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WNWV to flip to AAA "soon"
- Thread starter Tim
- Start date
In terms of pure power, WNCI wins that derby with 175kw at 561 feet, but the actual coverage prize goes to WPAY-FM in Portsmouth with
100kw at 1486 ft. WPAY is a Class C by virtue of its Kentucky transmitter site, but is a defacto C-0 and is changing its status to that to allow adjacent-channel WNLT to move in to Cincinnati. With the exception of stations with transmitters across the Ohio River, the statutory limitation on Ohio stations (that are not grandfathered) is 50kw at 496 ft. WMJI operates with 16kw but with its 1130 ft, tower it's equivalent to about 80kw. Some other grandfathered "Class B on steroids" stations include WBNS, WRKZ, and WCOL in Columbus. WENZ in Cleveland and WQMX in Medina once also operated with 100kw+ but subsequent transmitter moves have necessitated their cutting back to the normal limits.
100kw at 1486 ft. WPAY is a Class C by virtue of its Kentucky transmitter site, but is a defacto C-0 and is changing its status to that to allow adjacent-channel WNLT to move in to Cincinnati. With the exception of stations with transmitters across the Ohio River, the statutory limitation on Ohio stations (that are not grandfathered) is 50kw at 496 ft. WMJI operates with 16kw but with its 1130 ft, tower it's equivalent to about 80kw. Some other grandfathered "Class B on steroids" stations include WBNS, WRKZ, and WCOL in Columbus. WENZ in Cleveland and WQMX in Medina once also operated with 100kw+ but subsequent transmitter moves have necessitated their cutting back to the normal limits.
Is WENZ's stick still in Newbury? Back in the 70's, my friend's aunt lived in a house in Newbury when 107.9 was WNOB and the stick was pretty much in her back yard. It was right on the corner on Rt. 87, but I can't think of the north-south street. I also remember 94.9 back then as WDBN Medina, and yes, they did seem to have a powerful signal. I remember DBN as doctor's office music, and NOB playing Top 40 in the late 60's and early 70's.
WQMX in Medina once also operated with 100kw+
WQMX used to go by WDBN "The Quiet Island". I had heard years ago that when they first signed on that they were the most powerful FM station in the nation [wattage-wise that is]. {WDBNs call letter now belong to a station in Wrightsville Georgia and their frequency, interestingly enough, are 107.9...which is what WENZs freq is}
WENZ stick is technically located in Russell Twp but Newbury would work. I know the stick has been replaced, it used to be out back of the station and looks like it's located to the south side of it now and appears to be way taller than the old one. I know I drove past the place the first day I worked out there [in 1979], I thought the building was a telephone switching station!
WQMX used to go by WDBN "The Quiet Island". I had heard years ago that when they first signed on that they were the most powerful FM station in the nation [wattage-wise that is]. {WDBNs call letter now belong to a station in Wrightsville Georgia and their frequency, interestingly enough, are 107.9...which is what WENZs freq is}
WENZ stick is technically located in Russell Twp but Newbury would work. I know the stick has been replaced, it used to be out back of the station and looks like it's located to the south side of it now and appears to be way taller than the old one. I know I drove past the place the first day I worked out there [in 1979], I thought the building was a telephone switching station!
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'ENZ is still on Route 87 yes. I too forget the N-S street.
Don't forget WQXK 105.1 from Salem, Ohio. They have a grandfathered signal of 88kw.
Don't forget WQXK 105.1 from Salem, Ohio. They have a grandfathered signal of 88kw.
Yes, WQXK is also a memeber of the signal on steroids society with 88kw at 446 ft. I also overlooked WHKO Dayton which runs 50kw at 1066 ft. (under current rules they would only be allowed 10kw with a stick that high). WQKT Wooster also operates slightly above the limit with 52kw but only at 331 ft. WENZ is still at the site in Newberry/Russell Twp. (Kinsman & Sperry) but they put up a much taller tower about 20 years ago. It has to stay there because of 3rd-adjacent channel issues with WNWV. Ironically, back in the day when both 94.9 and 107.9 were operating in exccess of 100kw both had really crummy signals in Cleveland but did well in other areas. It has a lot to do with the terrain. Before the "move-out" to Akron (spurred partially by a former co-owner's non-compete agreement) there was some talk about moving the 94.9 tower to Hinckley which would have put a much better signal into Cleveland. According to a former 107.9 CE, there was also some talk about putting an on-channel booster for 107.9 in the Parma area. The 107.9 frequency was originally licensed to Newberry but changed COL to Cleveland sometime in the '60's. Call letters and formats included WNOB (rock), WELW-FM (country), WDMT (AC, disco, urban), WPHR (churban, CHR), and WENZ (alternative, urban). 94.9 was indeed easy listening "Quite Island" WDBN for many moons when owned by the Miller Family. Tower was moved to Barberton around 1988 and they switched to AC as "Mix 94.9" and later to the current country format. If you're ranking the top stations in coverage it the list would probably be WPAY, a toss-up between WHKO and WNCI, then another horse race between WMJI and WQXK.
YEKIMI said:
I have wondered if the announcer in the Laria Chevrolet commercils is a leftover from the quiet island days, even asked Scott and Sue that one morning.
"An aside... former oldies WTRG/Raleigh (which I programmed) now classic hits WRVA-FM, covers more than 10,200 sq. miles. I'm not a "tower power" guy.. don't get into the specs. But I do know that signal is huge! In fact, all four FM's in the cluster are strong signals"
Actually WRVA is in line with standards for a Class C FM station 100kw @ 1969 ft., so nothing really special. The original WRVA-FM (now WRVQ) in Richmond runs 200kw, but only at 351'. The largest signal of any US radio station belongs to KVYB Santa Barbara with 105kw @ 2969' .... but you will also hear WHOM Mt. Washington, NH make that claim. Their 48kw @ 3745' with a 1 mv/m contour falling about five miles smaller than KVYB's, but they base their claim on LAND coverage. A large percentage of KVYB's signal goes out over the Pacific Ocean. LA's KPFK and San Juan's WIPR also have coverage areas in between those of KVYB and WIPR, but also a lot of that coverage is over water.)
The contest winner for raw power? Grand Rapids' WBCT with 320kw @ 781'. They once ran 500kw but had to crank back the ERP to a paltry 320,000 when they went to a taller tower.
Actually WRVA is in line with standards for a Class C FM station 100kw @ 1969 ft., so nothing really special. The original WRVA-FM (now WRVQ) in Richmond runs 200kw, but only at 351'. The largest signal of any US radio station belongs to KVYB Santa Barbara with 105kw @ 2969' .... but you will also hear WHOM Mt. Washington, NH make that claim. Their 48kw @ 3745' with a 1 mv/m contour falling about five miles smaller than KVYB's, but they base their claim on LAND coverage. A large percentage of KVYB's signal goes out over the Pacific Ocean. LA's KPFK and San Juan's WIPR also have coverage areas in between those of KVYB and WIPR, but also a lot of that coverage is over water.)
The contest winner for raw power? Grand Rapids' WBCT with 320kw @ 781'. They once ran 500kw but had to crank back the ERP to a paltry 320,000 when they went to a taller tower.
WHOM 48KW @ 3743 AAT atop Mt. Washington in New Hampshire is usually considered the FM station with the most land coverage. Some stations along the west coast (Mt. Wilson) are up pretty high, but a lot of their coverage is over the ocean.
I remember that WDBN (94.9) ran something like 117KW until the mid-80s, from a relatively short tower on Tower Road in Medina. The tower is still there. I remember that they were strong into parts of Cleveland, but had terrible multipath due the tower being on the short side.
WDMT/WNOB/WELW-FM (107.9) ran 77KW but, like WDBN, the tower was on the short side, so the multipath was bad.
I remember that WDBN (94.9) ran something like 117KW until the mid-80s, from a relatively short tower on Tower Road in Medina. The tower is still there. I remember that they were strong into parts of Cleveland, but had terrible multipath due the tower being on the short side.
WDMT/WNOB/WELW-FM (107.9) ran 77KW but, like WDBN, the tower was on the short side, so the multipath was bad.
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