Stations that are the Most Consistent Power Down Violators

[WahooWah]

In our lists of station logs, we often mention stations that don't power down at night as the FCC requires.

I thought it would be interesting to list those stations DXers on this forum think are the most consistent violators, and those that have the most impact on reception of other stations over the broadest geography.

My #1 candidate would be WWBA in Largo/Tampa FL. As most of you already know, it is licensed for 50000 days and 1000 nights. This station has been broadcasting with 50000 watts day and night for over two years as far as I can tell. I often listen to WBAP Dallas in the evening and WWBA is always there making it difficult to hear WBAP clearly. I have seen comments from DXers on the IRCA board that European DXers were receiving WWBA in 2019. I guess it is good for DXers to have a 50000 watt station in Florida they can try to hear, but it does interfere with other stations over a very wide geography.

Maybe there are other stations doing the same thing in other parts of the country. Thought it might be interesting to hear comments on this. Your thoughts?

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

I won't embarrass particular stations that do this, but I will profile them.

1) Stations that have gone to powers at or in excess of 5000 watts Daytime, and less than 100 watts Nighttime, Nondirectional. These stations have often sold off all or part of their land, and if they sell it all off, move to short little inefficient towers they diplex with other stations or multiple use.

2) Stations with FM translators whose board operators don't know they are supposed to power down, are newbies who haven't been trained properly, forget to power down, etc., if they have to do it manually.

3) Flagrant violators who just don't care.

4) Operators and Managers who think they can broadcast local High School Football and other Athletic events after Sunset with their Day facilities. I call these "Friday Night Lights" unauthorized "STAs".

5) Canadian stations that are on adjacent frequencies to US stations STILL operating with IBOC. Some are particular stations I can think of that do this.

Some US stations have just given up on Night service, but it's less serious if they have translators. Some of these affected US stations have been sold or permanently gone off the air due to IBOC interference.

 

[radioman148]

I can't name anywhere near the amount of stations that do this, but there seems to be more and more of them. WWBA is a good example as I have heard it in the Chicago area many times. KCKN seems to be doing it from what I'm told and I'll let others name some more if they choose to.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I can't name anywhere near the amount of stations that do this, but there seems to be more and more of them. WWBA is a good example as I have heard it in the Chicago area many times. KCKN seems to be doing it from what I'm told and I'll let others name some more if they choose to.

KCKN is 50kw day and night, simply with different patterns. Theyre operating on the night pattern 24/7 right now. Ive stated this before.

 

[louis_p]

Is there any recourse for the stations that experience interference issues? What type of proof or field tests would be needed?

 

[Kemosabe]

KCKN is 50kw day and night, simply with different patterns. Theyre operating on the night pattern 24/7 right now. Ive stated this before.

Because the night pattern requires six towers instead of the day pattern's two (or is it three?), wouldn't it be more expensive to operate the nocturnal pattern by day?

 

[davideduardo]

Because the night pattern requires six towers instead of the day pattern's two (or is it three?), wouldn't it be more expensive to operate the nocturnal pattern by day?

The expense of operation is based on the power consumed by the transmitter. They circuitry which divides and "phases" the power between the towers for a directional pattern is passive. A 50 kw station with one tower or with 6 use nearly the same power. There is a relatively tiny loss of power in all the transmission lines and related gear which may require a slightly higher power output into the phasor, but it's relatively insignificant.

 

[kenglish]

WWBA shows an old STA (issued 5 years ago, valid for 1 year) to broadcast with their day pattern at night, with "reduced power as necessary to maintain monitoring points". This was supposed to be due to a drift in the tuning of the night phasor.
IF the STA were still valid, you would think they would notice the discrepancy when they regularly check their monitoring points. Maybe they don't?

 

[gr8oldies]

WDLR-1550 in Delaware, Ohio at least used to be a repeat offender, and I heard them consistently in East Tennessee. (DXers have argued the point, telling me I was receiving the night flea power, but as consistently as I heard it, and as widespread as it's been heard, I have my doubts).
Another 1550, WIGN, Bristol, TN has been noted with day power at night often. I've caught them on the Farmington, MI SDR.

WKJV-1380 and WKJW-1010, Black Mountain NC have been heard with day power at night off and on.

WWBA shows an old STA (issued 5 years ago, valid for 1 year) to broadcast with their day pattern at night, with "reduced power as necessary to maintain monitoring points". This was supposed to be due to a drift in the tuning of the night phasor.
IF the STA were still valid, you would think they would notice the discrepancy when they regularly check their monitoring points. Maybe they don't?

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

I dont imagine that many Canadians listen to the CBEF 1550 French Language Programming. CBEF 1550 is a Class I-B/Class A facility. That is why those stations have such low power PSSA. They probably get very few complaints.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Because the night pattern requires six towers instead of the day pattern's two (or is it three?), wouldn't it be more expensive to operate the nocturnal pattern by day?

No, becausethere is apparently a problem in switching between the two pattern.. the night one has more powers and is tighter to protect someone, so they stay on that one till things ar fixed

 

[MarioMania]

They have to protect KTNQ & KDKA at Night

 

[boombox4]

Some US stations have just given up on Night service, but it's less serious if they have translators. Some of these affected US stations have been sold or permanently gone off the air due to IBOC interference.

Stations going off the air due to IBOC interference? Haven't heard that before.

 

[kenglish]

KLLB-1510, now silent, used to broadcast programming until the DJ felt like going home. They were licensed for daytime, with CH to protect KGA in Spokane, before KGA changed their nighttime coverage.
Usually, after sign-off, they just left the carrier on all night.

BTW, I used to run in to the owner at the 7-11 near my home. She's on that "Housewives of SLC" show right now.

 

[schmave]

WDLR-1550 in Delaware, Ohio at least used to be a repeat offender, and I heard them consistently in East Tennessee. (DXers have argued the point, telling me I was receiving the night flea power, but as consistently as I heard it, and as widespread as it's been heard, I have my doubts).

I was with you at the time and still am. Having spent a lot of time in their local groundwave coverage area because of work and living about 35 miles from their tower, what you were hearing was not them on their assigned power. That groundwave signal came in too well too far south into the Columbus area to be on flea power, IMO.

 

[MichaelTheZ]

WDLR-1550 in Delaware, Ohio at least used to be a repeat offender, and I heard them consistently in East Tennessee. (DXers have argued the point, telling me I was receiving the night flea power, but as consistently as I heard it, and as widespread as it's been heard, I have my doubts).
Another 1550, WIGN, Bristol, TN has been noted with day power at night often. I've caught them on the Farmington, MI SDR.

WKJV-1380 and WKJW-1010, Black Mountain NC have been heard with day power at night off and on.

I can provide another confirmation for both WDLR and WKJW, both within the last two years. I'm in Chicago and I've heard WDLR several times at night. There was a period where it was the most common thing to hear on 1550. WKJW seems more sporadic... I've heard it at least twice but operating on daytime power at night seems to be uncommon.

 

[davideduardo]

They have to protect KTNQ & KDKA at Night

Actually, KTNQ protects them. The approval for KTNQ to get night service allowed a very permissive night protection of KTNQ from Roswell; in other words, Roswell can smother KTNQ, but KTNQ sends nearly nothing towards NM.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

KGBS, owned by Storer, was a LIMITED TIME FACILTY. It signed on at KDKA Sunrise, and signed off at KGBS Sunset. 1020 was designated as a frequency for a single full-time Class II-A on 1020, which was licensed to KSWS Roswell, NM. Later, as Ten Q, they wanted to go full-time in the 1970s, and after a lot of controversy, KTNQ was allowed to be full-time, as long as it didn't increase theoretical interference to KDKA. KSWS came on at Night first, was supposed to have a de facto secondary service area, and KTNQ was still limited time, so KSWS was not required to protect KTNQ. It was sort of a matter of who came on first at Night on 1020, not a refusal of KSWS to protect them. I guess they could have pulled a WLIB and bought KSWS to downgrade it.

 

[davideduardo]

KGBS, owned by Storer, was a LIMITED TIME FACILTY. It signed on at KDKA Sunrise, and signed off at KGBS Sunset. 1020 was designated as a frequency for a single full-time Class II-A on 1020, which was licensed to KSWS Roswell, NM. Later, as Ten Q, they wanted to go full-time in the 1970s, and after a lot of controversy, KTNQ was allowed to be full-time, as long as it didn't increase theoretical interference to KDKA. KSWS came on at Night first, was supposed to have a de facto secondary service area, and KTNQ was still limited time, so KSWS was not required to protect KTNQ. It was sort of a matter of who came on first at Night on 1020, not a refusal of KSWS to protect them. I guess they could have pulled a WLIB and bought KSWS to downgrade it.

Roswell was one of the breakdown of the clear channels stations. It was intended to serve underserved areas of the country, like 1100 in Grand Junction, 880 in Nebraska, etc. The FCC at the time did not allow downgrades for the improvement of a third party station... I don't recall when that first became possible but when KGBS upgraded and became KTNQ, they would not allow such downgrades.

In fact, Storer helped Roswell to build the 50 kw station there as part of the negotiation to make 1020 in LA a fulltimer.

As KPOP and KGBS, the LA station would sign on at 10 PM on Sunday evenings because back then, KDKA did not operate on Monday morning.

Around 1961 I visited KTNQ on Western in LA. The building had been a funeral parlor, and the rear part of the ground floor slanted towards a master drain where blood and other fluids could flow in the embalming rooms. I think working there early in the morning at the Pittsburgh sunrise time have been a bit spooky.

 

[radioman148]

Roswell was one of the breakdown of the clear channels stations. It was intended to serve underserved areas of the country, like 1100 in Grand Junction, 880 in Nebraska, etc. The FCC at the time did not allow downgrades for the improvement of a third party station... I don't recall when that first became possible but when KGBS upgraded and became KTNQ, they would not allow such downgrades.

In fact, Storer helped Roswell to build the 50 kw station there as part of the negotiation to make 1020 in LA a fulltimer.

As KPOP and KGBS, the LA station would sign on at 10 PM on Sunday evenings because back then, KDKA did not operate on Monday morning.

Around 1961 I visited KTNQ on Western in LA. The building had been a funeral parlor, and the rear part of the ground floor slanted towards a master drain where blood and other fluids could flow in the embalming rooms. I think working there early in the morning at the Pittsburgh sunrise time have been a bit spooky.

I was in the LA area sometime in the mid 60s and heard KGBS sign on Sunday night when KDKA went down for maintenance. It was certainly different at the time to hear that.