On Sun, 21 Mar 2021 01:46:34 -0700, "Jock Elliott via groups.io"
<jock.elliott@...> wrote:

It was Robert Ross who set off this train of thought. He said: " The AM BCB Season is starting to wind down here now, and soon I’ll be switching over to FM DXing for the Spring and Summer. "

I'm trying to assemble a set of basic assumptions about AM and FM dxing. I've come up with the following . . . please have a look and point me in the  right direction.

AM DX
Season: Fall/winter

I'd be hard pressed to say winter nights are always better than summer
nights. Days, yes. Once in a while really cold winter days can yield
excellent reception.

Time: night/dawn

Reception can be great from approximately an hour before sunset to an
hour after sunrise, especially if you're close to a time zone
boundary. You can sometimes catch stations operating under different
power switch rules (based on their time zone)

I mostly dx around sunset now.

Frequency "holes" where it is easier to search: 1540-1700 (fewer stations)

540 to about 900 or 1000 khz- stations propogate further at lower
frequencies, so there tend to be fewer in general.

Any of the former clear channel frequencies, especially if the station
is some distance from you. 1200 khz, for instance, used to be owned by
WOAI San Antonio, which is 1500 miles from me. The other former owner
is CFGO Ottawa, which apparently aims away from interfering with WOAI,
so they rarely show up here (Virginia- west coast stations will be
different). So there's no strong station in that slot close to me and
I've logged a dozen stations over the years (including the two above).

Adjacent frequencies to your local stations, if your receiver is
selective enough to avoid splatter.

Location: near the ocean, if you can manage it

Quite phenomenal reception.

FM DX
Season: Spring/summer?

In general, but not absolute.

Time: daytime?

Sometimes sunrise and a few hours after is like ducting. Or maybe it
is ducting.

Frequency holes: ??

Again, adjacent frequencies to your local stations, if your receiver
has the selectivity.

Otherwise, get a good frequency list and dig through it to see how
stations are allocated. I use the FCC list, since it's the most
current and complete.
https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/fm-query
(AM) transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?x

I also use Radio-Locator because it's easier to navigate and can be
searched a variety of ways. www.radio-locator.com

Location: highest elevation??

The most metal the highest you can get it is the mantra.

Also: does ducting occur on the FM band? (I know it does on ham 2 meter).

Yes.

Also, trees will weaken FM reception.