106.3 translator suspended operation (for now)

[Jeffrey]

WKMK is reporting that the translator has "suspended" operation.
It is apparently not dead in the water though as WKMK will meet with the NYC broadcaster to find a solution.

It boggles my mind how WKMK is so concerned about this 99 watt translator which doesn't affect their protected contour and yet there are pirates abound which do more damage than the translator.

 

[Barry]

I'm quite impressed by Thunder Country's resolve. It goes with one of their slogans, Country With Attitude.
My guess is they had measurements indicating the translator was running too much power and/or not confining its signal to its licensed area.
Perhaps they will next ask their listeners to pinpoint areas of interference from pirate stations.
Along with K-Love, it is now anybody's guess when the translator will be on the air. I had noticed early this morning when listening to WLTW HD2, they were not giving any date for the new station. The complaints from Thunder may have also been related to Clear Channel delaying the launch date of the station from the original May 12, a few days ago.

Thunder Thanks Its Listeners for the Signal Reports: http://www.k985radio.com/

 

[ansky212]

It boggles my mind how WKMK is so concerned about this 99 watt translator which doesn't affect their protected contour and yet there are pirates abound which do more damage than the translator.

The issue is that the translator was affecting areas of NJ where WKMK has a lot of listeners. Those pirates from Brooklyn are not reaching areas of NJ that have a high concentration of listeners, so they probably didn't get any complaints about the pirates.

 

[ansky212]

I'm quite impressed by Thunder Country's resolve. It goes with one of their slogans, Country With Attitude.
My guess is they had measurements indicating the translator was running too much power and/or not confining its signal to its licensed area.
Perhaps they will next ask their listeners to pinpoint areas of interference from pirate stations.
Along with K-Love, it is now anybody's guess when the translator will be on the air. I had noticed early this morning when listening to WLTW HD2, they were not giving any date for the new station. The complaints from Thunder may have also been related to Clear Channel delaying the launch date of the station from the original May 12, a few days ago.

Thunder Thanks Its Listeners for the Signal Reports: http://www.k985radio.com/

I was actually going to submit a reception report but the website was collecting too much personal information like name and phone number so I declined.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Is a move to 95.9 still a possibility?

 

[nd2023]

A victory for a small, local broadcaster against Clear Channel!

 

[ansky212]

Is a move to 95.9 still a possibility?

That would just set the stage for WRAT to complain ;D Although WRAT's signal is nowhere near as good in north Jersey as WKMK's.

 

[nd2023]

There's a small part of Lower Manhattan which is outside the 40 dBu contours of both WRAT and WFOX. They definitely won't have any listeners within 10 miles of there. A translator over there can penetrate the office buildings on Wall Street.

 

[Barry]

We will find out what will be on WLTW HD2 for the next few days/weeks. Will they continue with their Clear Channel format of the day, or perhaps give us back New York Country, at least temporarily?
I doubt they will be offering any dates for a new station, for a while.
This translator fiasco is an indication that broadcasting ideas that may work elsewhere are often more difficult to implement in New York. As this is such an intensely built up area, the translator's signal was blocked in many areas by office towers and pirates, yet managed to interfere with a popular and feisty station.

 

[SoulCrusher]

Press Communications used to run an alternative station at 106.3/106.5: WHTG/WBBO, known collectively as G Rock. During the whole time they operated it, the station was an afterthought to them. If this whole translator issue had happened during the 8+ years it was run as an alternative station, Press wouldn't have lifted a finger. All of a sudden, they're showing the passion and intensity that they completely lacked back then. The same also goes for how Thunder is promoted with billboards, television advertisements, print ads in newspapers, and concerts from Forked River all the way up to Watchung. Aside from the rare show in Asbury Park or Point Pleasant, you never saw any type of promotion/advertising for G Rock. Also, as far as I know, there have been no significant changes in the management personnel at Press. I just find it to be an interesting statement on how this company operates.

 

[Jeffrey]

perhaps it's because they are intent on trying to serve NYC. It's a big deal to have a signal on in market number 1 especially where there is no country music outlet. On their website they sight Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan as within their listening area. While it's undisputable that WKMK can be well received in Staten Island and southern Brooklyn they are not, by any stretch of the imagination a station that you could listen to in Manhattan with any regularity unless you live on the tip of lower Manhattan.

 

[XCountry285]

Move the translator out of NYC or Union move it up into Paterson or Paramus or even Newark or something. Or move it to a different frequency in those areas. I know 95.1 isn't used in those areas nor is 107.9, 94.3, 92.7 or 104.7 as well as 95.9

 

[ansky212]

Move the translator out of NYC or Union move it up into Paterson or Paramus or even Newark or something. Or move it to a different frequency in those areas. I know 95.1 isn't used in those areas nor is 107.9, 94.3, 92.7 or 104.7 as well as 95.9

You can't use 106.3 anywhere in north Jersey. It would interfere with WKMK and WHCY. 94.3 could impact WJLK from Asbury Park, and there is already a spanish station on 92.7. 107.9 probably wouldn't work either since WEBE from Westport, CT has a pretty decent signal in northeast NJ. I suppose 104.7, 95.1, or 95.9 could work.

 

[DToTheJ]

Turns out May 12 is actually the date that a new station signs off. :

 

[Barry]

The website Radio-Insight is raising the possibility this may be a win for all involved parties.
It has an article stating that if the owners of Thunder can prove interference, the F.C.C. could grant the translator a waiver to jump to a totally different frequency "outside of the usual 3 step jump." It cites a precedent for such a scenario.
The could permanently remove the interference from Thunder, and result in a clearer frequency for the translator, and for the programming Clear Channel plans to put on it.

 

[GSP163]

Funny how Cumulus hasn't said a word since it is also hurting WFAF's signal from Mount Kisco.......However, I guess since WFAF already has a lousy plus people in Southern Westchester can already listen to 103.9 WFAS, I guess they really don't care.

 

[SonoSational18]

To recap some of my comments from another thread on the 106.3 subject: WKMK covers all of Staten Island and a good portion of Brooklyn, but not Manhattan. You can only use a translator to fill in the main signal's predictred coverage contour. If Press could acquire the translator from Clear Channel, they could turn it into a de-facto booster. They could do a time brokerage agreement with an HD channel of a signal that gets into Manhattan. Press currently has a JSA with WAWZ/99.1, so that might be a good candidate. You could then synchronize the two 106.3 signals and possibly let out the translator's directional pattern to the south. But.... being that country is a format that has more appeal in the 'burbs than the city proper, that might be a lot of expense to pick up a relative handful of listeners in Manhattan/

 

[stationless listener]

Funny how Cumulus hasn't said a word since it is also hurting WFAF's signal from Mount Kisco.......However, I guess since WFAF already has a lousy plus people in Southern Westchester can already listen to 103.9 WFAS, I guess they really don't care.

Ironically, I get WFAF on my home stereo. I get a faint signal of WKMK on my portable stereo. All the other radio get bupkiss. Btw, I live in the Lower East Side, close to one of the bridges.

 

[nd2023]

To recap some of my comments from another thread on the 106.3 subject: WKMK covers all of Staten Island and a good portion of Brooklyn, but not Manhattan. You can only use a translator to fill in the main signal's predictred coverage contour. If Press could acquire the translator from Clear Channel, they could turn it into a de-facto booster. They could do a time brokerage agreement with an HD channel of a signal that gets into Manhattan. Press currently has a JSA with WAWZ/99.1, so that might be a good candidate. You could then synchronize the two 106.3 signals and possibly let out the translator's directional pattern to the south. But.... being that country is a format that has more appeal in the 'burbs than the city proper, that might be a lot of expense to pick up a relative handful of listeners in Manhattan/

It could translate Thunder 106.5 on 106.3. Since it's owned by a different company, it can translate a station outside its coverage area (like they did for Party 105). Thunder would feed them audio to keep it synched with WKMK.

 

[radiolives]

Press Communications used to run an alternative station at 106.3/106.5: WHTG/WBBO, known collectively as G Rock. During the whole time they operated it, the station was an afterthought to them. If this whole translator issue had happened during the 8+ years it was run as an alternative station, Press wouldn't have lifted a finger. All of a sudden, they're showing the passion and intensity that they completely lacked back then. The same also goes for how Thunder is promoted with billboards, television advertisements, print ads in newspapers, and concerts from Forked River all the way up to Watchung. Aside from the rare show in Asbury Park or Point Pleasant, you never saw any type of promotion/advertising for G Rock. Also, as far as I know, there have been no significant changes in the management personnel at Press. I just find it to be an interesting statement on how this company operates.

It must be easier to sell for the company somehow I am guessing. Can anyone see country being a easier seller then alternative in the market Thunder can be heard in?