Yesterday, while we were flipping through channels looking for something my son could watch, we ran across “The Littles” (a cartoon from the 80’s). I was surprised to remember it, and even more surprised to see it on the screen. The channel was a bit fuzzy, but we watched it anyway. As I have observed this station, I couldn’t help but note the commercials for upcoming shows broadcasting the channel name “watch (such and such show) here on UPN Northwest Florida”.
Uh?
I live just north of Salt Lake City, Utah. And there is a station (a bit fuzzy but watchable and even at times coming in clearer than certain local stations) that looks to be out of Northwestern Florida. The channel is still there today, and I think it’s been there for a long time, but I’ve never paid much attention to it.
How is this possible???
The only thing I use is a little antenna that hooks on the back of my tv (commonly known as “rabbit ears” around here). No cable, no sattellite, nothing on my roof. Nothing fancy.
Explaination anyone?
Also, anyone else have odd experiences of getting TV channels/radio stations from far away places that logically, they shouldn’t have been recieving?
Once, years ago in junior high, I decided to learn to play bass guitar-- beacause I was in love with John Taylor of Duran Duran, mind you-- and for some reason, every now and again my amp would pick up a radio station from Mexico. It was so bizarre.
That’s too funny izz! I had pictures of him taped all over my desk, along with John Stamos-- remember Blackie, from General Hospital? Then in high school, it was Johnny Depp, from his 21 Jump Street role. Kind of have to wonder about the fact that they were all named John.
As to the bass, I have vague recollection of one little part of an Ozzy Osbourne song, but that’s about it. I’ve thought about trying it again… one of these days.
(I wonder if I could have put any more emoticons in that post??)
It’s possible that it’s bounce. My brother’s a ham and I seem to recall him saying something about another of the periodic (every few decades) cycles coming up where bounce is going to increase. I remember when I was a kid we were at the peak of a cycle and you would occasionally get a brief bounce on the CB from unlikely and distant places.
However, since it’s so steady I rather think it’s more likely that somebody in your neighborhood has a satellite receiver that is leaking, perhaps in the IF.
Atmospheric disturbances sometimes have amazing effects on radio and television transmissions.
Back in the 1980’s I was hooked on sideband radios… I never had a legitimate HAM license, and never knew anyone else who did either!
When sunspot activity was high, or around the time of an equinox, it was always interesting to see how far away you could talk… ah yes, back in the good old days before the Internet!
I also remember one time years ago when I turned on my home stereo and could only pick up Oriental music… even the local stations were drowned out!
It only lasted for a few minutes before everything returned to normal, but it’s something that I’ll always remember… it’s very rare for an incident that powerful to take place.
Maybe it’s Utah, Sara. When I was a teenager growing up in southern Utah we couldn’t get radio stations from Salt Lake City or even Las Vegas. For years the only rock station we could pick up was KOMA in Oklahoma City. Clear as a bell. Every night (not during the day). Go figure.
When I lived in Houston, between 1958 and 1962, I could pick up radio station WLAC in Nashville between about 1 and 3 am, during at least part of the year.
The Randy’s Record Mart show was one of the biggies for blues, like BB King, John Lee Hooker, etc. and R&B. The ads were mostly for Black-oriented products like “Silky Straight” and “Light and Bright”.
On the country/gospel side, there was, among others, Wayne Raney and the Raney Family (“We Need a Whole Lot More of Jesus, and a Lot Less Rock and Roll”), and ads for the “resurrection plant”, crucifix TV lights, pieces of the original Cross, and a harmonica just like the one that Wayne played. (I do not believe that they really sold autographed photos of Jesus, as some have claimed.) A lot of the programming seemed to be identical to XREF.
The Tulsa UPN station carries The Littles, which was my favorite as a child. I liked the craft segments at the end. Also, the voice of Grandpa Little was that guy who played Hank Kimball on Green Acres.
When I was a teenager, I would often keep my radio on at night and pick up such distant AM rock stations as WLS (Chicago) (John Landecker ROCKED!), XEROK (Exe-E-Ere-O-Ka) (Juarez, Mexico) and CKLW (Windsor, Ontario). Not sure what their formats are these days.
I used to get that thing with the guitar amp. I think the guitar lead acted as an antenna and I’d get bits of radio broadcast and cab drivers… Doesn’t happen with the amp I use now though.
When I was a kid with a CB they used to call that atmospheric bouncing phenomenon ‘skip’ and everyone used to go on about how they’d spoken to people in USA and Canada on a normal 4 watt SSB rig with a car antenna (yeah, right…)
I did once get to briefly talk to a guy in Exeter one ‘skippy’ evening. And that’s gotta be 150 miles from where I am (total guess - my geography is cr*p).
Oh, and of course sometimes it is the crystal people…
That bounce stuff is so cool! I didn’t realize the fun to be had (and this explains why I sometimes get great channels and other times they don’t want to come in at all). I wonder though, if my little mystery isn’t someones leaky sattellite and not true bounce. Bounce sounded like it’s more likely to happen on the lower channels and my station is coming in on channel 58. And the length of time for which it appears to have been (and continues to) happen makes me wonder as well.
Or maybe, it really is a Utah thing! After all, I can’t imagine the Crystal People being all that interested in ///*&^%#@/// szzzzz…
Sara (signing off from the Twilight Zone… AKA “Sara’s kitchen”)
The reason for this bounce, and it happens with AM radio fairly often, is because of the frequencies and the Ionosphere. This is the layer that when the sun hits it, many of the atoms lose their electrons and turn into ions. As luck would have it, the ionosphere also happens to reflect certain frequencies of radio waves. The ionosphere is different during the day then it is at night, (but then, are most ??). The composition of the ionosphere is different at night because of the absence of the sun. So, as it turns out, during the night certain radio frequencies, particularly AM, will bounce back and forth between the ground and the ionosphere, sometimes for hundreds and hundreds of miles. Then, as the sun comes up, the ionosphere resorts back to its daytime persona, so the radio waves don’t get bounced liked at night.
As someone already mentioned, Sunspot activity can play havoc on radio transmissions.
I’m not sure if this is this stuff applies to television though, but since someone mentioned radio, I thought that I would chime in.
TV is more in the FM range, isn’t it? When I was in the 5th grade, before we got our first TV set (before I’d ever even seen one, in fact), we lived down near the Rio Grande Valley, and I could pick up a TV station on the FM radio.
If I recall correctly from my granddaughter’s physics homework, FM frequencies are much shorter than AM. (I recall almost nothing from my own physics homework–or even from the little bit of theory I learned 22 years ago to get my Ham novice license. )
Regarding picking up radio on odd things, my Mac speakers pick up some (local?) radio station at night. When the computer is on, you can barely hear it, but when I turn the Mac off, it comes in loud and clear for a couple of seconds, like there is a residual charge of some kind in the speakers, then it fades away.
TV is more in the FM range, isn’t it? When I was in the 5th grade, before we got our first TV set (before I’d ever even seen one, in fact), we lived down near the Rio Grande Valley, and I could pick up a TV station on the FM radio.
If I recall correctly from my granddaughter’s physics homework, FM frequencies are much shorter than AM. (I recall almost nothing from my own physics homework–or even from the little bit of theory I learned 22 years ago to get my Ham novice license. )
Regarding picking up radio on odd things, my Mac speakers pick up some (local?) radio station at night. When the computer is on, you can barely hear it, but when I turn the Mac off, it comes in loud and clear for a couple of seconds, like there is a residual charge of some kind in the speakers, then it fades away.[/quote]
Yes, you are correct. The FM broadcast frequencies are sandwiched between two sets of TV broadcast frequencies. These groups of frequencies are not particularly close to the AM frequency range.
You are also correct when you say that they are shorter. The higher the frequency, the shorter the wave.
Sara
I didn’t learn how to play the bass guitar though because of my infatuation. Do you still know how to play?
Then in high school, it was Johnny Depp, from his 21 Jump Street role. Kind of have to wonder about the fact that they were all named John. 
Sara (signing off from the Twilight Zone… AKA “Sara’s kitchen”)
)