4000km Trans-Atlantic opening on the 88-108 MHz FM band from Spain to Newfoundland - 29th May 2025

On the 29th of May 2025, FM DXer Larry Horlick, VO1FOG in Newfoundland, Canada managed to hear FM radio stations 88 to 108 MHz band from the Azores and Spain.

Details of the opening extracted from the FMLIST website are shown below. 

UTC QRG ITU Station, location Details, remarks Distance km kW ERP Pol

1012 90.50 AZR RTP Antena 1, Serra de Santa Bárbara (tce) PI logged: 832E PS logged: ANTENA_1   2309 35 h

1108 98.20 E Oxígeno Europa Radio, Jerez de la Frontera/San Cristóbal (AND-CA) PI logged: EE26 PS logged: OXIGENO_ LATINAFM  4004 0.5

2230 90.50 AZR RTP Antena 1, Serra de Santa Bárbara (tce) PI logged: 832E 2309  35 h

2231 88.90 AZR RTP Antena 1, Horta-Cabeço Gordo (fai) // 88.9, 2218  9.1 c

The log above shows two openings on the 29th of May 2025. In the morning opening from 10:12 to 11:08 UTC, Larry logged RTP Antena 1 on the Azores (2309 kms) and Oxígeno Europa Radio near Cadiz in the south of Spain (4004 kms). In the evening, there was another opening to Azores again around 22:30 UTC.

While the Azores reception can be easily explained by one single Sporadic-E hop, the 4004 km distance from the south of Spain to Newfoundland requires two Sporadic-E hops to line up which is much rarer at these VHF frequencies.

This isn't the first time that Larry has heard trans-Atlantic FM radio stations and details of previous openings can be seen on my 88-108 MHz page.

In conclusion: There have been plenty of reports of Sporadic-E openings in Europe and North America over the last few weeks as the summer season kicks off. The vast majority of the reports are one hop Sporadic-E which are of limited interest. 

Reports of VHF signals on the FM band crossing the Atlantic however are exceptional. Signals on the VHF bands are often quoted as being 'line of sight' and yet here we have an example of a 98 MHz signal spanning two continents.

It also hints at the possibility of whether higher frequencies could span the Atlantic? Spain or Portugal to Newfoundland on 144 MHz?

FM radio stations on the Azores heard in Newfoundland - 13th May 2025

On the 13th of May 2025, FM DXer Larry Horlick, VO1FOG in Newfoundland managed to log quite a number of FM radio stations from the Azore Islands.

The stations logged were in the range of 87.6 to 103.0 MHz and the distances were in the region of 2000 to 2600 kms.

It's very likely that the propagation mode was one hop Sporadic-E with some degree of tropo at one or both ends.

Most of the stations were logged in the period from 14:01 to 14:47 UTC although there are two from 15:21 and 18:14.

The power of the transmitters ranged from an EPR of 40-kilowatts down to as low as 50-watts.

This isn't the first time that Larry has logged the Azores but it's always interesting to see reports of stations from the Azores being heard in North America. It's also relatively early in the Sporadic-E season for such signals.

This is a selection of the radio stations that Larry heard...

Links...
1) The source of the above information is FMLIST.ORG
2) For more information on long distance paths on the FM band, see my 88-108 MHz page.

FM radio stations from the Azores (87-93 MHz) are heard in Newfoundland - 23rd July 2021

Friday 23rd July 2021: Larry Horlick, VO1FOG in Newfoundland reports that he heard FM radio stations from the Azores on frequencies ranging from 87 to 93 MHz. The opening lasted one hour.

* * *

UTC QRG ITU Station, location Details, remarks Distance km Received by/in kW ERP Pol

22:30 UTC 90.50 MHZ AZR RTP Antena 1, Serra de Santa Bárbara (tce) Live Stream, 2309kms 35 h

21:51 UTC 92.70 MHz AZR RTP Antena 1, Pico Bartolomeu (smg) Presumed, reference to Ponta Degada, 2524kms 0.5 m

21:14 UTC 87.70 MHz AZR RTP Antena 3, Pico da Barrosa (RDP) (smg) Live stream, 2501kms 40 v

* * *

It's interesting to see that Larry also heard the Azores two days earlier on the 21st of July.

Propagation Mode: It's almost certainly single hop Sporadic-E with a possible small tropo extension near the Azores. 

In a message, Larry VO1FOG notes that during this reception of Band 2 signals up around 88 MHz, the 6-metre band at 50 MHz appeared closed. It's very likely that there was a good single hop Sporadic-E opening from Newfoundland to the East but there is nothing out there in the mid-Atlantic.

As Larry notes, it's wrong to assume that just because there is nothing on 50 MHz, the higher bands will be closed. 

Analysis: Even though reports of FM radio stations from the Azores being heard in Newfoundland were only documented for the first time in 2021, it's likely that this 2300-2500km path is open every year. What is different this year is that there is someone activity logging these stations from the Newfoundland end.

While single hop Sporadic-E openings on Band 2 are nothing special, I would suggest that the ones between the Azores and Newfoundland are. Not in terms that they actually happen but in terms of what times they happen.

The more Newfoundland to Azores reception reports that are logged then we might be able to see a pattern of what is the most likely time of day that these openings happen. 

If the maximum usable frequency gets up to 88-108 MHz on a regular basis then there may be times that it goes up as far as 144 MHz. Add in a tropo duct at the eastern end and a trans-Atlantic path from Newfoundland to Spain or Portugal might be possible.

Links...
1) VO1FOG's reception log on the FMLIST website
2) More examples of Band 2 reception reports on my 88-108 MHz page