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when WZBC shuts down...
- Thread starter robotique
- Start date
I would imagine that WAMC would show up in the western suburbs too...or even in Boston with a good antenna....
N
necrat123
Guest
A few things help 90.3's signal into the Boston.
First off the transmitting antenna is located 385 feet up a tower, located on a hill just north of the campus.
The height of the tower, plus the hill gives the station a height above terrain of 420 feet. Which around here, is a very respectable height.
Especially for a 6,000 watt equivelant station.
Second, the terrain from the location they are in, towards Boston is very favorable. If youre down at URI's campus, just about all the Boston stations are almost city grade there. The URI location isn't very far from the American Tower site which holds 103.7/99.7 and look how good those signals are.
Third, the channel is a relatively clear channel in the area. Thanks to WAMC's grandfathered status, and WICN being a B1 1st adjacent allocation, there isn't much else on 90.3 besides WZBC. (There is a little station on the mid cape on 90.3, WCCT).
So this just helps WRIU rock into the area.
First off the transmitting antenna is located 385 feet up a tower, located on a hill just north of the campus.
The height of the tower, plus the hill gives the station a height above terrain of 420 feet. Which around here, is a very respectable height.
Especially for a 6,000 watt equivelant station.
Second, the terrain from the location they are in, towards Boston is very favorable. If youre down at URI's campus, just about all the Boston stations are almost city grade there. The URI location isn't very far from the American Tower site which holds 103.7/99.7 and look how good those signals are.
Third, the channel is a relatively clear channel in the area. Thanks to WAMC's grandfathered status, and WICN being a B1 1st adjacent allocation, there isn't much else on 90.3 besides WZBC. (There is a little station on the mid cape on 90.3, WCCT).
So this just helps WRIU rock into the area.
L
Laurence Glavin
Guest
Where I live north of Boston, I get a feeble signal from NH Public Radio's translator W212AF 90.3 on the hospital a mile or two west of downtown Nashua. I can do this whether WZBC is on-the-air or not by fiddling with my external antenna. Now get this: W212AF transmits from the same location as WEVS-FM 88.3, and simulcasts WEVO as well. So NHPR has two transmitters from the same location BUT NEVER DOES A STATION ID FOR W212AF EVEN WHEN THEY ID THEIR OTHER TRANSLATORS! Is this legal? Are there any costs in involved other than the electricity for a 15-watt transmitter (feeding a 2-bay circularly-polarized antenna)? Maybe they could use it to fill a hole in let's say Milford, where I believe the Univ of Mass is planning to install a translator!
carmen said:
Good Point! I'm hard pressed to think of an on-air voice that sounds both as annoying AND lethargic as that of Pacifica's Amy Goodman.
Truly....Pacifica's "Democracy Now" should be marketed as an audio Sominex pill. ;D
Her show gets used down here as filler on Attleboro's 1320-WARL.
L
Laurence Glavin
Guest
W212AF is NON-directional, but its signal in any direction does not reach as far as any null in the WEVS pattern according to radio-locator.com.
I believe NHPR maintains W212AF primarily because there's no real reason to get rid of it. Given the overall bullish attitude that public radio has for HD Radio, I'd say it's good business sense to hang on to a translator these days...never know when it'll be handy to relay an HD2 on the analog side.
As for the ID's, translators are only required to do a Top of the Hour Legal ID thrice daily. 47 CFR 74.1283says it must be ID'ed:
I don't know if NHPR does this, but translators can also fulfill their ID requirements using Morse code and frequency shifting or amplitude modulation of the FM carrier if it is done once every hour (instead of thrice daily). However, I'm not sure this has to be done at the top of the hour, so it could be really easy to miss.
As for Democracy Now on WZBC...I'm not really a fan personally, but I can attest that it was one of (if not the) highest-grossing show during the last fundraiser I was involved in. I think that was 2004 or so. It's often close to our top-grossing show for fundraisers here at WEOS, too...and that was still true just three months ago. The show tends to polarize an audience, but that can work to a station's advantage. And I view it as a good public service; if you've got a station in your market airing Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and similar right-wing fare, then you airing Democracy Now provides an equally-extreme viewpoint from the opposite end of the political spectrum. Sort of like matter and anti-matter. ;D
As for the ID's, translators are only required to do a Top of the Hour Legal ID thrice daily. 47 CFR 74.1283says it must be ID'ed:
- Once between 7am and 9am.
- Once between 12:55pm and 1:05pm.
- Once between 4pm and 6pm.
I don't know if NHPR does this, but translators can also fulfill their ID requirements using Morse code and frequency shifting or amplitude modulation of the FM carrier if it is done once every hour (instead of thrice daily). However, I'm not sure this has to be done at the top of the hour, so it could be really easy to miss.
As for Democracy Now on WZBC...I'm not really a fan personally, but I can attest that it was one of (if not the) highest-grossing show during the last fundraiser I was involved in. I think that was 2004 or so. It's often close to our top-grossing show for fundraisers here at WEOS, too...and that was still true just three months ago. The show tends to polarize an audience, but that can work to a station's advantage. And I view it as a good public service; if you've got a station in your market airing Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and similar right-wing fare, then you airing Democracy Now provides an equally-extreme viewpoint from the opposite end of the political spectrum. Sort of like matter and anti-matter. ;D
robotique said:
They've been saying this week that they're experiencing some sort of transmitter and/or antenna problems. They were also off the air for a while during the daytime a few days ago. I don't know specifically what's wrong.
Could be they're on the backup transmitter. Assuming things are still mostly the same way I set them up, the backup only delivers about 40-50% of the normal TPO. Mind you, that's only a -3dB difference, so most folks rarely notice unless they're out on the fringe reception areas...but when you ARE out there, it can be pretty noticeable.
robotique said:
During the recent storm water got into WZBC's antenna and transmission line. The station was off the air for several hours yesterday while a tower crew dismantled and inspected the antenna for burnt bits. They didn't find any, but the transmission line will need to be replaced. Meanwhile, WZBC is back on at reduced power while the new line is being ordered.
Oh BUMMER. You guys have my sympathy...water in the transmission line is always a nightmare to deal with, and inevitably you end up replacing the whole damn line which is such a pain in the @$$. So was a new spare antenna rigged up and fed exciter-only from the old Wilkinson, or just running webcast-only until the new line is in?
mgpt6 said:
The 30 watts is actually coming in pretty well here on the southwest facing hillside I live on in Somerville.
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