News Talk 98.7 Moving Tower Location....

[tk]

How about this one? Have you heard Citidel is moving 98.7's tower to downtown
Knoxville for better coverage.... Guess that would mean Sharp's Ridge.
Seems like it would be tough for the station to avoid running into 98.5 WTFM among others...

 

[BillBattle]

Will not have many watts if they move to Sharps Ridge. Plus have to cover city of license Oliver Springs. You can't hear it now in Oliver Springs and you are going to move it further away?

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

I supposed I'll just have to wait a little longer for "The Morgan County Trading Post" on The Triple H morning show.

If anybody on this board is interested, I have a self-propelled lawn mower for sale. Needs work, or is good for parts. $25

 

[Fiveahead]

Move the tower to Sharps Ridge?

Never going to happen. Won't cover Oliver Springs. No other COL available for the license.

 

[MurvleJumpUp]

Sounds like an in house generated rumor.

 

[gr8oldies]

Not going to happen that fast if at all.

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

I supposed I'll just have to wait a little longer for "The Morgan County Trading Post" on The Triple H morning show.

If anybody on this board is interested, I have a self-propelled lawn mower for sale. Needs work, or is good for parts. $25

Also available for TV and small appliance repair in the Wartburg area. Discount for shut-ins.

 

[gr8oldies]

I'll trade some goats for a pickup truck

 

[BillBattle]

http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/256724.pdf

Citadel's 98.7 has an auxiliary permit that is near Sharps Ridge and downtown Knoxville. It is closer to town but at 400 feet HAAT it is only for 700 watts. I can't imagine going from 100,000 watts to 8,000 down to 700 watts will get it done. Coverage map is much worse and puts no signal over COL Oliver Springs.

 

[MN Maniac]

Doubtful. 700 watts isn't enough to penetrate the buidings nor the hills. Plus, it would not put the required 3.16mV/m over Oliver Springs, as a previous poster mentioned.

 

[secondchoice]

I wonder if eventually if Citadel will put a “directional” antenna with a null toward 98.5 and up the power? Citadel has some $$ now. I wonder if they will but 98.5 and downgrade it.

 

[BillBattle]

WTFM in Kingsport bills a lot more than News Talk and is owned by local company there. It is 100kw on Holston Mountain at full 2,000 feet and I doubt if it could be bought.

 

[BRH]

If they change the city of license and make the antenna directional, away from the Tri Cities area and WTFM, could they maybe move to Sharp's Ridge or at least closer? I don't think the city of license would be the biggest deal (since Oliver Springs already has another FM allocation- 106.1). How about moving city of license to somewhere like Farragut, putting the stick on Sharp's Ridge, and making it directional towards the west and south and away from the northeast. Could that happen (or would it be too close to 99.1 and 98.3 then). Just a possibility. Also, they could maybe downgrade from C3 to Class A and move into the city. Not sure if that tradeoff would be worth it though.

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

If they've got enough money to move 98.7, wouldn't they also have enough money to buy a big C from one of the other groups in town? It'd be easier to photoshop an Engelbrecht in a compromising position with a sheep than it would be to convert a little Oliver Springs station into an even smaller station on the ridge.

 

[BillBattle]

If they change the city of license and make the antenna directional, away from the Tri Cities area and WTFM, could they maybe move to Sharp's Ridge or at least closer? I don't think the city of license would be the biggest deal (since Oliver Springs already has another FM allocation- 106.1). How about moving city of license to somewhere like Farragut, putting the stick on Sharp's Ridge, and making it directional towards the west and south and away from the northeast. Could that happen (or would it be too close to 99.1 and 98.3 then). Just a possibility. Also, they could maybe downgrade from C3 to Class A and move into the city. Not sure if that tradeoff would be worth it though.

Farragut has a radio station.. 670 AM. You have to find underservered community and COL changes takes years to make happen. Pirkle moved WNFZ to Powell a couple of years ago so that he could move 94.3 closer to Knoxville. I think that appilcation was pending at the FCC for over five years before it was approved.

 

[Fiveahead]

If they've got enough money to move 98.7, wouldn't they also have enough money to buy a big C from one of the other groups in town? It'd be easier to photoshop an Engelbrecht in a compromising position with a sheep than it would be to convert a little Oliver Springs station into an even smaller station on the ridge.

Funny you should say that. I think something is afoot since South Central has parked the "987newstalk" domain. Can you say "cluster was for sale and someone bought a piece"?

I thought so.

If they change the city of license and make the antenna directional, away from the Tri Cities area and WTFM, could they maybe move to Sharp's Ridge or at least closer? I don't think the city of license would be the biggest deal (since Oliver Springs already has another FM allocation- 106.1). How about moving city of license to somewhere like Farragut, putting the stick on Sharp's Ridge, and making it directional towards the west and south and away from the northeast. Could that happen (or would it be too close to 99.1 and 98.3 then). Just a possibility. Also, they could maybe downgrade from C3 to Class A and move into the city. Not sure if that tradeoff would be worth it though.

Farragut has a radio station.. 670 AM. You have to find underservered community and COL changes takes years to make happen. Pirkle moved WNFZ to Powell a couple of years ago so that he could move 94.3 closer to Knoxville. I think that appilcation was pending at the FCC for over five years before it was approved.

The funniest thing is that the "historians", "pros" and "veterans" can't smell the 98.7 upgrade rumors for what they are, total malarkey. THe above reference is a blazing example as to why. The 94.3 signal started out in East Oak Ridge back in the late 60s. Took until about 1984 to move the antenna to Claxton, about two miles away. Another 5 years to move it to Hardin Valley, another 3 miles from the Claxton location. Then in 1995 it was moved roughly 1.8 miles away to the Lovell area and then 15 years (current) to get the COL changed to Powell and move it another 4 miles to the current location off of Middlebrook. Sounds like it's move a bunch, but the actual distance closer to "downtown" from where it started in 1968 is about 4 miles. After 5 or 7 owners and 40+ years it has moved to the point it's a "knoxville" station.

Do you think Citadel can manage to get the same thing accomplished before the Spring '11 book?

They're telling anyone who will listen that they will. They're fools.

 

[gr8oldies]

Not a chance. The Ohio COL changes that went through took about 5 years. Citadel's News Talk goose is cooked in Knoxville

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

I'll trade some goats for a pickup truck

In your dreams, buddy. This truck won't go for less than a couple of good steer. If you want to play hardball I can just wait for HHH to get a 423 line for his Swap 'n Shop show. That guy can make a busted mower sound like a million bucks.

 

[BillBattle]

You are right. His reading of the Dayton Pest Control spots wants you to invite your exterminator guy for Sunday dinner.

 

[Tennessee Cowboy]

Hiller is looking at office space up this way. Sounds like they're branching off into outhouse repair. Must be keeping their sponsorship of the 98.7 newsroom. Sorry Ed.