WKVP 106.9 off air

[radiodx10]

The blowtorch signal of WKVP has been absent for the last 24 hours (as of typing this). Some DX has been heard on 106.7, 106.9, and 107.1. No idea as to why the station has been absent. Perhaps TX maintenance?

 

[Radi0411]

The blowtorch signal of WKVP has been absent for the last 24 hours (as of typing this). Some DX has been heard on 106.7, 106.9, and 107.1. No idea as to why the station has been absent. Perhaps TX maintenance?

Does that mean that 100.7 {W264BH} is also off the air from Mount Holly? If not I would venture to say its using a separate STL source than OTA. Just curious...

 

[daddyoo]

Both are still off and WLEV is booming in on 100.7...off is TDY 2 and 3 for three months, WJBR 3 gone, WPHI 2 and 3 gone and yet a smaller metro like Pittsburgh has the best HDs anywhere any format you desire no filler or the vanishing act...plus the main signals are great. SMFH

 

[iacd]

That can explain why hot 106.7 from Hershey was stronger then normal

 

[Bill_W]

They don’t have the backup that IQ 106.9 had in Center City at the top of either One Liberty Place or Two Liberty Place? They still use that tower in Camden, don’t they? It’s definitely not coming in in Chester County.

 

[Jstnpspck]

I thought something was up when I was scrolling around just before midnight last night and heard Soundgarden on 106.9. It was a pretty static-y WAFX out of Hampton Roads. Oddly, on 100.7 (the new K-Love translator that now drowns out WLEV in Philly), I was ALSO picking up WAFX, with much less static than on 106.9. How do you figure?

FWIW I was also picking up a faint WPTE out of Virginia Beach on 94.9 last night as well.

 

[Radi0411]

They don’t have the backup that IQ 106.9 had in Center City at the top of either One Liberty Place or Two Liberty Place? They still use that tower in Camden, don’t they? It’s definitely not coming in in Chester County.

Definitely strange as they do still have a license to broadcast from an Aux Site at 9kw: https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&appid=1485458&facid=20842

Why they are not is a mystery. No one ever wants to pay for something that they are never going to use until they have to of course... pure speculation on my part.

 

[luperm]

Based on your link, it looks like the aux is a construction permit, not a licensed facility. Was it ever built?

 

[radiodx10]

Back on air as of this morning, btw.

 

[Radi0411]

Based on your link, it looks like the aux is a construction permit, not a licensed facility. Was it ever built?

Correct on the CP which is why I noted that they probably figured when would they ever need it or maybe a different reason altogether... as a full Class B (or any station for that matter) I would imagine a backup should be a must whenever possible. EMF however has a completely different business model as we know... the DX'ing was enjoyable while it lasted I bet!

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Does that mean that 100.7 {W264BH} is also off the air from Mount Holly? If not I would venture to say its using a separate STL source than OTA. Just curious...

If the parent signal goes off, the translator have to go off too

 

[Radi0411]

If the parent signal goes off, the translator have to go off too

True but that doesn’t mean they do... more times than not it’s not the case even though it’s an FCC requirement. Dead carriers tend to typically be the norm unless a transmitter has a modulation monitor built in that shuts down after a preset amount of time. Plus if there is an STL in play and they are not relaying an OTA signal then the translator would still be up and running.

 

[JBraddock]

If the parent signal goes off, the translator ha to go off too

True but that doesn’t mean they do... more times than not it’s not the case even though it’s an FCC requirement. Dead carriers tend to typically be the norm unless a transmitter has a modulation monitor built in that shuts down after a preset amount of time. Plus if there is an STL in play and they are not relaying an OTA signal then the translator would still be up and running.

There are silence sensors that will shut off a transmitter or (for an originating station) play audio off of a chip or internal memory after a predetermined time period of dead air is detected. They're probably not installed at most remote-located translators, since station personnel would have to travel to the translator location to power up the transmitter when the originating air signal was restored. For WBZC's translator, W236AF, that would entail a climb up to the top of the Burlington-Bristol Bridge. Fun!

At any rate, per Jstn's post above, 100.7 W264BH "Mount Holly" is being fed off-the-air as required, since the Suffolk, Virginia station was picked up by the translator's 106.9 tuner in the absence of WKVP.

 

[Radi0411]

There are silence sensors that will shut off a transmitter or (for an originating station) play audio off of a chip or internal memory after a predetermined time period of dead air is detected. They're probably not installed at most remote-located translators, since station personnel would have to travel to the translator location to power up the transmitter when the originating air signal was restored. For WBZC's translator, W236AF, that would entail a climb up to the top of the Burlington-Bristol Bridge. Fun!

At any rate, per Jstn's post above, 100.7 W264BH "Mount Holly" is being fed off-the-air as required, since the Suffolk, Virginia station was picked up by the translator's 106.9 tuner in the absence of WKVP.

Actually there is no "requirement" (in this case) that it be picked up *off-the-air* as it is technically a fill-in translator for WKVP meaning it falls completely within its primary contour so the choice is up to them as to which means to feed they prefer... were it outside of the primary then the power would be sharply reduced and the "requirement" would then be off-the-air.

As far as whether it is a hike or a haul to reach a transmitter site, that's irrelevant if rules are rules...

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

There are silence sensors that will shut off a transmitter or (for an originating station) play audio off of a chip or internal memory after a predetermined time period of dead air is detected. They're probably not installed at most remote-located translators, since station personnel would have to travel to the translator location to power up the transmitter when the originating air signal was restored. For WBZC's translator, W236AF, that would entail a climb up to the top of the Burlington-Bristol Bridge. Fun!

At any rate, per Jstn's post above, 100.7 W264BH "Mount Holly" is being fed off-the-air as required, since the Suffolk, Virginia station was picked up by the translator's 106.9 tuner in the absence of WKVP.

xxxx

 

[JBraddock]

Actually there is no "requirement" (in this case) that it be picked up *off-the-air* as it is technically a fill-in translator for WKVP meaning it falls completely within its primary contour so the choice is up to them as to which means to feed they prefer... were it outside of the primary then the power would be sharply reduced and the "requirement" would then be off-the-air.

As far as whether it is a hike or a haul to reach a transmitter site, that's irrelevant if rules are rules...

Good point on the pickup methods for fill-ins. As a fill-in for noncommercial 106.9, 100.7 could receive the mother signal through various methods, though 100.7 doesn't appear to be owned by EMF, so that might preclude satellite reception I guess?

Translators are definitely required to cease transmission on the loss of the mother signal, but this does not appear to be followed in practice. I have several translators in my local area fed by HD subchannels, and when the HD transmissions are lost (during storms usually), there's dead air on all the translators. The same thing happened with W264BH. I'm not saying it's right....

 

[nd2023]

I’ve heard a translator for an HD2 stay on even when the HD transmitter for the parent station failed and it wasn’t in HD for a week

 

[MarcB]

I’ve heard a translator for an HD2 stay on even when the HD transmitter for the parent station failed and it wasn’t in HD for a week

I've heard that with a station in my market too. I only know because my friend (a radio geek) had an HD radio is hist car. Also our AM Oldies station got an FM translator in 2016. They have an Italian Show on Sunday Mornings followed by a Lutheran Church Mass. On more than one occasion the Oldies music has continued on the FM translator. Also the translator usually goes back to the Oldies Music just before 2PM, while the AM is still running the church mass. Sometimes that continues til just after 2PM. Once the AM station ran the church mass til 2:07PM while the translator had switched back to the Oldies Music at about 1:57PM.