Re: 720kHz in Billerica

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

Yes, the CP was deleted several years ago for failure to construct, but more
recently reappeared. That _has_ to be an FCC error. (So what else is new?)
If the reinstated CP were real, it would conflict with Bob Vinokoor's CP for
720 in (I think) Claremont NH with 50 kW-D/500W-N DA-2. That CP, which is
much more recent (in fact, became possible only when the Billerica CP was
deleted), is in its own troubles because the town has, for "environmental"
reasons, refused to grant a building permit for the four-tower array.

The Billerica station would have used 1 kW-D (three towers) directionalized
to the northwest to protect WJIB and 500W night (three towers)
directionalized to the east to protect WGN. The CP must predate CHTN's move
to 720 because it provides no protection of CHTN. A total of five towers
would have been required and the parcel of land would have had to be quite
large. As has already been pointed out, the day and night coverage areas
would have barely overlapped.

I suppose that one solution to the coverage problem would have involved dual
sites. Assuming that the target market was _really_ Lowell, a day site in
Billerica and a night site west of Lowell could have worked--provided that
an interference-free  night signal actually reached the proposed COL (quite
a trick, I think). Of course, if finding one site was impossible, finding
two would have been doubly impossible.

I never knew who the permittee was, but my guess is that it was someone who
was planning to do brokered religion. I think that that's the only format
that could possibly have worked on a suburban AM with such technically
absurd facilities. I'm sure that Barry Armstrong (WBNW) had nothing to do
with the CP, but if it still existed and the land were available, and a
building permit could be obtained, he just might be interested in
it--provided the price were right. I think that's too many ifs, though.

Combined with Armstong's other stations (WBNW; WPLM, which he LMAs
almost full time; and soon WESO) I guess the signal might have made
some sense. WBNW is sharply nulled to the north by day to protect
WNNW and the 720 signal could have added daytime coverage north
of Concord. Also, with the relaxation of second-adjacent-channel
protection requirements, the daytime protection of WJIB could have been
considerably relaxed.

--

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

-----Original Message-----
From: Sptseditor@aol.com <Sptseditor@aol.com>
To: fitzradio@the-spa.com <fitzradio@the-spa.com>;
boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org
<boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
Date: Thursday, March 15, 2001 3:07 AM
Subject: Re: 720kHz in Billerica

>
>This was a permit which had to have been deleted at least five or six years
ago. From what I remember, it had an awful pattern. Dan Strassberg mentioned
here or on LTAR (or possibly both) that the station had markedly different
day and night patterns.
>
>I don't know who actually ever received a CP for Billerica; given the
modern-day expansion of the Boston suburbs, someone would be SOL if they
were to try to acquire any property which would be suitable for that
station's towers.