There were several service interruptions on the station last Wednesday. I thought they were switching over but I was in NE Atlanta near the 94.9/96.1 tower and 95.5 was getting eaten up as usual by the two adjacent stations. So I assume they are still on the Chateau Elan tower. I’m still trying to figure out how all three stations will behave after the 95-5 move in town. I’m curious if there will be any interference issues.
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WSBB-FM Transmitter Move
- Thread starter BarryATL
- Start date
There were several service interruptions on the station last Wednesday. I thought they were switching over but I was in NE Atlanta near the 94.9/96.1 tower and 95.5 was getting eaten up as usual by the two adjacent stations. So I assume they are still on the Chateau Elan tower. I’m still trying to figure out how all three stations will behave after the 95-5 move in town. I’m curious if there will be any interference issues.
The humidity has cause some “e skip” lately. There is a map: http://aprs.mennolink.org/ that shows VHF conditions. 100.5 has been unlistenable north of Canton for several hours a day for a week. There seems to be another station with a “K” in their call letters messing with the (RDS) along with the usual WSSL interference. I can’t find a DXing section on this web site. Years ago I stumbled onto a DXing tread and the folks posting knew a lot about the subject.
IIRC due to the fact that 95.5 is an “old” FM station. It has a different set of “interference / spacing” standards. I am sure there is somebody lurking on this board that can give a “correct official” explanation. There are areas that have lot FM signals (translators too) like Phoenix. I know the translators are “taking a lot of interference” but this has to have some kind of effect on the regular stations. I doubt the “scan” function on FM radios goes very few channels before stopping.
https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/l...s_fx=Y&format=&dx=3&radius=30&freq=&sort=freq
I am sure iHeart will monitor this very closely owning both 94.9 and 96.1. If I were Cox I would keep 95.5 mono, possibly limiting the audio bandwidth to 11 or 12 Khz, and not do HD until I had the “license to cover”.
IIRC due to the fact that 95.5 is an “old” FM station. It has a different set of “interference / spacing” standards. I am sure there is somebody lurking on this board that can give a “correct official” explanation. There are areas that have lot FM signals (translators too) like Phoenix. I know the translators are “taking a lot of interference” but this has to have some kind of effect on the regular stations. I doubt the “scan” function on FM radios goes very few channels before stopping.
https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/l...s_fx=Y&format=&dx=3&radius=30&freq=&sort=freq
I am sure iHeart will monitor this very closely owning both 94.9 and 96.1. If I were Cox I would keep 95.5 mono, possibly limiting the audio bandwidth to 11 or 12 Khz, and not do HD until I had the “license to cover”.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forumdisplay.php?769-DX-and-Reception
(hidden in "Specialty")
Curious as to when you heard this? I listened at 10am and 1pm today and heard the same TOH/Legal ID sequence as normal, with the WSBB ID up front and the WSB ID hidden in the middle. I believe you -- I'm just wondering when it ran.
I know there is some kind of third-adjacent spacing exemption among 94.9, 95.5, and 96.1 where they can be as close together as they want. I think they were grandfathered based on the fact that they were all on the air prior to a new (in 1964) rule.
I heard them run the new ID right before 9AM, which is when Atlanta's Morning News ends and the 9 o'clock news starts. My impression was they ran it them to convey the impression that while AMN was ending, the news on WSB throughout the day is continuous.
Ahhh that makes sense. I'm on the air until 9, which explains why I've never heard it.
I hear the building construction will not be finished by the time the antenna is ready so it will be a while longer until 95.5 fires up the intown site. But it won't be long...
Thanks for the intel, Mr. Wavo.
Question: I once visited Star 94's room at the site. Will 95.5 have its own room, or will it share a room with B98.5 or someone else?
I’ve been told sometime this week, possibly as early as Wednesday, the “AM 750” portion of the branding will be dropped. It will be “News 95-5 WSB” only.
They’re keeping the simulcast, just dropping references to AM 750 on air, outside of legal ID, I suppose.
Perhaps that’s a sign of progress with the intown WSBB transmitter site?
They’re keeping the simulcast, just dropping references to AM 750 on air, outside of legal ID, I suppose.
Perhaps that’s a sign of progress with the intown WSBB transmitter site?
If they keep using their same TOH sweeper, it could read something like this:
"WSBB-FM Doraville, a Cox Media Group Station...95.5 FM WSB Atlanta's News, Talk, and Whatever Station"
The "WSB Atlanta" is the TOH ID for the AM.
Correct.
The current top of the hour sequence is as follows:
“WSBB-FM Doraville. A Cox Media Group Station. This is Atlanta’s 24 hour news, weather and traffic. News 95-5 and AM 750 WSB. Atlanta’s news starts now.”
Literally all they would have to do would be remove the words “and AM 750” from their current top of the hour sequence to accomplish what they want. The long-standing method of sneaking in the legal ID for the AM would remain, but now without making an explicit reference to the AM portion of the simulcast by omitting the 750 reference.
I am hopeful that’s all they do. I know portions of that top of the hour sequence have been around for 20+ years. Maybe it’s the nostalgia, but I like it.
If they're continuing the simulcast, I'm not understanding what they would gain by dropping the reference to the AM. I realize most people who listen to AM do so out of habit and will continue to do so. But, it's possible they would keep some more listeners by mentioning the AM. Am I missing something?
I am not sure if they could use “WSB” alone without some listener confusion, if there is a WSB FM and WSB AM in Atlanta playing something else. The simplest thing would be for 98.5* and 95.5 to swap call letters and COL’s. Then they could easily program 750 something else. Could they change 750’s call letters (if they sell it or reprogram it) and 95.5 could become (WSB Atlanta) assuming it become WSB FM first?
*IIRC 98.5 only uses WSB FM for their station ID. Of course they would have to get caller 10’s permission
*IIRC 98.5 only uses WSB FM for their station ID. Of course they would have to get caller 10’s permission
But is there really any listener confusion? Listeners looking for "WSB" identify that branding with news and talk, and with 95.5 and 750. Ask anyone listening to hot AC what they're hearing on 98.5 and the answer will surely be "B98.5," not "WSB-FM."
And even if there were confusion, it won't affect the ratings in the PPM era. Anyone listening to 98.5 is having their listening correctly attributed to WSB-FM, just as 750/95.5 listeners are correctly attributed to WSB/WSBB-FM. There's no longer any diary misattribution.
Can Cox move WSB-FM to a different station anyway? I know some folks have gotten special dispensation from the FCC regarding moving or bringing back 3-letter callsigns, but I thought there ordinarily were restrictions on moving them without losing them.
No, there's no confusion. It would just be easier to ID as WSB FM & AM Atlanta than WSBB-FM Doraville, WSB Atlanta. And since 98.5 doesn't use its calls except in the TOH ID, the station could still be B98.5.
WSB FM and AM Atlanta would not be a legal ID. It would have to be WSB, WSB-FM Atlanta
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