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What FM in Cincinnati has biggest coverage area?
- Thread starter BruceB
- Start date
Someone mentioned 103.5. Back in the day, that was WBLZ. That station was solid north of Lexington all the way to almost Covington and then as you entered Cincinnati, it was absolutely obliterated. You had to tune something else until you got through town and then we could pull it all the way to Columbus. I always wondered why? BTW.. I was too young to drive and the radio was in a 1977 Cougar with the 8 track under the push buttons. That radio had excellent FM and AM performance. Steel whip screwed to the right front fender. Also had the "stereo" light!
WPBF (as the FM was known then) was Black Gospel in the mid-70s, then took a turn at disco
Coming back from Florida in 1980 I listened to Q102 from Lexington to Dayton. They were promoting a special announcement at 5pm. At precisely 5pm I passed the area on I-75 near the Dayton tower field., and all those signals obliterated Q102. Never heard the announcement.
103.5 is on a bigger tower and bigger signal today and still has issues in the downtown "bowl." Near the Ohio River, the city is surrounded by the hills and with all of that RF being pumped out of the hilltop towers just north of downtown, it's no wonder that 103.5's signal - that's 7 miles north - doesn't make it into the "bowl." And you don't really get out of the bowl until you're on I-75 near Paddock and I-71 near Kenwood. Their old tower in Greenhills was even further away, well out of the line of sight. 94.9 was the same way, but now both of those signals are on the STAR Tower that is visible on I-75 just north of I-74. So, most of the problem is solved. Cincinnati is a terrain-induced nightmare for some FM signals.
WQMS
Which stood for “Quality Music Station.” A blend of sacred and easy listening music, gradually adding more Christian teaching programs In the early and mid-70s.
I grew up in that area. The station is now WEKV on 101.9 licensed to Central City, but when I was a kid it was WQXQ and also branded as Q-102 (or Q-101.9 at times, they couldn't seem to figure out what to do). Big 100kW stick on US 231 between Owensboro and Hartford, so it's possible that on some days the signal would make it to Lexington.
These days there's a little Class A on that channel near Corbin.
Just curious what happened to that 100 KW did they reduce power?
WEKV is still licensed for 100kW ERP, but since EMF bought the station in 2020 they have filed for reduced power operation four times, including from August 2023 ongoing - based on application history in LMS.
I'd vote WGUC... I know it doesn't look like it on coverage maps, but they are solid (and sound fabulous) everywhere I drive
WREW is super clear throughout Dayton thanks to them being further north on the Star tower and at a higher elevation.
I had trouble with 96.5 fluttering when I lived around Fairfield Commons about ten years ago. Yet, when they were Kiss 96 and 96 Rock, they always ID’d as Hamilton-Dayton-Cincinnati. I don’t think the tower location or specs changed, right?
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Cincinnati has 11 full-power Class B FM stations. They either have the recommended power for their antenna height or close to it. There shouldn't be any advantage from one to the other, if they are non-directional.
91.7 ... WVXU ... NPR Public Radio ... Cincinnati ... 26,000 watts - 682 feet
92.5 ... WOFX-FM ... Classic Rock ... Cincinnati ... 16,000 watts - 866 feet
93.3 ... WAKW ... Christian Contemporary ... Cincinnati ... 50,000 watts - 492 feet (directional and slightly under height)
94.1 ... WNNF ... Country ... Cincinnati ... 16,000 watts - 866 feet
94.9 ... WREW ... AC ... Fairfield ... 10,500 watts - 1,056 feet
96.5 ... WFTK ... Active Rock ... Lebanon ... 19,500 watts - 810 feet (slightly over powered)
98.5 ... WRRM ... AC ... Cincinnati ... 18,000 watts - 807 feet
101.9 ... WKRQ ... Hot AC ... Cincinnati ... 16,000 watts - 866 feet
102.7 ... WEBN ... Active Rock ... Cincinnati ... 16,000 watts - 866 feet
103.5 ... WGRR ... Classic Hits ... Hamilton ... 11,000 watts - 1,037 feet (directional)
105.1 ... WUBE ... Country ... Cincinnati ... 14,500 watts - 919 feet
There is an unusually overpowered FM station nearby:
99.1 WHKO ... Country ... Dayton ... 50,000 watts - 1,066 feet (should be about 10,000 watts)
91.7 ... WVXU ... NPR Public Radio ... Cincinnati ... 26,000 watts - 682 feet
92.5 ... WOFX-FM ... Classic Rock ... Cincinnati ... 16,000 watts - 866 feet
93.3 ... WAKW ... Christian Contemporary ... Cincinnati ... 50,000 watts - 492 feet (directional and slightly under height)
94.1 ... WNNF ... Country ... Cincinnati ... 16,000 watts - 866 feet
94.9 ... WREW ... AC ... Fairfield ... 10,500 watts - 1,056 feet
96.5 ... WFTK ... Active Rock ... Lebanon ... 19,500 watts - 810 feet (slightly over powered)
98.5 ... WRRM ... AC ... Cincinnati ... 18,000 watts - 807 feet
101.9 ... WKRQ ... Hot AC ... Cincinnati ... 16,000 watts - 866 feet
102.7 ... WEBN ... Active Rock ... Cincinnati ... 16,000 watts - 866 feet
103.5 ... WGRR ... Classic Hits ... Hamilton ... 11,000 watts - 1,037 feet (directional)
105.1 ... WUBE ... Country ... Cincinnati ... 14,500 watts - 919 feet
There is an unusually overpowered FM station nearby:
99.1 WHKO ... Country ... Dayton ... 50,000 watts - 1,066 feet (should be about 10,000 watts)
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I wonder why none of the FM stations in Cincinnati put their towers across the Ohio River in Kentucky? That would have allowed them to have Class C power, 100,000 watts at 1,500 feet. While Ohio is Class B territory, Kentucky is Class C. The determining factor is the location of the tower, not the city of license.
In the Louisville market, nearly all the FM stations have their towers in Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Louisville. That means those stations have to follow Class B rules. Apparently when FM and TV stations were being put on the air, the land across the river from Louisville was hilly, undeveloped and cheap, so that's where the towers went. For TV stations it didn't matter. They don't have Class B or C territories. But for FM stations, they can't go over 50,000 watts as Class B stations. (Louisville also got several Class C stations, limited to 3,000 watts in those days.)
The sister station to powerful 840 WHAS, now WAMZ, a country outlet owned by iHeart, was different than the rest. It eventually got 100,000 watts. That's because its tower is in Brooks, Kentucky, not Indiana. I don't know if that's a factor in its ratings but WAMZ is sometimes #1 and always in the top 3. No station owner in Cincinnati thought to do something similar, even though both markets straddle the Ohio River.
In the Louisville market, nearly all the FM stations have their towers in Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Louisville. That means those stations have to follow Class B rules. Apparently when FM and TV stations were being put on the air, the land across the river from Louisville was hilly, undeveloped and cheap, so that's where the towers went. For TV stations it didn't matter. They don't have Class B or C territories. But for FM stations, they can't go over 50,000 watts as Class B stations. (Louisville also got several Class C stations, limited to 3,000 watts in those days.)
The sister station to powerful 840 WHAS, now WAMZ, a country outlet owned by iHeart, was different than the rest. It eventually got 100,000 watts. That's because its tower is in Brooks, Kentucky, not Indiana. I don't know if that's a factor in its ratings but WAMZ is sometimes #1 and always in the top 3. No station owner in Cincinnati thought to do something similar, even though both markets straddle the Ohio River.
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Hardin County is not in a rated metro area. So the only ratings would be the annual Nielsen national county by county study. The number of diaries for small counties is not really enough to be reliable.
This is not true. 94.9 is on the Star Tower in the very center of the market. Most of the other stations are near downtown and that puts them in the southern third of the market. 96.5 is on the WLW tower, which causes it to lose signal in NKY. Placement of the stick is quite important, especially in a market with this type of terrain.
>>>This is not true. 94.9 is on the Star Tower in the very center of the market. Most of the other stations are near downtown and that puts them in the southern third of the market.<<<
Well, I wasn't commenting on the placement of the towers in regards to where the population centers are or the counties that make up the Cincinnati Radio Market. I was just saying if all the stations are full-power Class B outlets, one doesn't have an advantage over the other. None is over-powered like WHKO in Dayton or WNCI in Columbus.
If one has a tower in the geographic center of the counties that make up the market, then yes, that's best. A 50,000 watt - 500 foot tower in the middle is better than one that's in downtown Cincinnati, even though both stations would have the same footprint. The original post was titled
Well, I wasn't commenting on the placement of the towers in regards to where the population centers are or the counties that make up the Cincinnati Radio Market. I was just saying if all the stations are full-power Class B outlets, one doesn't have an advantage over the other. None is over-powered like WHKO in Dayton or WNCI in Columbus.
If one has a tower in the geographic center of the counties that make up the market, then yes, that's best. A 50,000 watt - 500 foot tower in the middle is better than one that's in downtown Cincinnati, even though both stations would have the same footprint. The original post was titled
"What FM in Cincinnati has biggest coverage area?"
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