Author Topic: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?  (Read 2305 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline MchWxEnthusiast

  • That Guy
  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 111
  • Nothing Much
How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« on: December 03, 2019, 10:36:42 PM »
Just a Thought because I Have caught some pretty far stations before. Examples include; Winona WI, Escanaba MI, Indianapolis IN, and Adrian MI so far. These are not all the station I Have Caught though but they are the farthest I Have Caught. But I Was Wondering "How far can you REALLY Go with Weather Radio Dxing?"
Weather Radio Freq: 162.475 MHz
Weather Radio Loc:  Plainwell, MI
Transmitter Call Sign: WWF34
Streaming Status: NN

Offline MchWxEnthusiast

  • That Guy
  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 111
  • Nothing Much
Re: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2019, 08:04:09 PM »
Umm.. Can someone please tell me
Weather Radio Freq: 162.475 MHz
Weather Radio Loc:  Plainwell, MI
Transmitter Call Sign: WWF34
Streaming Status: NN

Offline Cutty Sark Sailor

  • WxElement panel
  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 3393
    • Frankfort Weather - TwinHollies WeatherCenter
Re: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2019, 09:00:51 PM »
Ok... I'll bite:
NOAA ALL HAZARDS Weather radio is narrow-band FM. Transmitter power ranges from 100 to 1000 watts. Effective range is city blocks to maybe 30-40 miles, depending on lots of things. >20 miles in most areas is pretty terrible, without external antenna. I doubt many folks attempt NWR narrow band low power FM transmission "dxing'.  Which is probably why no one has responded.
https://www.weather.gov/cae/reception.html
« Last Edit: December 09, 2019, 09:03:30 PM by Cutty Sark Sailor »
 


Offline MchWxEnthusiast

  • That Guy
  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 111
  • Nothing Much
Re: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2019, 09:59:58 PM »
I Mean I was able to DX with it so I Though has anyone ever done it here before because this is Kind of a Rare Topic since people mainly DX off Different radios, Mainly FM, AM and Shortwave and not the weather band.
Weather Radio Freq: 162.475 MHz
Weather Radio Loc:  Plainwell, MI
Transmitter Call Sign: WWF34
Streaming Status: NN

Offline nincehelser

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 3337
Re: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« Reply #4 on: December 09, 2019, 10:33:24 PM »
To me "DX" implies a distant 2-way communication,  or at least getting a QSL card as verification that you heard a distant broadcast station.




Offline MchWxEnthusiast

  • That Guy
  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 111
  • Nothing Much
Re: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2019, 06:48:43 AM »
I Wasn't talking about that though. But I Am one for the Hobby as I See it fun.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2019, 06:51:17 AM by MchWxEnthusiast »
Weather Radio Freq: 162.475 MHz
Weather Radio Loc:  Plainwell, MI
Transmitter Call Sign: WWF34
Streaming Status: NN

Offline Bunty

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 2429
  • Stillwater, home of Oklahoma State University
    • Welcome to Stillwater Weather
Re: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2020, 12:08:16 AM »
For DXing, it might be fun to put up a rotable outdoor directional antenna that covers NOAA station frequencies and see how many states you hear after a year or two.  The DX openings would most likely be based on tropospheric reception.  You could get stations hundreds of miles away or even over 1000 miles for very rare exceptional cases.   The other kind of dx reception is called E-skip and can also be good for hundreds of miles.  But it's even less likely to happen than tropospheric.

This video lets you hear what a rare E-skip opening is like as it brings in NOAA stations from over a 1000 miles away as heard in Florida.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M73T5KOIoIo[/youtube]
« Last Edit: January 15, 2020, 01:35:53 AM by Bunty »

Also the 2nd home page using modified AltDashboard 6.95 at http://stillwaterweather.com/2ndhome.php

Offline K5GHS

  • Senior Member
  • **
  • Posts: 68
    • K5GHS's Website
Re: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2020, 03:44:29 AM »
To me "DX" implies a distant 2-way communication,  or at least getting a QSL card as verification that you heard a distant broadcast station.

Agreed.  But with the advent of things such as eQSL, I have got many a SWL QSL from people who are listening to Ham Radio contacts.  To a SWL, this is DX to them-stuff they are hearing from a great distance.  There isn't nearly as much of this going on as there used to be in the mid and later 1900s, but there are still quite a few people who just listen and have no desire to transmit.

I'll usually confirm them if I have a corresponding entry in my log for the contact I was making at the time, they usually will list the contact on the QSL as "heard you in QSO with station" or something similar along with the time to make confirmation easy.
Joshua
K5GHS
http://www.k5ghs.radio

Collin County, TX  Grid: EM13qd  CWOP: AV590
Skywarn Repeaters:  147.180 Primary 146.740 Secondary
100% Emergency Powered Ham Radio Station (540AH Batteries/Solar Rechargeable)
Ambient Weather WS-2000
Ecowitt GW1000

Offline WeatherHost

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 3649
Re: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« Reply #8 on: January 15, 2020, 05:41:37 AM »
I simply will never understand the obsession with droning, monotonous automated voice-bots repeating the same thing  over and over again on a collection of very low power scratchy signals that hardly no one listens to or even knows exists.

I'd abolish the whole network if I could.


Offline Cutty Sark Sailor

  • WxElement panel
  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 3393
    • Frankfort Weather - TwinHollies WeatherCenter
Re: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« Reply #9 on: January 15, 2020, 09:50:05 AM »

I'd abolish the whole network if I could.

#-o thankfully you can't.
 


Offline K5GHS

  • Senior Member
  • **
  • Posts: 68
    • K5GHS's Website
Re: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« Reply #10 on: January 15, 2020, 09:50:20 PM »
I simply will never understand the obsession with droning, monotonous automated voice-bots repeating the same thing  over and over again on a collection of very low power scratchy signals that hardly no one listens to or even knows exists.

I'd abolish the whole network if I could.

Because in an emergency when the power goes out, a simple radio with a battery in it can receive the droning voice. 

That's the main reason such things are retained, and they do also go out on modern technology as well.

Having a modular system that the person issuing the warning can do so with a few short steps also allows the warnings to get out quickly. 

The day that power outages never happen and infrastructure cannot be damaged is the day that such systems can go away.  Technology is great when it works.

Its part of the reason I have a solar/battery powered Ham Radio station.  The radios do no good plugged into the wall when the lights are out.  Sure, I have a Generator, but its got other loads it needs to handle first, and I can't run a weather net (or hear one) too reliably with a handheld, though I have those too.

A lot of the weather service transmitters, by the way, are in the 50 watt range.  Weaker than your local FM radio "blowtorch" but with an outside antenna are easily readable.  The mistake a lot of people make with weather alert radios is failing to read the directions regarding proper placement.  In the middle of your house they aren't going to work worth squat.
« Last Edit: January 15, 2020, 09:51:52 PM by K5GHS »
Joshua
K5GHS
http://www.k5ghs.radio

Collin County, TX  Grid: EM13qd  CWOP: AV590
Skywarn Repeaters:  147.180 Primary 146.740 Secondary
100% Emergency Powered Ham Radio Station (540AH Batteries/Solar Rechargeable)
Ambient Weather WS-2000
Ecowitt GW1000

Offline snowman

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: How Far can you DX Long range with a NOAA Weather Radio?
« Reply #11 on: January 16, 2020, 10:21:13 AM »
I simply will never understand the obsession with droning, monotonous automated voice-bots repeating the same thing  over and over again on a collection of very low power scratchy signals that hardly no one listens to or even knows exists.

I'd abolish the whole network if I could.

Adding to what K5GHS said -

I live in a rural area - no OTA TV or even radio stations reach here. No cell service either - don’t even own a cell phone for that reason. I do however have cable internet.

Now when the power goes out which is quite often we not only loose electricity but we loose internet. The cable company tech told me the reason is that ever 1 mile of cable there is an amplifier - those amplifiers are on the same power system.

So when we are dark we are also dark as far as any information including the weather which is very important to us.
It is what it is

Davis VP2 (soon to be parted with)
WS-2902A
WS-2000 on the way

 

anything