WYSL on FM

[The Voice of Reason]

I just finished reading a story on www.fybush.com in which Scott writes that WYSL 1040 will soon be broadcasting on 92.1 FM by early 2010.

That's great news, especially for those of us who can't hear 1040 during the evening hours thanks to the "hissing sound" coming from WBZ in Boston.

Congratulations to Mr. Savage and staff and I hope this new FM will bring your operation even more success.

 

[cee]

Fybush.com says WYSL is buying the 92.1 translator from Family Life Network. I wouldn't have guessed those religious broadcasters would part with any of their translators. As the greater Rochester radio dial has way too many religious stations, this is welcome news.

 

[umtrr-author]

I also just read this in Scott's column... congratulations and best of luck to one of the "good guys".

 

[Ed Trefzger]

Fybush.com says WYSL is buying the 92.1 translator from Family Life Network. I wouldn't have guessed those religious broadcasters would part with any of their translators. As the greater Rochester radio dial has way too many religious stations, this is welcome news.

Many religious organizations -- not just dubious or fringe ones, but those doing some real good for their communities -- have been hit hard by the economic downturn. Many local churches are ending the year with a budget shortfall as their members have faced layoffs and other hardships. So I guess the sale of translators here and elsewhere is not too surprising in light of that.

 

[Bob1370]

Next step in the continuing evolution of the WYSL story is to see what Bob Savage brings to the table when he fires up that new 2500-watt companion signal on 1220 in the next year or two. Lots of currently unclaimed programming territory, from standards to "true oldies"...

 

[cee]

Many religious organizations -- not just dubious or fringe ones, but those doing some real good for their communities -- have been hit hard by the economic downturn. Many local churches are ending the year with a budget shortfall as their members have faced layoffs and other hardships. So I guess the sale of translators here and elsewhere is not too surprising in light of that.

Now the reason there are so many religious translators on the air everywhere(especially here in greater Rochester) is because of some special loophole in their favor? That is, one religious group can own one "real station" in just one market and then apply for translators in any other market where they might be available?? Yet with commercial AM's & FM's, you can only apply for an FM translator in your own area? Is that correct?

 

[Savage]

Drat! Phooey! Timing is everything! If I'd waited a few more weeks I could have used that $75,000 to buy Citadel....haw, haw.... ;D

Hey, everyone, thanks for the kind sentiments and best wishes to all for a great Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Ramadan season and a terrific '10 !!

RCS

 

[Mark Giardina]

Next step in the continuing evolution of the WYSL story is to see what Bob Savage brings to the table when he fires up that new 2500-watt companion signal on 1220 in the next year or two. Lots of currently unclaimed programming territory, from standards to "true oldies"...

In anticipation of 1220 AM and a possible new format, I've been brushing up on my spanish by listening to Desi Arnaz records just in case. ;D

 

[dustintv]

Congrats to Mr. Savage getting WYSL! I think it will be nice to have a news/talker on FM radio here in Rochester. I wonder if Savage has thought of expanding Nojay's show to a later afternoon block or expanding local morning operations.

 

[SirRoxalot]

If radio-locator is anywhere near accurate, it looks like the CP for the new translator location will cover the city of Rochester nicely. Good for you!

 

[therealjm12]

Next step in the continuing evolution of the WYSL story is to see what Bob Savage brings to the table when he fires up that new 2500-watt companion signal on 1220 in the next year or two. Lots of currently unclaimed programming territory, from standards to "true oldies"...

Or how about bringing Stephanie Miller & Ed. Schultz back to the market on a signal people can get?

 

[Play Freebird]

Now the reason there are so many religious translators on the air everywhere(especially here in greater Rochester) is because of some special loophole in their favor? That is, one religious group can own one "real station" in just one market and then apply for translators in any other market where they might be available?? Yet with commercial AM's & FM's, you can only apply for an FM translator in your own area? Is that correct? [

Yes -- non-commercial FM licensees (such as Family Life, WZXV, WSKG -- and WXXI if they desired) are allowed to own and operate translators outside the 60 dBu contour of the primary station, provided that the signal delivery method complies with applicable rules. This "loophole" allows extension of coverage at minimal cost, so it encouraged non-comm groups to begin applying for translator licenses years ago. Non-comms are also exempt from FCC fees, so many groups filed multiple applications proposing service to the same area in an attempt to reduce the chances of mutual exclusivity.

On the other hand, commercial licensees are allowed to operate translators only within the predicted service contour of the primary station (60 dBu for Class A FM, 54 dBu for Class B FM, and 2 mV/m for AM) to fill in "dead spots" where coverage from the primary transmitter is inadequate -- for example, WRQI's former 95.5 translator in Rochester (which was in operation when the main 95.1 site was in South Bristol) and WLKK's 107.3 in Buffalo. Because coverage extension is expressly prohibited, there's less reason for these operators to spend money constructing a facility to provide duplicate service unless it's an AM with nighttime coverage issues.

The Family Life people apparently realized that the 91.9 Greece translator was largely duplicating service of their Spencerport and Brighton signals, and they're using the proceeds of the sale to pay for expansion of coverage into some eastern Pennsylvania markets.

 

[Lee Rust]

RCS... nice move!

Are you going to bother with stereo? Better coverage without it.

How about HD? I hear it works better on FM.

 

[cee]

Freebird - thanks for the explanation. I've always wondered about this.

 

[qman]

Congratulations Mr. Savage on your purchase of the 92.1 translater. hopefully I'll be able to receive it out here in Brockport as I'm not able to get 1040 @ night.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Props on the investment, counselor. I hope it yields great dividends. As Monty Burns might say, "Exxxcellent!"

 

[aaronread]

@PlayFreebird: the other reason is that translators in the reserved band (87.9 to 91.9FM) are allowed to receive their program feed by pretty much any means; phone, satellite, internet, etc...whereas translators in the commercial band (92.1 to 107.9FM) must receive their program feed via Over The Air (OTA) reception.

Legally, exactly what OTA reception means is somewhat vague...I think technically you CAN have OTA reception then feeding a 1000ft of audio wire to the transmitter. Although if the FCC caught wind of it, you'd probably need to have a compelling reason to do something like that. And I know of a few commercial-band translators that're claiming OTA reception of a signal so distant they must be full of hooey...and in reality they're probably using satellite or something else. I've heard second- and third-hand that the problem is surprisingly widespread. (shrugs) But with reserved-band translators, it's a non-issue...hence why there's been such huge demand for them.

Anyways, the key reason why you see so many RELIGIOUS translators (and full-power reserved-band signals, too) is because you often have a nationally-organized church that uses local parishes to apply for and get the license. That's a degree of organization and funding only seen in one other not-for-profit entity and that's NPR...which, as you can imagine, also has a lot of translators and full-power stations in the reserved band.

FWIW, I believe Bob's signal will be 99 watts from Pinnacle Hill...considering 92.1 is a relatively "clear" frequency that ought to cover Rochester pretty nicely, especially for in-car listening. In-home clock radios? Not so much...but I'd assume Bob's more interested in the in-car and at-work audiences anyways?

 

[Bob1370]

"FWIW, I believe Bob's signal will be 99 watts from Pinnacle Hill...considering 92.1 is a relatively "clear" frequency that ought to cover Rochester pretty nicely, especially for in-car listening. In-home clock radios? Not so much...but I'd assume Bob's more interested in the in-car and at-work audiences anyways?"

I doubt he's going to expect much listening beyond the Monroe County line in either direction anyway, since on 92.1 to the east there's already a 25 kW class-B1 co-channel classic hits station from the Syracuse metro (WSEN-FM) that's audible in Perinton, Penfield, Victor, Canandaigua and points east. To the west on 92.1 there'll be a 6 kW co-channel class-A noncomm in Amherst/ Buffalo in the next couple of years, with construction to start as soon as the Feds get around to sifting through the pile of applicants and issuing somebody a CP. (That one could be either a null-filler for WNED-AM, a second service for SUNY Buffalo to expand the programming menu that's now on WBFO, or whatever one of the other colleges cares to offer as either a student-run signal or alternative to the main pubcasters...stay tuned...) Depending on where they put the tower for that one, it could wind up knocking on the door in the western burbs.

Given that the Pinnacle Hill 92.1 signal will be so hemmed in by signals to both the east and the west, I wonder if it'll be on that channel for long, or eventually move someplace else...I guess the old 95.5 repeater the Fox used to have up there is no longer usable since the main transmitter for WFXF moved to Baker Hill, but could there be some channel further up the FM commercial band that might be kicked around less?

 

[aaronread]

A Class-A FM from Buffalo isn't really going to impact Rochester much; too far away and too few watts...but I'd totally forgotten about WSEN. Still, the 40dBu contour doesn't quite reach the eastern border of Monroe county, so there's no way that Bob's translator will ever be forced off because of contour overlap. In theory there might be some WSEN listeners that would complain about the translator (and that would force Bob to move) but I doubt that; the hills east of Rochester probably provide excellent terrain shielding and that would both preclude any Monroe-county WSEN listeners AND make for a decent translator signal.

 

[jefflaurence]

Give any of the WSEN-Fm listeners (who complain) six bucks and they will go away