Mark Jones, owner of WVBG 1490 AM/107.7 FM and V105.5 FM in Vicksburg, didn’t expect to hear from a listener nearly 5,000 miles away. But earlier this month, an email from Finland surprised him with proof that his small-town station had reached across the Atlantic.
The message came from Jim Solatie, a 50-year-old media professional and father of two who has a passion for DXing—the hobby of listening for long-distance radio signals. While hiking in Lapland, Solatie used a 3,000-foot copper wire antenna pointed toward the U.S. East Coast to capture WVBG’s 10 p.m. newscast on Sept. 14.
“It was fantastic to hear your signal so far away,” Solatie wrote to Jones, including an audio clip that caught the station identification just before the top-of-the-hour news. Hear the Clip below!
Solatie is part of the Finnish DX Association, a club of about 50 enthusiasts who travel the country in search of rare radio catches. The group publishes a magazine, Radiomaailma (“Radio World”), and members share stories of unusual signals like the one from Vicksburg.
Jones, who grew up fascinated by the reach of AM radio, said the reception was astonishing.
“[1490 AM] basically covers about 10 miles, and FM about 40 miles,” Jones explained. “AM is interesting because in the daytime the signal travels through the ground, sometimes up to 250 miles. At night, the signal bounces off the ionosphere, and that’s when you can really get some distance. But 4,700 miles? That’s a first for me.”
For Jones, the unexpected connection was both a reminder of AM radio’s quirks and a point of pride for his local station.
