Top 40 competitors

[Dan Strassberg]

WPTR--err, WDCD--is the victim of some really wild variations in soil
conductivity. The transmitter is almost exactly half way between downtown
Albany and downtown Schenectady, yet the signal is downtown Schenctady tops
75 mV/m and claiming 25 mV/m in the principal business district of the COL
(Albany) was always an iffy proposition. (25 mV/m in the business district
was a requirement when the station was built.) The soil conductivity between
the Tx and Schenectady is about 8 mS/m (a good value--often encountered in
Western NY), whereas between the Tx and downtown Albany, it is about 0.5
mS/m--about as bad as it gets anywhere. When WPTR first signed on in 1947 or
1948 it ran 10 kW-U DA-1, which produced a signal of less than 8 mV/m in
downtown Albany. If you looked at the pattern (as opposed to a coverage
map), you'd never have guessed. It was that signal deficiency that the
station used to make its case for an almost immediate increase to 50 kW-U
DA-1. And even after the increase, there were many locations in downtown
Albany where the signal was less than 25 mV/m.

WTRY, had flat-out the best signal in all three of the tri-cities of any AM
in the market (even better than WGY in Albany and Troy). WTRY also ran DA-1
and the pattern, with a major lobe enveloping Albany and Troy and a minor
lobe covering Schenectady, delivered 25 mV/m to the downtown areas of all
three cities. The DA-1 pattern was designed to protect a co-channel station
in Montreal (since moved to 990), so the signal in Saratoga and
Mechanicville was minimal. Sometime in the 60s, I believe, WTRY went ND
days, thus giving up a very strong signal in Pittsfield (not part of its
home market) to provide daytime coverage of Saratoga and Mechanicville,
which apparently are in the market.

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

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick Kelly" <rickkelly@gmail.com>
To: "SteveOrdinetz" <hykker@grolen.com>
Cc: "Boston Radio Interest Board"
<boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org>
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2006 8:20 AM
Subject: Re: Top 40 competitors


> On 6/16/06, SteveOrdinetz <hykker@grolen.com> wrote:
>
> > Funny how perception differs from reality...I grew up in small-town
> > southern Vt. where WPTR boomed in (so to speak) and WTRY was barely
audible
>
> But you also have to remember that in market, WTRY's signal was
> superior, particularly at nite, where WPTR was so directional away
> from about 50% of the market.  Even their signal in the City of
> Albany, at night, was in some ways marginal... of course, in S. VT, it
> was GANGBUSTERS!
> --
> -RK