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FM Frequency of the Week 2018-19: 97.1

G

gr8oldies

If you've just joined us, we're reviewing what are known as the Class B and C frequencies of the FM band in the United States.
This week we're asking, what do you or did you get on 97.1

East Tennessee: Before W246DH (WVLZ-1180 translator) came on and ruined the fun, reception could be either Somerset KY (now WJQQ), especially on a ridgetop, or WSRV, Gainesville GA.

Dayton, OH: It was usually WBNS-FM, Columbus in its various incarnations as Beautiful Music, oldies, 80s/90s alternative and sports. Often WENS (now WLHK), Shelbyville-Indianapolis would make it in. There is currently an Air 1 translator on 97.1 in Dayton, which might nix those receptions.

Lafayette, IN in the 80s and 90s: WENS, Shelbyville with a weak signal in the heart of town but better on the southeast side. Sometimes Classical WNIB (the present day WDRV) would make it in from Chicago.

DX recording of the week from Bob Hawkins FM DX: Recorded History site:

E Skip reception of KFJZ, Fort Worth TX with the end of Texas State Network news and some dead air:
http://46124.info/FM/Texas/TX Fort Worth 97.1 1968 KFJZ.mp3

Same facility, different calls from 1975: KWXI
http://46124.info/FM/Texas/TX Fort Worth 97.1 1975 KWXI.mp3
 
gr8oldies said:
If you've just joined us, we're reviewing what are known as the Class B and C frequencies of the FM band in the United States.
This week we're asking, what do you or did you get on 97.1

]
Click to expand...


It's not all Class B and C FM's.. there are several Class A's there as well
 
Warminster PA(Philly 'burbs):
Picked up quite a few translators here, including those of Reach FM in Delaware, WRDV in
Bensalem, and WPAZ-FM in Pottstown(reairing AM 1370). Oh, and don't forget WQHT, Hot 97.1 from NYC.
 
Back in the day, before 80-90 and the abolition of the demarcated A and B/C channels, 97.1 was a wide open channel in Iowa. The usual DX catches in the 80s on 97.1 was Sparta WI WCOW, and the format-a-year station in Florissant MO, today's KFTK. Florissant's 97.1 was/is always at a disadvantage in the St. Louis market because of the traditional 30 mile separation between class Cs on the I.F. channel "taboo" (10.6/10.8 MHz), needed to stay clear of St. Louis' 107.7 MHz.
 
Yakima WA

KXRX Walla Walla (Rock), not very strong. KZTA splatter messes it up and it's fuzzy anyways.
KYCH Portland also heard above 4500 feet 25 miles west of Yakima. Charlie FM, Adult Hits.

Not a plentiful channel for DX, oddly enough, probably due to the splatter of KZTA. Only ONE Es log! KZBR La Jara, CO on 4/28/15, 'The Zebra.'
Anything in Es range would be fantastic in 2019. Most wanted - KAMP Los Angeles, and KPSD Eagle Butte SD (an NPR on a commercial FM channel, operated by SDPB).
 
Far northwest Chicago burbs....

97.1 is WDRV, which broadcasts from a downtown Chicago stick. Signal here is comparable to the other Chicago full-facility FMs. Fair-Good.

WDRV is simulcast at 96.9 on a 50kw stick just over the state line in Wisconsin a few miles west of Lake Michigan. 96.9 is slightly....but noticeably...stronger than the parent station on 97.1 at my location
 
Reynoldsburg, Ohio ...
Always local WBNS-FM "97.1 The Fan", which has been sports for about a decade now and is the flagship station for Ohio State football and men's basketball as well as the Blue Jackets (OSU always wins conflicts). It's one of our market's top FM signals, although it does get nicked a bit on the edges of its signal range by translators in Dayton (as gr8 mentioned) as well as Athens, where it translates WATH-AM (970). In both locations, The Fan formerly could be heard decently well, especially in Athens, which is of a bit higher elevation than Columbus.
 
joebtsflk1 said:
Back in the day, before 80-90 and the abolition of the demarcated A and B/C channels, 97.1 was a wide open channel in Iowa. The usual DX catches in the 80s on 97.1 was Sparta WI WCOW, and the format-a-year station in Florissant MO, today's KFTK.
Click to expand...

WCOW was my first radio gig out of college. (I could take up several pages here with stories about what working there was like). Anyway, we were 50kw (recently increased from 16kw), and IIRC short-spaced (or nearly so) with the Twin Cities 97.1. We operated 5:30-am - midnight, and when we were off the Twin Cities 97.1 was audible about half of the time.

I lasted at WCOW all of five months. Asked for a raise. When the owner said no, I left the place. For all of the quirks involved working there, it WAS a great experience.
 
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