Would A Purchaser Of 99.5 Be Able To Move It In?

[Laurence Glavin]

Whether a new standalone came along to buy WCRB, or a group already here did the deed, are there restrictions to moving the 99.5 operation closer to Boston (as Entercom did with 93.7)? There seems to be only one adjacent channel operation around, up in Kennebunkport, ME, and the second-adjacents are a good distance from Boston. A possible site: the old WTAO-TV location on Zion Mountain (Mountain?) in Woburn.

 

[jlehmann]

I believe 99.1 WPLM, 99.3 WJZS, 99.7 WSKO, and 99.9 WQRC prevent that from being possible. Greater Media probably would have done it when they had it, if it was possible.

 

[BRNout]

I'd have to agree. Plus, 99.9 WCAT Athol keeps it from coming too far west.

 

[fybush]

99.5 can't move in as a full class B. It has some potential to move in (though not all the way to Boston) at a lower class. I'll be happy to provide a detailed analysis to anyone who wants to hire me as a consultant...

 

[jlehmann]

99.5 can't move in as a full class B. It has some potential to move in (though not all the way to Boston) at a lower class. I'll be happy to provide a detailed analysis to anyone who wants to hire me as a consultant...

I wonder if it'd really be worth downgrading just to get a stronger signal in downtown Boston though? They'd be giving up the very strong signal they currently have in the Merrimack valley and other areas. Plus, I really don't think it's that bad close in to Boston. I doubt a class A in Boston would be stronger on the south shore than the class B from Andover. 97.7, since moving to the blue hills is much weaker on the south shore, including in the city of license.

 

[DanStrassberg]

I wonder if it'd really be worth downgrading just to get a stronger signal in downtown Boston though? They'd be giving up the very strong signal they currently have in the Merrimack valley and other areas. Plus, I really don't think it's that bad close in to Boston. I doubt a class A in Boston would be stronger on the south shore than the class B from Andover. 97.7, since moving to the blue hills is much weaker on the south shore, including in the city of license.

But I don't think that's a fair comparison. I believe that 97.7's move to Great Blue Hill relocated its site northward and eastward--further from Brockton than either of its previous sites. OTOH, a 99.5 move to Zion Hill from Wood Hill would move its site closer to downtown Boston and the South Shore. Assuming that some given contour was not permitted to move southward from its present location in order to preserve protections to all of the adjacents that Scott named, the ERP to the south would have to be reduced. BUT any given contour north of the one that was not allowed to move WOULD move southward. The reduced ERP would, however, crowd the various contours closer together. By using a directional antenna, 99.5 could maintain its height-adjusted ERP to the north at its present level. Coverage to the north would still be lost because of the soutward move of the transmitter, but the contours to the north ought not move any further than the transmitter moved. That's the best I can explain it without drawing picures.

 

[DanStrassberg]

And on further reflection, it occurs to me that Zion Hill is probably not the only potential move-in site for 99.5. Nobody (including me) has mentioned the 93.7 site in where?--Saugus, I think. Is WMKK directional? (Somebody here HAS to know; I don't.) When it moved down from Lawrence (or wherever--I believe the CoL is still Lawrence), I know that 93.7 might have had issues with 93.3 (Taunton) and 94.1 (Providence) (and isn't there a co-channel station in CT?). Nevertheless, those issues didn't prove fatal. Is 99.1 (N Plymouth) closer to Saugus than Taunton is? I suspect that Saugus is still too close to all of those stations that Scott named for 99.5 to move there without using a DA, but the DA would probably not have to be quite as directional as it would have to be at the Woburn site that we were discussing, so Saugus might prove to be a better location.

I think Lowell is a little further from Saugus than Lawrence is, which might mean that 99.5 would have a problem city-grading its CoL from Saugus, whereas 93.7 has no such problem. But since Lowell is home to two AMs and a non-commercial FM, changing the 99.5 CoL, if necessary, ought not be a major problem.

 

[jlehmann]

And on further reflection, it occurs to me that Zion Hill is probably not the only potential move-in site for 99.5. Nobody (including me) has mentioned the 93.7 site in where?--Saugus, I think. Is WMKK directional? (Somebody here HAS to know; I don't.) When it moved down from Lawrence (or wherever--I believe the CoL is still Lawrence), I know that 93.7 might have had issues with 93.3 (Taunton) and 94.1 (Providence) (and isn't there a co-channel station in CT?). Nevertheless, those issues didn't prove fatal. Is 99.1 (N Plymouth) closer to Saugus than Taunton is? I suspect that Saugus is still too close to all of those stations that Scott named for 99.5 to move there without using a DA, but the DA would probably not have to be quite as directional as it would have to be at the Woburn site that we were discussing, so Saugus might prove to be a better location.

I think Lowell is a little further from Saugus than Lawrence is, which might mean that 99.5 would have a problem city-grading its CoL from Saugus, whereas 93.7 has no such problem. But since Lowell is home to two AMs and a non-commercial FM, changing the 99.5 CoL, if necessary, ought not be a major problem.

93.7's site is in Peabody, and is not directional. You can look up any station to see whether they're directional on many websties. One of my favorites is fccinfo.com.

 

[necrat123]

And on further reflection, it occurs to me that Zion Hill is probably not the only potential move-in site for 99.5. Nobody (including me) has mentioned the 93.7 site in where?--Saugus, I think. Is WMKK directional? (Somebody here HAS to know; I don't.) When it moved down from Lawrence (or wherever--I believe the CoL is still Lawrence), I know that 93.7 might have had issues with 93.3 (Taunton) and 94.1 (Providence) (and isn't there a co-channel station in CT?).

WMKK is non directional. It is fully spaced to WSNE, WHJY, and WZMX.

Nevertheless, those issues didn't prove fatal. Is 99.1 (N Plymouth) closer to Saugus than Taunton is? I suspect that Saugus is still too close to all of those stations that Scott named for 99.5 to move there without using a DA, but the DA would probably not have to be quite as directional as it would have to be at the Woburn site that we were discussing, so Saugus might prove to be a better location.

The distance between the WPLM TX site and the WMKK American Tower tower is 67kM. The FCC minimum spacing requirements, under rules 73.215 for a B to B 2nd Adjacent is 68kM. I doubt the FCC would allow a waiver for 1kM, but a small reduction in power could alleviate any issues and eliminate the need for a directional antenna?

I think Lowell is a little further from Saugus than Lawrence is, which might mean that 99.5 would have a problem city-grading its CoL from Saugus, whereas 93.7 has no such problem. But since Lowell is home to two AMs and a non-commercial FM, changing the 99.5 CoL, if necessary, ought not be a major problem.

Exactly. Pick a city without a radio station, and transfer your COL to it. (I think Saugus might be a candidate for it)

 

[raccoonradio]

WMKK's stick is on Lakeland Park Drive in Peabody, just off Forest St. and Route 1 and not far from
I-95.
http://www.bostonradio.org/stations/1919

 

[LA_Guy]

99.5 can not move too much closer to Boston-here's why!

What keeps 99.5 from moving closer to Boston is none of the above. It's an IF spacing problem with WERS. WERS is a class B1 on 88.9 with it's tower atop 1 Financial center 88.9 + 10.6 = 99.5.

B1 to B IF spacing is 17 KM = 11 miles.

There presently is 22 miles spacing from Wood Hill to WERS. Therefore, 99.5 could move 11 miles closer. BUT..where could they get a tower?
Also, 99.7 in RI would be a big problem.

 

[DanStrassberg]

Re: 99.5 can not move too much closer to Boston-here's why!

What keeps 99.5 from moving closer to Boston is none of the above. It's an IF spacing problem with WERS. WERS is a class B1 on 88.9 with it's tower atop 1 Financial center 88.9 + 10.6 = 99.5.

B1 to B IF spacing is 17 KM = 11 miles.

There presently is 22 miles spacing from Wood Hill to WERS. Therefore, 99.5 could move 11 miles closer. BUT..where could they get a tower?
Also, 99.7 in RI would be a big problem.

The distance from WMKK to WERS is 13.0 miles. Thus, from what you say, 99.5 could move to the WMKK tower as a full B. Jeff Lehmann has already established, however, that if it remained ND, 99.5 could not operate as a full B from that tower because it would be ever so slightly short spaced to WPLM-FM. But the necessary power reduction from full Class B facilities would not be huge. Indeed, if multiiplexing into the WMKK antenna were impractical, 99.5 could almost certainly run the same power as WMKK does (34 kW) from a separate antenna on the same tower because the lower antenna height would sufficiently reduce the ERP referred to an HAAT of 150m. Then the issues would relate to the required spacings to several other stations adjacent to 99.5--WSKO-FM, for example.

 

[DanStrassberg]

The distance between the WPLM TX site and the WMKK American Tower tower is 67kM. The FCC minimum spacing requirements, under rules 73.215 for a B to B 2nd Adjacent is 68kM. I doubt the FCC would allow a waiver for 1kM, but a small reduction in power could alleviate any issues and eliminate the need for a directional antenna?

Would the fact that WPLM-FM's HAAT is 430', whereas a full B would run the same ERP (50 kW) from 150m (492'), affect the need for 99.5 operating from Peabody to run less-than-full-B facilities (apparently 34 kW @587', based on what WMKK runs)? If the answer is that WPLM's less-than-full-B facilities might allow 99.5 to operate as a full B from Peabody (assuming the full-B facilities would work with the other adjacents), it would tell us that 99.5 in Peabody would not need the simulcast on 97.7 (because WMKK needs no simulcast). Then Classical could move to 97.7, Rock could move from 107.3 to 99.5, and WEEI could simulcast on 107.3, freed of the need for 97.7 because the 50 kW AM signal on 850 covers the part of the market (MetroWest) that 107.3 doesn't cover very well. Remember that WMKK's Peabody tower turned out to far enough (13 miles) from WERS that the IF problem between 99.5 and 88.9 is a non-problem as defined by the FCC (required distance B to B1 is 11 miles).