Signals from the Deep South region of the United States were heard in Northern Virginia during the first sporadic E opening of the 2023 season on May 31.
Sporadic E was first observed upon turning on my SDR radio at 11:17 AM, with signals mostly from the Florida panhandle and the state’s west coast were heard. At the same time, some brief signals from the Midwest, in what I assume to be a separate Es cloud, were also heard.
While most stations were weak, some signals boomed in like locals, such as 92.1 WCTQ and 97.9 WXTB and there were plenty of RDS decodes from other stations. The opening lasted a little over an hour and had a MUF, or highest frequency skip was observed, of 105.7 FM. Most signals heard were below 103.1 FM.
FM radio signals from the Deep South were heard in Northern Virginia via Sporadic E on June 18, 2022. The opening began at about 7:53 PM with signals from Louisiana and Texas. About an hour later, a separate Sporadic E cloud brought in signals from Florida, while the first cloud slightly shifted to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
My Airspy SDR was recording all signals from 93.3-102.3 FM, and while I was actively monitoring the entire DX band on other radios, it seemed that most of the action was within the span my SDR was recording. I didn’t hear too many signals below 93.3 FM, nor did I hear many above 102.3 FM. In fact, 101.7, 101.9, and 102.1 were the most active during the entire opening, with 102.1 KDGE from the Dallas area in for most of the two hour opening.
The opening, while having a duration of about 2 hours from start to finish, had about 45 cumulative minutes of signals heard. The MUF, or maximum usable frequency (the highest frequency skip was heard) was 106.1 FM, although the majority of signals I heard were below 102.5 FM. My DX Logs and RDS/HD Radio Screenshots pages have been updated with the new logs and screenshots below.
= new station logged
unID = unidentified signal
88.1 unID “Way FM” christian contemporary, suspect WAYH Harvest, AL
89.5 unID religious
93.5 unID religious
93.5 WZFL Islamorada, FL, 965 miles
93.5 unID K-Love, suspect WMLV Butler, AL
94.1 KLNO Dallas, TX, 1181 miles
94.1 unID classic hits
94.1 WLLD Lakeland, FL, 809 miles
94.5 unID classic rock
95.3 WBBN Taylorsville, MS, 842 miles
95.9 unID country
96.1 WRXK Bonita Springs, FL, 883 miles
96.5 unID CHR
96.5 unID spanish, suspect WOEX Orlando, FL
97.7 WYYX Bonifay, FL, 732 miles
97.9 KBFB Dallas, TX, 1180 miles
99.9 KTDY Lafayette, LA, 1011 miles
100.1 unID urban/CHR
100.1 WWLY Panama City Beach, FL, 759 miles
100.5 WJQX Helena, AL, 677 miles 100.7 KULL Abilene, TX, 1326 miles
100.7 KWRD Highland Village, TX, 1145 miles
100.7 WTGE Baton Rouge, LA, 982 miles
101.3 unID country
101.7 KBYB Hope, AR, 984 miles
101.7 WQRR Reform, AL, 700 miles
101.9 WWGR Ft. Myers, FL, 882 miles
101.9 WLMG New Orleans, LA, 945 miles
102.1 KDGE Ft. Worth, TX, 1181 miles
102.1 WQUA Citronelle, AL, 819 miles
102.5 unID CHR
105.7 unID classic country
106.1 unID country
FM signals from the Midwest and South Florida were heard at the same time in Northern Virginia on June 3, 2022. I first noticed weak signals fading in briefly from both areas at 7:30 PM. At the same time, other DXers were reporting very strong skip from the Northeast into the Midwest and Deep South, among other areas, so I wasn’t alone. 92.9 KGRC, a previously-logged signal from Missouri, popped in with RDS at 7:55 PM.
By 8PM, the opening got slightly stronger, with some signals coming in over adjacent-to-local station IBOC signals. The opening ended at about 9PM.
I experienced most of the opening in my car about a mile away from my home. My Airspy SDR was recording all FM frequencies from 89.1-98.1 FM. I noticed, while going over its unattended recordings, that the SDR did not pick up anywhere near as many signals as my car did. The Airspy did, however, receive a very strong signal for about 2 minutes on 92.1 FM. The station mentioned Lexington in the liner as its RDS decoded. I found this to be a positive ID for WBVX Carlisle, KY. But what surprised me was how close the station was: 385 miles, a new distance record for the shortest station received via Sporadic E. Typically, FM Es signals come in 700-1400 miles away, with ranges of 500-1500 miles generally possible via a single hop. 385 miles is very close and rare for FM Es, especially when the opening was otherwise fairly weak locally. However, since the opening was strong elsewhere, I guess I got lucky with my reception of WBVX.
The opening, while having a duration of 1.5 hours from start to finish, only had about 10 minutes cumulative of signals heard. The MUF, or maximum usable frequency (the highest frequency skip was heard) was 101.7 FM, although the majority of signals I heard were below 96.9 FM. My DX Logs and RDS/HD Radio Screenshots pages have been updated with the new logs and screenshots below.
= new station logged
unID = unidentified signal
88.3 unID public radio 89.1 KQOU Clinton, OK, 1214 miles
89.5 WAYJ Naples, FL, 904 miles
90.3 unID public radio 91.7 KPNE North Platte, NE, 1273 miles
91.7 unID religious preaching & gospel 92.1 WBVX Carlisle, KY, 385 miles
92.3 unID “Power 92” or “Power 92.3” (couldn’t hear exactly), likely KIPR Pine Bluff, AR, 878 miles
92.7 unID classic country mixing with local 92.7 WDCJ
92.9 KGRC Hannibal, MO, 760 miles
93.5 KKDT Burdett, KS, 1208 miles
93.5 unID local sports game
93.5 either WZFL Islamorada, FL, 965 miles, or WBGF Belle Glade, FL, 865 miles (stations simulcast each other)
93.7 unID classic country
94.1 unID commercials
94.5 unID hot AC
94.9 WZTU Miami Beach, FL, 894 miles
96.1 KICX Mccook, NE, 1250 miles
96.1 WRXK Bonita Springs, FL, 883 miles
A massive, record-breaking Sporadic E opening blanketed the Eastern Seaboard of the United States on July 13, 2021, bringing in FM signals from Yucatán to Minnesota to my radios in Northern Virginia in a manner not seen in 11 years.
The banner day opening started at 8:30AM in earnest, with signals from Florida and Texas coming in off and on until about 2:30pm, when signals from Mexico were heard. The skip returned at 7:10PM with two separate, simultaneous openings that shot up to the top of the FM band almost instantaneously without warning: one to the Upper Midwest, and a much more potent opening to the Deep South. The skip ended at 10:10PM, resulting in 5.5 hours of cumulative Sporadic E reception. The majority of signals from the evening opening were from Southern Georgia, an area that is extremely rare to get here in Virginia due to distance and a usual deluge of signals from Louisiana and Tkexas that usually dominate the dial when skip is coming from that region–something that was largely absent this opening.
What set this e-skip opening apart from others in recent memory was its sheer force. Most frequencies on the FM dial were full with at least four to five stations coming in at once, making identification of any of them very difficult. Many of my local Washington, DC and Fredericksburg, VA local stations (89.7, 90.1, 92.7 97.1, 98.7, 99.1, 99.5, 100.3, 101.1, 101.5, 102.3, 107.3, and 107.9) were clobbered by Sporadic E-reflected signals, some completely gone without a trace at times. In fact, I feel the only reason why I was able to get so many new logs was that I had my Airspy R2 SDR recording all frequencies between 88.7 and 98.3 FM. Many of the new signals logged below were only received by a split-second RDS decode that I would’ve never received if I was manually dial scanning. The amount of new logs from this opening, 39, is also something I have not achieved since an Es opening on 6/12/2009. The July 13 opening also netted me my 2000th FM station logged, something I’ve been working toward since 1999.
The record breaking didn’t end there. The July 13 opening brought in the closest FM station I have ever received in 21 years via Sporadic E: 89.9 WJWJ at 453 miles. WJWJ’s state of South Carolina, with this opening, is the first new state received via Es in years, the closest state I’ve received skip from, and the only U.S. state I have received signals from both via tropospheric ducting and Sporadic E. The day’s opening also added a new estado from rarely-received Mexico to my logbook, Yucatán.
89.1 WSMR Sarasota, FL, 852 miles
89.1 WUFT-FM Gainesville, FL, 683 miles
89.5 KYFL Monroe, LA, 934 miles
89.5 WAYJ Naples, FL, 904 miles
89.5 WGSG Mayo, FL, 682 miles
89.7 WUSF Tampa, FL, 801 miles over local W209BY
89.9 WJWJ-FM Beaufort, SC, 453 miles
89.9 WMAB-FM Mississippi State, MS, 758 miles
89.9 WWNO New Orleans, LA, 945 miles 90.1 WXVS Waycross, GA, 594 miles over local WCSP-FM
90.1 WFRU Quincy, FL, 689 miles over local WCSP-FM
90.3 WJLH Flagler Beach, FL, 679 miles
90.3 WHCJ Savannah, GA, 505 miles
90.3 WEJF Palm Bay, FL, 758 miles
91.3 WLRN-FM Miami, FL, 893 miles
91.7 WMVV Griffin, GA, 529 miles
92.1 WCTQ Venice, FL, 850 miles
92.1 WNFK Perry, FL, 690 miles 92.1 WBTR-FM Carrollton, GA, 557 miles
92.1 WKXY Merigold, MS, 816 miles
92.1 WZEW Fairhope, AL, 834 miles
92.3 WWKA Orlando, FL, 731 miles
92.3 WCMQ-FM Hialeah, FL, 906 miles
92.3 WZRH Laplace, LA, 974 miles 92.5 KVPI-FM Ville Platte, LA, 1014 miles
92.5 WYUU Safety Harbor, FL, 807 miles 92.5 WPAP Panama City, FL, 730 miles
92.5 WEKS Zebulon, GA, 556 miles
92.9 WMFQ Ocala, FL, 717 miles
92.9 WIKX Charlotte Harbor, FL, 862 miles
92.9 WBLX-FM Mobile, AL, 810 miles 93.1 WKRO-FM Port Orange, FL, 690 miles
93.1 WFEZ Miami, FL, 894 miles 93.1 WBBK-FM Blakely, GA, 672 miles
93.5 XHPTLM-FM Tulum, YUC, 1408 miles
93.5 WFDZ Perry, FL, 690 miles 93.5 WZFL Islamorada, FL, 965 miles
93.5 WMRG Morgan, GA, 628 miles
93.5 WKWX Savannah, GA, 645 miles
93.5 KKOT Columbus, NE, 1094 miles
93.7 WGYL Vero Beach, FL, 785 miles 94.3 WNFB Lake City, FL, 670 miles
94.5 WARO Naples, FL, 890 miles
94.5 WFLF Parker, FL, 762 miles (received detuned on 94.467 MHz due to local 94.7 WIAD’s IBOC sideband)
94.9 WWRM Tampa, FL, 803 miles
94.9 WZTU Miami Beach, FL, 894 miles
95.7 WBTP Clearwater, FL, 807 miles 96.1 WEJZ Jacksonville, FL, 627 miles
96.1 WHBX Tallahassee, FL, 705 miles
96.1 KMRX El Dorado, AR, 936 miles
96.1 WXFL Florence, AL, 617 miles
96.5 WZNS Ft. Walton Beach, FL, 779 miles
96.5 WPOW Miami, FL, 894 miles
96.9 WDJR Enterprise, AL, 719 miles 97.1 WOKK Meridian, MS, 776 miles over local WASH 97.3 WGEX Bainbridge, GA, 661 miles
97.7 XHGL-FM Mérida, YUC, 1424 miles
97.7 WTCQ Vidalia, GA, 531 miles
97.7 KNBB Dubach, LA, 608 miles
97.9 WXTB Clearwater, FL, 790 miles
97.9 WTSM Woodville, FL, 692 miles
97.9 WRMF Palm Beach, FL, 839 miles 97.9 WIBB-FM Ft. Valley, GA, 556 miles
98.5 KQKQ-FM Council Bluffs, IA, 1007 miles
99.3 WEBZ Mexico Beach, FL, 754 miles
99.3 WKCN Lumpkin, GA, 621 miles
99.7 WJMI Jackson, MS, 854 miles
100.1 KRVV Bastrop, LA, 919 miles 100.1 WWLY Panama City Beach, FL, 759 miles
100.5 KIKN-FM Salem, MO, 1099 miles 100.5 WJQX Helena, AL, 677 miles
100.7 WDMS Greenville, MS, 849 miles
100.9 WJXN-FM Utica, MS, 865 miles
101.3 WJDQ Meridian, MS, 777 miles 101.3 KDPX Pine Bluff, AR, 865 miles
101.7 KYDA Azle, TX, 1183 miles
101.9 KMVX Monroe, LA, 944 miles
101.9 WWGR Ft. Myers, FL, 882 miles 102.1 WWAV Santa Rosa Beach, FL, 778 miles
102.1 KYBG Basile, LA, 1044 miles 102.9 KRFG Nashwauk, MN, 993 miles
103.3 KIXB El Dorado, AR, 951 miles
103.9 WYAB Flora, MS, 843 miles 105.5 WSSQ Sterling, IL, 691 miles
105.5 WYZB Mary Esther, FL, 779 miles
106.1 KXRR Monroe, LA, 928 miles 106.1 KLSS-FM Mason City, IA, 881 miles
106.1 KXKU Lyons, KS, 1114 miles
106.1 KHKS Denton, TX, 1180 miles
107.1 WURN-FM Key Largo, FL, 943 miles
107.1 WCKT Lehigh Acres, FL, 891 miles 107.3 KISX Whitehouse, TX, 1097 miles over local WLVW
Radio signals from Florida to Manitoba were received in Northern Virginia via Sporadic E on June 15, 2021, resulting in 3 new FM logs. At about 9:39 AM, stations from Mississippi and the panhandle of Florida slowly came in with RDS strength. Soon afterward, a few Miami-area low band FM stations were seen, also with RDS. The paths shifted slightly to Texas and Louisiana, bringing in signals from Houston and New Orleans, respectively, before flipping back to the southeastern Florida and back to Lousiana by 11:40AM. The skip dissipated by noon, but was quickly back at about 3:12PM, this time bringing in signals from northern Minnesota and Manitoba very briefly before ending for good. All in all, about 95 minutes of cumulative skip with a MUF, or highest frequency skip was observed on, of 105.7 FM.
The opening has been the best so far in the 2021 season. Signals, although with deep fades, were strong enough to decode RDS and be “seen” under local radio station IBOC sidebands on the Airspy R2 radio. The stations received were not strong enough to decode HD Radio, nor did anything overpower a local radio station, although a few semi-local signals disappeared to skip signals.
Stations received on June 15, first opening into the southeastern USA:
88.1 unID religious talk
88.1 unID ccm
88.9 unID public radio
88.9 unID religious talk
89.1 WPAS Pascagoula, MS, 847 miles
89.1 WUFT-FM Gainesville, FL, 683 miles
89.1 WSMR Sarasota, FL, 852 miles
89.9 unID religious talk
90.7 unID jazz, suspect WWOZ New Orleans, LA, 945 miles
91.7 unID religious talk
92.1 KROI Seabrook, TX, 1212 miles
92.1 KTSR De Quincy, LA, 1082 miles
92.3 WZRH Laplace, LA, 974 miles
92.3 WCMQ-FM Hialeah, FL, 906 miles
92.9 WMFQ Ocala, FL, 717 miles
92.9 WIKX Charlotte Harbor, FL, 862 miles
93.1 WFEZ Miami, FL, 894 miles
93.1 KQID-FM Alexandria, LA, 972 miles
93.5 either WZFL Islamorada, FL, WBGF Belle Glade, FL, or W228BY Miami, FL (simulcasts)
93.7 unID ads
94.3 WTIX Galliano, LA, 953 miles over local 94.3 WLZV
94.5 WJZD Long Beach, MS, 877 miles
96.5 unID CHR, suspect WPOW
97.7 WAVK Marathon, FL, 984 miles
99.9 WKIS Boca Raton, FL, 891 miles
100.7 unID ads, suspect miami
101.3 unID ads
101.7 unID local ads, either WCZR Vero Beach, FL, 777 miles, or W269DS North Palm Beach, FL, 819 miles
102.1 unID country
102.5 unID talk, suspect tampa
102.9 WJGO Tice, FL, 884 miles
103.1 WIRK Indiantown, FL, 821 miles
103.9 unID CHR 104.3 WSFS Miramar, FL, 891 miles
105.7 WGAY Sugarloaf Key, FL, 997 miles
Stations received on June 15, second opening into the Upper Midwest:
92.5 KKWQ Warroad, MN, 1140 miles
92.9 unID hot AC
93.5 unID french talk
93.5 CJEL-FM Winkler, MB, 1255 miles
93.7 unID CHR
96.1 KQHT Crookston, MN, 1166 miles
103.3 unID classic rock
103.7 KKBJ-FM Bemidji, MN, 1072 miles
103.9 unID country
A few days prior, on June 11, a much briefer and weaker opening into South Florida and Bermuda brought in two previously logged signals, as listed below. Even with about 10 minutes of skip and a MUF of 92.9 FM, this opening did net my first RDS decode from Bermuda, a country rarely logged here in Virginia.
Stations received on June 11:
89.1 ZBM-FM Hamilton, Bermuda, 829 miles
89.5 unID ccm
92.1 unID hot AC
92.9 WIKX Charlotte Harbor, FL, 862 miles
A very weak sporadic E opening was heard in Northern Virginia on June 6, this time into the deep south. I didn’t get to my radios until about 7:55PM, but unattended Airspy IQ recordings covering 88.1 to 96.5 FM found previously-logged 92.1 WECQ from the Gulf Coast of Florida in with advertisements at about 7:17 PM. From that time until I manned my radios at 7:55PM, a few other signals popped in, mostly weak, except for a very brief first-time RDS decode from relog 89.9 WWNO. Overall, the opening ended at around 8:05 PM and never really picked up. I added the screenshot from WWNO to my HD Radio/RDS Screenshots gallery page.
stations received:
89.1 unID ccm
89.9 WWNO New Orleans, LA, 945 miles
90.3 unID oldies music
91.7 WAOY Gulfport, MS, “AFR” – ccm, with legal ID, 866 miles
92.1 WECQ Destin, FL, with local ads, 768 miles
92.3 rock, suspect WZRH LaPlace, LA
93.5 unID urban
94.5 KRUF Shreveport, LA, “K94-5” – CHR, with local ads, 1021 miles
Radio signals from Nova Scotia were heard over 800 miles away in Northern Virginia during a massive tropospheric ducting event in the overnight hours of September 9, 2020.
The duct, which began shortly before midnight Sept. 8, also brought in sustained signals from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York with distances over 400 miles away continuously until about 11 AM. Other DXers in New England reported receiving signals from near my home in Virginia at comparable distances, and a reader in Nova Scotia told me that she also received stations from Massachusetts during the event.
See the orange and pink area depicting the tropo duct from Virginia to Nova Scotia as reported by the Hepburn Tropo Index on Sept. 9, 2020. Click to enlarge.
I turned on my radios at 11:44 PM Sept. 8 and immediately found 98.1 WCTK, a never before-received signal from New Bedford, MA at 393 miles away, booming in with decoded HD Radio. Soon after, I found more signals from throughout New England coming in.
The golden prize of the opening didn’t occur until 1:36 AM, when I discovered a weak signal from 103.5 CKHZ-FM Halifax, NS in Canada coming in right over local 103.5 WTOP. CKHZ-FM, at 813 miles away, is now the furthest radio station I have received via tropospheric ducting, unseating my previous record set in 2005 by 99.9 WQRC Barnstable, MA at 420 miles away. It also marked the first time that I received a different country on the radio dial at my home via tropo. WTOP is a very strong local signal at 21 miles away from me, so the fact that CKHZ-FM was able to come in over it is simply amazing. Two other Canadian stations from the Halifax area of Nova Scotia, previously-logged 95.7 CJNI-FM and 100.1 CIOO-FM, were also heard. All in all, I received 30 new radio stations during the opening. A list of these new stations can be found further below in this post.
The opening also gave me my first “three prong” signal–a signal that was heard separately, at different times, via the three major radio signal propagation methods: Sporadic E-Skip, meteor scatter, and tropospheric ducting. That station is Halifax’s 100.1 CIOO-FM. I first heard CIOO-FM via meteor scatter propagation on Sept. 20, 2006 and a few times since then via skip. Given limitations related to propagation and distance, having a three prong signal is very rare and it took me 21 years to get one.
Tropo enhancement with signals coming in over 400 miles away as observed in this tropo duct is common in the southeastern USA and Gulf Coast, but it is unheard of in the Mid-Atlantic region of the country where I live. DXers in New England will, occasionally, receive stations from Virginia and the Carolinas, but the reception is usually one way and I don’t benefit from it as the endpoints of the duct are usually out of range for me. My distant receptions to north and northeast often bottom out at New York City, which is 225 miles away. These stations are usually in for less than an hour before the duct falls apart and they disappear. To have an all-night opening bringing signals 400-820 miles away is something that just doesn’t happen in my area.
Throughout the opening, many of my local Washington, DC and Fredericksburg, VA radio stations were fighting with New England stations for control of the frequency. Some local signals were simply gone off the dial without a trace, with multiple distant signals coming in all at once in place of them. The pile-up of so many signals coming in at once reminded me of the once-in-a-lifetime colossal July 6, 2004 sporadic E opening, where almost every local radio station of mine disappeared to far-away signals coming in from the Midwest.
Below is a list of the stations I received from the tropo opening, including HD Radio and RDS screenshots, which have been added to my RDS/HD Radio Screenshots Gallery page. For brevity, I have only included previously-logged stations beyond 150 miles away that I don’t usually receive at my home during DX events. My FM DX Log has also been updated with the new content. Click on the audio players to hear audio from stations.
= new station logged
88.9 WERS Boston, MA, college, 414 miles
89.7 WGBH Boston, MA, public radio, 406 miles over local W209BY
92.3 WPRO-FM Providence, RI, “92 Pro FM” – CHR, 375 miles
93.3 WSNE-FM Taunton, MA “Coast 93-3” – hot AC, 385 miles over local WFLS
93.1 WPAT-FM Paterson, NJ, “Amor 93.1” – spanish, 223 miles
93.7 WEEI-FM Lawrence, MA “WEEI” – sports, 424 miles
93.9 W230CO Seaford, DE, “La ZMX 93.9” – spanish, 91 miles over local WKYS
93.9 WNYC-FM New York, NY, public radio, 223 miles over WKYS
94.1 WHJY Providence, RI, “94 HJY” – rock, 379 miles
95.1 WXTK West Yarmouth, MA, talk, 424 miles
95.7 CJNI-FM Halifax, NS “News 95-7” – news, 813 miles
96.1 WJVC Center Moriches, NY, “My Country 96.1” – country, 283 miles
96.3 WEII Dennis, MA, “Cape Cod Sports Radio 96-3” – sports, 430 miles over local WHUR
96.7 WARW-FM Port Chester, NY, “Air 1” – religious, 242 miles
96.9 WBQT Boston, MA, “Hot 96-9” – urban, 413 miles
WBQT, 9/9/2020, RDS
97.5 WALK-FM Patchogue, NY, “Walk 97.5” – hot AC, 271 miles
97.7 WKAF Brockton, MA, “The New 97-7” – classic CHR, 406 miles
97.9 WSKQ-FM New York, NY, “La Mega 97.9” – spanish, 226 miles
98.1 WCTK New Bedford, MA, “98.1 Cat Country” – country, 393 miles
98.3 WKJY Hempstead, NY, “K-Joy 98.3” – AC, 240 miles
98.7 WEPN-FM New York, NY, “ESPN Radio” – sports, 227 miles over local WMZQ
99.1 WPLM-FM Plymouth, MA, “Easy 99.1” – AC, 414 miles over local WDCH
99.7 WEAN-FM Wakefield, RI, “WPRO” – talk, 359 miles
99.9 WODE-FM Easton, PA, “99-9 The Hawk” – classic hits, 179 miles
99.9 WEZN Bridgeport, CT, “Star 99-9” – AC, 281 miles
100.1 CIOO-FM Halifax, NS, “C100” – CHR, 812 miles
100.7 WZLX Boston, MA, “100.7 WZLX” – classic rock, 413 miles
100.9 WKNL New London, CT, “K-Hits FM” – classic hits, 331 miles
101.3 WKCI-FM Hamden, CT, “KC 101” – CHR, 297 miles
101.5 WKFY East Harwich, MA, “Koffee FM” – AC, 438 miles over local WBQB
101.7 WBEA Southold, NY, “101-7 The Beach” – CHR, 292 miles
101.7 WBWL-FM Lynn, MA, “101-7 The Bull” – country, 416 miles
The past month or so has been fairly quiet at my home in Northern Virginia in terms of FM DXing. Constant storms and unfavorable weather conditions paved the way for non-existent DX outside of regular, garden-variety enhancement of signals within 100 miles.
I realized that I never posted about a few new FM logs received two months ago. Exceptional tropospheric enhancement brought in signals up over 300 miles away to the south–a rare event nowadays–during the late morning hours on July 16. 103.1 FM at my home during most tropo events is WRNR Grasonville, MD, at 61 miles away. Instead of WRNR’s AAA format, I heard oldies music while tuning by. I then caught a legal ID from 103.1 WLQC Sharpsburg, NC, a new log at 189 miles. .
Click on the link below to hear audio from 103.1 WLQC Sharpsburg, NC, 189 miles away
Shortly afterward, I tuned past 91.3 FM and saw an immediate RDS decode from new log WHQR from Wilmington, NC, 317 miles away.
A few days later, on July 19, I took a day trip to nearby Fredericksburg, VA. While there, I heard two new signals: 91.5 W218CV and 106.3 W292EF, both from Fredericksburg. Both stations aired a religious format and were new since my last visit to the area several years ago. Since Fredericksburg is less than 30 miles away from my home, I am adding these new logs to my FM DX Log.
I was in South Riding, VA on September 7. I found translator 104.5 W283DG Sterling, VA, a recent sign-on and new signal that I had hoped to log at some point, relaying nearby 1500 WFED’s Federal News Radio programming. Since South Riding is only 21 miles NW of my home, I added W283DG to my FM DX Log and its screenshot to my RDS/HD Radio Screenshots gallery.
RDS from 104.5 W283DG Sterling, VA, 7 miles from car radio in Sterling, VA
In the early morning hours of September 8, a very brief, but strong, tropo duct brought in New York, NY’s 92.3 WNYL, 97.9 WSKQ-FM, 101.1 WCBS-FM (under local WWDC), and 102.7 WNEW-FM at around 225 miles away. Trenton, NJ’s 101.5 WKXW also briefly came in over local WBQB with HD Radio at 177 miles away. The furthest signal received during the opening was previously-logged 99.9 WEZN Bridgeport, CT, at 281 miles.
During this opening, RDS from 97.9 WSKQ-FM and 102.7 WNEW-FM decoded for the first time on my radios.
I also added a new HD Radio screenshot from 101.5 WKXW.
Sporadic E hit Northern Virginia again on June 21, with a short, but somewhat strong, opening bringing in stations from Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Skip was first observed on 88.9 FM at 4:26 PM when RDS from WMSB from northern Mississippi decoded. I tuned up one frequency and heard Nashville’s 89.1 WECV in local advertisements. By that time, I noticed the skip dissipating. While I was DXing WMSB and WECV, my Airspy R2 software-defined radio (SDR) was recording every FM frequency from 88.1 to 97.1. Upon later review of the recordings, I found that several other signals from the region came in around the same time that WMSB and WECV did. One station, which I did not positively identify but am almost certain it is 94.5 KJIW-FM after hearing the station in 2019 during a trip to Memphis, came in off and on until 4:37 PM. At that point, the opening ended, resulting in about 3 minutes of cumulative skip.
Even with minimal skip on June 21, I still managed to get three new FM logs–something that is unheard of. The 2020 FM Es season to date, much like the 2018 season, has definitely been quantity over quality. In years’ past, I have had strong, sustained FM signals coming in from other parts of the country for hours on end, with the stations coming in right over my local radio stations. For example, look at this opening from June 25, 2018, when I received dozens of signals in a car in Connecticut while on vacation, or this opening from July 16, 2016, where I received 13 new FM logs, many with HD Radio decodes, from the upper Midwest. That is how Sporadic E should be every year. Huge openings with countless signals coming in faster than you can handle. 2020, however, has been the complete opposite–weak bursts of signals here and there for a few minutes before it is gone. Without an SDR, I would not have logged several of the new stations I have heard this summer, as the signals were coming in all at the same time.
88.1 religious 88.9 WMSB Byhalia, MS, “AFR” – religious, 737 miles
89.1 WECV Nashville, TN, “Bott Radio Network” – religious, 548 miles
89.5 christian contemporary music
90.3 public radio
93.5 KBFC Forrest City, AR, “93.5 KBFC” – country, 799 miles
93.7 KXKS-FM Shreveport, LA, “Kiss Country 93-7” – country, 1020 miles
94.1 country 94.5 KJIW-FM Helena, AR, religious, area Es, 777 miles
Signals from the Deep South region of the United States were heard in Northern Virginia during the first sporadic E opening of the 2023 season on May 31.
= new station logged
FM Radio DX 