Re: WVCA then? WJIB now whats the difference?

["R.L. Caron" <k4gp@peganet.com>]

<<  How WRBB became 104.9 will always be open to debate, and WVCA was an
easy target because Geller simply could not afford the legal battle. >>

I don't believe WRBB was issued a license under any extra-legal
circumstances. Prior to 1978, the FCC issued hundreds of Class D FM licenses
with a power of 10 watts. Most of these were on the reserved portion of the
band below 92 mHz, but some who could not find space there were allowed to
apply for commercial channels.

WVCA's protected coutour extended to about 18 miles from Gloucester, and
WRBB's location was 25.7 miles away. 10 watts (for reasons I cannot explain,
the station now operates with 19 watts) would send a comparable signal to
about 2 miles, leaving a "buffer" zone of nearly 6 miles. Geller still could
have contested the assignment, or held it up for so long that Northeastern
probably would have gone frequency shopping again, but his obvious financial
limitations prevented this --and may have actually made "his" frequency more
attractive to the college than others assigned to more litigious
individuals.

When the FCC stopped issuing Class D licenses it encouraged existing
stations to upgrade to at least Class A status, and many did. About 121
Class Ds were unable to do so due to frequency congestion, and WRBB is one
of those. I don't know how many of the 121 are still on commercial channels,
but I suspect it's not a large number.

WBOQ operates with 1550 watts at 446 feet HAAT, which I believe makes it a
maximum facility Class A under current rules.

There may be more to the story, but I can assure you the FCC didn't create
the 104.9 allocation in Boston to block any "marketing" schemes by the
Gloucester station.