I'm surprised in this day and age those call letters would be allowed.
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End of the line for WMXP, Greenville
- Thread starter The Beat
- Start date
I saw a mistake in this thread that I can't reply to because it is locked.
WLTE is not a "Christian" station.
It has been argued that 103.3 and its simulcast partner should move classic hits to 94.5 which has the better signal, and talk should go to 103.3. It's not like WGTK has the well-known talk hosts.
WLTE is not a "Christian" station.
It has been argued that 103.3 and its simulcast partner should move classic hits to 94.5 which has the better signal, and talk should go to 103.3. It's not like WGTK has the well-known talk hosts.
Salem isn’t going to take their flagship format off of 94.5, especially with “WORD” now on 98.9. WGTK hasn’t done extremely well but they’ve done above average for a Salem talker. Salem is likely using the 80s/90s format on 95.5/103.3 as an additional revenue stream they can sell to clients that otherwise wouldn’t buy spots on 94.5, but they can package sell 95.5/103.3 with 94.5. Heck, the same could be said for Rejoice 96.9.
I agree talk is a waste of the 94.5 signal, but I highly doubt it will change. 103.3 and 95.9 (now 95.5) were probably cheap buys for Salem at the time (103.3 struggled for a decade after Entercom sold it with that awful brokered format) that allowed them to beef the cluster up a bit for a package sell and diversify and have an additional revenue stream. JMO
I agree talk is a waste of the 94.5 signal, but I highly doubt it will change. 103.3 and 95.9 (now 95.5) were probably cheap buys for Salem at the time (103.3 struggled for a decade after Entercom sold it with that awful brokered format) that allowed them to beef the cluster up a bit for a package sell and diversify and have an additional revenue stream. JMO
There is no §73.809 overlap as is the case with WMXP-LP. They may choose to change channels if any is available or voluntarily go off the air, but under §73.809, WLTE does not have a valid displacement case. (LPFM interfering contour must overlap the full-service 70 dBu).
95.3 & 95.7 are still short-spaced to WLTE. 95.3 is also short-spaced to WNKS & WWOK-LP. 95.9 is short-spaced to WPLS-LP & WHQC. Like WMXP-LP, WNGR-LP has no channels to change to anywhere in the band.
Also, Salem might be less inclined to bother with WNGR if they could because Tigerville/the limited WNGR coverage area is more than served by the WRTH 103.3 simulcast and is in its primary coverage area. WNGR is weaker than WMXP and is in a much more remote location so I can’t see it really being an issue where the vast majority of people listening to 95.5 WLTE would be.
Also, I’d expect WNGR to either work with Salem and/or follow the FCC rules much more than WMXP was.
Side note: I’m glad the simulcast was changed to “95.5 and 103.3” instead of “103.3 and 95.9” which always seemed backwards. I guess that was due to the fact that 95.9 was such a limited facility while 95.5, debatably, could be considered the simulcast’s primary frequency now due to the population density in their main contour. Earth FM does, now, have pretty much full market coverage though. Salem pulled this off well. I believe the plan is for 103.3 to get the former 95.9 transmitter and eventually go HD as well.
Also, I’d expect WNGR to either work with Salem and/or follow the FCC rules much more than WMXP was.
Side note: I’m glad the simulcast was changed to “95.5 and 103.3” instead of “103.3 and 95.9” which always seemed backwards. I guess that was due to the fact that 95.9 was such a limited facility while 95.5, debatably, could be considered the simulcast’s primary frequency now due to the population density in their main contour. Earth FM does, now, have pretty much full market coverage though. Salem pulled this off well. I believe the plan is for 103.3 to get the former 95.9 transmitter and eventually go HD as well.
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104.5 and 97.3 seem to be available in the Tigerville and Travelers Rest areas for a small LPFM, with any interference in the fringe from other stations still far enough away. 95.9 now freed up maybe one of the displaced stations can go there as well such as WPLS or WNGR in that area.
97.3 is licensed to Greenville as a translator for WNCW, but its been off for years now.
97.3 is licensed to Greenville as a translator for WNCW, but its been off for years now.
95.5 Earth FM is doing much better around Greenville, with a decent signal up to about Woodruff Road on I-85 @ 385 interchange
The 95.5 signal, is OK in Greenville — to the west/southwest side of the city. But to be honest, I was hoping 95.5 would be stronger. In areas like Pelham Road and even parts of Laurens Road, 103.3 still comes in stronger. On a trip to Fountain Inn the other day, however, 95.5 really powered in well.
What really surprised me (sort of — I saw the coverage maps) was the loss of a decent signal in Clemson. I was there yesterday, and 95.5 simply doesn't cover as well as 95.9. Effectively, I'd say the signal doesn't cover Clemson at all. At one spot, I could actually get 103.3 about the same as 95.5 (neither was great, however).
I wonder if they are still tweaking the signal?
What really surprised me (sort of — I saw the coverage maps) was the loss of a decent signal in Clemson. I was there yesterday, and 95.5 simply doesn't cover as well as 95.9. Effectively, I'd say the signal doesn't cover Clemson at all. At one spot, I could actually get 103.3 about the same as 95.5 (neither was great, however).
I wonder if they are still tweaking the signal?
Agree. I was expecting 95.5 to be stronger to the south/southeast than it is, but they're running the max power 6kw for a class A with a rather low antenna which will hurt distance. 103.3 has height on its side with just 2700 ERP. The HD lock on 95.5 stays pretty consistent until the GSP exit on 85 where it croaks and the signal starts to weaken badly. I was able to get it on Georgia Rd in Simpsonville headed toward US-25 with HD locked on. But it makes sense that they encouraged 103.3 listeners to keep listening there.
95.5 is still an upgrade from 95.9 in the sense it's not directional and can hit those western Greenville areas and Pickens County well, but it came at the expense of Clemson and parts of Anderson. Seneca probably lost its (fair) coverage from 95.9. Still probably a massive population increase inside the main contour though. I overlapped two maps from Radio-Locator (which aren't always really accurate outside of the 60dbu) that shows most of the coverage area of the combined signals. It looks like the primary overlap is through the SC-14 corridor, the Cherrydale area in Greenville, and Taylors/Greer, although this map underestimates 103.3 and overestimates 95.5.
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And they don't account for interference from other stations.
For anyone curious, I did some digging and thanks to https://www.fccdata.org I was able to find the old coverage map for now WSHP-FM 103.9 before their 2020 upgrade to a C3, which was the original simulcast of WRTH 103.3 (actually, 103.3 signed on to be a simulcast of 103.9) for 15 or so years. You can find that info here.
Comparing it to WLTE, the antenna for 103.9 was further to the northeast which helped it have a better signal over most of Greenville and to the east but did not have the coverage in Anderson county. It was more of a Greenville station. It had a bit more overlap with 103.3 and also had a slightly higher antenna than 95.5 WLTE, which is likely why I remember it getting out a bit farther. IMO the coverage for 95.5/103.3 simulcast vs the 103.3/103.9 simulcast is pretty much a wash, 95.5 is probably slightly better since it’s a bit closer to Anderson and 103.3 covers east of downtown Greenville fine. It’s just missing that strong signal redundancy in the important Greenville County.
Attached is the 103.9 60dbu map as a class A and the 95.5 60dbu map as a class A. The 103.3 facility has never changed and it’s unable to do so.
Comparing it to WLTE, the antenna for 103.9 was further to the northeast which helped it have a better signal over most of Greenville and to the east but did not have the coverage in Anderson county. It was more of a Greenville station. It had a bit more overlap with 103.3 and also had a slightly higher antenna than 95.5 WLTE, which is likely why I remember it getting out a bit farther. IMO the coverage for 95.5/103.3 simulcast vs the 103.3/103.9 simulcast is pretty much a wash, 95.5 is probably slightly better since it’s a bit closer to Anderson and 103.3 covers east of downtown Greenville fine. It’s just missing that strong signal redundancy in the important Greenville County.
Attached is the 103.9 60dbu map as a class A and the 95.5 60dbu map as a class A. The 103.3 facility has never changed and it’s unable to do so.
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My observations; Biggest improvement on 95.5 is definitely in the Easley area. 95.5 did well for me up to Downtown Greenville, including the West End. Comparable to 95.9 (but no improvement) in most places, and going south along 85 was decent down to the Anderson exit, and then starts to get weaker but still listenable towards and up to the Georgia line (Just like it did with 95.9). Signal quits a few miles into GA at Lavonia where WSBB and WEGG start to interfere. Decent signal to about Lake Hartwell / Townville near Oconee County border.
Coming back into SC on 123, decently heard even in Westminster SC, which is supposed to be a fringe area, but some issues around parts of Seneca & Clemson (low elevation areas) but did ok there otherwise. Decent signal going east from Clemson as well.
Coming back into SC on 123, decently heard even in Westminster SC, which is supposed to be a fringe area, but some issues around parts of Seneca & Clemson (low elevation areas) but did ok there otherwise. Decent signal going east from Clemson as well.
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I’ll check it out this weekend, but yeah, the 95.5 signal improved the coverage out to 85/185, White Horse Rd, Mills Ave, 123, etc in Greenville which were a gap between 103.3 and 95.9. In areas like White Horse Rd, Augusta Rd, etc it was easier to get 103.3 than the old 95.9. 95.9 was a good signal down in Anderson county but it was garbage towards Easley and Greenville with the directionality. It seems Salem didn’t really expect many listeners to “switch” from 103.3 to 95.5 for a better signal, they just said if you’ve been listening on 95.9 to change to 95.5.
I’ve noticed 95.5 puts out a great signal around Mauldin and Simpsonville though, and it sounds great in HD so whenever I listen it’ll most likely be on 95.5. 🤣 My car has very bad analog sound vs HD (VERY noticeable difference) so 103.3 and 106.3 sound really bad as really the only analog only FM’s in the market. I don’t think that’s necessarily on the stations as much, my car just put nothing in to the analog sound quality.
Only thing with HD on a class A is the HD range is limited to the 60dbu or less before it starts to drop out and switch back and forth between analog and HD which can get frustrating.
I’ve noticed 95.5 puts out a great signal around Mauldin and Simpsonville though, and it sounds great in HD so whenever I listen it’ll most likely be on 95.5. 🤣 My car has very bad analog sound vs HD (VERY noticeable difference) so 103.3 and 106.3 sound really bad as really the only analog only FM’s in the market. I don’t think that’s necessarily on the stations as much, my car just put nothing in to the analog sound quality.
Only thing with HD on a class A is the HD range is limited to the 60dbu or less before it starts to drop out and switch back and forth between analog and HD which can get frustrating.
It seems in some places from Greenville east, where 95.5 starts to get weak, thats just about the time when 103.3 is stronger anyway.
But according to RL, 95.5 should have a 60 dbu over 95% of Greenville, seems thats not the case right now though (kinda weak in the Taylors / Wade Hampton area). From Greenville westward to GA including the Clemson area it does seem a bit more accurate, not including interference from elevation changes tho.
But according to RL, 95.5 should have a 60 dbu over 95% of Greenville, seems thats not the case right now though (kinda weak in the Taylors / Wade Hampton area). From Greenville westward to GA including the Clemson area it does seem a bit more accurate, not including interference from elevation changes tho.
Signal is non-existent in Greer downtown and out to 29. There’s a religious station of some sort that is trying to come in and there’s a ton of static. Also very bad going up 14 from Woodruff Rd past GSP and just downhill from there. As several others have pointed out it gets strong enough at the 85/385 interchange where HD will lock and it carries down to Simpsonville and Fountain Inn great.
Of course Greer and Five Forks are areas intended to be served by 103.3 but I’m baffled at how bad the signal is in a lot of areas to the east/northeast. Some of those areas are well inside the estimated 60dbu contour. I know those can be inaccurate, but this one was really inaccurate.
Of course Greer and Five Forks are areas intended to be served by 103.3 but I’m baffled at how bad the signal is in a lot of areas to the east/northeast. Some of those areas are well inside the estimated 60dbu contour. I know those can be inaccurate, but this one was really inaccurate.
Spoke to CraigD, one of the brains behind 955/1033, seems the signal is still not completely done being tweaked yet, at least to the east. Next thing to be dealt with is the 95.5 signal from Tigerville which is still an interference issue as well.
Placement of the new transmitter site was carefully considered for all areas involved from Greenville to Anderson and Clemson, but the lingering issues is why Greenville isn't currently mentioned in the 95.5 TOH ID.
Placement of the new transmitter site was carefully considered for all areas involved from Greenville to Anderson and Clemson, but the lingering issues is why Greenville isn't currently mentioned in the 95.5 TOH ID.
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Good to know, because all of the surveys show WLTE 95.5 should have a city grade signal over almost all of Greenville county. I was shocked I couldn’t get it in Greer at all (ok, maybe every 10 seconds it tried to come in). With WMXP off the air, I thought the signal would improve to the east but that only really helped the Laurens/Woodruff/Haywood Rd areas.
I wonder if they’re running at full power, or if it’s an antenna issue? I would say the signal is about 60%-70% of what it should be based on everything I’ve seen. I doubt it will ever get out as far as 103.3 due to the lower antenna height. The main signal deficiency for 103.3 is to the SW where it’s short spaced to 103.1 WHQA. I bet it would exceed expectations to that area as well were it not for 103.1.
The Beat
Banned
A few interfering stations WLTE has to suffer with (with coverage maps - a few contours take time to determine - so allow them to draw,) All listed as "licensed" by the FCC. No particular order.
1- WWOK 95.3 - Greenville -
2- WNGR - 95.5 - Tigerville -
3- W238AW - 95.5 - West View (just filed to upgrade coverage) -
Ancillary (potential fringe interferers):
1- WPLS - 95.9 - Greenville -
2- W240BO - 95.9 - Woodruff
Unfortunately, there are other powerful stations that prevent WLTE from moving closer to Greenville that are further away but still protected.
1- WWOK 95.3 - Greenville -
2- WNGR - 95.5 - Tigerville -
3- W238AW - 95.5 - West View (just filed to upgrade coverage) -
Ancillary (potential fringe interferers):
1- WPLS - 95.9 - Greenville -
2- W240BO - 95.9 - Woodruff
Unfortunately, there are other powerful stations that prevent WLTE from moving closer to Greenville that are further away but still protected.
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