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Interstate 5

M

MarioMania

I'm going this weekend to the Overwatch League in Burbank, CA

I will be bringing my Grundig, My Sony Walkman & my Portable Sony Radio I got

So I know Stockton, Modesto, Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield on FM & AM

So I don't have a smartphone to track where I'm at

Is there a list of Stations on I5 I can check out?

I know the Grapevine will block signals on FM cause of the mountains
 
Sorry man, don't really know of any I-5 radio listings.... Would have tried using Wikipedia or maybe Radio-Locator... plug in the names of cities and write down the stations you find.

Unfortunately, a lot of info on AM and FM listings aren't all that plentiful....

Hope you had a good DX road trip.
 
When you do get to go, I think it would be interesting to see how far north you can get KFI during the day.

Back in 1977 when my brother and I went on a road trip from Vacaville to southern California to see the high desert and Los Angeles, we took 101 as far south to Gilroy and then cut over to Interstate 5 on 152 which then became 33 before connecting with I-5. (I just had to look on Google maps to remember the road numbers between 101 and I-5)

So as soon as we got on I-5, I'll never forget how KFI had a listenable signal that far north and it was midday too.

It would be interesting to see how much farther north the station could be heard, where on I-5 you first hear any signal on 640.
 
It's a LOT better than it is on the east coast but not quite as good as some areas in the central part of the country.

But I would consider a listenable signal of an AM station 300 miles away in the daytime as excellent.
 
hawaiigar said:
It's a LOT better than it is on the east coast but not quite as good as some areas in the central part of the country.

But I would consider a listenable signal of an AM station 300 miles away in the daytime as excellent.
Click to expand...

True. CA goes from very good conductivity to very bad.

The Coachella Valley is listed as 0.5 in conductivity and is likely as bad as or worse than anyplace else in the US. LA goes from decent conductivity along the coast and 8 to 10 miles or so inland, and then declines to fairly low values. It's 15 along the coast, 8 in the Covina / Pomona /Ontario area and 4 by the time you get to Riverside.

There is an area around Sacramento of 30, and another 30 zone on the coast in Marin and Santa Rosa areas.

You can download the map set at https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/m3-ground-conductivity-map
 
hawaiigar said:
It's a LOT better than it is on the east coast but not quite as good as some areas in the central part of the country.

But I would consider a listenable signal of an AM station 300 miles away in the daytime as excellent.
Click to expand...

It's true. CA goes from some 30 areas (near Sacramento and in the Marin Santa Rosa areas) to a measured 0.5 in the Coachella Valley, about the worst in the US. In LA, it's 15 on the coast, 8 as you go east towards the IE, and it is 4 around Riverside.

You can get the map set for the US at https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/m3-ground-conductivity-map
 
Ground conductivity definitely makes a difference in reception. IN my state, Eastern Washington is much higher than Western Washington, and when you go over there, and tune the band at night, there is a definite difference. The lack of an extra chain of mountains (as well as added elevation, in many places) helps for DXing the east, of course.

That ground conductivity map is a gem for DX information.
 
boombox4 said:
Ground conductivity definitely makes a difference in reception. IN my state, Eastern Washington is much higher than Western Washington, and when you go over there, and tune the band at night, there is a definite difference. The lack of an extra chain of mountains (as well as added elevation, in many places) helps for DXing the east, of course.

That ground conductivity map is a gem for DX information.
Click to expand...

Wisconsin and Minnesota are two states that come to mind where ground conductivity ranges from good to terrible. And the state where I am now, Florida, is another. Southern Florida is actually generally good. Here where I am for the next few weeks near Pensacola is awful. (.5). But there are a lot of salt water paths, that let in lots of distant stations. It's an interesting juxtaposition that produces some unusual results. For example WTAN, from Clearwater is the dominant station...albeit still very weak...on 1340 during the daytime, despite being roughly 300 miles distant. Meanwhile, other 1340s closer to me are inaudible.
 
Thanks for the link, David. Have wondered about that for my area and wasn't too surprised at the results, although neat to see the numbers regardless.
As far as ground conductivity, Ohio varies quite a bit as well. As a general rule, it's better the farther north and west you go (with, as everything in this world, some exceptions). It's pretty solid here in Columbus, but better to our west and noticeably worse as close as 40 miles east and southeast as that starts to descend into the crappier conductivity of the Appalachians, the Pittsburgh area, etc.
 
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