Fan 960 Broadcast Zone

[foofighter15]

Those who read the off-topic forum might know that I'm moving to Victoria tomorrow and driving out.
Anyway, I wanted to know if anyone knows how far the Fan reaches that way. When I was driving up from Chicago I managed to get a poor reception of the Flames vs Canucks in South Dakota, but there aren't any mountains anyway.
So if any of you know whether or not I should expect to hear any of the game tomorrow let me know!

[ricoFlame]

i wouldn't count on it.

[Coach]

My experience with listening to the radio and driving that way, you might get it to the radium area, so within that range. The montains make it tough....Banff might have a different frequency for it

[arloiginla]

Mountains always make it very unpredictable, there's patches clear as day, other times nothing. I don't remember ever getting coverage on the island though.

[wegotBeers]

I lose the Fan before I get to Banff

[tonygp]

Since AM radio bounces off of the ionosphere and can travel really far at night, you may be able to pick it up here and there almost all the way to Vancouver after dark. Mountains do have a tendency to block signals though, so it will probably be really spotty through the rockies. I've heard of people picking up the Fan in Vancouver, and I've picked up Vancouver stations here in Alberta. I'm a tech at a couple FM radio stations here, and one of them used to be an AM station when I was a kid. Back then, the techs used to get letters from guys as far away as Finland and Sweden, telling them that they picked up the station on cold winter nights.

[wise_one]

I lose it just before I get into Radium.

[browna]

I recall listening to Game 3 of the Flames/Habs final in May 1989 on a trip out to a soccer tournament as a teenager in Kamloops. Got to about 3 Valley Gap and it (CHQR 810 I think still at that time?) finally cut out for being too deep in the mountains, this time for good. To add to the annoyance, by this time, the game was in OT.

When we stopped for gas, in Salmon Arm, we found out the final score.

[CubicleGeek]

Originally Posted by wegotBeers

I lose the Fan before I get to Banff

Yeah me too. Shortly after Canmore, the signal starts to degrade. It starts getting pretty brutal after passing the 2nd Banff exit.

[troutman]

Maybe - we heard it in Southern Utah with lots of mountains in between - does it make a difference if it is cloudy?

[Slanter]

In my experience it makes a big difference if it's cloudy. Cloudy=good.

[Canada 02]

The FAN Flames broadcasts are simulcast on some Saskatchewan radio stations so you may have picked up one of them in South Dakota, not the actual FAN 960

[MelBridgeman]

At night...you should be able to get the FAN most of the way..through...obv its depends on conditions...but i have driven from calgary -> vancouver and vice versa and with exception of some spots in the mountains..it was able to pick it up

[foofighter15]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

The FAN Flames broadcasts are simulcast on some Saskatchewan radio stations so you may have picked up one of them in South Dakota, not the actual FAN 960

are they simulcast on 960AM because its the station we were on

[Circa89]

I once had a Cabbie in Vancouver pick me up and he was listening to The Fan. It turns out he was a Flames fan and altough I could barely understand him we had a great ride to the airport together as The Flames were laying a beat down on whomever we were playing that night.

Victoria's weird though most of the Vancouver Radio stations (FM dial) were barely audible when I lived there.

[TheDragon]

Picked it up in White Rock B.C when I was out there for my cousins' wedding a few years ago. It was a BOA game when Iginla kept feeding Phaneuf the puck to pound away at.

[ShaolinFlame]

My GF has a cabin in the Princeton area, and her father taught me some cool stuff about the AM. He has a small antenna (solar power charged throughout day) connected to an old car deck. Here is where it gets wierd: the time of day changes the stations you will get.

Here was his explanation (don't grill me if it's wrong):
As the earth spins, the electro magnetosphere fluctuates wildly in height, due to the presence or absence or the suns energy. The the mangetosphere deflects am radio signals, as does the earth, so when the timing is right, the signal will bounce (multiple times even) perfectly to were you are at.

I always loved this because between 10 PM and 4 AM Calgary's classic country AM stations bounces the perfect amount of times (apparently 4 or 5 times) to come out incredibly clear (which is perfect because usually that is when I am drunk and craving some... CONVOY!)

However, having done that drive many times, you will be lucky to get the FAN past golden.

Good luck on your voyage, and for gods sake make ferry reservations.

[HotHotHeat]

I get 960 all over the Island. Victoria, Nanaimo, Tofino, Comox, etc. Only at dusk and through the night and not if it's a stormy night.

If you're insanely set on hearing the game on the way out through the yellowhead highway (I doubt you'll get reception through there) you could always call someone and have them put their phone in front of a radio, lol. I'm not going to lie I've done it once or twice.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by ShaolinFlame

the time of day changes the stations you will get.

I thought some AM stations turn up the power at night too?

[ShaolinFlame]

Originally Posted by troutman

I thought some AM stations turn up the power at night too?

also very possible. If the bouncing thing is true, it would make sense to up your power when the MS is low enough for the signal to bounce, in order to massively increase your potential audience.