• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

WSFW 1110AM traded for W214BR

A

aaronread

NERW reports that Finger Lakes Radio Group is trading WSFW 1110AM for Calvary Chapel's W214BR 90.7FM. That's the Twin Falls, Idaho version, not the Calvary Chapel of the Finger Lakes (which also owns a lot of broadcast properties 'round these parts). Given FLRG's past actions, I'd assume they'll I.F. the translator up into the commercial band at the very least, and either relay WGVA 1240 on it...or maybe move it and augment one of their FM's.

There's an apparent disparity between the signals: WSFW is a daytimer with zero night power, but a killer signal during the day...Utica to Rochester...and W214BR is only 10 watts on a dicey frequency sandwiched between WBER and WSQG. But in this case I think this deal really puts the signals on equal footing. FLRG is known for smart use of FM translators to augment their AM stations, and their FM's, too. And while the "Finger Lakes Visitors Channel" was a shrewd and clever idea, I have to think it's damn hard for a daytime-only AM to survive in this economy (especially this far north, when you're off the air for half of drive time for half the year) but as part of the larger Calvary Chapel network that shouldn't be as much of a problem.
 
I hear that Calvary Programming will start on 1110 on December 1. Question is: Will they relay KAWZ TwinFalls, ID, or, will they relay whatever’s left of CSN New York.

--The Radio Kid
(Oswego, NY.)
My email: [email protected].
 
aaronread said:
WSFW is a daytimer with zero night power, but a killer signal during the day...Utica to Rochester...and W214BR is only 10 watts on a dicey frequency sandwiched between WBER and WSQG. But in this case I think this deal really puts the signals on equal footing. FLRG is known for smart use of FM translators to augment their AM stations, and their FM's, too. And while the "Finger Lakes Visitors Channel" was a shrewd and clever idea, I have to think it's damn hard for a daytime-only AM to survive in this economy (especially this far north, when you're off the air for half of drive time for half the year).
Click to expand...

The company I work for refuses to purchase airtime on a daytime radio station. The boss says it is a waste of money especially during months where the station goes off the air around 4:30-5:30.

Lately the boss philosophy has also been to stay away from voice-track automated stations because, and these are his words, they sound like shi**Y jukeboxes with commercials jammed together that our product is aired next to a competitor's.
 
The Voice of Reason said:
The company I work for refuses to purchase airtime on a daytime radio station. The boss says it is a waste of money especially during months where the station goes off the air around 4:30-5:30.

Lately the boss philosophy has also been to stay away from voice-track automated stations because, and these are his words, they sound like shi**Y jukeboxes with commercials jammed together that our product is aired next to a competitor's.
Click to expand...

Hopefully the boss knows which "daytimers" no longer shut down at sunset, thanks to the fulltime FM translator provision. Do you know where he/she gets this information?

I still have my doubts as to Arbitron's complete understanding of the new rules.
 
I hear that Calvary Programming will start on 1110 on December 1. Question is: Will they relay KAWZ TwinFalls, ID, or, will they relay whatever’s left of CSN New York
Click to expand...

Presumably it'll relay WIFF for as long as CSN (NY) still owns it. (shrugs)
 
aaronread said:
I hear that Calvary Programming will start on 1110 on December 1. Question is: Will they relay KAWZ TwinFalls, ID, or, will they relay whatever’s left of CSN New York
Click to expand...

Presumably it'll relay WIFF for as long as CSN (NY) still owns it. (shrugs)
Click to expand...

CSN NY and Calvary Satellite Network are only distantly related, and it's the latter that owns W214BR and is swapping it for WSFW. I would imagine WSFW will be carrying the same Twin Falls-based programming now heard on W214BR.
 
Well, I can't say which CSN service will ultimately be heard on 1110 AM, but I can tell you what they were running all day on their first day as a CSN station. A dead carrier. Also, I believe the timing for the start up and shut down of the transmitter is a bit off. It was well past 5 o'clock when the carrier finally went off.
 
This is getting interesting. As of today, the tourist info programming was back on 1110. Meanwhile, 90.7 is dark. Not sure when they switched it off, or even if it's off the air for good. They were off for a while on Monday night, but back on yesterday.
 
Just curious. Why doesn't WSFW have any pre dawn or post sunset or even 3 watts at night? Who are they protecting that extreme?
And wouldn't a station like that be first in line for a FM translator?
 
Because they're within the nighttime protected contour of WBT, so they are a "true daytimer" due to their status on a clear channel. And, sure, WSFW can get a translator. All they have to do is buy one, a la WCJW.
Wanna be "first in line?" Be the first one there with the check.
 
Just curious. Why doesn't WSFW have any pre dawn or post sunset or even 3 watts at night? Who are they protecting that extreme?
And wouldn't a station like that be first in line for a FM translator?
Click to expand...

Others can assuredly answer the first question better than I can from a technical standpoint, although I assume the simple answer is that there's no way to add night power without running afoul of some other signal, somewhere. Either way, or the only way to add night power would be to use a DA that's too complicated and directional to be worth it.

But from a practical perspective, having a smidgen of nighttime power only works if you're in a densely populated area, which Seneca Falls sure ain't. The town and village combined are fewer than 10,000 people IIRC. That's too few people to justify the substantial cost of adding nighttime power...even if it's a one-time cost. For that same reason, an FM translator wouldn't help much; even a powerful translator (which you couldn't fit in the crowded FM dial 'round these parts) would only reach SF, Waterloo and parts of Geneva and possibly a little of Auburn. At most you're talking 30,000 people.

Plus it'd be rather incongruous with their daytime signal, which is way bigger than it looks on Radio-Locator...on good days it stretches from Utica to Rochester, Ithaca to Lake Ontario. If WSFW were located in a high pop-density area, that wouldn't matter as much...but again, they're not.

To go further, for the Finger Lakes Visitors Channel programming concept, the reduced night power and/or FM translator really doesn't work because visitors aren't necessarily staying or even travelling through SF after dark. In fact, odds are good that even if WSFW had full power at night, with the FLVC programming their listeners would still all be during the day.

This is getting interesting. As of today, the tourist info programming was back on 1110. Meanwhile, 90.7 is dark. Not sure when they switched it off, or even if it's off the air for good. They were off for a while on Monday night, but back on yesterday.
Click to expand...

Someone probably rebooted the computer. ::) CSN is back on 90.7 and FLVC is on 1110AM as of 11:49am on Thursday.
 
Savage said:
Because they're within the nighttime protected contour of WBT, so they are a "true daytimer" due to their status on a clear channel.
Click to expand...

This is exactly the problem.

In central NY, WBT's nighttime skywave service remains fully protected from local co-channel stations, so WSFW is not allowed any power after sunset -- but adjacent-channel IBOC hash from WTAM 1100 in Cleveland and KMOX 1120 in St Louis bleeds all over 1110 with impunity.

As many of you remember, 99.3 WSFW-FM was essentially a 3 kW "translator" of the AM for about 20 years, but those twins have been separated.

In western NY, WRVA's 0.5 mV/m skywave contour is also fully protected, which explains why WCJW has never been authorized night service on 1140. FM translators offered the only practical solution, one that has worked out quite well.
 
by the way talking about wsfw did everone hear that their long time voice bob appel passesd away recently i heard this from a friend who lives in s.f. but did not hear what was wrong with him i used to hang with him at the station all the time when i lived their he was a pretty cool dude did not have a voice for radio for radio but everyone loved him and everybody knew him
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom