RE: Let's Talk About Transmitters, part 2

["Hakim Madjid" <HMadjid@mindspring.com>]

Dan,

Of course the WLAW claim of 'The Most Powerful Station in New England'
was/is one of these loaded PR / advertising phrases. Just like 'Most
Listened To' radio program, or 'Largest Selling Product', - these phrases
really don't mean much.

73, de Hakim (N1ZFF)

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org
[mailto:owner-boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org]On Behalf Of Dan
Strassberg
Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2001 10:46 AM
To: boston-radio-interest@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu; Donna Halper
Subject: Re: Let's Talk About Transmitters, part 2


Donna: There was no basis for WLAW's claim of being _the_ most powerful
station in New England. Besides WBZ, WTIC also ran 50 kW-U. Even on the
basis of the arcane parameter of inverse-distance field at 1 mile, WBZ won.
With their more efficient half-wave towers, both WBZ and WTIC were, in
effect, more powerful than WLAW. WLAW's towers were only 109.5 degrees and
hence, on an equivalent-power power basis, no more than 75% as effiicient as
WBZ's and WTIC's. (And I assume that the top section of the center tower was
still in place. It was later removed for a top-mounted FM antenna and never
replaced when the FM--on 93.7--went dark.)

And then, there was WBZ's claim that, in combination with synchronized WBZA
Springfield, it was America's only 51,000W AM station. Later, WBZ recognized
that WBT Charlotte NC on 1110 also had a 1 kW synchronous TX (in Shelby NC).
The Shelby TX, which did not have separate calls as WBZA did, operated at
night only for null fill-in.

Although WBT's Shelby TX is, like WBZA, long dark, KKOB (770) in Albuquerque
NM, which also runs 50 kW-U, still operates a 1 kW synchronous TX in Santa
Fe NM. Like WBT's synchronous TX, KKOB's synchronous TX operates at night
only for null fill-in and does not have separate calls. The KKOB synchronous
TX diplexes with one of the full-time stations licensed to Santa Fe. So
America still has one "51,000W" AM.

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