Bayonet Point Translator

[Ai4i]

Is this a mistake or have the rules changed or what?
A translator on 89.3 for a commercial station on 103.5, or is WFUS listener supported?

 

[drt]

Is this a mistake or have the rules changed or what?
A translator on 89.3 for a commercial station on 103.5, or is WFUS listener supported?

I have also wondered about this, but from where I am, I can't pick up the 89.3 translator(so I don't know if the translator is even on the air, let alone what is being programmed on the frequency).......... if in fact ClearChannel's WFUS 103.5 does own the translator, I'm wondering if they bought it as an investment perhaps to hopefully sell it to WUSF; since by all accounts, neither WSMR's Classical Signal at 89.1 or the repeater at 103.9 will not reach northern Pinellas or s.w. Pasco and this translator will help fill in the WSMR programming. With a CP to increase the power from 10 to 55 watts and with the antenna height being over 1000 feet, it should have relatively good coverage for a translator.
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Just checked the FCC data base and it is showing the translator licensed to Reach Communications (the Reach FM chain) and I didn't see a CP either, the FCC data base shows 10 watts, so either the FCC data base is very outdated or the Radio-Locator base is very wrong.

drt
st. petersburg

 

[Nostalgia]

Even more odd (if possible) is Radio Locator showing another translator for WFUS on 88.3 actually in Bayonet Point on a cell tower just south of 52. The one you are referring to on 89.3 maps out to be on the big stick off Anclote Road in Tarpon Springs as drt noted! They would have to show some serious shadowing in the area to justify all of that for a fill in. Hard to believe in flat ol' Florida and the fact that 103.5 blasts into Tarpon Springs! If I remember I will dial up both freqs and see what I hear tomorrow.

 

[Ai4i]

I'm wondering if they bought it as an investment perhaps to hopefully sell it[/color]

I suppose that WFUS owning a translator that they can not use is like a church or civic group without a station owning a translator.
We are really not happy about all these translators popping up everywhere and the restrictions on LPFM's being so much more restrictive.
Any translator that is proven to not cause interferrence to any full power station should be allowed to become an independant station.

 

[fldxer]

Both 88.3 and 89.3 translators carry Reach FM programming with the 89.3 having a very strong "10 watts"- easily heard into mid-Pinellas.

Greg
Holiday

 

[w9wi]

Is this a mistake or have the rules changed or what?
A translator on 89.3 for a commercial station on 103.5, or is WFUS listener supported?

You're right, they can't relay a commercial station on 89.3.

My guess is they plan to file for a minor change to a frequency 10.6 or 10.8MHz higher (99.9 or 100.1) in the commercial band. (IIRC both frequencies are possible for a translator in the Tampa-St. Pete area?) I'd also be surprised if they actually intend to relay WFUS when it's all over & they get on the air. My bet is their real primary will end up being a co-owned AM station or WFUS-HD2.

 

[Ai4i]

Reach's website shows an 89.3 in Tarpon Springs, likely the same station.
Wonder how many of these translators Reach more listeners than WREH, itself!

Radio-Locator tends to get old with their 411, WSRF and W262AN quickly come to mind.
Radio-Locator also lists Reach's W22DU as being owned by commercial station, WGME.
WRGP's W237CP is listed as being owned by WKCP.

Makes me wonder, can one station or non-broadcast entity own a translator and lease it to a(nother) station.

 

[drt]

You're right, they can't relay a commercial station on 89.3.

My guess is they plan to file for a minor change to a frequency 10.6 or 10.8MHz higher (99.9 or 100.1) in the commercial band. (IIRC both frequencies are possible for a translator in the Tampa-St. Pete area?) I'd also be surprised if they actually intend to relay WFUS when it's all over & they get on the air. My bet is their real primary will end up being a co-owned AM station or WFUS-HD2

.
If ClearChannel (or anyone else) has the intent to have a translator on either 99.1 or 100.1 they will have to relocate the antenna at least several miles to the south or more, since WWXB Brooksville/Homosassa, a relatively new station, is now on the air at 99.9. WWXB comes in pretty well in all of Pasco, Hernando, and southern Citrus and southern Sumter counties and in extreme northern Pinellas and extreme northern Hillsborough counties as well.

drt

 

[billalm]

Clear Channel is playing paperwork and translator games as is everyone else. As we've discussed recently, these "translators" are popping up everywhere, and now they're figuring out out to use them as a revenue stream. They've somehow ended up as owner of this particular signal and are probably "renting it" to Reach-FM. The reason I know these two are up to something is Clear Channel also relays Reach-FM's programming on Orlando's 100.3 WRUM-HD2. I mean come on now... everyone knows 103.5 doesn't need a translator in Bayonet Point.

 

[jmtillery]

...since WWXB Brooksville/Homosassa, a relatively new station, is now on the air at 99.9. WWXB comes in pretty well in all of Pasco, Hernando, and southern Citrus and southern Sumter counties and in extreme northern Pinellas and extreme northern Hillsborough counties as well.

drt[/color]

The class "A" Homosassa FM station operating on 99.9 is WXJB and not WWXB. The call letters WWXB are currently unassigned to any radio station.

 

[jeff560]

The 88.3 translator interferes with my reception of WMNF in some areas around New Port Richey, unfortunately.

 

[drt]

Thanks for the correction. Correct call letters are WXJB....... Hey, I was doing good to have three of the four call letters (not necessarily in order) correct!

The station is licensed to Homosassa, but the antenna is closer to Brooksville and of course the point that a translator on 99.9 in Pasco county is not feasable remains the same, regardless of my giving the wrong call letters.

99.1 gets out pretty well for a class A station.

drt

 

[drt]

The 88.3 translator interferes with my reception of WMNF in some areas around New Port Richey, unfortunately.

Not living in New Port Richey (I did travel through NPR in 2009 though!) I hadn't really given much thought of a first adjacent translator to WMNF, WMNF may have to get a translator to combat the translator.

If both 89.3 and 88.3 both broadcast Reach FM from the same area, it certainly seems like overkill. I suppose if enough people complained about interference to WMNF 88.5, the translator would have to go; but people would have to complain.

That same situation is what got a pirate station in St. Pete discovered and shut down in near record time several months ago, the dummies were operating on 88.3 and WMNF starting receiving complaints about the interference from the first adjacent pirate; if they had picked another frequency, who knows they could have been on the air for months, instead of days!

drt,
st. petersburg

 

[jmtillery]

99.1 gets out pretty well for a class A station.

drt[/color]

Which class "A" station is operating on 99.1? The only Florida primary licensed stations operating on 99.1 that I am aware are WEDR 99.1 C1 Miami, WQIK 99.1 C0 Jacksonville, and WWOJ 99.1 C3 Avon Park. All the remaining Florida 99.1s are class D translators or LPFMs. Is there a new unbuilt class A allocation?

And, yes, of course WXJB will have a direct affect on any translators nearby operating on a co-channel or first adjacent frequencies. Interestingly, 99.9 Homosassa was originally one of my Cedar Key petitions specifying class "A" operation on 100.1mHz. George Flinn was the winning aution applicant and petitioned the allotment to be re-allotted to Homosassa as that community's first service with a minor change from 100.1mHz to 99.9mHz. This was only made possible as a result of WGNE 99.9 C moving its transmitter site from Bunnel to downtwon Jacksonville with a downgrade to a C1. This also opened several other class "A" channels around Central Florida including 99.5 A Daytona Beach Shores and 99.7 A at Silver Springs Shores (Ocala).

 

[drt]

Today has not been a good day for me, so I will make this my last post of the day, since I seem to be adding to the confusion of this thread.

The signal I'm referring to is the station licensed to Homosassa, with antenna just north of Brooksville; I won't even attempt to possibly get the call letters wrong again, but the frequency (as mentioned in several posts prior to my 2nd mistake on this thread........ is 99.9 and as stated in a previous post, where I believe I had the right frequency(hopefully, but feel free to point it out, if it was also wrong on prior posts).

The whole point I was trying to make, was that as someone previously thought that someone might apply for a translator on 99.9 or 100.1 in the New Port Richey or Holiday area and I was only trying (apparently in vain) to state that the FCC would most likely not approve a translator on 99.9 because of the class A station on 99.9 (with antenna just north of Brooksville) that pretty well blankets Hernando, Pasco and parts of Citrus and Sumter counties.

I'll check this thread tomorrow or Friday to see what other mistakes I've made in this post to confuse people.

 

[jmtillery]

I'll check this thread tomorrow or Friday to see what other mistakes I've made in this post to confuse people.[/b][/color]

I wasn't attempting to be difficult, and I apologize if I came across as such. I was asking because the thread was referring to WXJB 99.9 then suddenly 99.1 A was introduced and this became somewhat confusing.