Saul wrote:

RadioAaron wrote:

Saul wrote:

Didn't 93.5 CFXJ once apply for some rebroadcasters on the same channel? I vaguely recall something... If so, was there ever an outcome?

They were denied.

Thanks RadioAaron and Evuguy.
The repeater for KX 96 has always struck me as textbook. Years of DXing and I've never been able to 'hear' them apart. I've only logged both in Toronto because the Toronto repeater came along later and I'm presuming it's what I hear downtown. I believe an engineer named Gus (lost on a last name) helped architect that beauty!

It's my wife's favourite station so I have some familiarity with it. It seems to work quite well. There's a patch wihere the DVP meets for 401 where they seem to get in each other's way, but other than that it's seamless. At least that's for the analog signal. 
 

Saul wrote:

Fitz wrote:

Saul now that I have posted the clip any idea about 101.9. The station is not only ID'd but they play a promo for another show on the station as well. Also my new question about Fox Sports radio....Thanks
 

That's just too weird. Signal is solid. I'll go on a limb here and wonder if it's CFRC Kingston.
Ashley and Brad Kissin Oldies is WKZA Jamestown NY 106.9 as you've noted. Nice signals between that and the translators. You might tune into CFRC's stream at the same time either any day or the same day of the week you heard this (Saturday).
If you want to isolate stations into individual clips, I like Audacity. I also put date and time into my MP3 labels. Example: 98.3 CFLY ON Kingston Tr 16AG25 0945.mp3
 

Your guess about The Kingston Queens University station is probably the answer. Will monitor the stream on Sat if I remember.
 

Fitz wrote:

Another strong central NY orientation tropo right now. Getting Hot 107.9 Syracuse in HD right now Plus the mysterious FOX sports radio, very distorted  at 87.7. There is a Fox Sports radio at 1490 AM in Syracuse but how does this distorted ghost image appear at 87.7 ? Normally I get a distorted signal for CHFI on the same frequency 87.7.

CHFI is likely putting an image on 87.7. But 87.75 (to be precise, and thus explaining the distortion) is WQSE-LD Syracuse, which relays 1490. I have no idea why it ends with -LD. There's also a low power translator on 92.5.
You can look it - and all other FM stations - up here, courtesy of WTFDA: https://db.wtfda.org
 

Last edited by Saul (August 22, 2025 10:52 am)

I'd imagine locally, where it matters, 87.7 will be sufficient. It generally has been fine enough for me to log the station.I've heard it by regular groundwave (mild tropo enhancement needed) from my Kawarthas site (and possibly the Scarborough Bluffs). I also heard it once during very intense aurora. Aurora can bring in stations that aren't normally heard from a range of about 200-1000 miles. The signal was badly distorted and muffled by the aurora, but there are no other Fox Sports Radio stations on 87.7(5) so I know it was them. Some radios don't have 87.7. So be it. It's always worth checking 87.7 and 87.9 during e-skip openings. There's a good number of stations on 87.7(5) and also pirates, too, especially on 87.9. The latter won't work well as a pirate channel in Toronto because Indie 88.1 is too close by on the band.

Saul wrote:

Fitz wrote:

Another strong central NY orientation tropo right now. Getting Hot 107.9 Syracuse in HD right now Plus the mysterious FOX sports radio, very distorted  at 87.7. There is a Fox Sports radio at 1490 AM in Syracuse but how does this distorted ghost image appear at 87.7 ? Normally I get a distorted signal for CHFI on the same frequency 87.7.

CHFI is likely putting an image on 87.7. But 87.75 (to be precise, and thus explaining the distortion) is WQSE-LD Syracuse, which relays 1490. I have no idea why it ends with -LD. There's also a low power translator on 92.5.
You can look it - and all other FM stations - up here, courtesy of WTFDA: https://db.wtfda.org
 

WQSE-LD ends in -LD because it's a low-power digital TV station on channel 6.

After waffling for years on whether to allow "Franken-FM" channel 6 operation with a DTV signal and analog audio on 87.75, the FCC decided it would grandfather in a dozen or so existing low-power 6 stations, including allowing Syracuse to come back on the air after having gone off for a bit.

There are other notable ones in NYC, LA, Chicago, DC and Cleveland.

The condition the FCC imposed was that the "Franken-FM" signals with analog audio have to use ATSC 3.0 for their DTV signal, supposedly because it can coexist better with the analog FM audio.

Anyway, since it returned to the air, WQSE has indeed carried the same Fox Sports programming as WOLF 1490, WOSW 1300 and a handful of analog FM translators around Syracuse.

Thanks, Scott!

There is indeed a separate video feed on 6 in Syracuse - it's an ATSC 3.0 running several diginets.

Nice tuner. I don't recall that brand.

Fitz, the 96.9 relay of WACK is Newark NY, not far from Syracuse, and not NJ. Nice catch given Buffalo and Utica high powers on 96.9!
Your 89.9 must be 89.1 and WBSU Brockport NY, which goes by The Point. There is no Point Lancaster NY.
WOUR is in Utica, not Ithaca.

I get WINK easily enough if I sit on the channel at the upper edge of the Scarborough Bluffs. I found a spot that knocks out Guelph. 106.1 from my DX sites close to Toronto:

106.1 (11)
CIMJ ON Guelph                Tr
CHEZ ON Ottawa                Tr
WCOD MA Hyannis                Tr
WJXQ MI Jackson                Tr
WHST MI Tawas City            Tr
WNKI NY Corning                Tr
W291BU NY Fulton                Tr
WPDA NY Jeffersonville            Tr
WVMO OH Mansfield                Tr
WCOP PA Farmington Township        Tr
WJJZ PA Philadelphia            Tr

Fitz wrote:

Saul wrote:

Fitz, the 96.9 relay of WACK is Newark NY, not far from Syracuse, and not NJ. Nice catch given Buffalo and Utica high powers on 96.9!
Your 89.9 must be 89.1 and WBSU Brockport NY, which goes by The Point. There is no Point Lancaster NY.
WOUR is in Utica, not Ithaca.

Thanks for the corrections Saul. The 89.9 for the Point was a typo and I had misremembered Lancaster for Brockport when I looked up the station about a month ago after I had heard it in the car in Bowmanville.

I should also point out that WINK 106.1 is from Corning NY very close to the Penn. border and that 106.1 is usually Magic 106 from Guelph and very occasionally CHEZ Ottawa. WINK was a new catch for me.
 

Evuguy wrote:

I do remember Dynaco. I guess it fell victim to the Japanese hi-fi invasion of the mid to later 70's. I think McIntosh was probably the only one left standing of all the US and Canadian manufacturers from that era.
Last Thursday around lunch, I heard TK99's (Syracuse) Oswego repeater on 105.5 in east Scarborough. The area is usually covered by CIUX on 105.5, with CHRY popping through here and there.  TK was easily overtaking both with its 5kW signal. Didn't have time to check for anything else, unfortunately.
 

Scott was another American company that made good tuners. I recall seeing them at the vintage audio stall that used to be at the Pickering flea market.

This is nothing to do with e-skip but I have this old reel to reel tape made in 1959 where the person making the recording speaks about a Scott radio and other audio equipment. This is a bit of audio voyeurism but at least the kid who made the recording  gets to be heard after 65 years. The tape was part of a box that had the WBCN FM recordings that are on my site and may have been made by the person that recorded those.

First he makes a "secret" recording where his  father tells him off for being a layabout. Then he records an episode of Leave it to Beaver and adds commentary about Beaver's high salary and makes other sarcastic remarks  including the fact that beaver may live on until California falls into the sea. Finally he speaks about recording levels and trying to achieve the perfect recoroding.  You will hear some WABC from 1959 and snips of commercials and a newscast.

Fascinating Home Recording 1959
 

Last edited by Fitz (September 23, 2025 6:44 pm)

Evuguy wrote:

Boy, that tape machine operator certainly seems to have it out for The Beaver.  Maybe he's just jealous of Ward's parenting style compared to his dad's ;-)  Anyway, the recorder must have been a decent quality as the fidelity was very good for that era. Minimal hum and tape hiss.  Too bad he only captured one station ID when he had it connected to the Scott tuner.  Thought I heard him mention "Stamford", so have to guess that's CT., which would have been within reach of NYC FM's.

At around 1:49 he mentions his full address and I looked it up and it is in CT. Shame that he did not record more station ID's and commercials as it is a period piece. I'm guessing some or most of the equipment may have been tube and it has held up well all these years.
.
 

I popped up to Kawarthas DX Haus really just to show the area to a relative visiting from Europe, so have mostly been out cycling. But a quick scan of the dials last night yielded super-strong 88.3 CBFX from Malartic QC in the Rouyn-Amos area east of Temiskaming. Really strong and stable, parallel to our local CJBC 90.3. Stuff was pretty strong from 200 miles and closer-in, in all directions. I also had French CBC from Elliot Lake on 101.7 overpowering CKNX-FM Wingham. Nothing too exciting for me because I'm chasing difficult signals rather than the semilocals, but interesting enough.

teh

Fitz wrote:

You were correct Saul as you mentioned in the other thread the tropo has lasted for much of the week. Quite wide ranging from Detroit to Ottawa to mid Pennsylvania but I somehow missed that station in the clip below. I recorded from cassette to reel to reel to digital in order to edit more easily.

Have included stations not heard under normal conditions in Pickering. Also stations on frequencies that normally feature other stations in this area such 97.7, 96.9 , 88.7, 89.7. Plus frequencies which are normally dead zones such as 100.1, 93.3 and 93.7.

The most surprising catch for me was the WECK translator at 100.1. Very faint and distorted but it came in nevertheless. I think without the HD at 99. 1 the signal might have been decent.

Here is what is on the clip:
1. CHEZ FM Ottawa
2. 98.3 Fly FM Kingston
3. 90.1 Jazz FM Greece NY
4. 97.7 Moose FM Bancroft
5. 95.5 WKQI FM Detroit
6. 88.7 My FM Napanee 
7. CFRC FM Queens University Kingston 
8. WERG FM 90.5 Erie
9. WECK Translator 100.1
10. 102.3 Jack FM London
11. 94.3 CKSY FM Chatham Kent
12. 93.9 Virgin Radio Windsor - they feature an ad for 88X
13. WDET FM NPR Detroit
14. CBC Radio One 89.7 I think Muskoka
15. 92.3  92 Gold Warren PA
16. Moose FM 97.7
17. 100.3 Move Ottawa
18.97.9 WACK Translator Newark NY
19. K-Rock 106.5 forget the city somewhere in central NY.
20. WOUR 96.9 Utica NY 
22. Hot 107,9 Syracuse
23. WECK

DX Oct  2025
 

The processing on Hot 107.9 is atrocious.

Thanks for posting!
 

Fitz wrote:

107.9 may have been HD, the signal was strong. Just before them I forgot to mention 93.7 Trent University and K Rock is Syracuse at 106.5, surprising that it came in with WYRK on the same frequency and Moose FM at 97,7 and the stations on 96,9,,,,and of course Hot 107,9 knocked out Y 108.

Trent CFFF is on 92.7, and the WACK translator in Sodus NY is on 96.9.