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City with the most translators and LPFM stations

Charleston has 18 of them. 3/4 of them have signed on within the last year. Every AM in the market has one except for two stations (WTMA 1250, the news-talk station, and a religious station on 810).
 
dxtrfn80 said:
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/lo...&is_fb=Y&format=&dx=2&radius=&freq=&sort=freq

Wonder if you can get any non Charlottesville stations anymore without sideband interference. Before the translators you could pick up Richmond stations easily with a good radio. You could also pick up 99.1 from Roanoke.
Click to expand...

I was in C'ville recently. A few Richmond stations do come through the mess. Much of Charlottesville is naturally terrain shielded from the Richmond stations, so what you might think you could pick up according to radio-locator is pretty scratchy til you get over the hills to the east. I picked up WCVE-FM, WTVR-FM, and WRXL without much issue in my car. Ditto with a couple of Harrisonburg/Staunton stations and WYYD out of Lynchburg. That was it, from what I could tell.

However, I'll take your Charlottesville and raise you Richmond...RVA seems to have more secondary services than full-service metro signals. Plus...there are more coming down the pipeline!

http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=Richmond&state=VA&band=Both&is_lic=Y&is_cp=Y&is_fl=Y&is_fx=Y&is_fb=Y&format=&dx=2&radius=&freq=&sort=freq

Radio-X
 
A casual scan of the Pittston PA scene on Radio Locator lists 17 translators, with another on the way.

Pittston is located between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

The R-L list is for the distant stations. The 'local' switch has 6 such stations receivable in Pittston.
 
Steve Green NEPA said:
Pittston is located between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.
Click to expand...
I seem to recall a WPTS there from when I was a child in Carbondale, but those calls are long gone.
Were they on 1550 back then (WITK is listed as the only Pittston station, and with those former call letters)?
 
Yes, and the belief that no one listens to ancient modulation anymore (thank you computers, televisions, power lines, RF noise). So AM stations muck up the dial with 250W translators so people can listen to Rush Limbaugh in glorious stereo.

Which speaking of regions with too many translators, I can say that Tri-Cities and Walla Walla are becoming absolute messes. Translators are taking over almost every channel that isn't full-power down there. A new 105.7 Spanish Christian LP signed on two months ago obliterating whatever was left of KRSE. 92.9 is now occupied by a translator of 1320 KGDC Walla Walla, there's three channels (94.5/104.5/106.9) that are used for HD subchannels from KZIU-101.9, 103.9 has a new translator in Richland that repeats KGTS/91.3 Walla Walla, just 25 miles or less to the east, and 106.1 now has a translator for 960-KALE's classic hits format.
At least Yakima still has open channels, and during a strong E-skip opening, the Tri-Cities channels can be obliterated.
 
MarioMania said:
One Word: Money
Click to expand...

That's a laugh, these AM stations will be sorely disappointed. They can point to a little ten mile circle almost lost in the vast stretches of a metro area and say "see we have FM coverage". Yeah, in that ten mile circle on an underpowered signal that barely penetrates buildings next to the antenna, certainly not near the radius of the signal. Yeah, really useful.

Sometimes I think Houston is the leader in useless translators - the same Spanish language Christian outlet jams every frequency they get with their same useless programming. I would be shocked if they had over a few hundred listeners to all of their frequencies. Enough to make you projectile vomit when you think of all the format holes in Houston radio, and all the other minorities that might be served, but aren't being served because one or two preachers pay money so they can hear themselves talk on the radio. Really serving the public interest, aren't they?

Radio frequencies are a limited resource, and we need an FCC that will take a closer look at all these applications and who is actually served by them. Wasn't it Calvary Chapel that filed for hundreds of frequencies a few years back? Who ultimately would have been served by all those useless stations? the way the system works now - you have the money - you get the frequency. So you get the dial jammed with useless stuff.
 
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I agree with your assessment that Houston leads the way in cities with the most translator and L1 facilities. Other than that, your continued commentary is that of your own.
 
It does seem many translators in almost every part of the country are used by religious broadcasters. Very few !listeners. Also HD subchannels run relays of religious programming. Got to be a better use. Way too many everywhere.
 
Grand Rapids, MI has the following translators:
90.7 W214AY (CSN International)
92.3 WRVU-LP (Spanish religious) [short-spaced to Lowell High School's LPFM]
92.9 W225BL (Christian // WFUR 1570)
93.3 W227CG (Spanish // WMJH 810)
94.9 W235BN (Urban AC // WYGR 1530)
95.3 W237CZ (Public Radio // WPRR 1680)
97.3 WJWC-LP (Urban)
98.3 W252DG (Catholic // WVHF 1140) [short-spaced to full-powered WLCS]
99.9 W260CQ (Smile FM // WSLI 90.9)
102.5 W273DD (Public Radio // WPRR 1680)
103.7 WSNH-LP (Spanish religious)
104.9 W285FO (Urban AC // WNWZ 1410) [was briefly on 94.1, but WWKR and WWDK tore that translator to shreds]
There are three true daytimers in the market (810, 1140, and 1530) and all of them have translators on FM. 1410 and 1570 are flea-powered at night.

Lansing has a lot as well:
90.9 W215CH (Air One)
94.5 W233CH (NPR Talk // WKAR 870) [short-spaced to full-powered WCEN]
95.3 W237BY (Shine FM // WITL-HD2 100.7)
95.9 W240CG (K-Love)
98.3 W252CN (Home FM // WSAE 106.9)
99.9 W260BX (Family Life Radio // WUNN 1110)
100.3 W262BD (Gospel // WWSJ 1580)
104.7 W284AH (Religious (3ABN) // KTGG 1540)
106.9 W295DP (Air One)
Both true daytimers (1110 and 1540) have translators here as well.
 
crainbebo said:
Yes, and the belief that no one listens to ancient modulation anymore (thank you computers, televisions, power lines, RF noise).
Click to expand...

The migration from AM to FM began in the early 1970s, many years before there were home RF noise-makers other than TVs and fluorescent lights. The migration had almost nothing to do with them, either. FM sounds better than AM and most cover an entire metro area better, being non-directional.

So AM stations muck up the dial with 250W translators so people can listen to Rush Limbaugh in glorious stereo.
Click to expand...

I'm willing to bet that well over 90% of all Ancient Modulation translators do not air Rush Limbaugh.
 
The Harsh Reality said:
Chicken feed. I can not fathom having the time to list them all out here, but feast your eyes upon this.

https://fccdata.org/?latd=29.7629&lond=95.3832

That's a heapload of D's and L1's for one market, I don't care if we are the fourth largest City in the Nation.
Click to expand...

I will say (to play devil's advocate) that Houston is a very sprawling metropolis...It is quite possible to have 2-3 L1's and D's on the same frequency and not have much interference. However, Houston has issues with tropo 6-8 months out of the year, which makes most of those unlistenable muck more than a mile from the transmitter site.

However, T.H.R., you have to be correct, Houston takes the cake! Salt Lake City takes the cake for full-service stations (and it somehow keeps expanding), Houston has to be the most for secondary services!

Radio-X
 
The Houston metro has EIGHT translators/LPFMs on 101.5 alone! Also seven on 95.3, five on 92.5, 96.1, and 99.5, and four on 94.9 and 102.5! On top of that, there are translators and LPFMs either co-channel or first adjacent to Houston rimshots!
 
I can get two LPFMs on the same channel in a large metro area, but eight?! Ridiculous. No-man's land for DX, not even for a rimshot 40 miles away. That's the equivalent of a few LPFMs on 102.9 in the Seattle area (where KFOO Centralia is a rimshot). Hopefully that will never happen.
 
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