WLTW HD2 Translator in Union City

[Barry]

While listening this morning to WLTW HD2, I heard a new TOH station ID at 10 am.
It mentioned a translator in Union City NJ. Unfortunately I did not get the call letters.
Does anyone know what frequency this is using? Perhaps folks in a small area of nearby NJ (and perhaps lower Manhattan?) can hear this HD2 country station on a standard FM radio using this translator.
There have been a few HD2 stations in other parts of the U.S. that have been relayed on translators. Perhaps this is the first in this area.

 

[ansky212]

I did a query on the FCC database and found this. The coverage map looks like it only covers a very small area in northern Jersey City, northern Hoboken, and southern Union City.



W296BT NJ UNION CITY USA

Licensee: APPLE 107.1, INC.
Service Designation: FX Translator Station (retransmits signal, different channel than main station)

Channel/Class: 293D Frequency: 106.5 MHz Modification of Construction Permit
File No.: BMPFT-20100812ACG Facility ID number: 155888
CDBS Application ID No.: 1417236

This station rebroadcasts WLTW (FM).
40° 46' 0.00 " N Latitude 74° 01' 29.00" W Longitude (NAD 27)

Change of Community of License from BROOKLYN, NY to UNION CITY, NJ

 

[Barry]

I realize now that this is the translator that Scott Fybush had written about several times in Northeast Radio Watch. The most recent article, on January 17, is linked below. Apparently it is now on the air, at a different location than originally proposed
Scott offered a rather complex scenario which has it operating only briefly on 106.5, so that is can get licensed on the frequency. Then it may apply for a move to another frequency, and perhaps another nearby city. He speculated that it may either ultimately offer a rebroadcast of an HD2, or perhaps the imminent K Love on 96.7 FM.
If anyone is in or passing through the Union City area, perhaps they can mention whether the translator is carrying WLTW, or WLTW HD2 (if it can even be heard through the interference from 106.7).
Link to Article (the translator is discussed in its New York section): http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2011/110117/nerw.html

 

[nd2023]

Why would the FCC even issue a license for 106.5 in New York? That's even more absurd than the pirates operating on the first adjacents. Streetz 106.5's coverage is much worse than when it was on 96.5 right next to a classical station (low average modulation). 106.5 will only be able to be heard on the top 20 floors of 4 Times Square.

 

[ansky212]

106.5 will only be able to be heard on the top 20 floors of 4 Times Square.

The coverage map in the FCC database shows the transmitter site right outside the Lincoln Tunnel (NJ side).

 

[WNTIRadio]

The FCC database also shows that there is an APP for 106.3 from 4 Times Square. 99 watts, in an east/west pattern (kinda peanut shaped) but putting a 60dBu over lower Manhattan, Jersey City, a good chunk of Queens and out to Newark. Obviously protecting the 106.3 WFAF to the north and the 106.3 down the Jersey shore. WHCY is far enough west to not bother it.

I'd take 99 watts off 4 Times Square. There's a lot of people in that 60dBu contour. If the APP goes through, it'll be worth more than 103.1 in Fort Lee.

 

[ansky212]

The FCC database also shows that there is an APP for 106.3 from 4 Times Square. 99 watts, in an east/west pattern (kinda peanut shaped) but putting a 60dBu over lower Manhattan, Jersey City, a good chunk of Queens and out to Newark. Obviously protecting the 106.3 WFAF to the north and the 106.3 down the Jersey shore. WHCY is far enough west to not bother it.

I really hope that map is correct. I live about 5 miles west of where that contour ends and don't want to lose my reception of WKMK 106.3 - the only game in town for country music.

 

[WNTIRadio]

You're in the 40dBu contour of WKMK and most likely somewhere in the 50-54dBu of the proposed translator. You'll probably need a good directional roof antenna to null it out. If you're on a hill top facing NYC directly that could be harder. It's a game of ratios and signal strength at that point, but my experience tells me that if you're line of sight to 4 Times Square you'll have a hard time with WKMK. Being a class A, they're only protected (with a translator it's not distance separation, but signal contours) to their 60dBu contour. With another class A, there's minimum distance separations.

 

[nd2023]

The good news is WLTW HD2 is country so you'll get another country station.

 

[Barry]

I am not sure whether the translator is carrying WLTW, or WLTW HD2. If the main signal (WLTW) is the one carried by a translator, does the HD2 need to mention it on the station ID?
It is not clear whether the translator will continue carrying either WLTW. Scott Fybush's article indicates that it may ultimately simulcast another station, such as the upcoming K-Love that will broadcast from the Bronx on 96.7 FM.
For the sake of country fans in lower Manhattan and nearby NJ trying to pull in a weak signal from WKMK, I hope that the translator does not ultimately broadcast on 106.3. It is hard enough to hear it through the pirate station signals.

 

[ansky212]

The good news is WLTW HD2 is country so you'll get another country station.

Is there anything local about the WLTW HD2 country station? I like WKMK because of their local personalities, concert announcements, and stuff like that. I thought I had heard that WLTW's was just generic, networked programming.

 

[Barry]

WLTW HD2 is basically Clear Channel's national program, Country Road.
But one nice bit of locally added programming occurs during the syndicated morning show, Big D and Bubba. A few classic country songs from the likes of Merle Haggard and Patsy Kline are inserted in place of commercials and PSA's. Each hour, a different vintage country artist is featured.
Another likable feature about WLTW HD2 is that from 10 AM till midnight (when the syndicated After Midnight with Blair Gardner begins), there are no commercials. And some of the CC personalities such as Michael J are quite engaging. There are quite a few brief chats with the country stars.

 

[mdamico25]

I am not sure whether the translator is carrying WLTW, or WLTW HD2. If the main signal (WLTW) is the one carried by a translator, does the HD2 need to mention it on the station ID?
It is not clear whether the translator will continue carrying either WLTW. Scott Fybush's article indicates that it may ultimately simulcast another station, such as the upcoming K-Love that will broadcast from the Bronx on 96.7 FM.
For the sake of country fans in lower Manhattan and nearby NJ trying to pull in a weak signal from WKMK, I hope that the translator does not ultimately broadcast on 106.3. It is hard enough to hear it through the pirate station signals.

Unfortunately, WKMK is not designed to be a NYC-station. They are transmitting a "Class A" signal from a location significantly south of most of the New York market. Its a bonus if you happen to hear them in the fringe areas adjacent to NY, but unfortunately, I think the translator on 106.3 will totally wipe them out in most of North Jersey and New York City (with the exception of perhaps Southern Brooklyn and Staten Island). WKMK has a strange signal- I was recently driving towards Freehold (in their own market) and picked up some interference with 106.1 WISX Philadelphia, then as I continued further southwest past Six Flags, they were in the clear again and didn't lose them for good until I reached Bordentown, NJ when WISX overwhelmed them once and for all.

 

[Barry]

This is the link to a technical explanation of the application to the F.C.C., for the request for permission to move the 1 watt Union City translator to 4 Times Square, and boost its output to 99 watts. It includes maps asserting that it would not cause interference to other stations, such as WQXR, WBLI, WFAF and WKMK. It is really not that difficult to digest.
If the F.C.C. approves this, the translator could be quite valuable for rebroadcasting an HD2 station, given its coverage of much of New York City, and the nearby suburbs.

Possibly A Clever Move: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS...?appn=101417608&qnum=5160&copynum=1&exhcnum=1

 

[GSP163]

What's with the app for a 106.3 translator in Midland Park?......That's the next town over from me and this is the first I have heard of it.

 

[Barry]

What's with the app for a 106.3 translator in Midland Park?......That's the next town over from me and this is the first I have heard of it.

This was applied for back in 2003 by the NJ Public Broadcasting Authority. It is intended to rebroadcast WNJP on 106.3 FM, at a power of 10 watts. WNJP 88.5 is located in Sussex, and is part of the New Jersey Network.
I do not know why the F.C.C. has not acted on an application submitted 8 years ago. Perhaps it is related to NJ being broke, like numerous other states. I believe they had recently decided to auction off the radio stations. So this translator may never be built.

Application for Midland Park Translator: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/w...t=25&appn=100635221&formid=349&fac_num=143086

 

[ansky212]

If the F.C.C. approves this, the translator could be quite valuable for rebroadcasting an HD2 station, given its coverage of much of New York City, and the nearby suburbs.

I wonder how long it would take to approve this, and how long before the move actually takes place and gets up and running. I have read countless articles over the years about CP's and moves and it seems the vast majority of them never actually happen. I have been hearing about 96.7's move to New Rochelle for at least 3 years and that still has not happened. I have been hearing about 103.9's move to the Bronx for at least a year and that has not happened. You get the point....

 

[w9wi]

What's with the app for a 106.3 translator in Midland Park?......That's the next town over from me and this is the first I have heard of it.

This was applied for back in 2003 by the NJ Public Broadcasting Authority. It is intended to rebroadcast WNJP on 106.3 FM, at a power of 10 watts. WNJP 88.5 is located in Sussex, and is part of the New Jersey Network.
I do not know why the F.C.C. has not acted on an application submitted 8 years ago. Perhaps it is related to NJ being broke, like numerous other states. I believe they had recently decided to auction off the radio stations. So this translator may never be built.

it's got nothing to do with the applicant; there are thousands of these applications still pending.

The FCC only accepts these applications during "filing windows". Those windows don't happen very often (there hasn't been another one since 2003...) and when they do open there are a TON of applications. (probably literally, if it wasn't that they're filed electronically online)

I think the Commission was overwhelmed. They seem to have put processing of these on hold, and there is some talk they will dismiss them en-masse and start from the ground up with some additional filing restrictions. (in the most recent window for full-power non-commercial stations they limited each applicant to ten applications. Some 2003 translator applicants filed more than a thousand applications.)