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new transmitter on air at WZBC.
- Thread starter mgpt6
- Start date
Short posts are nice, but not if they leave out important info.
--Where would we send reception reports?
--What do you want to know?
--Who are you that you're speaking for WZBC?
--What's the format and who owns it?
--Shouldn't you tell us a bit about the changeover, why it was needed, what improvements you expect, did you get a power increase?
If you want people to send you reception reports, shouldn't you have put more work into asking than an 18-word post? Geez, you even left out the dial position!
--Where would we send reception reports?
--What do you want to know?
--Who are you that you're speaking for WZBC?
--What's the format and who owns it?
--Shouldn't you tell us a bit about the changeover, why it was needed, what improvements you expect, did you get a power increase?
If you want people to send you reception reports, shouldn't you have put more work into asking than an 18-word post? Geez, you even left out the dial position!
WZBC is at 90.3 FM from Boston College. At Newton.
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WZBC&service=FM&status=L&hours=U
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WZBC&service=FM&status=L&hours=U
Gregg said:Short posts are nice, but not if they leave out important info.
If it were my station, I'd have done much the same. For instance, when I installed a new audio processor on a Rhode Island AM, I didn't give any details, because anything I said might have affected the perceptions of my readers, and I wanted people to tell me what they heard not what they expected to hear.
As it happens, I'm the one who installed WZBC's new transmitter. I'm not authorized to speak for the station, so all I can leave you with is a few words from the "March of the Rocketeers";
Мы друзьям своим - защита:
Будет разом цель накрыта,
Если враг нас только тронуть
Попытается!
Против чёрной силы вражьей
Днем и ночью мы на страже, -
Это все что знать о нас вам
Разрешается.
"We are our friends' defense; [our] target will be covered swiftly if an enemy even tries to touch us;
Against dark enemy force we are on watch day and night; that is all you are allowed to know about us."
I would be rather surprised if anything's really changed as far as the listeners are concerned, Mark...that Marti PnP1000 was pretty damn far from a "perfect transmitter" but for the most part it worked fine.
The antenna array was (and presumably still is) a solid Shively 6810 (or 6813, I always forget which is which) 4-bay/half-wave-spaced. I assume you're still using the Omnia 3FM Turbo, which is a perfectly decent processor...although god only knows what the processor is set to do. For a while there people were demanding the "classical" preset which was quite "transparent" on the music but did so little for vocals that it made the DJ's impossible to understand; people mumbled so much.
The biggest advantage a new transmitter gives a station like WZBC is that it's about 1/3 the physical size and consumes a lot less electricity. Not things a listener would note, but that SOB of a Marti would snap your back in half if you weren't careful lifting it. Never mind that evil Wilkinson/Bext exciter/PA combo. I trust those were removed from service and given a proper Viking funeral?
The antenna array was (and presumably still is) a solid Shively 6810 (or 6813, I always forget which is which) 4-bay/half-wave-spaced. I assume you're still using the Omnia 3FM Turbo, which is a perfectly decent processor...although god only knows what the processor is set to do. For a while there people were demanding the "classical" preset which was quite "transparent" on the music but did so little for vocals that it made the DJ's impossible to understand; people mumbled so much.
The biggest advantage a new transmitter gives a station like WZBC is that it's about 1/3 the physical size and consumes a lot less electricity. Not things a listener would note, but that SOB of a Marti would snap your back in half if you weren't careful lifting it. Never mind that evil Wilkinson/Bext exciter/PA combo. I trust those were removed from service and given a proper Viking funeral?
aaronread said:The biggest advantage a new transmitter gives a station like WZBC is that it's about 1/3 the physical size and consumes a lot less electricity. Not things a listener would note, but that SOB of a Marti would snap your back in half if you weren't careful lifting it. Never mind that evil Wilkinson/Bext exciter/PA combo. I trust those were removed from service and given a proper Viking funeral?
The Marti's still there as a backup, although it's not easy to get it on the air because the coax switch is frozen. I spent a couple of hours playing with it Saturday before concluding that it'll need to be taken off the wall and disassembled.
You may have already puzzled this out, but that switch was a royal pain in the neck to get all the interlocks set properly...if any one of them isn't wired correctly, the whole switch won't throw. Feel free to PM me if you want more details, although admittedly it's all off my memory and it's been a looong time since I've even looked at that beast.
Of course, it could just be that the switch's motor is burned out. Things do break, I suppose. But the interlock wiring was so complicated (in no small part because of the homebrew remote control relays/wiring we needed for the Wilkinson/Bext) that I'd look there first.
Also, the original design had the AC power for the switch motor running in with the rest of the interlock wiring; David rewired that so the power was via a separate wire and separate conduit...it seemed much safer that way. IIRC he may have also added a separate fuse for that power run, too. It's been a long time since I've looked at it so I'm not sure. I do vaguely recall leaving some schematics and wiring diagrams taped to the south wall of the room but I'm not sure if they're still there.
Come to think of it...while I was not a fan of the Wilkinson/Bext, I think I know someone who might be interested in buying them off WZBC to use as their own backup transmitter. They work reasonably well for that purpose...
Of course, it could just be that the switch's motor is burned out. Things do break, I suppose. But the interlock wiring was so complicated (in no small part because of the homebrew remote control relays/wiring we needed for the Wilkinson/Bext) that I'd look there first.
Also, the original design had the AC power for the switch motor running in with the rest of the interlock wiring; David rewired that so the power was via a separate wire and separate conduit...it seemed much safer that way. IIRC he may have also added a separate fuse for that power run, too. It's been a long time since I've looked at it so I'm not sure. I do vaguely recall leaving some schematics and wiring diagrams taped to the south wall of the room but I'm not sure if they're still there.
Come to think of it...while I was not a fan of the Wilkinson/Bext, I think I know someone who might be interested in buying them off WZBC to use as their own backup transmitter. They work reasonably well for that purpose...
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