101.9 WKKN's new CP Signal

[Ozman]

I was noticing on radio-locator.com that WKKN has a CP for a new very heavy directional signal from Bellows Falls that allows the signal to rip up and down the CT river valley. does anyone know if it is on air yet...

 

[dunebugg66]

So, will they now become BF-Rock?

 

[Ozman]

So, will they now become BF-Rock?

I am wondering the same thing. I do think they are smart on this move because it would possibly get up to ST. Johnsbury VT with a weak DBU can make the country station I get from portland ME now past WRJ and KKN would be stronger. I used to listen to 101.7 when it was the 93.9/101.7 up there as well as 104.1 WBCN

 

[jlehmann]

So, will they now become BF-Rock?

I am wondering the same thing. I do think they are smart on this move because it would possibly get up to ST. Johnsbury VT with a weak DBU can make the country station I get from portland ME now past WRJ and KKN would be stronger. I used to listen to 101.7 when it was the 93.9/101.7 up there as well as 104.1 WBCN

So it'd be smart just because you'll get it better? The signal would no longer cover Keene very well, which seems to be where they are targeting. The CP has been around for over a year, so maybe it won't actually happen?

 

[necrat123]

Just a speculation here, and don't take it more than that, but if you look at the contour maps, the contours of 101.9 CP and 93.5 are basically against one another, maybe they have long range plans to turn it into another EEI simulcast, from a northern signal?

There is no way they are doing this for St Johnsbury. There is a much larger radio market in the Hanover area, in between the CP location and St Johnsbury. If anything, they would be doing it for Claremont, but the initial move to 101.9 took it FROM Claremont and put it into Keene.

 

[GlennO]

Just a speculation here, and don't take it more than that, but if you look at the contour maps, the contours of 101.9 CP and 93.5 are basically against one another, maybe they have long range plans to turn it into another EEI simulcast, from a northern signal?

There is no way they are doing this for St Johnsbury. There is a much larger radio market in the Hanover area, in between the CP location and St Johnsbury. If anything, they would be doing it for Claremont, but the initial move to 101.9 took it FROM Claremont and put it into Keene.

This makes a lot of sense. Sports radio seems to be lacking as you go up the CT valley. There may be a niche for WKKN's rock, but Saga seems to have a very dominant position in Keene. In the seventies, the Keene market had one AM daytimer, one AM that went off before midnight and a beautiful music FM that was an afterthought to its AM. Now you can drive through Keene and the scan button can easily land on a dozen stations while the two AMs are on around the clock. Keene is an interesting example of how radio has fragmented.

 

[kc1ih]

I find Keene a rather unique market for this area (similar to some on the west coast) in that it is in a bowl and not many out-of-market signals make it in.

 

[GlennO]

I find Keene a rather unique market for this area (similar to some on the west coast) in that it is in a bowl and not many out-of-market signals make it in.

It's certainly far enough away from the bigger cities, including Manchester, to be a protected market in that way. The Brattleboro FMs get their signals in there fairly well, and Claremont's 106.1 has a presence not only with that signal but with their translator on 106.5. I'm surprised that Peterborough's 92.1 never put a booster in town for the FNX network. It is possible to cover most of the population of Cheshire County within that "bowl" with relatively little power. Even with all the power of WKNE-FM, the local market amounts to just Cheshire County and Vermont's Windham County.

 

[necrat123]

To add to Glenn's observations:

The Ascutney FMs (WVPR, WNCH, WHDQ) all come in fairly well. The Franklin County (Mass) stuff (WHAI, WPVQ, WRSI) all suffer from terrain shielding and aren't really strong.

Keene does get decent reception of the two big mountain top Bs from Springfield (WAQY, WHYN), Boston comes in, in some areas and Albany NY does in others. The "Clifton Park" stations, in particular WKKF, tend to be audible in a decent swaft of the city. The only other signals are the 107.1A (WZLF) and the country station (WXXK) from Hanover are also pretty good around the city, especially north towards Walpole.