That doesn't surprise me, I can get them clearly in stereo here in Edmonds, where the KHTP translator used to be audible. I've heard that translator in the KMCQ null, but KMCQ is strong here. Overall not a bad country station. I like that idea of someone buying up an am for the translator. My question is, we've got hd to translator relays all over the place now, why hasn't it happened here yet?
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KGNW picks up a translator - literally - from 150 miles away
- Thread starter Rob Piotrowski
- Start date
In a nutshell, no room. Rimshots, LPFMs, HD translators, EMF/CSN Jesuscasters and AM translators have to compete for a VERY finite space on the FM dial and Seattle's pretty much maxed out as it is. Depending on how things look after November, it could get very ugly further down the road.
It sure is a mess in Seattle. New station in Vancouver on 107.7. Port Angeles on 102.1 with full power, KMCQ-103.3 Oak Harbor, not to mention all of the LPFMs in Seattle and new translators all over Thurston County. KUOW just fired up a 13 watt 107.3 in Olympia, per Radio-Locator. I have no idea why little brokered/religious AMs want an FM translator with these conditions.
103.3 in Seattle could be a good place to have "The Mountain" on. That's KHTP's HD-2.
103.3 in Seattle could be a good place to have "The Mountain" on. That's KHTP's HD-2.
I've been saying that for years on this board! Yes, 103.3 should run their HD Channel 2 program "The Mountain" and move it to Capitol Hill for better coverage of the Metro. However doing so will require them to reduce erp to no more than 99 watts due to I.F. (Intermediate Frequency) concerns. The I.F. station for 103.3 Mhz is 92.5 Mhz--Movin'. Even still, I would do it, just look at K233BU's impressive signal (94.5) in the market as they are located on Cap Hill and gets out better than 103.3 ever did.
Good luck finding room for them all.
92.1 - Occupied by KNKX's West Seattle translator
92.9 - Taken by LPFMs
93.7 - In protected contour of KLSY
95.3 - Taken by LPFMs
96.1 - Possibly available
96.9 - Possibly available.
98.5 - Taken by LPFMs
99.3/99.5 - In protected contour of KDDS
100.3 -Taken by LPFMs
101.1 - Taken by LPFMs/KDXB
105.7 - Possibly available
106.5 - Possibly available (But what will that KWPZ listener that always shows up at the bottom of the 6+ do?)
107.3 - Taken by LPFMs
And they might get a frequency, I think they probably wouldn't be able to get ALL of them, given the level of competition for them. And even if they did, they would have other translators/LPFMs nipping at the edges of those signals, so they would each cover a very small area. And probably too small an area to be worth it for most commercial stations.
96.1 - Possibly available? You kidding? KXXO would have a fit! Maybe 105.7 could have another translator, but it would likely involve taking off the Orting CSN, and possibly changing the patterns of KJET and/or even CBU.
For 103.3 "The Mountain" to work, KMCQ would have to make some changes to their pattern.
Ah, the relief of the Yakima FM dial. Many open channels, especially in the 95-101 mHz range.
I used to hear K233BU in Lynnwood and Bothell. They have a huge range for low power, get out better than the parent station on 88.9 (which has a small range as well...with K205FO, KPLK, etc around.)
For 103.3 "The Mountain" to work, KMCQ would have to make some changes to their pattern.
Ah, the relief of the Yakima FM dial. Many open channels, especially in the 95-101 mHz range.
I used to hear K233BU in Lynnwood and Bothell. They have a huge range for low power, get out better than the parent station on 88.9 (which has a small range as well...with K205FO, KPLK, etc around.)
Technically, all the HD channels are full.
That's because there is a finite amount of HD bandwidth, and it is simply split into pieces as needed.
When a station does not have an HD-2 or beyond, the entire bandwidth of the digital signal is used by the HD simulcast of the analog signal's content. When an HD-2 is added, some bandwidth is taken away from the main HD, reducing proportionally its quality. At some point what you get is a reduction in the main HD channel quality that is comparable to taking a 320 kbs MP3 and converting it down to 128 or 96 kbs or worse. For every HD channel you add, the other HD channels lose some bandwidth.
Remember that FM translators are secondary services. Full power FM stations such as KJET (and KXXO for that matter) won't be "changing patterns" anytime soon for secondary services. To the contrary, FM translators that interfere with regularly listened programming from full power FM stations must be turned off or otherwise adjusted to eliminate said interference.
Aside from mileage separation requirements, interference will be considered to occur whenever reception of a regularly used signal is impaired by the signals radiated by the FM translator. The pertinent words seem to be "reception of a regularly used signal". Generally speaking, regular listenership beyond the 60 dBu contour is low. Holy Cross is line-of-sight to the Willapa Valley, so it doesn't take very many watts to override a distant Seattle signal.
According to year-to-year averages over the past decade, the most listened to radio station in Pacific County is usually 105.7 KJET. The first requirement to have a strong listener base is having a strong signal. Many stations from Seattle and Portland have "listenable" signals, but very few are first choice.
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