weird/weather night dxing

[fairbankshockeypuck]

Usually locals 1400 WSAM/AM 125O WJMK get wiped out pretty much at night..both in pretty strong with snow? on the ground here...am 800 CKLW being wiped out by Mexican music....700 WLW...Chicago and NY stations not coming in very well it all...

[Mega Hertz]

The snow does indeed have something to do with it. I'm sure one of our engineering friends will be here to explain better. I believe it has something to do with the ground waves.

[fairbankshockeypuck]

ya I bet...WSB Atlanta coming in along with WJR/910 and 950 Detroit

[Marcus]

I heard a Florida radio station on AM for the first time in my location. It was 600 WBOB from Jacksonville. Right now, the Chicago station on 890 is missing and I'm hearing Spanish instead. At night solar flares tend to do this to the ionosphere every so often.

https://www.space.com/enormous-sunspot- ... ares-earth

[Deleted User 16144]

This time of year you start to hear the Cuban stations coming in, most of these Cuban stations are powerful with at least 100kw of power some even more. The more common frequencies are 600, 640, 660, 670, 710, 700 and 720. Those frequencies are always listenable in the fall and winter months.

[audiophile]

I heard a Florida radio station on AM for the first time in my location. It was 600 WBOB from Jacksonville. Right now, the Chicago station on 890 is missing and I'm hearing Spanish instead. At night solar flares tend to do this to the ionosphere every so often.

https://www.space.com/enormous-sunspot- ... ares-earth

I think this is called "going long" and is caused by shorter days and lower solar output, where ionosphere moves higher.

On high solar nights, local AM channels come in really clear, and the distant ones are MIA.

[Ben Zonia]

Sounds like Auroral Conditions. Short distances are ground wave without skywave. WFDF and WWJ are usually interfered with by their own skywaves around the Tri Cities, fading at Night. WSAM and WJMK are usually getting cochannel interference further away from Saginaw and Bridgeport. WJR has some, but its less fading due to their 195 degree tower, which produces a null at the elevation above the horizon corresponding to less skywave reflection at those distances near the Tri Cities. By around Grayling, the skywaves take over with little ground wave by comparison. JP McCarthy always said the ground wave got weaker around Clare because of the sand. He and John McMurray used to listen to WJR Days on their boats on the Northern shores of Lake Huron near Tobermory and Manitoulin Island. Some newer maps put the conductivity of Lake Huron higher than FCC estimates, around 19 mS/m vs. 8 mS/m US, 10 mS/m in Canada. Those aren't official though.

Auroral conditions will also bring in skywave from distant Southern Stations like WSB 750 and WWL 870, and the Cuban stations. I wonder if WSB, WWL, and WBT were some of the "Southern Stations" Starbuck played on the radio in a convertible on Chesapeake Bay.

Last week, I heard WSUI 910 Iowa City, IA interfering on Day nondirectional pattern with WFDF post sunset with All Things Considered. Also I heard KOEL 950 Oelwein, IA on Day pattern with Dennis Prager interfering post sunset with WWJ. Both were heard near Pellston. WFDF and WWJ cleared up after WSUI and KOEL went to Night facilities, probably 30 minutes later.

The ground waves are all probably somewhat stronger due to cold weather and or snow or rainy conditions.