On Wednesday 12th of June 2013 at around 8pm there was a ‘Sporadic E’ propagation towards Frome.

Sporadic E, also called E-skip, is the phenomenon of irregularly scattered patches of relatively dense ionisation that develop seasonally within the E region of the ionosphere and reflect FM frequencies. When frequencies reflect off multiple patches, it is referred to as multi-hop skip. An E-skip can allow radio waves to travel a thousand miles or even more beyond their intended area of reception.

This E-skip enabled our FM signal on 96.6 to travel to a small town called Tohmajarvi near Joensuu, around 250 miles north-east of Helsinki, Finland and over 1,800 miles from Frome!

The signal was picked up by Dr. Jari Korhonen, an amateur radio enthusiast and medical doctor by profession, and he sent us an email to let us know how far we had travelled.

Hello from Finland,

unbelievable things sometimes happen! I´m very delighted to inform you that I was able to catch your signal on the 12th of June 2013 at 8.02 p.m. British summer time. I heard your station only for a half minute, but this time was enough to get your station 100% identified. You were announcing the “Blues Train Radio” show at that time: At 8.02 p.m. there was blues music and a sound effect, then the announcement “Blues Train Radio on fromefm.co.uk around the world” by a male announcer. Thereafter a blues music tune was started.I´m happy to share the mp3 with you.

The reception took place during a brilliant e-skip towards your area. The e skip allows the signal travel 1000 miles or even more.

My receiving equipment consists of a Perseus SDR receiver with a FM+ downconverter and a 15-valve Koerner antenna.

Many thanks for your nice broadcast! It would be a pleasure to receive your verification, if my reception report is in accordance with your programme log of that date and time. A verification card, a letter or simply an e-mail with a mention that I have correctly reported your station would be very appreciated.

Best regards

Dr. Jari Korhonen
FINLAND

Thank you Jari for getting in touch with us to let us know how far we have been heard and we will definitely be sending you a verification card.

If you have managed to pick up our signal in an unusual location then please get in touch by going to the contact us page or emailing office@nullfromefm.co.uk.