Is there anything more fun than listening to E Skip? Or staying up all night logging long haul tropo, or going to bed at 4am and getting up for work at 8?
 

 

 

My Best Skip and Tropo FM DX Audio from the 1970s to Today
Some of my best  DX on mp3 files.

 

IF YOU'VE SEEN MY TROPO & ES MAPS...YOU'LL HEAR SOME OF THE AUDIO HERE.

You are about to hear some of  my best FM DX, captured on reel-to-reel or cassette tapes since I have been FM Dxing from this location...over 30 years. Audio quality varies on various clips. Most clips, not all, have been edited down to conserve on disk space. All files are now .mp3s.

 

Aurora DX

The date is April 6, 2000.  This is some of the strongest aurora I've heard in years.  As with aurora DX, signal levels can be very strong, but audio quality can be rotten...distorted, muffled, bassy...a real challenge to hear, let alone be able to ID a station.  I have three samples to listen to.  These were the best of the evening.

 

1. WRSF -105.7 Columbia, NC, also known as "Dixie 105.7"  462 miles.
2. WRSF -105.7 Columbia, NC, clip #2, slightly different
3. WYFI -99.7 Norfolk, VA, religious programming but no ID on this clip.  400 miles.  This clip is more representative of how poor aurora signals sound.

 

If you've never heard aurora DX before, these three clips will give you an idea what it sounds like. Awful.

                   1000+ Mile Tropo

The date was August 21, 1978. A stagnant high pressure area covered much of eastern USA. Here is audio of my two most distant FM tropo loggings, both heard around 8pm.  Some of my clips may
require you to listen to them with headphones. I'd advise it with these two clips.

 

1. KLAZ-98.5 Little Rock, AR, known at that time as Z-98.   1176 miles.
2. KKYK -103.7 Little Rock, AR, also known as "kick"   1176 miles.

 

The audio quality of these clips is less than great because these were transfered from reel-to-reel to cassette tapes and then dubbed again.  Also remember the unusual reception conditions and the distances involved.
 

Other Tropo and E Skip from 1976-1987

1. R. Rebelde -90.5 CUBA.  This freq now occupied by WPKT.   1420 miles approx (Es)
2. R. Progresso -92.1 CUBA. This channel is still a good DX channel.   1420 mi approx (Es)
3. CKLW -93.9 Windsor, ON. Now occupied by WPVR locally.   534 miles
4. WNCI -97.9 Columbus, OH.  Now occupied by WECS Hartford, CT.   560 miles
5. WNIC -100.3 Dearborn, MI. Covered by WRCH IBOC. 542
6. WSGS -101.1 Hazard, KY, short reception then covered by WCBS-FM   652 miles
 

Tropo from 1987-1990

1. WDBN -94.9 Akron OH   465 miles
2. WCRF -103.3 Cleveland OH. religious   469 miles
3. CJMX -105.3 Sudbury, ON. Covered by WVEI IBOC  521 miles
4. WSFM -107.5 Southport. NC.    630 miles
5. WMFD -97.3 Wilmington, NC, Pre WZBG.   609 miles
6. CIMX -88.7  Windsor, ON. heard before WNHU signed on the air  534 miles
7. WDJX -99.7 Louisville, KY.  740 miles
8. WMGG -99.7 Colombus. OH.Same evening as WDJX, but just after DJX faded. 560 miles
9. WNWS -98.5 Coldwater. MI heard around 7 one morning.  637 miles
 

Double Hop Es - 1991

1. XHPL -99.7 Ciudad Acuna, Mexico.   1815 miles.  May 25, 1991. IDed with help of Fernando Garcia
  

Tropo 1992

1. WSHW -99.7 Frankfort-Kokomo, IN  734 miles
2. WZNS -92.9 Dillon, SC  638 miles
3. WUGN -99.7 Midland, MI  601 miles
4. WOMC -104.3 Detroit, MI  536 miles
5. WHNN- 96.1 Bay City, MI  583 miles
6. WIOG -102.5 Bay City - Saginaw, MI  583 miles
7. WHTK -99.7 Port RoyalSC- Savannah, GA  798 miles
8. WRFX -99.7 Kannapolis, NC  622 miles

Tropo 1997

1. WKZQ -101.7 Myrtle Beach,SC.  666 miles
2. WWXM -97.7 Myrtle Beach, SC. "Mix 97.7"  666 miles  Still a good DX channel.

E Skip 1998

1. Radio Taino -98.1 Varadero, CUBA  A resort near Havana, IDed with help of Fernando Garcia. 1420 miles

2,000 mile E Skip 2000

1. XHSP -99.7 Monterrey, NL Mexico, a 2 minute clip with phone/fax numbers, parts of the city mentioned 1945mi. IDed by Fernando Garcia who lived there.
 

2,400 mile F2 Skip November 5, 2000

Check out this audio file of the California Highway Patrol 42mhz frequencies heard here in CT.
This was taped at 2pm local time. Two IDs can be heard...Golden Gate (San Francisco) and Fresno. This was a fair opening. I've heard much stronger F2.

Tropo 2001

Midwestern tropo returns to New England!

1. WYMY  -96.9 Goldsboro, NC    540 miles  Aug 26, 2001
2. WWWZ  -99.3 Summerville/Charleston, SC  745 miles   Aug 26, 2001
3. WLXT -96.3  Traverse City, MI  682 miles   Sept 5, 2001
4. WRVM -102.7 Suring, WI  818 miles   "   "
5. WIXX -101.1  Green Bay, WI  796 miles,   "   "
6. WLVQ -96.3 Columbus, OH  560 milrd  "  "
7. WVCX -98.9  Tomah, WI   916 miles  "   "
8. WAPL -105.7 Appleton, WI  813 miles "   "
9. WEEC -100.7 Springfield, OH  602 miles "   "

 

Meteor Bursts - Leonids meteor shower Nov 18, 2001

Here is a short clip recorded on 102.5 at around 1:00pm local time, a few hours
after the shower peak. One is "...Birmingham's Nascar station... (WOWC Jasper, AL) and
"...Tampa Bay's real Classic Rock..." (WHPT Sarasota, FL) plus other misc unidentified bursts.

Tropo 2002  

More Great Lakes Tropo!

1. WOOD -105.7 Grand Rapids, MI 670 mi Sept 5 2002
2. WBYT -100.7  Elkhart, IN 688 miles   "        "
3. WZFS -106.7  Des Plains, IL (Chicago) 786 mi "       " 

E Skip 2003  A Florida pirate? 

This was recorded on May 31st, 2003 at about 6:20pm during a weak skip opening to Miami.
The frequency is 89.1, a Miami pirate frequency and if you listen hard you'll hear a phone number
of  394-8125. 

This one is no pirate. It's ZFB  94.9 in Hamilton, Bermuda heard by E skip on 7/19. I would have missed this if I hadn't been alerted to it. I was lucky.

Aurora 2003

Here's audio from WOMC 104.3 Detroit heard by aurora on May 29th. I've heard them by aurora before, but never this clear.  Compare it to the tropo reception heard below.

Tropo 2003

Midwest tropo lives! Here are some of the best catches from August 20/21 and early September.

1.  WKOA- 105.3   Lafayette, IN                            750mi
2.  WMJI-   105.7   Cleveland, OH                         469 mi
3.  WMMQ-  94.9   E. Lansing, MI                         609 mi
4.  WOMC-  104.3  Detroit, MI                               535 mi
5.  WLAV-   96.9    Grand Rapids. MI                    670 mi
6.  WJZK-  104.3   Richwood-Columbus, OH       566mi
7.  WHOT-  101.1  Youngstown, OH                      421 mi
8.  WVIC-    94.1    Jackson, MI                              605 mi

Double Hop Es - 2006    

June 10 was the date and it was about 3:30 in the afternoon during a very intense E skip opening to Arkansas and Texas when I tuned to a usually empty 97.1 and heard Spanish.  I ran a tape, posted it on the WTFDA Forums where the clip was IDed as XHNLO in Nuevo Laredo, TAM, about 1850 miles. In the clip there's a DJ doing a remote at a Ford Dealer in an auto mall in Laredo, Texas. This clip was IDed by Jim Thomas, Milliken, CO.

1. XHNLO 97.1 Nuevo Laredo, TAM                   1850mi

Tropo 2007

August 28th 6pm to 9pm. These are mp3 files.

1.  WREO   97.1  Ashtabula, OH
 2.  WTSS   102.5  NY Buffalo     327mi
3.  CKDK    103.9 London, ON
 4.  CIMJ     106.1 Guelph, ON
5.  CFCA    105.3 Kitchener, ON  413mi

 

Tropo Fall 2010

This amazing 860 mile tropo to Nashville happened on September 2010 from around 10:00am to 11:30am.

1.    WGFX     104.5    Gellatin TN        836mi
2.    WLKT     104.5     Lexington KY    685mi
3.    WRVW    107.5    Lebanon TN       836mi
4.    WKDF     103.3    Nashville TN      860mi
5.    WPRT     102.5    Pegram TN        836mi
 

Other tropo clips from the 70s and 80s

 

If a clip is also listed above, the content of the clip is not the same as the one above. Quality of this
clip may be better.

  1. CFRQ -  104.3   Halifax NS                 489 miles
  2. CHFI   -     98.1  Toronto, ON               363 miles
  3. CHUM-   104.5  Toronto, ON
  4. CHYM-     96.7   Kitchener, ON          413 miles
  5. CIOO-    100.1   Halifax, NS
  6. CJYC-      98.9   St. John, NB              399 miles
  7. CKFM-     98.1   Toronto, ON
  8. CKO-     103.5   Halifax, NS                                    (this station is now off the air)
  9. WANJ-  107.5  Wheeling, WV           442 miles
10. WANV-   99.7   Staunton, VA             432 miles
11. WBEN- 102.5   Buffalo, NY                 327 miles
12. WCLW-105.3  Mansfield, OH            521 miles     
13. WDCX-   99.5  Buffalo, NY
14. WDVE- 102.5  Pittsburgh, PA            399 miles
15. WFRB- 105.3  Frostburg, MD            368 miles
16. WGER-102.5   Bay City, MI                583 miles
17. WHAJ-104.5   Bluefield, WV             562 miles
18. WJLB-   97.9   Detroit, MI                   536 miles    (I have a local on this freq. now)
19. WLLZ-   98.7   Detroit, MI
20. WMNI-   99.7   Columbus, OH            560 miles
21. WMUZ-103.5   Detroit, MI                                     (I have a local at a community college killing this freq now)
22. WNCI-    97.9   Columbus, OH
23. WRAL-101.5   Raleigh, NC                 537 miles     Hurricane Josephine induced.
24. WRFX-   99.7   Kannapolis,NC          622 miles
25. WRIF-  101.1   Detroit, MI
26. WRVQ-  94.5   Richmond, VA             403 miles
27. WSFM-107.5   Southport, NC              630 miles
28. WWST-104.5  Wooster, OH                491 miles
29. WYYD-   96.1   Raleigh, NC                                    Hurricane Josephine induced.
30. WZZP-  106.5  Cleveland, OH             469 miles
 

These clips represent just a fraction of the places that I have managed to hear  in Northern Connecticut over the last 25 years or so. It is by no means a complete list.  FM radio has changed quite a bit over the last 25 years, and you can hear the changes in some of these clips.  I hope this page encourages some of you to give FM Dxing a try! The frequencies are more clogged, the weather seems not to co-operate anymore (at least with midwest tropo), but the DX is still out there waiting.


©2000-2011 M. Bugaj

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