Finland has to be the best place in the world for DXing. They always make these rare catches.

There are camps there that rent out cabins just for DXers.

It's certainly made easier now that so many European countries have ditched AM for digital. It clears the entire band, so there's nothing to block the signals. 

Turkeytop, it must be Saskatchewan winter skip. Doing over night at 13CJME Regina in winter 75, I got a QSL card from a listener in Finland,even down to describing a break I did on the show he caught DXing. 

Last edited by BossRadio (January 20, 2023 12:28 am)

There have been multiple reports over the years from different parts of Europe of receiving CBDN, which is a 400-watt AM transmitter of CBC Yukon at Dawson City. There was one in Wales in 2008 that is posted on YouTube, and then there were two in Finland, first in 2017 and again in 2020. CBC Yukon posted about the 2017 instance on Facebook and then they did a story when it happened in 2020.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/cbc-radio-signal-heard-from-afar-1.5793078

Last edited by MJ Vancouver (January 20, 2023 2:44 pm)

mace wrote:

Gee, hearing KFI in the wee hours of the morning when 640 was an open frequency in Toronto doesn't seem so spectacular now.

I got them once a very long time ago, along with KCBS San Francisco, in the days when CBL-AM used to sign off from 740 at night. Never got anything from Sweden or Finland though!

turkeytop wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

CHYM radio in Kitchener when it was on AM at 570 was picked up in parts of Sweden various times in the mid 70's.  Working at the station as an operator in 76/77 we would receive occasional letters from listeners in various Swedish communities.  They took the time to find out CHYM's mailing address and wrote in. Most letters commented that the signal was coming in loud and clear some evenings and they loved the music, news, and commercials.  Pretty well everyone in Sweden speaks English as a second language.

Did the station acknowledge the reports?
 

I would think so. I was part time at CHYM on weekends and going to college.  CHYM had a good rapport and lots of interaction with it's audience.  I am sure they would have responded back to the listeners in Sweden that took the time to write. 

 I remember CHYM got lots of letters and calls when they cancelled The Dr. Demento Show which played for a few years on Saturday night.  Dr. Demento had a small but very vocal and loyal audience. 

turkeytop wrote:

When I lived in Waterloo about a hundred years  ago, CHYM was still on 1490. At night, their signal only made it to about 5 miles out of town.

But I made a mistake!!  CHYM in 76/77 was still at 1490!  I couldn't remember when I wrote the original post so I checked. Wiki said they made the switch to 570 in 1976.  But going to the history of Canadian Broadcasting this evening the "Great 570 CHYM Turn On" was June 21, 1978.  So it was the 1490 signal in 76/77 that was beaming into Sweden.  In 1976 CHYM at 1490 had changed power to 5,000 day and 10,000 night.  With AM radio you never know where the signal will land if the atmospheric conditions are right. CHYM and  560 CFOS Owen Sound radio had worked together to help allow CHYM to move to 570.  CFOS opened a satellite/repeater station, CFPS Port Elgin in 1978 on the 1490 frequency.

Last edited by paterson1 (January 21, 2023 12:09 am)

It's happened again In Finland - this time, the station was CFRY 920 AM in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. The linked story talks about the area where these amazing catches are happening and how hard it is to actually get there. 

"You fly into Helsinki from London, and then you fly another 900 kilometres north to a place called Ivalo. And then you drive another 925 kilometres up there to the cabins."

Now THAT'S A dedicated DXer!

The guy at the listening post notes that the place has become a de facto headquarters for the hobby, especially because there's so many hours of darkness near the Arctic Circle in the winter making conditions ideal for receiving these distant signals. But they're not just using any equipment. These guys take it seriously. 

"They've set up these antennae -- fourteen of them altogether. Each one is about a kilometre long, beamed in every direction on the planet. And the reason why they're so long is because the AM signal...is about 300 metres long. That's the wavelength. So, if you have an aerial that's 1,000 metres long, not only will it resonate with that wavelength, but that extra length also gives it directionality."

I hate the cold and would never think of spending that much time in a plane or a car to get there, but if they ever invent the Transporter Beam, I'd be happy to spend the night someday!

See how CFRY radio signal reaches Northern Finland

Interesting video and interview.  Nice to see a local full service AM radio station in a small city with a population of a little over 13,000.  Portage La Prairie is only an hour west of Winnipeg so it will receive most of that cities radio as well. 

The owner of CFRY, Golden West Broadcasting operates two other stations in the city.  CFRY has a talk/country format.  One of the FM stations, CHPO also is country but more current music, and the other FM, CJPG is hot A/C.  Portage La Prairie is the city of license for City tv Manitoba, however the studios are in Winnipeg.

Interesting to note that Golden West Broadcasting has 40 stations, all in Manitoba, Saskatchewan,  Alberta, and two in Northern BC.  They are the largest independent radio broadcaster in Canada.  Another great western broadcast company that hopefully one day will buy or open some stations in Ontario!   They specialize in smaller cities and towns.  

 

Last edited by paterson1 (February 6, 2023 11:23 am)

RadioActive wrote:

Chrisphen wrote:

1 km long antennas? That's a significant investment for a hobbyist.

I guess if you're going to go all the way into the middle of nowhere, you better make sure you get what you came for. If AM ever gets eliminated, so will their hobby. 

I picture roving bands of dxers ripping wire out of abandoned houses...

Chrisphen wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

Chrisphen wrote:

1 km long antennas? That's a significant investment for a hobbyist.

I guess if you're going to go all the way into the middle of nowhere, you better make sure you get what you came for. If AM ever gets eliminated, so will their hobby. 

I picture roving bands of dxers ripping wire out of abandoned houses...

They did bring down CFRY's median listener age of 107 a bit though!

Last edited by RadioAaron (February 6, 2023 10:32 pm)