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Authorization Granted For 99 Watt Signal on 106.3 From 4 Times Square

Wow, take a look at the coverage map for that thing. 250 watts, non-directional at 1145 ft. HAAT. That's a class A, with full market coverage inside the 54dBu. By comparison, WPPZ in Philadelphia on 103.9 is a class A running 270 watts from 1109 ft. HAAT.

I don't think the 106.3 will be able to have the same impact, due to its lower power, directional antenna and the sheer size of the NY market. But hey, I'd take it if someone offered it to me. When I worked for Jukebox Radio, we did pretty well with 35 watts in Fort Lee.
 
Barry said:
... a two month old translator simulcast of all comedy KCMO HD2 ("Funny 102.5") in Kansas City is now rated an astonishing 4.0 in that market. Perhaps with this weak economy, many folks are looking for something to laugh about...
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Didn't they say something similar about Christmas music? ::)
 
ansky212 said:
Barry said:
They are trying to move translators into a number of other cities. The increasingly popular arrangement of rebroadcasting HD2 stations on translators may be a big help to HD radio.
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But, if they are moving HD stations to analog translators, there won't be a need for people to go out and buy an HD radio.
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People aren't buying HD radios now. That's why stations are trying to recoup some of the money they lost buying HD transmission equipment in the only way they know how: by simulcasting HD content in a band the public can receive. If someone likes the content of a weak translator, wouldn't they be more apt to go look for a similar format on a device they already have (smartphone, computer) than to go out and search for a scarce, special-purpose device with limited utility and performance?

WNTIRadio said:
If only the HD2 worked as well as the 99 watt translators. I have a client with an HD2 and since there's no fall back to analog on an HD2, when the signal drops out, it just goes silent. VERY annoying to listen to in a moving vehicle
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There are probably more SCA receivers out there than HD radios. Are SCAs still operating in the HD-infested transmission environment? I hope whoever this is also uses a webstream which will reach more people than HD and SCA combined.

Hey, here's a question: do you get off light ASCAP-wise by originating a webstream via an HD terrestrial signal? I may have just stumbled upon HD's raison d'etre in the current music licensing political environment. (As long as that "radio tax" doesn't get passed. Maybe we could rebrand terrestrial radio's music licensing break as the "Save HD radio" subsidy.)

DToTheJ said:
Barry said:
... a two month old translator simulcast of all comedy KCMO HD2 ("Funny 102.5") in Kansas City is now rated an astonishing 4.0 in that market. Perhaps with this weak economy, many folks are looking for something to laugh about...
Click to expand...
Didn't they say something similar about Christmas music? ::)
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Every year. But on full power affiliates. And regardless of the economy. And with the same 100 songs over and over and over......
 
Yep, SCA's are still operating. Have two of 'em, RDS and HD-1 and 2 going on this client. I agree that there are more SCA receivers than HD radios out there. The ONLY way this will ever get any traction is if it is mandated that all auto makers put it in as standard equipment. That's the main reason FM took off as much as it did. I don't think the audio quality is the driving force here though, really it's not much different than well processed (repeat: WELL processed) analog. It's going to be if stations put compelling or interesting formats on HD-2/3 etc. Get some kids fresh out of college and let them have at it and innovate, just like the late 60's. Pay them minimum wage to start with raises tied to audience/revenue growth. Try something different, or just shut the HD off and be done with the expense.
 
I wonder whether there are other frequencies that could also be used for additional translators with similar coverage within New York. I would expect that there are at least one or two other possibilities besides 106.3.
What about 101.5? Are the stations using that frequency, such as WKXW, WPDH and the translator in LI distant enough that 100 watts or so out of New York would not cause interference to them?
 
101.5 is unusable for a translator. NJ 101.5 has a decent signal in Manhattan. There are many pirates between Manhattan and the former Party 101.5.
 
Montclair State University used to have WMSC on 101.5 for a short period in the 90's but received so much interference from WKXW that they moved back to 90.3....WKXW actually paid WMSC to move them back to 90.3 so more people in North Jersey could hear NJ-101.5
 
As we all know, an act of Congress has decreed that translators do not obey the same Laws of Physics as any other transmitters. ???
 
WPHA said:
As we all know, an act of Congress has decreed that translators do not obey the same Laws of Physics as any other transmitters. ???
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Isn't 106.3's translator too close to WPLJ anyway? Don't forget about IF protection (10.8 MHz)... unless that doesn't apply to translators?
 
That's why it's 99 watts. Anything under 100 and you don't need to deal with IF protection. At the ratio of the two signals, WPLJ being 6kW and this being 99W, it's impossible for it to cause any IF problems unless you have your radio about 2 feet from the transmitting antenna of 106.3. Otherwise, WPLJ is the stronger signal by a long shot anywhere else you go.
 
I saw the item about this translator in Scott Fybush’s Northeast Radio watch, which mentioned that it started out as 107.1 in Brooklyn, moved over to Union City with just 1 watt on 106.5, long enough to get a license to cover, before setting up shop in Manhattan on 106.3. My question is why did they go through all that trouble? Why no just apply for a Manhattan license to begin with?
 
MHVRadiofan said:
I saw the item about this translator in Scott Fybush’s Northeast Radio watch, which mentioned that it started out as 107.1 in Brooklyn, moved over to Union City with just 1 watt on 106.5, long enough to get a license to cover, before setting up shop in Manhattan on 106.3. My question is why did they go through all that trouble? Why no just apply for a Manhattan license to begin with?
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FCC is very picky on Translator moves... I think their moving it the way they are to comply with FCC reqiurements on moving licenses.
 
Correct. The FCC is (relatively) lenient about allowing "minor" changes, which are frequency changes of plus or minus 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 10.6 or 10.8 MHz, and/or site changes that result in at least some overlap between the new and old coverage. The FCC does not allow "major" changes to be filed outside of a filing window, which last occurred in 2004. A "major" change is any frequency change other than shown above, or a site change that does not result in overlap.

So in the case of 107.1/106.5/106.3, it couldn't go directly to 106.3 - it had to file first to move from 107.1 to 106.5 (a change of 0.6 MHz, which is a minor change), and only then could apply to move to 106.3, another minor change.

Why didn't they apply for 106.3 in the first place? That, I do not know. I believe the rules were a little different in 2004, when this translator was originally applied for, so it may be that they couldn't have put it on 106.3 from 4 Times Square back then. Come to think of it, 4TS itself didn't exist in its current form back then at all, did it?
 
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