Erect a 981 foot stick in Trenton and leave WKZY at 100KW?
Or... move WKZY to Newberry and be 50KW at the same 981 feet?
Or... move WKZY to Newberry and be 50KW at the same 981 feet?
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ENGINEERING FOR WKZY-- WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
- Thread starter ThatGuyOnTheRadio
- Start date
R
Radio-X
Guest
If this is feasible, I'd move it to Newberry. At 50kW that high up, the overall signal reach will improve by a few miles, and would give you not only better coverage in Gainesville, but would help out the signal in Ocala as well (assuming the signal isn't directional to the south to protect WXXL).
Even though losing the power is a bummer, the doubling in tower height is crucial. But that high up, the difference in 50kW and 100kW is maybe 3-5 miles in extra coverage...so if it can be done, move the stick 15 miles closer to the market!!! The power reduction is totally worth it!!!
Radio-X
(Certified wannabe radio engineer)
Even though losing the power is a bummer, the doubling in tower height is crucial. But that high up, the difference in 50kW and 100kW is maybe 3-5 miles in extra coverage...so if it can be done, move the stick 15 miles closer to the market!!! The power reduction is totally worth it!!!
Radio-X
(Certified wannabe radio engineer)
M
MN Maniac
Guest
WKZY will never be a player in Ocala, no matter how they tweak it. Ocala is just too close to WXXL's transmitter, thus preventing WKZY from moving close enough to have a competitive signal in the southern half of this hyphenated market.
Agreed MN, but moving to Newberry (which would be my choice as well) will finally make WKZY a much bigger player in Gainesville. Being able to penetrate buildings better than they can now including the dorms.
Gainesville-Ocala is just too big of a market. The only true players are WOGK, WKTK and WRUF-FM.
Gainesville-Ocala is just too big of a market. The only true players are WOGK, WKTK and WRUF-FM.
ThatGuyOnTheRadio said:
If they want to only maximize the signal in Gainesville, then Newberry makes sense, however, I don't know if they can move that close as a C1 and becoming a C2 would possibly prevent them from covering their city of license. Since the market is combined, remaining further out with a higher tower and more power makes the most sense, but only if they want to try to play in the whole market. Remember that the signal degrades slower from a higher class of station, so they might loose a little coverage in Gainesville, but the total population coverage from the C1 would probably still exceed that of the C2 by a good deal, with most of the increase coming from eastern Alachua county and northern Marion county.
The focus is more of Gainesville. KZY will never be a huge player in Marion County regardless of what they do.
About the COL-- they would apply for a change. Since Cross City is now served by WZCC.
About the COL-- they would apply for a change. Since Cross City is now served by WZCC.
WKZY will not get FAA approval for a tower height increase at its current site due to a nearby airport in Trenton, although if the airport was not a factor, they could increase to 981 feet and remain 100kw per FCC C1 rules. And, altough 106.9, in the general area, is too close to 106.7 C1 Tavares for a full C upgrade, Pamal may be able to "wedge in" a C0 at the Trenton location, allowing 100kw at 1,500 feet, again, if the airport was not an issue and the proposed tower site and height specifications met FAA approval.
If any of these scenarios passed FAA and FCC muster, WKZY would have a city grade over Ocala and a much improved city grade over Gainesville.
If any of these scenarios passed FAA and FCC muster, WKZY would have a city grade over Ocala and a much improved city grade over Gainesville.
ThatGuyOnTheRadio said:
Unfortunately, if WKZY were to downgrade to a class C2, it could not operate with 50kw at 981 feet since C2s are limited to 50kw at 492 feet. At 981 feet, a C2 operation would need to reduce power to somewhere around 7kw, although it's plausable with a COL change to Newberry and tower move closer to Gainesville, a C2 operation should greatly improve the Gainesville city grade coverage, while it will do nothing for the rest of the metro, namely Ocala.
M
MN Maniac
Guest
That's right: 106.7 is only a C1. They kept their shorter stick in west Orange Co., rather than move to Orange City or Bithlo.
Why did WXXL change their COL from Leesburg to Tavares? I remember it happened in the mid-1990s, but was never sure of the reason why.
Why did WXXL change their COL from Leesburg to Tavares? I remember it happened in the mid-1990s, but was never sure of the reason why.
MN Maniac said:
WXXL was re-licensed to Tavares in anticipation of moving its transmitter site to Orange City. However 106.7 would have remained a C1 from the Orange City tower site. This would have meant a loss in city grade coverage over Leesburg, creating only a fringe rimshot signal there. Tavares, on the other hand, would have still had 60dbu coverage, hence the COL change to comply with FCC FM COL city grade coverage requirements.
M
MN Maniac
Guest
What kept them from becoming a full C from Orange City? This was before WKZY moved from 106.3 to 106.9. Also before Class C0 was created. 107.1/Melbourne (?)
jmtillery said:
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