"WKOX, Newton"

[Laurence Glavin]

So far today (about 10:30 am, Saturday), each top-of-the-hour station ID for WKOX-AM has been: "WKOX, Newton, WXKS-AM Everett". This can only mean that WKOX is broadcasting from 750 Sawmill Brook Pahkway.

 

[DanStrassberg]

So far today (about 10:30 am, Saturday), each top-of-the-hour station ID for WKOX-AM has been: "WKOX, Newton, WXKS-AM Everett". This can only mean that WKOX is broadcasting from 750 Sawmill Brook Pahkway.

We'll have to see what the signal is like when they finally get to operate at 50 kW. During the STA period. except when actual prrof-of-performance measurements are being made, WKOX is restricted to 10 kW-D and 1 kW-N--same powers as they used in Framingham.

I live a little less than nine miles from the Sawmill Brook Parkway site at an azimuth of about 355 degrees true. With 10 kW and its new day pattern, WKOX sends an inverse-distance field of about 1000 mV/m @ 1 km toward me vs about 1350 mV/m @ 1 km that came toward me from the Framingham site, which is about 15 miles away. So the 10 kW Newton day signal should be not much if any stronger where I live than was the old Framimgham day signal. Listening confirms this. With the night pattern and 1 kW, WKOX sends an inverse-distance field of about 257 mV/m @ 1 km toward me vs. about 675 mV/m @ 1 km from the old Framingham site. The effect of the smaller distance from Newton to Arlington Heights is not as great as the reduction in the inverse distance field. In other words, as long as WKOX is running only 1 kW at night, the signal I get here at night should be less than the old 1 kW night signal from Framingham. Moreover, if I've got all that right, I will not be inside the 13+ mV/m NIF contour even when WKOX increases to 50 kW-U. Before I can say that for sure, however, I need to review some info I have on the predicted location of the NIF contour.

Bottom line, though, is that WKOX's 50-kW coverage is not likely to be competitive with any of the other 50 kW-U AM signals in the market except maybe 1510 (and I'm not so sure about 1510). This is something I've been saying ever since the application to move to Newton was first filed four or five years ago.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Bottom line, though, is that WKOX's 50-kW coverage is not likely to be competitive with any of the other 50 kW-U AM signals in the market except maybe 1510 (and I'm not so sure about 1510). This is something I've been saying ever since the application to move to Newton was first filed four or five years ago.

Probably true, but it should blast into Boston's urban neighborhoods from up there near the Newton/West Roxbury line, which would well serve a significant Hispanic audience for their current format if they choose to stay with it. The Boston neighborhoods south of Back Bay generally haven't been able to hear much of it at night on either 1200 or 1430 (due to its directional night pattern) up until now.

 

[aerie]

I suppose it's not fair to judge the temporary signals, but here in Andover WRCA and WUNR are nonexistent after sunset and barely listenable daytimes. Even WKOX's daytime signal is unlistenable here with a loud whistling noise superimposed on the signal. It will be interesting to hear what the final signals are like.

 

[Laurence Glavin]

I suppose it's not fair to judge the temporary signals, but here in Andover WRCA and WUNR are nonexistent after sunset and barely listenable daytimes. Even WKOX's daytime signal is unlistenable here with a loud whistling noise superimposed on the signal. It will be interesting to hear what the final signals are like.

I don't know if you saw those ads for a Sony/Waste Management partnership to recycle old electronic gizmos. It took place at Gillette Stadium, so I went down there to get rid of some junk "responsibly". On the way back, I drove over to the WKOX/WRCA/WUNR transmitter site, and indeed WKOX was blasting away from there. Gee, I hope nobody in the Oak Hill Pahk neighborhood was trying to listen to the Red Sox game in Spanish (Oak Hill Pahk is a mixed-income residential area, unlike other parts of Newton) on AM 1150, whatever it is now. The 1200 signal already smothers them now, and will be even more dominant later. For the people who tried to keep this project from going forward, the true testing period will come when they all juice up to their licensed facilities!

 

[Eli Polonsky]

On the way back, I drove over to the WKOX/WRCA/WUNR transmitter site, and indeed WKOX was blasting away from there. Gee, I hope nobody in the Oak Hill Pahk neighborhood was trying to listen to the Red Sox game in Spanish (Oak Hill Pahk is a mixed-income residential area, unlike other parts of Newton) on AM 1150, whatever it is now. The 1200 signal already smothers them now, and will be even more dominant later. For the people who tried to keep this project from going forward, the true testing period will come when they all juice up to their licensed facilities!

I ended up driving through the area also this afternoon, up Baker St (W.Roxbury) through Dedham St. (Oak Hill/Newton). There was about a mile stretch where the factory Delco stereo in the Chevy van I was driving was picking up WKOX from 1160 to 1240. I could still get WWDJ 1150, but all other stations in that range were obliterated in that short stretch until I got to the WMKI IBOC noise on 1250.

 

[raccoonradio]

from http://www.bostonradiowatch.com (emphases mine): "Power boost : After a long 12-year process of getting a power increase, WKOX AM 1200 will finally be able to boost its power to 50,000 watts later this fall. WKOX is now transmitting from new site in Newton and has been most of last week. It is still at low power and will remain that way for some time."

And it's expected to stay Rumba.
As Dan said, "WKOX is restricted to 10 kW-D and 1 kW-N" (during the STA period)

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

So far today (about 10:30 am, Saturday), each top-of-the-hour station ID for WKOX-AM has been: "WKOX, Newton, WXKS-AM Everett". This can only mean that WKOX is broadcasting from 750 Sawmill Brook Pahkway.

It means nothing of the sort. An FCC grant of a change of the community of license and an STA to commence program tests on a new AM directional are two separate and unrelated issues.

 

[DanStrassberg]

It means nothing of the sort. An FCC grant of a change of the community of license and an STA to commence program tests on a new AM directional are two separate and unrelated issues.

I don't think so, at least not in this case and not in WRCA's case. When transmitting from the Newton site, WKOX no longer meets the FCC requirements for being licensed to Framingham (perhaps still meets them by day but definitely does not meet them by night) but does meet the requirements for service to Newton (OK, WOULD meet those requirements if it were running the full 50 kW-U CP power). Similarly, transmitting from Newton, WRCA no longer meets the FCC requirements for being licensed to Waltham but does meet the requirements for service to Watertown (OK, WOULD meet those requirements if it were running the full 25 kW-D/17 kW-N CP power). That appears to be why both stations promptly changed their legal IDs as soon as they began operating under STA from the new site.

Anybody else notice that WKOX is neither the first nor second audio broadcast station licensed to Newton? Newton is home to both WNTN and WZBC. The situation would have been the same had they picked Brookline (WUNR, WBOS). Apparently there was no need for the "extra points" the FCC awards to applicants who propose a CoL's first or second broadcast service.

 

[Laurence Glavin]

After the 50K day-and-night buildout, could WKOX change the COL of AM 1200 to Boston? It would give the station slightly more cachet (a little French lingo) to be a 50K station in Boston than elsewhere when selling time to agencies. An it should be able to reach the distant pahts of Boston as well as WWZN (Allston/Brighton; East Boston; Chahlestown).

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

If you're going to use "French lingo" - cache' is spelled with no
"t" at the end, and an accented "e"...

Just want to keep things accurate. ;D
(Miss Newton's 9th grade French class at work!)

 

[Laurence Glavin]

If you're going to use "French lingo" - cache' is spelled with no
"t" at the end, and an accented "e"...

Just want to keep things accurate. ;D
(Miss Newton's 9th grade French class at work!)

No no no no no no. You're mixing up 'cache', a hiding place (think cache memory on a computer's hard drive) with 'cachet' pronounced "cash-ay", rhymes with sashay (check dictionary.com ), which means superior status or prestige. Don't feel bad, Glenn Greenwald made the same mistake in his book "Great American Hypocrites", which many right-wingers would do well reading.

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

Uh - I don't think so!
Check your French dictionary.
That is the correct pronounciation, not the correct spelling.
I'm just saying...

 

[Laurence Glavin]

I'm right...you're wrong.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

After the 50K day-and-night buildout, could WKOX change the COL of AM 1200 to Boston?

I doubt that would happen because there are already so many other stations licensed to Boston. The FCC prefers to have stations licensed to different communities. They could always ID as "Newton/Boston".

 

[fybush]

After the 50K day-and-night buildout, could WKOX change the COL of AM 1200 to Boston?

I doubt that would happen because there are already so many other stations licensed to Boston. The FCC prefers to have stations licensed to different communities. They could always ID as "Newton/Boston".

It won't happen because the new WKOX signal won't cover the entire city of Boston with the required signal strength.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

When transmitting from the Newton site, WKOX no longer meets the FCC requirements for being licensed to Framingham (perhaps still meets them by day but definitely does not meet them by night) but does meet the requirements for service to Newton (OK, WOULD meet those requirements if it were running the full 50 kW-U CP power). Similarly, transmitting from Newton, WRCA no longer meets the FCC requirements for being licensed to Waltham but does meet the requirements for service to Watertown (OK, WOULD meet those requirements if it were running the full 25 kW-D/17 kW-N CP power). That appears to be why both stations promptly changed their legal IDs as soon as they began operating under STA from the new site.

Once again, with feeling: One has nothing to do with the other. The CoL is a material term of the license, and until WKOX's licensee receives either a letter authorizing the change or an amended license/CP/STA/whatever-they're-operating-on-this-week, they are not entitled to change their legal ID just because their transmitter site changed. Failure to ID with the CoL on the license is a violation of FCC rules (§73.1201, quoted in part: "Official station identification shall consist of the station's call letters immediately followed by the community or communities specified in its license as the station's location...," emphasis added).

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

Sorry Larry...,n'est pas... ;D

 

[DanStrassberg]

Once again, with feeling: One has nothing to do with the other.

For both WRCA and WKOX. the SAME CP that permitted construction of the new facilities granted a change in the CoL. And the reason for the CoL change was the inability of either station to meet the coverage requirements for its old CoL from the new site. So when it issued STAs allowing operations from the new site to commence, the FCC must also have said that the CoL changes were then in effect. Both WRCA and WKOX promptly changed their legal IDs as soon as they started broadcasting from the new site. I do not believe this was a coincidence. I suspect that if you can find the authorizations to begin operation (under STA) from the new site, you will see that the authorizations also mention the CoL change. You appear to be saying that the FCC did not have to issue the notice that the CoL change would be effective with the start of operations from the new site, but why would it not be when both the facilities change and the CoL change were authorized by the same CP and the reason for the CoL change was the facilities change?

 

[DanStrassberg]

Sorry Larry...,n'est pas... ;D

It has been almost 60 years since my high school French, but shouldn't that be "n'est-ce pas?" (Translation: is it not so?)