What's up with 630 WBMQ this weekend? I tuned in to hear part of the football game, and there was nothing but dead silence. I checked it again just now, and there is nothing going out over the air.
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WBMQ technical problems?
- Thread starter Witchlover
- Start date
Maybe I ought to buy a lottery ticket. That was my guess. Thanks, Mr. Combs, and good luck resolving the problem.
Dead silence? As in dead air or dead carrier?
Hmmm, I had never thought of that. The signal is back up now, and it sounds as good as ever. I have always been able to get good reception of WBMQ here, the best of all of the area AM stations, in fact.
rcombs said:The answer would be "neither" when it comes to AM radio. Even with the station on there is static.
Good point. I guess the question would be, more static or less static?
Witchlover said:Hmmm, I had never thought of that. The signal is back up now, and it sounds as good as ever. I have always been able to get good reception of WBMQ here, the best of all of the area AM stations, in fact.
Antenna problems would take an AM off the air. But not the audio. The way people are so dependent on automation systems, I have seen stations stay off all weekend because the computer crashed and nobody was monitoring it. Sad.
Bengalsfan said:Antenna problems would take an AM off the air. But not the audio. The way people are so dependent on automation systems, I have seen stations stay off all weekend because the computer crashed and nobody was monitoring it. Sad.
I listen to WBMQ regularly, and I like to think I can tell the difference between a robotics problem and the lack of a signal. This past weekend, it was the latter. My guess about the antenna being the problem was just a guess, but this time, it was the correct guess. I really don't hear very many automation glitches on WBMQ, certainly not as many as I hear on other stations. Kudos to them for that.
BRENT said:Savannah needs a 50 kw station, either 630 or 1290.
Agreed....and 1290 has a shot to make that happen, due to recent happenings down in Ocala, FL.
G
R
Radio-X
Guest
upstate29651 said:BRENT said:Savannah needs a 50 kw station, either 630 or 1290.
Agreed....and 1290 has a shot to make that happen, due to recent happenings down in Ocala, FL.
G
Doubtful either would happen. In order for 1290 to go 50 kW, they'd have to force 1290 Sumter, SC off the air. 630 could do it, but they'd have to have a null to the NW to protect WNEG-AM and the NE to protect 630 Wilmington.
I can assure you, firing up that much power that low on the AM would go an awfully long way. Like, probably covering the eastern half of FL with a respectable signal.
And as for the 50 kW station: Isn't there an unbuilt CP for 50 kW on 1520? It's no clear channel, but even with the nulls it would probably give just as good of a signal as 1290 or 630
Radio-X
It's been a year, at least, since I found the CP in the FCC database while looking at directional arrays. As far as I know, nothing is happening with it. Someone suggested at the time that the CP would probably expire without anything being built. Seems more likely with each passing month. Is SCAD still operating that low-power station on 1520 kHz?
Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi in terms of land area. I always found it curious that there was only WSB operating in the state, and nothing in central or southern Georgia (in terms of 50-kW AM, of course). I guess no one ever thought it a viable business opportunity enough to go through the engineering studies and the cost of construction given that, up until recently, Georgia seemed so sparsely populated outside of the metro-Atlanta region.
I doubt that any existing licensee will want to go to the expense and effort necessary to increase power output in this economy: The cost/benefits ratio probably doesn't inspire confidence in the success of the effort. I would do it, but I am a radio wonk -- and a little insane besides!
If wishes were horses, I would have one in my back yard with a state-of-the-art, digital-ready plant and a five-tower, free-standing array. But then, wishes are not horses. :-X
Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi in terms of land area. I always found it curious that there was only WSB operating in the state, and nothing in central or southern Georgia (in terms of 50-kW AM, of course). I guess no one ever thought it a viable business opportunity enough to go through the engineering studies and the cost of construction given that, up until recently, Georgia seemed so sparsely populated outside of the metro-Atlanta region.
I doubt that any existing licensee will want to go to the expense and effort necessary to increase power output in this economy: The cost/benefits ratio probably doesn't inspire confidence in the success of the effort. I would do it, but I am a radio wonk -- and a little insane besides!
If wishes were horses, I would have one in my back yard with a state-of-the-art, digital-ready plant and a five-tower, free-standing array. But then, wishes are not horses. :-X
Witchlover said:Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi in terms of land area. I always found it curious that there was only WSB operating in the state, and nothing in central or southern Georgia (in terms of 50-kW AM, of course).
Point of order, WMAZ in Macon is 50kW day ND and 10kw night D on 940kc. Nighttime lobe is toward Savannah with major nulls to the north and southwest and very little power to the northeast.
Bengalsfan said:Point of order, WMAZ in Macon is 50kW day ND and 10kw night D on 940kc. Nighttime lobe is toward Savannah with major nulls to the north and southwest and very little power to the northeast.
I did not realize that WMAC operated at 50 kW. I stand corrected on the point. Thank you.
I am a bit north and west of Savannah, and I cannot get WMAC at all. I need to take a look at the coverage maps, I think.
WMAC Macon
They are licensed for 50kw daytime but that doesn't mean they're transmitting that much power. Only their engineering folks know if they're at daytime full-power. The places I travel within 40-50 miles of their transmitter site indicate they're not pumping out 50kw. I know the modulation is not hitting and holding anywhere near 100%. It sounds like they use little if any processing on their controlroom mic or on their composite signal.
They are licensed for 50kw daytime but that doesn't mean they're transmitting that much power. Only their engineering folks know if they're at daytime full-power. The places I travel within 40-50 miles of their transmitter site indicate they're not pumping out 50kw. I know the modulation is not hitting and holding anywhere near 100%. It sounds like they use little if any processing on their controlroom mic or on their composite signal.
K
kturnerga
Guest
At night I could receive WMAC's signal quite well in Warner Robins. This was in the Nineties. The past five years have seen them wreak havoc with the power. In the evenings forget about a decent signal below Byron.
I've been tempted to hoist a long wire antenna with a Navy surplus barage balloon and see what I can pick up. I figure 250 feet will be plenty high enough, if I can talk the FAA into it. Those boys have no sense of humor whatsoever. The UFO-ET crowd ought to like it though. "Hello? Art Bell?"
To join in the hijacking of the original WBMQ thread:
WMAC went through a "refreshing" of its transmitter site a few years back, shortly after the station was bought by Cumulus. I'm no techie, but I do recall that it cost a pretty penny, and was supposed to get the signal "back on track" to its licensed parameters. There were fits and starts to the project, because the contractor hired to do the work wanted to get paid... imagine that!
Once the project was complete, as it was explained to me by an engineer who actually understood what was going on there, the daytime 50kw signal, for lack of a better description, was just "driven into the ground." If you've listened to the signal in the past few years, you know what that has brought about. 940's daytime signal is - er - crappy. The nighttime directional signal signal isn't much better within its predicted coverage area. And I believe, at least from what I saw prior to leaving the employ of the Fluffy Cloud Company, their "upgrades" to the site have either brought new problems or magnified existing problems.
Here's the thing... a few years ago US Broadcasting looked into some possible scenarios where 940 might relocate to another tower site, and drop to 10kw non-directional daytime and some kind of DA pattern nighttime, or at least a power reduction. They never followed up on it, for whatever reason. Then Cumulus came in and decided that their best bet was to spend mega-bucks to try to shore up the 5-tower site on Forsyth Road, and they then BOUGHT the land the towers are on from Gannett for some outrageous high dollar amount (prime development land in North Macon). Betcha anything if they could have pulled off a tower move and a power downgrade, they'd STILL have a better signal than they have now. It's not a good sign when you're on Zebulon Road, less than a mile from the towers, IN THE DAYTIME, and WMAC is fading in and out.
And you're right, Daryll. At least as of February of this year, there was no microphone processing in the WMAC control room. RE-20 mic into the board.
Just remember, the head of engineering for Cumulus is a bean-counter, with just enough engineering knowledge to make him dangerous.
WMAC went through a "refreshing" of its transmitter site a few years back, shortly after the station was bought by Cumulus. I'm no techie, but I do recall that it cost a pretty penny, and was supposed to get the signal "back on track" to its licensed parameters. There were fits and starts to the project, because the contractor hired to do the work wanted to get paid... imagine that!
Once the project was complete, as it was explained to me by an engineer who actually understood what was going on there, the daytime 50kw signal, for lack of a better description, was just "driven into the ground." If you've listened to the signal in the past few years, you know what that has brought about. 940's daytime signal is - er - crappy. The nighttime directional signal signal isn't much better within its predicted coverage area. And I believe, at least from what I saw prior to leaving the employ of the Fluffy Cloud Company, their "upgrades" to the site have either brought new problems or magnified existing problems.
Here's the thing... a few years ago US Broadcasting looked into some possible scenarios where 940 might relocate to another tower site, and drop to 10kw non-directional daytime and some kind of DA pattern nighttime, or at least a power reduction. They never followed up on it, for whatever reason. Then Cumulus came in and decided that their best bet was to spend mega-bucks to try to shore up the 5-tower site on Forsyth Road, and they then BOUGHT the land the towers are on from Gannett for some outrageous high dollar amount (prime development land in North Macon). Betcha anything if they could have pulled off a tower move and a power downgrade, they'd STILL have a better signal than they have now. It's not a good sign when you're on Zebulon Road, less than a mile from the towers, IN THE DAYTIME, and WMAC is fading in and out.
And you're right, Daryll. At least as of February of this year, there was no microphone processing in the WMAC control room. RE-20 mic into the board.
Just remember, the head of engineering for Cumulus is a bean-counter, with just enough engineering knowledge to make him dangerous.
Diamondtwo said:Just remember, the head of engineering for Cumulus is a bean-counter, with just enough engineering knowledge to make him dangerous.
So in other words, they did it on the cheep instead of spending a little money and getting it right. Figures.
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