How strong is that signal?
Musings From Eric:It's time for the Holiday light display at Hartwood Acres. As part of the celebration, there is a music track (along with Joe DeNardo announcements) available on your car radio as you travel through the show. Keep this in mind.
Now, when I use my XM (and yes it was XM originally) receiver in the car, I use an available FM frequency. Lately I've been using 88.7. There aren't any stations (of which I am aware) within the region which uses the frequency. If the XM receiver isn't plugged in, I have received some sound...perhaps a bleed over from a first adjacent.
Anyhow, I was at Giant Eagle on McKnight Road today. When I started my car - before I plugged the receiver in - I heard Christmas music and Joe DeNardo. It was weak, but clear as a bell. The Hartwood Light Display is 8 or 9 miles from this Giant Eagle. Hmmm...
Readers’ Forum
Proof once again…...........Low Band VHF isn’t just line of sight.
And I’m going to miss being able to listen to WJAC TV-6 { 87.75 mHz.} on my car FM receiver after the Analog sunset.There’s been times it’s come in very handy. :(
RJ
RJ Kanary - November 30, 2008 at 9:38 pm
I picked it up on Pittsburgh-McKeesport Boulevard in West Mifflin Tuesday afternoon. It wasn’t the best signal you ever heard, but it was Christmas music and Joe DeNardo’s voice was on there, too.
Pat Cloonan (URL) - December 02, 2008 at 11:20 pm
I use to play around with LPFM from my home in the South Hills. I can tell you that with the right antenna and location even less that 1 watt can travel for miles. Someday I’ll get back into it.
Me - December 03, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Sirius had to cut the strength of their FM outputs down because some drivers were (allegedly) complaining of Howard Stern bleeding into their car’s FM radios which were located next to a car that had a Sirius FM-modulator output. So I guess the answer to your question is “not as strong as it otherwise would be”.
Rocco - December 04, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Cheap front ends with poor image rejection and miserable capture ratio are a far more likely culprit, IMHO. :)
RJ
RJ Kanary - December 04, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Dear Eric:
Long time no write; in fact, I haven’t even been reading the radio boards much lately. I guess I just lost interest seeing what the big corporations have done to radio.
Anyway, this caught my eye so I thought I’d see where I could pick it up (hey, there’s nothing wrong with radio being fun, but try to make this point to the big owners). I heard it at the dead end of Lynne Drive in North Huntingdon, Westmoreland County, which is about 17 miles from Hartwood Acres as the crow flies and where the elevation is about 1240 ft. above sea level. I had to move my car to just the right spot; if I moved a few feet, I’d get more interference or lose it altogether. I also hear it in spots along Route 30 in East McKeesport and North Versailles to past the Westmoreland County line.
As always in the past, please keep me anonymous. Thanks.
Walter Kowalczyk - December 25, 2008 at 10:19 pm