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Radio Interference Along the Beltway

jocelmeow — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:55:28 -0800

What causes massively scrambled FM radio reception along the Capital Beltway near Falls Church, Virginia? There is a stretch of the Beltway in Northern Virginia where the FM radio reception is abysmal. If I remember correctly, it is near the Falls Church and Fairview Park exits, but it's definitely south of Tyson's Corner. It was so when I was growing up there 20+ years ago (80s-90s) and friends who live there now say it remains so.

The problem always occurs in the same area and both day and night - you drive into it and no matter where you are tuned on the FM band, the station becomes unintelligible, the reception totally scrambled and overwhelmed by loud static.

The AM band is unaffected - and tuning to AM talk radio was always my father's answer to the problem. After a mile or two, maybe three, everything goes back to normal on the FM dial.

I have looked up the radio towers located in Falls Church, Merrifield, Vienna, and Fairfax.

Those pages list the commercial, private, and broadcast towers in those locations and their assigned frequencies, but I have no expertise that would allow me to judge whether those listed towers are the problem. I have some guesses based on location, but none of the towers I looked at seemed to be broadcasting in the FM band - but then again, I don't know if they'd have to be in order to interfere.

So do you know what is the cause of this Bermuda Triangle of radio, or can you help in interpreting the tower listings to potentially identify the problem? Thanks.

How can I get from point A to point B while avoiding crowd C?

Deathalicious — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:21:29 -0800

Memorial Day Traffic Filter: Are there any resources out there (either online or widely available for purchase in stores) that provide tips on getting around by car while avoiding horrible traffic (particularly along the New York-Philadelphia-Baltimore-DC corridor)? Out of sheer necessity I will be driving relatively long distances (150 miles+) this Memorial Day weekend, probably either Friday afternoon just after 5 pm (yay rush hour) or early Saturday afternoon. I will also be driving on Memorial Day as well.

My particular voyage will be Philadelphia to DC on either Friday or Saturday, followed by a return trip to Philly from Columbia, MD on Monday.

The prospect of crawling to DC in rush hour, Friday afternoon, pre-Memorial Day is killing my dream of making it to DC on Friday for an earlier meet up with family. If there is any way that this traffic can be avoided, you have saved my weekend.

Personal tips also gladly welcomed.

Driving on the beltway. They easy way.

nikkorizz — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:37:23 -0800

DC Filter: Moving. New job is in south Potomac. Where should I live in relation to the beltway to encounter the least amount of traffic? I imagine most major traffic is going inbound to DC in the morning and then outbound in the afternoon. Right?

But the beltway goes around D.C., not into it. Is traffic heavy both ways during rush hour or is one side lighter at certain parts?
And ultimately, where should I live in relation to the beltway?

Also, as a side question, what do you do to pass the time in heavy traffic?

Name that building!

jefficator — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:04:13 -0800

What is the building I saw while driving on the beltway around DC? On a recent trip from Alabama to New Jersey, I spent hours stuck in traffic on the beltway surrounding Washington, DC. I distinctly remember a tall, somewhat ornate, stone building to the west--the left as I headed north. I presume this building was in Arlington County, though I could be mistaken.

1) Does anyone know the name of the building?

2) Short of querying the hive mind, how would one find out the name of buildings like this?