RE: Is WBOS on their backup TX?

["elipolo@earthlink.net" <elipolo@earthlink.net>]

> Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 08:52:49 -0400
> From: mamros@MIT.EDU (Shawn Mamros)
> Subject: Is WBOS on their backup TX?
>
> My girlfriend, who works in downtown Boston, listens to WBOS both at
> work and at home (in Arlington).  Lately, she's noticed that their
> reception has gone downhill, especially at work.  She's been able
> to pull it in better at home by moving the radio around, but it's
> still pretty lousy at work.
>
> Looking at the bostonradio.org and fcc.gov websites, I see that
> WBOS's primary TX is on the Pru (and has been since 2000), but
> they also have two licensed backup facilities out on 128 (one at
> 13 kW on the UHF candelabra, one at a mere 1.35 kW on FM-128).
>
> If WBOS were using one of their backups, it would certainly make
> sense given what my girlfriend is hearing.  Does anyone know if
> that is true and, if so, when/if they'll have their signal back
> on the Pru?  Thanks in advance for any info...
>
>- -Shawn Mamros

Well, WBOS is still completely wiping out WXRV 92.5 "The River" 
Haverhill on my poor-selectivity Sony digital Walkman here in the 
Somerville/Cambridge area.

The first thing I noticed when WBOS moved from 128 to the Pru in 
2000 was that suddenly I could no longer hear WXRV on lesser quality 
tuners such as Walkmans, boom-boxes and clock radios that previously 
got them here. WXRV still comes in fine on quality tuners such as my 
home and car stereo, but they're blanketed by WBOS on lesser tuners.

I also went out to West Newton last weekend with the same Walkman and 
could hear WXRV, though I was farther from them, I was also away from 
WBOS on the Pru. The Walkman couldn't get out WXRV in Newton when WBOS 
used to transmit there.

So, I'm guessing that WBOS is still transmitting from the Pru. Maybe 
they've been using the backup in Newton at certain times that I have 
not happened to catch, or maybe there's some other local interference 
issue at your girlfriend's workplace.

Though I've seen Greater Media representatives deny it, I still wonder 
if, in addition to simply giving better coverage and penetration of 
buildings downtown, whether another goal of WBOS's move to the Pru was 
to hinder reception of similarly-formatted WXRV in the immediate metro 
Boston area. 

I recall seeing Greater Media advertiser solicitations in the 80's 
that gloated about WMJX's signal forming an "umbrella" over downtown 
Boston, claiming to keep the signal of then-competing AC WVBF 105.7, 
which transmitted from 128 at the time, out of the immediate area.

Eli Polonsky



--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .