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Cumulus is making some changes in Mobile/Pensacola

98.3 ran 40 kw to compensate for HAAT being at 550' instead of the otherwise-maximum 492' (150 meters). The stations that limited where it could be located - at the time - were 98.5 New Orleans and 98.1 Andalusia. Later on, 98.5 went from C to C0, and the 98.1 moved its xmtr site (and changed city of license).

I sold the station in 1992 to Tom Wilson, who changed it to urban AC. Tom a couple of years later bought the Citronelle 102.1, so that may be why there was confusion about the two stations being located together. Tom (now deceased) was able to cash out when the rules changed to allow the WBLX/WDLT co-ownership. The Citronelle station was a total waste of electricity; even going from A to C3 it still covered no population, so it was spun off.

Going non-DA does not show the contours changing much; however, the nulls went through heavily populated areas... right thru the middle of Mobile (the NE null) and right thru Pascagoula-Moss Point (the SW null). As I recall, the ERP in the null went down to about 23 kw (from 40 kw), so it didn't fill in the rough spots as well - like being shadowed by Cottage Hill, Forest Hill, and Spring Hill ... and less ability to penetrate concrete/steel buildings, which was important for at-work listening. Had we been able to be non-DA at that site, I would have done it in a heartbeat. The new owner is doing the right thing.
 
I wonder if Citronelle had less or more population within it's primary signal than the above referenced Andalusia station - 98.1 WWSF (aka WXCR and WTKE) had when the mesmerizing strobey-endowed tower was up in the Black Forest....talk about N A D A. The only people for miles had their damn houses literally right under the wires of that huge tower...All four houses (bout 100 family members, won't discuss dental hygiene.)
 
98.1 Andalusia did waste a lot of signal trying to hit FWB ... which they did not city grade. Didn't keep it from being #1 in the Arbitrons there for several years. But it was critical for the station to have enough RF to penetrate the concrete & steel condo buildings, which it did not. At the time, tho, FCC would not allow changing the city of license (allocation table assignment), so they moved as far toward FWB away from Andalusia and still city-grade the COL.

Citronelle 102.1 could only go from A to C3 by moving west of town, toward the Miss. line... they wanted to move south toward Mobile, but couldn't even put a primary signal to Satsuma/Saraland, so it was all in vain. Tom Wilson did give it a try with Jammin' Oldies, to complement WDLT. I seem to remember that 102.1 in the FWB area, plus 102.7 WXBM, were the stations whose mileage separations kept them at bay.
 
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