96.9 in Suffolk is a mess!

[nd2023]

In Westhampton last Saturday, there were THREE stations fighting each other on 96.9: the 98.5 translator, WEHN, and WFPG (yes, Atlantic City)
Since tropo on Long Island is pretty much constantly there all summer, why is 96.9 a better frequency than 96.7 (where WEHN used to be)?

 

[neo11]

Well wouldn't tropo affect any frequency, including 96.7? Let's not forget that 96.7 The Coast comes in very clearly in many parts of Long Island, whereas 96.9 was empty before WEHN and the translator signed on. Especially when it was just WEHN, that was a good move.

 

[Ted Russell]

96.9 WEHN simulcasts 92.9 WEHM. If you are further out east, out where the signal from 92.9 WEHM starts getting weak, you should be able to pick up 96.9 WEHN clearly. The Fiesta Translator shouldn't be strong enough to mess up WEHN way out east under normal conditions. In Westhampton on the other hand, you're really outside of the effective service area of 96.9 WEHN. This isn't a problem under the curret configuration, because remember, 96.9 WEHN simulcasts 92.9 WEHM which pretty much transmits from Westhampton. So if you are in Westhampton and you're goal is to listen to WEHM/WEHN, Tune your radio to 92.9 and you should be good to go.

I think it would have been nifty if WEHM also simulcast on the 96.9 translator. Instead of ID-ing as "92-9 and 96-9 EHM," they could ID as "96-9, 92-9 & 96-9, EHM." That'd been a hoot.

 

[MarcB]

I know 92.9 and 96.9 simulcast so WEHM has a bigger coverage area, but where I live in Central Connecticut in the car I can regularly get both stations, so to me the simulcast serves no purpose.