More skip this evening
Weather today was piss-poor as I travelled home from work at 4pm, heavy rain. This, the "anvil shape" of the cumulonimbus cloud above me, and the constant crackles on MW (I was listening to Radio London at the time), gave the distinct impression that a thunderstorm was nearby.
On retuning to FM, as I drove south and Bollywood FM became weaker, I again noticed foreign signals appearing on FM. This time, there were various stations (sounded French) between 87.5 and 88.0, but none gave a steady enough signal for an ID, whether RDS or otherwise.
I am fascinated by the fact that thunderstorms - normally associated with piss poor radio reception - can be a blessing in disguise to a DXer, giving long range VHF reception. This phenomenon can also extend to UHF; in 1981, I remember getting a surprisingly good signal from Tyne Tees TV (from Bilsdale, normally weak on my TV at the time) as a thunderstorm approached.
Maybe it's due to the highly charged air near the thundercloud, or maybe it's due to the fact that warm air and cold air clash, creating a "ducting" effect. Who knows?
On retuning to FM, as I drove south and Bollywood FM became weaker, I again noticed foreign signals appearing on FM. This time, there were various stations (sounded French) between 87.5 and 88.0, but none gave a steady enough signal for an ID, whether RDS or otherwise.
I am fascinated by the fact that thunderstorms - normally associated with piss poor radio reception - can be a blessing in disguise to a DXer, giving long range VHF reception. This phenomenon can also extend to UHF; in 1981, I remember getting a surprisingly good signal from Tyne Tees TV (from Bilsdale, normally weak on my TV at the time) as a thunderstorm approached.
Maybe it's due to the highly charged air near the thundercloud, or maybe it's due to the fact that warm air and cold air clash, creating a "ducting" effect. Who knows?
posted by Anthony Karl Page at 5:26 AM
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