Best G/SP Signal?

[carolinaradio]

What do you think is the best Greenville/Spartanburg signal?

of course, 660 WLFJ has the best daytime signal, hands down..

but full-time, I would say definately WSPA and WFBC. Not exactly a GSP station, but 106.9 WMIT in Black Mountain has a monster signal that has great coverage, even way below Greenville.

Opinions?

 

[bobs184]

WESC also has a great signal...it can be heard well from just west of Columbia and travels through Asheville well.

 

[more kilowatts]

With WSPA, WFBC, and WESC's transmitters all being on various mountains near the NC/SC state line, they pretty much rule in the GSP area. Don't forget WMUU on Paris Mountain though. Their new taller tower has greatly increased their coverage.

 

[charlestondxman]

There are so many great signals from around the Upstate, that we sometimes get in the Charleston area, and anywhere N and NW of I-20. IMO, WSPA has the best signal, as I've heard them well in Athens, GA, and it carries most of the way along Highway 78 east of Athens, almost to Thomson (over 110 miles away, every time)! My even comes in sometimes in Athens, even with half the power of WSPA, FBC, and WSSL.

On 26, you can carry that and Whistle 100 all the way to I-20 with very little interference, and throughout the Columbia area. During any DX period, the signal comes and goes in the Orangeburg area, and I've heard it multiple times on James Island (just S of Charleston) when the Spanish 98.9 is on the air. Of course, many of the Upstate stations have good signals in the Rock Hill/Fort Mill area, also.

Don't forget WMIT, as it comes in all the way to Irmo on a good day, and sometimes farther.

WHZT has the best signal down I-85, as it carries all the way down past the 85/985 split down by the Mall of Georgia before other stations interfere.

For a few weeks last year when 107.5 in Charleston went off the air and before 107.3 (Magic) came on the air, WJMZ came in most of the time in the Charleston area.

Even WYFF's TV audio has a fair signal in Athens, better than most of the other stations.

 

[Art Sutton]

No doubt WLFJ has the best AM signal daytime but as far as both day and nighttime, WORD 950 wins hands down. Then WSPA got the 950 license back in 1941 when AM stations were leaving local channels and getting on regional channels which then allowed 5KW day and night. 5000 watts at night on a fairly open channel still gets decent skywave but back in the 1940s into the 1950s, it was really a big deal.

As far as FM, WESC wins based on land area covered and while WTPT wins on population.Of course, in real world coverage, the Greenville FMs really don't cover the entire area their circles show across the mountains of NC. The coverage is very spotty but this is based on FCC contours.

WESC covers 25,722 sq kilometers and 1,739,636 inside it's 60 dbu (1mvm)
WTPT covers 25,667.5 sq km and 1,905,656 people (picks up population toward the Charlotte area)
WFBC covers 23,646.8 sq km and 1,709,681
WSPA covers 25,141.1 sq km and 1,859,108 people.
WMUU covers 22,050.8 sq km and 1,639,049 people.

As far as WMIT is concerned...26,063.50 sq km and 1,652,409 people.

These are all primary contours 60 dBu 1 mvm.

As far as signal reception beyond the 60...it's a factor of location and if any other station is on the same channel is interfering at that location.

What do you think is the best Greenville/Spartanburg signal?

of course, 660 WLFJ has the best daytime signal, hands down..

but full-time, I would say definately WSPA and WFBC. Not exactly a GSP station, but 106.9 WMIT in Black Mountain has a monster signal that has great coverage, even way below Greenville.

Opinions?

 

[freqdev]

very insightful and informative. thanks art. many like me are looking for their field strength measurements.

 

[more kilowatts]

I know this is a little off topic but Mr. Suttons comments about 950, regional channels, and skywave kind of stirred my memory. As a kid growing up I was fascinated by AM DX. (I'm still fascinated) I had a Sony battery powered AM table radio that had a hookup for an external long-wire antenna that I had strung between two trees with insulators. Every night after sundown I would turn that thing on and see how many different stations I could hear. I even kept a log of them. Of course the usual ones such as WWL, WLS, WSM, etc. on clear channels were always easy catches. WOWO in Fort Wayne was strong back then when they still ran 50 KW at night. The greatest fun was catching the lower powered stations on local and regional channels that you normally never heard. If you were patient and tuned carefully, you could catch many many stations from all over the US. I would literally sit for hours and do this. I don't know of any kid nowadays who would get excited over listening to AM radio at all, or DXing at night. My, have times have changed. Compared to back then, if you are a DXer today, you have a wealth of information you can find on the internet about each station you hear. Day and night power, directional or non-directional, maps of exact transmitter location, the list is endless. For example, it would be fun to know that the little station you are hearing hundreds of miles away is running 36 watts from a non-directional antenna. I'm getting excited -I may have to dig out my AM radio and do a little DXing tonight!

 

[Gatekeeper007]

MK I think the fascination was and still is for some of us being able to hear, see or talkback to that station at such a great distance espicaly at low power levels. It didn't matter wheather you were using a CB on skip, a ham rig at band opening on QRP, or receiving AM/FM or TV signals well beyond normal range the feeling was the same excitement. Not everybody knows that feeling but I have done all the above and I know how it feels as does many others out there I am sure. I think the internet and cell phones have taken the fascination out of DX'ing simply because younger people can reach that far off location on a website or a cell phone call on exciment there.

 

[more kilowatts]

MK I think the fascination was and still is for some of us being able to hear, see or talkback to that station at such a great distance espicaly at low power levels. It didn't matter wheather you were using a CB on skip, a ham rig at band opening on QRP, or receiving AM/FM or TV signals well beyond normal range the feeling was the same excitement.

Sounds like you and I did basically the same thing-receiving AM/FM/TV signals, working skip on CB, and QRP ham. I remember the feeling when I got my novice ticket and pounded out my first CQ on the novice bands with a 10 watt transmitter. The excitement of that first response from a fellow novice a few hundred miles away was nothing short of wonderful. Of course, like most novices, I couldn't wait to upgrade so I could use voice. Same excitement from that first voice contact. Now, I am ashamed to admit, my Morse code is rusty and I don't take the time for any of it like I used to. A little 2 meters or 440 once in a while but that is about it. Other priorities, I guess.

 

[charlestondxman]

Yes, I see WESC has the best Greenville area signal in Georgia. You can get them in Gainesville, Athens, and many other places weakly.

Back when 100.5 in Atlanta was Q100, before they upgraded their signal, I heard that Whistle would sometimes overpower their signal at Jimmy Carter Blvd and I-85, only about 20 miles from the transmitter.

WSPA can also be heard up to Concord Mills Mall well, and when WAGI was on their old signal, they were frequently picked up in Kannapolis, Salisbury, and even in Winston-Salem.

That was one of the best signals before they moved into Charlotte.

 

[TheMusicMan]

I'm not sure what this counts for, but I've definitely picked up WFBC in/around Athens. WHZT also, but they're a bit spottier.

 

[carolinaradio]

Yeah, I guess WESC should get the award for largest coverage - I don't listen to them so I wouldn't know. But their coverage looks huge. Forgot about WMUU...it is probably better in coverage than WFBC....had forgotten about the tower upgrade.

WMYI has an impressive signal for 19kw ERP. Antenna is very high.
96.7's signal is very impressive given they're .7kw ERP. The signal is great to the south, I'm not sure about to the north. I have gotten it when I was in the Abbeville area once, I am not sure how well they always come in there.

 

[Z-100]

WAGI hasn't moved. They are still on Cherry Mtn. near Forest City. A move in the future is possible.

 

[fortmill]

WAGI hasn't moved. They are still on Cherry Mtn. near Forest City. A move in the future is possible.

No doubt WNOW-FM, aka WAGI, will move. They have a CP for N. Gaston with change of COL to Bessemer City. No doubt WFBC/WSPA/WESC are pretty much tied for best dignal, though my travels across the Carolinas would indicate WFBC may have a slight edge. WSPA comes in best here in the Charlotte area, often like a local--of course its closer than the others.

 

[carolinaradio]

I'm not sure what this counts for, but I've definitely picked up WFBC in/around Athens. WHZT also, but they're a bit spottier.

WHZT has good coverage towards Atlanta compared to the other area FMs, because they are in Seneca....what ever happened to their CP to move closer to Greenville/Spartanburg? They could probably be a big player if the signal covered the entire market well (top 5 even)....the ratings aren't bad now given the coverage. They barely come in many parts of Spartanburg.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I'm not sure what this counts for, but I've definitely picked up WFBC in/around Athens. WHZT also, but they're a bit spottier.

WHZT has good coverage towards Atlanta compared to the other area FMs, because they are in Seneca....what ever happened to their CP to move closer to Greenville/Spartanburg? They could probably be a big player if the signal covered the entire market well (top 5 even)....the ratings aren't bad now given the coverage. They barely come in many parts of Spartanburg.

Look at where WPEG is. I don't see how it's possible.

I remember hearing WBFM in Hickory. Good music.
That's even before the boost to 10,000 watts, long before The Peak.

WMUU sounded much better in my motel room in the mountains this year. I don't even think I picked it up before.

But around here, senor, no habla ingles.

 

[carolinaradio]

Look at where WPEG is. I don't see how it's possible.

I remember hearing WBFM in Hickory. Good music.
That's even before the boost to 10,000 watts, long before The Peak.

WMUU sounded much better in my motel room in the mountains this year. I don't even think I picked it up before.

But around here, senor, no habla ingles.

IIRC, WHZT had a CP (now expired) to move to the WJMZ tower in Anderson, I believe...which would have helped coverage a little towards the east. Jamz was supposed to move to the WROQ/WMYA-TV tower off of 418 near Ftn. Inn/Simpsonville, leaving the old JAMZ site open for 98.1....not sure if JAMZ ever moved. Am I correct? Remember, 98.1/107.3 are both Cox stations.

I don't see how they could have moved closer to WPEG....but it was approved by the FCC.

 

[Jim Graham]

Hello!

660 AM, WLFJ, in Greenville has a reeel purty 50,000 watt solid state transmitter, too.

Jim Graham
CE, CC Greenville

 

[more kilowatts]

Hello!

660 AM, WLFJ, in Greenville has a reeel purty 50,000 watt solid state transmitter, too.

Jim Graham
CE, CC Greenville

Well, that explains that reeel purty sound. 660 has to be the cleanest sounding AM I have ever heard.

By the way, I presume you take care of 1440. Does it have a solid state transmitter? Lots of history in that old building. I have always wondered what was left in there from when it was a studio. Those 4 towers make up the most handsome directional array I have ever seen. I guess that is due to the fact you can get such a close-up look at it from the Ingles parking lot.

 

[CJ_Jackson]

I remember listening to 1440 WQOK in Myrtle Beach at night out cruising the boulevard. I also have a bad memory of driving back to Greenville from Raleigh, NC. Was doing some am dx-ing in the car, punched up 660 and heard not WFAN, but WESC-AM banging in like a local. It was l-o-u-d up there on I-85 between Raleigh Charlotte on I-85 (the remote control had hiccuped and it didn't sign off and no staff had caught it of course). Talk about me frantically dialing to get into the remote control and hitting channel 1, lower! Jim ya sure ya don't miss that big ol' Continental 50kw tube transmitter? Ask Long John about the high voltage meter getting blown across the room one day at sign-off. Nice 18kv arc ;D