FM Logs Sun. August 9, 2009

A few years ago I read a post by a Toronto FM DXer in which he said he often DXed FM from the Scarborough bluffs. Reception was good there because of the lack of any obstructions from there across the lake into New York State, and because of the height of the bluffs.

I decided to give it a try myself on Aug. 9, so I drove down there and started looking for stations on my car radio. Result was several new stations added to the Toronto log. I heard these at several places because I was looking for the best place to park and listen. Didn't really find an ideal place but still the results were good:

91. CFBU, 103.7, St. Catherines ON, 2009-08-09, 20:50-21:02 UTC, Educational.
92. WRTS, 103.7, Erie PA, 2009-08-09, 21:02-21:04 UTC, Star 104 - Rock.
93. WFBF, 89.9, Buffalo NY, 2009-08-09, 21:37-22:00, Family Radio - Religions.
94. WUBJ, 88.1, Jamestown NY, 2009-08-09, 21:37-22:00, NPR.
95. CBOF, 90.7, Ottawa ON, 2009-08-09, 22:03-22:05, Radio-Canada - French CBC.
96. WRRN, 92.3, Warren PA, 2009-08-09, 22:05-22:10, 92 Gold.
97. CKWF, 101.5, Peterborough ON, 2009-08-09, 22:35-22:47, The Wolf.

As you can see from the two Pennsylvania loggings, there was a bit of tropo happening. CBOF was identified by the fact that it's the only French CBC station of any note on that frequency in Ontario. Its programming was the same as on CJBC on 860 AM.

Not having spent too much time DXing FM before this summer, I am pleasantly surprised at how much it supports long-distance reception. It's a lot less predictable than mediumwave but it's there.