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FCC approves WPEN's application to augment new night pattern

D

DanStrassberg

Yesterday's FCC actions show that the FCC has approved WPEN's application to
augment its new night pattern--just one augmentation at 34 degrees with a
span of 30 degrees and a field strength at the central azimuth of 217 mV/m@1
km (equivalent to about 500W ND). The augmentation nicely fills in a minimum
at 17 degrees. The application attributes the need for the augmentation to a
high-tension line about 1/4 mile from the center of the array (the
application stated which direction but I don't recall). Anyhow, the proofing
must have gone off like clockwork and clearly GM has a friend at the Media
Bureau because the application was filed only about a week before the grant.
The Media Bureau almost never approves applications that quickly. I imagine
that WPEN will be running 21 kW overnight tonight.

Somehow, though, I suspect that it will be a LONG time, if ever, before
there is any change in WPEN's day facilities, but I would not be at all
surprised to see WWDB file for low-power nighttime operation from WPEN's old
three-tower array. I think WWDB is likely to be able to get 50W or so from
that array at night, which would send the equivalent of about 200W to the
southeast. I bet WWDB could deliver a listenable (albeit not
interference-free) signal to a sizeable chunk of Phiadelphia at night with
those facilities. And the project cost ought not to be a killer--even for
the notoriously tight-fisted Beasley.
 
> The past two nights in a row, at around 8 pm, the signal
> changes. It sounds loud and clear, crisp here in Trenton,
> NJ.
>
That would be the switch from 5 kW ND from West Philly (days) to 21 kW DA from E Norriton (nights). Philadelphia FCC sunset in August takes place at 8:00 PM, I believe. Of course, part of the crispness is that they shut off IBOC at sunset. Still, since AFAIK, Trenton is closer to W Philly than it is to E Norriton, and the new night pattern is relatively narrow, it's a bit of a surprise that you get a lot of benefit from the night pattern. How does WPEN's night signal compare with WNTP's at your QTH? The patterns are quite similar, but WNTP is 10 kW vs WPEN 21 kW but WNTP must be closer to you than WPEN is.
 
Looking at the coverage maps on Radio-Locator, the new WPEN night pattern sends more signal to Trenton than did the old one. Nothing, alas, comes to Delaware. I could pick up WPEN with a weak, but listenable, signal when they used the old pattern. Now, there is nothing there.

Also, what time does WPEN make the morning switch. I sometimes hear the WWDB carrier prior to the 6:15 sign-on. Is WPEN switching at 6:00 or 6:15? In anycase, I can not hear WPEN on northbound 495 until I reach the PA border from Delaware, at about 6:15.

> > The past two nights in a row, at around 8 pm, the signal
> > changes. It sounds loud and clear, crisp here in Trenton,
> > NJ.
> >
> That would be the switch from 5 kW ND from West Philly
> (days) to 21 kW DA from E Norriton (nights). Philadelphia
> FCC sunset in August takes place at 8:00 PM, I believe. Of
> course, part of the crispness is that they shut off IBOC at
> sunset. Still, since AFAIK, Trenton is closer to W Philly
> than it is to E Norriton, and the new night pattern is
> relatively narrow, it's a bit of a surprise that you get a
> lot of benefit from the night pattern. How does WPEN's night
> signal compare with WNTP's at your QTH? The patterns are
> quite similar, but WNTP is 10 kW vs WPEN 21 kW but WNTP must
> be closer to you than WPEN is.
>
 
> Also, what time does WPEN make the morning switch. I
> sometimes hear the WWDB carrier prior to the 6:15 sign-on.
> Is WPEN switching at 6:00 or 6:15? In anycase, I can not
> hear WPEN on northbound 495 until I reach the PA border from
> Delaware, at about 6:15.

I'm not positive, but I think Philadelphia FCC sunrise in August is at 6:00 AM. I'm in Boston, and in most months, the Philadelphia sunrise and sunset times are 15 minutes later than the Boston times. Boston FCC sunrise in August is 5:45 AM--although in some months sunrise or sunset times vary by 15 minites depending on where in the market a station is located. It's also strange that the line between the two times seems to run much more nearly east-to-west than north-to-south, suggesting that longitude is more important than latidude in determining the sunrise/sunset times. I figured that small differences in longitude would make little difference, whereas the effect of latitude is obvious--at any given latitude, sunrise and sunset are later by 15 minutes for every 3-3/4 degrees west you travel.
 
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