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WSB banishes Sean Hannity to 9pm-midnight
- Thread starter MrRadio
- Start date
I'm not complaining! I like how WSB has doubled-down on local programming.
And yeah, why would they share when they can keep all the money and probably get more ears listening.
While that's true, it's nothing new that would have precipitated this move. It appears to be more about better flow and/or ratings.
I too like that WSB is local from 5AM-9PM.
I would be surprising if iHeart wants to compete with WSBAM/FM or even Audacy's WAOK. They only have BIN on AM640 but Atlanta only havs 5 AMs reach the almost entire Metro Atlanta market since I checked Radiolocator and only 590,640,680,750 and 1380 are the only stations to reach if not all of the Atlanta market. IDK how many people listened to WAOK but I feel Atlanta barely cares about AM (Sorry 680 The Fan).
iHeart / Clear Channel at one time had Hannity & Rush (RIP) on 105.7 and 640. 105.7 doesn't look great on paper but a lot of it's signal was on the northside (Republican) side of Atlanta. IIRC WSB didn't have 95.5 at this time. Then some "genus" decided 640 didn't need 105.7. It was down hill for iHeart's conservative talk in Atlanta. Once WSB was put on 95.5 it was pretty much over for the AM band in North GA. My AM setting is set for 680 on my car radio. It's like a button on FM presets except you have to push 2 buttons to get get it instead of one for FM stations. 105.7 supposedly has a lock on Hispanic national buys in Atlanta. I am surprised that Davis hasn't taken some of this, but we only see 6+ ratings so demos and format differences must be a play here.
680 use to "protect" Silva NC. That station moved to 540 why WCNN hasn't reworked their directional pattern to put a little more signal north and west towards the ballpark I don't know. They got 8 towers to work with.
680 use to "protect" Silva NC. That station moved to 540 why WCNN hasn't reworked their directional pattern to put a little more signal north and west towards the ballpark I don't know. They got 8 towers to work with.
It would be interesting to hear from one of our friendly engineering types on this.
Are the eight towers set in a way they can be configured for the mentioned coverage?
How much would it cost to make the change? And, what equipment would they have to buy (if any)? If the cost is major, it might not be worth it to the Brothers.
Lastly, given the cost, would the additional coverage gained be worth the money spent?
I heard that at night games at Truist, 680 doesn't work well. Braves baseball is a significant part of WCNN's programming. As for the engineering with directional stations, duplexing on other directional arrays, they are doing amazing stuff. Every directional station I have ever seen (all built before 1970) had precise spacing of the towers. I guess phasing cabinets can be adjusted to make up for "bad" spacing. As class B AM's downgrade to save electric bills, sell land, or not have the expense of maintaining directional arrays, there could be opportunities for some stations to modify their signals enonomically. "Last man standing."
There is a 680 in Memphis which I assume is the reason for the NW null (including the ballpark), and another in Raleigh which (again, I assume) is the primary reason for the NE null, and which would limit any changes possible due to the move of the 680 in Sylva, which was sort of "halfway" to Raleigh. I suppose 680 might be able to tweak out a little more signal due north or NNE due to the Sylva move, although the Raleigh station is 50kW 24/7 (DA-N). WPTF-AM 680 kHz - Raleigh, NC
The 680 array in Peachtree Corners is in a floodplain. Most AM plants that take up a lot of real estate (directional arrays) that are still around are in floodplains, limiting the value and use of the land. As long as the transmitter shack is sufficiently elevated and there's provision to shut the whole thing down in case of a <100-year flood, then you're good. There's not much valuable land still under radio towers that hasn't already been sold (or monetized otherwise in the case of WSB).
590 moved from Druid Hills to Powder Springs when that land (not in a floodplain) became more valuable for purposes other than radio. Their current Powder Springs plant is in a floodplain, with the transmitter shack on 12' piles.
680 is a relatively new AM station in ATL (1968) and was shoehorned in as a daytimer originally. I have an aircheck of Neal Boortz signing off the old WRNG Ring Radio. They had a single stick until they built the array in Peachtree Corners.
If WCNN had some power west southwest they could miss Memphis. The Raleigh signal is a monster at night sometimes. They have stopped my scan in Birmingham and Chattanooga at night sometimes. If WCNN went with 5kw could the null aimed at the ballfield be reduced. WBIN 640 with 1kw is OK at Truist at night. Truthfully if a good FM signal is not used for the Braves, in Atlanta 750 is the only real reliable signal.
So here's the reality check against almost any attempt to do anything to improve an AM facility in 2024: what's the return on the investment?
You're looking at tens of thousands of dollars just to engage one of the few remaining consulting firms that can do AM DA work.
In the very best scenario, maybe you can make some tweaks to the pattern using the existing tower layout. That still involves reworking the phasor at a cost of multiple tens of thousands of dollars.
In the most likely case, getting a real improvement would mean modifying the tower layout. Now you're dealing with local zoning and permitting at the cost of tens of thousands in legal fees, and well into six figures if you're reworking the ground system, laying in new transmission and sample lines, erecting new towers...
...and for what return? To reach the three people in the stands at Truist with AM radios following the game? How would that justify an expense into the hundreds of thousands of dollars?
You're looking at tens of thousands of dollars just to engage one of the few remaining consulting firms that can do AM DA work.
In the very best scenario, maybe you can make some tweaks to the pattern using the existing tower layout. That still involves reworking the phasor at a cost of multiple tens of thousands of dollars.
In the most likely case, getting a real improvement would mean modifying the tower layout. Now you're dealing with local zoning and permitting at the cost of tens of thousands in legal fees, and well into six figures if you're reworking the ground system, laying in new transmission and sample lines, erecting new towers...
...and for what return? To reach the three people in the stands at Truist with AM radios following the game? How would that justify an expense into the hundreds of thousands of dollars?
If you look at 680's translator's coverage the ball park is right at the very edge of the 60. The bizarre part of this the Dickies also own 1230 with a translator that has 106.3 that had a really good signal in Truist.
Playing with the pattern with the phasor and power divider--and the know-how to do that--I get that that won't come cheap. Plus lawyers for the FCC red tape. But we are talking about possibly the second-best AM signal in town and the only other one with significant ratings--probably the only other one with ANY ratings that doesn't lean hard on a translator.
The layout is a 4 x 2 array ( Google Maps ). It's surrounded by homes, a water treatment plant, a creek, and more floodplain plus wetlands (!). Obviously they're not going to get more/different land--not going to happen. They're locked in land-wise, both physically and monetarily. But what would that get them anyway that playing with the phasor wouldn't?
As far as additional listenership goes, there are large chunks of Cobb and Gwinnett that can't get 680 at night. It's not just folks at the ballpark with a transistor radio.
The real question, is what can be done with Sylva out of the way while still protecting Memphis and Raleigh? That's where your ROI might break down. It might not be much.
It would be a small change in audience. Raleigh and Sylva are pretty close radially from the transmitter in "North Atlanta". The radial to Silva is 31 degrees, the radial to Raleigh is 67 degrees. There is also a co-channel that needs protected in Williamsburg, KY, on a 2 degree radial. (In the above, due north = 0, due east = 90)
Because of those limitations, absolutely nothing could be done for Cobb. You might be able to cover a bit of Gwinnett.
Yeah, I was thinking that re: Cobb because nothing has changed there (at least not recently).
The null over Gwinnett is pretty big WCNN-AM Radio Station Coverage Map . I wonder how hard it would be to squeeze some signal in there with Sylva gone and Raleigh still in place. The Williamsburg station is a class B, but only 770W day and 830W (DA, north-south) night. WCTT-AM Radio Station Coverage Map . Not a lot to protect.
It looks like with Sylva out of the way a pie piece east of 400 (to protect KY) and west of I-85+I-985 might be attainable. That would pick up some attractive parts of Gwinnett, Forsyth, and Hall counties, including the lake. The part of Gwinnett along and south of 316 and out towards Chateau Elan that doesn't already have coverage is probably out of luck, as it is on the beeline to Raleigh.
I checked the first-adjacents, and the only thing NE of town is a daytimer in VA. WRJR-AM 670 kHz - Claremont, VA
Something I just realized: the ballpark should be getting a decent signal per Radio-Locator (YMMV). Is the issue really coverage or massive RFI at the ballpark?
Georgia Tech had a problem with cell signals at Grant Field, and the culprit was a scoreboard that was spewing massive amounts of RFI. When that was fixed, the problem went away. Prior to that Verizon and others were bringing in portable cell towers on gameday.
No, it’s not massive RFI at the ballpark. It’s the null in the signal. Try listening in a car around there.
Roddy, as others have noted the main nighttime null to the WNW is designed to protect 680 in Memphis (WMFS). By the time you rotate some 30-45 degrees CCW towards Truist Park (12.75 miles away from the center of the array), the pattern should be throwing at least 10 KW in that direction. The day pattern uses just two towers for some very gentle nulls; and should be blasting plenty of signal toward Truist.
The daytime signal is fine at Truist.
Now if they would just change the RDS
That’s alright, Sean Hannity comes on the air at 3pm ET on WGST-AM 720 The Voice. You can tune in (if you can pick it up on your radio) or stream it!