Why does Cumulus need Hot 106?

[radiojay1]

Hot's less than desirable signal, I think,

I keep hearing this all the time and disagree this comment. That 106.3 signal is easily the best class A signal in the Providence Metro, and areas north, like Pawtucket, Central Falls, and areas where 106.3 would target, the signal is very strong.
You can hear them very clear all the way down into Newport and Narragansett and east into New Bedford without too much of a stretch. Unless you have a REALLY bad car Stereo, to say that 106.3 is a "less than desirable" signal is off base.

Certainly not the best class A signal in the western part of Providence metro near Neutaconkanut Hill.  If you can hear Hot 106 clearly within a mile of the hill, and it scans on your radio, you must have a really good car radio or a very selective home radio.  Multipath is a problem in that area for some local stations.  It's funny how Cumulus stations on the hill are interfering with another Cumulus station where much of its target audience is on the Providence side of the hill.  Maybe some listeners don't mind the less than desirable reception of Hot 106 on an average car radio. 

 

[iyiyi]

Hot's less than desirable signal, I think,

I keep hearing this all the time and disagree this comment. That 106.3 signal is easily the best class A signal in the Providence Metro, and areas north, like Pawtucket, Central Falls, and areas where 106.3 would target, the signal is very strong.
You can hear them very clear all the way down into Newport and Narragansett and east into New Bedford without too much of a stretch. Unless you have a REALLY bad car Stereo, to say that 106.3 is a "less than desirable" signal is off base.

Certainly not the best class A signal in the western part of Providence metro near Neutaconkanut Hill. If you can hear Hot 106 clearly within a mile of the hill, and it scans on your radio, you must have a really good car radio or a very selective home radio. Multipath is a problem in that area for some local stations. It's funny how Cumulus stations on the hill are interfering with another Cumulus station where much of its target audience is on the Providence side of the hill. Maybe some listeners don't mind the less than desirable reception of Hot 106 on an average car radio.

Cumulus isn't interfering with anyone. 106.3 has an excellent class A signal for the Providence market. Any perceived signal deficiencies certainly hasn't hurt 106.3's ratings or viability.

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[radiojay1]

106.3 has an excellent class A signal for the Providence market.

...except near Neutaconkanut Hill on the Providence/Johnston border. That has and always will be a signal problem area for Hot 106 unless they move to another frequency and a tower on the hill. That would provide a strong clear signal throughout the entire city of Providence and most of the state. 106.5 WBMW in southeast CT has a CP to increase to 12,000 watts as a Class B1 licensed to Pawcatuck, CT which would put a good signal into South County and western Kent County.

 

[reelyreal]

106.3 has an excellent class A signal for the Providence market.

...except near Neutaconkanut Hill on the Providence/Johnston border. That has and always will be a signal problem area for Hot 106 unless they move to another frequency and a tower on the hill. That would provide a strong clear signal throughout the entire city of Providence and most of the state. 106.5 WBMW in southeast CT has a CP to increase to 12,000 watts as a Class B1 licensed to Pawcatuck, CT which would put a good signal into South County and western Kent County.

Some minor, and I'm talking MINOR signal issues in one neighborhood in Johnston on the wrong side of the hill is hardly a big issue.

 

[N1WVQ]

Not to mention 50kW a few thousand feet away 1.2Mc. down the dial!

 

[radiojay1]

Some minor, and I'm talking MINOR signal issues in one neighborhood in Johnston on the wrong side of the hill is hardly a big issue.

Within a mile radius of the hill Hot 106 is too weak to scan on a car radio. I tried it from all sides. The audio on a car radio sounds crappy due to the weaker signal. I took a good portable digital radio to an area within a mile of the hill, and with all the multipath, forget about getting Hot 106 no matter how you adjust the antenna or adjust the local/distant control or AFC control. If you have a really sensitive car radio or home radio, that is the only way you will get Hot 106 clearly in that area or it will sound just like the Boston stations do in that area.

 

[VelvetR]

There are a couple of ways to achieve your target ERP (Effective Radiated Power). The clean but expensive way uses a high power (electricity hungry) transmitter with a low (if any) gain antenna. That radiates pretty much a hemisphere and ensures a good signal in close to the antenna. The less expensive way is to use a relatively low power (sippy on electricity) antenna and a multi-bay high gain antenna. That turns the hemisphere into a wedge-shaped torroid. Great signal well away from the antenna but it flies right over the in-close area.

It's a balancing act of cost vs. audience. If you feel there is too small a population close to your transmitter site to be bothered with then the obvious choice is dinky transmitter/high gain antenna. Seems like somebody made a choice and is willing to live with it. It could be fixed by changing the transmitter/antenna combination but corporate management is not always made up of the sharpest knives in the drawer. Those types tend to believe the line on a coverage map not wanting to even hear that what they have isn't a circle (or something like one); it's a doughnut with a big, big hole.