off and to Accessories. Unbelievable. What sounded like a quiet frequency suddenly came alive. With the engine running, the amount of ignition noise eliminated any reception, but the AM receiver had been built with some sort of Squelch that basically turned the ignition noise into a white noise that sounded like you hit the "bottom" of the available receiver Sensitivity.

Problem #1: Ignition Noise. Car manufacturers stopped making Ignition Noise Suppressors decades ago. About the time that FM beat AM in the ratings.

Problem #2: A moving vehicle means you are more likely to pass through impaired reception areas, like those near reinforced concrete buildings, hills, or noisy electrical wiring or signage. Just as the station you are DX'ing is about to ID.

Problem #3: Car antennas are designed for FM reception, not AM, though they do do a decent, but not spectacular, job. They are omni-directional which eliminates the advantage of a directional antenna pointed right at the station you are trying to hear.

Problem #4: DX'ing actively is as distracting as talking on a cell phone. Which hopefully means you'll abandon your DX when your driving demands your attention. But that also means, you're likely to miss a station ID, or just an opportunity to tune to another frequency with a station from the same location you're currently getting.

Problem #5: Face it, no car radio is intended for DX. Sticking a DX receiver in your car is problematic, because that is only half the solution. You'll also want a DX antenna, which has to be outside the car to work properly. And that is a huge hassle, especially since loop antennas need to be constantly oriented towards the station you want to hear, or the co-channel interference you don't want to hear. A logistical nightmare.

DX'ing at home generally makes much more sense. Except, you may live in a reception impaired area -- even the high voltage power lines 3/4 of a mile away are a major problem for me here. Or, you may discover that your house is reception impaired internally -- I have a rather small house, but recently built, and the difference between the North and South side of the house is unbelievable, from an AM reception point of view. Because I'm so far North, 98% of the stations I want to hear as a DX'er can't be heard from a North-facing room. Given I have an attached garage on the South side, this can be an issue.

On the positive side, a directional antenna eliminated the power line interference to a level adequate for airchecks. And you have a choice of lighting and most other sources of RF interference in your own house. I recently installed my first fluorescent lighting, and found the latest generation of enclosed CFL pretty much undetectable in terms of RF interference, even on the 600 KHz peak frequency for fluorescent lighting. Be sure to check out all the operating electrical devices in your home before giving up on intolerable levels of RF interference.

[jon]

As for KOA (850 in Denver), there were usually dominant at night in Burnaby on the frequency in the '60s and '70s when I was there, or heard loud underneath CJJC when they were on that frequency.

Even more so here in Edmonton, despite the fact that Athabasca is so close. Unlike 1370 Westlock, Athabasca never seems to miss switching to night pattern, sending virtually no signal South to Edmonton. KOA has a signal at night approaching the strength of KSL (1160 in Salt Lake City).

[Russ_Byth]

I hadn't even thought about doing a dial scan as you drive... I was thinking about just going to a clear area, like up on Burnaby Mountain, away from power lines.

[jon]

Depending on the quality of your car radio, that is certainly worth a try. FM DX would be pretty good up there, too. As a kid, I remember a trip into the B.C. Interior, and how much better the AM reception was in a mountain parking lot, than anywhere below, even in the daytime. The family went hiking, and I stayed in the car, DX'ing.

If you do go the DX receiver and loop antenna route for AM DX, you would have to have the loop outside the vehicle because the metal in the car would prevent AM signals with their long wavelengths from getting through (very well).

[drmusic]

I was pleasantly surprised to hear KBOI while driving between Saskatoon and North Battleford, SK, one evening a couple of days before Christmas. That was a first. (Not the furthest, though. In the past, from Regina, the furthest signals I've picked up have been KOMO Seattle and KGO San Francisco. Most nights, it's nothing to get WBBM Chicago.)
Side note: Furthest? Farthest?

[Russ_Byth]

Jon... my question to RF did not refer to heavy duty DXing. He said he had been 'scanning', so I assumed he was just talking about regular radios.... as I was when I mentioned car radios. (Yes, I know the multi-definitions of DX) It was a simple question, as some of us sometimes want to ask, hoping for a simple answer and all of a sudden we're talking about wrapping our cars in wire. Every now and then an apple is just an apple.

[radiofan]

I usually have the GE Superradio or the CC Radio (both battery operated) nearby. I often scan the AM band when I go to bed or if I wake up during the night.

Both would be considered regular radios, the GE about $70 Cdn @ London Drugs, the CC about $130 US from C Crane.

As for the car, I've had some radios that were great, the current one is absolute shit on AM thanks to the little 12" antenna that's on an angle at the back of the roof.

Some of the more interseting catches I've had over the years were on the car radio either driving thru the city or out on the highway.

[jon]

Russ: there is a simple piece of advice in all of this car stuff. If you take a portable radio up Burnaby Mountain, step outside the vehicle for better reception.

[Russ_Byth]

Thanks guys!

[Jack Bennest]

Every now and then an apple is just an apple.

I knew this guy was brilliant the first time I met him

[slowhand]

How many points do I get for the line "A Kat is just a Dog in drag"???

[Jack Bennest]

How about Kat is just a drag

forget the rest

[skyvalleyradio]

Good north-south AM DX on the GE Superadio III at sunrise today: I nulled out KUGN 590 Eugene enough to nail KSSK Honolulu - a station I've heard many times out at Tofino at sunrise. KOGO 600 San Diego also in right now over CJWW(?) KAOI 1110 Honolulu mixing with KBND Bend right now too...

You can't find any better AM DX on a car radio than the open deck of a BC Ferry. I have static strips mounted on my truck rear mudflaps to groiund out my vehicle to the steel ferry deck for an excellent ground! My best catch from an open car-deck on my truck radio was in the early 90's before the "expanded AM Band": religious blaster Caribbean Lighthouse 1610 with 50 kW!

Russ - one of the BEST spots in Vancouver for both AM & FM vehicle DX is the pull-off viewpoint overlooking the mouth of the Fraser River. This is located along the 4-lane stretch of 41st Ave within the UBC Lands and is about half-way between Camosun St and the 16th Ave intersection. There are NO power lines along there and no street lights with 'noisy' ballasts to interrupt your DXing...very quiet noise floor on AM. Try it!