Who has the biggest AM signal in Georgia

[trusty]

Given their vast resources and engineering talent, it amazes me that Cox hasn't seen fit to research and secure a new, optimized transmission site and plant for WSB 750 in all this time.

...and possibly have the same great results 590 had when it moved from the N. Druid Hills site? ???

 

[Rogue]

Key words being RESEARCH and OPTIMIZATION re WSB moving from the shopping mall...

They have the resources and talent to insure a quality move and upgraded coverage, no two ways about it.

Now, since they cover the dense metro about as well as anyone in daylight they may not see the cost to benefit ratio as favorable/needed and lord knows they have no trouble filling the spot avails at a premium.... just saying, their outer rings fall quite short and are very noisy given the potential of what 50,000 watts can do even on red Georgia clay.

 

[RadioDoogie]

Switching gears now...Who has the biggest FM signal in Atlanta and in Georgia? And do the digital FM signals of one station have the same strength as the analog FM signals on the same station and why?

 

[Rogue]

I don't think there is little doubt that as far as covering overall land mass goes, the 97.1 signal from Château Élan is an absolute monster.

Going south, I have carried it within striking distance of Savannah - on a stock rental car radio.

North west into Chattanooga, which is really all the more impressive, and it covers Greenville with relative ease for a decent box to snag.

From that site it gets hit with some artifacts and multi-path in downtown Atlanta, but overall it's "the" FM blowtorch in the state, IMO.

One of the best sounding from a processing standpoint, too, following the flip. It's bright, open, and as loud as anything on the dial without being heavy and a labor to listen to (overlooking the tight list, lol).

 

[kyscott]

Key words being RESEARCH and OPTIMIZATION re WSB moving from the shopping mall...

They have the resources and talent to insure a quality move and upgraded coverage, no two ways about it.

Now, since they cover the dense metro about as well as anyone in daylight they may not see the cost to benefit ratio as favorable/needed and lord knows they have no trouble filling the spot avails at a premium.... just saying, their outer rings fall quite short and are very noisy given the potential of what 50,000 watts can do even on red Georgia clay.

Who's to say they have not done that already and determined the current site is the best? And, where would they move to? We were just discussing the crappy soil conditions up near Atlanta. What if they moved the transmitter further out, then didn't cover the metro? Personally, I wouldn't move it. It's odd to see a mall built up around a 50kW transmitter site, but if it works don't change for change sake. I have seen too many other owners do this and wind up with something worse than what they initially had.

 

[Rogue]

I remember hearing way back (I think from John Talbert, God Rest his soul), that they had indeed determined a move was called for eventually... and now, so many years later with our greatly expanded "metro" I'm just surprised they haven't done it as yet.

Then again, it's hard to argue with the "if it ain't broke" principle regarding 750 considering their ratings and revenue.

 

[taylorengineer]

WSB performs quite well, considering the ground conductivity issue, from the current location.....and it's a nice plant. Where else could you relocate the tower, which, for 5/8 wavelength would have to be some 700 feet tall.....and stay so close to the center of the northern arc of Atlanta's population? I don't think you'd be able to find such a location for anywhere near affordable(or able to aquire zoning.)

 

[JR1967]

I realized the power that 97.1 had back in the late 80's during its "Fox 97" days when driving from the North Carolina Coast near Wilmington to Atlanta one weekend. I started getting Fox 97 on my FM car radio in
Florence SC and took it all the way on I-20 to Atlanta with only minimal interference until getting past Augusta where it came in loud and clear.

 

[BIGSTICK]

I dont't know much about gron conductivity, but last year I was in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and it was blowing in like a local station, this was in January when it was about -30. Maybe that has alot to do with it.

 

[Art Sutton]

WSB performs quite well, considering the ground conductivity issue, from the current location.....and it's a nice plant. Where else could you relocate the tower, which, for 5/8 wavelength would have to be some 700 feet tall.....and stay so close to the center of the northern arc of Atlanta's population? I don't think you'd be able to find such a location for anywhere near affordable(or able to aquire zoning.)

I think WSB does as well where they are as they could do any where else near Atlanta.

The truth is the ground conductivity is and around Atlanta is about the worst in the country and its easy to understand why WSB really had it made before FM really came into being. None of the other AMs could cover the market once it really started growing.

At its present site, WSB is grandfathered but they would have major aeronautical issues with a new tower site...not to mention finding land and being able to erect a 650 ft tower. Keep in mind that they had to use some political connections to build the present site back in the early 1930s for the 50KW. What is now Dekalb Peachtree Airport was already operating and what is now the FAA did not want to grant WSB their present tower site so they came up with a compromise which consisted of several black barrells being placed on the tower and a rotating beacon light similar to what you now see at airports which was affixed to the transmitter site location. The rotating beacon light is gone and the barrells have been painted over in the standard orange and white tower paint patterns.

My favorite WSB political story was told to me by a guy at the National Weather Service. In the late 1970s, NOAA built its weather radio network across the nation. Prior to those stations, radio stations could call NOAA and have a forecaster read the forecast for them, etc. When Atlanta got it's NOAA weather radio station, WSB was contacted and told that the direct line to the National Weather Service Office at the airport would be shut down and NOAA staff would no longer be able to provide customized weather forecasts for WSB Radio during their major newscasts. WSB would do their news, etc. and then the news announcer would say something along the lines....it's 56 WSB degrees at White Columns on Peachtree Street..>WSB Weather time is 12:15..for the latest weather information ......here is meteorologist John Doe direct from the National Weather Service office at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport. The NOAA forecaster Mr. Doe would give the complete weather summary, forecast, current conditions, etc.

WSB management didn't respond to the notice that WSB could no longer have these customized forecasts from NOAA. The NOAA guy told me that within the hour of the weather service calling WSB with the news, U S Senator Herman Talmadge called the Weather Bureau manager and said "son, I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate and enjoy hearing your staff give those forecasts over WSB. Every time I come home from Washington, I make sure I hear them and I just wanted to call you and let you know I'm listening."

The weather forecasts stayed on the air til WSB no longer wanted them and/or Herman went out of office..whichever came first.

I guess everyone knows WSB first operated on 740 with 50KW until 1941 when it, and most other radio stations, changed dial positions with WSB ending up on 750. The frequency changes were required in order to add the 1500 to 1600 AM frequencies.

Someone mentioned in an earlier post that you really don't gain any territory when you directionalize an AM. That is not necessarily correct. With AM directionals, the concept is the same as a ballon filled with water. With an AM, if you directionalize, it pushes out the signal in another direction so in reality, you don't lose any ground coverage unless the area you are pushing it over has lower conductivity that the direction you are losing. All things equal, it should be the same total area covered. In our part of the world, directionals on AM are used primarily to cancel out signal in the sky at night. However when you get out in the midwest where AM signals travel much greater distances, you find many more AM directionals because you had to do use a directional to fit in signals. You also find that FM stations started earlier out there because there were far fewer AM frequencies available since they carry so far.

With FM directionals the signal is cancelled in the null directions but, unlike AMs is not gained in other directions.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

With AM directionals, the concept is the same as a ballon filled with water. With an AM, if you directionalize, it pushes out the signal in another direction so in reality, you don't lose any ground coverage unless the area you are pushing it over has lower conductivity that the direction you are losing. All things equal, it should be the same total area covered.

Very true and as a matter of fact, I know of 2 big 50,000-watt AM stations that are directional because they choose to be, because they don't want to waste signal over the water. They are WBZ in Boston and WWL in New Orleans.

 

[JR1967]

Directional as they may be, WWL definitely has a set of powerful transmitters. I remember back in the mid 1990's picking up WWL at 7,000 ft in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles listening to an LSU basketball game one night.