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How far did the old 950 WPEN go?

P

phils07

I lived in Philadelphia until age 6 and moved to Virginia before moving to Philadelphia in 2007 and moving to Coatesville earlier this year so I did not know about the old WPEN-AM. Where did the old 950 WPEN go if it was:
clear?
moderate?
weak?
very weak
and how well could i have gotten it in coatesville
 
WPEN's day signal was 'reasonable' in the Coatesville area but was subjected to sideband interference from WHYL-960 Carlisle and then later to WJWD/WVLV/WADV-940 Lebanon later on, and NOTHING at night. I'm sure now that its worse being that they have to offer protection to 940/960 and Potomac, Maryland (Washington area) with their higher daytime power.
 
In the old configuration, they were non-D daytime. I never realised how bad their nighttime signal was in Montgomery and Chester County, until I drove it years after I worked there. Probably the chief reason WPEN was unable to mount a challenge to WIP during the great MOR battle of 1969-1971.
 
I remember listening to WPEN in Vermont. It was a Saturday night oldies show with Mike St. John. I also listened to WCAU.
 
Does anyone know whether GM plans to build out WPEN's CP for a daytime power increase (44 kW, IIRC)? The CP is either about to expire or has expired already. Since no tower construction is involved and not even a new transmitter is required (I've been told that WPEN has two 25 kW alternate-main transmitters at each of its two sites), all that should be necessary would be a combining network and either a new phasor or possibly only modifications to the existing day phasor. Seems unlikely that the CP can be tolled. If it can't be, the application will have to be filed all over again. Failing that, they can forget about the power increase, which would improve the daytime signal only in south Jersey and some of central Jersey. No change at all to the west of the day site and no changes of any kind at night.
 
I remember the night in 1978 when 95PEN was switching from its downtown studio location to its new Bala Cynwyd address, and I wanted to hear the switchover. I happened to be on City Line just to the southwest of the towers at Lynn Boulevard - in line of sight of the blinking lights - and I couldn't hear a thing on my car radio.

That was quite a null!
 
HGN2001 said:
That was quite a null!
Click to expand...

There is still quite a null in the same direction, despite the power increase. It's just that the null starts in West Norriton now instead of Overbrook. WPEN still has a horrible signal to the west of their night transmitter, but because it is so far west nobody knows -- unless you live in Pottstown (or even Collegeville).
 
If the Phillies would still be on 950 (not 97.5) it wouldn't work out well at all because they lost WCOJ. How did the Sixers on WNWR work out?
 
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