Re: WNNW-AM 1110 on at night 4/19

["Dan Strassberg" <Dan.Strassberg@worldnet.att.net>]

Well, the rules for first-adjacent protections on AM have been tightened
since WADN (now WBNW) first received its CP. (Actually, the first
calls--never heard on the air; they were changed well before sign-on--were
WWCC, for Walden Communications Corp.) I very much doubt whether the Concord
station could have been authorized under current rules, and since WNNW had
applied to move to 1120 with 10 kW-D/1 kW-N DA-N, the Salem station would be
on 1120 full-time. Moreover, WNNW would not have to cheat to serve what is
now its primary market--Lawrence. (Although I have little doubt that WNNW
would be using its day facilities all night; that seems to be the owner's
pattern.)

But WNNW is (or is supposed to be) directional to the north to protect the
co-channel station in Provdence (now WPMZ) and, I guess, to protect WBT from
daytime skywave. The designers of WADN took advantage of that protection
(and the Providence station's protection of WNNW, which began when
Providence increased its day power from 1 kW-D to 5 kW-D and became
directional). WADN's day pattern is deeply nulled to the north to protect
WNNW and somewhat nulled to the south to protect WPMZ. The largest lobe is
to the east-southeast, toward Boston, and there is a pretty strong lobe in
the opposite direction--toward Fitchburg. The lobe to the east-southeast is
not strong enough to interfere with WAMG on 1150, although my guess is that
the designers of 1120 didn't figure on just how "not strong enough" the
signal would be. I suspect that they had no idea how poor the soil
conductivity was in the former gravel pit in east Acton that they found as a
TX site. Finding any site in that area was quite a task. The residents of
the Acton-Concord area are not friendly to "ugly" structures like towers.
The negotiations with the zoning board took years. Actually, if you visit
the site, you will find that, despite the area's reputation for natural
beauty, it had been spoiled long before the radio station got there. The
station abuts a really ugly industrial park.

--

Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net
Phone: 1-617-558-4205, eFax: 1-707-215-6367

-----Original Message-----
From: A. Joseph Ross <lawyer@world.std.com>
To: Dan Strassberg <Dan.Strassberg@worldnet.att.net>
Cc: boston-radio-interest@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu
<boston-radio-interest@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu>
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2000 1:47 AM
Subject: Re: WNNW-AM 1110 on at night 4/19


On 21 Apr 2000,  Dan Strassberg wrote:

> The stations are only 20 miles apart!

How did the FCC ever authorize stations so close together like that?