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Grand Sable Dunes Bandscans +Audio

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cckadlec
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Grand Sable Dunes Bandscans +Audio

Post by cckadlec » Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:58 pm

Grand Sable Dunes is one of my 20 Lake Superior bandscan sites (two have yet to be added to my website as they are new and these things take time; I JUST got home).

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It is perhaps the most unique of my 75 sites along the Great Lakes because the 300+ foot dunes block or greatly weaken everything from the south (all the pesky nonsense that is Northern Michigan stations - a billion stations I can barely fit on half my maps for such a sparsely-populated region) and the dunes curve toward the north at their west end, meaning Marquette is also weakened. This shoreline effect funnels the stations from the northeast (Heart, Kapuskasing, Timmins, and the Abitibi region of Québec) into the area. It's the only site on all of the south shore that has these characteristics. Because Superior stations occupy a higher duct because of the colder water compared to other lakes, the (listening) height is essential and most of the shoreline in the UP is flat as a pancake. This makes this site pretty f*cking special and it rarely disappoints.

In a four-day 1,300-mile trip last week, I added repeat bandscans from my Manistique and Escanaba sites, one from my Marquette site (previous one was off-season), a repeat scan at Miners Castle, and new scans at Lake of the Clouds (two sessions), L'Anse (unplanned actually), Fayette (despite the rain, Duluth and Twin Cities were still in just fine) and the repeat scan at Grand Sable but without a usual comparison on the beach below in Grand Marais because it was July 4th and there's never anything to hear down there and the village looked like a scene out of a Florida college spring break film just before the July 4th fireworks (nowhere to stand or park, absolutely insanity). :eek

Here are the results of this scan on July 4th.

Find the audio, other maps from past scans, photos, and site advice here at the bandscan page. The 34-minute audio is just a sampling of what was heard, with a station index on the main bandscan page. I did my best with it given the stable fly invasion that day with the south wind.

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GRAND SABLE DUNES, MICHIGAN BANDSCAN
July 4, 2019 1735 - 2125 / 85-77°F
86-89° inland with light south wind
Location: 46°39'10.6"N 86°06'26.2"W
(Grand Sable Banks, 6 mi. wsw of Grand Marais)
930 feet (330 feet above lake level)
105 stations total / Average distance: 144 mi.

* station was received on seek

88.1 CBON-18 ON Sault Ste. Marie / Ici Première / 3.59kw / 10dBµ, mono (87 mi.)
*88.3 CBQT ON Thunder Bay / CBC R. 1 Thunder Bay / 23.73kw / 25dBµ, m. only (195 mi.)
88.3 WKPK MI Michigamme / Smile FM / 15kw / 10dBµ, mono in null (72 mi.)
88.5 WIAB MI Mackinaw City / Classical IPR //88.7 / 50kw / 5dBµ, mono (91 mi.)
88.7 WIAA MI Interlochen / Classical IPR //88.5 / 100kw / 5dBµ, mono (165 mi.)
88.9 WCRR MI Manistique / K-Love //89.3 / 24.5kw / 10dBµ, mono (51 mi.)
*89.1 CBLG ON Geraldton / CBC R. 1 Thunder Bay / 25.123kw / 15dBµ, mono (214 mi.)
*89.3 WSHN MI Munising / K-Love //88.9 / 100kw / 25dBµ, stereo (72 mi.)
89.3 CBON-20 ON Thunder Bay / Ici Première / 16.5kw / in null (195 mi.)
89.5 CBSM ON Sault Ste. Marie / CBC R. 1 Sudbury / 46kw / 15dBµ, mono (87 mi.)
*89.7 CBEB ON Manitouwadge / CBC R. 1 Thunder Bay / 4.78kw / 15dBµ, mono (172 mi.)
89.9 CBCU ON Chapleau / CBC R. 1 Sudbury / 345w / 15dBµ, mono (151 mi.)
*90.1 WNMU MI Marquette / Public R. 90 / 100kw / 25dBµ, stereo (86 mi.)
90.3 CBON-26 ON Hearst / Ici Première / 8.34kw / 15dBµ, mono (239 mi.)
90.5 WPHN MI Gaylord / The Promise FM / 100kw / 3dBµ, mono (140 mi.)
*90.7 CBON-27 ON Wawa / Ici Première / 890w / 15dBµ, mono (114 mi.)
90.9 CBBX ON Sudbury / Ici Musique Sudbury / 50kw / 10dBµ, mono (244 mi.)
90.9 WUPJ MI Escanaba / Strong Tower R. / 100kw / weak in null (85 mi.)
91.1 CINN ON Hearst / CINN FM 91,1 / 28kw / 15dBµ, mono (238 mi.)
91.1 WGGL MI Houghton / Minnesota Public R. / 100kw / 10dBµ, mono (125 mi.)
91.3 -
*91.5 CKPR ON Thunder Bay / Hot AC / 100kw / 30dBµ, stereo (191 mi.)
91.5 WUPX MI Marquette / Radio X / 1.7kw / 10dBµ, mono in null (66 mi.)
91.7 WCML MI Alpena / CMU Public R. / 92kw / 10dBµ, mono (140 mi.)
91.7 CICS ON Sudbury / KICX Country / 50kw / 15dBµ, mono in null (244 mi.)
91.9 CBON-28 ON Chapleau / Ici Première / 345w / 15dBµ, mono (151 mi.)
91.9 CBMA QC Rouyn-Noranda / CBC R. 1 Québec / 2.712kw / 10dBµ, mono (348 mi.)
92.1 CJQQ ON Timmins / 92-1 Rock / 40kw / 10dBµ, mono (257 mi.)
*92.3 WJPD MI Ishpeming / Big Country / 100kw / 20dBµ, stereo (66 mi.)
92.5 WFDX MI Atlanta / The Fox FM / 100kw / 2dBµ, mono (141 mi.)
92.7 CJRQ ON Sudbury / 92-7 Rock / 100kw / 10dBµ, mono (242 mi.)
92.9 WJZQ MI Cadillac / Z93 / 100kw / 10dBµ, mono (149 mi.)
*93.1 CFNO ON Marathon / Hometown Sound / 50kw / 20dBµ, stereo (147 mi.)
93.3 W227CJ MI Marquette / ESPN Radio //970 / 250w / 5dBµ, mono (66 mi.)
93.5 WKMJ MI Hancock / Mix 93.5 / 25kw / 7dBµ, mono (121 mi.)
93.7 CBON-22 ON Geraldton / Ici Première / 9.216kw / 5dBµ, mono (214 mi.)
*93.9 WNBY MI Newberry / Oldies 93 / 50kw / 20dBµ, mono (50 mi.)
94.1 WUPK MI Marquette / 94 Rock / 4.4kw / 10dBµ, mono (66 mi.)
94.1 CKNR ON Elliot Lake / Moose FM / 90kw / 10dBµ, mono (203 mi.)
*94.3 CJSD ON Thunder Bay / Rock 94 / 90kw / 25dBµ, stereo (191 mi.)
94.5 WYPV MI Mackinaw City / WJML News R. //1110 / 50kw / 7dBµ, mono (98 mi.)
94.7 -
94.9 WUPZ MI Chocolay Twp. / The Bay / 100kw / 15dBµ, mono (66 mi.)
95.1 WUPN MI Paradise / Eagle 95.1 / 25kw / 10dBµ, mono (67 mi.)
95.3 WWSS MI Tuscarora Twp. / The Bear / 17kw / 5dBµ, mono (115 mi.)
95.5 WGFE MI Glen Arbor / Rock 105 & 95.5 / 21kw / 5dBµ, mono (127 mi.)
95.5 CJTK ON Sudbury / KFM / 1.4kw / weak / weak (242 mi.)
*95.7 WHWL MI Marquette / Gospel Opportunities / 100kw / 20dBµ, stereo (63 mi.)
95.9 -
96.1 CBCJ ON Timmins / CBC R. 1 Sudbury / 11kw / 15dBµ, mono (257 mi.)
96.3 WLXT MI Petoskey / Lite 96.3 / 100kw / 5dBµ, mono (109 mi.)
96.5 CHOA QC Rouyn-Noranda / Wow 96.5 / 61kw / 3dBµ, mono (348 mi.)
*96.7 WMJT MI McMillan / Flash FM / 50kw / 30dBµ, stereo (26 mi.)
*96.9 CBON-23 ON Manitouwadge / Ici Première / 143w / 15dBµ, mono (172 mi.)
97.1 CBON-25 ON Timmins / Ici Première / 11kw / 10dBµ, mono (257 mi.)
97.1 WGLQ MI Escanaba / Magic 97 GLQ / 100kw / 10dBµ, mono (54 mi.)
97.3 CBON-19 ON Nipigon / Ici Première / 2kw / 10dBµ, mono (190 mi.)
97.5 W248BU MI Ishpeming / Good Time Oldies //101.9 HD3 / 250w / 10dBµ, m. (72 mi.)
97.7 WOLV MI Houghton / The Wolf / 6.5kw / 3dBµ, mono (121 mi.)
97.7 W249DR MI Munising / Good Time Oldies //1400 / 250w / 5dBµ, m. in null (32 mi.)
*97.9 WIHC MI Newberry / Strong Tower Radio / 50kw / 10dBµ, mono (50 mi.)
98.1 CBON ON Sudbury / Ici Première Sudbury / 50kw / 5dBµ, mono (244 mi.)
98.1 WGFN MI Glen Arbor / The Bear / 21kw / 3dBµ, mono (127 mi.)
*98.3 WCMZ MI Sault Ste. Marie / CMU Public R. / 25kw / 20dBµ, mono, dom. (90 mi.)
98.3 WRUP MI Palmer / Real Classic Rock / 2.6kw / 5dBµ, mono (72 mi.)
98.5 WUPS MI Harrison / 98.5 UPS / 100kw / 5dBµ, mono (176 mi.)
98.5 WQLH WI Green Bay / Star 98 / 100kw / 3dBµ, mono (170 mi.)
98.7 WGLI MI Hancock / The Rockin' Eagle / 52kw / 5dBµ, mono (120 mi.)
*98.9 CBQY ON Nipigon / CBC R. 1 Thunder Bay / 2kw / 15dBµ, mono (190 mi.)
99.1 WIKB MI Iron River / True Country / 60kw / 2dBµ, mono (122 mi.)
99.3 CKGB ON Timmins / KiSS 99.3 / 40kw / 10dBµ, mono (257 mi.)
99.5 WNGE MI Negaunee / Oldies 99.5 / 3.6kw / 15dBµ, mono (66 mi.)
99.7 -
99.9 CBCS ON Sudbury / CBC R. 1 Sudbury / 50kw / 5dBµ, mono (244 mi.)
99.9 WHAK MI Rogers City / The Wave / 50kw / 5dBµ, mono (136 mi.)
100.1 -
100.3 WUPT MI Gwinn / The Point / 100kw / 10dBµ, mono (66 mi.)
100.5 CHAS ON Sault Ste. Marie / KiSS 100.5 / 13.9kw / 5dBµ, mono (83 mi.)
100.7 WOBE MI Crystal Falls / Radio Now / 100kw / 3dBµ, mono (109 mi.)
100.9 CKAP ON Kapuskasing / Moose FM / 12kw / 2dBµ, mono (255 mi.)
101.1 -
101.3 WSUE MI Sault Ste. Marie / Rock 101 / 100kw / 3dBµ, mono (83 mi.)
101.5 CJKL ON Kirkland Lake / 101.5 FM / 23kw / 5dBµ, mono (301 mi.)
101.5 WMJZ MI Gaylord / Eagle 101-5 / 50kw / 5dBµ, mono (139 mi.)
*101.7 CBQ ON Thunder Bay / CBC Music Thunder Bay / 25kw / 15dBµ, mono (195 mi.)
*101.9 WKQS MI Negaunee / Sunny FM / 13kw / 15dBµ, mono (72 mi.)
102.1 -
102.3 CBON-29 ON Marathon / Ici Première / 3.862kw / 10dBµ, mono (147 mi.)
102.3 WTHN MI Sault Ste. Marie / The Promise FM / 22.5kw / 10dBµ, mono (90 mi.)
*102.5 WCMM MI Gulliver / The Moose / 60kw / 25dBµ, stereo (51 mi.)
102.7 CJMV QC Val d'Or / Énergie Val-d'Or / 96kw / 1dBµ, mono (406 mi.)
102.9 WMKC MI Indian River / Big Country Hits / 100kw / 5dBµ, mono (95 mi.)
103.1 -
*103.3 WFXD MI Marquette / 103-FXD / 100kw / 30dBµ, stereo (72 mi.)
103.5 WTCM MI Traverse City / Country / 100kw / 5dBµ, mono (153 mi.)
103.7 -
103.9 CHNO ON Sudbury / Rewind 103.9 / 100kw / 5dBµ, mono (242 mi.)
104.1 CHYK ON Timmins / Le Loup / 3.5kw / faint (251 mi.)
*104.3 CJQM ON Sault Ste. Marie / Country 104.3 / 100kw / 10dBµ, mono (83 mi.)
104.3 WVCN MI Baraga / VCY America / 100kw / weak in null (108 mi.)
104.5 -
104.7 WYKX MI Escanaba / Kix Country / 100kw / weak (75 mi.)
104.9 -
105.1 W286BC MI Marquette / Fox Sports //WKQS HD-2 / 250w / 10dBµ, mono (72 mi.)
105.1 CBOK ON Kapuskasing / CBC R. 1 Sudbury / 43.9kw / 5dBµ, mono (257 mi.)
*105.3 CKTG ON Thunder Bay / Country 105 / 100kw / 20dBµ, stereo (191 mi.)
105.5 -
105.7 WCUP MI L'Anse / Eagle Country / 100kw / 5dBµ, mono (120 mi.)
105.9 WKHQ MI Charlevoix / 106 KHQ / 100kw / 5dBµ, mono (113 mi.)
106.1 -
106.3 WGMV MI Stephenson / Maverick 106 / 50kw / 5dBµ, mono (92 mi.)
106.3 WWMK MI Onaway / Mac FM / 31kw / 5dBµ, mono in null (109 mi.)
106.5 CJTK-8 ON Sault Ste. Marie / KFM / 2kw / 7dBµ, mono (85 mi.)
106.7 WSRT MI Gaylord / ESPN N. Michigan / 100kw / 5dBµ, mono (126 mi.)
106.9 WUPM MI Ironwood / Stereo 106.9 / 100kw / faint (186 mi.)
107.1 CJWA ON Wawa / JJAM FM / 210w / 15dBµ, mono (114 mi.)
107.3 -
107.5 CBLM ON Marathon / CBC R. 1 Thunder Bay / 3.935kw / 10dBµ, mono (147 mi.)
*107.7 WMQT MI Ishpeming / Q107 / 98kw / 25dBµ, stereo (74 mi.)
107.9 -

Inconclusive signals: 103.7, 105.5
RDS was not monitored due to signals existing only on the duneside

Station notes:

95.3 WVVE MN Grand Marais returned in June //WGMO then again silent by July 1st
96.7 WUPG MI Republic is at 800w instead of the licensed 50kw
99.5 WYSS MI Sault Ste. Marie is at 1.3kw from a backup tower instead of 100kw
105.5 WMKD MI Pickford is at 700w from a backup tower instead of 100kw


[ Radio and weather geeks, beware! Coastal tropo studies, the 3-hr. Seoul AM Radio Listening Guide, 6-hr. 500 Top-of-Hour IDs, and Chinese FM at www.chriskadlec.comTuner: Grundig G8 • Location: Fremont, Mich. ]

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Turkeytop
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Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Re: Grand Sable Dunes Bandscans +Audio

Post by Turkeytop » Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:58 pm

That's some pretty incredible DX, using only a portable radio with a whip antenna.

Were propagation conditions unusual that day?


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

ftballfan
Posts: 875
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 6:38 pm

Re: Grand Sable Dunes Bandscans +Audio

Post by ftballfan » Sun Jul 07, 2019 11:09 pm

Probably one of the few places in the UP where WRVM is NOT received



cckadlec
Posts: 308
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:43 pm
Location: Fremont, Mich. / Seoul, Korea
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Re: Grand Sable Dunes Bandscans +Audio

Post by cckadlec » Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:49 am

Turkeytop wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:58 pm
That's some pretty incredible DX, using only a portable radio with a whip antenna.

Were propagation conditions unusual that day?
Conditions that day were dead. But you can't compare conditions over the water with conditions over the land; they're two totally different modes of tropo. In this case, land tropo was dead. Nothing all that abnormal. Water tropo was normal that day as well. I did a bandscan at Miners Castle an hour down the shore some hours before the scan. All was as normal, compared to past scans there. 95.3 was missing, but the damn station can't stay on the air and they had gone silent in the past few days again despite being added as a GMO repeater.

The conditions are pretty normal at the dunes. The northern stations are to be expected and the northeastern ones as well. Perhaps some enhancement toward Hearst and Rouyn-Noranda, but all stations I'd otherwise expect. Typical lake tropo distance tops out at 350 miles over Lake Superior, but because I was on the duneside right at the normal elevation of the ducts over Superior, blocking out the south and west, I'd consider these catches all to be expected more or less. WRVM is another one of those 400+ mile stations that is heard on the southeast shore of Lake Huron, so the right stations do top 350 miles on the portable regularly.

Though I don't feel that the catches were "incredible," there's something unique about hearing stations from those very sparse regions in the far north. I've been up that way with this DX project, so I can appreciate the nothingness that is Northern Ontario and Abitibi. And to think that my 406 mile catch to the northeast is the exact same distance as Hudson Bay to the north -- imagine if there were full powers up along the shore of Hudson Bay. I'd probably be hearing them. Distance-wise, it still wouldn't be unexpected. But I mean, shit, that's freaking *up* there.
ftballfan wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 11:09 pm
Probably one of the few places in the UP where WRVM is NOT received
I hear you on that point for sure. WRVM *is* heard at this location regularly. However, because my specific site is slightly down the dune, it blocks the station out to let Val d'Or come in. If you go up to the land level (parking lot and surrounding areas), all these stations aren't present and the normal Northern Michigan, Green Bay, and UP stations are in, WRVM included. But WRVM does struggle in this area a lot more. When night comes though, no issues with the signal. WRVM is a regular in the daytime even into downtown Sault Ste. Marie and is logged at almost every one of my sites in the daytime on the north shore of Lake Superior. It's up there in the top 5 big signals in the Great Lakes (103.7 Erie, Lite 96.3, 90.5 The Promise... etc. all included - when I finish all my summer scans, I'll figure out which ones are most common).


[ Radio and weather geeks, beware! Coastal tropo studies, the 3-hr. Seoul AM Radio Listening Guide, 6-hr. 500 Top-of-Hour IDs, and Chinese FM at www.chriskadlec.comTuner: Grundig G8 • Location: Fremont, Mich. ]

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