RE: BUR-GBH

["Aaron [Bishop] Read" <aread@speakeasy.net>]

Yes and no...there are lots of places all over metro Boston that folks with 
less-than-good radios cannot receive WGBH, or can't receive it well enough 
to bother listening.  The 96.3 translator is VERY weak and really only 
covers Beacon Hill (and a smidge of Cambridge along the Longfellow bridge), 
and only the north side of it at that.

WBUR has a similar problem - their signal covers a huge area but downtown 
(and a lot of the surrounding-metro) Boston often has a lot of problems 
receiving them.  I know that whenever the LAW tower transmitter is fired up 
(which only happens - and only CAN happen thanks to the way it's wired - 
when the primary Newton/FM-128 transmitter is down) that often they get 
calls from downtown listeners saying "Wow, reception is great 
today!  Whatever you're doing keep it up!"  and then some poor receptionist 
or engineer has to break the bad news to them  ;-)

For WGBH I can't say for sure off the top of my head if the move to 
Needham/Wellesley/FM-128 cluster is really worth it...they are gaining a 
LOT of height (remember that HAAT is, in a lot of ways, a meaningless 
number) a least a few hundred feet.   And the still will have a ton of 
power (WBUR covers most of eastern Mass & a hefty portion of NH and RI and 
they do it with only 7200 watts ERP)...I think that power will ensure they 
cover downtown Boston better than many of their follow FM-128 cluster friends.

- Aaron


At 01:07 PM 6/7/2002, Paul Hopfgarten wrote:
>I thought the TX at 96.3 (W242AA?) on Beacon Hill was supposed to take care
>of that?
>
>-Paul Hopfgarten
>-Derry NH
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org
> > [mailto:owner-boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org]On Behalf Of Aaron
> > [Bishop] Read
> > Sent: Friday, June 07, 2002 11:04 AM
> > To: bri@bostonradio.org
> > Subject: Re: BUR-GBH
> >
> >
> > At 08:31 AM 6/7/2002, you wrote:
> >
> > >Why is GBH-FM moving ?
> > >
> >
> > Their coverage of downtown Boston is terrible.
> >
> > ____________________________________________
> >
> > Aaron "Bishop" Read     aread@speakeasy.net
> > FriedBagels.com Technical Consulting
> > www.friedbagels.com   AOL-IM: ReadAaron
> >

____________________________________________
Aaron "Bishop" Read     aread@speakeasy.net
FriedBagels.com Technical Consulting
www.friedbagels.com   AOL-IM: ReadAaron