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Largest FM Signal (U.S)

Grew up in Michigan with 3 of the top 5 grandfathered most powerful FM signals. WBCT (WJFM), WSRW (WOOD-FM) and WOMC/Detroit. WBCT was originally 500kw, now 320kw. WSRW is at 265kw, and OMC is at 190kw. It was explained to me by a highly respected engineer at WKFR-Kalamazoo by the name of Dale Schiesser, formerly of TSQ Michigan. Back in the day, he explained like this. A 320kw radio station signal isnt really expected to travel 200-400 miles from the transmitter. it really only goes about 100 miles, its just much clearer and has a stronger signal filling up that 100 mile contour. I had asked him after travelling to South Bend Indiana, from Kalamazoo, and losing the BCT signal around the state line. And when you look at their coverage map

WBCT-FM Radio Station Coverage Map

you see their fringe reception is just past South bend, and their distant signal just hits the Michigan/Indiana state line. Since their tower is in Gun Lake/Yankee Springs Michigan (on the WWMT-TV Tower) they travel farther South. And when that signal hits Lake Michigan, it skips right across in the the Metro Chicago and Milwaukee area, but with the terrain, it struggles to get to the East side of the State.

Having had the privilege of working at 2 different 100kw stations in Michigan (WKPK and WUPS) its fun getting calls and requests from 150-200 miles away. Once in a skip event, I got a call from a lady in Collinsville, IL. When I was on WKPK, whose transmitter is in Elmira, Michigan. Serving Gaylord and Traverse City. Collinsville is about 528 miles as the crow flies from Northern Michigan.
 
A sad note about a grandfathered Class B in my hometown market of Oxnard-Ventura CA: KHAY/100.7, 39kW @ 369 meters HAAT, notified the FCC on January 30 that a still-to-be-identified antenna system failure has caused them to lower their ERP to 2.5% of their licensed power (975 watts).

KHAY has been at its current site on Red Mountain (just north of its COL of Ventura) since it signed on in 1962 as KVEN-FM, and this is the first time in all of its years that I remember them having to decrease power over a technical issue.
 
The Hustle said:
Grew up in Michigan with 3 of the top 5 grandfathered most powerful FM signals. WBCT (WJFM), WSRW (WOOD-FM) and WOMC/Detroit. WBCT was originally 500kw, now 320kw. WSRW is at 265kw, and OMC is at 190kw. It was explained to me by a highly respected engineer at WKFR-Kalamazoo by the name of Dale Schiesser, formerly of TSQ Michigan. Back in the day, he explained like this. A 320kw radio station signal isnt really expected to travel 200-400 miles from the transmitter. it really only goes about 100 miles, its just much clearer and has a stronger signal filling up that 100 mile contour. I had asked him after travelling to South Bend Indiana, from Kalamazoo, and losing the BCT signal around the state line. And when you look at their coverage map

WBCT-FM Radio Station Coverage Map

you see their fringe reception is just past South bend, and their distant signal just hits the Michigan/Indiana state line. Since their tower is in Gun Lake/Yankee Springs Michigan (on the WWMT-TV Tower) they travel farther South. And when that signal hits Lake Michigan, it skips right across in the the Metro Chicago and Milwaukee area, but with the terrain, it struggles to get to the East side of the State.

Having had the privilege of working at 2 different 100kw stations in Michigan (WKPK and WUPS) its fun getting calls and requests from 150-200 miles away. Once in a skip event, I got a call from a lady in Collinsville, IL. When I was on WKPK, whose transmitter is in Elmira, Michigan. Serving Gaylord and Traverse City. Collinsville is about 528 miles as the crow flies from Northern Michigan.
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Was Charlie Gustafson the Engineer at WJFM (now WBCT) and WKZO-TV (now WWMT) when you were living there? He told me that they had used 2 old 25 kW WKZO-TV transmitters together to get the 50 kW TPO for WJFM, and with a 12 Bay Horizontal Polarization only antenna to get the 500 kW ERP. They decided to go with separate Vertical Polarization only Bays to add Elliptical Polarization to improve coverage, while reducing the H POL to 470000 watts, and the V POL to something like 63000 W. Then they decided to go to Circular Polarization with 320000 watts Circular Polarized Bays.

Did John DeGroot own WKPK when you were there? His father Don DeGroot was VP/GM of the WWJ Stations, WWJ 950, WWJ-FM 97.1, and WWJ-TV 4.

Both WOMC and WUPS (originally WHGR-FM, and then WJGS) were once co-owned by Sparks Broadcasting, as well as WEXL 1340 and WHGR 1290. WOMC was once 215000 watts ERP, then increased HAAT and had to reduce to 190000 watts ERP to stay within the 1 mV/m contour under 73.211 grandfathered superpower rules.

WUOM 91.7 was once 230000 watts ERP from something like 400 feet, then they reduced to 93000 watts ERP from something like 700 feet HAAT. The coverage was much better with the new facilities due to terrain factors. From its tower between Chelsea and Pinckney, the signal is still not Line of Sight to all of Ann Arbor though.
 
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I dont know Mr. Gustafson. I was in High School most of the time the calls were WJFM.

"Did John DeGroot own WKPK when you were there? His father Don DeGroot was VP/GM of the WWJ Stations, WWJ 950, WWJ-FM 97.1, and WWJ-TV 4."

YES! He put WWRM-FM on the air in Gaylord in 1972, then it switched to KPK in 84...I started there in 1993, left in 95, went back at 99 but by then they had been sold to Northern Broadcasting out of Traverse City and Minot, ND. DeGroot was a nice guy, but a little in over his head in station ownership. Many a time I was on the air and the power company for the transmitter would call at 3 in the afternoon, stating that "if payment wasnt made by 5pm, the power would b turned off". John would shrug and say, "I guess I better go pay it". Also many an employee would be asked if they could forego their paycheck for that week. He sold in 1996 for Im pretty sure a cool million...for both KPK and WMLQ (Mellow Q 97) to Northern.
 
The Hustle said:
Grew up in Michigan with 3 of the top 5 grandfathered most powerful FM signals. WBCT (WJFM), WSRW (WOOD-FM) and WOMC/Detroit. WBCT was originally 500kw, now 320kw. WSRW is at 265kw, and OMC is at 190kw. It was explained to me by a highly respected engineer at WKFR-Kalamazoo by the name of Dale Schiesser, formerly of TSQ Michigan. Back in the day, he explained like this. A 320kw radio station signal isnt really expected to travel 200-400 miles from the transmitter. it really only goes about 100 miles, its just much clearer and has a stronger signal filling up that 100 mile contour. I had asked him after travelling to South Bend Indiana, from Kalamazoo, and losing the BCT signal around the state line. And when you look at their coverage map

WBCT-FM Radio Station Coverage Map
Click to expand...

Reminds me of our local WNCI in Columbus. At least when I was growing up in the 80s, they really hawked that 175,000-watt signal, but it really didn't reach any farther than Columbus' other big signals. They all get out to a little past Upper Sandusky and Indian Lake, into the eastern reaches of the Dayton area and beyond Zanesville depending on what direction you are traveling, but like you note with those powerful signals, WNCI typically sounded better than the other big signals in places like Bellefontaine, Springfield and Athens.
 
secondchoice said:
I would like to nominate WMIT for covering the most trees. Roanoke would be #1 except for the strip mining in and around South WVA.
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WMIT has a huge signal. It is listenable, though a bit choppy here and there, all the way down to just shy of I-20 in Columbia SC. If you had a stationary location in the right place with a good outdoor antenna, it'd probably be listenable 24/7. When you are on I-20 proper, it cuts in and out.
 
ted chittenden said:
Yes. And both Yuma and Tucson have stations licensed on the exact same frequencies as a couple of the Bradshaw stations (95.1 in Yuma and 98.3 in Tucson--actually licensed to Marana, some 20 miles northwest of the city).
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Don't forget 97.5 Oro Valley and the also massive 98.3 La Rumorosa, BCN, Mexico (which reaches Yuma, but doesn't count due to not being in the U.S.).

I believe 101.1 might just be the only one that makes it into Tucson proper faintly, from my memory.
 
KeithE4 said:
It might be different today with our digital FM tuners, but back when I lived in the Chicago W and NW suburbs (1975-94), the only times I could hear then-WJFM was when the weather was right and tropo was working. WLAK/93.9 would override it when listening on the conventional analog tuners with AFC that were available at the time. It was a regular in NW Indiana, but not in Illinois.
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WJFM (WBCT) is receivable pretty much at will here in the Detroit area (~115 miles). Not a great signal, but enough to tell its there with a modest external antenna or decent vehicle radio. I also recall receiving it in the car about 45 minutes out of St. Louis on I-55 in Illinois. Probably tropo. ~340 Miles.

Dan
 
Add KAHM 102.1 Prescott AZ. It transmits from a high mountain just east of Prescott but can be heard all the way from Phoenix to Flagstaff. Last year when I was visiting the Grand Canyon, I was amazed at what a great signal it put out. It was solid driving north on I-17 from Surprise AZ< just west of Phoenix, all the way to the junction of I-40 at Flagstaff. Driving west on I-40 it lasted until the exit to Williams AZ. It was gone after leaving I-40, and driving down the valley into Williams. Pretty impressive, and still had the EZ Listening format.
 


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