What Are the Call Letters For LaBomba/97.1?

[amfmradio1]

W246CC is what they have listed, transmitting w/100 watts from Bolton, with studios & offices in Glastonbury.

WMRQ is the parent station.

Did they simulcast 104.1 @one time, or was it on an HD2 channel?

What about 97.5?

Do you think 97.1 will file a CP for a power increase?

 

[nd2023]

WMRQ-HD2

 

[KML0224]

97.1 FM is already more powerful in Hartford proper than the old 97.5 station was. At least it seems that way for me here in New Britain. They can't up the power anymore, mostly due to WQHT-FM 97.1 of New York City.

 

[reelyreal]

W246CC is what they have listed, transmitting w/100 watts from Bolton, with studios & offices in Glastonbury.

WMRQ is the parent station.

Did they simulcast 104.1 @one time, or was it on an HD2 channel?

What about 97.5?

Do you think 97.1 will file a CP for a power increase?

Here's the history of the Bolton translator now known as W246CC:

1997: W248AB Bolton signs on with 10 watts on 97.5, owned by Mountaintop Enterprises and extending the coverage of 98.3 WILI-FM Willimantic. WILI-FM has long been plagued by Bolton Notch, which works as a big ol' brick wall keeping their signal out of Hartford. W248AB helped extend the coverage into Manchester.

2009: Mountaintop Enterprises gets an offer for 100k from John Fuller to buy W248AB Bolton. WILI-FM legally could not own the station as it went beyond the primary's 60 dBu contour. The station is sold to Fuller, the same month he buys WMRQ-FM.

later in 2009: W248AB increases power from 10 watts to 60 watts, and begins rebroadcasting WMRQ-FM-HD2, branded as "Bomba 97.5"

2011: W248AB applies and gets 100 watts on 97.1. This does several things: Gets out of the way of WPKX 97.9 moving to Hartford, and gets less interference from co-channel WALK-FM. That hundred watts carries like crazy!

The translator has only ever rebroadcast those two stations: WILI-FM and WMRQ-FM-HD2. They have nowhere else to grow, and they put a killer signal over Hartford. W246CC carries like a little class A!

 

[amfmradio1]

If their ID is WMRQ-HD2, then why can I receive them on 97.1 on a regular FM receiver?

Don't I need an HD Radio to receive an HD (High Definition) signal?

What is the difference (if any) between 100 watt Bomba97.1 & an LPFM like WZBG/Litchfield?

 

[MarcB]

97.1 is an analog translator. They simulcast WMRQ 104.1 HD2.

WZBG is not an LPFM. They're a full-powered radio station. They're a Class A FM Station broadcasting with 3000 watts. An LPFM would have the suffix -LP after the calls such as WACC-LP 107.7 out of Enfield. They're a 100 watt station out of Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield. I believe LPFMs have more rights that translators.

A full-powered FM station has calls with or without the -FM suffix. It depends on how it is written on the license. Calls must be given followed by the city of license. Example WZBG Litchfield/Torrington. WZBG is licensed to Litchfield. Any other city given after their city of license can be used. A few stations however have dual city of license. KISS 95.7 is licensed to Hartford-Meriden. So they have to ID as WKSS Hartford-Meriden. I know it sounds the same, as the example i gave for WZBG, but it's all about what's on the license.

As mentioned LPFM's have the -LP after their call sign. So it would be WACC-LP Enfield.

Translators such as 97.1 have their FM channel number in their call sign, which in this case is mentioned in a previous post is W246CC. 246 is the FM Channel number for 97.1 FM. Translators are not required to ID every hour, but must be done several times a day. I'm too lazy to look up exactly how many times a day it must be given. So you're more likely to hear 97.1 IDing as Bomba 97.1 WMRQ HD 2 Waterbury-Hartford than you would of hearing W246CC Bolton in addition to the WMRQ HD2 ID.

To confuse matters even more, so stations do ID their translators every hour such as Connecticut Public Radio. You'll hear WPKT Meriden, WNPR Norwich, WEDW-FM Stamford, WRLI South Hampton,
and W258AC Storrs. W258AC is a 10 watt transaltor on 99.5 in Storrs. You will also sometimes hear an ID for WVOF Fairfield and WECS Willimantic as those stations sometimes carries programming from Connecticut Public Radio.

LaFiesta 98.5 on Long Island also used to ID their translator every hour when they used to have their translator in Manorville on 96.9

 

[w9wi]

If their ID is WMRQ-HD2, then why can I receive them on 97.1 on a regular FM receiver?

This station broadcasts on two different frequencies:

- They broadcast on a HD signal on 104.1MHz, for which the call letters are WMRQ-FM. You do indeed need a HD Radio to receive this signal.
- They broadcast on an FM translator on 97.1MHz, for which the call letters are W246CC. This is an analog station which can be received on a regular analog radio.

What is the difference (if any) between 100 watt Bomba97.1 & an LPFM like WZBG/Litchfield?

- As MarcB says, WZBG is not a LPFM. And as he says, WACC-LP 107.7 Enfield is a good example of a LPFM.

From a technical standpoint there is little difference between W246CC and a LPFM. They do hold different types of license.

- The maximum power permissible for a translator is 250 watts, if no interference is caused to other stations. The antenna height of a translator is essentially unlimited, again as long as no interference is caused to other stations. Translators can be licensed at lower powers if higher power would cause interference.
- The maximum power permissible for a LPFM is 100 watts. A LPFM will not be licensed if it cannot use 100 watts without causing interference. The maximum antenna height is 30 meters -- higher antennas are permitted but power must be reduced to compensate.

- Translators must relay some other station -- they cannot originate programming themselves. In La Bomba's case, they're relaying the WMRQ-FM HD2 digital signal.
- LPFMs may originate programming.

 

[nd2023]

There essentially is no difference between translators and LPFMs now that translators can translate HD stations. A non-commercial station just needs to be on an HD2 anywhere in the country, and a commercial station just needs to be on an HD2 that's able to be picked up with an HD radio at the translator site. 250 watts off a tall tower can go a long way.