Interesting move by Cumulus

[RTibbs]

So if I understand all these posts and I certainly do not understand all the technical aspects. It is believed that they traded a small radio station in order for them to get access to use that frequency to broadcast an internet station, 99x.com, to a very small listening area on a format, HD, that very few people have.

If true somewhere out there Inside Your Head seeks an apartment, a job and a girlfriend within 2 miles of the tower.

 

[taylorengineer]

So if I understand all these posts and I certainly do not understand all the technical aspects. It is believed that they traded a small radio station in order for them to get access to use that frequency to broadcast an internet station, 99x.com, to a very small listening area on a format, HD, that very few people have.

Actually......the "alternative" version of 99X is currently on 99.7's HD2. The FCC has allowed HD2s to be the programming source for translators - this may be what Clouduless is going to do. The translator will operated at 250 watts at 7-900 feet - this is like 1-2.5 thousand watts at 300 feet. This translator will serve most of Atlanta and will be heard on any FM radio.
So....the Cloud trades an useless Albany, Ga. class A for an Atlanta signal. Downside? No protection for the translator. So what's to stop someone from filing an application which involves some other nearby channel or cochannel to "squeeze" this new translator out of existence?
It sure would be nice to be the one to get to tell the Dickey boys to bend over and grab their ankles.........

 

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

It will have the signal strength of a lower-end Class A and cover almost all of Fulton and DeKalb with a strong signal, along with Norcross and Mableton and if you have a good antenna, it could reach as far as Suwannee? At 1,063 feet in height, it should travel better than a 2,500 watt signal at 328 feet. If this isn't a spacing issue, then it is time to change the spacing requirements to allow an actual Class A at this location. I would like to see some changes. Considering the spacing of all signals and costs, it won't be easy or worth it for Clear Channel to remove or force a downgrade of this signal. If "97X" is a problem for The Project, then maybe it's time to end Project 96-1 and try something else.

 

[jabba17]

So....the Cloud trades an useless Albany, Ga. class A for an Atlanta signal. Downside? No protection for the translator. So what's to stop someone from filing an application which involves some other nearby channel or cochannel to "squeeze" this new translator out of existence?
It sure would be nice to be the one to get to tell the Dickey boys to bend over and grab their ankles.........

I suppose CC could try and do something like that with Legend at 97.5, but I would guess that Legend is hemmed in itself already or CC would have done that a long time ago to get more ATL coverage.

Maybe as Mr. Winston-Salem said, is this a prelude to converting the translator to a class A? I'm sure that Cumulus has thought all of this through...and is keeping any cards close to their vest.

 

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

Unless the rules have changed, I don't think it's possible to have a Class-A at this location? However, it is possible to have a translator like this. I was posting my usual complaint over spacing rules. I would like to see spacing rules relaxed to allow new signals and move-ins. This translator is like a fly. It can move around and chasing it is expensive, distracting and time consuming. If you're focused on your product, then the fly can only help point-out potential problems to make your product stronger. The only silencing moves I can think of would involve a move by Cox. If 97.9 doesn't take-on a Cox property, they should be fine. These same over-protective spacing rules will offer some protection for this translator. If not, they may find a way to move it around, like a fly. Translators can change frequency, power and towers. If you block it at 97.9, it could reappear on the dial somewhere else and/or move to another tower. Considering the investment, I'm sure they would move it around and if whatever programing it rebroadcasts is good enough for CC or others to invest the money and effort to silence it, it could be good enough for 100.5 and you can't silence that one. If they apply for a Class-A at 97.9, they will have to compete for it with everyone else and again, I don't think it is possible with the current spacing rules. It's best to buy and move-in. If the spacing rules were relaxed, the market could gain a few new signals. I know most prefer these signals stay in their mountain or central GA hometowns though.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Well,,, Like one poster said,, it would be absolute rubbish to rebroadcast 100.5 anywhere in Atlanta,,, they have 12000 some odd watts???

If anyone needs a translater, 95.5 WBTS could use a Downtown and or West side translator,,, I bet with a stronger signal 95.5 could really blow a hole in Star and Q,,, Not in V or Hot cause its not a real Hip Hop station as much as Cox says they are.... Yes I know Cox does not own that Translator,, im just saying,,, WBTS needs one... It doesnt make any sense why the signal is so weak in A-town for WBTS,,, but if you go east toward South Carolina you can pick it up forever,, and have a strong signal long after the other Atlanta stations have long faded out... I will have to check Radio Locator,, I bet ya 50 bucks that WBTS has their COL and Transmitter somewhere really far west of Atlanta.....

 

[jabba17]

Well,,, Like one poster said,, it would be absolute rubbish to rebroadcast 100.5 anywhere in Atlanta,,, they have 12000 some odd watts???

If anyone needs a translater, 95.5 WBTS could use a Downtown and or West side translator,,, I bet with a stronger signal 95.5 could really blow a hole in Star and Q,,, Not in V or Hot cause its not a real Hip Hop station as much as Cox says they are.... Yes I know Cox does not own that Translator,, im just saying,,, WBTS needs one... It doesnt make any sense why the signal is so weak in A-town for WBTS,,, but if you go east toward South Carolina you can pick it up forever,, and have a strong signal long after the other Atlanta stations have long faded out... I will have to check Radio Locator,, I bet ya 50 bucks that WBTS has their COL and Transmitter somewhere really far west of Atlanta.....

WBTS (formerly WNGC) originally had a CoL of Athens, east of ATL. The current CoL is Doraville a NE suburb, which might as well be ATL. I don't know where they were transmitting from before they moved in, but when they first moved in they had a tower near Loganville, roughly halfway between Athens and ATL. They are currently broadcasting from the WSRV (River) tower in Braselton, near Chateau Elan, NE of ATL. They have a CP to move to what looks like the Freedom Parkway tower intown (I could be wrong there). That should improve intown coverage at the expense of coverage to the east.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

I think WBTS has an application to move and not a CP at this point. The move would be to the Channel 30 analog tower, where WSB-FM is located.

The move would be "legal" because WBTS doesn't have to comply with the FCC's short-spacing rules. But an Atlanta chief engineer told me that moving WBTS into Atlanta would cause chaos among WBTS, WUBL and WKLS. Currently, the digital carriers for WUBL and WKLS knock out WBTS within a few miles of their respective antennas, which are on the original Richland tower.

Some time ago, former Cox market manager Chris Wegmann told me that the WBTS move will definitely happen because all of the studies have been done. That was about a year ago.

My radio blog: www.atlairwaves.blogspot.com