100.3 translator finally on the air?

[tomservo]

I'm in Foley, fairly under the weather and unable to leave the house to confirm this, but I think the W262BL translator that Clear Ch…I mean iHeart Radio has a CP for is finally broadcasting something tonight. I'm hearing smooth jazz on the frequency and the jazz matches the audio on WMXC-HD2 and WRGV-HD2. The audio on the translator is about a minute ahead of the HD audio, as is usual with these setups. Audio quality is muffled, like it's being sent through unprocessed.

The parent station listed on the FCC app was WRKH, so I thought this might wind up as a companion FM to WNTM 710, which is heard on Rocket's HD2. It still may swap at some point, but at least it's on and broadcasting something for the time being.

Signal around the house is very iffy. There's places it's rock solid and strong but move a few inches and there's SL-100 from Hat-ties-burg blaring through. Hopefully it won't be so problematic in Mobile or the Eastern Shore.

 

[Groove1670]

It's been on the air with WHIL for awhile, with a very weak signal in Gulf Shores. I can hear it in Orange Beach today with the Jazz feed. They have made some technical improvements. I guess they finally made the move. At 1270 feet the signal will be the comparable to a class A, and with no co channel issues it should be a good signal.

 

[tomservo]

It's been on the air with WHIL for awhile, with a very weak signal in Gulf Shores. I can hear it in Orange Beach today with the Jazz feed. They have made some technical improvements. I guess they finally made the move. At 1270 feet the signal will be the comparable to a class A, and with no co channel issues it should be a good signal.

Except that it does have a tremendous co-channel issue, namely SL-100 in Hattiesburg. I know it's a long way off, but many nights here in central Baldwin County it's strong enough to stop the scan on a car radio. In fact, the night I first heard the smooth jazz, it was fighting with SL-100 and the Hattiesburg station was winning mightily. Of course technically I'm outside the 60 dBu, but only by a mile or so. The way tropo is down here I wouldn't be surprised if during the summer there are days where the translator can't be heard even when you're within eyesight of it.

A few years ago when tropo was really active, I wasn't able to hear WHEP's translator from downtown (uptown) Foley, just about 1.5 miles from the TX site, and they run 250 watts from the AM stick north of town.

Even with that risk, it's still nice to finally have a new station in town, even if they're probably going to change it to something else eventually. I did at least hear the translator included in the TOH ID today: "The Gulf Coast's Commercial Free Smooth Jazz Channel, WMXC-HD2 Mobile, W262BL Mobile."

I do remember it being on air from Gulf Shores, I think it was broadcasting from the Sunny 105.7 STL or the Mediacom cable tower across the street. It was running just 1 watt.

 

[Groove1670]

Tropo is always gonna tear up the signal outside the 60 in Alabama (it was really bad this year) For translators and Class A stations it is a issue. For larger stations co channel tropo is a issue.

 

[Radio_Alex_1990]

So far, it comes in pretty clear in Daphne/Fairhope/Pt.Clear. BUT why is it on WRGV-FM HD2 if it's on WMXC-HD2? Speaking of which WMXC-HD doesn't come in clear...96.1 and 94.9 come in great!

 

[tomservo]

So far, it comes in pretty clear in Daphne/Fairhope/Pt.Clear. BUT why is it on WRGV-FM HD2 if it's on WMXC-HD2? Speaking of which WMXC-HD doesn't come in clear...96.1 and 94.9 come in great!

The HD for 99.9 and 96.1 seen to take turns going off at random times so I think one may be running on chicken wire and duct tape.

94.9 runs high power HD sidebands, same as 88.1 in Pensacola.

I think the reason the format is on two HD stations is one is for the Mobile market and one for Pensacola, even though technically they cover about the same territory. I've never had any luck getting the HD from 99.9 or 96.1 reliably in Florida.

 

[Groove1670]

I think they are testing the signal. Tropo I think will make them consider moving it to Mobile. Good concept on paper, but not realistic with our Southern ducting.

 

[Radio_Alex_1990]

Regardless radio is stale down here. Except for 92.1!

 

[tomservo]

Regardless radio is stale down here. Except for 92.1!

Gosh, I think an argument could be made that even 92.1 is stale. I got on a kick listening to ZEW not too long ago and after about an hour of what was obviously voicetracking recorded in what sounded like scratchy -8 bit audio, I had to change the station. Seems like every time I listen for more than 15 minutes I wind up hearing Graceland by Paul Simon for some reason. It sounds out of place on a AAA station. There are a couple of other tracks that I can't remember at the moment that they play too much... 90s alternative cuts that 107.7 the X played to death in Birmingham years ago.

Sometimes it sounds like there's an internal struggle between someone who wants to play new music from emerging and alt folk artists and someone who wishes to hear a playlist from Atlanta's 99X circa 1996.

 

[thegulfcoast]

I get WMXC-HD2 great in Mississippi! My car radio picked up 100.3 all the way from the Alabama/Florida state line to exit 10 around Theodore. Though it was a little choppy from the state line to Wilcox Road and then from I-65 to exit 10

 

[mrjay]

92.1 the zew

disagree about the zew. i haven't lived in mobile since college in 2000 and i still stream the zew religiously. yes they play new music quite a bit heavy and that gets old but - lets say you're driving and you want to hear something "similar" to the zew, so you flip over to sirius/xm and the spectrum, which is the closest you'll get to the zew's format. listen long enough, you'll hear some paul simon....and you'll hear some beatles. it's all part of the format.

i could do with less repetition of the new music, but some of it i really like (and don't mind the repetition). i also have to keep in mind most people don't listen to the radio 24/7 like i generally do (its only off when i'm watching tv or, well, that's it...it's even on when i'm sleeping).

i do change around some -

92zew....70% of the time
birmingham mountain radio....20% of the time
lightning 100 (nashville)....10% of the time

occasionally i also listen to florence's star 94.1 (which is also AAA)

 

[Groove1670]

So what would you do to get rid of the "stale" sound. I always ask when someone dislikes mainstream radio.

Mobile for a mid market has a very good variety. With the exception of a classic hits (pop formatted) station.

 

[tomservo]

I'm not a radio programmer so I'm not sure what if anything they should change. It would appear from other comments that what they're doing work for the target demo. So that tells me that I'm the one who isn't a good fit for the format.

My personal tastes would probably lean towards hearing more classic AOR cuts but I can understand why no one plays that.

In what's sure to be a controversial opinion, I find myself gravitating more to the stations in the Biloxi and Fort Walton Beach markets when I'm able to hear them. I feel like both markets do a better job with classic hits and CHR than ours. Sunny 105.7 would probably be my p-1 if their sound quality wasn't so epically awful.

As for diversity, yeah if you like country. But in an area with our demographics I'm surprised we don't have a second urban contemporary choice, or gospel on FM. Both cities' pubcasters have virtually the same talk heavy schedule so there's little choice there. Ditto the duplication on the two soft AC stations.

Also as a market Mobile has completely missed the boat on translators. We have tons of HD feeds and few subchannel choices. Smooth jazz x2,foggy mountain, a repeat of AM 710, and whatever TK 101-2 is doing this week. These outlets would be perfect for niche formats and spillover. Classic hip hop, oldies, comedy, alternative rock, hot AC... Lots of formats we don't have due to spectrum crunch.

 

[Poledo]

WTKE 100.3 has been wiped off the dial in Pensacola. That little station from 35 miles to the east has always had a useable signal on a car radio in Pensacola... now it's like someone started up another class A FM on 100.3 about 40 miles in the other direction.

 

[tomservo]

Guess it's a good thing that Hale is operating his own translator there, then.

 

[Radio_Alex_1990]

That's what im thinking. I suggested in the other post that 107.3 should turn off their Smooth Jazz sub channel and put AOR or Urban on it. OR just flip 107.3 to Urban AC/Hip Hop "The Beat" to take a couple punches out of 'BLX #s but considering how weak 107.3 signal can be in Mobile, it's irrelevant to speak of any such change.

 

[mrjay]

i could - in a way - say the same thing about some translators up here in north alabama. For over a decade (and i'm sure longer, i mainly remember the 90s and 2000's) - you could hear WQLT all the way over into Cullman and even in a few areas of terrain in Birmingham / surrounding areas. I listened quite often when I worked there in the 2007 time frame. (weekends). Now, of course, Birmingham Mtn Radio has 107.3 and it's mostly static in Cullman - just enough to "wipe out" most of WQLT (no loss, i burned out on their format anyway).

Plus for me - my HD radio in the car picks up 97.3 HD2 (Bhm Mtn Radio) in most places in Cullman.

 

[Rrrrzzzz419]

i could - in a way - say the same thing about some translators up here in north alabama. For over a decade (and i'm sure longer, i mainly remember the 90s and 2000's) - you could hear WQLT all the way over into Cullman and even in a few areas of terrain in Birmingham / surrounding areas. I listened quite often when I worked there in the 2007 time frame. (weekends). Now, of course, Birmingham Mtn Radio has 107.3 and it's mostly static in Cullman - just enough to "wipe out" most of WQLT (no loss, i burned out on their format anyway).

Plus for me - my HD radio in the car picks up 97.3 HD2 (Bhm Mtn Radio) in most places in Cullman.

I've heard that about WQLT used to come in to in Birmingham. I thought it could still pick up in Cullman though, I thought it was Hanceville where WQLT faded out but maybe not. I have also heard of hearing WQLT almost to Anniston before Bham Mountain Radio got 107.3. I know 97.3 HD 2 Does come in a little in Cullman which is also Bham Mountain Radio. Correction: Star 94.9 WSMR is out of the shoals Star 94.1 is out of Atlanta GA. Mrjay you own live 95.5 in Cullman if I am correct so doesn't your station come and go in some places as well.

 

[Rrrrzzzz419]

I've heard that about WQLT used to come in to in Birmingham. I thought it could still pick up in Cullman though, I thought it was Hanceville where WQLT faded out but maybe not. I have also heard of hearing WQLT almost to Anniston before Bham Mountain Radio got 107.3. I know 97.3 HD 2 Does come in a little in Cullman which is also Bham Mountain Radio. Correction: Star 94.9 WSMR is out of the shoals Star 94.1 is out of Atlanta GA. Mrjay you own live 95.5 in Cullman if I am correct so doesn't your station come and go in some places as well.

Isn't WQLT 107.3 like WDRM 102.1 and picks up to around Good Hope than gets taken over by a Birmingham translator?

 

[mrjay]

yes and yes (and yes). i guess my point (and some of the earlier points of this post) is a large argument was said that translators and LPFM stations "eat away" at the coverage (and revenue) of full power FM stations. Those are two good examples up here in North Alabama where it is true - - and earlier in the post, examples where it is true in Mobile (where i went to college). Haven't listened to much WDRM but thought it made it at least to Warrior....maybe not.

But yes, WQLT used to certainly make it to Birmingham - IF you were on higher terrain.