A Third New Translator

[Ai4i]

W245BC is on the old 102.7 stick within the 1470 array at forty-fourth street and Rock Island Rd.
and is translating WSBR with 250 watts at just under 400".
Radios in southern Broward county are being confused by it and W245BF.

 

[David Francis]

These translators are doing more harm than help.

First: we had the issues with 100.3 -- WLML 100.3 Legends Radio and the interference from IHeart's 100.3 translator trying to rebrand WIOD 610 as an FM outlet.

Then you have the issues with JVC's 93.5 WBGF having their signal interfered by another IHeart outlet, 93.5 The Bull, a translator carrying an HD channel (circumnavigating the rules via loopholes in translator rules). At least the 100.3 translator is off the air. How the 93.5 translator is still on the air is puzzling.

Now, we have a student run radio station, Radiate 88 WRGP 88.1 -- on the air since 1988, long before this new translator came along -- expanding their coverage on translators (one being W245BF-FM 96.9 MHz North Miami now being interfered by a major broadcasting company (this case, Beasley) with a completely unnecessary translator at W245BC-FM 96.9 MHz. Rebroadcasting a brokered money talk format that no one listens to, that, I seriously doubt makes the station any more desirable to potential time brokers or allows for rate increases because "we're 'FM' now."

I worked on a station in the northeast many moons ago, long before today's translator craze. Our coverage area should have put us into this neighboring city, but we were blocked by mountain ranges. We successfully applied and got a translator, so that we got our coverage into that city. That's what a translator is for: stations that have coverage issues due to interference (mountains blocking the signal) that affects the stations income stream and the translator improves the stations financial health.

This non sense of translators carrying HD channels, interferring with primary stations that were on the air first, and student run stations that service the community and provides an education service to a student body and infects them with the love of radio . . . things obviously need to change regarding translators.

 

[Ai4i]

"BC" is directional to protect "BF" and only radiates 250 watts into Fort Lauderdale and Coral Springs.

BTW...I blame this, at least in part, on FIU's never upgrading W245BF a long time ago.
With all the tall condos surrounding them, this translator should be three times as high as they are.

BTW-2...did you know that WRGP and its two translators have always been monaural?
Their weird combination of having the main station in Princeton and the two translators on their campuses dates back to the commission favoring WAYF to be the much more powerful station. I guess that decision had to do with the low number of non-coms available in the West Palm Beach market.

 

[David Francis]

Beasley buys two translators from Calvary Chapel, selling the old Reach FM translators, for combined total of $125, 000 --

96.3 W242CG Coral Springs, (currently off air, but 3 watts/45 ft) to rebroadcast 50,000 watt 1010 WHFS Seffener (Tampa Market),

and ...

103.9 W280DU Greenacres to rebroadcast 740 WSBR Boca Raton at 10 watts.

Which means, you’ll have Beasley’s Money Talk formatted Tampa Station, 1010 WHFS heard in Coral Springs? . . . in addition to Beasley translating 740 WSBR Money Talk on W245BC Lauderdale Lakes on 96.9 at 250 Watts.

In addition . . . Beasley also purchased a third Reach Communications translator at 95.3 W237BD Pompano Beach to rebroadcast WWWN 1470.

You can read the full translator sales list report, HERE for 5/13 on Radio Insight.

 

[Ai4i]

I do not see how W242CG could be on the air on a first adjacent channel to a very local station,
but you are right, it is listed as such.
A translator may not translate a commercial station to extend its coverage more than twenty-five (25) miles beyond its transmitter site,
but they could put the AM program on an HD subchannel and translate it that way, or they could translate WSBR.
I thought W280DU was going to increase power a while back, but I guess not.
They are on one of the tall towers at Lantana Rd & SR-7 (US-441), but only ten (10) watts ERP.

 

[David Francis]

I do not see how W242CG could be on the air on a first adjacent channel to a very local station,
but you are right, it is listed as such.

A translator may not translate a commercial station to extend its coverage more than twenty-five (25) miles beyond its transmitter site,
but they could put the AM program on an HD subchannel and translate it that way, or they could translate WSBR.

I thought W280DU was going to increase power a while back, but I guess not.
They are on one of the tall towers at Lantana Rd & SR-7 (US-441), but only ten (10) watts ERP.

So, mystery solved on Beasley’s purchase of 96.3 W242CG Coral Springs, at 3 Watts, to rebroadcast 1010 WHFS Seffener. Beasley will move the Coral Springs translator . . . . Thanks to JimmyDean and Frank Berry’s input over on the Tampa Board with the intel . . . .

“That means that Beasley will use the 250 Mile Waiver to move the station into the Tampa Market to rebroadcast WHFS-AM.

The Window for Class A and Class B Stations will begin in August 2016, and that is when they will file to move it using that waiver.

AM Stations cannot rebroadcast on a translator that is outside their 2mV coverage contour, so it will definitely be moved to Tampa,” (from Jimmy Dean)

AND . . .

“I'm betting that they will use it to cover Clearwater/northwest Tampa. 1010 has a deep null in that direction.” (from Frank Berry)

WFHS Daytime Coverage Map at 50,000 and Nighttime Coverage Map at 5,000.