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99.5 completes upgrade

R

RollTide

W258AU 99.5 translator for Way-FM WAYH seems to have completed its upgrade from 10 watts to 120 watts. Myself and a few of us others on here speculated as to whether Iheartmedia was taking over the translator since it listed WDRM as its parent signal, but that does not seem to be the case. WDRM has added an HD3 and Way-FM WAYH is simulcasting on it. The 99.5 translator is officially relaying WDRM-HD3. They are IDing as WAYH Harvest Huntsville, WDRM HD3 Decatur. My question is if the translator was able to relay 88.1 WAYH when it was 10 watts, why do they need WDRM HD3 to relay it now that its 120 watts? There are no other changes to its facilities. Strange to me, but there it is none the less.
 
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That's a real head-scratcher. WAYH's coverage map seems to include all of Huntsville, so why do they need the translator at all?

The WAY-FM website lists Huntsville as strictly 99.5 (although if you click on it, the page changes to "88.1-99.5" for the area.) It makes me wonder if WAY has some plans to introduce a second channel of programming to the market. Y'know, K-Love does that when they have multiple stations in a market. One does K-Love and one does Air1. Unless there's some terrain issue that keeps 88.1 out of Huntsville, I don't see what the point is of having two FMs and an HD subchannel going all over the same territory.

This is not unprecedented in Alabama, though. WAY-FM is heard via WBHJ-HD2 in Birmingham, the market's urban contemporary station. It's fed to two different translators across the metro area. K-Love feeds a translator in Birmingham via WMJJ-HD3, too.
 
Actually 88.1 has some minor coverage issued in some spots downtown and over Monte Sano Mountain that they have been using 99.5 to help with. Nothing that's really a big deal though. When they ID the translators they always say 99.5 in "downtown Huntsville." The thing that is strange to me is using WDRM-HD3 to relay it now instead of their own 88.1. Maybe they just want an HD radio presence for those that have HD radios. I don't think that would be worth it, but who knows really. I know both Way and K-love are using HD/translator combos in Birmingham. I just don't see why its needed in this case. I drove around what should be the outer areas of their new 60 dBu coverage area to see how well the signal is received now and was still getting a good deal of static, like it was while at 10 watts, so the actual power upgrade may not have happened yet, but the WDRM HD relay is now active which is what the CP for the upgrade calls for so if it hasn't upgraded power yet I'm sure its happening very soon. I wonder if they will start referring to the station as "88.1 and 99.5 Way-FM." Previously they have only mentioned 88.1 except for the translator IDs that only air a few times a day.
 
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i finally got to mess with an HD radio in someones car yesterday. That HD3 sounded absolutely terrible in the short time I heard it, like whatever it was feeding off of is full of static. And WTAK-HD1 sounds like a yahoo radio stream from 1998 while i'm on that subject.
 
tomservo said:
That's a real head-scratcher. WAYH's coverage map seems to include all of Huntsville, so why do they need the translator at all?
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Click to expand...

The 65 dbu barely intersects the Huntsville urban area... to the east the signal is marginal in strength for in home and at work listening.

W258AU very nicely adds good signal coverage of the areas that WAYH is challenged in. It's a perfect complement for what is basically a rimshot.
 
WAYH on 99.5

I know I'm late to the table, but just a wild guess on the WDRM-HD3 simulcast:

Could it be that W258AU 99.5 only qualified for 10 watts as a fill in translator for WAYH 88.1 from their preferred tower location in Huntsville. But by relaying a WDRM HD sub channel perhaps they were able to maximize 99.5 to the maximum allowable ERP for a fill in translator.

Why couldn't they do the full 250 watts?

???
 
Poledo, you could be right, and I had the same thought, but I've seen other stations, including Way Media stations do similar things with other translators & not have a problem. There must be some legal fine print issue somewhere requiring the change. As for the power issue, I wouldn't think Birmingham would be an issue. WZRR's 60 dBu cuts off in south Cullman city. I don't think even 250 watts from Huntsville would cause a problem. Look at 106.5 in Huntsville and 106.5 WSKZ in Chattanooga for example. I was thinking more along the lines of the translator being 2nd adjacent to 100,000 watt 99.1 WAHR. Broadcast just a few miles from each other too. 250 watts may be too much & would cause interference.
 
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