This used to be true but Charlotte has a translator for BBN that people on this site say has interfered.
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The Block - most successful translators?
- Thread starter 101tm
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Well, it still has the PPM encoders for the market because of the station's city of license. Forest City, North Carolina.
The Translator for the BBN is on 93.7 MHz which affects WFBC rather than the Planet (93.3 MHz). It is an unneeded signal in Charlotte since BBN on 93.5 MHz from Wadesboro is already strong enough to make it into Charlotte on its own and has been here for 20+ Years. It makes listening to WFBC 93.7 FM within 20 miles of Charlotte almost unobtainable, unless with a very directional antenna.
I was sure I remembered someone saying The Planet had problems, but oh well.
The problem I've seen is that the 93.7 in Charlotte repeats WYFQ-AM not WYFQ-FM, so it really sounds like AM quality, but its signal fights with WFBC even 5 miles west of Uptown Charlotte. 93.5 is much cleaner sounding and reaches further almost to Gastonia, at which point 91.1 from Gaffney is stronger...
I dont believe they can legally repeat WYFQ-FM in Charlotte as 93.5 WYFQ is outside the protected contour for Uptown Charlotte.
The only benefit is a stronger signal strength with a site near Uptown. But AM quality on FM is a big turn off in this case...
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On the subject of The Block and translators, I wish they could cut a deal with one of the other translators that’s much better south/southeast of Greenville than 96.3. It starts to break up going down 385 in Mauldin. 94.9, 96.9, 98.5, and 99.5 make it strong without static to Simpsonville and a bit beyond but 96.3 breaks up a lot faster even though it makes it, the signal just isn’t strong. I think The Block could benefit from a signal that has more punch to the southern part of the county, well as much as a translator can have.
OMG, this is what the owners of WPJF 1260 in Greenville are doing with their 92.9 translator. You can barely make out what it is because it sounds like a microphone up to the speaker of an AM radio!
Any station can get a PPM encoder, even if they are outside a PPM market. In the case of out of market stations, there is a small fee for the device.
The 60 dbu of the Wadesboro signal barely touches Mecklenburg County. And in examinations of many markets over many years, 95% of the in-home and at-work Nielsen/Arbitron listening takes place inside the 65 dbu contour. While that signal may get a bit of in-car listening farther away, it is a marginal signal at best.
WFBC is not guaranteed or protected in any part of the Charlotte Metro Survey Area.
Translators don't have to repeat the "main station". They can separately feed FM quality audio.
Again, they can feed FM quality audio to the translator separately as long as it is a 100% duplication. There are hundreds and hundreds of translators for AM stations that get studio quality audio for their translator. And, of course, daytime AMs with translators can operate 24/7 and the translator does not have to depend on the AM signal at all.
There have even been cases where the AM has technical issues and is off the air but the translator continues on.
FM Translators and Boosters has all the rules for translators.
Then I wonder if they plan on fixing this, I wonder if it really is being fed via WYFQ-AM....I would probably listen more if the audio quality was better. Thats why I would listen on the weaker 91.1 WYFG or 93.5 WYFQ
Our town's FM Translator 104.3 for WZZQ-AM in Gaffney has great sounding audio.
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