Re: WJIB Night-time power

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

In due course, another Toronto station will occupy 740. Bet on it! It may
be one of the existing stations--most likely CHUM (currently on 1050)--but
it might also be a new station. If CHUM moves to 740 (and CFRB moves to
860, the frequency from which CJBC bumped it back in the 40s), there will
be a big game of musical chairs with Toronto area stations moving up to
better facilities. All of the Toronto AMs are 50 kW (only CHIN 1540 is less
than 50 kW at night), but the facilities are far from equal.

And even if 740 in Toronto were to remain vacant (which won't happen for
very long), no US station could improve its facilites. Canada maintains the
right to use every AM allocation it ever had, and even though the country
is phasing out AM, it shows no sign of giving up any of those allocations.
US stations must protect those allocations just as if there were stations
on them.

What I find more interesting is whether the new occupants of 740 and 860 in
Toronto will continue for very long to transmit from the existing shared
740/860 facility. One of the CBC's complaints was that, with the growth of
interference in Toronto, the nondirectional signals emanating from a point
northwest of downtown Toronto were inaudible in the main business district.
All the rest of the Toronto AMs are directional to the north and east and
transmit from sites south and west of the city. Quite a few are on the
south shore of Lake Ontario. From there, the signals reach the city over a
fresh water path. Fresh water is nowhere near as good a conductor of AM
signals as salt water is, but it is still pretty good. Were the new
occupants of 740 and 860 to directionalize their signals (not to protect
other stations but to put a better signal into Toronto from a relatively
distant site), WJIB and all other US stations on those frequencies would be
likely to receive less nighttime interference, although reduced
interference is hardly a sure thing.
- ----------
> From: Sven Weil <sven@lily.org>
> To: Boston-Radio-Interest <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
> Subject: WJIB Night-time power
> Date: Saturday, September 05, 1998 12:55 PM
> 
> When  the CBC  station in Toronto that's at 740 AM stops trans-
> mitting, does this open the door for increased 
> nighttime power for WJIB, or will the Canadian 740 allocation
> be privatised?
> 
> The BBC - over the last few years - did something similar,
> changing their Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 3 services to 
> FM only. They then privatized the AMs: Virgin Radio-1215 AM,
> Talk Radio-1053 & 1089 AM (formerly Radio 1), etc. 
 

- -------------------------------
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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