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103.1 Birmingham lives once again

passtheword

passtheword

The "here today, gone tomorrow" 103.1 in Birmingham (W276BQ) resurfaced again today. I heard it with a very good signal as I was driving up I-65 around 5 pm, beginning around Pelham all the way up to the Hoover area. This time it was playing some Hot AC/CHR fare. No mention of what the station is (or now "was") other than a couple of remarks about said station being the "Variety Station" and the "Feel Good Station". The translator was broadcasting in stereo again. What station it was rebroadcasting remains to be seen, as both Citadel's AM (WJOX and WAPI) were still programming talk. Not really sure, but I don't believe Citadel has any HD2 stations here in Birmingham where that signal could have originated. The translator had disappeared once again when I tuned back in around 7 pm tonight.

So tell us Hmmm101...since you placed your post last night regarding the translator and it resurfaced again today, tell us...what all do you know? It's time to spill the beans. ;)
 
i heard it too!! Sounding good....I guess we heard it about 7....was playing AAA style - just up my creek! Then about 7:30, it changed to like Smooth Jazz....

I had no idea what it was....I knew i'd never heard it before....
 
I wonder if they could be playing around with an HD radio… Magic's HD2 is a variety hits type format, and what I listened to most last time I was up in town. AAA is still heard from time to time on WUAL's HD-2 eXponential radio feed. It's on down here through Pensacola's WUWF and they play some pretty eclectic stuff. WUAL's HD is certainly powerful enough to be received in Birmingham with a half decent antenna. It was easily the most reliable for me when I was in Bessemer, even though I had a bird's eye view to Ishkooda and Red Mountains.

The Magic HD-2 feed even has voicetracking, and sounds almost like a real separate station.

An easy way to compare the feed to WUAL is to tune in WUOA-DT 6.4. It's supposed to be an audio only TV subchannel relaying WUAL HD2. (WUAL-1 is on 6.3.)

Edit to add: Looks like it's WQEN HD-2:

THE APPLICANT IS SEEKING STA TO OPERATE THE STATION AT A LOCATION OTHER THAN THE CURRENTLY LICENSED SITE. THE APPLICANT IS ALSO CHANGING THE PRIMARY STATION TO WQEN (HD2) FOR WHICH PRIOR AUTHORIZATION IS NOT REQUIRED. W276BQ IS CURRENTLY OFF THE AIR DUE TO A DISPUTE WITH THE SITE TOWER OWNER. A GRANT OF THIS STA WILL ALLOW W276BQ TO CONTINUE TO SERVE THE PUBLIC WHILE THE SITUATION IS RESOLVED OR A PERMANENT SITE CAN BE LOCATED AND LICENSED. IF THE APPLICANT IS FORCED TO FIND AND LICENSE ANOTHER SITE THIS STA MAY BE NECESSARY FOR SIX MONTHS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IN THIS MATTER.
Click to expand...
 
Zach said:
Well this is interesting:

http://www.mynewradiostation.com/

They're taking votes for what the new format of this "new station" will be. And the link in the corner is to iheartradio. Isn't that Clear Channel?

The poll choices are oldies, active rock, classic country, AAA, urban and "gen x". 8)
Click to expand...

According to that *other* radio board which shall remain nameless...but you know the one to which I'm referring: ;)

The domain 1031thevulcan.com has already been registered on December 15 by MarkMonitor, a registrar used by Clear Channel.
 
Zach said:
So the whole vote thing is just a ruse to make people think CC is listening to the public. I say everyone vote for oldies just so we can prove them wrong. ;)
Click to expand...

I figured the "listener participation" in choosing the new format was all hype. These days, listeners don't have any input as to a station's prospective format. It's already been decided beforehand. I figured a little "digging" online would unearth what CC had up its sleeves...no surprise there that a domain has already been registered. Of course, it could all be a smokescreen and CC registered it to throw everybody off and has other plans in the works.

I wasn't able to vote on a format, though. There wasn't an option for me to select "none of the above". :D
 
If the active rock format is being ressurrected, that means it still has to originate on a parent station or HD subchannel somewhere. I don't see CC knocking Foggy Mountain off 102.5 for this, so that leaves Magic's AC or the Q's Club Phusion as potential replacements… Or am I forgetting about an underperforming AM? WERC-AM as active rock? LOL.
 
Zach said:
If the active rock format is being ressurrected, that means it still has to originate on a parent station or HD subchannel somewhere. I don't see CC knocking Foggy Mountain off 102.5 for this, so that leaves Magic's AC or the Q's Club Phusion as potential replacements… Or am I forgetting about an underperforming AM? WERC-AM as active rock? LOL.
Click to expand...

Is Club Phusion WQEN's HD2 station? If so, then that seems the most plausible originating station as it appears the HD2 format has already been scrapped (since 103.1 is reportedly rebroadcasting WQEN HD2).

It'd probably never happen, but that would be an interesting turn of events if WERC-AM went active rock...a sort of role reversal with the original "Vulcan" at 105.5. ;)
 
If you use iheartradio you can listen to 103.1. Go to the Alabama page and look for a blank N/A station listed for Birmingham and there it is.
 
Nate Wesley said:
Zach said:
Or am I forgetting about an underperforming AM? WERC-AM as active rock? LOL.
Click to expand...
Hey, Bluewater is trying it with alternative rock 70 miles away in Montgomery...not that crazy!
Click to expand...

You're right...It must not be (that crazy). I was listening to 103.1 this morning in my car and heard the station ID and I about went off the road when I heard it, lol. WERC-AM is now simulcasting 103.1 along with WQEN HD2. Anybody's guess if that's a permanent move. I know a lot of people (mostly older) who are diehard AM listeners and still listen to WERC (and WAPI) on the AM band, even though they would receive a good signal from the FM signals. My dad is one of those who listens to WERC religiously, and only on the AM band. I bet that was quite a surprise when his alarm clock went off this morning, lol
 
passtheword said:
Is Club Phusion WQEN's HD2 station? If so, then that seems the most plausible originating station as it appears the HD2 format has already been scrapped (since 103.1 is reportedly rebroadcasting WQEN HD2).

It'd probably never happen, but that would be an interesting turn of events if WERC-AM went active rock...a sort of role reversal with the original "Vulcan" at 105.5. ;)
Click to expand...

Yes.

I never did understand that Club Phusion. Maybe it was just the short time I sampled it, but it wasn't dance-y at all, just regular top 40 like WQEN seemed to play. I thought it was supposed to be more upbeat or something. Oh well.

It'll be interesting to see how long this HD-2/translator/AM trimulcast goes on, and whether or not they switch on the noise generators (HD) on the AM again.
 
I am not sure about the stream id, but its on page 6 of the AL listings for all stations in alabama.
 
Brandon, I'm guessing that you are seeing the channel listing on the iPhone version of i♥radio; I'm not finding it on the Blackberry or web version.

On the Birmingham page of http://radiotime.com, the HD2 channel of WQEN is listed as Today's Mix, and indeed that is what streams off of that link. As of this morning the Valentine show is on.

Is that what is on 103.1 and 960 AM now?
 
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