WLEV

[RadioPhillyFan]

Why is the signal so strong? I can get it in Southern Chester County clearly.

 

[Seltzer]

Grandfathered 100k

 

[amfmsw]

No, WLEV is a Class B, not a C. If it were, I'd be listeneing to it down here at the shore. It does come in at times when WZXL is off the air. And it does have a superior signal, but 100.7 is a Class B channel, it's 50kw ERP (effective radiated power @ 500') operating at 11kw because it's higer than 500'. http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=wlev&sr=Y&s=C&x=0&y=0

 

[ka2xuk]

Grandfathered 100k

No, neither WLEV nor its predecessor, WFMZ, ever ran that much power. When WFMZ first moved to South Mountain and its present frequency of 100.7, the ERP was 4,800 watts. It later went to 12.5 kW ERP and is now at about 11 kW, since the present tower is taller than the old one. But it never was a grandfathered superpower station. The only such station that I know of in Pennsylvania is WPEL in Montrose (Susquehanna County), which has an ERP of 57 kW on 96.5 MHz.

WFMZ/WLEV is short-spaced to three other Class B stations on 100.7: WZXL in Wildwood, NJ; WHUD in Peekskill, NY; and WZBA in Westminster, MD. That short spacing is what was grandfathered.

 

[RadioPhillyFan]

Grandfathered 100k

No, neither WLEV nor its predecessor, WFMZ, ever ran that much power. When WFMZ first moved to South Mountain and its present frequency of 100.7, the ERP was 4,800 watts. It later went to 12.5 kW ERP and is now at about 11 kW, since the present tower is taller than the old one. But it never was a grandfathered superpower station. The only such station that I know of in Pennsylvania is WPEL in Montrose (Susquehanna County), which has an ERP of 57 kW on 96.5 MHz.

WFMZ/WLEV is short-spaced to three other Class B stations on 100.7: WZXL in Wildwood, NJ; WHUD in Peekskill, NY; and WZBA in Westminster, MD. That short spacing is what was grandfathered.

There is/was a few in Pittsburgh.

 

[amfmsw]

OK, wait a minute. You're totally confused. TPO and ERP are completely different animals. Total Power Output at the antenna, the power levels you are quoting ka, are lowered from their licensed power limit because 1. the station uses multiple bays. or 2. is above the standard 500' ClassB antenna HAAT limit, or 3. is not a full ClassB, but a Class B1, like WZXL in Wildwood.

If the station exceeds the height limit, it must reduce power. If it uses multiple bays (like 6) for electical efficiency, it reduces power...BUT it's ERP (Effective Radiated Power) is still 50kw. WOGL is 9600watts...at 1100', BUT it's ERP is still the same as 50,000 watts.

 

[DanStrassberg]

OK, wait a minute. You're totally confused. TPO and ERP are completely different animals. Total Power Output at the antenna, the power levels you are quoting ka, are lowered from their licensed power limit because 1. the station uses multiple bays. or 2. is above the standard 500' ClassB antenna HAAT limit, or 3. is not a full ClassB, but a Class B1, like WZXL in Wildwood.

If the station exceeds the height limit, it must reduce power. If it uses multiple bays (like 6) for electical efficiency, it reduces power...BUT it's ERP (Effective Radiated Power) is still 50kw. WOGL is 9600watts...at 1100', BUT it's ERP is still the same as 50,000 watts.

Don't forget the additional confusion, which dates back to the FCC's metric conversion (not sure when that took place). Class B FMs that had class-maximum facilities at the time of the conversion were grandfathered with those facilities. Other stations that did not achieve Class B class-maximum facilities until after the metric conversion were allowed the equivalent of 50 kW ERP at 150m AAT. 150m is equivalent to 492'. The ERP that maintains a constant signal strength changes roughly in proportion to the square of the actual-HAAT-to-class-maximum-HAAT ratio. Therefore, if my calculations are correct (correct me if you find an error), the newer 150m max HAAT for the full 50 kW ERP is equivalent to an ERP of 48.4 kW at 500' AAT. If I'm not mistaken, that's roughly 1 dB less than 50 kW ERP at 500' AAT.

 

[ka2xuk]

OK, wait a minute. You're totally confused. TPO and ERP are completely different animals. Total Power Output at the antenna, the power levels you are quoting ka, are lowered from their licensed power limit because 1. the station uses multiple bays. or 2. is above the standard 500' ClassB antenna HAAT limit, or 3. is not a full ClassB, but a Class B1, like WZXL in Wildwood.

I know all that. Take a look at the data on the FM Query page of the FCC Web site. They list ERP, not TPO, for the stations I mentioned. The ERP is decreased if the antenna height above average terrain is above 150 meters for a Class B station. It is only 50 kW if the antenna HAAT is at or below 150 meters. WLEV's antenna on South Mountain is at 327 meters and the FCC site shows 11 kW as the ERP, not the TPO. A license for an FM station will also show the ERP, rather than the TPO. The TPO would be whatever transmitter power is necessary to achieve the required ERP. ERP = TPO x (antenna gain - feedline loss).

 

[Play Freebird]

I know all that. Take a look at the data on the FM Query page of the FCC Web site. They list ERP, not TPO, for the stations I mentioned. The ERP is decreased if the antenna height above average terrain is above 150 meters for a Class B station. It is only 50 kW if the antenna HAAT is at or below 150 meters. WLEV's antenna on South Mountain is at 327 meters and the FCC site shows 11 kW as the ERP, not the TPO. A license for an FM station will also show the ERP, rather than the TPO. The TPO would be whatever transmitter power is necessary to achieve the required ERP. ERP = TPO x (antenna gain - feedline loss)

I like to use the term "equivalent power" when comparing facilities above the standard HAAT for each class.

In the case of WLEV (with a HAAT of 327 meters) the "FM Power" pop-up tool on the FCC Media Bureau website specifies a maximum permissible ERP of 10.5 kW for a full Class B facility, equivalent to 50 kW at 150 meters.

WLEV runs slightly more -- 11 kW is about 0.2 dB over the line -- but this is insignificant. As Dan S pointed out, some rounding took place when the FCC went metric, so with 11 kW at 327 meters, WLEV is probably grandfathered with the equivalent of 50 kW at 152.4 meters (500 feet).

In my opinion, favorable terrain is the primary reason WLEV covers so well towards the south. And the antenna is high enough to achieve clearance of the 0.6 Fresnel radius (i.e "line-of-sight") most of the way along the path towards Chester County. It definitely helps that the lower terrain of the Schuylkill valley in this direction.

Keep in mind WLEV's present facility was constructed when WFMZ/Maranatha Broadcasting owned the FM station. Dick Dean, president of Maranatha, started in this business as an engineer and fully understood the advantages of proper antenna elevation. It took him many years to obtain zoning approval for that tower.

In comparison, 96.1 (the former WLEV, now WCTO) has very poor terrain clearance towards the south, which explains why you hear such a difference between the two signals in the Philadelphia suburbs.

 

[Play Freebird]

But it never was a grandfathered superpower station. The only such station that I know of in Pennsylvania is WPEL in Montrose (Susquehanna County), which has an ERP of 57 kW on 96.5 MHz.

Correct.

But the most grandfathered FM in northern PA is WKSB 102.7 in Williamsport, with 53 kW at 387 meters. This is the same facility as would be allowed for a Class C1 station (equivalent to 100 kW at 299 meters). I could usually receive their signal in Rochester, NY when I lived there in the early '80s, before the local 102.7 began operation.