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Christian station cutting into WMBR (88.1FM)

M

mcamp

This is somewhat a recent phenomena....a Christian radio station over the last few months has been bleeding into WMBR.
I thought I caught their call letters this morning....WMEJ?
I thought I would bring it up here....this is after I mentioned it to WMBR, and they said that it would be better to bring it to the FCC's attention, because apparently I'm not the first to recognize it.
I seem to catch a stronger signal around Georgetown/ Boxford/ Groveland area....not sure where they are broadcasting from.
Anyone else know what I'm talking about?
 
WMEJ FM is in another state, another freq so it is not Tropo ducting.

If Anyone should be bringing it to the attention of the FCC it is the station that is being interfered with, WMBR

Where (location) are they getting interference?

Is it inside of their protective contour?

Georgetown/Boxford is a stretch IMHO for their protected contour
 
MRBIboredop said:
Georgetown/Boxford is a stretch IMHO for their protected contour
Click to expand...
I would get a strong signal from WMRB as I would hit I-95 around the Rt. 97 on-ramp....MRB is totally bleed out not until I get to around Danvers, and by that point I'm almost at my job. I hope something can be done, because on certain days it is my station of choice for my morning commute.
 
mcamp said:
This is somewhat a recent phenomena....a Christian radio station over the last few months has been bleeding into WMBR.
I thought I caught their call letters this morning....WMEJ?
I thought I would bring it up here....this is after I mentioned it to WMBR, and they said that it would be better to bring it to the FCC's attention, because apparently I'm not the first to recognize it.
I seem to catch a stronger signal around Georgetown/ Boxford/ Groveland area....not sure where they are broadcasting from.
Anyone else know what I'm talking about?
Click to expand...

Its called ducting... being that boston and WMBR are poretty close to the water, this ducting can be even more intense

Radio-Locator.com

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radio-locator.com radio-locator.com
 
It's not ducting in this case. The station is 88.1 FM WMEK, licensed to Kennebunkport, ME, transmitter in south Sanford, ME. It's their new everyday groundwave (and some over water) signal. It repeats the programming of 88.7 WSEW Sanford, ME, a full-time "Word Radio" Christian network affiliate.

WMEK was previously on 88.3 FM. In late 2021, WMEK was granted a move to 88.1 FM with a substantial power increase to 18,000 watts from whatever lower level it had before. This move went on the air on January 6, 2023.

The FCC had determined that, though WMBR was listenable in much of the area of the upper North Shore, Merrimack Valley and Cape Ann where WMEK cuts it out, those areas are outside of WMBR's 60 dBu protected coverage contour, which ends in that direction in the north ends of towns such as Wakefield, Saugus and Lynn.

WMBR is aware of the situation, but because of the FCC's determination above, there is nothing they can do about it. They tried to protest with no resolution offered. They have responded to affected listeners suggesting they complain to the FCC.
 
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The only thing WMBR can do is hire an engineer and assert that their protected contour is being interfered with and bring the engineering study to the FCC to seek relief. I would say as a Class A at 660 Watts at 300' HAAT that pretty much anything outside of 128 to the north or north east is going to be outside of the 60 Dbu contour

I doubt that they are going to lay out that kind of money for a bit of coverage in suburbia

If they were concerned they would have already had an Engineer out there doing measurements.

Another case of streaming audio and a connection to the car radio is going to solve the problem
 
Wimmmex said:
It looks like WMEK (on paper) is stronger in Northeastern Massachusetts than WMBR is. DId we determine where the original poster was listening from?
Click to expand...
Read his top post, he mentions some towns well north of Boston, between the inland upper North Shore and the Merrimack Valley.
Georgetown, Boxford, Groveland.
 
as has been said many times before, those "radio-locator" maps are not quite accurate.

But WMEK has height and power going for it in multiples of WMBR. yes I know it is not linear, but it is still quite the advantage.

They are also out in the open without a lot of buildings around them

IMHO WMBR doesn't have a leg to stand on, their 50Dbu pattern is not going to fall anywhere near the other stations fringe area.

WMBR might have had the luxury of not having a co-channel near enough to them with an antenna and power advantage for a long time, but that luck seems to have run out.

WMBR also has the problem of being in a very crowded non com area, with several stations close by on the first adjacent, giving them very little wiggle room to up their game without some pretty expensive directional antenna gear, and even then one station is in Boxford MA which is right smack dab in the middle of the area the OP is talking about.
 
MRBIboredop said:
WMBR also has the problem of being in a very crowded non com area, with several stations close by on the first adjacent, giving them very little wiggle room to up their game without some pretty expensive directional antenna gear, and even then one station is in Boxford MA which is right smack dab in the middle of the area the OP is talking about.
Click to expand...
WMBR has already been using a mildly directional antenna since their last power increase in 1995, to protect first adjacents on 88.3 with "soft" nulls to the northwest to protect WIQH Concord, to the north to protect WBMT Boxford, to the south to protect WRPS, Rockland, and I think maybe one to the southwest to protect WGAO Franklin. The only direction that gets their full power is a wide swath to the east. There wouldn't be much they could do.
 
As I said, I first brought it to the attention to WMBR, and was advised that I should bring it to the attention of the FCC, due to the listener complaining rather than the station, which I did. Even at the Danvers/ Peabody line, the Christian station was still bleeding thru. This is very unfortunate, because WMBR is one of the few FM stations I tune into, and now I can't get a strong signal until I'm just about at the end of my commute.
When I first noticed it, I was like, what is this? Now at least I have the answer.
 
A listener complaint to the FCC about reception is going right in the old circular file.

The only time those complaints are considered for action is when translators and LPFM's interfere with existing class rated FM's, or either each other. LPFM's are at the bottom of the food chain, Translators are just above them, and then the Class D unprotected FM's that never upgraded or were unable to upgrade from 10 watts to 100 in order to get protection from other stations.... and then we move up the chain from there.

As Eli pointed out above, and I was unaware of as I have never read WMBR's files, is that there is a null in that direction to protect a first adjacent on 88.3. I knew that there had to be a protection for first and second adjacents, as all stations have to do, but I did not realize there were multiple nulls involved. When I was Chief Engineer of 91.5 WJUL ( now WUML) we had to protect co-channel WMFO which was easy to do, what was harder to do and required some creative antenna design at the time was protecting first adjacent ( now defunct) WPAA 91.7 owned by Phillips Andover Academy which was just a few miles away from our antenna.

That gives WMBR even less ground to stand on and they know it which is why they had you contact the FCC instead of stepping up and claiming their protected contour was infringed upon.... because chances are it was not.

Maybe once trees start getting their leaves back you might get WMBR again.

I know that sounds crazy but FM gets a little more distance when the trees are bare among other things.
 
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