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WNRP 1620 / W293BA-FM 106.5 Pensacola

I don't think the antenna for 97.7 is important, it's just so they can calculate total power output accurately since it's not operating at peak efficiency. I guess? LOL.

It's not like they'd be able to move to 97.7 in the future or anything. FCCdata.org does have the filing, by the way. It's still in the application stage.

Looks pretty straightforward to me, otherwise. If granted it will dismiss the current CP and act as a move-in under the new AM revitalization rules.

Does WJSB even originate any programming in Crestview? I was under the impression it's a 100% simulcast. In other words, it already has a 100 kW translator working for it. ;)
 
Damn, "97.7" in big bold letters on an app for 92.3 doesn't mean anything? Shucks.

I have heard WJSB spit off for Crestview High baseball. They might have moved baseball and other secondary sports to the internet now. But you got me, WJSB does already have the 100kw simulcast.
But you know, WJSB + FM translator for Crestview opens up the possibility of WAAZ moving into the FWB-Pensacola markets. Or just two formats for Crestview. Something interesting for this board.
 
Pensacola and Mobile are awful for translators. Too spread out, and atmospheric ducting is a killer. If a translator was available they were picked up, however after they started sign on many issues started popping up. The excitement was over.
 
I think Pensacola is just fine. Most of the urban area is south of I-10 and from end to it's not more than what, 10 miles? Perfect for a centrally located translator. And I still think a translator serving "just" Mobile would do just fine, too. But everyone seems to think it's useless if you can't reach the white folks on the Eastern Shore.
 
Actually, Groovy, when the tropo strikes Pensacola and wipes Baldwin County and FWB 50-100kw stations off the dial, the local 250 watt translators still come in just fine. Granted, tropo usually only takes out stations from one direction, but I've had several experiences this summer where local translators, WUWF and WRRX were the only listenable options.
 
This week tropo had Spanish stations sailing in here in West Alabama. A signal Jackson Ms. completely took out a translator that I know very well this week.

Most of the translators have moved to the Mobile metro, and were taken off the I-10 tower. the engineers looked at the maps and saw a great signal but didn't account for the tropo. Oops.

Pensacola is also a issue. Because most of the residents live in the outlying areas. In car listening is critical. (as with most translators). Pensacola also lacks tower height because of the air field.

Unless it is a niche format. Nobody really wants a signal that can't cover Mobile or the Eastern Shore.

Other than a band aid for some of the AM's, or religious broadcasters. Translators in both markets don't make economic sense. That is why you didn't see the big dawgs jump on the purchase wagon.

I was approached by a few sellers and I said Nooooooo.
 
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So far I haven't had any issues with tropo knocking out a 250 watt translator in Pensacola. I live about 10 miles out and work about 1 mile from the translators. The translators have similar coverage areas to the AM signals, so I'm not loosing anything by listening to the FM translator. The best part is the improvement in sound quality and programming. WRNE and WPNN, for example, have improved so much since launching on FM. WBSR probably wouldn't be running sports without their 101.1 translator. I think one of the Pensacola news-talk-sports AMs could make an impact running a 2 or 3 translator setup like WBHY in Mobile... covering out to Navarre, Milton, Molino and Perdido Key. I know everyone in Navarre commutes to FWB, Milton, or P'cola, but Navarre's strongest news talk radio station is WWL, sad...

9 Mile road is nine miles north of Pensacola city hall. Plenty of people live and work within a ten mile radius of the translators. That covers Pensacola Beach, UWF, NAS Pensacola and most of Pace. People living in town don't have many reasons to travel out to Navarre, Milton or Cantonment...

In Mobile though, I expect to pick up the station on the west end of the tunnels. I usually can't pick up 99.5 or 100.3 worth a damn until I'm nothbound on I-65.
 
I haven't had any issues with tropo with WHEP's translator here in Baldwin County, either. And it certainly does not cover the Eastern Shore or even Gulf Shores unless conditions are just totally dead. Where it matters, it works.

Whatever GoForth is doing with their translators, the others need to take notes. The Eastern Shore one is strong enough here in Foley to stop the scan on even most portable radios. Or at least the little DX masheens I own. ;)

I usually hear the Mobile side clearly at night, and sometimes during the day as well. So far I have not lost the Eastern Shore one to tropo even once despite being well out of the 60 dBu according to the maps.

I still don't see the big deal in having a translator with a limited reach. Birmingham is a huge ('yuge'?) market and has several translators that only cover parts of the metro and they actually show in the ratings. I mean, geez. Nobody is going to dethrone WBLX or WKSJ with a 250 watt translator in Mobile, but that isn't the point. The point is to scrape a 1 or 2 share targeting a smaller audience with a format that couldn't support a class C station's power bill. If people lose the FM, that's what the AM is for. None of the Mobile AMs fail to reach the Eastern Shore, some even reach me in Foley or down to Gulf Shores during the day. And streaming is increasingly being seen as a viable alternative to any of this. So push it as a way to stay in touch when out of the FM signal range.

I don't think anyone is gonna get rich off of doing this, but it might be fun to try. Imagine pairing a good AM like WASG with a 99 watt translator in Mobile and marketing them as a metro-wide combo. FM in the city, AM in the burbs and online around the world. We keep hearing from the old timers how "people will find a way to listen" even if that is on AM… so I dunno why people are so scared to do something different here. Don't be afraid of the bay. Work around it!

That seems to be what iHeart is doing with 100.3 and 99.5. The signals are limited but there's always the HD feeds. Those work all over Baldwin County and probably in Tillmans Corner, too.
 
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WHEP serves foley and does a great job as a local signal. I suggested they turn off their stereo pilot and that helps with multipath. On other signals, the average listener doesn't DX, or usually has an inferior radio. The first sign of static or noise and they are gone. There are too many other choices to put up with a bad signal. Birmingham: Most of the towers are with earshot of the city center and burrows. Combine that with excellent height and elevation, and you have a good signal. Also Birmingham is not subjected to severe ducting like the coast.

100.3 and 99.5 are on short towers. This impacts the signal. It was the only option or face intense ducting. Most consulting engineers urge buyers to do their research and study the market. 100.3 Is also hampered by XL 100. Much has to be considered when evaluating a translator. Sometimes a coverage map doesn't have the whole story.
 
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tomservo said:
They must have heeded your advice, they haven't run stereo on the FM since I moved here nearly six years ago. It really does make a difference on the fringes.
Click to expand...

They did. Their console is mono anyway. So it wasn't needed.
 
Hey, ABMP, what's the story you're getting from WNRP?
They've got that new CP for 92.3 from WDWR in downtown Pensacola. Now you report changes on the Milton/Bagdad 106.5 translator license. Do you think they're going with a full power translator on 92.3 in P'cola and 106,5 to cover Milton or do you see something else in W293BA's future? To me it seems like 106.5 should be more valuable from the WEBY, WUWF or WPLV transmitter sites.
I'm not qualified to make these assumptions anymore, so I defer to you.
 
seedless said:
Hey, ABMP, what's the story you're getting from WNRP?
They've got that new CP for 92.3 from WDWR in downtown Pensacola. Now you report changes on the Milton/Bagdad 106.5 translator license. Do you think they're going with a full power translator on 92.3 in P'cola and 106,5 to cover Milton or do you see something else in W293BA's future? To me it seems like 106.5 should be more valuable from the WEBY, WUWF or WPLV transmitter sites.
I'm not qualified to make these assumptions anymore, so I defer to you.
Click to expand...

I haven't heard anything from them directly, but in the application for 92.3 they did say they would drop the CP for 106.5 and "pursue other opportunities" or similar wording with the Milton-licensed translator. I bet they try to sell it to someone else who could use it as a move-in. That would allow someone else to change to a better frequency, wherever it goes.

I am not in a position to verify it at the moment, but I don't think they could use 106.5 IN Milton as it's too far from WNRP's main AM site and outside the 2 mV/m contour, which for them probably extends about 3 miles, ha ha.
 
So, if W293BA is moving 3 clicks down the dial to 105.9, will they be able to make another move 3 more clicks down to the "good" frequency 105.3?
 
They were running AM WNRP on 106.5 in Milton. Does switching the parent to sister FM WYCT have any regulatory benefits?
 
Not really. I suppose the limited signal of WNRP would restrict how big of a signal the translator could have from Milton, but I'm kinda fuzzy on the rules when it comes to translators.

If the translator doesn't get sold off, it would make sense to move it to another, more habitable frequency like you suggested, and feed it off an HD subchannel of WYCT. If they still have the HD equipment from way back when (assuming it was ever installed in the first place) that night be a pretty cost effective way to add a new format in the metro.

I don't think 105.3 would work due to proximity to WPFL, though. Not sure what frequencies are left... 104.5, maybe?
 
105.9 from Milton is way to close to Atmore for use. 105.3 may be the best frequency available from the WDWR tower... assuming they can move to that frequency and location. 101.9 and 93.7 would be the next best.
94.5 looks best on paper, but WFLF-FM is way to strong on that frequency in Pensacola. 94.5 may be the best frequency available from a Milton tower like WEBY (nighttime tower) or WTKE-AM.

I would really prefer a new HD2 station from ADX on the WDWR tower than a simulcast of a Milton AM.
 
seedless said:
105.9 from Milton is way to close to Atmore for use. 105.3 may be the best frequency available from the WDWR tower... assuming they can move to that frequency and location. 101.9 and 93.7 would be the next best.
94.5 looks best on paper, but WFLF-FM is way to strong on that frequency in Pensacola. 94.5 may be the best frequency available from a Milton tower like WEBY (nighttime tower) or WTKE-AM.

I would really prefer a new HD2 station from ADX on the WDWR tower than a simulcast of a Milton AM.
Click to expand...

If 105.9 is too close to Atmore, I'm pretty sure being first adjacent to 105.1 in Century would be just as bad… That station seems to out perform its estimated coverage maps. I dunno if they still mention/target Pensacola, though. If they do, they'll definitely raise a stink about anything on 105.3.
 
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