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Red Apple Media Purchases WCRN 830
- Thread starter GM1430
- Start date
The signal is really not very good in metro Boston. Don’t know why, it’s supposed to be 50kW transmitting from just west of Worcester with a pattern aimed at Boston.
It’s good in central MA and fair in most of metro west, but east of 95/128 it’s weak, spotty, fadey, noisy, and has what sounds like phase distortion in areas especially at night.
Unless they can somehow improve the signal, it’ll have to target central MA/metro-west. Interested to see what they do with it.
It’s good in central MA and fair in most of metro west, but east of 95/128 it’s weak, spotty, fadey, noisy, and has what sounds like phase distortion in areas especially at night.
Unless they can somehow improve the signal, it’ll have to target central MA/metro-west. Interested to see what they do with it.
It's hard to see how the FCC would give WCRN greater access to Boston when the city already has a station on 850 kHz licensed to it. And while @davideduardo may be correct about 20kHz not being a factor south of the border, I believe the fact remains that in the U.S., local outlets in a given FCC market cannot be less than 40kHz apart on the medium wave frequencies and less than .8mHz apart on the high (FM) frequencies.
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Wouldn't it have been cheaper to buy 1510 an restore it's signal? I believe the main issue is protection of WLAC at night. I don't think anyone else has used the downgrade of WMEX to improve their signal.
If you look at WLAC's nighttime pattern, can they do any with the null towards the northeast now that WMEX is class D? There is some rumbling about WLAC losing their site. It would be a lot smaller land footprint with only the northwest null.
If you look at WLAC's nighttime pattern, can they do any with the null towards the northeast now that WMEX is class D? There is some rumbling about WLAC losing their site. It would be a lot smaller land footprint with only the northwest null.
"In Johnny Cats, We Trust !"
They have! WFIF in Connecticut has an application to move to 1510 with a power increase (it was partially my idea, in fact).
But the big obstacle to restoring WMEX's signal is land. There's no cheap or easy place to put up a directional array west of Boston and it would be a massive political fight to get permits even if you could find a site.
It would easily end up costing well over a million dollars between the cost of land and the cost of actually building out a new site, and there's nothing anyone could do with that signal that would make that cost worth it, especially when you could just buy 850 for around the same price.
There's also still protection to the old 1510 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, which is still internationally notified even though it's long gone.
I haven't kept up with WLAC's night signal, but I would not bet on them being at their current location in the future. Using on the back of an envelope engineering, 1300 has plenty of towers for colocation.
Back to 830:
Is there anything from stopping 830 from filing with the commission to run their nighttime pattern 24 / 7? That would on paper move the signal closer to Boston.
The seller of WCRN made out like a bandit!
Hard to believe someone would pay north of a million for a central Massachusetts AM station in the year 2026.
I would've pegged fair value at $500k tops.
Those brokered shows must be generating decent revenue for the radio station.
The station cannot be moved closer to Boston (meaningfully) because of 850 WEEI.
Hard to believe someone would pay north of a million for a central Massachusetts AM station in the year 2026.
I would've pegged fair value at $500k tops.
Those brokered shows must be generating decent revenue for the radio station.
The station cannot be moved closer to Boston (meaningfully) because of 850 WEEI.
Cats will presumably run it as a conservative talk station, so in that case, don't the suburbs matter more than trying to reach downtown Boston?
Yes. However, the question would be how well WEEI can be received in those western suburbs versus WCRN and whether the FCC is willing (and they may be) to overlook its own regulations to give Cats more access to those suburbs.
At least so far, the engineering side of the FCC does not "overlook its own regulations."
The rules are the rules for everyone, at least with respect to the sort of contour overlap issues we're discussing here. It's the same staffers at the audio division who've been there for years, following the same regulations that have been in place for years.
The rules are the rules for everyone, at least with respect to the sort of contour overlap issues we're discussing here. It's the same staffers at the audio division who've been there for years, following the same regulations that have been in place for years.
I was wondering why WCRN’s current signal isn’t better in greater Boston, not upgrading it which (probably) can’t be done.
It’s already 50kW beamed towards Boston. It seems to be underperforming for what it should be on paper in the Boston area.
Even on paper it's not a city-grade signal in Boston, at least during the daytime.
If they are running full power, my guess is that it's 50kW signal isn't that great because of them having relatively short towers, just like 1200 WXKS.
Station Sales Week Of 5/8: WABC Coming To Boston?
Community Radio Project sells 89.5 KICO Rico CO to San Miguel Educational Fund for $10. KICO currently simulcasts the seller’s Public Variety 91.5 KSJD Cortez. Gayle Russ donates their 59% share in Faith Broadcasting LLC with its Christan “Faith Music Radio” 1180 WGAB/93.1 W226CB Newburgh IN to...
radioinsight.com
Here are more details on this deal for Red Apple Media to get WCRN.
For several years WCRN has been airing an automated “soft” oldies/“soft” classic hits of the ‘60s and ‘70s format late nights/overnights they call “North Star”. Listening for the past hour, somebody’s been tweaking it!
Mixed with the usual “soft” ‘60s/‘70s hits, I heard a couple of 1950’s songs, “Ain’t Got No Home” by Clarence “Frogman” Henry and “At The Hop” by Danny & The Juniors. They never went back to the ‘50s before.
Also “Pictures of Matchstick Men” by Status Quo, a 1968 psychedelic hit considered hard rock at the time, “More Than A Feeling” by Boston, a huge mid-‘70s mainstream hit but harder rock than it used to play, then early ‘60s R&B/pop hit “Boy From New York City” by the Ad-Libs, “She’s A Woman” by the Beatles, earlier Beatles than they’d been playing. They only had played some of the Beatles later mellower songs.
Then three Christmas songs! An old instrumental easy listening “beautiful music” version of Jingle Bells, Christmas by Darlene Love, and Little Drummer Boy by Harry Simeone Chorale! Makes no sense in May! Then more soft classic hits, followed by Elvis’ version of Silver Bells! Then more “soft” classic hits…
Mixed with the usual “soft” ‘60s/‘70s hits, I heard a couple of 1950’s songs, “Ain’t Got No Home” by Clarence “Frogman” Henry and “At The Hop” by Danny & The Juniors. They never went back to the ‘50s before.
Also “Pictures of Matchstick Men” by Status Quo, a 1968 psychedelic hit considered hard rock at the time, “More Than A Feeling” by Boston, a huge mid-‘70s mainstream hit but harder rock than it used to play, then early ‘60s R&B/pop hit “Boy From New York City” by the Ad-Libs, “She’s A Woman” by the Beatles, earlier Beatles than they’d been playing. They only had played some of the Beatles later mellower songs.
Then three Christmas songs! An old instrumental easy listening “beautiful music” version of Jingle Bells, Christmas by Darlene Love, and Little Drummer Boy by Harry Simeone Chorale! Makes no sense in May! Then more soft classic hits, followed by Elvis’ version of Silver Bells! Then more “soft” classic hits…
There's nothing but blue districts between Worcester and Boston. Cats will never influence anything around there no matter where he bases his irrelevant AM radio signal.
I wonder if they will remove the evening/overnight music service...
I've heard 830 WCRN under WCCO a number of times of the past few years when they are playing oldies in the overnight hours. Especially if I get WCCO in a deep null with my loop antenna, which at my location, allows me to be pointing in the right direction for WCRN.
Last I checked, they are running narrow 5kHz audio.
Last I checked, they are running narrow 5kHz audio.