I took a trip yesterday in my Lexicon-equipped Hyundai Genesis to L.A. and back from Phoenix. A 13-hour turnaround for the purpose of retrieving a particular dog. I-10 from Phoenix metro westward to the little community of Baldwin Park, CA. Along the way I was constantly searching for anything of interest on both AM and FM (and even tried HD-2). It was an abject failure.
Phoenix, of course, has a plethora of radio stations but the only ones without static and all manner of interference are the FM's. About 50 miles west of Buckeye the last FM dies (KOOL). Their HD-2 signal was good for about half that distance.
Through Quartzsite, through Blythe and Palm Springs (and various Coachella Valley communities I got a smattering of FM's but virtually no AM's that were listenable. This is late morning on a Sunday. No HD-2's at all. Once in the vicinity of the big racetrack that used to be called Ontario the FM's began coming in again but most were subject to drop-out and fade. Now I understand the Lexicon may not be the most sensitive radio received on the planet but still, we were in the heart of a very large metro area and although I don't know the location of the various stations I was passing I have to assume there were some. 25 miles or so past Ontario I picked up KRTH very weakly but it got stronger as I headed west. It was one of the only FM's I could understand and there was nothing but buzz on the AM band. Still no HD-2's.
As I neared Baldwin Park I was searching for what once were some blowtorch AM's (remembering I could get a couple of those (KFI?) even in AZ when the weather was right - but nada. I finally picked up a very faint KFI signal but it wasn't really listenable. I thought the dial would be loaded with SoCal radio but was very surprised to hear....virtually nothing.
Just in case I tried the same searches on the way back to Phoenix thinking that perhaps the pattern of the car itself would either aid or defeat the stations I had picked up. Nope. Virtually the same identical results.
Sure glad I had my flash drive with a few albums on it. No reception problems at all.
Phoenix, of course, has a plethora of radio stations but the only ones without static and all manner of interference are the FM's. About 50 miles west of Buckeye the last FM dies (KOOL). Their HD-2 signal was good for about half that distance.
Through Quartzsite, through Blythe and Palm Springs (and various Coachella Valley communities I got a smattering of FM's but virtually no AM's that were listenable. This is late morning on a Sunday. No HD-2's at all. Once in the vicinity of the big racetrack that used to be called Ontario the FM's began coming in again but most were subject to drop-out and fade. Now I understand the Lexicon may not be the most sensitive radio received on the planet but still, we were in the heart of a very large metro area and although I don't know the location of the various stations I was passing I have to assume there were some. 25 miles or so past Ontario I picked up KRTH very weakly but it got stronger as I headed west. It was one of the only FM's I could understand and there was nothing but buzz on the AM band. Still no HD-2's.
As I neared Baldwin Park I was searching for what once were some blowtorch AM's (remembering I could get a couple of those (KFI?) even in AZ when the weather was right - but nada. I finally picked up a very faint KFI signal but it wasn't really listenable. I thought the dial would be loaded with SoCal radio but was very surprised to hear....virtually nothing.
Just in case I tried the same searches on the way back to Phoenix thinking that perhaps the pattern of the car itself would either aid or defeat the stations I had picked up. Nope. Virtually the same identical results.
Sure glad I had my flash drive with a few albums on it. No reception problems at all.