Re: WCAP/WTRY (was: WSRO/let's be civil.../community radio...)

[Douglas Broda <dougbroda@mindspring.com>]

As far as I know, WTRY (AM) has been required to use the same strength and
pattern from the same towers forever. (Or at least for many years.) Directional
nights 5kw from 3 towers, 5kw non-directional days. My recollection is that the
night pattern is weaker to the east, though I'm not 100% sure of that. The
towers are in the Town of Niskayuna, Schenectady County, NY -- barely inside the
eastern town line, just off Route 7.

At least to a local listener, there's been no recent change in night strength
audible to the naked ear, including in the eastern end of the market area,
though I know that can be quite deceiving. :)

Bill O'Neill wrote:

> Dan writes:
>
> >I haven't run the numbers, but I would be surprised if WCAP's signal to the
> >southeast at night were as _low_ as 6.4 kW equivalant. My guess is that
> it's
> >more like 20 kW equivalent.
>
> Could the 6.4 kW figure be a night ERP average of some sort?  I recall
> seeing that number somewhere at the XMTR literature.
>
> However, WCAP gets some really wicked nighttime
> >and daytime skywave interference from WTRY and at least one other
> station--I
> >think a French-language station in eastern Canada (CBV Quebec City?).
>
> I definitely sense that WTRY signal is a lot stronger here than in days past
> (although, to my knowledge, no changes have been authorize.)  During off
> overnights, pre-sunrise, WTRY kicked in on the mod monitor (with obviously
> low s/n).  Could WCAP's talk format result in lower average modulation,
> thereby enabling WTRY to squeeze by easier than in the former music days
> when the modulation was  maxed out?
>
> >Surprisingly, WWRC in DC, which is a very old station that now runs 50 kW
> >during the day, does not seem to interfere significantly with WCAP.
>
> What is the history and status of WTRY's contour's D/N? Have there been any
> changes?
>
> Bill O'Neill



- --
Douglas J. Broda
Broda and Burnett
Attorneys at Law
80 Ferry Street
Troy, New York 12180
(518) 272-0580
Fax: (518) 272-0381
dougbroda@mindspring.com

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