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March 9, 2023 9:19 pm  #1


What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

It's a strange question, but I've always wondered - what is it like to scan the AM dial from the farthest state in the U.S.? It's nowhere near the mainland, but I'd be very curious if anyone has ever tried this - what did you get? Were any of the stations from the U.S. west coast? Or were most of them from more exotic locations in the Pacific? 

I guess the closest I'll ever get to an answer may be from this guy, who tried it once and reported some amazing catches from places like China, Japan, Korea and relatively nearby Samoa. Considering that 99.9% of all DX-ing in Toronto is almost all U.S. and Canadian stations, that must be mind blowing. 

Love to try it someday. And even if nothing comes in, hey, you're still in Hawaii!

 

March 9, 2023 10:20 pm  #2


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

On Canada's east and west coasts, trans-oceanic DXing isn't uncommon.

When I was in St Johns I took a raio up to the top of Signal hill to  try my luck. I should have taken along some headphones. It was so windy I couldn't even hear the radio. 


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.
 

March 9, 2023 10:30 pm  #3


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

Never been that far east or west, but I'd love to find out what they get at the tip of Newfoundland. Although I'm guessing a lot of it would be from Eastern Canada and parts of the U.S.

There used to be (and maybe still are) websites where you can "tune" a radio located in some exotic locations over the Internet, just to see what you can get, as though you were there turning the dial yourself. Not sure if they're still active anymore. 

     Thread Starter
 

March 9, 2023 10:33 pm  #4


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

turkeytop wrote:

On Canada's east and west coasts, trans-oceanic DXing isn't uncommon.

When I was in St Johns I took a raio up to the top of Signal hill to  try my luck. I should have taken along some headphones. It was so windy I couldn't even hear the radio. 

How is the DXing in Florida? I'm guessing you hear lots of southern stations, in addition to Cuba.

     Thread Starter
 

March 9, 2023 10:46 pm  #5


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

RadioActive wrote:

turkeytop wrote:

On Canada's east and west coasts, trans-oceanic DXing isn't uncommon.

When I was in St Johns I took a raio up to the top of Signal hill to  try my luck. I should have taken along some headphones. It was so windy I couldn't even hear the radio. 

How is the DXing in Florida? I'm guessing you hear lots of southern stations, in addition to Cuba.

On AM I get a lot of the same things we get at home, From New York, Chicago Phillie, Nashville Cincinnati Atlanta Etc.

The only thing I ever hear from Canada is CFRX on short wave.

A few years ago We were in Mexico around Cancun. It was surprising how much you can get there from the Gulf coast in the US. Not the big power house stations you might expect, but small, lower powered stations from Florida, Mississippi and Texas
 


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.
 

March 10, 2023 12:10 am  #6


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

Hmm, interesting. No AM 740 from Toronto? I've often heard that amazing signal (formerly held by the CBC) goes all the way down the Eastern Seaboard and could be sometimes heard in Florida. 

     Thread Starter
 

March 10, 2023 12:50 am  #7


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

RadioActive wrote:

Hmm, interesting. No AM 740 from Toronto? I've often heard that amazing signal (formerly held by the CBC) goes all the way down the Eastern Seaboard and could be sometimes heard in Florida. 

I've never been able to get it. Out of curiosity I'm trying it right now. Just a lot of diffrtrnt signals mashed together.

http://nf8m.com/pattern_maps/current/NIGHTTIME-UNLIMITED/NIGHTTIME-UNLIMITED_740KHz-1.html
 


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.
 

March 10, 2023 1:04 am  #8


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

I don't know how many of those 740s listed on your linked map are on at night. The Toronto and Oklahoma City ones are. Not sure about the rest, but it would not surprise me if they weren't either daytime only or extremely low powered after dark. Plus WSB at 750 in Atlanta could be a source of interference.

I know my sister, who lives in New York City, tells me she often tunes into Toronto's AM740 for a taste of home (even though she's been gone for almost 60 years!). Plus, she likes the music. She once told me that's the only Toronto station she can get, although I know for a fact that CHML Hamilton comes in there pretty well at night.

     Thread Starter
 

March 10, 2023 12:31 pm  #9


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

Judging by the map, AM740's 750 mile protection area ends slightly south of Tampa. WYGM in Orlando operates on 740 and according to Radio Locator, they operate at 50,000 watts day and night. However their pattern is totally east/west in central Florida only. What about CJBC in Florida?                                                                                        With regards to Hawaii, I am sure most of the stations from Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, SF, LA  and SD would be available. With all that open water, would some FM reception be possible?

 

March 10, 2023 1:44 pm  #10


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

I'm a yearly visitor to Hilton Head SC and 740 and 860 are sometimes audible but usually part of a big messy mix. Cuban stations fill up many NA Clear Channels. 
Link from "turkey top" is indeed night. From a fascinating web site. 

 

March 10, 2023 2:54 pm  #11


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

When I stayed near Truro several years back, the 740 station I got was VOCM Marystown NL. That repeater has since flipped to FM.
Back to Hawaii, if you ever go, you will need an AM radio that tunes the 9kHz spacing that the rest of the world uses, as well as the 10kHz Hawaii uses

 

March 10, 2023 3:10 pm  #12


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

My portable Sangean can be tuned to either 9 or 10 kilohertz spacing. It would be incredible to flip that switch and hear those uneven and odd frequencies that much of the rest of the world uses. It would have to be done before other countries switch off their AM signals for digital alternatives, like they've done in parts of Europe. 

     Thread Starter
 

March 10, 2023 6:46 pm  #13


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

Someone asked about Newfoundland ... Every fall, a small group of DXers sets out oceanside longwires along Newfoundland's Avalon Pensinsula. I have been part of this some years. I / we have heard AM stations from places as far flung as Japan, South Africa, India, Uruguay, deep into Russia and China, and so on. I am not sure if Australia has been logged, but it has, I believe, from similar DXpeditioners in PEI. On FM, a ham operator near St. Johns had FM E-skip from Spain the very first summer he tried DXing the band.

 

March 10, 2023 6:58 pm  #14


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

Just one quick question - how did you/they I.D. the stations involved? Do they speak the language? I'm not sure if I heard a Japanese radio station, I'd know it was from Japan. Was there some way to determine that or did all those involved speak other tongues?

     Thread Starter
 

March 10, 2023 11:41 pm  #15


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

RadioActive wrote:

I don't know how many of those 740s listed on your linked map are on at night. The Toronto and Oklahoma City ones are. Not sure about the rest, but it would not surprise me if they weren't either daytime only or extremely low powered after dark. Plus WSB at 750 in Atlanta could be a source of interference.

They were all on at night,

Go to this site, It shows the day and night pattern for every AM station in North America.

https://www.nf8m.com/nf8m/us-medium-wave-pattern-references/

 


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.
 

March 11, 2023 6:41 pm  #16


Re: What Is DX-ing Like In Hawaii?

RadioActive wrote:

How did you/they I.D. the stations involved? Do they speak the language? I'm not sure if I heard a Japanese radio station, I'd know it was from Japan. Was there some way to determine that or did all those involved speak other tongues?

Pretty much like we ID foreign stations anywhere we DX. All kinds of lists are available on the internet. Experienced DXers will know the band pretty much inside out, anyhow, just from extensive listening and cooperative efforts and reporting by DXers. And we know what regions of the world to listen for at any given time (following paths of darkness, or post-sunrise 'greyline' phenomena, for example. We know what to expect, as well, based on where antennas are aimed.

As for Japan, I knew what it was the second I heard language lessons in parallel on 693, 747 and 774 (9 KHz offsets in Europe, Asia and Africa (with a handful of exceptions), not 10 (North America). I can also recognize many languages, even though I only speak two fluently (English and French). And experienced DXers know to ask when in even remote doubt. Sources range from DXers the world over, to friends and colleagues who might speak a particular language. The Worldwide TV FM DX Association has an online message board that has sections for AM unIDs and for TV-FM unIDs, where audio clips (MP3 etc) can be posted for anyone to listen.

Sometimes, I have English language stations that are harder for me to ID than ones in tongues I don't speak. Once I had what I thought was an oriental language, and it turned out to be southern drawl from the US mid-south. (I only had a few words to go on, as it was a momentary meteor bust on FM, with maybe three seconds of signal). I find solving these things perhaps the most entertaining aspect of the DX hobby.
 

Last edited by Saul (March 11, 2023 6:42 pm)