Unexpected FM DX in Banff National Park on Friday. Nebraska Public Media, MyBridge Radio and Iowa Public Radio on a stock Toyota radio.
I'm not an FM DXer, so I'm hoping someone here can help explain what I experienced.
On Friday, July 17, 2026, between Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta, I was driving my completely stock 2015 Toyota Sienna when the FM band suddenly came alive.
For roughly 30 to 40 minutes, I was absolutely floored. It seemed like almost every turn of the dial revealed another station, many of them coming in crystal clear for a minute or two before fading away and being replaced by another. I had no idea this was even possible and honestly thought my radio had glitched. Then I started seeing Nebraska Public Media on the display while driving through the Canadian Rockies. That's when I started taking photos because I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
My radio displayed:
- Nebraska Public Media (91.1 FM)
- Iowa Public Radio programming ("IPR News and Studio One")
- MyBridge Radio Español (91.3 FM)
- "Mix 97.1"
Along the way I also tuned across 90.5, 90.9, 91.1, 91.3, 93.9, 95.3, 97.1, 101.1, and 102.7, with many of them strong enough for the radio to decode RDS.
After getting home, I learned about tropospheric ducting, which seems like the most likely explanation. The best way I can describe it is like a mirage for radio waves, where layers of warm and cool air in the atmosphere guide FM signals for extraordinary distances.
My questions are:
- Was there a significant FM propagation event over western North America on Friday?
- Can anyone identify which transmitters these likely were?
- How unusual is it to decode RDS from stations this far away using nothing more than a factory Toyota radio?