Northern New Jersey AM Oldies

[Harold]

Alpine?

> You, to DJinNJ:
> > Your passionate defense of WMTR suggests that you
> > have more than a casual listener's interest in the
> > place. Do you work there?
>
> On the flip side, considering that your entire purpose on
> this board seems to be to complain about WMTR, leads me to
> believe that you used to work for them, and are now upset
> that they aren't doing things up to your standards -- even
> though you have offered absolutely no useful suggestions
> about how they could improve things so that they do live up
> to your standards.
>
> If you want a more worthy North Jersey cause to follow, why
> not join the people who moved next to the Armstrong Tower in
> Apline and are now demanding that it be torn down because
> it's an eyesore -- even though it predated their existence
> by more than half a century? That kind of argument is about
> as logical as the ones you've posted here in regard to WMTR
> and other northern NJ radio stations.
>

Attention Class. Today we are going to study the word
"hyperbole." We will do so by an example that westlife
is kind enough to provide:

"...your entire purpose on this board seems to be to
complain about WMTR.."

No my friend, I never worked for or at WMTR. I have
never had any financial interest in any entity even
remotely associated with WMTR. I have, however,
driven through Hanover many times. Oh yes, I did
stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

If the class hasn't exited for the playground yet,
follow this: Westlife is trying to associate me
with a group of people who live near the Armstrong
Tower in Alpine. This seems to be some form of
"guilt by association." Honestly, I haven't heard
of this Alpine story and don't know anything about
it other than what westlife has afforded here. But
if you're interested in the Armstrong Tower and the
great man for whom it is named, check out Scott
Fybush's Web site. He has details of the special
transmissions this week to celebrate the tower and
Armstrong.

 

[mcmannors]

Re: Happy, Happy, Happy

>>I wasn't demeaning the station.<<

Actually you demeaned several stations when you said:
"That's just the way it is in northern New Jersey. Weak, low-power radio stations with underpaid and mostly inexperienced staffs. It's been that way for a very long time."
That is true, and I realize that you are only pointing out a fact. However you seem to constatntly bring that up whenever there is a thread on Northern New Jersey radio. What do you expect, Art Rooney to get paid the same as Race Taylor? And should a guy with 35+ years experience be thrilled about working at WNNJ-AM? That is like when former major league ball players sign with the Newark Bears or the Somerset Patriots just to stay visible in case a major league team needs a veteran down the stretch. The **bulk** of the players on the Bears and Patriots are "underpaid and inexperienced" (or washed up) players that aren't good enough for the majors. Then you have the regular minor leagues where the inexperienced guys obtain the experience to maybe make it to the majors. Northern New Jersey is the "minor league" of radio.


>>Only pointing out that it doesn't have a good signal to the west. I suspect their chief would acknowledge that. So why all the vitriole, sarcasm, etc.?<<

Maybe because their signal is very respectable in other directions? Of course, compared to the 50,000 watt flamethrowers out of NYC, WMTR's signal sucks. But compared to just about every other suburban AM station in the state of New Jersey, their signal is pretty impressive. Only AM 640 WWJZ (50,000 watts daytime) from Mount Holly (which for all intents and purposes is a Philadelphia station) has a better signal.

And speaking of signals from Morris County: Years ago, the old WRAN (1510 from Dover) was 10,000 watts with a highly directional northwest/southeast figure 8 pattern. The funny thing about them was that they had a great signal in Perth Amboy, but you couldn't hear them in places like Parsippany.

 

[DJinNJ]

Re: Go 2...

Dear God in Heaven....

You are an even BIGGER TOOL than anything that Home Depot or Lowe's has lying on their shelves. Makes for quite an entertaining read though! Also since you are still spewing sarcasm yourself, perhaps it's time to go spray down the livestock. We wouldn't want them to over-heat now would we? Gee...it IS mind-boggling where all of this sarcasm is eminating from...

..."???" OUT...

 

[westlife]

Re: Happy, Happy, Happy

> It's curious how passionate some people are in defending
> anything they sense is a slur against WMTR. I wasn't
> demeaning the station. Only pointing out that it doesn't
> have a good signal to the west. I suspect their chief would
> acknowledge that. So why all the vitriole, sarcasm, etc.?

Because you rub it into our faces EVERY SINGLE TIME WMTR AND/OR NORTHERN NJ RADIO IS MENTIONED ON THIS BOARD! Do you think we forget? Or are you trying to reach out to new readers who might have not seen your arguments the last time around? In that case, why not just put "WMTR doesn't have a good signal to the west" in your signature and be done with it? And are we supposed to pity you because you live in an area where the nearest AM radio stations don't come in with enough field strength to burn out your radio's antenna coil?

You should be PROUD to have stations like WMTR, WNNJ, and WRNJ to listen to, even if their signals aren't the strongest. Try moving to a place like Nowheresville, Wyoming, where there's only one radio station in town, and its idea of "serving the community" is to broadcast a satellite format 24/7, with no real, live, local people at the station even during weekday drive-times! I mean, have you actually traveled out west? There are many small rural communities -- similar to the ones in northwestern NJ -- in which there's no FM radio at all (if you hit the seek button, your radio will just scan the dial repeatedly) and the only listenable AM stations are from some city 50 miles away. I can only imagine how much you'd whine and complain if you lived in an area like that!

<P ID="signature">______________

</P>

 

[Harold]

Re: Happy, Happy, Happy

> > It's curious how passionate some people are in defending
> > anything they sense is a slur against WMTR. I wasn't
> > demeaning the station. Only pointing out that it doesn't
> > have a good signal to the west. I suspect their chief
> would
> > acknowledge that. So why all the vitriole, sarcasm, etc.?
>
>
> Because you rub it into our faces EVERY SINGLE TIME WMTR
> AND/OR NORTHERN NJ RADIO IS MENTIONED ON THIS BOARD! Do you
> think we forget? Or are you trying to reach out to new
> readers who might have not seen your arguments the last time
> around? In that case, why not just put "WMTR doesn't have a
> good signal to the west" in your signature and be done with
> it? And are we supposed to pity you because you live in an
> area where the nearest AM radio stations don't come in with
> enough field strength to burn out your radio's antenna coil?
>
>
> You should be PROUD to have stations like WMTR, WNNJ, and
> WRNJ to listen to, even if their signals aren't the
> strongest. Try moving to a place like Nowheresville,
> Wyoming, where there's only one radio station in town, and
> its idea of "serving the community" is to broadcast a
> satellite format 24/7, with no real, live, local people at
> the station even during weekday drive-times! I mean, have
> you actually traveled out west? There are many small rural
> communities -- similar to the ones in northwestern NJ -- in
> which there's no FM radio at all (if you hit the seek
> button, your radio will just scan the dial repeatedly) and
> the only listenable AM stations are from some city 50 miles
> away. I can only imagine how much you'd whine and complain
> if you lived in an area like that!
>


Your post above simply proves my point. You are intensely
passionate about even the smallest of criticisms of WMTR.
Obviously it's your favorite radio station.

You are free not to read any of my posts. On this forum
you can see beforehand who the poster is. I suggest you
not read my posts. Others are free to read them or not,
as they choose. However, I think you're afraid others
will read my posts and agree with them. So what? Maybe
someone agrees with your posts. There is one other poster
who does. America is a beautiful country. We don't have
to agree on everything. But if someone chooses to express
an opinion...yes..an opinion...it shouldn't be your place
or mine to scold them for doing so. Taking it to the
vengeful and elevated level you have tells far more about
you than the subject matter of the posts.

Yes...I have travelled extensively across the United States,
from big towns to little villages. I have been an avid
radio fan for more years than I have worked in the industry
and I am never without my personal radio. In many ways I
envy those folks of yours in Nowheresville, Wyoming. If
they can pick up one local AM radio station at night that is
one more than I can pick up.

Truth be told, most Americans have access to some form of
local radio at levels that exceed those available in
northern New Jersey. I feel sorry for the folks in
Nowheresville but I envy them for this: There is room on
the dial in their area for an enterprising person to put
a station on the air. New York City Inc. wouldn't allow
that to happen around here.

In the interests of your continued good emotional health
I urge you to make this post the last one of mine you read.
Again, remember that my posts are identified by my name.
You shouldn't have to suffer any more from my opinions.

Ciao.

 

[radiolover78]

Re: Happy, Happy, Happy

I agree with you mcmannors. North Jersey radio is full of inexperienced broadcasters, but they must start somewhere. Especially in my area, inexperienced people are on the air a lot. Some of them ended up sounding better and more experienced after a year or so, such as the weekend newscasters on WSUS. Also, there are some very experienced people up here. Steve Andrews, ALexandria Vollejo, James Greene, Vince Thomas, Rob Ryan, and a few others. North Jersey radio may not sound the best, but it is better than nothing Harold. <P ID="signature">______________
Kevin</P>

 

[Harold]

Re: Happy, Happy, Happy

>>I wasn't demeaning the station.<<

Actually you demeaned several stations when you said:
"That's just the way it is in northern New Jersey. Weak, low-power radio stations with underpaid and mostly inexperienced staffs. It's been that way for a very long time."
That is true, and I realize that you are only pointing out a fact. However you seem to constatntly bring that up whenever there is a thread on Northern New Jersey radio. What do you expect, Art Rooney to get paid the same as Race Taylor? And should a guy with 35+ years experience be thrilled about working at WNNJ-AM? That is like when former major league ball players sign with the Newark Bears or the Somerset Patriots just to stay visible in case a major league team needs a veteran down the stretch. The **bulk** of the players on the Bears and Patriots are "underpaid and inexperienced" (or washed up) players that aren't good enough for the majors. Then you have the regular minor leagues where the inexperienced guys obtain the experience to maybe make it to the majors. Northern New Jersey is the "minor league" of radio.


>>Only pointing out that it doesn't have a good signal to the west. I suspect their chief would acknowledge that. So why all the vitriole, sarcasm, etc.?<<

Maybe because their signal is very respectable in other directions? Of course, compared to the 50,000 watt flamethrowers out of NYC, WMTR's signal sucks. But compared to just about every other suburban AM station in the state of New Jersey, their signal is pretty impressive. Only AM 640 WWJZ (50,000 watts daytime) from Mount Holly (which for all intents and purposes is a Philadelphia station) has a better signal.

And speaking of signals from Morris County: Years ago, the old WRAN (1510 from Dover) was 10,000 watts with a highly directional northwest/southeast figure 8 pattern. The funny thing about them was that they had a great signal in Perth Amboy, but you couldn't hear them in places like Parsippany.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

You started out saying I demaned several stations but then
go on to do so yourself. Curious. You describe those stations
in northern New Jersey as minor leaguers. You're correct, of
course. On those occasions I mention the dreadful situation
it's to point it out to newcomers and to motivate others into
a dicussion that can, hopefully, result in an improvement.
Because this forum can be accessed nationally there is the
chance that policymakers and others influential in the business
will drop by. In fact, I know at least one that does. If you
and I..and even our friend westlife..keep the issue alive we
might one day find northern New Jersey the home to major-league
radio stations.

You're right in pointing out the disparity between New York
City stations like WABC and the phono-oscillator outfits in
New Jersey. (New Jersey probably has more broadcast transmitters
labelled "Ramsey" than any other state!! Only kidding.) It is
unfortunate that people in the rest of the U.S. can't listen to
a New Jersey AM station to form an idea about the state and its
people. Most Americans view New Jersey through the eyes and
ears of New York-based media. And those folks don't have New
Jersey's interest at heart!!

How bad was WRAN's signal? So bad that at night, within
direct eyeball sight of their towers, you couldn't hear
them just a mile and a half down Route 10 at the K-Mart
parking lot. Folks who live in the area will know what
I mean. But the folks at Esquire Magazine made the decision
to go to 10,000 watts and the really awful antenna array
and pattern was the result.

 

[Harold]

Re: Happy, Happy, Happy

> I agree with you mcmannors. North Jersey radio is full of
> inexperienced broadcasters, but they must start somewhere.
> Especially in my area, inexperienced people are on the air a
> lot. Some of them ended up sounding better and more
> experienced after a year or so, such as the weekend
> newscasters on WSUS. Also, there are some very experienced
> people up here. Steve Andrews, ALexandria Vollejo, James
> Greene, Vince Thomas, Rob Ryan, and a few others. North
> Jersey radio may not sound the best, but it is better than
> nothing Harold.
>

And stale bread and water is better than no food at all. But
I prefer a nice vegetable lasagna please with maybe a mixed
spring salad and some oil and vinegar. A light white wine
would be nice too. Forget the stale bread.

While it's true that radio people must start their employment
somewhere, it shouldn't be in a state of 8 million people.
New Jersey deserves top-notch talent because it is a top-notch
state. Industry, entertainment, mountains, shore, great
medical institutions, research facilities. most of the
Fortune 500. New Jersey has a tremendous amount of good
things but it has, especially in northern New Jersey, small
radio stations with inexperienced staffs.

Let's say the federal government passes a law that says
that because New Jersey is near New York there is no
need for New Jerseyans to have access to first-rate doctors?
How about if gourmet food was taken out of stores because
people in, say, Somerset County can drive to Brooklyn
every day to buy it there? What if all the buses were
taken out of New Jersey so that they could be used only
in New York City?

Do you want to see major AM, FM, and TV stations in
northern New Jersey? Well so do I. Let's not pretend
that we have what we deserve.

 

[Harold]

Re: Go 2...

> Dear God in Heaven....
>
> You are an even BIGGER TOOL than anything that Home Depot or
> Lowe's has lying on their shelves. Makes for quite an
> entertaining read though! Also since you are still spewing
> sarcasm yourself, perhaps it's time to go spray down the
> livestock. We wouldn't want them to over-heat now would we?
> Gee...it IS mind-boggling where all of this sarcasm is
> eminating from...
>
> ..."???" OUT...
>

Y'see!! I knew it!!! You just couldn't resist
opening my post and reading it. It bugged you.
You saw it there and you just couldn't resist
finding out what I wrote, even though you said
that you weren't interested in my posts. You're
even reading this post too!!! And Laura talks
about HER stuff being addictive.

Well let me be the first to wish you well in your
addiction recovery. You don't have to read my
posts. You'll feel a lot better. It will also
keep you from those awful livestock references.
They really are quite out of place you know.
"Silly" might be a better way of putting it.

 

[MikeF]

Re: Happy, Happy, Happy

>Because you rub it into our faces EVERY SINGLE TIME WMTR AND/OR NORTHERN NJ >RADIO IS MENTIONED ON THIS BOARD! Do you think we forget? Or are you trying to >reach out to new readers who might have not seen your arguments the last time >around? In that case, why not just put "WMTR doesn't have a good signal to the >west" in your signature and be done with it? And are we supposed to pity you >because you live in an area where the nearest AM radio stations don't come in >with enough field strength to burn out your radio's antenna coil?

>You should be PROUD to have stations like WMTR, WNNJ, and WRNJ to listen to, >even if their signals aren't the strongest.


Normally I don't pay too much attention to these threads, but this one has gone on to be amusing enough for me to comment on.

First, thanks to Westlife. While I don't always agree with Kevin, his impassioned defense of WMTR is much appreciated.



>>>>Only pointing out that it doesn't have a good signal to the west. I suspect >>their chief would acknowledge that. So why all the vitriole, sarcasm, etc.?<<

>>Maybe because their signal is very respectable in other directions? Of >>course, compared to the 50,000 watt flamethrowers out of NYC, WMTR's signal >>sucks. But compared to just about every other suburban AM station in the >>state of New Jersey, their signal is pretty impressive. Only AM 640 WWJZ
>>(50,000 watts daytime) from Mount Holly (which for all intents and purposes >>is a Philadelphia station) has a better signal.

And to mcmannors, for some reasonable perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of WMTR's signal.

Here's the reality:

WMTR's daytime pattern has a minor lobe at 270 degrees. It's nighttime pattern has a deep null at 268. Both of these constraints protect WEAE, Pittsburgh, which was there before WMTR and must be protected per FCC interference standards. And WEAE puts a hefty signal toward WMTR, especially at night when it is directional to the east. The detailed patterns and field strengths are on the FCC web site if you are interested.

So it is not surprising that if Harold lives in the 268 null in western Morris County, that he would pick up WEAE instead of WMTR at night, nor would he be particularly happy with its daytime signal. WMTR may desire to put a better signal into western Morris, but unless someone wants to purchase WEAE and shut it down, that's never going to happen. And WMTR would love to have WABC's signal (wouldn't any station?!), but that's never going to happen either.

WMTR did substantially improve its nighttime signal where it could, which is to the east and south. And it has received many hundreds of emails and letters of thanks.

>>>>I wasn't demeaning the station.<<

>>Actually you demeaned several stations when you said:
>>"That's just the way it is in northern New Jersey. Weak, low-power radio >>stations with underpaid and mostly inexperienced staffs. It's been that way >>for a very long time."

Wow where do I start with that!

Maybe we all think we're underpaid, but the PD has 30+ years of experience, including in major markets and NYC. A couple of the MTR jocks have worked in NYC. I've had 30 years experience as a broadcast engineer including some time in NYC. The main engineer responsible for the new tower and transmitter installation project was Metromedia's former Director of Engineering, who is now responsible for the new master FM antenna installation on the Empire State Building. The engineer who made all the adjustments of the new antenna patterns is Greater Media's corporate Vice President of Engineering, who recently received an award as America's most admired Broadcast Engineer.

The "inexperienced & underpaid" comment is just plain laughable!

Greater Media did not skimp on WMTR's new technical facilities. With 2 DX-10's, tower huts with heating and air conditioning, new phasor, towers and ground system, and plenty of other equipment I'd hazard a guess that it is better than most major market installations.

Sorry if that's not enough.

 

[Harold]

Re: Happy, Happy, Happy

>
> Normally I don't pay too much attention to these threads,
> but this one has gone on to be amusing enough for me to
> comment on.
>
> First, thanks to Westlife. While I don't always agree with
> Kevin, his impassioned defense of WMTR is much appreciated.
>
>
>
> >>>>Only pointing out that it doesn't have a good signal to
> the west. I suspect >>their chief would acknowledge that. So
> why all the vitriole, sarcasm, etc.?>Maybe because their
> signal is very respectable in other directions? Of >>course,
> compared to the 50,000 watt flamethrowers out of NYC, WMTR's
> signal >>sucks. But compared to just about every other
> suburban AM station in the >>state of New Jersey, their
> signal is pretty impressive. Only AM 640 WWJZ
> >>(50,000 watts daytime) from Mount Holly (which for all
> intents and purposes >>is a Philadelphia station) has a
> better signal.
>
> And to mcmannors, for some reasonable perspective on the
> strengths and weaknesses of WMTR's signal.
>
> Here's the reality:
>
> WMTR's daytime pattern has a minor lobe at 270 degrees.
> It's nighttime pattern has a deep null at 268. Both of
> these constraints protect WEAE, Pittsburgh, which was there
> before WMTR and must be protected per FCC interference
> standards. And WEAE puts a hefty signal toward WMTR,
> especially at night when it is directional to the east. The
> detailed patterns and field strengths are on the FCC web
> site if you are interested.
>
> So it is not surprising that if Harold lives in the 268 null
> in western Morris County, that he would pick up WEAE instead
> of WMTR at night, nor would he be particularly happy with
> its daytime signal. WMTR may desire to put a better signal
> into western Morris, but unless someone wants to purchase
> WEAE and shut it down, that's never going to happen. And
> WMTR would love to have WABC's signal (wouldn't any
> station?!), but that's never going to happen either.
>
> WMTR did substantially improve its nighttime signal where it
> could, which is to the east and south. And it has received
> many hundreds of emails and letters of thanks.
>
> >>>>I wasn't demeaning the station.>Actually you demeaned
> several stations when you said:
> >>"That's just the way it is in northern New Jersey. Weak,
> low-power radio >>stations with underpaid and mostly
> inexperienced staffs. It's been that way >>for a very long
> time."
>
> Wow where do I start with that!
>
> Maybe we all think we're underpaid, but the PD has 30+ years
> of experience, including in major markets and NYC. A couple
> of the MTR jocks have worked in NYC. I've had 30 years
> experience as a broadcast engineer including some time in
> NYC. The main engineer responsible for the new tower and
> transmitter installation project was Metromedia's former
> Director of Engineering, who is now responsible for the new
> master FM antenna installation on the Empire State Building.
> The engineer who made all the adjustments of the new
> antenna patterns is Greater Media's corporate Vice President
> of Engineering, who recently received an award as America's
> most admired Broadcast Engineer.
>
> The "inexperienced & underpaid" comment is just plain
> laughable!
>
> Greater Media did not skimp on WMTR's new technical
> facilities. With 2 DX-10's, tower huts with heating and air
> conditioning, new phasor, towers and ground system, and
> plenty of other equipment I'd hazard a guess that it is
> better than most major market installations.
>
> Sorry if that's not enough.
>


Thanks Mike for basically confirming what was my original
comment that drew so much ire from a couple of people on
this forum. I said that WMTR does not have a "strong" signal
because that signal is weak to the west. You confirm that
that is true. There are nulls to the west because of the
station in Pittsburgh. And that station shoots a pretty
good nighttime signal toward us. That was my point and
your comments end the debate. Some people on the forum
are too anxious to take any comment as an attack on their
favorite station, favorite ideas, etc. They pounced on me
because of a benign comment about signal strengths and
then proceeded to call me names, disparage where I live,
attribute to me things I never said, etc. There was no
need for Kevin to mount an "impassioned defense of WMTR"
because the station wasn't attacked. Kevin was denying
the facts that you point out in your post.

On the other subject, there are a lot of people who pass
in front of microphones at New York City stations who are
not major-market types. Sorry, but that's the truth. There
are enough low-power stations in New York City at which a
host of people have worked over the years. Many are not
major-market types and saying they "worked in New York" says
little about their talent. I hear a lot of awful stuff on
New York City radio stations. And TV too. A lot of sports
guys play briefly on major-league teams and then get kicked
down to the minors or go into another line of work.

I don't question the credentials of engineering types to do
what they do. The best studio equipment, transmitter, and
tower array is a credit to those who put it up but rarely
makes a significant difference if a station is poorly run
or otherwise fails to capture the audience it needs to
support a healthy ad revenue stream. Personally I don't
think that the very narrow music range of WMTR will be
successful in the long run but time will prove me right
or wrong. But if history is a guide, WMTR will be onto
another format in a year or two. Let's see.

WMTR is what it is. It's a small station with a small-station
budget. It's trying to carve out a niche in the areas to
which its signal goes. It will not be able to earn the
money to make it a major-market operation as long as it's
constrained by technical limitations and the crushing force
that the New York media exerts on northern New Jersey. Many
stations gave up, like WPRJ in Parsippany, and a host of
others morphed into New York stations with a New Jersey
COL.

Again, thanks Mike for confirming what I said. I hope
that puts the issue to rest. And by the way, I wouldn't
let your boss know that you don't think that you're
underpaid.

 

[carlvanorden]

> > You write:> > > > "And they have a good signal to the east, where most of > > the **population** lives. Most broadcasters would rather > > serve people than horses or cows."> > > > Clearly you don't know anything about Morris County.> > > > The fastest expanding areas in the county are in> > the west..Roxbury, Washington, Mount Olive, etc.> > It's not Chatham and Madison.> > > > WMTR doesn't pretend to be a Hudson County station.> > It doesn't have the signal to cover the area that> > it has always represented it does.> > > > You have to get your facts correct before opining> > on an issue like this. The "horses or cows" comment> > is ridiculous.> > > > While western Morris County might be expanding, the> population is still larger east of Morristown. Counties like> Essex and Union are definitely in their primary coverage> area. And WMTR's signal booms into places like Livingston,> Summit, Millburn, Short Hills,and the Oranges both day *and*> night. Even though those places are not located in Morris> County, they are still in their primary coverage area. And> it's not WMTR's fault that they can't be heard west of> Morristown. They have to abide by FCC guidelines to protect> other stations.> As General Manager of NJ Radio Museum, I can say I keep up on these things.Strangely enough I live in PA now, and I was in the Newton, Dover area a few days agf the AM locals, two stood out in Newton: WMTR was the strongest (which makes me question the WNNJ directional system), and WXMC 1310 from Parsippany, whose signal was always aimed at Sussex County by design.The recent WMTR upgrade has increased it's listenability in NW NJ, and improved greatly it's already great signal in Eastern Morris County and beyond. The original WMTR signal favored NYC: but the station always had a very good signal in Western Morris County, to the extent of covering Mt. Olive and Roxbury, truly the growing areas of Morris.In fact when I was with WRAN, the biggest issue we had was covering Roxbury and Mt. Olive; WMTR covered it well even before WRAN Dover was built in the very early 60's. WRAN was so close to these communities, that we still didn't cover them, and had a hell of a signal at the Jersey Shore. WMTR's signal is much more local, and it needs kudos; for as long as it has been on the air, it has done well. WNNJ's new directional system doesn't seem to cover Sussex County as well as it did at 1kW and omnidirectional. WRNJ, now at 1510, lost power day and night. It's original 1000 watts with two sticks (the issue was it was a daytimer) was heard from NE PA (where I now live) to Somerville to Newton, and it's signal ended around Rockaway. There are days when I can hear WRNJ here, but not like I could when they were on 1000kHz.Anyway, there are a lot of great choices for oldies in Northern NJ; all three AM's have live programming, they all do a fantastic job and they all have great music; a real tribute to not only NJ radio, but to the people who run these stations in this day of FM and Sat radio.<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected], [email protected],[email protected]</P>

 

[Harold]

> > > You write:> > > > "And they have a good signal to the
> east, where most of > > the **population** lives. Most
> broadcasters would rather > > serve people than horses or
> cows."> > > > Clearly you don't know anything about Morris
> County.> > > > The fastest expanding areas in the county are
> in> > the west..Roxbury, Washington, Mount Olive, etc.> >
> It's not Chatham and Madison.> > > > WMTR doesn't pretend to
> be a Hudson County station.> > It doesn't have the signal to
> cover the area that> > it has always represented it does.> >
> > > You have to get your facts correct before opining> > on
> an issue like this. The "horses or cows" comment> > is
> ridiculous.> > > > While western Morris County might be
> expanding, the> population is still larger east of
> Morristown. Counties like> Essex and Union are definitely in
> their primary coverage> area. And WMTR's signal booms into
> places like Livingston,> Summit, Millburn, Short Hills,and
> the Oranges both day *and*> night. Even though those places
> are not located in Morris> County, they are still in their
> primary coverage area. And> it's not WMTR's fault that they
> can't be heard west of> Morristown. They have to abide by
> FCC guidelines to protect> other stations.> As General
> Manager of NJ Radio Museum, I can say I keep up on these
> things.Strangely enough I live in PA now, and I was in the
> Newton, Dover area a few days agf the AM locals, two
> stood out in Newton: WMTR was the strongest (which makes me
> question the WNNJ directional system), and WXMC 1310 from
> Parsippany, whose signal was always aimed at Sussex County
> by design.The recent WMTR upgrade has increased it's
> listenability in NW NJ, and improved greatly it's already
> great signal in Eastern Morris County and beyond. The
> original WMTR signal favored NYC: but the station always
> had a very good signal in Western Morris County, to the
> extent of covering Mt. Olive and Roxbury, truly the growing
> areas of Morris.In fact when I was with WRAN, the biggest
> issue we had was covering Roxbury and Mt. Olive; WMTR
> covered it well even before WRAN Dover was built in the very
> early 60's. WRAN was so close to these communities, that we
> still didn't cover them, and had a hell of a signal at the
> Jersey Shore. WMTR's signal is much more local, and it
> needs kudos; for as long as it has been on the air, it has
> done well. WNNJ's new directional system doesn't seem to
> cover Sussex County as well as it did at 1kW and
> omnidirectional. WRNJ, now at 1510, lost power day and
> night. It's original 1000 watts with two sticks (the issue
> was it was a daytimer) was heard from NE PA (where I now
> live) to Somerville to Newton, and it's signal ended around
> Rockaway. There are days when I can hear WRNJ here, but not
> like I could when they were on 1000kHz.Anyway, there are a
> lot of great choices for oldies in Northern NJ; all three
> AM's have live programming, they all do a fantastic job and
> they all have great music; a real tribute to not only NJ
> radio, but to the people who run these stations in this day
> of FM and Sat radio.
>

A fantastic job indeed!! You can't give too many
tributes to the wonderful job those New Jersey radio
stations do in northern New Jersey. Yes indeedy. How
lucky we are.

As far as the signal coverage, see the post by Mike elsewhere
in this thread. He appears to be very plugged into the
engineering scene at WMTR and he acknowledges the null the
station must have toward the west to protect a co-channel
in Pittsburgh.

As I discuss elsewhere in the thread, the question is not
whether the signal can be received but whether it will
deliver a sufficient signal to the average clock or
kitchen radio to fulfill the requirements of the typical
home listener. For instance, WPHT can be heard in Morris
County but is not a factor in radio surveys. It's too
weak.

WRNJ, by the way, is not listenable under these circumtances
in Rockaway. No way. Not even after there's a new shipment
of pellets.

 

[westlife]

Re: Happy, Happy, Happy

> Your post above simply proves my point. You are intensely
> passionate about even the smallest of criticisms of WMTR.

Your criticisms of WMTR are far from small. Not only are they large, they are also repetitive. And did I mention they're repetitive, too? Your extremely predictable "criticisms" have branded you as the man whose mantra is "Oh, boo hoo hoo! Northern NJ radio sucks, and WMTR's signal to the west is lousy!"

> Obviously it's your favorite radio station.

No, my favorite radio station is the one I own and operate myself.

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[westlife]

Harold just doesn't get it...

> Some people on the forum
> are too anxious to take any comment as an attack on their
> favorite station, favorite ideas, etc. They pounced on me
> because of a benign comment about signal strengths and
> then proceeded to call me names, disparage where I live,
> attribute to me things I never said, etc.

Look back to the start of this thread, my friend, and you'll clearly see who "pounced" on who. Your basic argument all along has been "WMTR doesn't have a strong signal where I live, therefore they don't have a strong signal, period." Thus it is no surprise that your argument has been discredited, based on the solid evidence of how strong WMTR's signal is -- day and night -- in nearly every direction except yours.

So, you live in WMTR's null. And we all feel sorry for you because of it. But what you fail to realize is that compared to the substantial majority of WMTR's listening audience, you are the exception to the rule. Therefore your repeated attempts to characterize WMTR's signal as a whole based upon your personal experience with it are foolishly naive, obviously invalid, and quite annoying.
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[Harold]

Re: Happy, Happy, Happy

> > Your post above simply proves my point. You are intensely
> > passionate about even the smallest of criticisms of WMTR.
>
> Your criticisms of WMTR are far from small. Not only are
> they large, they are also repetitive. And did I mention
> they're repetitive, too? Your extremely predictable
> "criticisms" have branded you as the man whose mantra is
> "Oh, boo hoo hoo! Northern NJ radio sucks, and WMTR's
> signal to the west is lousy!"
>
> > Obviously it's your favorite radio station.
>
> No, my favorite radio station is the one I own and operate
> myself.
>

Thanks for laying out the true reasons for your passionate
defense of radio in northern New Jersey!!! It explains why
you take all this so personally. You own a little radio
station and are offended that anyone would be critical in
any way of such stations. Yep...It's clear now.

Unfortunately, your passion blurs your vision. Yes indeed,
radio in northern New Jersey is awful. The area deserves
major-market operations and has, instead, little stations
with young staffs and limited coverage.

By the way, see the post from Mike, who seems to have
reliable information about the signal coverage of WMTR.
He confirms that the station must create a null to
the west to protect a co-channel station in Pennsylvania.

Let's make this offical: I hereby dissolve you of any
responsibility to read my posts. You can spare yourself
a lot of aggravation and reduce the data storage requirement
of the server. You will not be able to stop me from expressing
my viewpoint on issues. My opinions are as valid as any other
person's. And in this wonderful society of ours we cherish
the opporunity to express ourselves. I would never think of
trying to prevent you from posting YOUR thoughts. Yet you
are intense in trying to squelch mine. It's sad Larry, really
sad.

 

[Harold]

Re: Harold just doesn't get it...

> > Some people on the forum
> > are too anxious to take any comment as an attack on their
> > favorite station, favorite ideas, etc. They pounced on me
> > because of a benign comment about signal strengths and
> > then proceeded to call me names, disparage where I live,
> > attribute to me things I never said, etc.
>
> Look back to the start of this thread, my friend, and you'll
> clearly see who "pounced" on who. Your basic argument all
> along has been "WMTR doesn't have a strong signal where I
> live, therefore they don't have a strong signal, period."
> Thus it is no surprise that your argument has been
> discredited, based on the solid evidence of how strong
> WMTR's signal is -- day and night -- in nearly every
> direction except yours.
>
> So, you live in WMTR's null. And we all feel sorry for you
> because of it. But what you fail to realize is that
> compared to the substantial majority of WMTR's listening
> audience, you are the exception to the rule. Therefore your
> repeated attempts to characterize WMTR's signal as a whole
> based upon your personal experience with it are foolishly
> naive, obviously invalid, and quite annoying.
>

For those of you who haven't found it, here's my
very first posting on this subject, the one that
inflamed Kevin:

"Strong signal? WMTR has an extremely poor signal to
the west, where most of the geography of Morris County
lies. At night the station disappears when you get to
Denville."

If this were baseball I'd remind Kevin that it's
only a game. But he doesn't seem able to put things
in perspective. He'll demean me and disparage my
comments simply because he doesn't agree with them.
Civil debate is not possible under those circumstances.

Elsewhere I've freed Kevin from any responsibility
for reading my posts. If he truly believes that my
comments are naive, invalid, or whatever he doesn't
have to reply to them. He can let other people look
at them and get annoyed. However, I suspect that
because he believes others will be influenced by
my comments he feels an obligation to defend all the
little radio stations in northern New Jersey.

 

[DJinNJ]

Re: #@%&*! just doesn't get it...

Well Stated "westlife!" I opted to read YOUR post because 9 times out of 10 they actually make sense instead of someone spewing nonsense!! Guess now the cows can finally come home, to Old McHarold's Farm!!

Myself....OUT

 

[westlife]

Re: Harold just doesn't get it...

> For those of you who haven't found it, here's my
> very first posting on this subject, the one that
> inflamed Kevin:
>
> "Strong signal? WMTR has an extremely poor signal to
> the west, where most of the geography of Morris County
> lies. At night the station disappears when you get to
> Denville."

It inflamed me because YOU SAY THE SAME EXACT THING <U>EVERY TIME</U> SOMEONE MENTIONS WMTR.

For the love of God, Harold... WE KNOW THAT ALREADY!

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[westlife]

Re: Happy, Happy, Happy

> By the way, see the post from Mike, who seems to have
> reliable information about the signal coverage of WMTR.
> He confirms that the station must create a null to
> the west to protect a co-channel station in Pennsylvania.

Even the big 50,000-watt New York City stations have nulls. This phenomenon is by no means unique to WMTR, and by no means does the presence of nulls in an AM station's signal pattern brand them as an "inferior" signal.

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