Ron Robin wants to buy WCDJ 102.3 Truro/Cape Cod

[raccoonradio]

http://www.provincetownbanner.com/article/news_article/_/47220/News/3/29/2007

"Robin says he and his partners plan to broadcast an oldies music format, covering the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. He says he anticipates taking an on-air shift, possibly in the form of a morning show where he can talk to people on-air and “clown around a bit."

Coverage map: a lot more ocean than land!
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WCDJ&service=FM&status=L&hours=U

 

[Garrett]

Judging from that map, I'd say (baring any kind of power increase), he's interested in broadcasting to a dirt road (or perhaps a few passing ships). That signal doesn't even reach the rest (most) of the Cape!

Why not just buy a small community radio station? Wouldn't that be more productive?

 

[pqgeorge]

Judging from that map, I'd say (baring any kind of power increase), he's interested in broadcasting to a dirt road (or perhaps a few passing ships). That signal doesn't even reach the rest (most) of the Cape!

Why not just buy a small community radio station? Wouldn't that be more productive?

I think you're basing your comment on WCDJ's current power and HAAT. If Robin and his associates get the OK to go full power (3000 watts), he could cover the eastern half of Cape Cod rather effectively. With Cape Cod lacking a full-time Oldies station, ever since the 93.5/101.1 duo recently ditched the oldies format, this could be a welcomed addition to the dial. It sounds like it would be a fun station to listen to. Hope they stream. I wish them all the best!

 

[TowerBuzz]

Is he going to make it "Disco 102.3"?

 

[raccoonradio]

First he has to get a tower up despite problems the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) and BANANA
(Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything; credit, Bob Bittner) folks have. And the article
says he might be able to do so...maybe he could find a way to change the COL and move the
transmitter a bit closer to the rest of the Cape's population?

 

[Casablanca]

What has Ron Robin been doing in the 20 or so years he has been off WBZ Radio?

 

[webcastboy]

The article says:

The station’s development plan calls for business and studio operations to be run out of Provincetown, with a transmitter located in Truro that will allow the signal to be heard from Provincetown to Orleans. Robin was before the Truro Planning Board on Feb. 27 for a special permit to place the necessary transmitting antenna on a 35-foot utility pole in the tradesmen’s park currently being constructed at the old Pilgrim Spring Motel by Tri-S Properties, LLC. Dunes 102FM will rent a unit at the tradesmen’s park to house the necessary equipment associated with the antenna. The planning board unanimously approved the special permit 5-0.

According to its application to the planning board, Dunes 102FM investigated several locations for the transmitter, including existing towers at the Public Safety Facility and North Truro camping area, as well as proposing to erect one at Highlands Center at Cape Cod National Seashore. For various reasons, the most suitable location turned out to be the tradesmen’s park.

You can't run 3000 watts from a 35ft pole (mentioned in the article) and have it not be an RF health hazard. Ya just can't. Not because of the wattage, but because you need an antenna array that focuses the RF outward instead of down (and up). That kind of ERP would demand a four-bay / full wave spaced antenna array...like what WZBC does...and that means about 30ft of tower space is required. On a 35ft pole, besides the undesirability of your lowest bay being within arm's reach, the radiation center is only 20ft off the ground. That's bound to start hitting trees and houses within a very short distance. Never mind the health problems, the signal's reach will go to hell because of terrain shielding.

You'd need at least a 60 or 75ft pole to put in a four bay / full wave. A three bay / full wave could potentially fit on a 35ft pole but it's not ideal. Your lowest bay is only 15ft off the ground. And with the additional downward RF, I'd guesstimate the maximum health-safe ERP would only be a few hundred watts...perhaps 1000. Not much of an improvement over the 340w ERP they're authorized for now.

Based on that article (and what I know of the lower Cape) I seriously doubt there's anywhere they could move and have a higher ERP. Maybe that water tank that WOMR is on, but that raises another problem: WCDJ is already short-spaced to WKLB/102.5. I don't think they could move that much westward without using a directional antenna, which precludes sharing an antenna with WOMR. From what I've heard, the NIMBY's almost didn't let WOMR on that tank...so I doubt that they'd allow an even taller tower to go on top of it to accommodate both WOMR and WCDJ.

I don't think WCDJ can move south, either...the nearest towers are all the way down in Brewster and Orleans, which would short-space them with WCIB 101.9 in Falmouth.

Of course, if Ron's just doing this for fun (which it sounds like he is) then I doubt he cares about trying to afford a transmitter that can deliver 3kW ERP...nor about trying to reach all the Lower Cape. He probably just wants to run a radio station, and WCDJ's current signal ought to reach Provincetown well enough so he can listen to tunes while running his restaurant there.

 

[BoscoGoldBear]

Ron's been the owner of Mew's in P-Town since he was my teacher at CSB in 1990-1991, and probably before then as well!

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Ron gave me a studio tour of the original 1510 WMEX on Broadway when I was a kid in 1967. I had won a contest and went down to the station to collect my $15.10 and a "WMEX Good Guys" sweatshirt, small size (unfortunately, too small for me to ever wear as an adult. I wasn't thinking ahead at the time, but I still have it).

All I had to do to win was identify the artist and title of "Turn, Turn, Turn" by The Byrds, which was already a few years old by then. A studio tour wasn't part of the contest, but I was talking to him in the lobby and said I wanted to see what my favorite station looked like. He was really cool about it.