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WKVB Booster Silent, Synchronization Issues

S

speer360

EMF filed STAs for the Boosters for WKVB 107.3

"(WKVB-FM1-3)... has been silent since 11/07/2023 due to issues
with synchronization, causing signal crash and distortion with the main. It is uncertain exactly
how long it will take until EMF can restore (WKVB-FM1-3) to operations, but EMF is actively
working to resolve this issue. As a result, EMF is hopeful to return the booster station to
operations in the next few months."
 
The ghost of improving 107.3's signal into Boston strikes again. Perhaps they can offer iHeart money for WZRM, flip it to a simulcast and change the calls to WAVB. Seemed to work for Entercom when they owned 107.3. 😆
 
Maintaining boosters can be a pain in the butt

I worked for a station in NW PA that had one and they eventually handed in the license ... mainly because of the cost of operation and it didnt really help sales.

A small reason though was the clash it caused when driving out of the bowl the booster was in.. and that when the booster went off, only one lady ever complained each time.
 
Jimmy128 said:
I know this is ancient history now, but the old WAAF signal was a Monstah.
Somebody at Entercom pulled a real bonehead move.
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It could never get into Boston though. Worked great north and west of the city. Couldn't tell you about WKVB, as I haven't listened to 107.3 since it last played Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath."
 
Least said:
It could never get into Boston though. Worked great north and west of the city. Couldn't tell you about WKVB, as I haven't listened to 107.3 since it last played Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath."
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Then why does the current signal need boosters?
 
Jimmy128 said:
Then why does the current signal need boosters?
Click to expand...

Because 57 dBu (the edge of the WKVB protected contour) isn't a super strong signal, especially in areas like the Back Bay of Boston where receivers tend to overload from all the local signals on the Prudential Tower. Using the boosters brings it up to par, in terms of signal strength, with the "real" Boston FMs.

There's an irony to what happened: as a commercial station, the old WAAF signal from Asnebumskit was profoundly off-center to the market, missing the city of Boston and much of the North and South Shore while spilling lots of signal out of the market where listeners didn't count toward ratings or sales.

If EMF had the old Asnebumskit signal now, it would probably have kept it as it was, since noncommercial broadcasters don't have ratings or market boundaries as a concern - a listener who's contributing money is valuable regardless of where they are, and the old WAAF covered a lot of them in areas the current WKVB doesn't reach. WBOQ and WLVO in Providence fill in most of the gaps where WAAF didn't go, except downtown.
 
Kelly A said:
I second that sentiment. I've found most boosters ultimately are found not to be worth the investment and trouble.
Click to expand...

In the 4 years i was at the station, we never had any interference complaints... prob. because people assumed the NW hills of PA were the cause.. but we lost GPS lock or that piece of gear failed and it went off. Just wasnt worth the time and money.

The thought was.. lets make sure we have a good signal in this secondary, but big area of commerce on the edge of the 60dbu thats also in a bowl.

The thought was "I never wanna give anyone the excuse to say they cant hear it as a reason to not advertise". We were never really able to crack that market. We got money from it, but not enough to make the booster worth it.

and every time the engineer told us the booster was off, i said to my PD "I guarentee you well get one complaint... via fb from so and so.. shes the only one that ever says anything when we lose the booster signal".. and i was right every single time.
 
Jimmy128 said:
Then why does the current signal need boosters?
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Fybush said it best, but when 107.3 came from the old signal, there was a reason why WBCN was more prominent. Some of it was programming preferences, and some of it was that WAAF didn't come in strong in Boston. That's why it ended up being simulcasted on 97.7 for a while. For us on the New Hampshire boarder, it was great, because each had a bit uniqueness to not be 100% of the same sound. If you wanted more alternative, you went with WBCN. If you wanted more hard rock, you went with WAAF.

As for K-Love, those boosters are needed to make the station listenable in the city.
 
 
Least said:
Fybush said it best, but when 107.3 came from the old signal, there was a reason why WBCN was more prominent. Some of it was programming preferences, and some of it was that WAAF didn't come in strong in Boston. That's why it ended up being simulcasted on 97.7 for a while. For us on the New Hampshire boarder, it was great, because each had a bit uniqueness to not be 100% of the same sound. If you wanted more alternative, you went with WBCN. If you wanted more hard rock, you went with WAAF.

As for K-Love, those boosters are needed to make the station listenable in the city.
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The question is: Why did the ditch the old signal for the new if they still needed boosters, and at the time they also needed what was then WKAF? They ruined the old signal for nothing.
 
speer360 said:
Exactly.

L+R for WKVB


Booster 1


Booster 2


Booster 3

Click to expand...
K-Love is a different situation than a commercial or non-religious non-comm. EMF makes its best effort to get a listenable signal to markets where they have transmission facilities, but there's no digging into how effective things like translators or boosters are when it comes to donations. If one craps out, it's not a big emergency to repair it. As long as donations are coming in on budget, that's what matters. Commercial and local non-comms are a different story. They do track listener feedback or complaints, plus whether local businesses are covered with the booster signal.
The big problem with boosters is there is ALWAYS an interference zone somewhere. If the booster goes out of sync, the interference zone becomes the entire booster coverage area. When designing boosters, the idea is to keep the interference zone away from the general population by having it fall over water or unpopulated areas. Not an easy task.
 
Jimmy128 said:
The question is: Why did the ditch the old signal for the new if they still needed boosters, and at the time they also needed what was then WKAF? They ruined the old signal for nothing.
Click to expand...
Before buying WILD-FM (97.7), they moved the 107.3 signal to bring it closer to the Boston market. The old signal reached New York state, which as Fybush stated, did nothing for ratings and sales. Moving it didn't fix the issue of a poor signal in parts of Boston, but it brought it closer east. For example, the Merrimack Valley, which is in the market, received a substantial improved signal on 107.3, when the station moved. Boston remained the issue, so Entercom bought WILD-FM and flipped it to the simulcast.

The old signal was a big signal, but did little for the station, once it changed its focus from Worcester to Boston. Might as well say you own a station aimed at NYC, but the signal is better in Delaware than it is most of the city. WAAF's old signal was stronger in Eastern New York State and Southern Vermont, than it was in Boston.
 
Least said:
Before buying WILD-FM (97.7), they moved the 107.3 signal to bring it closer to the Boston market. The old signal reached New York state, which as Fybush stated, did nothing for ratings and sales. Moving it didn't fix the issue of a poor signal in parts of Boston, but it brought it closer east. For example, the Merrimack Valley, which is in the market, received a substantial improved signal on 107.3, when the station moved. Boston remained the issue, so Entercom bought WILD-FM and flipped it to the simulcast.

The old signal was a big signal, but did little for the station, once it changed its focus from Worcester to Boston. Might as well say you own a station aimed at NYC, but the signal is better in Delaware than it is most of the city. WAAF's old signal was stronger in Eastern New York State and Southern Vermont, than it was in Boston.
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I understand all that. But if they were going to add WKAF, they didn't need to change the signal of 107.3.
I remember the old signal of WAAF coming in crystal clear in Essex county.
 
How is the signal in Boston's inner ring suburbs right now with the boosters turned off?

Are 92.5 and 104.5 encountering similar booster issues at the moment?
 
Jimmy128 said:
I understand all that. But if they were going to add WKAF, they didn't need to change the signal of 107.3.
I remember the old signal of WAAF coming in crystal clear in Essex county.
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Around when? Because it was static around the Lowell area in the mid-90s.

They also moved the 107.3 signal, before they bought 97.7, if I'm right.
 
Jimmy128 said:
I understand all that. But if they were going to add WKAF, they didn't need to change the signal of 107.3.
I remember the old signal of WAAF coming in crystal clear in Essex county.
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No matter how many studys you do when you move a Worcester signal towards Boston you never really know how well it will work till it's there. As pointed out the old signal covered lots of areas that were outside the Boston Metro that wasn't making them money so there was no reason not to try it. The station was still licensed to serve Worcester so they could only move far enough that they still put a city grade signal into there. A few years later they decided that wasn't enough and they looked for a fill in station. Now no one has mentioned that WKVB moved the main transmitter as well.
 
I wasn't a fan of WAAF because I wasn't much into new rock music, but I was impressed by the strength of their old signal. I remember many times in the late 90s/early 2000s picking up WAAF crystal clear sitting on my back deck in Bristol, Connecticut. That's in Central Connecticut for the record.

Even if WAAF had their old signal in 2023, it wouldn't be able to come in in that area of Connecticut anymore as their is a translator for WRYM (New Britain, CT) on 107.3 FM.
 
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