WIFL Inglis

[vadar]

Then why say Ocala, Gainesville? My point is why all the clutter on the FM dial?

 

[ThatGuyOnTheRadio]

Vadar, I would agree... they serve neither city (and right now, serve no one at all) methinks the change from the more appropriate WIFL, was probably legal/finance-related.

Maybe a real broadcaster can snag it... perhaps the fine programmer, Steve Kingston who purchased WSJF/St. Augustine?

 

[jmtillery]

The reason the call letters WOGF were chosen is because a pending upgrade to a class C3 was in the works prior to bankruptcy. This still does not cover Gainesville nor Ocala; In fact WOGF, as a class A, is required to give third channel protection towards WRUF-FM by a minimum of 75-kilometers or approximately 45-miles. As a C3 the distance is about the same.

However, theoretically the WOGF call letters is believed by some to create the facade that 104.3 does, indeed, cover Ocala and Gainesville; especially among national agencies. When Bill Lacey originally placed 104.3 on the air as WAVQ in 1996, his intent was to cover Ocala and was promoting "The Wave" as an Ocala radio station. He even opened a sales office along SW College Road in Ocala which proved to be unproductive resulting in becoming a liability rather than an asset.

The truth is unless the FCC technical rules change to allow shorter spacing and higher power, which is extremely highly doubtful, 104.3 is a Crystal River, Citrus and Levy County radio station only.

 

[vadar]

Thanks for the clarification. I'm just still amazed that so many Fm stations are crowding the dial, you have all these "spacing" requirements, LPFM's popping up and very few stations are really serving these markets well. Sounds like deception and greed to claim you are covering a market when in fact your signal is horrible.

 

[jmtillery]

Florida FM radio is similar to the past real estate land rush. Anywhere anyone can "wedge" an FM station anywhere in the state, it's almost always proposed with the idea that the new station will create great wealth in resale value for the petitioner / owner / licensee. Sometimes the speculation pays off handsomely for the original owner. Other times it doesn't. Additionally, the FCC is all too happy to allot new FM channels since the new allotment is subject to an FCC auction with the frequency going to the highest bidder. In other words, the FCC is literally selling the spectrum to whomever is willing to pay the most to acquire the CP. And the more spectrum that can be allotted, theroretically, the more revenue coming into the FCC "piggy bank".

 

[vadar]

It's always about greed. What a sick, sad country.

 

[MN Maniac]

I'm surprised Dix didn't raise a stink about 104.3's choice of call letters. Isn't WOGF a bit too close to WOGK?

Which raises another question: Since WOGK is the #1 station in Ocala/Gainesville, might this choice of calls be more about getting diaries that were meant for K-Country?

 

[jmtillery]

Any station can choose any set of available call letters. Regarding whether or not Dix Communications objected to the call letter choice for 104.3, I really don't know; However, I imagine Dix is not too concerned about it as 104.3 is not a threat to any Ocala station.

 

[ThatGuyOnTheRadio]

Agreed, I'm sure Dix could care less about WOGF.

I'd be interested to see a coverage map of WOGF if it were to be upgraded.

 

[jmtillery]

Actually the predicted C3 coverage looks fairly impressive considering its limitations. It still isn't enough to make any impact in Ocala; However, it does fill in a few spaces in its home market.

 

[ThatGuyOnTheRadio]

Would you mind sharing?

 

[vadar]

spaces in it's home market? I'm confused, exactly what is the home market? If you can't cover Ocala, then what's the point?

 

[jmtillery]

WOGF's "home market" is comprised of Crystal River, Homosassa Springs, Citrus and Southwest Levy Counties which geographically is a fractional portion of the complete Gainesville / Ocala TSA.