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"Thunder" back...on 94.5 translator in Pinellas??
- Thread starter DannyG
- Start date
It sounds a lot like The Bone to me, a lot of songs I've already heard way too many times. The automated sound is just as pronounced as it is on the Eagle. To be honest, as happy as I am for a little change and "excitement", this is a total waste and misuse of those translators. I know it's legal to relay HD-2 signals on a translator, but there are two different "Thunder" feeds being used on these translators at times, I don't see how this can be legal, if the translators are supposed to be relaying WMTX HD2. Even if it is totally legit, this is a format that is already served by several stations in the area. I am so sick of this business model... loading the airwaves down with as much garbage programming as possible, and further beating the golden goose that already passed on years ago. The only purpose this redundant and repetitive programming can serve, is to further dumb down the audience, and suck any life left out of terrestrial broadcasting. It's like they really want people to turn their radios off... In other words, this sucks... admit it, you know it does. This isn't thunder, I remember thunder, and it certainly wasn't an iHeartradio feed being rebroadcast with some automated drop-ins on some crappy sounding translators. These should be used to rebroadcast low powered LOCAL AM radio stations, not to fight a Classic Rock battle with Cox. I hate what radio has become.
Cedric, agree with 99% of what you say. I did that post with my listener hat on, not my radio hat on. Eagle gets beat up quite a bit here, and rightfully so, but in the short period I listened to 94.5 I was hearing a whole new playlist. Perhaps 94.5 will rotate theirs into the ground too and I will have to re-evaluate my position. Yes automation was not tight, poor segues heard. Yes dont like translators being used for HD channels, channels that gave owners a whole new radio station(s) to play with, not my problem that few people wanted to buy HD radios to listen. Yes translators should be helping out the few struggling AMs, like 1340 
. Yes it definately is NOT the original Thunder! No, not like the Bone. Bone went outside what I define as classic rock sometimes (plus had that annoying talk stuff), so far 94.5 is good (did I mention Paradise City!!!)
. Yes it definately is NOT the original Thunder! No, not like the Bone. Bone went outside what I define as classic rock sometimes (plus had that annoying talk stuff), so far 94.5 is good (did I mention Paradise City!!!)Ok, maybe I'm being a little harsh, but I really am sick of hearing the same old crap all the time. Ok, so the playlist is more diverse than the Eagle... that's not exactly hard to accomplish. Are they really just going to VT this thing and let it run? It's such an incredible waste of frequency spectrum.
These translators are being snapped up so they can't be used by another organization that might actually make a practical use of them. I don't even think WTAN should qualify for a translator, because it serves the area that it's licensed to, and then some. The signal isn't supposed to serve the Tampa Bay area, it's supposed to serve Clearwater, and it does.
I still don't see how these can be considered "translators" when they are airing two different feeds respectively, both IDing as WMTX HD2... If that's legal, why can't anybody just snap up a religious translator, and have it play their iPod? I guess using this logic, WTAN should be able to have unlimited translators airing separate programming. As I understand it the only way a translator is allowed to air original content, is if it's located in the non-commercial part of the band. My brain is a little foggy about all this, so someone correct me where I'm wrong. In any case, I don't see this lasting very long. But what do I know.
These translators are being snapped up so they can't be used by another organization that might actually make a practical use of them. I don't even think WTAN should qualify for a translator, because it serves the area that it's licensed to, and then some. The signal isn't supposed to serve the Tampa Bay area, it's supposed to serve Clearwater, and it does.
I still don't see how these can be considered "translators" when they are airing two different feeds respectively, both IDing as WMTX HD2... If that's legal, why can't anybody just snap up a religious translator, and have it play their iPod? I guess using this logic, WTAN should be able to have unlimited translators airing separate programming. As I understand it the only way a translator is allowed to air original content, is if it's located in the non-commercial part of the band. My brain is a little foggy about all this, so someone correct me where I'm wrong. In any case, I don't see this lasting very long. But what do I know.
Cedric said:
badjef said:
Clear Channel does a lot to limit competition (in fact sometimes it seems they care more about than about how their stations sound), and the Tampa Bay market is one of the areas where they have done it very successfully. Look at how they systematically worked the AM ownership around in the market over the years so that any other viable signal is in the hands of a religious organization that won't compete with them.
The reason for having two Thunders on two translators is to make sure no one else gets those translators.
The translators are supposed to fill in gaps from the inefficiencies of the main signal
Exactly. However, WFLA 970 AM, operating low power translator on FM "inside" the service contour of its AM signal, is nothing more that a attempt to block the continued roll-out of LPFM.
Exactly. However, WFLA 970 AM, operating low power translator on FM "inside" the service contour of its AM signal, is nothing more that a attempt to block the continued roll-out of LPFM.
badjef said:
Ok let me try this again. Where I live I can receive both 105.9 and 94.5. Half the time I turn my radio on, one of them is playing one feed, and then when I tune to the other it's playing a completely different feed, yet both of them are IDing as WMTX HD2. If they're supposed to be translating for WMTX HD2, then they should both be playing WMTX HD2. If one station is playing one song, and the other is playing a different song, they can't both be translating for WMTX HD2... and there is NO DELAY between the two stations. When both stations are actually playing the same song, it's perfectly synched. I admire their creativity, but this is not only a total d*** move on their part, but it also appears to be a violation of the FCC rules. Again correct me if I'm wrong. In the meantime I'll be daydreaming about the inevitable fall of CC, and how I can advance the process.
There is no doubt that there are not enough radio allocations on AM or FM or both from a listener standpoint.druidhillsradio said:
However, on the other hand, if you have a radio station already, then TWO stations in the Market is too much if you don't control the other station.
With that said, as more radios are being produced without AM tuners and/or AM antennas built in, and the increased interference playing havoc, AM has lost it's competitive edge.
Whatever is going on with 94.5 and 105.9, is a fluid situation.
The translators are also allowed to fill in for the inefficiencies of HDs given the contour of the main signal. With that, as I see it, the two translators are operating within legal limits.
As far as an ID, HA!!! Talk to our friends over at WTSP and ask why they ID as "WTSP Tampa St. Petersburg"? It is NOT Legal. Their COL is clearly St. Petersburg, NOT Tampa.
Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
Just FYI.... Tropo skip was hammering 94.5 in St. Pete tonight. Star 94.5 was banging all over it and in fact my radio was displaying the RDS info from WCFB while Thunder was trying to hang in there. This was in Central St. Petersburg, not far from that tower in Seminole. If this is a common occurrence, these translators are gonna be a joke.
By the way, I also saw and online banner ad for the new Thunder stations on the Tampa Bay Times web site today. So maybe they're serious about this sticking around for a while.
By the way, I also saw and online banner ad for the new Thunder stations on the Tampa Bay Times web site today. So maybe they're serious about this sticking around for a while.
I left Tampa Airport and had 105.9 do the same thing. It was displaying WOCL and then switched to 94.5 as I was driving over the Howard Frankland Bridge, 94.5 was showing WCFB. The HD was blinking during the time. If it had a little more signal, I would have picked up the HD stations from Orlando while riding through Pinellas County.billalm said:
Say what you will, HD and RDBS are still new as a mass appeal technology. They haven't found their own niche and acceptance, yet.
Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
As far as an ID, HA!!! Talk to our friends over at WTSP and ask why they ID as "WTSP Tampa St. Petersburg"? It is NOT Legal. Their COL is clearly St. Petersburg, NOT Tampa.
It happens more than you know.
It happens more than you know.
Pretty much the only on air requirement left is a legal ID. As irrelevant as COLs have become as a public service to the community it is assigned and buried in audio, it is still required.druidhillsradio said:
I thought they might be ID-ing at the transmitter, so I watched them over the air. I have looked for it over the PSIP or listened for morse code. Nope, nothing different.
Their on screen ID is clearly not a legal ID, and it has been like that for quite a while.
I can understand a smaller LP, but this is a Full Power #18 Major Network affiliate violating the ID rule.
What other examples can you give us that are that blatant?
Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
badjef said:
Something similar happened in The Villages. I tuned to 100.7 and it was playing a very noisy signal from WMUV from Jacksonville. Then after a few seconds the HD from WMTX kicked in and I started picking up that.
I have also picked on the Sarasota 105.9 while the RDS was saying "105.9 Sunny FM, Orlando's Greatest Hits". I have a Pioneer DEH-4400 HD Radio installed in my van.
Anyone can say what they want about HD Radio but I like it. HD signals have more reliable signals than the non-HD ones. Take a station that doesn't broadcast in HD like WXCV 95.3 for example and 93.3 WFLZ. I live right on the 50dBu line for WFLZ, I can often still pick up that signal in Crystal Clear HD, the 50dBu contour of 95.3 gives me some splatter from Orlando's WPYO. My point is HD Radio can prevent co-channel interference and provide a cleaner signal even on the fringes of a stations coverage area.
I have even been able to reliably pick up an HD2 or HD3 signal on a Class C transmitter from 50 Miles away. (50 miles is right at the 60dBu contour for a Class C.) So I personally don't see the dropouts and signal limitations of HD Radio. Now not all HD's even on Class C sticks are the same, however I have seen how a newer HD Radio receiving an HD station with the maximum power the FCC allows can handle the job of providing a solid signal.
Interesting comments from Big Rig on Thunder's Facebook page. He's replying to posts about the signal and being very vague except to say "stay tuned" and it's "gonna be a big year for us". Makes ya wonder what the real plan is over there for the future of WFLA and the others in 2013. I just don't get it.
Maybe, that's the point.billalm said:
Biggy may not be at liberty to say anything. I would give him some slack, here.
We all see holes that need to be filled, these things take time.
The decisions made by the big bucks boys are usually well thought out prior to implementation.
Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
Parttimer said:
And then they will kill off WJRR (101.1) in Orlando and take Riggie & Co statewide as Rock 101 (all you need to know about Rock n' Roll)....
Thunder simulcast with 104.1 in Orlando (or possibly the current Real Radio 104.1 format is simulcast on 95.7, or they leave the Beat alone and Real Radio is on 970 and translators).
And they already call 540 in Orlando WFLA (real calls are WFLF)...
So maybe this is a merging of two markets into one...
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