WOKQ on 88.9??

[masscarnage99]

I was driving up Elm Street in Manchester today scanning the dial and my radio stopped at 88.9 where I heard country music and wondered where this was coming from. Then as I listened for a few minutes it IDed as WOKQ. I can't even see a reason for this as WOKQ has a translator at 97.9 in downtown Manchester. Has anyone else heard this before?

 

[Mattcatlover456]

dosent make sence unless wokq is getting rid of 97.9 to make the signel stronger throughout the manchester area

 

[masscarnage99]

Really unlikely as I am pretty sure they can't have a translator in the non com side of the dial and did a search to see if there is an 88.9 even licensed to Manchester and found nothing. I also noticed the processing is a lot more bass kick on the 97.9 translator vs 97.5 and 88.9.

 

[NHRadio]

Could be a pirate who's testing.

 

[KC9AIC]

Masscarnage99 is correct that WOKQ, as a commercial station, can't rebroadcast on a noncommercial frequency (88-92 MHz). When I first saw that you'd heard country music on 88.9, I thought of WMDR-FM, a 100 kW Class C0 in Maine that plays Christian Country (and Southern Gospel) music, but they have a null in that direction (protecting first-adjacent WSEW), and you say you heard a WOKQ ID.

Besides being an unlicensed operator (possibly running legally as a Part 15 intentional radiator), it could have been a spurious emission or mixing product of other stations, though those don't usually sound clear, in my experience. Anybody else have ideas on what it could have been?

 

[HD_Ready]

Did you hear any classical music in the background? could be intermod with 106.9 classical translator (co-located)

 

[masscarnage99]

No intermod whatsoever just straight up WOKQ and as I said in a previous post that it was way less bassed up like the 97.9 translator is and more like 97.5 it sounded like but that's way unlikely as Dover is a good hike from downtown Manchester.