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102.5 The Block (W273DA) Signal

KyleSmith1988

KyleSmith1988

Wow I got to finally check out the signal for 102.5 the Block Charlotte last weekend.

What a horrible signal, too much interference from WMYI even near the CLT airport only 5 miles away from their current site, which is shared with WFNZ 610. It barely reaches west as well towards WMYI not even reaching east Gastonia clearly. It's only 200 watts but 10 miles NW of Uptown I'm surprised they have the current setup / market as a Charlotte station. Signal was almost non existent in Pineville/Matthews and Carowinds with WMYI from Greenville winning the channel and only WMYI came in clearly but weak in Rock Hill.

Likewise I've recently gotten interference from this station once you get east of Gaffney SC, into Blacksburg SC and Shelby NC, areas that used to only have a clear signal from WMYI.

Better off moving their site closer to Uptown Charlotte if they can, possibly making it directional to the west, because their current setup is only good barely north of town, but not in the middle of the city so much.
 
KyleAndMelissa22 said:
Wow I got to finally check out the signal for 102.5 the Block Charlotte last weekend.

What a horrible signal, too much interference from WMYI even near the CLT airport only 5 miles away from their current site, which is shared with WFNZ 610. It barely reaches west as well towards WMYI not even reaching east Gastonia clearly. It's only 200 watts but 10 miles NW of Uptown I'm surprised they have the current setup / market as a Charlotte station. Signal was almost non existent in Pineville/Matthews and Carowinds with WMYI from Greenville winning the channel and only WMYI came in clearly but weak in Rock Hill.

Likewise I've recently gotten interference from this station once you get east of Gaffney SC, into Blacksburg SC and Shelby NC, areas that used to only have a clear signal from WMYI.

Better off moving their site closer to Uptown Charlotte if they can, possibly making it directional to the west, because their current setup is only good barely north of town, but not in the middle of the city so much.
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102.5 only covers northwest Charlotte clearly, and that area is heavily black. An urban station is really the only thing that makes sense with that signal as a stand alone. 102.5 was added to help fill in the nighttime signal gaps on 610 AM. CBS Radio owned WFNZ at the time, and they had all of their backup sites at the property off of Oakdale, and just added the 102.5 translator. The station will never be competitive in the ratings, but Urban One can still make a little money of it pairing it with their other stations.
 
I used to pick up the translator 102.5 from Charlotte all the way into Cherokee County before WMYI began to take over. Back then it was the sports translator, but I don't know if they changed the antenna pattern since then. But you could argue a weak translator is too close to a Full Power signal on the same frequency, which often seems to be the case these days.
 
I figure this station is kinda stuck where it is,
can't move closer to Charlotte Uptown because of 102.3 from Pageland SC (WGSP) and that station has a great signal in Union County NC (Monroe) and decent almost to Uptown Charlotte as well, so I guess if this is filling the niche the best it can, more power to them, I just think their signal is severely limited with WMYI overpowering them from over 80 miles away.

I remember before this translator went on the air, a few years ago, WMYI used to come in well in West Charlotte on I-485 and Billy Graham Parkway.
 
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You're not going to believe this.

Shortly after WMYI made its change to adult hits, I was trying to listen in Denton, which is 60 miles east of Charlotte. I was getting several different stations including Star 102.5 in the Fayetteville area. I did hear WMYI, but I finally realized I was hearing WFNZ at times.
 
Well we know iHeart could care less as both Greenville and Charlotte both have "The Lake" in their respective cities. 102.9 has a translator in Greenville just like 102.5 now has one in Charlotte. I do miss the old MY 102.5 / Lite 102.9, it seems what they have now has gotten stale pretty quick especially the branding. I see K104.7 doing better than both "Lakes."
 
vchimpanzee said:
You're not going to believe this.

Shortly after WMYI made its change to adult hits, I was trying to listen in Denton, which is 60 miles east of Charlotte. I was getting several different stations including Star 102.5 in the Fayetteville area. I did hear WMYI, but I finally realized I was hearing WFNZ at times.
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We have atmospheric conditions here in the spring that cause this so I believe you. It's especially bad in the morning. When I was commuting from Charlotte to Monroe I liked to listen to Bob and Shari on 107.9 WLNK. The interference from other distant stations made it impossible. Every AM station does not need a translator. It might be okay for stations in remote areas far from reliable radio service but not just because an AM wants to be on FM.
 
Mike Sheridan said:
Every AM station does not need a translator. It might be okay for stations in remote areas far from reliable radio service but not just because an AM wants to be on FM.
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So don’t have a presence where your potential audience has likely long moved on to and regain those listeners back? It’s a good way to make sure that license is turned in in a few years because the station is no longer financially viable. But hey, don’t bother with a translator. It’s only a fad, AM will surely come back!
 
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