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FM Frequency of the Week - 87.9 MHz

B

Buckeyes2001

A popular frequency for pirate stations, what have you all gotten on 87.9 FM either at your current location or in your travels?

Here in Vermilion, OH I once heard a reggae station on this frequency about 3 years ago. Haven't heard anything since. However, drive into Cleveland and there's a Latino pirate that can be heard in the Tremont areas and also near Shaker Heights (eastern suburb)
 
Used to get quiet-ish sideband noise off KOIN's nearby audio track, pre-Great American NTSC Killoff.

Here and abroad, currently, I've only heard static.
 
danikayser84 said:
Schenectady, NY - until June 12, 2009 it was splatter from WRGB's audio sidebands but since then, nothing...
Click to expand...

Really? After the analog shutoff, WRGB broadcast on 87.9 analog (only), very briefly. I caught it on skip that year from FL. I understand that the FCC put the kibosh on that!*

Also in '09 or '10 I caught what had to be some kind of pirate on 87.9 playing country music---skip was going out Texas way, and it was around 12 noon Eastern. (If anyone remembers or has heard this, I'd be keen to know.)

Last year on a strong Tropo was Praise 87.9 in the Cayman Islands (2 kw, a legal station---there, anyway).

[*I woulda forgot about the WRGB thing if not for the above post! Anyone with the whole story of what actually happened with that WRGB 87.9 analog, I would like to know.....I just figured that the FCC would not allow any more analog TV sound.]

cd
 
Ah, yes, now I remember they tried analog audio on 87.9 without any FCC authorization :) I think the analog audio on 87.9 caused interference to the WRGB digital signal, which moved from UHF 39 to VHF 6 after the DTV shutdown... and also caused some interference to WVCR 88.3 (Siena's radio station)
 
danikayser84 said:
Ah, yes, now I remember they tried analog audio on 87.9 without any FCC authorization :) I think the analog audio on 87.9 caused interference to the WRGB digital signal, which moved from UHF 39 to VHF 6 after the DTV shutdown... and also caused some interference to WVCR 88.3 (Siena's radio station)
Click to expand...

Does WRGB actually prefer being on DT 6 as opposed to 39?? or is that an FCC edict? (maybe a 39 was allocated to somebody else)

I wonder how many OTA stations using 2-6 for its digital RF channel actually *like* it there, considering that most outdoor antennas today aren't even geared for those lowband VHF channels....that's a whole other thread.

cd
 
In Bothell I used to hear an eclectic pirate on 87.9 [sometimes hip-hop, sometimes jazz, sometimes Asian music] and there were no IDs except for an electronic voiced woman who would say every five minutes "It's [insert time] AM/PM". Weak but it was in there. Tracked it down to the Canyon Park [228th] area.

-crainbebo
 
I used to get a pirate station that broadcasted from East Chicago on 87.9. I used to get it as far south as Schererville & northern Merrillville. Since WLFM-LP started broadcasting on channel 6, & the audio being beard on 87.7, the pirate went away. Now, WLFM-LP splatters over 87.9.
 
I used to be able to get audio from WPSD channel 6 in Paducah, KY until the digital conversion, and later WPGF-LP in Memphis until they recently converted at times. They were simulcasting WMPS 1210 in Memphis with a talk format. Other than that 87.7 or 87.9 was where I usually kept my MP3 transmitter for my car radio. :D
 
MY favorite "stuck in traffic" frequency - because you are guaranteed a fascinating mix of different programs from modulators as you crawl along. Of course, that means that multitudes of people are NOT listening to commercial FM stations.
 
Warminster PA(Philly 'burbs):

Used to be splatter from the WPVI-6 audio at 87.7 before the DTV transition of
June 12, 2009. Now, it's nothing at all.
 
I've heard a few of those FM modulators on 87.9 as rbrucecarter5 notes. I've also come across one or two hooked up to some sort of hands-free cell phone system that allowed me to snoop on half of a phone call.

I think the only pirate I've ever heard on 87.9 was in Berkeley years ago. Otherwise it's been nothing at all. I've heard DTV hash from WUOA-DT in Birmingham as far out as 50 miles. At home, it's HD hash from WUWF in Pensacola, Florida.
 
I made a trip into the Memphis area about a week ago and found out that WPGF-LP is still in analog on channel 6 and still simulcasting WMPS 1210. I guess that will last until they're forced to shut down, which I believe I saw in a thread here is in 2015.
 
Buckeyes2001 said:
drive into Cleveland and there's a Latino pirate that can be heard in the Tremont areas and also near Shaker Heights (eastern suburb)
Click to expand...

Funny you mentioned this one. I was in downtown Cleveland 5/19-5/20 and was receiving it. Not that great of a signal but definitely listenable.

About 3 or 4 years ago I used to get a Spanish pirate in Marietta, GA but they appeared to only broadcast in the evening hours. It was there for maybe a month and never heard it since.
 
Within the past week or so, there's been somebody "modulating" (we actually call it "transmitting" where I'm from) sporadically in my area on 87.9. Usually it's an adult-contemporary blend that sounds like Muzak's "Foreground Music One" satellite feed (except in stereo), but sometimes it's dead air. At this moment, it sounds like they're feeding it from a CB rig running in single-sideband mode, set to channel 37. They feed the transmitter at a fairly low level, probably from a headphone jack if I had to guess. I think it may be coming from somewhere in the adjacent housing area; not sure if it's a pirate or just somebody who wants to hear the radio in another part of the house.

Also, because of my close proximity to Highway 14 I'll sometimes hear peoples' car transmitters overpower the local one for a few seconds at a time, as they drive by. Interesting channel to monitor; I'd never really considered it before!

"Of course, that means that multitudes of people are NOT listening to commercial FM stations. Not that there's anything wrong with that."
Click to expand...

Fixed.
 
I used to hear someone periodically firing up an XM/Classic Vinyl transmitter on 95.3 some of the time in Bothell. Wasn't really strong, it could probably have been wiped out during E-skip.

-crainbebo
 
There's a Chicago station on 87.75 that gets out well (3KW ERP at 1400' or so), but at 200 miles, I rarely hear it. Northwest isn't a favorable direction for me, but I have a friend in Illinois who gets it reliably at 160 air miles. It's the sound portion of an LPTV station.
 
BobOnTheJob said:
There's a Chicago station on 87.75 that gets out well (3KW ERP at 1400' or so), but at 200 miles, I rarely hear it. Northwest isn't a favorable direction for me, but I have a friend in Illinois who gets it reliably at 160 air miles. It's the sound portion of an LPTV station.
Click to expand...

I caught that on E-skip 3 years ago as smooth jazz "The L," but I believe they are active rock now or something similar.

I have a local 87.75 in Miami now, so hearing that station is a no-go now.

cd
 
anotherguy said:
I made a trip into the Memphis area about a week ago and found out that WPGF-LP is still in analog on channel 6 and still simulcasting WMPS 1210. I guess that will last until they're forced to shut down, which I believe I saw in a thread here is in 2015.
Click to expand...

In late June WPGF-LP switched to simulcasting WHBQ 560, which is sports talk. Better that than the conspiracy freaks on 1210.  ::)
 
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