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New LPFM 91.9

H

HHH

There is a new, I think, LPFM on 91.9, which is heard pretty strong on I-480 between I-71 and I-77. It is another one of those K-Love religious stations that simply carries, by satellite, the home station in Oregon. Oh boy.

I looked up the FCC record, and I believe that it is licensed to Parma with 100 watts. Does anybody know anything about this station?
And what makes the FCC think that a 100% satellite-fed religious station with not even a local ID is doing the community any good.
 
Sounds like the CP for the 1-watt translator has been built. It will probably carry the legal ID of anothe our of town K-love outlet. EMF does have an application for a full power (class B1) station on the same frequency in Wadsworth. My guess is that the Parma translator will become a booster station when and if EMF gets the CP for Wadsworth.
 
I, too heard the KLOVE station on 91.9 on 9/11 in downtown Akron. I didn't know whether the Wadsworth operation had been moved or if a new translator had popped up. By the way, the City of Akron runs a 1 watt FM transmitter from a location near Lock 3 (a public area used for ampitheatre events and ice skating) on this frequency on a sporadic basis. This frequency has also been used by a pirate in the area, although I haven't heard that station for over a year.
Jim aka Norm de Plume.
 
Interesting. When I tried to get a radio staion going in Wadsworth a few years ago, I was told by the FCC that there were no frequencies available either for full or LP. Guess I forgot to grease the right palms or should have tried the religious angle, that seems to work for this administration's lackeys at the FCC.
 
91.9 in Cleveland should be Air1 not K-Love but I am not there to hear. The air1 station list at air.com has it on their station list and I was told it was Air1 before. Both Air1 and K-Love are owned by EMF. I imagine the posters are not familiar enough with the format to know the difference unless they changed it to K-Love recently. I would be very happy to get a Christian chr in my area like air1. Who cares were it is from. Many people just do not religious programming though even if it is all music.

K-Love has had a signal at 91.7 in Wadesworth/Akron for a few years. That signal has a CP to move their tower from Wadesworth to the middle of Akron.

The CP full power station at 91.9 in that area was awarded to CSN not EMF but has not been officially granted for some reason. Those were originally applied for in the non-commercial band several years ago in 2000.

Air1 should also be on translator 90.9 in the Hinckley area and WCVJ 90.9 Jefferson. And a CP at 103.7 will be air1 in the Cleveland Heights area.
 
Went on the FCC's web site and checked on the application. They are showing the antenna latitude and longitude being near Wooster with an ERP of 11.5KW, so how can the city of license be listed as Wadsworth?
 
The signal is pretty strong where I live, near I-480 and W 150th. If that's from Wooster, they may be pushing more power than that. However, going east on 480, K-LOVE fades pretty quick once you get thru Garfield Hts. I heard it as K-LOVE on my car radio, not Air One. I can even get it pretty stong on the boomboxes inside my house, and I can't with the Wooster station on 104.5, even weak on the car radio.

Anyone hear the station yet on 91.9 that you can get pretty well near Mayfield Rd. and Brainard, and even on I-271 around that area? They call themselves "The Voice Of The Islands", and also say they are coming from Pelee Point. I don't think so, as you can only receive it around Lyndhurst/Mayfield Hts. I never tried to "track" it any further, and it fades immediately on 271 south of the Brainard ramp. I can't get it in West Park at all, and I'm closer to Pelee Point. I have a hunch they're pumping a couple of watts. They are not always on, and never give call letters, and last time I was in the area for Labor Day, they were spinning golden oldies from the 60's. I have even heard them play the old radio serials from the 40's and 50's, and caught a WIXY tribute, as well as a Ghoulardi tribute (supposedly live). They sound great and a great alternative to a lot of stuff you hear now, kind of wish their signal reached my area, but they're probably "skating on thin ice" legally as it is. Why would they be giving a WIXY tribute show on Pelee Island, where I don't think WIXY even reached? In fact, I'm dreaming here, but I would like to see the FCC grant them a free LPFM license.
 
91.9 should be Air1 now if someone can check. I contacted EMF and they said there may have been sat receiver problems with the receiver picking up K-Love instead of Air1 and they refreshed it. They did say it was K-Love first and then switched to Air1. But it is their intent for 91.9 to broadcast Air1 now. I also saw this week EMF bought 2 new translators to broadcast Air1 in Akron and another in the southeast corner of Cleveland.
 
This station duped me into thinking I had a really nice DX skip catch when I heard "KHRI- Hollister" come from this translator. Do they always use that ID? I had never known this translator existed until today. (I live in Elyria)
 
doctor_radio said:
inter1097 said:
This station duped me into thinking I had a really nice DX skip catch when I heard "KHRI- Hollister" come from this translator. Do they always use that ID? I had never known this translator existed until today. (I live in Elyria)
Click to expand...

Well, KHRI is on 90.7

And wasn't this about 91.9?
Click to expand...

yeah I heard that ID on 91.9 though, i am just curious how often they give out false ids, and is it even legal for them to do?
 
It's not a false ID you're hearing on 91.9... (the same ID "KHRI Hollister" can be heard on 102.5 in Akron, the Air1 translator that signed on back in February)

... rather, KHRI Hollister is the parent station of the translators, so the feed they air carries that TOH ID. If I remember correctly, translators only need to be ID'ed two or three times a day. Therefore, the ID for 103.7 "W279BT Cleveland" (or 102.5 "W273BL Akron" in the other example) is only heard a few times a day.

Granted, the 91.9 signal, W220BM Parma, is supposed to be K-Love and translating "KLOV Winchester"...

Some of the other board members are a little better with the technical rules and know which section of FCC code they are listed under, so I'll let them post that.
 
These translator ID rules make for completely confusing situations.

The 91.9 in Parma, actually broadcasting from a cell-phone tower just south of downtown Cleveland, puts out a very good signal for an LPFM. Originally, they were supposed to relay K-LOVE, but they ended up relaying EMF's other network AIR-1 instead, via the home station, KHRI Hollister, California.

There are only minimal local identification rules for stations like this, so the Parma ID is probably hidden someplace in the middle of the night or something, if at all (they don't seem to tightly manage these things much anymore).

So they just plug into KHRI Hollister, California and relay the whole thing, IDs and all.

The US radio dial is now completely crazy with all these strange LPFMs dropped in from nowhere, usually relaying some distant station.

Like I really need to hear a religious station from Hollister, California, broadcasting a Christian contemporary format, just like The Fish.

Sure glad the FCC allowed these LPFMs! They have really helped enhance local service in the face of giant corporate mega-monsters.

Yah right.
 
Just a little clarification... there is a difference between the LPFM service and translators.

The LPFM service is required to be locally originated and cannot be owned by an organization involved in other media (broadcast or print) services. Therefore, EMF, since it owns full power FMs elsewhere, cannot operate or own LPFM licenses. LPFM's are also capped at 100 watts ERP at 100 ft. See http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/lpfm/index.html for more information.

Translators on the other hand are stations provided to retransmit other broadcast signals. They simply take an over the air signal, then retransmit it on another frequency at low power. It was designed to help fill in gaps of coverage. Somehow, EMF is able to retransmit from long distances away using this translator rule. If you want to read through the murk of translator language, visit http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/part74rule.html#TRANSLATOR

The 91.9 in Parma (as well as 103.7 in Cleveland and 102.5 in Akron) are all translators, not LPFMs. An example of an LPFM is WRPO 93.5 in Russells Point, OH. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WRPO-LP
 
<<<Translators on the other hand are stations provided to retransmit other broadcast signals. They simply take an over the air signal, then retransmit it on another frequency at low power. It was designed to help fill in gaps of coverage. Somehow, EMF is able to retransmit from long distances away using this translator rule.>>>

So if a "translator" is supposed to be a small repeater designed to fill in gaps between mountains and in between big-city skyscrapers and such inside the primary station's coverage area, then how the hell does a Hollister, California station get a "translator" in Cleveland?

And how does religious broadcaster EMF string (literally) dozens and dozens of these stations from coast-to-coast all repeating either KHRI or KLOV?

This is an extremely flawed rule, which obviously has been bent like a pretzel.

I would much rather hear a local station on 91.9, or at the very least a format that is unique (Spanish, Southern Gospel, etc).
The Fish on 95.5 pretty much already does this format.
 
HHH said: "So if a "translator" is supposed to be a small repeater designed to fill in gaps between mountains and in between big-city skyscrapers and such inside the primary station's coverage area, then how the hell does a Hollister, California station get a "translator" in Cleveland?"

I am not positive on how this is done; though I remember hearing or reading something about a detail that requires commercial-band translators to copy from an over-the-air signal, where non-commercial band translators are somehow allowed to pick up a feed via ISDN or satellite delivery. Again, not sure on how this is done within the confines of the rules, but it's done somehow legally; otherwise the FCC wouldn't allow it.

HHH said: "And how does religious broadcaster EMF string (literally) dozens and dozens of these stations from coast-to-coast all repeating either KHRI or KLOV?"

Well, this isn't the case. K-Love and Air1 on some level work similarly to ESPN, Westwood One, or a number of other satellite-delivery networks. EMF either owns, LMAs, or is asked for service by a number of full power stations, which then can independently feed their own translators. For example, in Ohio K-Love has full power stations WNLT in Cincinnati, WNKL in Wauseon/Toledo, WOKL in Troy/Dayton, WKLN in Wilmington, and another in Belpre (forget the calls). These can feed translators in a more regional setting; case in point: WNKL feeds 4 translators (Toledo, Bowling Green, Perrysburg, and Middleton Township). So not all the translators are "distant-feed"...

HHH said: "The Fish on 95.5 pretty much already does this format."

Actually, not quite. Comparing Air1 to the Fish is like comparing Q104 to WDOK. Air1 is a hot AC/Adult CHR type format, where as the Fish is almost straight soccer-mom AC. Plus, Air1 is commercial-free, where as the Fish is not. So there are some differences. I understand that some people lump all Christian stations into one pile, but as a regular listener growing up, there are substantial differences; and, if the market allows or demands it, I think it is fair for multiple variants of Christian formats to exist. If nobody supports the translator in Cleveland, it will go away.

By the way HHH, I respect your posts and opinions; some of them I have read have helped me to gain understanding into the industry, so please don't take any of my comments as attacking. I simply want to add to the discussion at hand. And even though I may like Air1 and K-Love, I do agree that the translator rules seem a bit out of hand.
 
You are correct in that translators on the reserved channels (88.1 ~ 91.9) may relay a satellite feed, while translators in the "non-reserved" )"commercial" band, 92.1 and up, must pick up and rebroadcast the primary station (or another translator) off-air. Unless it is a "fill-in translator," which operates inside the service contour of the primary station (about 40 miles for the typical 50,000 watt FM, or about 18 miles for "Class A" stations such as Lorain's 104.9). These translators can be fed by alternative means such as an STL (I feed an on-channel booster this way).

There was a petition to change this rule, which inspired the 4,000 + applications filed by various religious-affiliated groups in the last window, but the Commission never acted upon that request to change the rules.
 
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