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End of the line for WMXP, Greenville

Did they really need to change city of license from Pendleton to Powdersville? I know there are FCC rules regarding primary service/city ID once a license is granted, a city can't lose primary service if it's the only allocation, and 95.9 was the only one for Pendleton. I know moving their tower 6 miles east puts Pendleton closer to the edge of the primary signal (60 dbu) and not in the city grade but Powdersville is very close to the new 95.5 transmitter location. Both 95.5 / 95.9 transmitters off a cell tower in the middle of the countryside off Highway 81 in rural Northern Anderson County about 6 miles apart.
 
KyleAndMelissa22 said:
Did they really need to change city of license from Pendleton to Powdersville? I know there are FCC rules regarding primary service/city ID once a license is granted, a city can't lose primary service if it's the only allocation, and 95.9 was the only one for Pendleton. I know moving their tower 6 miles east puts Pendleton closer to the edge of the primary signal (60 dbu) and not in the city grade but Powdersville is very close to the new 95.5 transmitter location. Both 95.5 / 95.9 transmitters off a cell tower in the middle of the countryside off Highway 81 in rural Northern Anderson County about 6 miles apart.
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It seems like it, it’s not that different than WOSF 105.3 still being licensed to Gaffney (LOL) but the antenna is in northern Gaston County.
 
WMXP is still puting out a weak signal in South Greenville, making 95.5 unlistenable in many parts of the city. I heard it yesterday near the Haywood Mall and off of Woodruff Road.

Earth FM on 95.5 must testing their signal but in Greenville its not really a useful signal with WMXP right behind it on the same channel.

It does remind me of the new 105.3 translator in Greer causing major issues for WOSF in that area where it should and used to have a decent signal.
 
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KyleAndMelissa22 said:
WMXP is still puting out a weak signal in South Greenville, making 95.5 unlistenable in many parts of the city. I heard it yesterday near the Haywood Mall and off of Woodruff Road.

Earth FM on 95.5 must testing their signal but in Greenville its not really a useful signal with WMXP right behind it on the same channel.

It does remind me of the new 105.3 translator in Greer causing major issues for WOSF in that area where it should and used to have a decent signal.
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Yes 105.3-WOSF still had a decent signal in a good portion of Greenville County before that Greer translator signed on. Even after the tower was moved from the Gaffney region to Gaston County. But I guess tower location trumps city of license in terms of signal protection and interference. When the tower was closer to Gaffney the signal in Greenville was very strong, then it was sold and became a Charlotte station. But it would still come in decently before the Greer translator signed on. And Gaffney lost its beloved hometown station, but I think there still is an AM version.
 
Protection from interference is based on a station's actual location, not its COL. If the tower moves, so does the contour (60 dBu in this case) in which its signal is protected.

However, stations that move are still required to provide a 70 dBu signal over their COL, whatever it is (you can change COL as well as tower location, as WLTE is doing, to carry out a move that would take your previous COL out of that 70 dBu contour)
 
tylerSC said:
Yes 105.3-WOSF still had a decent signal in a good portion of Greenville County before that Greer translator signed on. Even after the tower was moved from the Gaffney region to Gaston County. But I guess tower location trumps city of license in terms of signal protection and interference. When the tower was closer to Gaffney the signal in Greenville was very strong, then it was sold and became a Charlotte station. But it would still come in decently before the Greer translator signed on. And Gaffney lost its beloved hometown station, but I think there still is an AM version.
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Ah, the old WAGI, it was known as the Upstate Power Station...but it seemed like a local Gaffney station with a large area reach, covered most of the Upstate and Charlotte area well, Greenville had a stronger signal and Charlotte was ok in most areas I remember. It did broadcast from a tower north of Ellenboro / Forest City atop what I believe is called Cherry Mountain (Near Hollis / Sunshine / Bostic) I believe the former WAGI tower is still up there, idle and not being used for anything, so maybe someone can move there someday, but I doubt it, its been idle for over 10 years now.

Closest thing we have to that now is the downgraded version of the same station, 104.3 (W282AX) also on WZZQ AM 1500, and still run by local Dennis Fowler. Seems to only focus on Gaffney and, while WAGI was a country station, similar to I Guess WESC, the current station on 104.3 (W282AX), what is left of it, is now a classic hits station, similar to Earth FM, and I hope it can get on a taller Tower for better signal Beyond Gaffney, maybe reaching at least into Spartanburg, right now it's only 250 Watts from only 135 feet.

Theres a big 400+ foot tower off highway 105 (about 3 miles away from the WZZQ studio) that 104.3 used to have a CP for many years ago before they chose the AM tower behind their studio for their FM translator.

Maybe 104.3 WZZQ can add themselves to an HD Signal in our area, like 105.3 WOSF HD3 or 4...The 104.1 (WHRZ) and 104.5 (W283CG) signals in Spartanburg are strong enough to prevent it from reaching any more than a few miles into Spartanburg County.
 
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KyleAndMelissa22 said:
Did they really need to change city of license from Pendleton to Powdersville? I know there are FCC rules regarding primary service/city ID once a license is granted, a city can't lose primary service if it's the only allocation, and 95.9 was the only one for Pendleton. I know moving their tower 6 miles east puts Pendleton closer to the edge of the primary signal (60 dbu) and not in the city grade but Powdersville is very close to the new 95.5 transmitter location. Both 95.5 / 95.9 transmitters off a cell tower in the middle of the countryside off Highway 81 in rural Northern Anderson County about 6 miles apart.
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You need a clear understanding of the intricate FCC's current FM licensing rules for all this explanation to make sense. However, simply put, both Powdersville and Pendleton are located in the US Census designated Greenville urbanized area. If you were to google that info you should pull up a map. It is surprising to see how it snakes out along Highway 123 takes in Easley/Pickens then back down the four lane to Clemson where it then heads south along the four lane to Anderson. Anderson has its own urbanized area separate from Greenville. If a station is licensed to a community within the urbanized area, then FCC rules allow a station, even if it is the only service to that community, move to another community also located within the urbanized area. More or less the FCC considers the station licensed to the urbanized area. However, the station technically must still provide a city grade contour across a specific designated community of license. 95.5 couldn't be allocated to Pendleton but Powdersville worked. A similar situation took place in Asheville. WQNS 105.1 had long been licensed on 104.9 to Waynesville some 25 miles west of Asheville. It so happens the Asheville urbanized area snakes out to Waynesville in similar faction just along I-40. When Gaffney 105.3 moved its transmitter to the Gastonia area, it opened up 105.1 use in Asheville to the 104.9 station in Waynesville. The "hole" for 95.5 at Powdersville was created when WSBB-FM moved into central Atlanta and the 95.3 at Due West, SC moved to Bowman, GA. Since Due West was not in an urbanized area, the FCC wouldn't allow it to move unless another station changed its city of license to Due West which WAHP at Belton changed to Due West and Belton still had a station, an AM, licensed to it.
 
MediaMan said:
A similar situation took place in Asheville. WQNS 105.1 had long been licensed on 104.9 to Waynesville some 25 miles west of Asheville. It so happens the Asheville urbanized area snakes out to Waynesville in similar faction just along I-40. When Gaffney 105.3 moved its transmitter to the Gastonia area, it opened up 105.1 use in Asheville to the 104.9 station in Waynesville. The "hole" for 95.5 at Powdersville was created when WSBB-FM moved into central Atlanta and the 95.3 at Due West, SC moved to Bowman, GA. Since Due West was not in an urbanized area, the FCC wouldn't allow it to move unless another station changed its city of license to Due West which WAHP at Belton changed to Due West and Belton still had a station, an AM, licensed to it.
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WQNS had not served Waynesville in years. It had been a classic rock station for the Asheville area since 1998 I believe. I remember because I was listening to it while my father was getting dressed for an event we were going to and that's the last time my father and I ever shared a motel room in the mountains. WQNQ, formerly licensed to Old Fort (and formerly WMXF), began simulcasting, but a few years later moved its tower and became a separate station with a CHR format. WQNS was trying to serve Asheville from a mountain overlooking Clyde, about 25 miles west of Asheville, with a 100-watt signal which may have been increased when 6000 watts became standard for class A stations, up from 3000.

WMXF was the AM station in Waynesville and still had a studio there, and referred to itself as "Your home town station", but I don't know precisely when even that moved to Asheville, leaving Waynesville with nothing. There was a local morning show, but I don't know whether that continued after the switch from standards to talk. I just remember seeing the name Glenn Beck online and realizing he was not an America's Best Music DJ. And I've despised the man ever since even before knowing anything about him.

Canton has a very weak AM whose owner was very committed to the community and wouldn't sell to the big companies like WMXF and WQNS did. It did get a translator so now it covers the county.
 
MediaMan said:
You need a clear understanding of the intricate FCC's current FM licensing rules for all this explanation to make sense. However, simply put, both Powdersville and Pendleton are located in the US Census designated Greenville urbanized area. If you were to google that info you should pull up a map. It is surprising to see how it snakes out along Highway 123 takes in Easley/Pickens then back down the four lane to Clemson where it then heads south along the four lane to Anderson. Anderson has its own urbanized area separate from Greenville. If a station is licensed to a community within the urbanized area, then FCC rules allow a station, even if it is the only service to that community, move to another community also located within the urbanized area. More or less the FCC considers the station licensed to the urbanized area. However, the station technically must still provide a city grade contour across a specific designated community of license. 95.5 couldn't be allocated to Pendleton but Powdersville worked. A similar situation took place in Asheville. WQNS 105.1 had long been licensed on 104.9 to Waynesville some 25 miles west of Asheville. It so happens the Asheville urbanized area snakes out to Waynesville in similar faction just along I-40. When Gaffney 105.3 moved its transmitter to the Gastonia area, it opened up 105.1 use in Asheville to the 104.9 station in Waynesville. The "hole" for 95.5 at Powdersville was created when WSBB-FM moved into central Atlanta and the 95.3 at Due West, SC moved to Bowman, GA. Since Due West was not in an urbanized area, the FCC wouldn't allow it to move unless another station changed its city of license to Due West which WAHP at Belton changed to Due West and Belton still had a station, an AM, licensed to it.
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And the move of WQNS to 105.1 made way for, I believe, WCCP to move to 105.5 and WROO (licensed to Mauldin) to move to the 104.9 allocation that previously hosted WCCP and crank the power up and convert to a C3 without having to change facilities back in 2014.
 
KyleAndMelissa22 said:
WMXP is still puting out a weak signal in South Greenville, making 95.5 unlistenable in many parts of the city. I heard it yesterday near the Haywood Mall and off of Woodruff Road.

Earth FM on 95.5 must testing their signal but in Greenville its not really a useful signal with WMXP right behind it on the same channel.

It does remind me of the new 105.3 translator in Greer causing major issues for WOSF in that area where it should and used to have a decent signal.
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As of today, WLTE is fully licensed. If WMXP is on the channel, they are, effectively, a pirate. I just listened to the WLTE signal in Greenville and, so far, it's terrible.
 
Has WMXP gone off the air? In Simpsonville today 95.5 sounded weak, couldn’t get a HD lock or RDS. The 96.9, 98.5 and 99.5 translator signals were better. I didn’t hear WMXP interfering though, that’s a lift for their signal to reach. Just a lot of static on 95.5 considering the distance. I guess the HAAT is low for 95.5, it’s even lower than it is for 106.3 WSPA-FM which is pretty low as is.
 
WMXP is still alive and well apparently. Going down 85, 95.5 starts to get decent past the Duncan exit with little static and the RDS starts displaying. HD starts trying to lock past the GSP exit. But my god, between Pelham Rd and the 385/85 interchange, 95.5 WLTE is getting absolutely clobbered by something with a low noise level which sounds like WMXP until Mauldin.

Going down toward Simpsonville, FURTHER from the WLTE tower site HD locks in and signal is very good. I don’t know if WMXP is pouting or trying to make a statement, or if they somehow think they’re legally allowed to broadcast, but this could get expensive for them. They’ve known this was coming for over a year now.
 
WMXP still going at it, trashing the HD and analog signal for 95.5 in the Laurens/Woodruff/Haywood Rd areas especially. I wonder why WMXP-LP didn't try to work with Salem and move to the now vacated 95.9 frequency? I'm not sure why they would want to stay on 95.5 as a pirate considering WLTE is going to dominate their 100w rig almost everywhere. It's unlistenable really but enough to cause big problems for WLTE.

95.5/103.3 is a much better simulcast combo than 103.3/(class A) 103.9 were. 95.5 is very well placed to compliment 103.3 - 103.9 was too far north. Hits all of the important parts of the market perfectly. The only issue really is 95.5 signal gets hit with tropo badly at times.

BTW, the HD signal on 95.5 WLTE sounds amazing - flipped it back and forth with 103.3 and it's a stunning difference. 95.5 runs about 5 seconds behind 103.3.
 
MediaMan said:
However, simply put, both Powdersville and Pendleton are located in the US Census designated Greenville urbanized area. If you were to google that info you should pull up a map. It is surprising to see how it snakes out along Highway 123 takes in Easley/Pickens then back down the four lane to Clemson where it then heads south along the four lane to Anderson. Anderson has its own urbanized area separate from Greenville.
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The FCC does not use U.S. Census Metropolitan Statistical Areas to define markets... they use Nielsen's Metro Survey Area.

And that is for market definitions which are principally used for establishment of ownership caps. Coverage of the COL is a totally different issue.
 
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101tm said:
WMXP still going at it, trashing the HD and analog signal for 95.5 in the Laurens/Woodruff/Haywood Rd areas especially. I wonder why WMXP-LP didn't try to work with Salem and move to the now vacated 95.9 frequency? I'm not sure why they would want to stay on 95.5 as a pirate considering WLTE is going to dominate their 100w rig almost everywhere. It's unlistenable really but enough to cause big problems for WLTE.

95.5/103.3 is a much better simulcast combo than 103.3/(class A) 103.9 were. 95.5 is very well placed to compliment 103.3 - 103.9 was too far north. Hits all of the important parts of the market perfectly. The only issue really is 95.5 signal gets hit with tropo badly at times.

BTW, the HD signal on 95.5 WLTE sounds amazing - flipped it back and forth with 103.3 and it's a stunning difference. 95.5 runs about 5 seconds behind 103.3.
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As I understand WMXP is off now.
 
DavidEduardo said:
The FCC does not use U.S. Census Metropolitan Statistical Areas to define markets... they use Nielsen's Metro Survey Area.

And that is for market definitions which are principally used for establishment of ownership caps. Coverage of the COL is a totally different issue.
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The Urbanized area of a given market and the MSA are two different things. The Rural Radio Act established the process of city of license changes intra-urbanized areas.
 
Sounds like WMXP has shut down their online stream, well it’s dead air. No updates on their website or social media but it sounds like they’ve had financial issues off and on since they signed on.

Would be curious to hear what WLTE’s signal sounds like in that area now, it should sound great.
 
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