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95.1 & 96.1 Reduced Signal 11-7-11

KyleSmith1988

KyleSmith1988

I'm pretty sure 95.1 & 96.1 have been running off an auxiliary transmitter site since about noon yesterday.
I've been having trouble getting both of their signals here in Gaffney, normally in the city-grade contour.
It's been almost a day now and no one has said anything, was wondering what the problem is.

Here is the 60 dBu map of 95.1's auxiliary site:
http://maps.google.com/?q=http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/contourplot.kml?gmap=2%26appid=1310719%26call=WNKS-(Aux)%26freq=95.1.5%26contour=60%26city=CHARLOTTE%26state=NC
 
Wow, the signal from Kiss 95.1 is currently so weak right now at my location (very unusual),
I just moved my radio in a certain spot inside my kitchen and heard a 2nd CHR station on the same frequency
with a pretty good signal for a few minutes (identified as 95 SX in Charleston WSSX), over 200 miles from the Upstate.
I was also hearing one of Hangar Radio Z's translators in Greenville (94.9 W235AQ) 40 miles away with a good signal over Kiss.
Theres not really that much tropo tonight either.
 
I believe they are replacing 96.1's antenna. 96.1 and 95.1 are on the same tower (WJZY). 95.1 may be so close to 96.1 on the tower that they had to move to the backup site which is at WFNZ.

hh
 
Yes, carolinaradio pointed me in this direction, as I used to get 96.1 pretty darn good all the way down here in Greenville, SC. Thought it was a Woodruff, SC, station on 95.9 that was causing the issue, but this makes sense.

Not a full-time listener but I do like having Channel 96.1 as an option on the dial.
 
Been 4 days since both Kiss 95.1 & Channel 96.1 decreased their signals.
Kiss is back to full power since yesterday morning, but Channel 96.1 is still a little weak, but not as weak as it was.
A few days ago both stations had very weak signals even up here in Gaffney.
Channel 96.1 has a somewhat weak signal in Spartanburg right now, and only a little better in Gaffney, not reliable indoors.
Hopefully they'll finish with the antenna soon.

Looking at the constuction permit, I see they'll be going a full non-directional to the NW, W, SW, S & SE.
Coverage should improve like an extra 3-5 miles, south and west into the Upstate after they're all done.
A deep null is still to the northeast to protect 96.1 WBBB in Raleigh.
 
Re: 96.1 - Contacted the station today, Mon Nov 14, and they said it would be another 10 days before signal work is complete. Should be a better overall signal than before, including HD radio reception. Would be nice if they could increase their HD power level, but not sure about that. Also would like to see 107.9 go back to their omnidirectional antenna, as their signal used to be strong and clear here in Greenville, SC and to the west of Charlotte. Now it is spotty and drops out in the car as it is directed to the east. Can get it good in the house, but overall, 107.9 had a much better signal before the change about 6 years ago. They should change it back the way it was. Their current signal only benefits the Hwy 74 corridor east of Charlotte, but weakens it everywhere else.
 
tylerSC said:
Re: 96.1 - Contacted the station today, Mon Nov 14, and they said it would be another 10 days before signal work is complete. Should be a better overall signal than before, including HD radio reception. Would be nice if they could increase their HD power level, but not sure about that.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info, the signal has gotten a little better on 96.1
but I can notice the signal is not as good as it should be on my signal strength meter.

tylerSC said:
Also would like to see 107.9 go back to their omnidirectional antenna, as their signal used to be strong and clear here in Greenville, SC and to the west of Charlotte. Now it is spotty and drops out in the car as it is directed to the east. Can get it good in the house, but overall, 107.9 had a much better signal before the change about 6 years ago. They should change it back the way it was. Their current signal only benefits the Hwy 74 corridor east of Charlotte, but weakens it everywhere else.
Click to expand...
107.9 WLNK does have a non-directional antenna, equal power in all directions.
However I have also noticed it has a bit more static than 95.1 or 96.1 into Greenville lately, not sure why.
 
re: 107.9 - They changed to a side mounted panel antenna about 6 years ago that concentrates its signal more to the east of Charlotte rather than to the west. I was told this by their engineer. Their signal is no longer strong in the Greenville, SC area as it once was. I can get it good in my house, but riding around in the car it suffers from static and drops out. But 95.1 from a similar location remains strong and clear. 107.9 should go back to their previous type of antenna to once again have a strong signal in the Upstate and Western NC.
 
Still dead air on 96.1 here in Greenville, SC, as of Nov 22. Hopefully they will be up and running in a few more days. Will be curious to see if they increase the power of their HD radio signal or improve their coverage there. Hopefully their main signal will be as good as before.
 
tylerSC said:
Still dead air on 96.1 here in Greenville, SC, as of Nov 22. Hopefully they will be up and running in a few more days. Will be curious to see if they increase the power of their HD radio signal or improve their coverage there. Hopefully their main signal will be as good as before.
Click to expand...

96.1 had a bit of a weak signal yesterday (11-22) while I went for a walk down my street,
and 96.3 WGOG was making it to my radio all the way over here in Gaffney, though weak, 96.1 was still stronger.
I'd say in the -50 dbu range, rather than the -65 dbu like it would usually be.
95.7 WXRC is a bit stronger than 96.1 here for now.
 
Well I wonder how the situation is going getting the 96.1 signal fixed, 95.1 is still back at full strength from the same tower.
Also I wonder why 96.1 or the majority of listeners haven't said anything about the limited signal for now...
Do they need special permission to broadcast at a reduced power during construction, or is that part of the CP?

I had a hard time hearing 96.1 on the east side of Spartanburg yesterday,
plenty of static, hit or miss, and normally this is still city-grade with no static there.

I was able to walk around the Hillcrest area and hear an oldies station on 95.9 (W240BO in Woodruff) with an ok signal,
never thought it would make it that far if 95.7 & 96.1 in Charotte didn't really prohibit that.

Same situation here east of Cowpens and just west of Gaffney, though it's stronger, it's still weak,
I was barely able to pull in the Woodruff 95.9 up here, thats amazing for 30+ miles and over 96.1 in their normal city-grade area.
 
I think the Thanksgiving holiday and now the rain may have delayed installation of their new antenna. Hopefully they will be back to full power soon, and I hope their signal will be as strong here as before. I always got good reception here in Greenville, SC.
 
Was informed by management today that it will be close to Christmas before the antenna work is completed and 96.1 is back to full power. Signal should be stronger than before. Also, was told in about 6 months, they are planning increase the power of their HD Radio signal. Which hopefully will help reduce digital dropouts in distant areas. In my car, their HD signal would last into Spartanburg, but drop in and out here in Greenville. Although in my house, with rabbit ears connected to my receiver, I can lock into the HD signal of most Charlotte stations.
 
tylerSC said:
Was informed by management today that it will be close to Christmas before the antenna work is completed and 96.1 is back to full power. Signal should be stronger than before. Also, was told in about 6 months, they are planning increase the power of their HD Radio signal. Which hopefully will help reduce digital dropouts in distant areas. In my car, their HD signal would last into Spartanburg, but drop in and out here in Greenville. Although in my house, with rabbit ears connected to my receiver, I can lock into the HD signal of most Charlotte stations.
Click to expand...

Full signal must be back up and running today. I am receiving WHQC a lot better and clearer here in Lexington, SOUTH carolina!
 
Not hearing them yet here in Greenville, SC. Must have been weather conditions. Still appears to be a work in progress.
 
I was having trouble yesterday. Which is a good thing because that so-called music is garbage!

I have a button set for WKZQ in Myrtle Beach more out of curiosity than anything else.
 
96.1 signal is finally back today, as of this afternoon, Tues Dec 20. Not sure if they're all the way full power yet, as signal strength fluctuates somewhat on my HDRadio meter at the house. And HD signal not locking on as it used to. Haven't tested in car around Greenville, SC area just yet. Perhaps they're still working their way back to full power and not all the way there yet. And not sure if when they changed their antenna if they also changed their HDRadio antenna as well. But finally progress at least.
 
After a few days observation driving around in the car, the new 96.1 signal does not appear to be quite as strong here in the western fringe areas of Greenville, SC. And the HDradio signal does not lock in at all as it did sometimes before. The old antenna was directional to the west, which is why reception was good here before, in GVL SC. Now you have strong pockets but then areas of some static as well. But I can still get good reception at the house, but still no HDradio lock in. But perhaps the new panel antenna they installed provides better overall reception to the core Charlotte area counties, with intended better signal towards Salisbury and Statesville to the northeast. And they did tell me they were planning to increase the power of the HDradio signal sometime next summer. We'll see.
 
tylerSC said:
The old antenna was directional to the west, which is why reception was good here before, in GVL SC. Now you have strong pockets but then areas of some static as well. But I can still get good reception at the house, but still no HDradio lock in. But perhaps the new panel antenna they installed provides better overall reception to the core Charlotte area counties, with intended better signal towards Salisbury and Statesville to the northeast. And they did tell me they were planning to increase the power of the HDradio signal sometime next summer. We'll see.
Click to expand...

The new antenna is non directional at full power 100,000 to the south and west, more than before (everywhere between 130° & 320°).
That means Greenville should have the full potential from the new pattern.
The old one did have a bit of a null in most directions, including between 150° & 240°
(Greenville SC is at 240° from the antenna stick, which was at 95% power with the old pattern).
The old pattern had full signal 100,000 watts towards 140° and 250° (Pineville NC is at 140° while Chesnee SC is at 250°)
The worst null with the current antenna is at 30° (at 31% power - Statesville NC is at 30°) and 40% power towards 80° (WBBB in Raleigh).
 
The new signal should theoretically be stronger than before here in Greenville, but I am not necessarily sure that is the case. And their HDradio signal is definitely weaker than before, as I can now very seldom get it to lock on. But I was told they are increasing the power of the digital signal sometime next summer. Don't quite understand how the new antenna pattern has decreased the HDradio signal.
 
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