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FM DXing

One of my main DX interests is the VHF FM broadcast band, located between 87.5 and 108.0 MHz. I discovered that this band could produce interesting DX in the late 70s when I received strong stereo signals from Belgium around 98.0MHz and above. This was my first taste of "tropospheric" propagation.

The VHF FM broadcast band was split into two in the UK in the 1970s. The police used the higher parts of the band, above 98MHz, while UK broadcast stations would use the lower half of the band. Looking back, it is difficult to imagine that the police would have used such a publically accessible band for their communications as their conversations could often be heard quite clearly.

Around the turn of the 1970s/80s I heard my first sporadic E event during the summer months when Italian radio stations appeared one afternoon and ocupied the entire FM band with strong, listenable signals. I can vividly remember hearing Moon Radio in English at the low end of the band with DJ Foxy John. I was fascinated. This was "sporadic E" reception.

There are several modes of propagation which can affect the VHF FM broadcast band and can result in the listener being able to hear stations from hundreds, and sometimes even thousands of miles beyond their normal coverage area!

Receiver Requirements

There are three basic requirements which make a good VHF FM receiver: Good receiver "sensitivity" is essential, so you have a better chance of picking up the weakest signals; Then there's receiver "selectivity", this is the receiver's ability to dig deep between the gaps of existing radio stations; and good strong signal handling where the receiver is able to cope well with strong local signals without suffering from overloading or being desensitized. A directional aerial is a bonus, especially if mounted on the rooftop.

Some modifications have been made to my receiving setup, including narrowing the IF filtering inside the tuners and connecting the RDS chip to a laptop which runs RDS software. This allows decoding of the RDS data at lower signal thresholds.