AM Revitalization in Bama

[Groove1670]

Wattage isn't everything. Antenna height and location is a factor. Meridian has several 13 watt translators that cover well. However the metro is located in one place, which is an advantage.


The Matoon Waiver was only enacted in a few cases. Most of the time it was turned down.

the 250 mile rule allows for one hop, and the translator must stay with the AM station up to 4 or 5 years. (I think).

 

[tomservo]

It is if you're down here on the coast where tropospheric ducting is a normal summer thing.

WBTG's translator is currently licensed for 7 watts at 190 feet HAAT and AGL. The CP for 250 watts is at the same sight. It's super directional, too. That surely doesn't help.

http://radio-locator.com/info/W232AH-FX

 

[Groove1670]

W232AH will do okay if it doesn't have a high power station within 200 miles that is on the same channel. Tropo shouldn't be a issue that far north.

 

[tomservo]

There are at four full power stations on 94.3 within 200 miles. Most of them are pretty far away. Nashville, Gadsden, Tuscaloosa and Memphis. Not perfect but a lot better than 94.3, where they had a full power co-channel in Corinth, just 50-something miles away.

We seem to be quickly approaching that time in Alabama where there are no really clear channels open for translators or LPFMs anymore in the larger communities.

 

[Poledo]

We seem to be quickly approaching that time in Alabama where there are no really clear channels open for translators or LPFMs anymore in the larger communities.

That's the goal, right?

How many more translators can they squeeze into Montgomery before it's full? I must be at least one more.

 

[tomservo]

Sorry, Poledo, I don't have the tools to answer your question about Montgomery.

Time to add one more station to the roster. An agreement has been signed for Clanton-area translator W238BS to relocate to Birmingham to relay 1400 WJLD on 94.1 MHz. The application lists 99 watts and a highly directional antenna pointing north from Ishkooda Mountain, near where WDJC and WMJJ transmit.

Two bits of trivia are of interest. This will be the second translator WJLD has been on; the first was the 104.1 MHz one licensed to Mountain Brook (but transmitted from Hoover) that was one of the early AM-to-translator moves in central Alabama. That of course was later sold to Clear Channel for use as one of the HD2 metro signals they're so fond of. The second bit of trivia is this appears to be the first AM Revitalization app that I've seen that is taking a translator from an existing AM station. W238BS is currently relaying WKLF in Clanton.

I don't see anything in the pipeline for WKLF to replace this translator, so if that's the case it would be odd for an AM to get a translator only to give it up voluntarily later.

This 94.1 allocation is going to be a tight squeeze. It has to protect WZBQ out of Carrollton (which puts a decent if not wonderful signal into most of the area west of downtown) as well as the 94.1 relaying the (off air for over a year) AM 1430 in Pell City, plus an LPFM with a CP to go on the air from Pelham near Valleydale Road.

 

[Poledo]

The way I *thought* this would go down was that current, non Mattoon'd, translators in urban areas would go to HD2 feeds. Then the AMs in urban areas would buy up rural translators and move them in to fill up the urban FM dial. That would leave blank spots on the dial for rural AMs to apply for a new translator (cheap?, no mx issues) in the first new AM translator filing window. This would also allow those rural AMs to apply for the best frequency on the local dial instead of settling for the translators they already had.
It doesn't appear to be working that way though. It appears some translator owners are taking the cash and not gambling on the future value.

 

[Groove1670]

Because of the great "AM translator rush" in the first window, operators didn't want to overprice themselves out of the market. They understood there would be a glut of translators available. There could possibly be MX issues, and those that would wait for the "free" window in 2017.

Most of those that were sold had very few move in opportunities, or poor signal characteristics. Operators knew they would have more value to small AM operators.

Some have rolled the dice for the next window to open (I think the A and B classes) hoping for more money. The question is, how much are they willing to pay for a 250W signal that in most cases won't cover large metros.

With some exceptions, the larger market stations (who would spend to buy) have no desire to purchase a weak signal, or as was mentioned, no spectrum is available.

The translators sold in the revitalization MUST be match with the AM it is sold to. IT can not be used in any other circumstance. The use for HD would be a violation.

 

[tomservo]

In what might be the fastest turnaround for any AM Revitalization translator I've seen so far, W242CP has filed a license to cover in Alexander City. The CP to move from Winona, Mississippi was only filed in the second week of February.

The translator is paired with WLMA (former WBNM) 1050 and they've launched a country format as of Saturday.

1050 had a translator of its own already but it's moving to WALQ in Carrville.

 

[ThePowerCow]

So is 1130 about to fire back up?

 

[tomservo]

So is 1130 about to fire back up?

I'm not holding my breath. It's been off for a while now and from what I've heard the translator that Westburg has been trying to move wasn't even on the air all that often when it was paired with 1050. It's changed frequencies at least once since trying to move closer to Montgomery, and at 105.3 it's going to be a fitful fit (so to speak) between WBFZ in Selma and WRFS near Lake Martin.

If the ownership has had all this trouble getting the translator on when it was in Alex City, and all this trouble getting a decent allocation near Montgomery, and hasn't gotten the AM while all this is going on… I'm not sure they're going to be quick to launch a new station anytime soon.