Park and Listen Reports
LPFM radio signals have less penetrating power than the signals from full power stations. This means that unless the radio in your home or office is connected to an antenna on your roof, you can expect your indoor LPFM reception to be more limited than the reception possible on your car radio. If you take the list of our broadcast frequencies with you, you can test this yourself as you drive around. We have identified so far 8 locations where you can park and listen to any of our 5 stations. These locations are listed below and shown on the map at the bottom. If you have a park and listen report to contribute, email it to loonfoot@gmail.com and we will add your information below.
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LPFM Car Radio Distant Reception Reports
On Nov. 4, 2016 all 4 of the 5 community LPFM radio stations then on the air could be heard on a car radio at the following locations:
1. Speedway Station, 4902 Verona Rd, Madison
2. Water tower and reservoir tank parking lot, 2829 Prairie Rd, Madison

It was a foggy morning with temperature of about 45 degrees. Reception was checked on the radio in a 2008 Prius. Both spots are open locations on high ground. The distance to the farthest station heard, the one in Sun Prairie, was 15.4 miles from location 1. and 16.9 miles from location 2. In location 2. moving the car a few feet in the lot made the difference as to whether WMUU-LP and WLSP-LP could be heard or not.

On Jan. 14, 2017 all 5 of the community LPFM radio stations could be heard on a car radio at the same 2 locations:
1. Speedway Station, 4902 Verona Rd, Madison
2. Water tower and reservoir tank parking lot, 2829 Prairie Rd, Madison

It was an overcast morning with a temperature of about 17 degrees. Reception was again checked on the radio in a 2008 Prius.

On Jan. 26, 2017 all 5 of the community LPFM radio stations could be heard on the same 2008 Prius car radio at 4 additional locations:
3. Marshall Park, 2101 Allen Blvd., on the western shore of Lake Mendota.
4. Picnic Point parking lot, 2002 University Bay Dr.
5. Observatory Drive Overlook, 1401 Observatory Dr.
6. Owen Parkway scenic overlook in Hoyt Park (parking lot overlooking Hilldale).

It was an overcast afternoon with a temperature of 34 degrees.

On April 7, 2017 all 5 community LPFM radio stations came in well on the same 2008 Prius car radio at 2 additional locations:
7. Larkin St. next to Reservoir Park (location of the City of Madison's Larkin St. tower).
8. Hoyt Park parking lot.

It was partly sunny with a temperature of 55 degrees. The trees were just beginning to leaf out.

On August 10, 2017, all 5 stations could be heard on the radio in a 2012 Honda Civic at location 2. though the car had to be moved around to find a spot where 103.5 FM came in.
9. All five stations could be heard along the northeast side of the parking lot by the Walgreens at the corner of Raymond Rd and Whitney Way. The stations with frequencies below 100 could be reached by scanning some of the time while the stations at 102.9 and 103.5 had to be tuned in with the radio knob. 103.5 came in only at certain spots in the parking lot.

It was partly sunny and 81 degrees.


Activated Chip Cell Phone Reports
Most of today's smartphones have a built-in FM chip that allows them to operate as FM radios, if the chip is activated. If you have such a cell phone, or a portable radio, you can report LPFM reception from spots where cars cannot go. Such reports are posted below.

LPFM Cell Phone and Portable Radio Distant Reception Reports
On July 3, 2017, a Samsung Galaxy Ace4 Lite cell phone with activated chip, purchased in New Zealand, was used to test reception of the 5 LPFM stations on the hill at Elver Park, 1250 McKenna Blvd. in southwest Madison. At the top of hill I got clear reception at 95.5 and 99.1 FM. Reception of 102.9 FM was weak but down the north face a bit there were spots where clear reception at that frequency was possible. Little or nothing could be heard from the Monona and Sun Prairie stations at 98.7 and 103.5 FM. It was an overcast morning with a temperature of about 65 degrees. The location is marked below by a black diamond.
On July 6, 2017, the above Samsung cell phone was used to test reception in the early afternoon outside the State Street entrance to the Capitol building. All 5 stations could be heard, though I had to move around a bit to get the Sun Prairie station. The location is marked below by a blue diamond.
On July 9, 2017, the above Samsung cell phone was used to test reception in the early afternoon in Olin Park and on the nearby trail to Turvilles Point. All 5 stations could be heard on top of the Olin Park hill and at a high point in the trail close to the point's north shore. The location is marked below by a blue diamond. It was partly sunny, about 80 deg.

The above reception points are plotted on the map below.

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