590 requests more power changes daytime pattern

[Art Sutton]

590 WDWD (formerly WPLO, WAGA) has filed an application with the FCC to increase daytime power from 5KW 4 tower directional to 12KW 3 tower directional. Considerably more power will be sent northeastward over Gwinnett County and to the south and southwest. No changes to nighttime.

 

[jabba17]

590 WDWD (formerly WPLO, WAGA) has filed an application with the FCC to increase daytime power from 5KW 4 tower directional to 12KW 3 tower directional. Considerably more power will be sent northeastward over Gwinnett County and to the south and southwest. No changes to nighttime.

Excellent! My daughter was happy to hear that. Do you have a link to the new day pattern?

 

[amlover]

This has been in the works for a while. I helped work on the ground system last summer and knew that Disney had decided to spend money on 590. The tranmitter building has had a awsome up grade too. It's always nice to see am sites maintained.

 

[Biz Listener]

This has been in the works for a while. I helped work on the ground system last summer and knew that Disney had decided to spend money on 590. The tranmitter building has had a awsome up grade too. It's always nice to see am sites maintained.

You've just presented the classic example of a "good news/bad news" situation. The good news is an AM station is upgrading its equipment. The bad news it that it's for Radio Disney.

 

[TheRealOtherNeil]

590 WDWD (formerly WPLO, WAGA) has filed an application with the FCC to increase daytime power from 5KW 4 tower directional to 12KW 3 tower directional. Considerably more power will be sent northeastward over Gwinnett County and to the south and southwest. No changes to nighttime.

Excellent! My daughter was happy to hear that. Do you have a link to the new day pattern?

I am imagining the conversation right now:

Jabba17: I'm sorry Honey; we can't get Radio Disney here.
Jabba17's Daughter: If only they would increase power from 5KW 4-tower directional to 12KW 3-tower directional that would push the coverage into Gwinnett County.
Jabba17: I never thought of that.
Jabba17's Daughter: And Daddy...how does this affect Q100?

 

[schmave]

590 WDWD (formerly WPLO, WAGA) has filed an application with the FCC to increase daytime power from 5KW 4 tower directional to 12KW 3 tower directional. Considerably more power will be sent northeastward over Gwinnett County and to the south and southwest. No changes to nighttime.

Excellent! My daughter was happy to hear that. Do you have a link to the new day pattern?

I am imagining the conversation right now:

Jabba17: I'm sorry Honey; we can't get Radio Disney here.
Jabba17's Daughter: If only they would increase power from 5KW 4-tower directional to 12KW 3-tower directional that would push the coverage into Gwinnett County.
Jabba17: I never thought of that.
Jabba17's Daughter: And Daddy...how does this affect Q100?

Good stuff.

 

[RTibbs]

590 WDWD (formerly WPLO, WAGA) has filed an application with the FCC to increase daytime power from 5KW 4 tower directional to 12KW 3 tower directional. Considerably more power will be sent northeastward over Gwinnett County and to the south and southwest. No changes to nighttime.

Excellent! My daughter was happy to hear that. Do you have a link to the new day pattern?

I am imagining the conversation right now:

Jabba17: I'm sorry Honey; we can't get Radio Disney here.
Jabba17's Daughter: If only they would increase power from 5KW 4-tower directional to 12KW 3-tower directional that would push the coverage into Gwinnett County.
Jabba17: I never thought of that.
Jabba17's Daughter: And Daddy...how does this affect Q100?

Hahaha

I understand the pattern look just like Mickey with one big round circle and the two smaller circle for ears. It is known as Disney Feng Shui.

 

[Surfer]

Y'know, while I would agree that the money-making demos (ratings, Arbitron, etc.) for Radio Disney isn't the most "advertiser attractive", Disney sure knows how to make a ton of money with the format. Why else would they sell Citadel all the "regular" formatted stations and keep just the Radio Disney ones?

I smell money and they are great at making it. Besides, if you don't like it, turn it off and, at least it's better than WGST...but then, anything is better than WGST.

As for how this affects Q-100...they'll probably schedule more in-studio interviews with Miley Cyrus. ;D

 

[qtpieislit]

Never happen. 590 has no domestic continental stations approved for greater than 5Kw, day or night.

 

[davideduardo]

Never happen. 590 has no domestic continental stations approved for greater than 5Kw, day or night.

The former regional channel stations can apply for up to 50 kw, subject to interference restrictions. 590 is the same type of channel as 950.

 

[qtpieislit]

Does unrestricted power increases subject to interference protection apply to all regional channels? Why has no one taken the initiative to do that so far on 590, I guess until, now? Perhaps inordinate cost for a new antenna systems?

 

[davideduardo]

Does unrestricted power increases subject to interference protection apply to all regional channels? Why has no one taken the initiative to do that so far on 590, I guess until, now? Perhaps inordinate cost for a new antenna systems?

Any power increase is subject to not causing interference to the protected contour of stations on the same channel and adjacents.

For example, KMJ on 580 in Fresno was able to 50 kw day and night because it could send most of the power west over the Pacific. Same thing with WADO in NY, whose 50 kw days goes over Manhattan and out to the ocean... they had to shut down a 1290 station on LI to do it, though.

Increasing power may not be practical for other 590 stations. Perhaps land for more towers can't be had, or zoning might be tough (KFWB 980 and KLAC 570 in LA both had CPs to go 50 kw, but turned them back due to cost and lack of promise in getting zoning.) Then there is the cost vs. benfits analysis. It made sense to WTMJ in Milwaukee on 620 to go to 50 kw, and you know about WPEN. But an AM in a small Oregon community might not find the cost to ever have a payback.

 

[amlover]

Radio Disney am 590 is making money and they have a very low overhead. They have a local sales staff with a few others and that's it. A small but nice little studio with a computer and satellite with all commercials fed through Dallas and Fla. We stopped putting spots in locally last year.

 

[jabba17]

590 WDWD (formerly WPLO, WAGA) has filed an application with the FCC to increase daytime power from 5KW 4 tower directional to 12KW 3 tower directional. Considerably more power will be sent northeastward over Gwinnett County and to the south and southwest. No changes to nighttime.

Excellent! My daughter was happy to hear that. Do you have a link to the new day pattern?

I am imagining the conversation right now:

Jabba17: I'm sorry Honey; we can't get Radio Disney here.
Jabba17's Daughter: If only they would increase power from 5KW 4-tower directional to 12KW 3-tower directional that would push the coverage into Gwinnett County.
Jabba17: I never thought of that.
Jabba17's Daughter: And Daddy...how does this affect Q100?

LOL! She really thought it was cool. And she thought the existing pattern on radio-locator.com was neat to look at as well. No sugar-honey-iced-tea.

 

[jabba17]

590 WDWD (formerly WPLO, WAGA) has filed an application with the FCC to increase daytime power from 5KW 4 tower directional to 12KW 3 tower directional. Considerably more power will be sent northeastward over Gwinnett County and to the south and southwest. No changes to nighttime.

Excellent! My daughter was happy to hear that. Do you have a link to the new day pattern?

I am imagining the conversation right now:

Jabba17: I'm sorry Honey; we can't get Radio Disney here.
Jabba17's Daughter: If only they would increase power from 5KW 4-tower directional to 12KW 3-tower directional that would push the coverage into Gwinnett County.
Jabba17: I never thought of that.
Jabba17's Daughter: And Daddy...how does this affect Q100?

Hahaha

I understand the pattern look just like Mickey with one big round circle and the two smaller circle for ears. It is known as Disney Feng Shui.

Leave it to Disney to make a signal contour into a Hidden Mickey.

 

[jal41]

590 also had the WKHX callsign before it became Radio Disney...for a while they shared the Kicks name with 101.5, although with seperate programming

Any yes...Disney makes money no matter what they do. They are cleaning the clock on basic cable with new records that are shattered every time "Hannah Montana" or "High School Musical" comes on. And the musical products of Disney (Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers) are now starting to take over CHR radio. Several stations (including B98.5, Star 94, Q100, and Kicks 101.5 to name a few) had a promotional presence at the latest Miley Cyrus concert.

Why 590 can be run out of the broom closet is because of one word...Disney.

 

[jabba17]

590 also had the WKHX callsign before it became Radio Disney...for a while they shared the Kicks name with 101.5, although with seperate programming

IIRC, in the post-WPLO and pre-WDWD days, Kicks AM would either play classic country or simul 101.5. I think they experimented with both off and on.

Reminds me of the old 96 Rock AM simul on 970. I remember they would always sign off (they were just a daytimer) with the Warner Bros. "That's All Folks/Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" song.

I think the idea behind this was to maintain a presence in all those old AM-only car radios (still being installed as standard equipment as late as the mid-80s).

 

[RADIOGM]

Yeah - 590 screwed up the better part of their coverage around Metro Atlanta when they moved their XMTR site off of N. Druid Hlls Rd. in Northeast Atlanta. The signal has never had the nightime penetration it once had over North Atlanta. Great that it might be getting better daytime coverage for Mickey!

RGM

 

[JR1967]

To show how convoluted 590's signal during their time on Toco Hills Rd., I could easily get a great nighttime reception of WPLO when visiting my Father up in West Columbia SC, yet WPLO was almost completely nulled out going south of Atlanta at night below the Airport.

 

[RADIOGM]

>>WPLO was almost completely nulled out going south of Atlanta at night below the Airport.<<

Yep, every other Atlanta AM station faded out just below the Atlanta airport except for WSB!

WIGO 1340 made it barely past I-20, WAOK 1380 made it to about Jonesboro, WGST on 920 made it just past Riverdale on a good night. But 590 was still a good bit stronger with their 5KW on the South side than WQXI 790. Thank goodness FM came along.

RGM