I drove on I-5 from Tacoma down to Castle Rock (Exit 49) yesterday and heard these HARs of consequence: 530 WPVW568 WA Lacey. Fairly good in to Olympia and Tumwater. WSDOT HAR. 530 WNVA814 WA Scatter Creek Rest Area. Average signal. WSDOT HAR. 530 WQBV586 WA Napavine. This is on to update construction work between mileposts 72-76. Excellent signal to the south; very readable at Exit 49 and at least three miles east from there. Good quality audio (mic, not phone). 540 (no ID) WA Castle Rock. Promotional signage for traffic info but in real life this station is relaying NOAA weather out of Olympia on 152mHz.
A year ago, it seemed that the WSDOT had eliminated the geographic identification of their HARs. A few months ago, they seem to have reverted. In two instances yesterday, it seems like they have gone one step further and are now including milepost numbers. On I-5, the exit numbers/milepost numbers represent the mileage northbound from the Oregon border. Another thing which seems to be standardized is that they now seem to run the spiels three times and then give the ID. In other breathtaking action: 1520 WPVZ859 WA Auburn. Promotional signage noted for the Federal Way HAR but all I got driving down I-5 was a carrier with Auburn very strong under or even with it. These are very close co-channel outlets. 1640 WA City of Auburn. This is a Part 15 station and I asked them for their power. The marketing lady can't find any document with that figure on it but sent me a coverage map of the Auburn area with green dots where the signal was hot; yellow where it was weak; and red where it was non-existent. My DX location, I-5, was not on the map. 1610 WA WPVW617 DuPont. Average signal. WSDOT HAR. 1660. WA City of Tukwila. A couple of weeks ago Tukwila was testing this station using audio from the Redmond test; this was very confusing since Redmond's call letters and frequency (1650) were transmitted. Last Wednesday 7/11, they were heard testing with their correct city and call letters; however, because of a new local noise, I could not make out the calls. This morning, on another trip to SeaTac, they were not on the air. All receptions noted either 7/17 or 7/18 on I-5 while driving around in the '92 Buick except for 1640 and 1660. Pete Taylor Tacoma, WA Buick car radio _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
