WBGO to Officially Begin Transmitting From 4 Times Square on Friday

[WNTIRadio]

Those maps are nice, but the Longley-Rice tells the real story.

 

[erwin33]

Don't know what WBGO are using for there soundprocessing these days? I saw on an old picture an Optimod 8100 and an Omnia.FM. I hope they tweak it to something louder on the dial, that fix the problems I guess.
There stream is sounding very soft b.t.w. Maybe the same output as the off air signal?

 

[badjef]

Those maps pretty closely match the 60dbu (1mv/m) and 50dbu (316uv/m) contours on R-L.com

I wonder (actually, I know...) why stations post and believe those theoretical maps using contours that no common consumer gear can get in the locations where most listening occurs.

In the NY metro, around 75% of listening happens at home and at work. For any real listening to happen a 64 dbu signal is needed (based on analysis of millions of diary listening locations). The real usable coverage of WBGO is well inside the innermost of the two contours.

Are you saying from 4ts or Newark?

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[R.F. Burns]

This is just anecdotal but, since the move a friend who lives in Astoria who previously had difficulty receiving WBGO on his "boom box" now receives clean audio from WBGO.

 

[badjef]

This is just anecdotal but, since the move a friend who lives in Astoria who previously had difficulty receiving WBGO on his "boom box" now receives clean audio from WBGO.

I wouldn't mind going out on a limb, here, and predict WBGO will double their cume with the move.
Since, they only have about 250k, with the additional population of Brooklyn and Queens, and a clean signal, should have that effect.

There is about 10 miles separating Newark and Manhattan.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[Barry]

WBGO's signal still seems poor in much of the metro area, especially north of Manhattan. It did not even sound improved in the Bronx. In parts of southern Westchester County, it remains hard to hear, due to interference from relatively distant WPPB.
As I enjoy jazz, the new antenna is a disappointment. WNYE and WKCR, which transmit from the same location, come in considerably better. Perhaps WBGO's signals have major nulls to the north, to protect other stations.

 

[ansky212]

There is about 10 miles separating Newark and Manhattan.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

I wonder how many listeners in NJ they will lose, or will the added height to the tower offset the 10 mile move to the east?

 

[davideduardo]

Are you saying from 4ts or Newark?

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

The map linked in a prior post appears to be the new 50 and 60 dbu. The real, useful coverage is a bit inside the 60 dbu... neither of the contours on the station's website reflects a listenable contour in the real world.

 

[LA_Guy]

Congrats to my friend David Antoine for pulling this off-originally they wanted to move to the top of the Trump building and when he came on board he forced them to come to their senses.

 

[Barry]

What would have been the disadvantage of locating WBGO's antenna atop the Trump building?

 

[ansky212]

What would have been the disadvantage of locating WBGO's antenna atop the Trump building?

My guess is that since the Trump building is on the east side of Manhattan with many taller buildings to its west, it would degrade the signal to the west into NJ.

 

[Ike]

I'm glad that WBGO no latter splatters all over the dial in downtown Newark. For instance, I can tune in stations like WFMU and WNYE on my Walkman in Newark Penn Station while waiting for trains. That was very difficult before. (Small portable radios are not as good as car radios for resisting splatter from nearby transmitters.)

As I expected, I can no longer receive WBGO on the underground parts of the Newark Light Rail. Above ground, it sounds OK -- about the same as WNYE and WKCR. A touch of static here and there. Not as much as of a decline in reception quality as I'd imagined there might be.