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Geography

Murfreesboro is located at the "geographic center" of the state of Tennessee. Unlike much of Middle Tennessee, Murfreesboro and surrounding areas are quite flat, at an elevation of approximately 600 feet above mean sea level.

This is likely a plus for DXing, as hills do not present a major obstruction on the horizon in any particular direction. The most significant terrain is to the east, where hills about 15 miles away rise a few hundred feet above our elevation. Larger hills lay beyond them, eventually running into the Appalachian mountains in East Tennessee. Small, distant hills populate much of the rest of the compass, but aren't a factor in DXing.

Local Band

Nearby Radio Markets

The nearest major market is Nashville, TN. Several 100,000 watt stations serve Nashville, most of them located to the north and west of the city, ranging from 29 to 38 miles from my location. A few 100,000 watt stations operate to the southeast of Nashville, and are my strongest local signals. There are also a few smaller stations in Murfreesboro and surrounding areas, which are also very strong. 

Due to terrain, Chattanooga signals are weak or non-existant, even at only ~75 miles distant. Cookeville, TN (~60 miles away), Huntsville, and Bowling Green have several strong "pest" stations, despite being equidistant, or farther than Chattanooga.

Stations from other markets on the map are normally weak or non-existant during normal conditions.

Best DXing / "clear" frequencies: 89.9, 92.5, 92.7, 93.1, 93.5, 93.9, 94.9, 95.3, 95.7, 96.1, 96.5, 97.3, 99.3, 100.7, 102.3, 103.9, 104.7, 106.3

Several other frequencies are also good for DXing, with minor levels of IBOC / "HD Radio" noise, or weak, fringe signals. Tropo or Es of decent strength can easily dominate these frequencies.

Typical Propagation: Tropo

Tropospheric enhacement is very common in Middle Tennessee. Normal daily cycles of cooling and heating, particularly during the warmer months, enhance signals from mostly short distances. This is more of a hassle than anything else, as the stronger "pest" signals, mostly commonly from West Tennessee and Kentucky, get in the way of better, more distant DX stations.

However, long-haul tropospheric ducting is quite possible. Thus far, my farthest station received via tropospheric ducting is 98.9 KLMO in Dilley, TX, which is 890 miles distant. The most common destination for long-haul ducts has been to the southwest, toward east Texas and Louisiana. However, ducts have extended as far north as South Dakota (briefly), and as far south as the Florida Panhandle.

Very little tropo occurs to the North and East beyond 200-300 miles. This is due to the Appalachians to east, and while long tropo to the north is possible, it is more rare, probably because of the generally cooler air and weather patterns in that direction. I am also restricted in these directions due to my indoor situation, as walls and other man-made indoor objects lie between my apartment and north and east directions.

Typical Propagation: Sporadic E-Skip

Es Range

Pictured above is the ever-important map of E-Skip ranges. Most Es occur between the red and green circles (between 700 and 1200 miles away). Generally, a single Es "cloud" cannot yield distances beyond the black circle (1500 miles).

EsMap_2

Another version of my Es range shows a 1000 mile radius (red), 1200 mile radius (blue), and 1400 mile radius around my location.

While Middle Tennessee is not in an ideal location for Es as the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean occupy much of the prime Es range, it is not bad either. Major metro areas in the Mountain West, Northeast, and Upper Midwest are common by Es. Areas along the Gulf Coast of Mexico are also common. While Cuba and other areas of the Carribean are at a perfect distance, they were not heard often during the past season.

For the Summer Es season of 2009, my current "records" are:

Shortest Distance: 99.5 WXNR Grifton, North Carolina (518 miles, 16.5kw)
Longest Distance: 96.1 XHTGZ Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico (1383 miles, 30.5kw)
Lowest Power: 89.9 KFRY Pueblo, Colorado (870 watts)

Typical Propagation: Meteor Scatter

On the first map above, most meteor scatter occurs within 200 miles of the red circle, while includes many heavily populated areas along the East Coast, as well as in the Midwest and the Southern Plains.

As fascinating as I find Meteor Scatter, I have not devoted a lot of energy to chasing down stations heard via Ms, and uncontrollable man-made RFI (noise generated appliances, electronics, etc) in an apartment situation sometimes makes DXing Ms quite difficult. However, the IDs that have fallen into my lap have generally been higher-powered stations to the west. I hope to pursue Ms further, as I've recently been able to reduce RFI noise levels to some extent.