That darn pirate----why can't the FCC do something!!!!!
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can't listen to thunder in midwood brooklyn
- Thread starter yossefgershon
- Start date
I read practically every week of illegal stations that have received heavy fines, quite often in this area. Sure the fines are probably often unpaid, and maybe they should take action against more of them. But to say that nothing is done is clearly untrue. In my area, the pirates that had the strongest signals are either gone, operating with much reduced power, or at least moved to another frequency.ansky212 said:
As has been mentioned on this board several times in the past, the F.C.C. needs cooperation from listeners in order to take action. That is in the form of complaints made directly to them, or to the station that is being interfered with. Do you really believe that Thunder, which has been aggressive in protecting their signalfrom translators (bravo!), would ignore complaints they receive regarding pirates on their frequency? Would they figure, their online complaint form is strictly for a translator, and other interference is of no interest? I think not.
Barry said:
I know, my point wasn't really meant to be taken literally. But where I live just outside of Newark, almost every open FM frequency has a pirate on it. Some of the frequencies have been occupied for years. Clearly whatever action the FCC is taking just isn't making any difference.
Just an interesting observation: this interference has gone on in a good part of Brooklyn for as long as I can remember. But it should be noted that Press Communications ran an alternative rock station (G Rock) there until January 2009, and a Top 40 station (Hit 106) for roughly a year and a half after that. Only now have they expressed concern over people being able to hear the station broadcasting on 106.3 FM. It just goes to show you that this company hasn't had its priorities in order over the years, and that making any kind of effort to help this station become a success was an afterthought as the company focused on its other properties instead. As an alternative rock fan, it demonstrates the disconnect that often exists between the audience and the station owners ... more specifically, when those operating the station lack the same passion for it that the listeners have. Of course, that is further reflected in the way that G Rock was abruptly dropped without warning, and not even replaced by an online equivalent like so many other broadcasters have done). But it's good for fans of contemporary country music that Press has suddenly discovered the drive and passion that had been missing all this time. They're showing a commitment to making this thing work that hasn't been seen since they purchased this particular frequency back in 2000.
I think the driving force behind this is the current staff at the station and the uniqueness of the format in the area.
There were other alt-rock stations at the time with much better signals in Brooklyn and NYC. The need to hear or go out of your way to hear 106.3 wasn't there.
My advice would be (and it pains me to say this as an engineer), download TuneIn and listen that way. No pirates to mess up the signal.
There were other alt-rock stations at the time with much better signals in Brooklyn and NYC. The need to hear or go out of your way to hear 106.3 wasn't there.
My advice would be (and it pains me to say this as an engineer), download TuneIn and listen that way. No pirates to mess up the signal.
I'm listening to Thunder right now and I just heard a new on-air promo: "From the canyons of New York City, to the slots of Atlantic City, to the Philadelphia Airport..."
The Philadelphia Airport? That's a new one! I would think there is even less chance of hearing Thunder in Philly (106.5) than in NYC (106.3).
The Philadelphia Airport? That's a new one! I would think there is even less chance of hearing Thunder in Philly (106.5) than in NYC (106.3).
You can't even get 106.5 well in the car around Atlantic City.....The signal dies out at the Pleasantville tolls on the AC Expressway and never really comes back as you head east toward the city.....This has a lot to do with many FM's all broadcasting within and around the city limits....Heading south on the GSP you can receive 106.5 till about Great Egg Harbor (Atlantic/Cape May County line).
106.5 & B98.5 (in Southern Ocean County) both make it up to Philly, weak in some spots, but ok in others.
I was just in Philly a few days ago and heard both 106.5 & B98.5 on I-95
between Trenton & Center City Philly ok for the most part, but after Philly 106.5 starts to get interference with the Baltimore station.
I was also in Atlantic City 3 years ago back when Hit 106.5 was on, it did ok in Atlantic City, some static but very listenable.
I was just in Philly a few days ago and heard both 106.5 & B98.5 on I-95
between Trenton & Center City Philly ok for the most part, but after Philly 106.5 starts to get interference with the Baltimore station.
I was also in Atlantic City 3 years ago back when Hit 106.5 was on, it did ok in Atlantic City, some static but very listenable.
WNTIRadio said:
That "driving force" would be the fact that someone in management views Thunder as their baby, and will do almost anything to make sure it is a financial & rantings success. That is also the reason for the "rockin" lean to the music.
Whenever asked about Press, the phrase that usually turns up is "They succeed inspite of themselves." Or rather they "fail up."
Barry said:Shouldn't every station have that sort of passion and drive?
Not a: when it comes at the expense of other stations in the cluster, and b: when you heavily involve yourself in the day to day of the station, despite not having any programming experience and lack objectivity due to your passion for the music.
This person is not Arthur Carlson from "WKRP in Cincinnati," hiring good people and letting them do their thing. If that was the case, employee turnover would be A LOT less
Turnpike Tuner said:Not a: when it comes at the expense of other stations in the cluster, and b: when you heavily involve yourself in the day to day of the station, despite not having any programming experience and lack objectivity due to your passion for the music.
This person is not Arthur Carlson from "WKRP in Cincinnati," hiring good people and letting them do their thing. If that was the case, employee turnover would be A LOT less
If the station is successful the way it is, then hiring people and letting them just "do their thing" is not necessarily a good thing.
ansky212 said:
Not to hard to be a success when you are the only game in town...Thunder has the country audience all to itself in Mon/Oc, so it can play whatever it wants and get away with it. Not to say there aren't any hard working people at the place with passion, but if they had competition it would be a different story.
If you're the only soda shop in the desert, business will always be booming
I think it's really cool that Thunder Country has been successful without following the usual model of playing only the big well known hits. Every hour they air a number of songs by lesser known artists. We need more stations like that, in every format.
And they do have competition in much of the area covered by 106.5, from Cat Country in Atlantic City, and WXTU in Philadelphia. So it may help that Thunder's Rockin' Country sound is different.
Country artists gaining on-air exposure from Thunder Country 106.3/106.5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbcRfhNmQ0I
And they do have competition in much of the area covered by 106.5, from Cat Country in Atlantic City, and WXTU in Philadelphia. So it may help that Thunder's Rockin' Country sound is different.
Country artists gaining on-air exposure from Thunder Country 106.3/106.5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbcRfhNmQ0I
Barry said:
That's nice - I'm sure the record rep threw some giveaways in to get them on (I'm not saying payola, since the listeners get the prizes, not the jocks). But Cat targets Atlantic City, and XTU with a directional signal isn't much of a factor in Monmouth/Ocean, especially with WXRK & WOBM-FM ganging it up from both sides.
Again...the only reason they can get away with playing rockin cuts and unknown artists/album tracks is because they have no competition. You can see in market after market that the station with the tight & focused playlist almost always beats the wider one. Not my cup of tea, but most people want to hear what is familiar and well known, and that means playing the hits.
People bitch and moan about a lack of variety, but look at the ratings - the stations that run a well researched and programmed "tight" playlist get numbers. WKLB has a 7 share in Boston...Thunder has a 4.5 - and it usually bounces around between a 4 and a 5 share, which tells me that the station is where it will always be unless something changes drastically.
Dif'rent strokes for dif'rent folks, as the saying goes.
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