Still getting Bomba-FM on 100.9

[MarcB]

I waited in the car while my Mom was at Ali's Nursery in Plantsville today. It's at the corner of Old Turnpike Road and Buckland Street. Gave the FM dial a spin I again was picking up Bomba-FM on 100.9 FM. It was fuzzy and mixing it the WPOP translator. Bomba doesn't have a signal on 100.9 FM. The only things licensed on 100.9 FM in Connecticut are WKNL New London (K-HITS FM), the WPOP Translator in Hartford, and 100.9 The Beat licensed to Milbrook and simulcasting WKCI HD2.

Don't know why Bomba is coming in on that frequency. Bomba-FM is:

104.1 HD2/HD4 Waterbury
106.5 HD4 Pawcatuck
97.1 Bolton
98.5 Meriden
99.5 Waterbury (Licensed to Clinton still)
102.3 New Haven
104.5 Bridgeport
104.5 New London
104.5 West Springfield
1490-AM West Springfield

 

[KML0224]

Meanwhile, I'd like to know who the pirate is near the CT Fastrak Parkville station in Hartford. I think it's on 103.3 FM. It destroys WDRC-FM 102.9 of Hartford in that vicinity for several blocks.

 

[CTListener]

Meanwhile, I'd like to know who the pirate is near the CT Fastrak Parkville station in Hartford. I think it's on 103.3 FM. It destroys WDRC-FM 102.9 of Hartford in that vicinity for several blocks.

What's this pirate broadcasting? Bringing overmodulated, hysterical-sounding, Haitian Kreyol preaching, a favorite format of Hartford pirate AMs over the years, to FM?

 

[MarcB]

Meanwhile, I'd like to know who the pirate is near the CT Fastrak Parkville station in Hartford. I think it's on 103.3 FM. It destroys WDRC-FM 102.9 of Hartford in that vicinity for several blocks.

Really? On 103.3? With the translator for WDRC 1360-AM right there? The translator is mounted on the 97.9 antenna on top of City Place along with 1410's translator on 100.9 FM.

Meanwhile the Caribbean pirate that had been on 103.3 FM for years moved to 92.9 after the 1360 translator signed on. When WJMJ's translator in Hamden briefly moved to 92.9, I used to hear them battling it out. WJMJ's translator has since been forced to move back to 93.1 due to some station on Long Island.

 

[CTListener]

WJMJ's translator has since been forced to move back to 93.1 due to some station on Long Island.

WEHM, a AAA-format station I could receive fairly well in Wallingford and North Haven before WJMJ's translator came on. I'd imagine that signal raised hell with 'EHM south of Hamden as well, down toward the shoreline, hence the complaint. It now infringes on the far southern tip of WHYN-FM's signal, but obviously that's not grounds for 'HYN to go whining to the FCC, because they were fine with 'JMJ there before.

 

[FTRlistenerAM]

The only things licensed on 100.9 FM in Connecticut are WKNL New London (K-HITS FM), the WPOP Translator in Hartford, and 100.9 The Beat licensed to Milbrook and simulcasting WKCI HD2.

I miss the good old days of being able to drive two towns south from Gbury to Colchester and trying to bring in the old "Good Times Great Oldies Kool 101" (frequency was 100.9) from New London. In 2012 they were forced to start playing much more 80s and then the station was gone soon afterward, but the station had a fairly deep playlist when it existed and played a fair amount of late 50s/early 60s. Obviously there is a different Kool Radio on 104.3/1180 in New London now which is of course the same programming as 96.1/990, but the FM translator's coverage range does not extend quite as far as 100.9 did back then. That old Kool 101 station played far more commercials than the current Kool Radio does though.

 

[MarcB]

I miss the good old days of being able to drive two towns south from Gbury to Colchester and trying to bring in the old "Good Times Great Oldies Kool 101" (frequency was 100.9) from New London. In 2012 they were forced to start playing much more 80s and then the station was gone soon afterward, but the station had a fairly deep playlist when it existed and played a fair amount of late 50s/early 60s. Obviously there is a different Kool Radio on 104.3/1180 in New London now which is of course the same programming as 96.1/990, but the FM translator's coverage range does not extend quite as far as 100.9 did back then. That old Kool 101 station played far more commercials than the current Kool Radio does though.

How well does 104.3 Kool Radio come in in Southeast Connecticut? Seems to me there would be interference from co-owned Bomba 104.5 in New London.

 

[FTRlistenerAM]

How well does 104.3 Kool Radio come in in Southeast Connecticut? Seems to me there would be interference from co-owned Bomba 104.5 in New London.

If you're driving from the Hartford area towards Norwich on Route 2, 104.3 doesn't start to come in well enough to hear until you get past the junction with Route 11 and into Lebanon. If you take the Route 11/Rte 85 way toward New London, it comes in well enough to hear consistently just about when you get onto 85 and start heading south. Interference from 104.5 doesn't seem to be an issue, it is just that the FM translator's coverage range is naturally weaker. The old Kool 101 station back around ten years ago didn't have a great coverage range either, but could still be heard pretty well as far west as Madison and well into Rhode Island going the other way. Nowadays, once you get past Old Saybrook or so 104.3 is just about gone.

 

[MrBruce]

Although Bomba FM 104.5 is licensed to New London, CT the antenna sits up on top of WCTY's tower on Crook Drive in Montville, therefore the signal reaches New London and obviously Norwich since the tower sits just south of Norwich off of route 2A and route 32. As for WKNL 100.9, their tower, although not very tall for an FM broadcast station, is located on Gay Hill Road in Montville.
As for the transmission on 104.3, only Kool radio I have heard of is the one on 96.1 which is a translator for an AM radio station WNTY 990. The signal on 96.1 does reach Norwich, however, Hall Communications has a construction permit to put WICH 1310 AM on that frequency, which has yet to happen. That signal on 104.3 is wiped out by Bomba FM on 104.5 in the Norwich CT area, even on tight front end receivers, you can hear the bleed over very well, through out the Norwich area.

 

[FTRlistenerAM]

As for the transmission on 104.3, only Kool radio I have heard of is the one on 96.1 which is a translator for an AM radio station WNTY 990. The signal on 96.1 does reach Norwich, however, Hall Communications has a construction permit to put WICH 1310 AM on that frequency, which has yet to happen. That signal on 104.3 is wiped out by Bomba FM on 104.5 in the Norwich CT area, even on tight front end receivers, you can hear the bleed over very well, through out the Norwich area.

96.1 does not come even close to reaching Colchester, let alone Norwich. No way. You can barely still bring in 990 AM in Colchester. The only 96.1 you would start getting just north of Norwich is 96.1 from Worcester MA. As long as you are right in the New London/Norwich area, 104.3 usually seems to come in well enough if you're using a car stereo.

 

[MrBruce]

96.1 does not come even close to reaching Colchester, let alone Norwich. No way. You can barely still bring in 990 AM in Colchester. The only 96.1 you would start getting just north of Norwich is 96.1 from Worcester MA. As long as you are right in the New London/Norwich area, 104.3 usually seems to come in well enough if you're using a car stereo.

I beg to differ with you, I have an indoor FM antenna and I can clearly hear WNTY AM on 96.1 FM identifying as KOOL 990/96.1 I do not even get WDRC or WCCC FM in that good!
As for 104.3 FM I can clearly see the broadcast tower beacon lights on Cook Drive at my location, in other words, I have direct line of site with that tower and can only hear bleed over from 104.5 on all FM receivers on 104.3 FM. Now, that is not the case with WCTY on 97.7 which is also on that tower, I can listen to stations on 97.5 or 97.9, but not on 104.3 or 104.7. That 104.5 station is a John Fuller owned station, he loves his radio station's processing 'over processed' for loudness, such is the case with 104.5 So all I can hear on 104.3 is hash from 104.5's signal.

 

[CTListener]

That 104.5 station is a John Fuller owned station, he loves his radio station's processing 'over processed' for loudness,

That explains why I cannot listen to Fuller-owned 96.1 at home for any length of time without getting a very unpleasant feeling of audio fatigue.

 

[MrBruce]

That explains why I cannot listen to Fuller-owned 96.1 at home for any length of time without getting a very unpleasant feeling of audio fatigue.

If it was at all possible to do a video of my radio receivers with indoor T shaped FM dipoles and the digital tuner on 96.1 MHz you'd hear a station ID for WNTY Kool radio 990/96.1 here in Norwich Connecticut. As for John Fuller stations WWRX and WBMW are two other stations with over processed music, yes, they are louder than the other stations on that end of the dial including WQGN 105.5. That is a marketing strategy to get the attention of radio flippers that they are there and stop tuning already. Does it work? Yes it does, because the normal volume stations do not seem like they are there at all, specially if you turned down your volume with the louder stations along the way across the dial.
Does it sound good? Are you kidding me? They toned down television commercials, now on these stations you have car dealerships YELLING AT YOU THAT THEIR CARS ARE THE BEST DEAL THIS CENTURY AND WILL NEVER, YOU HEARD ME, NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!!!!! You get the point.