W255BO 98.9 FM is killing 99.1 The Whale's signal.

[RK]

W255BO 98.9 FM
AKA the "Family Life Network"
is killing 99.1 The Whale's signal.

For the past few weeks, the signal of WAAL has greatly degraded. I have been taking business trips the last few weeks and make it to the Clarks Summit exit on the PA turnpike Northeast Extension (where WAAL always came in crystal clear). But there now is incredible distortion and WAAL was not even listenable. Extreme bleed from 98.9 FM. Odd I thought to myself. Maybe since Clarks Summit is on the edge of the distant /fringe signal, it's just a bad day to pickup 99.1....

I keep driving north....and reach Springville in Susquehanna county (a supposed local signal coverage area of WAAL). Again intense static. So by now I think I'm going crazy and I listened to the radio very closely and it fact I could hear 98.9 FM better then 99.1 !!!

I drive even further up north and this time WAAL finally lost most of the severe bleed from 98.9 FM somewhere north of Summerville! that's not too far from Great Bend. What the heck's going on?

If anyone from Citadel bothers to reads this, they may want to look into this situation, as 99.1 is losing a considerable chunk of it's local coverage area in Susquehanna County, and all of it's (once mighty medium/distant coverage area in surrounding areas).

I believe something is going on behind the scenes and I believe 98.9 FM (which is only supposed to be a low power FM signal), is operating with much more power then its' construction permit allows.

-RK

 

[The Beave]

I say we roll 99.1 in some flower and see if we can find the blowhole.

 

[Kenroberts]

There is so much interference in this area from translators. Mix 103.3 is being killed in many parts of Vestal. Wild 104.1 is being killed in many parts of Binghamton and 107.5 The Bear is buried in so many places. Both Clear Channel and Citadel will do nothing about it as they just don't care about Binghamton, NY in the scheme of things.

 

[The Beave]

There is so much interference in this area from translators. Mix 103.3 is being killed in many parts of Vestal. Wild 104.1 is being killed in many parts of Binghamton and 107.5 The Bear is buried in so many places. Both Clear Channel and Citadel will do nothing about it as they just don't care about Binghamton, NY in the scheme of things.

It's all about money... If the FCC was involved CC would then comply if they were right.. or they would buy the station, and still not care. I actually believe the first would provail - Adelstein hates Corperate radio right now... and would love to pour fireants into CC's shorts.

 

[MediaQueen]

I was in the Binghamton market yesterday on a business trip. Scanned for the Whale and Hawk and they didn't come in on their own. God radio however, had no problem!!

 

[scappy]

There is so much interference in this area from translators. Mix 103.3 is being killed in many parts of Vestal. Wild 104.1 is being killed in many parts of Binghamton and 107.5 The Bear is buried in so many places. Both Clear Channel and Citadel will do nothing about it as they just don't care about Binghamton, NY in the scheme of things.

Where are you having reception issues? This is the first I am hearing about any.

 

[JakeLongwell]

There's no conspiracy here. It's just the way the rules for FM translators work.

I'm not an engineer by any means, but the way I understand it is like this.

A station (like WAAL) has a primary coverage contour, and anything outside of that contour is subject to encroachment by translators, LPFMs, and other low power signals. It does not matter how strong the station's fringe signal may be. If it is outside that primary contour, it can be taken over by a "local" signal on or near the frequency.

I agree that it is unfortunate, but to quote Bruce Hornsby, "that's just the way it is".

The only leg WAAL might have to stand on is if someone in Clarks Summit complained to Family Life, and to the FCC, about the interference. If the FCC feels the complaint is justified, then Family Life would have to move the translator to another frequency. But I believe there is only a brief window in which somoene can file a complaint. Once that time passes, the translator can stay put where it is, regardless of any interference complaints.

When I first moved to Geneva, I looked into getting a religious translator turned off, as it was making it hard for me to listen to a station I have always enjoyed. But because the translator has been on the air for some time, there was nohting I could do. At least, that's what I was told anyway.

 

[The Beave]

Jon,

If I remember correctly Co-channel signal interference occurs when two or more signals are received at the same time over the same frequency range or band. For example, co-channel signal interference may be encountered by a receiver that is receiving two or more signals transmitted at the same frequency and at the same time by two or more separate transmitters. In such a case, data (e.g., voice data, text data, etc.) contained in any one of the interfering co-channel signals cannot be accessed or processed further without first separating the given signal from the other signals to allow demodulation or other further signal processing. This situation occurs frequently with airborne receivers. Even signals with carefully planned frequency re-use (such as the FM radio stations we are discussing), often result in co-channel interference for airborne receivers due to the much longer line-of-sight. In the case of analog FM, co-channel signal interference can result in the inability of a conventional FM receiver to copy one or more signals, typically the weaker signals.

Now...When the number of signals exceeds the number of sensors, the signal environment may be characterized as overloaded. Performance of traditional beamforming and interference cancellation techniques typically fails or degrades in such an overloaded signal environment.

There it is from a producer/remote engineer's prospective.

 

[Kenroberts]

There is so much interference in this area from translators. Mix 103.3 is being killed in many parts of Vestal. Wild 104.1 is being killed in many parts of Binghamton and 107.5 The Bear is buried in so many places. Both Clear Channel and Citadel will do nothing about it as they just don't care about Binghamton, NY in the scheme of things.

Where are you having reception issues? This is the first I am hearing about any.

C'mon...this has been going on for a while. A friend of mine has an office in Vestal and always got Mix perfectly and now when he puts it on 103.3, he says it's an oldies station. I have heard of a few, friends kids listen to Wild 104 and in their homes in Binghamton, another station drown it out. I am not sure of what station it is. 107.5, right in Endwell, there is another station that must share the same frequency or something like that because a friend of mine did listen at one time till this other station came on and drowned 107.5 right out. I am safe. I still listen to Public radio.

 

[JakeLongwell]

Ken,

Perhaps the scinerios you describe are a result of "overload" on the radios these people are using. That is, they might be close to a high power FM transmitter site somewhere in the Binghamton area, and so, they are getting the signals from that site all over the dial.

Unfortunately, they make such cheap radios these days, that this has become fairly common.

I live near the tower of our local commercial FM station, WFLK, and even on one of my "better" radios, they still bleed all over the band.

 

[The Beave]

In Tucson, we had that same problem but we would bleed into the PA system in the church across the road from our stick.

The church had a 1st class sound system but the high tension wires would receive a 6KW blast of RF and harmonize it throughout the system. The license was sold to Citidel and moved. The church had the same problem with another nearby signal after that. Eventually the church had moved, the new buildings there were installed with RF traps. Needless to say... This should have been done in the first place.
Still today in that area you will not find a signal that will overrun the station that harmonizes now with those wires.

 

[SHimes100]

Jon,

I completely agree. The way radios are made today gives way to lots of "spatter". On my clock radio I get Star over everyone of our signals on it. It doesn't bother me cause I know it's the radio.
, and most of your other stations as well. gee ya think it has to do with teh fact I am only 2 miles fron the stick?

Someone scope the area then tell me if there's anything wrong. The last time we checked it out there was only one signal in the market with any splatter ..and it wasn't one of ours.


the terrain around here stinks... absolutely stinks for radio. There are more shadows than Spitzer has Ladies of the night. so yeah things will be a little funky here and there.

 

[Kenroberts]

Jon,

I completely agree. The way radios are made today gives way to lots of "spatter". On my clock radio I get Star over everyone of our signals on it. It doesn't bother me cause I know it's the radio.
, and most of your other stations as well. gee ya think it has to do with teh fact I am only 2 miles fron the stick?

Someone scope the area then tell me if there's anything wrong. The last time we checked it out there was only one signal in the market with any splatter ..and it wasn't one of ours.


the terrain around here stinks... absolutely stinks for radio. There are more shadows than Spitzer has Ladies of the night. so yeah things will be a little funky here and there.

All over Endwell, you can pick up Star on all frequencies. A friend of mine who loves 98.1 can't get it in their house because Star is all over it. In Vestal, 102.9 is all over Mix, I am told. A couple of businesses can no longer get Mix because of 102.9.

 

[scappy]

All over Endwell, you can pick up Star on all frequencies. A friend of mine who loves 98.1 can't get it in their house because Star is all over it.

Out of curiosity, I drove to the tower with the radios et to 98.1. I didn't hear any interference from 105.7 until I was in the transmitter site driveway. The engineering truck is a 96 Blazer, with a stock Delco radio.
There are some intersting intermodulation products in the market. There is a product of 99.1 and 98.1. landing at 97.1 in parts of Endwell. (2*98.1) - 99.1 = 97.1 You can pick that one up in the parking lot of the Visions Credit Union on Country Club road.

 

[Kenroberts]

All over Endwell, you can pick up Star on all frequencies. A friend of mine who loves 98.1 can't get it in their house because Star is all over it.

Out of curiosity, I drove to the tower with the radios et to 98.1. I didn't hear any interference from 105.7 until I was in the transmitter site driveway. The engineering truck is a 96 Blazer, with a stock Delco radio.
There are some intersting intermodulation products in the market. There is a product of 99.1 and 98.1. landing at 97.1 in parts of Endwell. (2*98.1) - 99.1 = 97.1 You can pick that one up in the parking lot of the Visions Credit Union on Country Club road.

Did you try it at many of the homes in Endwell? I think the ones that are having trouble were not complaining about the vehicles but inside the home.

 

[scappy]

All over Endwell, you can pick up Star on all frequencies. A friend of mine who loves 98.1 can't get it in their house because Star is all over it.

Out of curiosity, I drove to the tower with the radios et to 98.1. I didn't hear any interference from 105.7 until I was in the transmitter site driveway. The engineering truck is a 96 Blazer, with a stock Delco radio.
There are some intersting intermodulation products in the market. There is a product of 99.1 and 98.1. landing at 97.1 in parts of Endwell. (2*98.1) - 99.1 = 97.1 You can pick that one up in the parking lot of the Visions Credit Union on Country Club road.

Did you try it at many of the homes in Endwell? I think the ones that are having trouble were not complaining about the vehicles but inside the home.

I have not tried it at anyone's home. We have not received any complaints about what you describe.

There was one complaint about WMRV coming in on a TV set a few years back. I gave the caller some tips to try regarding grounding and cable routing, and that fixed the issue. That's the only complaint about WMRV that I've received in the last 5 years. Around 2000 or so, I did get a call from someone near the tower that was hearing WMRV in a swimming pool...

Most of the complaints that I receive about interference deal with the AM stations. When DSL rolled out locally, I worked with a Verizon tech to help fix a stubborn issue with a customer's DSL connection failing when WENE went to night pattern. That was a few years ago.

 

[Kenroberts]

All over Endwell, you can pick up Star on all frequencies. A friend of mine who loves 98.1 can't get it in their house because Star is all over it.

Out of curiosity, I drove to the tower with the radios et to 98.1. I didn't hear any interference from 105.7 until I was in the transmitter site driveway. The engineering truck is a 96 Blazer, with a stock Delco radio.
There are some intersting intermodulation products in the market. There is a product of 99.1 and 98.1. landing at 97.1 in parts of Endwell. (2*98.1) - 99.1 = 97.1 You can pick that one up in the parking lot of the Visions Credit Union on Country Club road.

Did you try it at many of the homes in Endwell? I think the ones that are having trouble were not complaining about the vehicles but inside the home.

I have not tried it at anyone's home. We have not received any complaints about what you describe.

There was one complaint about WMRV coming in on a TV set a few years back. I gave the caller some tips to try regarding grounding and cable routing, and that fixed the issue. That's the only complaint about WMRV that I've received in the last 5 years. Around 2000 or so, I did get a call from someone near the tower that was hearing WMRV in a swimming pool...

Most of the complaints that I receive about interference deal with the AM stations. When DSL rolled out locally, I worked with a Verizon tech to help fix a stubborn issue with a customer's DSL connection failing when WENE went to night pattern. That was a few years ago.

I would think that most people don't care and will change the station and not make a complaint. I know that in Vestal, a friends business who can no longer get 103 because of 102.9 was pissed off, but they now listen to another station that's comparable to 103. I am not sure that they complained.

 

[RK]

I made another business trip this weekend from Clarks Summit to the Binghamton area, and 99.1 The Whale came in a bit more clear in the car and not complete static like it was a couple of weeks ago.

I just hope it stays that way. I work in sales, and am in and out of business establishments frequently in parts of 99.1's local coverage area. I did find out from a few restaurant owners who would put The Whale on in their businesses, for a brief time they could not receive 99.1, or at least not with intense static.

I think someone from Citadel possibly read the original thread posting, as the problem has cleared up largely and is almost comparable to what it used to be.