Coverage maps for FM reception?

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

Like many FM radio geeks in the 90's, I would frequently DX from my portable walkman radio while we as a family traveled up north to Mackinaw City. I recall that there was a website for FM coverage. It has been about 15 years since I had visited that site. Does anyone remember what it is? I could have sworn I picked up 93.3 all the way until Grayling, but I would be interested to see what it is now.

Sidenote: Z93 is still amazing. Just my opinion of course.

[Turkeytop]

https://radio-locator.com/

[Marcus]

https://rabbitears.info/fmq.php

https://rabbitears.info/contour.php?app ... beb7&map=Y

https://fccdata.org/

https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&facid=6631 ... 3ebeb7&i=2

I like FCCdata.org and the FM version of Rabbit Ears the best.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

https://radio-locator.com/

Thanks! That’s the one.

[syntheticexctasy]

Like many FM radio geeks in the 90's, I would frequently DX from my portable walkman radio while we as a family traveled up north to Mackinaw City. I recall that there was a website for FM coverage. It has been about 15 years since I had visited that site. Does anyone remember what it is? I could have sworn I picked up 93.3 all the way until Grayling, but I would be interested to see what it is now.

Sidenote: Z93 is still amazing. Just my opinion of course.

Z93 can actually be had all the way up to about the wolverine exit on I75 most days, and then east all the way to alpena. While "in town" where it's noisy, you'll lose it - but once back "outside town" it's usually there. I listen often from Roscommon Mio and Oscoda (and all points between).

Same goes for WIOG 102.5.

[Ben Zonia]

fcc data is better in some ways. The maps are more versatile, and it can be selected to display the 70 dBu contour, also the 45 dBu contour, which is about the limit for fringe area listening, which often takes more effort, somewhere between what regular listeners and DX listeners do to listen.

The reason WKQZ comes in so well to areas to the North, is that the tower is nearly 20 miles North of the far side of Midland, the Community of License. This is because when the station was able to move from 93.5 to 93.3 under newer rules, and increase from a 3000 watt equivalent Class A to a 50000 watt equivalent Class C2, the distance separation requirement is 150 miles under CFR 47 Section 73.207 to WDRQ 93.1. Even newer rules, specifically CFR 47 Section 73.215, would allow a tower a few miles further South, still with full equivalent 50000 watt/150 meter HAAT Class C2 facilities, which would increase the signal in places to the South, most valuable to them around Saginaw, but decrease the signal coverage to the North, which is established with many listeners. Cumulus would also be unlikely to move it, according to posters on the message board. All of this may confuse some, but it has to do with peculiarities in the old CFR 47 Section 73.207 rules, as well as CFR 47 Section 73.215 possibilities.

[matt1]

Back in late September or early October of 1986, The New 102.5 FM WIOG in Saginaw was picked up (way up) at FORMER Sugarloaf ski resort (near Traverse City) when I heard the song "Somebody Like You" by .38 Special (from 1986 album "Strength In Numbers") in the car!!! My late mommy took me there for the first time when I was 21 years old in 1986!!

[Ben Zonia]

WIOG is 86000 watts from 800 feet, and it's out on Becker Rd. East of Saginaw. WKQZ is a good 30 miles to the North Northwest, near Pinconning. So up near West Branch, WKQZ comes in well. Far away, like Sugarloaf, WIOG will come in more often on tropospheric events. Back before all the new stations and translators, you could get the majority of stations from Southern Michigan with a good receiver and antenna up by the Straits, even Class As if there wasn't a cochannel or strong adjacent signal nearby.

[ftballfan]

Back in late September or early October of 1986, The New 102.5 FM WIOG in Saginaw was picked up (way up) at FORMER Sugarloaf ski resort (near Traverse City) when I heard the song "Somebody Like You" by .38 Special (from 1986 album "Strength In Numbers") in the car!!! My late mommy took me there for the first time when I was 21 years old in 1986!!

This was also before WCMM (which would likely be heard on 102.5 in the Sugar Loaf area today) came on the air

[Ben Zonia]

Back in late September or early October of 1986, The New 102.5 FM WIOG in Saginaw was picked up (way up) at FORMER Sugarloaf ski resort (near Traverse City) when I heard the song "Somebody Like You" by .38 Special (from 1986 album "Strength In Numbers") in the car!!! My late mommy took me there for the first time when I was 21 years old in 1986!!

This was also before WCMM (which would likely be heard on 102.5 in the Sugar Loaf area today) came on the air

Now, since 96.1 isn't duplicated in Northern Lower Michigan, because of the large first adjacent footprint exclusion by WLXT 96.3, WHNN 96.1 is heard more often. Until the mid 1980s, Class C WMBN-FM/WLXT had to be 150 miles from then Class C WHNN, requiring the tower to be located near Cross Village. Then they changed the rules, adding Class C1, and they quickly moved to a tower SE of Petoskey, which was closer and much easier to maintain.

There were many more upgrades of cochannel stations over the years, many more cochannel and adjacent channel stations, and now translators and a few LPFMs. DXing isn't as much fun as it used to be, unless you have an extremely good antenna system, and a good receiver. We have a DX poster poster here who concentrates on over water paths, but sophisticated receiving antennas can sort out the over land DX opportunities.