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"101-9 The Light"

W

w9wi

I note the 102.1 translator on the Channel 4 tower that used to carry WPRT 102.5 is now carrying urban gospel station "101-9 The Light" out of Clarksville.

This station originates on AM 1550 WQZQ. There's a translator W270BK 101.9 on the AM tower; it relays the AM station. WPRT's HD2 then relays W270BK.

The Nashville 102.1 transmitter is actually getting a direct feed from the studio -- the signal on 102.1 is cleaner than the one on the HD2. But I think officially it's translating WPRT-HD2.
 
w9wi said:
I note the 102.1 translator on the Channel 4 tower that used to carry WPRT 102.5 is now carrying urban gospel station "101-9 The Light" out of Clarksville.

This station originates on AM 1550 WQZQ. There's a translator W270BK 101.9 on the AM tower; it relays the AM station. WPRT's HD2 then relays W270BK.

The Nashville 102.1 transmitter is actually getting a direct feed from the studio -- the signal on 102.1 is cleaner than the one on the HD2. But I think officially it's translating WPRT-HD2.
Click to expand...

Hi Doug,

I talked with Bud a few weeks ago and he told me about the translator on 1550. I forgot to ask him, what he is going to do with it when he moves WQZQ to the WPLN-AM towers in Madison. I asked him when he was going to take down the two towers he is not using. He said he didn't know, but I was welcome to them. All I need is the bottom 30' of a tower and Bud said I would probably get a better deal just by ordering from Rohn. I need to put a receiving antenna on a little tower for receiving NOAH. Radio Shack mast poles are now probably a part of their past, and they are cheap and bend during a high wind storm. My mast pole did! The 30' of tower would barely make it over the roof of my building. I was thinking of attaching it to the building.

I think he might put 102.9 on that Clarksville translator when he moves WQZQ. I don't have an HD Radio yet, so I don't know what's going on with the HD Channels unless the main station promotes it. Bud told me he had 36 months to make his moves, so we'll see what he and Dave Wilson come up with.

I was at WPAD's big studios (1 small room with 4 AM's in it, using Behringer Mixers) last week and they are giving up their 10 KW signal and selling the 10 KW transmitters. They are going 1 KW, around the clock on the directional pattern. They have already got a new 1 KW Nautel transmitter on the air, and they are buying WDXR, WKYX, and their other AM station in Murray all 1 KW, Nautel, Solid State Transmitters. That's Greg's plan. They told me they were not making enough money with WPAD. I agree that nobody is really making good money on AM signals anymore. WPAD already has an FM Translator, so no need for that big waste of electricity. I drove around town and WPAD-AM gets out fine at 1 KW during the day, and WPAD's FM Translator covers the town very well. In my honest opinion, I think Greg is doing the right thing for the AM's.

The FM's make the money, that's why we are all fighting to get an FM Translator! If the FCC would just give me 10 watts on my tower, just enough to cover the city limits, I would be happy and probably not interfere with anybody.
 
scottwmro said:
I talked with Bud a few weeks ago and he told me about the translator on 1550. I forgot to ask him, what he is going to do with it when he moves WQZQ to the WPLN-AM towers in Madison.
Click to expand...

The sensible thing to do (IMHO) would be to leave it there & switch it to translating WPRT-HD2, just like 102.1 is. (actually, that would be simply a clerical switch -- filing notification with the FCC -- as I'm pretty sure both translators are already being fed by AT&T data circuits -- I think the HD2 is the only thing relaying anything off-air!)

The coverage of both translators is pretty darned decent. Especially the Clarksville one, given its location right on the river. Not exactly high ground!

I asked him when he was going to take down the two towers he is not using. He said he didn't know, but I was welcome to them. All I need is the bottom 30' of a tower and Bud said I would probably get a better deal just by ordering from Rohn. I need to put a receiving antenna on a little tower for receiving NOAH. Radio Shack mast poles are now probably a part of their past, and they are cheap and bend during a high wind storm. My mast pole did! The 30' of tower would barely make it over the roof of my building. I was thinking of attaching it to the building.
Click to expand...

I think they stopped using those towers before I came to Nashville, back at the end of 1990. Randolph and Rice used to carry Rohn tower sections & accessories, I'd bet they still do. They're not cheap though. Most hams I know just trade sections among themselves... (you might swing past www.qrz.com, I'm pretty sure there's a swap-and-shop on there & there might be someone in this neck of the woods looking to sell a few sections. Actually, I have one section I'm not using, but it's got some broken welds and if you value your (or your tower climber's) life, I wouldn't use it...

Last time I tried to buy mast poles at Radio Shack they *did* still stock them. However, I was trying to buy it because the original pole had snapped after rusting through. Luckily it only supported one end of a wire antenna so nothing was damaged (except the pole!) when it came down. 160' of #14 stranded insulated weighs more than one might think.

It's very likely 30' fastened to the building with a eaves bracket wouldn't need guying. (but check the Rohn specs before you trust me!) You really need that much height to get reliable reception of NOAA? Darn thing's running a kilowatt from the Tennessee Tower. I'd think if you could stuff a scanner antenna in the gutter you should be able to get NOAA without any problems.

I think he might put 102.9 on that Clarksville translator when he moves WQZQ. I don't have an HD Radio yet, so I don't know what's going on with the HD Channels unless the main station promotes it. Bud told me he had 36 months to make his moves, so we'll see what he and Dave Wilson come up with.
Click to expand...

It would make some amount of sense. 102.9 is somewhat on the weak side here in Pleasant View. (decent tropo, and it disappears to be replaced by Cape Girardeau) I'm sure it's worse in Clarksville. On the other hand, Saga has a pretty decent little active rocker running up there. (97.5 WZZF) The gospel fills a format hole. I was pleasantly surprised by the degree to which it's sold (spots, I mean) though I have no idea what they're getting for revenue.

The FM's make the money, that's why we are all fighting to get an FM Translator! If the FCC would just give me 10 watts on my tower, just enough to cover the city limits, I would be happy and probably not interfere with anybody.
Click to expand...

Wonder if WNAZ would entertain an offer for W230AD? (93.9, on a ham tower up on Music Mountain) Might not be the best choice of frequencies due to the two Fish stations either side. But it's the only existing translator in Gallatin. The alternative would be to obtain one in some other community and move it to Gallatin. That would take a lot more work. Way FM has one on 105.1 in Hendersonville but I doubt they're selling. There are three in Lebanon but I doubt you could move 93.7 or 101.9 to Gallatin and 105.5 belongs to KAWZ who probably isn't selling either...

FCC won't let you use a new translator for an AM. At least not yet.
 
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