Re: Salem in Seattle

[Dan Strassberg <dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net>]

At 11:28 PM 5/31/98 EDT, you wrote:
>In a message dated 98-05-29 00:08:57 EDT, dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net
>writes:
>
><< 
> It's unlike Salem not to be thorough, but the idea of moving 890 to Medford
> has all the earmarks of a half baked idea that was not clearly thought
> out--not by a longshot. >>
>Out of all of these ideas, I think it's more likely that Salem would find a TX
>site between Ashland and Boston....  possibly the 850 site in Needham.   After
>all, they HAVE been known to rent from time to time.   The 850 site would
>givethem a solid Boston signal, and would cure the Brunswick/Nashua problem if
>beaming east only into Boston.   However, cross-modulation may result from the
>850/890 combo.  But we've all previously discussed 850 going to the 680 site.
>Any more ideas on this?
>---jibguy
>
A move of 890 to Needham might work under two conditions. 1) WEEI would have
to diplex with 680. 2) The town of Needham would have to allow more towers
at the 850 site.

As you observed, 850 and 890 are too close in frequency to diplex. And the
WRKO towers are really far apart for 850. Moreover, it's not clear that the
town of Burlington would allow more towers at the WRKO site. So the
technical issue with an 850 move to Burlington is whether it's possible to
get a suitable pattern at 850 from WRKO's existing widely spaced towers. I
also suspect that, from Needham, WBPS might have to use less than its
current 25 kW daytime to protect WCLZ and WCBS. Nevertheless, the signal in
Boston would be better than it is now.

Now here's a more interesting speculation. Could WEZE move to the Needham
site and still protect WTAG? I think the answer is almost certainly yes.
WEZE could use the three existing WEEI towers. The two new ones that would
be necessary for WBPS would be too close to the existing towers to permit
their use at 590. (One new tower would go between the existing west and
center towers; the second would go between the existing east and center
towers.) Using three towers, WEZE could probably increase its power day
power and night. Moving WEZE to Needham would put both of Salem's local AMs
at the same site, so Salem could save the rent on the Medford site. Sometime
in the late 60s or early 70s, CBS applied to move the then WEEI 590 to the
then WHDH 850 site in Needham. The FCC shot down the application because
WEEI, which was then limited to 5 kW, could not deliver the required 25 mV/m
to downtown Boston. But since 25 mV/m is no longer a requirement and since
some power increase would probably be possible, WEZE could now make the
move. However, even with higher power, WEZE's signal would suffer in many
areas. Good as the Needham site is, it lacks Medford site's salt-water path
to Cape Cod, and Needham is quite a bit further from New Hampsire than
Medford is. The one area where the signal would improve is between 128 and
Medford. But WEZE's signal is already OK in that area.  

- -------------------------------
Dan Strassberg (Note: Address is CASE SENSITIVE!)
ALL _LOWER_ CASE!!!--> dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net
(617) 558-4205; Fax (617) 928-4205

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