What is the lowest-power signal from the farthest distance you can get?

[DavidEduardo]

Regarding the X-Band in the early days I also heard KDIA Vallejo, Ca in Illinois. In Hawaii I heard the ESPN 1700 near San Diego.

As the X-band was opening up, quite a few DXers in the US heard 250 watt to 1000 watt stations from Argentina since that country jumped on the band faster than the FCC process moved. I heard one of several from Puerto Rico.

 

[DavidEduardo]

KPET Lamesa has the most coverage for a low power signal I have ever heard. I could start getting them just outside of Ft. Worth. No doubt they have some excellent ground conductivity at their tower site.

And an excellent engineer in David Stewart.

 

[ftballfan]

I've also gotten translators from a very long distance with my Sangean PR-D15 and car radios.

I've gotten W249BS, a 250 watt translator for 1290 WTKS in Savannah, at least 5 times from 85 miles away on 97.7. There is also a 104.3 translator in Savannah I've heard several times. During skip, I also get a 106.5 translator from Hilton Head, 64 miles out.

Speaking of far away translators, I've gotten a few from Wisconsin: 93.3 W227CH Sturgeon Bay (80W @ 65 miles), 95.3 W237AA Appleton (250W @ 100 miles), 96.1 W241AG Sheboygan (250W @ 78 miles, by far the most common), 98.9 W255AQ Sturgeon Bay (55W @ 65 miles), 103.3 W277BR Sheboygan (55W @ 78 miles)

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Collateral translator - because I had my antenna pointed South from Palm Bay, FL: W242AC 96.3 FM, Port Saint Lucie, FL 10 Watts, about 60 miles.

 

[Radio-X]

In terms of FM...

Best so far has been K270CJ/Olympia, WA regularly putting a signal up here 65.3 miles from the translator site. Ditto with sister station K277CZ. However, 277 now gets clogged up with a downtown Seattle translator and new sign-on KMCQ

Also picked up a good signal from K297BD/Greenwater, WA 49.6 miles from my location when 107.3 in Victoria, BC was off. A whopping 2 watts of power!

Radio-X

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Under conditions of extreme tropo, I was able to hear KTXT Lubbock in Midland. They were 10 watts off of a 600 foot tower on 88.1 at the time. I was not able to hear KOHM 91.1 - 5 watts from a short tower on top of Coronado high school's gym from Midland. I say extreme tropo - because Lubbock's other stations were pegging my signal strength meter that morning. KTXT barely made it move. Distance was 115 miles.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

I've heard 990 KTMS near midday from 181 miles away, with I think a near-armchair-copy level signal.

KTMS is 5 kW, but directional, with a fairly deep null in the direction of my location at the time of that recording. Their field at 1 km is about 47.31 mV/m, which translates to about 21 watts.

I've heard of cases where signals went a lot farther with a lot less power, though. How about 1 µW over 1650 miles on 10 meters? I'm curious if r.fry or anyone has any idea what the received field strength intensity would be in µV/m (or would picovolts/meter be more appropriate)?

 

[gr8oldies]

When I lived in Ohio I could pull WJYM, Bowling Green OH almost to Cincinnati with 1000 watts in a bowling pin pattern.

 

[boombox4]

My best low power DX is probably any of the number of nameless NOAA Oregon stations I hear on 1660, and sometimes 1650. I don't know the wattage but I'm sure it's pretty minimal. I think one of them is on the Coast, another one may be in the Willamette Valley somewhere. They usually mix with KBRE 105.7 The Bear out of Merced (which has a great mix of rock music, I've gotta add).