where did 98.3 come from

[gary adams]

i just recently descovered wolf has 98.3 now ive only been in syracuse 3 years so who had that translater is it new or did some else have it or was it wolf's all along how many watts is it and where is it now wolf is starting to promo it

 

[CNYRadio.com]

The translator itself is not new -- FCC records (at least those available online) date translator W252AC back to at least 1982.
Right now the COL is Camillus, with a whopping 9 watts of power broadcasting from 14 meters below average terrain. So it's no wonder they've got a construction permit that would change the COL to Fairmount, with 250 watts of power at zero meters above average terrain.

As reported back in March, the translator came bundled with the main signal (105.1) when Clear Channel Aloha Stations Trust sold the station to Foxfur Communications. Looking further back through the "assignments and transfers" record on the FCC website, this translator once used to simulcast Power 106.9, and even earlier before that, WOLF(AM), under the ownership of WOLF Radio, Inc. So it appears Craig Fox owned this translator, just like he owned 105.1 FM, sold both to CC at some point, and eventually got them both back.

So the translator itself isn't new -- but apparently the idea of promoting it is.

 

[CNYRadio.com]

Update: minutes after posting this, I heard from Foxfur VP/Station Manager Sam Furco.

Contrary to the FCC's website listing the new tower location as a "construction permit," W252AC's move to its new home (the existing WOLF-FM tower just outside the studio) is already completed.

 

[gary adams]

so now i know why it's better in syracuse on 98.3 than in the burbs on 105.1

 

[Play Freebird]

W252AC (98.3) was actually the first translator in Syracuse. As CNY mentioned, it started as a fill-in for 106.9 WPCX in the early '80s, and was owned by Herb Scott. He a launched a similar 98.3 translator in Ithaca around the same time.

I seem to recall the original site was on Sentinel Heights before it moved to the west side of the city. In those days, translators in the eastern US were limited to 1 watt TPO, but the FCC allowed this to be measured at the antenna input. It was also legal to install multiple antennas, each serving a different community, so W252AC was licensed to Syracuse-Camillus. One yagi pointed east and another west, producing an ERP of 9 watts in a figure-8 pattern. With such a limitation on power, it was difficult to cover much area unless the site could be located up high and close to the desired audience.

Under the current rules, the TPO is no longer a limiting factor as long as the ERP does not exceed 250 watts (and no interference to other stations is predicted) so this allows Craig to use a conventional nondirectional antenna on the WOLF(AM) tower.