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WVLK Translator Being Challenged by WSGS

K

KR4BD

As many of you are aware, WVLK-AM recently put a rather high profile translator on 101.1, the same frequency as "Super Power" WSGS-FM out of Hazard, KY. As a result of this, WSGS is no longer available to listeners in Fayette, Clark, Jessamine, Madison and many other counties in Central KY.

I was doing a little investigation into this matter and found that WSGS has received SEVERAL DOZEN written complaints and has filed with the FCC challenging WVLK's right to operate a translator on 101.1 in Lexington.

Here is a link to the filing:

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS...?appn=101703773&qnum=5000&copynum=1&exhcnum=2

Scroll to the bottom of the filing and you will see the MANY, MANY complaints filed by WSGS listeners.

This could get interesting....
 
They're gonna have to move off 101.1, no questions asked. Moving the translator a few miles northwest is not going to make much of a difference at all if Cumulus is still wanting to cover the immediate metro counties around Lexington. And the number of complaints they've received doesn't surprise me at all. WSGS is a VERY popular station, not only in Eastern KY, but obviously into parts of Central KY as well. People love the sound of those locally-programmed small town stations...and it's a heritage station as well.
 
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Not surprised. I enjoy WSGS myself here in Lexington.

What is the next step? Will WVLK have to find another station put the translator on? I still think 94.1 or 92.5 would work. They are owned by Cumulus out of Cincinnati so maybe they would be fine with.

Or ditched the country on 101.5 and go back there. We've got plenty.
 
Look... "WeNeverKnew" I was being sarcastic. We have enough country stations here.

It was once a repeat of WVLK before it flipped to this Country Icons music.

Let's just flip 100.1 and 94.5 to country. Again. I am joking. So sorry to offend you. Again.
 
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WeNeverKnew said:
But -- and I know I'm going to upset those of you who think that the privilege of listening to a radio station 90 miles away is somehow a "right"
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The FCC has already made that determination. The law says very clearly that translators are secondary to licensed full-power stations and may not cause interference to any full-power station. If you're unhappy about that, try to get the law changed to specify signal contours or a specific distance from the transmitter. Contacting your representative or senator has never been easier.

I'll also point out that the people who are unhappy about not being able to hear WSGS any longer have no standing to complain to the FCC about the loss of the station. It's the station that has to file the complaint. So, it's more of a case of WSGS being upset that people 90 miles away can't hear the station than anything else.
 
From some of the complaints, they were about 40 miles away. Would it really have an effect on them?
 
I have lived in Lexington for 31 years and WSGS has been a favorite of mine for much of that time. It is easy to receive here and I am NOT using a rooftop antenna to hear it. Yes we are 90 miles from WSGS but many of the listeners complaining are much closer to WSGS (Richmond, Berea, Mt. Vernon area, etc.).. Just read the dozens of letters WSGS has received about this issue. I wonder if WVLK would admit to receiving any complaints on the matter???

A few years ago, I seem to remember a translator in the Detroit or Toledo area had to shut down or make a frequency change due to many complaints from listeners to the affected, existing, full power station.
 
It only takes ONE complaint from a listener who is willing to say in writing to the FCC- "I used to listen to that station, but now I can't because of that translator. (Or LPFM)"

We had such a situation when I was at WHIO-FM 95.7 in Dayton. It is 50,000 watts @ 150 meters and licensed to Piqua, OH well north of Dayton. EMF put KLOVE on 95.7 on a 10 watt LPFM at the WLW site in Mason, OH, some 65 miles from the WHIO site.

But we had one guy that was a regular listener that lived off Reading Road in Cinci close to the site who could no longer receive us. Our attorneys told us that we couldn't file it ourselves, we had to have something from the listener, and that is all it would take. Once we had an email from him, EMF shut the station down and changed frequency. They did it without any complaint or hesitation. Apparently they knew they would lose if it went before the Commission.
 
WeNeverKnew said:
What I asked about was a move of 10.7 miles, not just "a few miles." Included in that would also be a lower HAAT from the AM site. Again, I'm no engineer, and strongly suspect that KYradioJake isn't either.
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Chill out man. Everyone on this site is entitled to their own opinion, no matter their "level of expertise". I'm sure you'd feel pretty stupid if you met me in person and it turned out I really was an engineer. I'll be the first to admit that I am not, but still...you don't need to be making assumptions like that on a site like this. You could really end up offending someone who really was an expert in the field. How about this...I'll give my opinion on the subject and you give yours. You don't need to go around insulting others just so you can "try" and make a point on here. Again, we are ALL entitled to give our own opinions on here...it's a forum...that's what it's for.

Back to the main topic... Sure Cumulus could move the translator to the northwest side of town on a much shorter stick, but if they want to keep it at the maximum 250 watts, I just don't see this silencing all of the complaints out there. Cumulus wants to cover the immediate metro counties around Lexington with this thing because that is where the majority of WVLK's listenership comes from. And they especially want it for nighttime reception of the station, since WVLK-AM's signal is very weak at night. They won't be able to significantly reduce the HAAT without sacrificing coverage of that first tier of counties around Lex. I just think that a different frequency would work out better for them in this situation. And thank you KR4BD and greg.hahn for those examples of similar situations. Maybe it will work out the same way here? Who knows!
 
KYradioJake said:
Chill out man. Everyone on this site is entitled to their own opinion, no matter their "level of expertise". I'm sure you'd feel pretty stupid if you met me in person and it turned out I really was an engineer. I'll be the first to admit that I am not, but still...you don't need to be making assumptions like that on a site like this. You could really end up offending someone who really was an expert in the field. How about this...I'll give my opinion on the subject and you give yours. You don't need to go around insulting others just so you can "try" and make a point on here. Again, we are ALL entitled to give our own opinions on here...it's a forum...that's what it's for.
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Yes... Thank you.

I agree that they will re-locate it. I am still saying 92.5 or 94.1. Plus they are own by the same company.

WBUL-HD2 translates on 98.5. I doubt anyone is complaining about trying to listening to WRRM.
 
The link you posted is dead. Please post a new working link because this topic is of interest to me.

Just curious if WSGS has many listeners in Fayette County?
 
gabigley said:
The link you posted is dead. Please post a new working link because this topic is of interest to me.

Just curious if WSGS has many listeners in Fayette County?
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I did listen to WSGS some in Lexington because it came in really clear here. I can hear it trying to come in over WVLK while look at the tower it's broadcasting from.
 
WeNeverKnew said:
This link should access the current FCC correspondence regarding this issue:

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/corrp_list.pl?Application_id=1692000&File_Prefix=BLFT&App_Arn=20151013ADD&Facility_id=153203

Embarrassingly weak response from Cumulus. They know full well that WSGS has the upper hand in this case. Strong factual rebuttal from WSGS. I'm surprised we're at almost a month since the WSGS response and have yet to see further action. I still suspect that we'll see some form of agreement allowing W266AN to remain on the air. For the sake of those affected, I hope I'm wrong.

I did appreciate Greg Hahn's response. I have to wonder what happened with that WHIO-FM Reading Road listener in the face of WVQC-LP? I know it has impacted WHIO-FM's signal well into Warren County.
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Interesting for sure. A little surprise myself since there hasn't been a response from them in awhile.
 
When I started this thread several months ago, some of you said that Lexington residents did not have any right to listen to WSGS due to its distance from Hazard... After more than 30 years of living in Lexington and being a frequent listener of WSGS...and then suddenly losing their signal...just didn't seem right. AND, it is now clear that MANY others in and around Central KY are also annoyed by WVLK's encroachment on 101.1.
 
WeNeverKnew said:
Frankly, you're the only soul I've ever heard declare that radio listenership is a right. If you'd be so kind, please explain why you believe the ability to listen to a radio station is somehow a right, and not simply a privilege.
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WSGS was on 101.1 first....for many DECADES. What really gives the "right" to WVLK to come along and suddenly plop a HIGH PROFILE translator on 101.1 after all these years just because someone says WSGS does not have enough signal, or is too far away from the Lexington area to warrant serving its many listeners here?

This WVLK translator is wiping out WSGS for many counties around Central KY where, in the past, WSGS's signal WAS very listenable. Many of us even had WSGS pre-sets on our car radios! I was driving around town today and noticed that WSGS was still slightly evident despite WVLK's attempt to make it "go away".

INTERFERENCE is INTERFERENCE and THAT goes against even the rules and regulations of the FCC.
 
WeNeverKnew said:
But that's not what I'm asking. I understand that it's not "right." I agree that W266AN should go away. I am troubled by the idea that the FCC has not yet issued a simple order to shut down W266AN. I am offended by Cumulus arrogantly continuing to broadcast on that frequency in the light of the knowledge that the translator is creating such extensive interference.

But how is it, as you appear to claim (at least to me), a Right, as in a Constitutional "Endowed by the Creator" Right. It's not. Were it, everyone who ever applied for a license to operate a radio frequency, would have to be given one. That's not the case. Applicants are vetted, rules are met, a licensee is determined and (in my view) that licensee is granted a privilege to operate a radio station.

To me, claiming it is a "Right" not only overly dramatizes the issue but also blurs the lines of what truly is a "Right" and what is simply a privilege. How am I wrong?
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It is my OPINION, that when WSGS was granted a license, they were given the "RIGHT" by the FCC to exclusively serve the public in the areas where their LICENSED signal on 101.1 MHz could be easily received (according to the terms of their license). It is obvious that many not-so-happy people can no longer hear WSGS because of the interference caused by the WVLK/W266AN translator. Remember, WSGS was easily received in Lexington and many surrounding counties of Central KY for decades. Suddenly, WVLK comes along and tramples on the licensed RIGHTS of WSGS to serve a large area of Central Kentucky.

Just a little history about W266AN. This translator was formerly located in the Lawrenceburg, KY area (about 25-30 miles west of Lexington). Cumulus was able to buy and "move" this translator to Lexington along with obtaining the MAXIMUM power allowable for a translator AND jacking it high-up, on the WKYT-TV tower, at about the 900 ft. level. When W266AN was in Lawrenceburg, it relayed a Louisville FM signal and operated with just a fraction of the power and tower height it now has in Lexington! The result: BIG TIME interference.
 
They just need to it back on 101.5 and be done with it. We've too many country stations as it is, and 101.5 is at the bottom of the list in ratings. At 0.8 as in the last one.

Just wondering, can three stations be WVLK? 590-AM, 101.5, and 101.1 (even though it's called W266AN, I never hear it on the air)?
 
jb_ky said:
They just need to it back on 101.5 and be done with it. We've too many country stations as it is, and 101.5 is at the bottom of the list in ratings. At 0.8 as in the last one.

Just wondering, can three stations be WVLK? 590-AM, 101.5, and 101.1 (even though it's called W266AN, I never hear it on the air)?
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WAKY broadcasts on three stations. 620 AM,103.5 FM, and the translator at 100.1
 
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