From raccoonradio@gmail.com Mon May 1 00:05:58 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 00:05:58 -0400 Subject: new era at WESX, WJDA? Message-ID: <1fbbbced0604302105l8a7dd18y9090b93f0bee9805@mail.gmail.com> It's midnight on what is now Monday May 1, and I'm taping WESX...a post on this list by Roger Kola said that this is when the new owners/LMA takes effect--and new programming could be rolling out right now (midnight) or maybe later today. Actually right now (11:57) on WESX it sounds like Spanish language music, with more than a few references to "Christo" (and I don't mean a GM at WBUR...) Supposed to be religious/ ethnic, right? And perhaps new call letters, maybe for sister station WJDA too. We don't know if they'll be able to move the transmitter closer to Boston but supposedly they're to broadcast from new quarters in Chelsea, with what they hope is a sale of the Marblehead studios and transmitter property. (But maybe they'll have to keep the M'head stick, at least for now?) 11:59--another song started. And another at 12:03...we'll have to see cu?ndo la identificaci?n legal viene. I don't know if WESX was running Spanish stuff on Sunday nights before, so maybe the launch already came? Not sure when they stopped playing Unforgettable Favorites. (And there was a taped newscast with Len "DJ Len" Wennerberg just after 5 pm Sunday... From raccoonradio@gmail.com Mon May 1 00:58:19 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 00:58:19 -0400 Subject: new era at WESX, WJDA? In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0604302156k19d05a76kde8a0098215de2ad@mail.gmail.com> References: <1fbbbced0604302105l8a7dd18y9090b93f0bee9805@mail.gmail.com> <001701c66cd8$cd47ac40$0200a8c0@Tanguray> <1fbbbced0604302156k19d05a76kde8a0098215de2ad@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0604302158i420b535aidc343d30bcc7ea74@mail.gmail.com> It sounds like they're running a loop--the same song repeated half an hour later (the "Missing You" remake) Come Fri and Sat of next week (maybe Thu too), Salem with have _two_ stations in Spanish, as many WMWM programs for those days are in espanol..As Wall of Voodoo once sang, "I understand, just a little/ No comprende, it's a riddle". Am guessing this will run for awhile, until official FCC approval of the sale(s)... From scott@fybush.com Mon May 1 00:59:55 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 00:59:55 -0400 Subject: What station was Clemens' first 20-K game on? In-Reply-To: <6274-4455823D-561@storefull-3336.bay.webtv.net> References: <6274-4455823D-561@storefull-3336.bay.webtv.net> Message-ID: <445595CB.5020101@fybush.com> Howard Glazer wrote: > Dan Shaughnessy wrote a retrospective on Roger Clemens' April 29, 1986, > 20-strikeout game in Saturday's Globe. In it, he mentions that the game > wasn't carried on "AM radio" (no call letters) because the Celtics had > priority and instead was carried on "FM" (again, no call letters). The > AM, I recall, was WRKO, but I have no idea which FM the game wound up > on. > > I remember occasional games being carried on 94.5 in the late '60s or > early '70s, and on 107.9 later on, but that was during 107.9's days as > WWEL, not as WXKS-FM. What FM was 'RKO's backup in the mid-'80s? I'm guessing they would have gone to 98.5 WROR, but that's purely a hunch... s From dlh@donnahalper.com Mon May 1 04:42:00 2006 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 04:42:00 -0400 Subject: What station was Clemens' first 20-K game on? In-Reply-To: <445595CB.5020101@fybush.com> References: <6274-4455823D-561@storefull-3336.bay.webtv.net> <6274-4455823D-561@storefull-3336.bay.webtv.net> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060501043619.0dea7018@pop.registeredsite.com> >Howard Glazer wrote: >>Dan Shaughnessy wrote a retrospective on Roger Clemens' April 29, 1986, >>20-strikeout game in Saturday's Globe. In it, he mentions that the game >>wasn't carried on "AM radio" (no call letters) because the Celtics had >>priority and instead was carried on "FM" (again, no call letters). I am checking further in my files, but yes it's true-- the Celtics did in fact have the majority of the public's attention; according to the newspapers, Fenway Park was only about a third full that night in late April-- most people were over at the Garden watching Larry Byrd (those were the days...). From ssmyth@suscom.net Mon May 1 07:54:59 2006 From: ssmyth@suscom.net (Sean Smyth) Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 07:54:59 -0400 Subject: What station was Clemens' first 20-K game on? In-Reply-To: <445595CB.5020101@fybush.com> References: <6274-4455823D-561@storefull-3336.bay.webtv.net> <445595CB.5020101@fybush.com> Message-ID: On Mon, 01 May 2006 00:59:55 -0400 Scott Fybush wrote: >I'm guessing they would have gone to 98.5 WROR, but that's >purely a hunch... My own hunch: since I believe this was the Campbell Sports era, the game likely would have aired on WPLM-FM. I'm wondering if you could have even hauled in the signal on a 1985-era Walkman. Technically, Dan's wrong about the game not being on AM radio; if you're a radio geek, why you could have listened to Ken and Joe on WTIC via skywave at Fenway. From abruzzese@biochem.bumc.bu.edu Mon May 1 09:08:11 2006 From: abruzzese@biochem.bumc.bu.edu (Tony Abruzzese) Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 09:08:11 -0400 Subject: What station was Clemens' first 20-K game on? In-Reply-To: <445595CB.5020101@fybush.com> References: <6274-4455823D-561@storefull-3336.bay.webtv.net> <445595CB.5020101@fybush.com> Message-ID: <4456083B.2050209@biochem.bumc.bu.edu> On 5/1/06 12:59 AM, Scott Fybush wrote: > Howard Glazer wrote: >> Dan Shaughnessy wrote a retrospective on Roger Clemens' April 29, 1986, >> 20-strikeout game in Saturday's Globe. In it, he mentions that the game >> wasn't carried on "AM radio" (no call letters) because the Celtics had >> priority and instead was carried on "FM" (again, no call letters). The >> AM, I recall, was WRKO, but I have no idea which FM the game wound up >> on. >> I remember occasional games being carried on 94.5 in the late '60s or >> early '70s, and on 107.9 later on, but that was during 107.9's days as >> WWEL, not as WXKS-FM. What FM was 'RKO's backup in the mid-'80s? > > I'm guessing they would have gone to 98.5 WROR, but that's purely a > hunch... > > s > > Wasn't the flagship WPLM-FM with WRKO an affiliate of the Campbell Sports Network in 1986? I was living in Leominster, at the time, and spending a lot of time at the Cape, so my Red Sox listening was on WEIM (rarely) at home and WPLM at the Cape. Tony From raccoonradio@gmail.com Mon May 1 13:08:16 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 13:08:16 -0400 Subject: Fybush: unanswered questions re: Red Sox Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605011008l3f233b5diabc8639e2a61469b@mail.gmail.com> http://fybush.com/nerw.html "a bunch of unanswered questions" "For the Sox, it's all about the money." (And for the radio groups...) He also says WEEI, WEEI-FM, etc. could still do OK even without Sox rights; Greater Media still has to deal with the WCRB matter...possible format switches on their properties...also could there be _two_ Sports FMs in the Hub?...and what will become of ESPN 890/1400? What I think might happen: WBOS goes to sports-talk and Red Sox and grabs the ESPN affiliation away from 890/1400 (stronger signal! Red Sox connection); AAA or country could be moved to 102.5, and 99.5 could be sold off... From elipolo@earthlink.net Mon May 1 13:32:00 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 13:32:00 -0400 Subject: What station was Clemens' first 20-K game on? Message-ID: > > From: Sean Smyth > CC: boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org > To: Scott Fybush , Howard Glazer > > Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 07:54:59 -0400 > Subject: Re: What station was Clemens' first 20-K game on? > > My own hunch: since I believe this was the Campbell Sports era, > the game likely would have aired on WPLM-FM. I'm wondering if > you could have even hauled in the signal on a 1985-era Walkman. I don't know, but more likely on a 1985 Walkman than on one of today's Walkmans. My old analog tuning Sony Walkman from that era with a three-position Local/DX switch blew away any later digital tuning Walkmans I've owned for sensitivity, selectivity and intermodulation rejection. It wasn't intended to be a three-position Local/DX switch, but if you put it in the middle in between Local and DX you got an unintended "medium" setting that was perfect for the urban area. > Technically, Dan's wrong about the game not being on AM radio; > if you're a radio geek, why you could have listened to Ken and > Joe on WTIC via skywave at Fenway. Not during early games. WILD's IBOC would kill them until after sunset. Eli Polonsky From ssmyth@suscom.net Mon May 1 16:08:41 2006 From: ssmyth@suscom.net (Sean Smyth) Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 16:08:41 -0400 Subject: What station was Clemens' first 20-K game on? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Mon, 01 May 2006 13:32:00 -0400 Eli Polonsky wrote: >Not during early games. WILD's IBOC would kill them until >after >sunset. Let's remember, we're talking 1986, and IBOC was not anywhere near approval in 1986. And with the game in question being an April game, WILD likely would have signed off about 7:30 -- given that the Sox still began weeknight games at 7:30 in those days (even in April), you'd be able to pick up WTIC in the ballpark for a good deal of the game. From raccoonradio@gmail.com Mon May 1 16:20:57 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 16:20:57 -0400 Subject: When Stern barges in on NPR... Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605011320x7de540d7u67e3df656b91787b@mail.gmail.com> Picture this: you're in your car listening to NPR or a local college station when suddenly there's Mr. Baba Booey. Radio And Records reports there are a lot of complaints about Sirius and XM Satellite Radio intruding on stations, especially in the non-comm part of the dial... http://www.radioandrecords.com/Newsroom/2006_05_01/topstory. asp Either sat-radios come with some kind of mini-FM-transmitter (portable sat radios) or you can buy one, and often the only frequencies offered are between 88 and 89 MHz...so, you might be tuned in to, say, WEVS 88.3 (NPR) up in Nashua... when suddenly Humble Howard is talking about X-rated stuff...Yes, range for these mini FM transmitters is supposed to be limited but maybe they're not as limited as one would think... From scott@fybush.com Mon May 1 15:52:59 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 15:52:59 -0400 Subject: What station was Clemens' first 20-K game on? I can tell you!!! In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060501154029.02fe04b8@pop.registeredsite.com> References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060501154029.02fe04b8@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <4456671B.9070405@fybush.com> Donna Halper wrote: > Okay fine, I have it from my files-- Boston Globe, 1 May 1986, p. 58: > "There was little public access to the game. Only 13,414 attended. Most > local sports fans were tuned in to the Celtic play-off battle. The Red > Sox were televised on NESN cable but were not available on AM radio in > Boston (the Celts were on *WRKO*, bumping the Sox to FM -- *WROR*)." > > Why WROR is something you can perhaps explain to me. If WRKO had the rights to both the Sox and the Celtics, as it apparently did in 1986, it would have made sense to bump one of the teams to the co-owned FM in case of a conflict. It was less common then to see sports conflicts get bumped to a non-co-owned signal, as has become fairly normal now. Did RKO still own WRKO/WROR that late, or had the stations already ended up in new hands? s From ssmyth@suscom.net Mon May 1 17:03:14 2006 From: ssmyth@suscom.net (Sean Smyth) Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 17:03:14 -0400 Subject: What station was Clemens' first 20-K game on? I can tell you!!! In-Reply-To: <4456671B.9070405@fybush.com> References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060501154029.02fe04b8@pop.registeredsite.com> <4456671B.9070405@fybush.com> Message-ID: On Mon, 01 May 2006 15:52:59 -0400 Scott Fybush wrote: >Did RKO still own WRKO/WROR that late, or had the stations >already ended up in new hands? They were co-owned until the CBS/American Radio merger (c. 1996?). From fox893@yahoo.com Tue May 2 15:35:32 2006 From: fox893@yahoo.com (Cooper Fox) Date: Tue, 2 May 2006 12:35:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Fox's Jane Skinner Message-ID: <20060502193532.47346.qmail@web37913.mail.mud.yahoo.com> When was she at WCSH Portland? Magic 104 North Conway, NH V: (603)356-8870 F: (603)356-8875 ***Commercial Production Demo at: http://cooperfox.voice123.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From ssmyth@suscom.net Wed May 3 11:55:05 2006 From: ssmyth@suscom.net (Sean Smyth) Date: Wed, 03 May 2006 11:55:05 -0400 Subject: RIP Louis Rukeyser Message-ID: Louis Rukeyser, the long-time host of Wall Street Week, has passed on. He was 73. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/03/AR2006050300155.html From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu May 4 13:02:49 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 13:02:49 -0400 Subject: Howie, Blute on WCRN as of Monday Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605041002l4db58617m7fb78dddba760b7a@mail.gmail.com> True oldies will be truly gone from WCRN in Worcester as of Monday. New lineup includes former WRKO morning guy (and Congressman) Peter Blute...also syndie shows--Howie Carr, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage and I think Lionel as well. Carr fans will appreciate this especially at times of year when local sunset is early and WRKO quickly fades away. http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060504/ NEWS/605040820/1052 From dan.strassberg@att.net Thu May 4 14:26:57 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 14:26:57 -0400 Subject: Howie, Blute on WCRN as of Monday References: <1fbbbced0605041002l4db58617m7fb78dddba760b7a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <000701c66fa8$584a6fe0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Well, WCRN may come in better at night in Marlborough and Framingham than WRKO does but unless/until WCRN gets its 50 kW night signal built out and on the air, WRKO must have the better signal at least from Wellesley east, if not from Natick east. WCRN also suffers from phasing during critical hours, which can make the signal unpleasant to listen to at times, if not outright unlistenable. That problem occurs during daylight hours inside of 128. I've wondered if WCRN didn't rip up part of its ground system in expectation of constructing the fourth tower only to be stopped in its tracks by the town of Leicester. Rumor had it that the steel was on the ground awaiting the building permit when the town balked (which is curious because the FCC had issued the CP almost three years earlier). Cutting ground radials on the eastern tower could be causing increased high-angle radiation and would explain the phasing and daytime-skywave problems, which seemed to get worse a year or 18 months ago. It may be my imagination, but I think the daytime signal got weaker at about the same time. That, too, would be consistent with my theory. Dan Strassberg, Contributing Editor EDN Magazine | Reed Electronics Group | www.edn.com Fax 707-215-6367 | StrassbergEDN@att.net *** CONTACT ME BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO SEND ATTACHMENTS LARGER THAN 1 Mbyte *** ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Nelson" To: ; Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 1:02 PM Subject: Howie, Blute on WCRN as of Monday > True oldies will be truly gone from WCRN in Worcester as of Monday. > New lineup includes > former WRKO morning guy (and Congressman) Peter Blute...also syndie shows--Howie > Carr, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage and I think Lionel as well. > > Carr fans will appreciate this especially at times of year when local > sunset is early and > WRKO quickly fades away. > > http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060504/ > NEWS/605040820/1052 > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu May 4 16:28:57 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 16:28:57 -0400 Subject: Herald: WEEI still in play for Sox? Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605041328w71a1faf0ybb4107ac4c27c7e3@mail.gmail.com> The Herald's Inside Track says WEEI could still be in play.for Sox rights. http://thetrack.bostonherald.com/moreTrack/view.bg?articleid =137866 "Word is, Henry has met with Entercom cheese David Fields and 'EEI has sweetened its offer to the Sox...Fields reportedly is not eager to be the guy who lost the Red Sox - and the millions in advertising dollars the games bring in." He's also concerned that GM could launch an FM sports talk station that would pose a serious challenge to 'EEI. From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 4 22:39:54 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 04 May 2006 22:39:54 -0400 Subject: Herald: WEEI still in play for Sox? In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605041328w71a1faf0ybb4107ac4c27c7e3@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <445A82BA.3572.2C98A4@localhost> On 4 May 2006 at 16:28, Bob Nelson wrote: > The Herald's Inside Track says WEEI could still be in play.for Sox > rights. Hey, the baseball season has already started. What station is carrying the games? Is WEEI carrying them without a contract? -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From raccoonradio@gmail.com Fri May 5 04:21:40 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 04:21:40 -0400 Subject: Herald: WEEI still in play for Sox? In-Reply-To: <445A82BA.3572.2C98A4@localhost> References: <1fbbbced0605041328w71a1faf0ybb4107ac4c27c7e3@mail.gmail.com> <445A82BA.3572.2C98A4@localhost> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605050121s54d5ace3r4143feaa83590072@mail.gmail.com> The WEEI contract is good till the end of this year. The station that wins the bidding war will start doing games in the 2007 season. On 5/4/06, A. Joseph Ross wrote: > On 4 May 2006 at 16:28, Bob Nelson wrote: > > > The Herald's Inside Track says WEEI could still be in play.for Sox > > rights. > > Hey, the baseball season has already started. What station is > carrying the games? Is WEEI carrying them without a contract? From abruzzese@biochem.bumc.bu.edu Fri May 5 08:43:25 2006 From: abruzzese@biochem.bumc.bu.edu (Tony Abruzzese) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 08:43:25 -0400 Subject: Joe Green - RIP Message-ID: <445B486D.9070601@biochem.bumc.bu.edu> Heard Early this morning on WBZ that former traffic reporter Joe Green passed away on Wednesday, More @ boston .com http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2006/05/05/joe_green_76_for_3_decades_pilot_helped_commuters_cope/ From me@billoneill.us Fri May 5 10:39:37 2006 From: me@billoneill.us (Bill O'Neill) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 10:39:37 -0400 Subject: Joe Green - RIP In-Reply-To: <445B486D.9070601@biochem.bumc.bu.edu> References: <445B486D.9070601@biochem.bumc.bu.edu> Message-ID: <445B63A9.1030808@billoneill.us> Tony Abruzzese wrote: > Heard Early this morning on WBZ that former traffic reporter Joe > Greene passed away on Wednesday, You can bring on all of the sentiment and still have room for more when discussing this broadcast legend. Condolences to his family and friends. Growing up in the 60s-70s, Joe Greene was (dare I say it) a guy you couldn't help but to look up to. Out there blazing the trail. I was one of those guys disappointed when Greene was relegated to 10 second pop-ins to Metro reports. Despite the fact that you knew that Metro was just as accurate, it was hard to see how a guy actually "looking" at the traffic wasn't leading the reports, the other way around. I also found it interesting that Greene never went with the helmet-mount and stayed with a hand-held mic all while operating the WBZ Flying Machine (not the "Greene Machine" as referenced in the Globe article.) Bill O'Neill From wollman@csail.mit.edu Fri May 5 11:34:09 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 11:34:09 -0400 Subject: Joe Green - RIP In-Reply-To: <445B63A9.1030808@billoneill.us> References: <445B486D.9070601@biochem.bumc.bu.edu> <445B63A9.1030808@billoneill.us> Message-ID: <17499.28785.809524.48016@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Despite the fact that you knew that Metro was just as accurate You're joking, right? -GAWollman From scott@fybush.com Fri May 5 11:45:35 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 11:45:35 -0400 Subject: Greater Media's out of the Sox bidding Message-ID: <445B731F.3020406@fybush.com> From a press release that just came in from Greater: Braintree, MA: Greater Media, Inc. announces it has withdrawn from the bidding process for the future broadcast rights for the Boston Red Sox. ?This was a difficult decision, but at the end of the day, the deal didn?t make economic sense for the company," said Peter Smyth, President and CEO of Greater Media, Inc. -- And while I hate to say "I told you so," it's interesting, at least, to contrast NERW this past Monday with Boston Radio Watch on Tuesday. Here's what Mark had to say: "[Ed. Note : Some so-called well-known industry recap-and-speculate website somewhere took a shot, a zing or what have you at little BRW this week for rushing to declare the deal as all done. BRW still fully stands by its confirmation. Anyone wants to buy a mug or T-shirt : "BRW says it's a done deal"? If the deal doesn't happen, it's 50% off all merchandise. Things I do for street cred around here. ]" I want one of those T-shirts :-) Here's what I wrote in NERW, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet: -- We're back from Las Vegas and the big National Association of Broadcasters convention (about which we'll have more to say later in the column), and we return to the Northeast to find a bunch of unanswered questions that are still making headlines in eastern MASSACHUSETTS, much to our continued surprise. The biggest, of course, is the issue of Red Sox radio rights for next year. We take a bit of pride hereabouts in being the last media outlet of any sort that still hasn't confidently declared that a Sox deal is "just about to be announced," or "all sealed up," or what have you. When it happens, we'll tell you, and in the meantime, here are a few reasons why we still believe (as of Sunday night, April 30, as we go to press with this week's column) that the deal could still tip either way. * For the Sox, it's all about the money. The present Sox management has demonstrated repeatedly that it puts money above sentiment. (Just ask the Yankees' center fielder.) The years of tradition that have built up between the team and Entercom's WEEI (which hasn't quite had the games "forever," as the Herald's Inside Track claimed a few days ago) don't mean much in that context. Neither does whatever publicity Greater Media might be able to give the Sox as the central content of a new sports-focused WBOS, if that were to happen. The Sox know their fans will tune in regardless of where the team shows up on the dial, just as they'll sell out Fenway no matter who's on the field. This is about cashing in on the 2004 World Series win, plain and simple. * For the radio groups, it's about the money, too - sort of. If you assume, as we do, that the Sox have a (very high) number in mind for their next radio deal, then the delay in reaching a deal has to mean that none of the would-be Sox flagships has been willing to meet that number. That's not especially surprising. All three of the companies that have been rumored as players - Greater Media, Entercom and, to a lesser extent, CBS Radio - keep a very close eye on the bottom line. They're not going to spend crazy money on an unprofitable deal just for the privilege of being the Red Sox flagship. (And while we're not privy to anyone's internal numbers, it's a pretty good bet that most of the expensive baseball deals being made these days aren't, in themselves, profitable for the stations involved.) * WEEI may not need the Sox at all. Conventional wisdom says that the city's biggest sports talker needs to keep the region's biggest sports franchise on its airwaves. As good as the Sox have been to WEEI in the last few years, though, there's at least some evidence to suggest that the station's brand is now strong enough to survive even without being the home of Sox play-by-play. With no major winter pro franchise on its airwaves, WEEI's ratings have remained exceptionally strong for the last few years during the Sox' off-season. Entercom execs are probably looking south to Rhode Island's WEEI-FM, as well, where the absence (until this year) of Sox baseball hasn't kept the station from doing well. There's no Red Sox on WVEI in Worcester, and there won't be any Sox on the new WVEI-FM in Springfield, either. And if the Sox do end up taking an ownership interest in WBOS as a new flagship, WEEI has a ready-made position as the "independent voice" of the Sox fan. * Greater Media has other issues to solve. While the rumored WBOS deal, in which the Sox would take an equity interest in the station, solves one big problem for Greater Media - meeting the team's demands without spending precious cash - it still leaves the company with many questions to answer, most of them related to the other big unanswered question, the still-unconsummated acquisition of WCRB. Selling a piece of WBOS doesn't get Greater out from the ownership-cap issues it will face by attempting to add a sixth FM - so the company would still be looking to sell another signal (presumably not WBOS) outright, probably while shuffling several other formats and frequencies in the process, and while trying to launch a new FM sports format on WBOS. That's a lot for any company to tackle in just a few months - especially knowing that the competition won't just be sitting back and watching idly. * Two sports FMs in the Hub? It could happen, and for the model, we look to New Orleans, where Entercom's giant news-talker WWL (870) faces an impending threat from Clear Channel, which will soon flip rocker WRNO (99.5) to news-talk. Entercom's attempt to fend off that competition was to flip one of its FMs in the market to become news-talk as WWL-FM. Would Entercom try the same tactic in Boston to steal the thunder from an all-sports WBOS? The likeliest scenario would move WAAF's rock to the 93.7 signal now occupied by adult hits "Mike," which would then give WEEI the huge signal at 107.3 that would more than fill the holes in the existing network of WEEI signals. (As another bonus, it could free up 1440 in Worcester to help fill the coverage gaps Entercom talker WRKO experiences west of Boston.) Furthermore - and yes, we're deep into speculation territory now - all that sports and talk on FM (don't forget about Greater's WTKK and CBS Radio's increasingly talk-heavy WBCN) could well take a toll on overall AM listening in the market, which would be bad news for WRKO and WBZ. * Bad news for "ESPN Boston," too. While the upstart sports signal (WAMG 890 Dedham/WLLH 1400 Lowell) has made some early dents in the ratings, the launch of an FM sports signal in the Hub would not augur well for the other "other sports station." There's ample evidence that there's not room in the market for three sports stations (just look at poor WWZN up there at 1510, still awaiting a buyer to put it out of its misery), and the rumor mill is already awash with reports of poor morale and frequent staff turnovers at WAMG/WLLH. We're also hearing that ESPN Radio itself may be looking for a better signal in the market, another move that could spell doom for 890. So here's the bottom line: Until we see an official press release, we're continuing to treat all reports of an "imminent" deal as speculative. (And can you imagine any other market where the negotiations over sports radio rights could generate this much speculative ink?) It still looks to us - and yes, we're speculating, too - as though neither of the radio groups vying for the Sox rights is willing to put up the money the team wants. It certainly doesn't look like the team is at all ready to back down. By our count, there are still about 320 days until Opening Day 2007, and sometime between now and then, there'll be a deal. When there is, we'll tell you. Until then, our speculator is all worn out...so we'll move on to some actual news. -- Comments? s From stephanie@gordsven.com Fri May 5 12:27:37 2006 From: stephanie@gordsven.com (Stephanie Weil) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 12:27:37 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Greater Media's out of the Sox bidding In-Reply-To: <445B731F.3020406@fybush.com> References: <445B731F.3020406@fybush.com> Message-ID: <59473.12.37.144.130.1146846457.squirrel@12.37.144.130> On Fri, May 5, 2006 11:45, Scott Fybush said: > Braintree, MA: Greater Media, Inc. announces it has withdrawn from the > bidding process for the future broadcast rights for the Boston Red Sox. So does that mean no dumb sports on WBOS-FM 93?????? ROCK ON!!!! You made me a very happy woman! :) :) :) -- Stephanie (AAA freak) Weil New York City, NY, USA From me@billoneill.us Fri May 5 13:04:18 2006 From: me@billoneill.us (Bill O'Neill) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 13:04:18 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss Message-ID: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> Scott Fybush in a Friday morning update to his NERW at http://fybush.com/nerw.html confirming that GM is out of the Red Hose deal. Wonder if Entercom upped the value. I can't see how losing the franchise could be good for the sports talker, all the while witnessing the birth of an FM player in the market. Bill O'Neill -- If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you. From scott@fybush.com Fri May 5 13:17:45 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 13:17:45 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> Message-ID: <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> Bill O'Neill wrote: > Scott Fybush in a Friday morning update to his NERW at > http://fybush.com/nerw.html confirming that GM is out of the Red Hose > deal. Wonder if Entercom upped the value. I can't see how losing the > franchise could be good for the sports talker, all the while witnessing > the birth of an FM player in the market. My hunch - and it's just a hunch - is that Entercom's not upping its offer, either. The Sox would appear to be looking for more $$ than the market will bear, and now that WEEI is the "inevitable" choice, there's even less reason for Entercom to increase its offer. If anything, Entercom might sweeten the pot with some non-monetary enhancements to the deal. I stand by my thought that a WEEI-FM on 107.3, combined with the existing 850 signal and the FMs in Providence and (soon) Springfield, would give the Sox an unbeatable signal footprint over a huge chunk of eastern New England. What would be the other options for the Sox at this point? They could surely afford to buy 1510 or 890/1400, but the Cardinals' woes with their move away from the big KMOX signal have scared some teams away from making a shift to a lesser signal. (Believe me, KTRS on 550 in St. Louis, with a huge 5 kw ND day signal and a respectable 5 kw DA-N signal, low on the dial with that great Midwestern conductivity, is a far better signal for the Cards than either 1510 or 890/1400 would be for the Sox.) I don't see CBS loosening the purse strings to do a WBZ/WBCN deal. Clear Channel's not known for paying a lot for sports rights in most of its markets, and they don't have any suitable signals for the purpose yet, anyway. (The Sox on Kiss 108?) I think the Sox will end up renewing with Entercom, but not for the $$ the team was hoping for. The market, clearly, just won't support it. s From francini@mac.com Fri May 5 13:21:36 2006 From: francini@mac.com (John Francini) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 13:21:36 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> Message-ID: Well, published reports had the Entercom CEO personally taking over the negotiations with John Henry, et al, and numbers as high as $20 Million have been discussed. This was, of course, the subject of great mirth on yesterday's Big Show, as Glenn and company compared how much money Entercom corporate was willing to throw around compared to their inability to get {cups, replacement light bulbs, a TiVo box, etc.} j At 13:04 -0400 5/5/06, Bill O'Neill wrote: >Scott Fybush in a Friday morning update to his NERW at >http://fybush.com/nerw.html confirming that GM is out of the Red >Hose deal. Wonder if Entercom upped the value. I can't see how >losing the franchise could be good for the sports talker, all the >while witnessing the birth of an FM player in the market. > >Bill O'Neill > >-- >If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you. -- ---- John Francini +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace; | | that two are called a law firm; and that three or more become a Congress.| | And by God I have had _this_ Congress!" | | -- John Adams | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ From nostaticatall@comcast.net Fri May 5 14:17:04 2006 From: nostaticatall@comcast.net (David Tomm) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 14:17:04 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> Message-ID: Bostonradiowatch.com is reporting that the games will be moving from WEEI to WRKO. How does this make any sense? It looks like Entercom is doing this to prop up WRKO's paltry billings over the last couple of years and to gravitate new listeners to 680. I don't think much will change in terms of coverage. There will still be a gaping hole in Metrowest at night where the Sox will be tough to pull in. Plus, what will Mike Adams have to talk about when most of his listeners are tuned in to the Sox on WRKO? Bruins? Pats training camp talk? Boring. --Dave Tomm "Mike Thomas" On May 5, 2006, at 1:17 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: > Bill O'Neill wrote: >> Scott Fybush in a Friday morning update to his NERW at >> http://fybush.com/nerw.html confirming that GM is out of the Red >> Hose deal. Wonder if Entercom upped the value. I can't see how losing >> the franchise could be good for the sports talker, all the while >> witnessing the birth of an FM player in the market. > > My hunch - and it's just a hunch - is that Entercom's not upping its > offer, either. The Sox would appear to be looking for more $$ than the > market will bear, and now that WEEI is the "inevitable" choice, > there's even less reason for Entercom to increase its offer. > > If anything, Entercom might sweeten the pot with some non-monetary > enhancements to the deal. I stand by my thought that a WEEI-FM on > 107.3, combined with the existing 850 signal and the FMs in Providence > and (soon) Springfield, would give the Sox an unbeatable signal > footprint over a huge chunk of eastern New England. > > What would be the other options for the Sox at this point? They could > surely afford to buy 1510 or 890/1400, but the Cardinals' woes with > their move away from the big KMOX signal have scared some teams away > from making a shift to a lesser signal. (Believe me, KTRS on 550 in > St. Louis, with a huge 5 kw ND day signal and a respectable 5 kw DA-N > signal, low on the dial with that great Midwestern conductivity, is a > far better signal for the Cards than either 1510 or 890/1400 would be > for the Sox.) > > I don't see CBS loosening the purse strings to do a WBZ/WBCN deal. > Clear Channel's not known for paying a lot for sports rights in most > of its markets, and they don't have any suitable signals for the > purpose yet, anyway. (The Sox on Kiss 108?) > > I think the Sox will end up renewing with Entercom, but not for the $$ > the team was hoping for. The market, clearly, just won't support it. > > s > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Fri May 5 14:23:00 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 14:23:00 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605051123h1429ea34ha6dcadd3a58acfbc@mail.gmail.com> I was just about to post a link to an article in today's Herald about Entercom meeting with Sox brass in Philly; the article said Greater Media still had the edge for Sox rights, but Entercom wanted to make a better offer, and would put them on WRKO. Well, I just clicked on Herald's site and found THIS: http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=138066 "In a stunning turn of events, radio company Greater Media this morning pulled out of the long-running bidding war with Entercom Communications for broadcasting rights for Boston Red Sox games. "Sources say Entercom has won the hotly contested battle for Red Sox play-by-play. Entercom, parent company of local stations WEEI-AM (850) and WRKO-AM (680), is the only remaining bidder. WEEI, the top sports talker in the country, has been the longtime partner with the Sox. Entercom's bid was said to have offered the Sox an option to buy an equity stake in WRKO in the future. Sources say that under the next radio deal the Sox play-by-play would likely be on WRKO. "This was a difficult decision, but at the end of the day, the deal didn't make economic sense for the company," Greater Media President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Smyth said in a statement. (back to me)--fine with me, in terms of I can pick up WRKO fine at work... From ssmyth@suscom.net Fri May 5 14:28:14 2006 From: ssmyth@suscom.net (Sean Smyth) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 14:28:14 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> Message-ID: On Fri, 5 May 2006 14:17:04 -0400 David Tomm wrote: >Bostonradiowatch.com is reporting that the games will be >moving from WEEI to WRKO. How does this make any sense? It doesn't. All you do is shift that ad money from one signal to another. 680 and 850's signals are comparable. And I hate to pull a Fybush (add smiley here) and say I told you so, but I never believed the Sox-to-WBOS deal was ever going to go through -- for a number of reasons. From raccoonradio@gmail.com Fri May 5 14:43:37 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 14:43:37 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605051143t7c37be0dp7cd2907bbf7d7ea@mail.gmail.com> Next spring training if it indeed is WRKO and not WEEI that broadcasts the Sox (assuming they're solid about that): --will Celts still be on 'RKO or will they move to 'EEI? Possible they'll be on 'RKO but would be bumped to 850 when there's a conflict. --Many Red Sox games start at 7, with pre-games at 6:25 or so. More cuts into Howie's show--and maybe even some pre-emptions for the rare weekday day game --What will 'RKO have when the Sox aren't on? Taste of Boston? Or maybe a syndie show...I'd say sports talk but they probably are leaving that to WEEI. From raccoonradio@gmail.com Fri May 5 14:45:16 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 14:45:16 -0400 Subject: Greater Media's out of the Sox bidding In-Reply-To: <59473.12.37.144.130.1146846457.squirrel@12.37.144.130> References: <445B731F.3020406@fybush.com> <59473.12.37.144.130.1146846457.squirrel@12.37.144.130> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605051145p388d0df4gc04a782dccd57aa6@mail.gmail.com> Yes, dumb sports, no, chick music, yes... On 5/5/06, Stephanie Weil wrote: > > On Fri, May 5, 2006 11:45, Scott Fybush said: > > > Braintree, MA: Greater Media, Inc. announces it has withdrawn from the > > bidding process for the future broadcast rights for the Boston Red Sox. > > > So does that mean no dumb sports on WBOS-FM 93?????? > > ROCK ON!!!! > > You made me a very happy woman! :) :) :) > > -- > Stephanie (AAA freak) Weil > New York City, NY, USA > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Fri May 5 14:49:17 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 14:49:17 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605051143t7c37be0dp7cd2907bbf7d7ea@mail.gmail.com> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <1fbbbced0605051143t7c37be0dp7cd2907bbf7d7ea@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605051149g1b9f43cq45942dcdc6cc52d1@mail.gmail.com> and now that I think of it, this could be one reason Howie was so giddy yesterday about WCRN picking him up...because there will be lots of times next year when Howie abruptly ends on WRKO at 6:25 due to Sox pre-game, but people can switch to WCRN and hear the rest of his show! From wollman@csail.mit.edu Fri May 5 15:00:41 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 15:00:41 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> Message-ID: <17499.41177.921649.724681@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > There will still be a gaping hole in Metrowest at night where the > Sox will be tough to pull in. At night, the Sox are on WTIC. (Will they still be?) -GAWollman From raccoonradio@gmail.com Fri May 5 15:40:10 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 15:40:10 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <17499.41177.921649.724681@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <17499.41177.921649.724681@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605051240o59f02386i88684ea270ce2dc4@mail.gmail.com> On 5/5/06, Garrett Wollman wrote: > At night, the Sox are on WTIC. (Will they still be?) Oh, good point. Probably--am guessing Red Sox Radio Network would remain the same, other than the flagship From scott@fybush.com Fri May 5 15:47:19 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 15:47:19 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <17499.41177.921649.724681@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <17499.41177.921649.724681@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <445BABC7.6000502@fybush.com> I would argue - and Garrett's welcome to disagree with me, since he lives there and I don't - that WRKO's night signal in Framingham is actually worse than WEEI's. I stand by my speculation that a Sox/Entercom deal, when and IF it happens (I'm not convinced that it's as much of a done deal as the papers seem to think), may well include an FM component. There's only so long that the Sox and WEEI can keep missing out on that big audience between 128 and 495. Mark my words, this is NOT as much of a done deal as the papers think it is. (T-shirts and mugs are for sale in the lobby...) s Garrett Wollman wrote: > < said: > >> There will still be a gaping hole in Metrowest at night where the >> Sox will be tough to pull in. > > At night, the Sox are on WTIC. (Will they still be?) > > -GAWollman > > From stephanie@gordsven.com Fri May 5 15:47:38 2006 From: stephanie@gordsven.com (Stephanie Weil) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 15:47:38 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Chick music? (was re: Greater Media's out of the Sox bidding) In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605051145p388d0df4gc04a782dccd57aa6@mail.gmail.com> References: <445B731F.3020406@fybush.com> <59473.12.37.144.130.1146846457.squirrel@12.37.144.130> <1fbbbced0605051145p388d0df4gc04a782dccd57aa6@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <30780.12.37.144.130.1146858458.squirrel@12.37.144.130> On Fri, May 5, 2006 14:45, Bob Nelson said: > Yes, dumb sports, no, chick music, yes... How is AAA a "chick music" format? -- Stephanie Weil New York City, NY, USA From me@billoneill.us Fri May 5 15:48:54 2006 From: me@billoneill.us (Bill O'Neill) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 15:48:54 -0400 Subject: Sox Vox Message-ID: <445BAC26.4080400@billoneill.us> Do Joe Castiglione and Jerry Trupiano have long-term deals? And are they with the team or radio? Bill O'Neill -- If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you. From dan.strassberg@att.net Fri May 5 15:57:46 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 15:57:46 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> Message-ID: <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> There is no doubt whatever that, compared with 850, 680 has the better coverage--except in MetroWest, where a slight edge goes to 680 by day and 850 by night but neither station has acceptable coverage at night. WRKO is near local on Cape Cod and southern NH in a lot of places where WEEI is barely audible. Without the increase to 50 kW-N, for which it has held a CP for more than three years (the CP is presumably now "tolled"), WCRN is NOT a potential solution to Entercom's MetroWest nighttime AM signal problem. The 5 kW 830 niight signal just doesn't reach far enough toward 128. A solution WOULD be to lease time for Sox night games on WBIX. From a purely signal standpoint, 890 would work even better than 1060, especially if the FCC approves 890's application to almost double its night power. But I would put the probability of the Sox night games appearing on 890 at zero unless 890's sports format folds. Entercom would be crazy to give credibility to a competitor and confuse the audience about where on the dial the "sports station" is. Probably the best solution, though, is to put the Sox night games on 107.3. A question I can't answer is how much impact breaking format for the games would be likely to have on WAAF's overall ratings. There have been rumblings about WBCN edging toward a talk format of some sort. If so, I assume the rock battle would wage between WAAF and WZLX. If the WAAF listeners who aren't Sox fans tune to 100.7 when the Sox games start, will they return when the games are over or will they just leave their radios on 100.7? -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Fybush" To: "Bill O'Neill" Cc: "Boston Radio Interest" Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 1:17 PM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > Bill O'Neill wrote: > > Scott Fybush in a Friday morning update to his NERW at > > http://fybush.com/nerw.html confirming that GM is out of the Red Hose > > deal. Wonder if Entercom upped the value. I can't see how losing the > > franchise could be good for the sports talker, all the while witnessing > > the birth of an FM player in the market. > > My hunch - and it's just a hunch - is that Entercom's not upping its > offer, either. The Sox would appear to be looking for more $$ than the > market will bear, and now that WEEI is the "inevitable" choice, there's > even less reason for Entercom to increase its offer. > > If anything, Entercom might sweeten the pot with some non-monetary > enhancements to the deal. I stand by my thought that a WEEI-FM on 107.3, > combined with the existing 850 signal and the FMs in Providence and > (soon) Springfield, would give the Sox an unbeatable signal footprint > over a huge chunk of eastern New England. > > What would be the other options for the Sox at this point? They could > surely afford to buy 1510 or 890/1400, but the Cardinals' woes with > their move away from the big KMOX signal have scared some teams away > from making a shift to a lesser signal. (Believe me, KTRS on 550 in St. > Louis, with a huge 5 kw ND day signal and a respectable 5 kw DA-N > signal, low on the dial with that great Midwestern conductivity, is a > far better signal for the Cards than either 1510 or 890/1400 would be > for the Sox.) > > I don't see CBS loosening the purse strings to do a WBZ/WBCN deal. Clear > Channel's not known for paying a lot for sports rights in most of its > markets, and they don't have any suitable signals for the purpose yet, > anyway. (The Sox on Kiss 108?) > > I think the Sox will end up renewing with Entercom, but not for the $$ > the team was hoping for. The market, clearly, just won't support it. > > s From me@billoneill.us Fri May 5 15:59:39 2006 From: me@billoneill.us (Bill O'Neill) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 15:59:39 -0400 Subject: WCAP turning 55 Message-ID: <445BAEAB.60002@billoneill.us> I'm getting some decent response from WCAP alums (off-list) interested in the June 10-11th anniversary (55th). Looks like things are starting to take shape. Digging up old jingles, (ransom quality) air checks, and even blazers (worn, not driven). Bill O'Neill -- If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you. From wollman@csail.mit.edu Fri May 5 16:06:58 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 16:06:58 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445BABC7.6000502@fybush.com> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <17499.41177.921649.724681@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <445BABC7.6000502@fybush.com> Message-ID: <17499.45154.219819.915535@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > I would argue - and Garrett's welcome to disagree with me, since he > lives there and I don't - that WRKO's night signal in Framingham is > actually worse than WEEI's. Much worse. WEEI is listenable at night; WRKO isn't. (Although WRKO puts more E field in the direction of Framingham than WEEI, Needham is a lot closer to the populated parts of metro-west than Burlington is.) -GAWollman From wollman@csail.mit.edu Fri May 5 16:15:27 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 16:15:27 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <17499.45663.256194.253487@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > WRKO is near local on Cape Cod and southern NH in a lot of places > where WEEI is barely audible. But remember, we're talking about sports rights here. Those locations are not in the Boston market and will have their own local affiliates on the network. There's a similar issue in Worcester, which would have to be solved if some games were to be heard on FM: most Boston FMs (and Westborough-licensed 107.3 in particular) have significant overlap with WTAG, the long-time Sox affiliate in Worcester. When is that contract up for renewal? -GAWollman From scott@fybush.com Fri May 5 16:22:02 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 16:22:02 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <445BB3EA.5070804@fybush.com> Dan Strassberg wrote: > There is no doubt whatever that, compared with 850, 680 has the better > coverage--except in MetroWest, where a slight edge goes to 680 by day and > 850 by night but neither station has acceptable coverage at night. WRKO is > near local on Cape Cod and southern NH in a lot of places where WEEI is > barely audible. And while that's nice from an ego point of view for Entercom, it doesn't do much for either ratings or Sox fans. Listeners on the Cape are already well served by WXTK's big FM signal, and southern NH has overlapping coverage from WBOQ and the WGIR network of AMs. (Do either of the Nashua AMs have the Sox this year? I can't remember!) But MetroWest is right in the Boston market, with no truly useful overlapping coverage. (Probably the most useful signal would be WEEI-FM from Rhode Island, and that's decidedly a fringe signal anywhere much beyond the Blackstone Valley.) WTIC isn't the answer - this time of year, WILD's still on the air well into most Sox night games, unless they're on a West Coast road trip. In reality, there is no single AM solution for the entire market absent a deal with WBZ that's not going to happen. If the team's going to be heard in MetroWest, it pretty much HAS to be on an FM signal. It's too bad - sort of - that MetroWest never really had a "local" class A FM to call its own, a la WBOQ or WATD. WKOX-FM once filled that role, but it was moved into Boston as soon as it could be. Leasing time on WKOX(AM) could have helped fill the gap, but if construction remains on schedule, 1200 won't be a Framingham signal anymore by the time Opening Day 2007 rolls around. WBIX's night pattern is so directional that it misses a lot of the territory (Westborough, Marlborough, Wayland, Sudbury) that falls in the gap between WEEI/WRKO and WTAG, too. If I were Entercom, I'd have long since moved WAAF to 93.7 and put WEEI-FM on 103.7. Entercom has plenty of room under the ownership cap to add 99.5 to its stable, if it's determined to keep "Mike" on the air somewhere. (That, of course, assumes that the WCRB deal is still on track, which opens up a whole new avenue for speculation and rumor...) s From francini@mac.com Fri May 5 16:43:04 2006 From: francini@mac.com (John Francini) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 16:43:04 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445BB3EA.5070804@fybush.com> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <445BB3EA.5070804@fybush.com> Message-ID: At 16:22 -0400 5/5/06, Scott Fybush wrote: >Dan Strassberg wrote: >>There is no doubt whatever that, compared with 850, 680 has the better >>coverage--except in MetroWest, where a slight edge goes to 680 by day and >>850 by night but neither station has acceptable coverage at night. WRKO is >>near local on Cape Cod and southern NH in a lot of places where WEEI is >>barely audible. > >And while that's nice from an ego point of view for Entercom, it >doesn't do much for either ratings or Sox fans. Listeners on the >Cape are already well served by WXTK's big FM signal, and southern >NH has overlapping coverage from WBOQ and the WGIR network of AMs. >(Do either of the Nashua AMs have the Sox this year? I can't >remember!) WGAM AM 900 has the games in Nashua, which is a godsend when WEEI's signal goes into the weeds after sunset. I just wish the FCC didn't feel like it had to protect whatever Canadian 850 AM station its protecting with WEEI's massively curtailed night pattern. > >In reality, there is no single AM solution for the entire market >absent a deal with WBZ that's not going to happen. If the team's >going to be heard in MetroWest, it pretty much HAS to be on an FM >signal. It's too bad - sort of - that MetroWest never really had a >"local" class A FM to call its own, a la WBOQ or WATD. WKOX-FM once >filled that role, but it was moved into Boston as soon as it could >be. Growing up in the 60s, weren't all four teams at one point on WBZ-AM 1030, with overflow onto WBZ-FM 106.7? Those were the days. There was but one source for radio coverage of ALL Boston teams. > >If I were Entercom, I'd have long since moved WAAF to 93.7 and put >WEEI-FM on 103.7. Entercom has plenty of room under the ownership >cap to add 99.5 to its stable, if it's determined to keep "Mike" on >the air somewhere. (That, of course, assumes that the WCRB deal is >still on track, which opens up a whole new avenue for speculation >and rumor...) You mean WEEI-FM on 107.3, right? Wonder what sort of calls 103.7 would get, unless it was one of those multi-transmitter simulcasts. (I remember such a thing in the San Francisco Bay Area--IIRC, there was a single station, with a single set of calls, on 98.9 and 99.1 -- 98.9 was in San Jose, 99.1 in San Francisco. But I could be wrong!) john francini -- ---- John Francini +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace; | | that two are called a law firm; and that three or more become a Congress.| | And by God I have had _this_ Congress!" | | -- John Adams | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ From scott@fybush.com Fri May 5 16:51:38 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 16:51:38 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <445BB3EA.5070804@fybush.com> Message-ID: <445BBADA.4080701@fybush.com> John Francini wrote: > You mean WEEI-FM on 107.3, right? Wonder what sort of calls 103.7 would > get, unless it was one of those multi-transmitter simulcasts. (I > remember such a thing in the San Francisco Bay Area--IIRC, there was a > single station, with a single set of calls, on 98.9 and 99.1 -- 98.9 was > in San Jose, 99.1 in San Francisco. But I could be wrong!) 'Twas two separate licenses, with two separate calls. It was KDBK 98.9 San Francisco/KDBQ 99.1 Santa Cruz, during the "Double 99" period. I think Viacom owned them then. Today, the stations are still simulcasting, under Univision Radio, as "Estereo Sol" KSOL 98.9/KSQL 99.1. The only way to have multiple transmitters with the "same" call is if you have a main transmitter and boosters on the same channel, and even then the boosters actually have separate calls, though they're not announced on the air. (KSOL, for instance, has on-channel boosters KSOL-FM2 in Sausalito and KSOL-FM3 in Pleasanton. Dunno what happened to KSOL-FM1.) s From dan.strassberg@att.net Fri May 5 17:14:54 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 17:14:54 -0400 Subject: Fw: MetroWest signal strengths (from V-soft Web site) Message-ID: <006901c67088$fae03a60$19eefea9@dstrassberg> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Strassberg" To: "Boston Radio Interest" Cc: "Scott Fybush" Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 4:59 PM Subject: MetroWest signal strengths (from V-soft Web site) I originally sent this in HTML because it's a table and, with Outlook Express, the only way I know of to get it into a nonproportional font so the columns line up is to use HTML. Before I sent the message, I did view the content in a text editor, and I believe that it would have been readable as plaintext. I see, however, that, as I feared, Garrett had blocked the HTML. But I also see that the message is pretty readable in the proportional font. For those who like REAL columns, copy the message text to the clipboard (assuming that you are using Windows--I know that doesn't include Garrett) and then paste the text into Notepad or a similar text editor. - Except where labeled dBu, all figures are in mV/m. - The FCC considers AM signals of 5 mV/m or more to be city-grade. - A 10 mV/m AM signal is pretty strong. 01701 (Framingham) 01760 (Natick) FM WAAF 3.49 2.18 (70 dBu) (66.8 dBu) Day WEEI 17.65 56.36 WRKO 10.39 11.25 D&N WBZ 5.84 8.18 Night WEEI 2.50 6.14 WRKO 1.73 2.08 WCRN 1.97 1.51 WBIX 2.09 41.79 WAMG 2.11 58.05 One obvious point is that although Famingham and Natick are adjacent to each other, the signal strengths, which I believe are calculated at the population centroid of each ZIP code, differ greatly, especially for WBIX and WAMG. The WAMG/WBIX (night) site is pretty much due south of downtown Framingham. The night patterns of WAMG and WBIX don't do much to the north (or south). Natick, on the other hand, is both north and substantially east of the site. Even though the distance from the site to Natick is greater than the distance from the site to Framingham, you can see the dramatic effect of azimuth on these narrow (in the case of WAMG) and relatively natrrow (WBIX) patterns. I included WBZ for comparison. It is the AM signal that IS the standard of comparison in this market. Note that the WBZ's signal is not overwhelming in Natick or Framingham. I've also included WAAF. I believe these figures are for the old Paxton site. I am surprised that WWWF does not deliver a 70 dBu city-grade signal to Natick from Paxton. It may well do so from W Boyleston. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 From francini@mac.com Fri May 5 18:17:07 2006 From: francini@mac.com (John Francini) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 18:17:07 -0400 Subject: Fw: MetroWest signal strengths (from V-soft Web site) In-Reply-To: <006901c67088$fae03a60$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <006901c67088$fae03a60$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: These pretty much bear out my own experience when I lived in the western edge of Wellesley from 1986-96, and when I go down there to visit relatives. In the daytime, WRKO is OK, WEEI comes in like gangbusters, WBZ is also OK At night, WRKO disappeared into the weeds (which was a pain in the butt when the Celtics were first on the station and they were doing their historic run of championship seasons in the late 80s), while WEEI is still quite listenable. I looked up WEEI's day and night strength up here in Nashua on the V-soft site. It claims 1.67 mV/m daytime, 1.47 mV/m nighttime. If they're so close, why does WEEI disappear so badly at night? As for using nonproportional fonts, can't you tell Outlook Distress to use Courier New? That's a fine non-proportional font on the Windows side. John Francini At 17:14 -0400 5/5/06, Dan Strassberg wrote: >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Dan Strassberg" >To: "Boston Radio Interest" >Cc: "Scott Fybush" >Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 4:59 PM >Subject: MetroWest signal strengths (from V-soft Web site) > > >I originally sent this in HTML because it's a table and, with Outlook >Express, the only way I know of to get it into a nonproportional font so the >columns line up is to use HTML. Before I sent the message, I did view the >content in a text editor, and I believe that it would have been readable as >plaintext. I see, however, that, as I feared, Garrett had blocked the HTML. >But I also see that the message is pretty readable in the proportional font. >For those who like REAL columns, copy the message text to the clipboard >(assuming that you are using Windows--I know that doesn't include Garrett) >and then paste the text into Notepad or a similar text editor. > >- Except where labeled dBu, all figures are in mV/m. >- The FCC considers AM signals of 5 mV/m or >more to be city-grade. >- A 10 mV/m AM signal is pretty strong. > >01701 (Framingham) 01760 (Natick) >FM WAAF 3.49 2.18 > (70 dBu) (66.8 dBu) >Day WEEI 17.65 56.36 > WRKO 10.39 11.25 >D&N WBZ 5.84 8.18 > >Night WEEI 2.50 6.14 > WRKO 1.73 2.08 > WCRN 1.97 1.51 > WBIX 2.09 41.79 > WAMG 2.11 58.05 > >One obvious point is that although Famingham and Natick are adjacent to each >other, the signal strengths, which I believe are calculated at the >population centroid of each ZIP code, differ greatly, especially for WBIX >and WAMG. The WAMG/WBIX (night) site is pretty much due south of downtown >Framingham. The night patterns of WAMG and WBIX don't do much to the north >(or south). Natick, on the other hand, is both north and substantially east >of the site. Even though the distance from the site to Natick is greater >than the distance from the site to Framingham, you can see the dramatic >effect of azimuth on these narrow (in the case of WAMG) and relatively >natrrow (WBIX) patterns. > >I included WBZ for comparison. It is the AM signal that IS the standard of >comparison in this market. Note that the WBZ's signal is not overwhelming in >Natick or Framingham. > >I've also included WAAF. I believe these figures are for the old Paxton >site. I am surprised that WWWF does not deliver a 70 dBu city-grade signal >to Natick from Paxton. It may well do so from W Boyleston. > >-- >Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net >eFax 707-215-6367 -- ---- John Francini +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace; | | that two are called a law firm; and that three or more become a Congress.| | And by God I have had _this_ Congress!" | | -- John Adams | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ From eli@sherer.us Fri May 5 18:25:21 2006 From: eli@sherer.us (Eli Sherer) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 18:25:21 -0400 Subject: Joe Green - RIP and others... Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20060505181613.0250f830@mail.comcast.net> I had the opportunity to fly with Joe once, when both our (my and Kevin O'Keefe's) helicopter was under the weather. Joe was quite the character. He did not smoke his trademark cigars when I flew with him... but did stay with the piston powered Enstrom C "Shark" while everyone else was going to the Jet powered Bell 206 Jetranger and Hughes 500. I remember hearing stories of how he had cut a report or two short because he had dropped a cigar in his lap and really had to put the mic down to get it :-) Joe would also push the weather a bit harder than anyone else... He really loved what he was doing, and more than once had to land and leave his helicopter along the esplanade, or at the gravel pit along Rt. 1 (Revere) because the fog came down more than expected. And yeah... I worked for Metro for a number of years, both flying and on the ground. Not everyone always had things right... you just can't. But as we all flew out of the same airport in Beverly... there was this camaraderie that would allow us to help each other out. Even before I started carrying a scanner up in the air, Joe, Kevin, Officer Bill... they'd all listen to each other's broadcast reports on the radio. If someone was late getting up or missed something and was out of position... it wasn't unknown for another reporter to advise them to "check out what's going on here...." But those were the days when traffic reporting was an art... and the artists like Joe will always be remembered. -Eli From me@billoneill.us Fri May 5 18:38:49 2006 From: me@billoneill.us (Bill O'Neill) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 18:38:49 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <445BB3EA.5070804@fybush.com> Message-ID: <445BD3F9.9080809@billoneill.us> John Francini wrote: > You mean WEEI-FM on 107.3, right? He was right - WBZ-FM was at 106.7. Before it became Magic, the FMer was, essentially, automation with Dave Maynard's voice all over the place. I think the studio was akin to a broom closet. Similarly, 99.5, then WSSH Lowell, was a stand-up (inhale) booth aside an automation system, all surrounded by the then dominant station in the building, WLLH (1400 "Lowell and Lawrence.") Bill O'Neill From revdoug1@verizon.net Fri May 5 17:54:29 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 17:54:29 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <17499.45663.256194.253487@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <016701c6708e$7ca8c4e0$6401a8c0@pastor2> WEIM is a Sox affiliate too, is it not? -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Garrett Wollman" To: "Dan Strassberg" Cc: Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 4:15 PM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > < said: > > > WRKO is near local on Cape Cod and southern NH in a lot of places > > where WEEI is barely audible. > > But remember, we're talking about sports rights here. Those locations > are not in the Boston market and will have their own local affiliates > on the network. There's a similar issue in Worcester, which would > have to be solved if some games were to be heard on FM: most Boston > FMs (and Westborough-licensed 107.3 in particular) have significant > overlap with WTAG, the long-time Sox affiliate in Worcester. When is > that contract up for renewal? > > -GAWollman > > From sid@wrko.com Fri May 5 19:14:19 2006 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 17:14:19 -0600 Subject: Soxless Boss Message-ID: >>I just wish the FCC didn't feel like it had to protect whatever Canadian 850 AM station its protecting with WEEI's massively curtailed night pattern.<< You can believe me when I say that we wish it too, but it's hardly a "feeling." It's a matter of: --a treaty to which the United States is a signatory, and --the fact that all Canadian AM's, even those which are permanently silent, are still "notified" to the NARBA countries, which means that the allocations must by the terms of the treaty be protected. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom Boston LLC WAAF - WEEI AM/FM - WMKK - WRKO - WVEI AM/FM 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Boston MA 02135-2040 Phone: 617-779-5369 Fax: 617-779-5379 E-Mail: sid@wrko.com From revdoug1@verizon.net Fri May 5 19:29:35 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 19:29:35 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <445BB3EA.5070804@fybush.com> <445BD3F9.9080809@billoneill.us> Message-ID: <001d01c6709b$c638f0a0$6401a8c0@pastor2> I've sometimes wondered why Westinghouse sold WBZ-FM. They did it just as FM was coming into the fore. Seems counterproductive in hindsight. Does anyone know? -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill O'Neill" To: "John Francini" Cc: "Boston Radio Interest" ; "Dan Strassberg" Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 6:38 PM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > John Francini wrote: > > > You mean WEEI-FM on 107.3, right? > > He was right - WBZ-FM was at 106.7. Before it became Magic, the FMer was, > essentially, automation with Dave Maynard's voice all over the place. I > think the studio was akin to a broom closet. > > Similarly, 99.5, then WSSH Lowell, was a stand-up (inhale) booth aside an > automation system, all surrounded by the then dominant station in the > building, WLLH (1400 "Lowell and Lawrence.") > > Bill O'Neill > From xtrovato@yahoo.com Fri May 5 19:37:04 2006 From: xtrovato@yahoo.com (Rob Trovato) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 16:37:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <001d01c6709b$c638f0a0$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <20060505233704.46674.qmail@web35905.mail.mud.yahoo.com> --- Doug Drown wrote: > I've sometimes wondered why Westinghouse sold > WBZ-FM. They did it just as > FM was coming into the fore. Seems > counterproductive in hindsight. Does > anyone know? "...because we're an AM company!" All of our big money makers are big 50kw full-service stations. Thats the way it is....and thats the way it's always gonna be!" I've heard that quote from Westinghouse a few times when they were selling off all their FM's. (BTW...The sold KDKA-FM and some other FM's at the time as well as BZ-FM.) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From me@billoneill.us Fri May 5 19:47:39 2006 From: me@billoneill.us (Bill O'Neill) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 19:47:39 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <20060505233704.46674.qmail@web35905.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20060505233704.46674.qmail@web35905.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <445BE41B.7020700@billoneill.us> Rob Trovato wrote: > "...because we're an AM company!" All of our big > money makers are big 50kw full-service stations. > Thats the way it is....and thats the way it's always > gonna be!" Makes you wonder if that Westinghouse guy was related to the same guy who said, "....we're a refrigerator company! All of our big money makers are big, metal appliances. That's the way it....... Bill O'Neill From iraapple@comcast.net Fri May 5 20:13:01 2006 From: iraapple@comcast.net (iraapple) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 20:13:01 -0400 Subject: Joe Green - RIP and others... In-Reply-To: <6.2.3.4.2.20060505181613.0250f830@mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <002a01c670a1$d8284080$d1703144@IraApple> Joe loved his helicopter, - I mean the one before the Enstrom. I think the year was 1978. We had made arrangements with F. Lee Baily to provide Joe with the latest model Enstrom. It had everything including luxurious seat covers. What pilot wouldn't want the newest craft with all the modern gadgets? The answer was, Joe. He did not want anyone taking away the helicopter that he had been so accustomed to. That helicopter had gone through a lot with Joe and some of those experiences have already been sited here. One thing he liked was the ability to make the fuel mix richer in some way that a pilot reading this would understand. I didn't, but, understood that Joe had ways of making his craft do things it was not necessarily intended to do. Ceremonies were scheduled to take place at the harbor. The Mayor and other dignitaries along with the President of Enstrom, F. Lee himself, would make the presentation of the new chopper to Joe. It appeared that the only person who would not be there was Joe Green. My job: "You had better get Joe on the phone and get him down there". I reached him at his home and after expressing some understanding for his situation and a great deal of panic on my part, he agreed to take part and accept something he did not consider a favor and certainly not a gift. Somewhere there is a publicity shot of Joe from a low angle shooting up into his bearded and determined looking face as he sat behind the controls in one of the helicopters. I don't remember whether it was the old one or the new Enstrom. To me, he appeared heroic in that picture. One of a kind. And of course he was. Joe was truly a legend. Ira Apple -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Eli Sherer Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 5:25 PM To: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org Subject: Joe Green - RIP and others... I had the opportunity to fly with Joe once, when both our (my and Kevin O'Keefe's) helicopter was under the weather. Joe was quite the character. He did not smoke his trademark cigars when I flew with him... but did stay with the piston powered Enstrom C "Shark" while everyone else was going to the Jet powered Bell 206 Jetranger and Hughes 500. I remember hearing stories of how he had cut a report or two short because he had dropped a cigar in his lap and really had to put the mic down to get it :-) Joe would also push the weather a bit harder than anyone else... He really loved what he was doing, and more than once had to land and leave his helicopter along the esplanade, or at the gravel pit along Rt. 1 (Revere) because the fog came down more than expected. And yeah... I worked for Metro for a number of years, both flying and on the ground. Not everyone always had things right... you just can't. But as we all flew out of the same airport in Beverly... there was this camaraderie that would allow us to help each other out. Even before I started carrying a scanner up in the air, Joe, Kevin, Officer Bill... they'd all listen to each other's broadcast reports on the radio. If someone was late getting up or missed something and was out of position... it wasn't unknown for another reporter to advise them to "check out what's going on here...." But those were the days when traffic reporting was an art... and the artists like Joe will always be remembered. -Eli From xtrovato@yahoo.com Fri May 5 19:28:47 2006 From: xtrovato@yahoo.com (Rob Trovato) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 16:28:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: "BRW says it's a done deal"? In-Reply-To: <445B731F.3020406@fybush.com> Message-ID: <20060505232847.25643.qmail@web35909.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Where can I get one of those T-shirts? Or is "BostonRadioWatch" using it to wipe egg off his face? But, but...."BRW says it's a done deal"! You know we can all speculate, that's part of the fun. But until a formal announcement comes, anyone who says "Trust me! It's a Done Deal" shows some brazen foolishness. > "[Ed. Note : Some so-called well-known industry > recap-and-speculate > website somewhere took a shot, a zing or what have > you at little BRW > this week for rushing to declare the deal as all > done. BRW still fully > stands by its confirmation. Anyone wants to buy a > mug or T-shirt : "BRW > says it's a done deal"? If the deal doesn't happen, > it's 50% off all > merchandise. Things I do for street cred around > here. ]" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From eli@sherer.us Fri May 5 21:04:03 2006 From: eli@sherer.us (Eli Sherer) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 21:04:03 -0400 Subject: Joe Green - RIP and others... In-Reply-To: <002a01c670a1$d8284080$d1703144@IraApple> References: <6.2.3.4.2.20060505181613.0250f830@mail.comcast.net> <002a01c670a1$d8284080$d1703144@IraApple> Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20060505210046.0252ab18@mail.comcast.net> That would have been his old Bell 47.... I remember the big WBZ fixed floats on that one too. Joe rarely flew in a backup machine because a) he never let it be down for maintenance, and b) he didn't like flying without the floats. Maybe it was because he knew he took some risk and didn't want to drop into Boston Harbor without them, or maybe because he enjoyed the recognition of having the call letters emblazoned across the machine (and he often flew much lower than the "standard" 500 feet in Boston). The time I flew with him, it was hot as hell in that Enstrom... but Joe kept his shirt on... Not often the case in the summer when he could be seen (or more accurately from the ground, not seen), flying in shorts and no shirt... but that damn helmet and a cigar! At 08:13 PM 5/5/2006 -0400, iraapple wrote: >Joe loved his helicopter, - I mean the one before the Enstrom. > >I think the year was 1978. We had made arrangements with F. Lee Baily to >provide Joe with the latest model Enstrom. It had everything including >luxurious seat covers. What pilot wouldn't want the newest craft with all >the modern gadgets? The answer was, Joe. He did not want anyone taking away >the helicopter that he had been so accustomed to. > >That helicopter had gone through a lot with Joe and some of those >experiences have already been sited here. One thing he liked was the ability >to make the fuel mix richer in some way that a pilot reading this would >understand. I didn't, but, understood that Joe had ways of making his craft >do things it was not necessarily intended to do. > >Ceremonies were scheduled to take place at the harbor. The Mayor and other >dignitaries along with the President of Enstrom, F. Lee himself, would make >the presentation of the new chopper to Joe. > >It appeared that the only person who would not be there was Joe Green. > >My job: "You had better get Joe on the phone and get him down there". > >I reached him at his home and after expressing some understanding for his >situation and a great deal of panic on my part, he agreed to take part and >accept something he did not consider a favor and certainly not a gift. > >Somewhere there is a publicity shot of Joe from a low angle shooting up into >his bearded and determined looking face as he sat behind the controls in one >of the helicopters. I don't remember whether it was the old one or the new >Enstrom. To me, he appeared heroic in that picture. One of a kind. And of >course he was. Joe was truly a legend. > >Ira Apple > >-----Original Message----- >From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org >[mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of >Eli Sherer >Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 5:25 PM >To: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org >Subject: Joe Green - RIP and others... > >I had the opportunity to fly with Joe once, when both our (my and >Kevin O'Keefe's) helicopter was under the weather. Joe was quite the >character. He did not smoke his trademark cigars when I flew with >him... but did stay with the piston powered Enstrom C "Shark" while >everyone else was going to the Jet powered Bell 206 Jetranger and >Hughes 500. I remember hearing stories of how he had cut a report or >two short because he had dropped a cigar in his lap and really had to >put the mic down to get it :-) > >Joe would also push the weather a bit harder than anyone else... He >really loved what he was doing, and more than once had to land and >leave his helicopter along the esplanade, or at the gravel pit along >Rt. 1 (Revere) because the fog came down more than expected. > >And yeah... I worked for Metro for a number of years, both flying and >on the ground. Not everyone always had things right... you just >can't. But as we all flew out of the same airport in Beverly... there >was this camaraderie that would allow us to help each other out. Even >before I started carrying a scanner up in the air, Joe, Kevin, >Officer Bill... they'd all listen to each other's broadcast reports >on the radio. If someone was late getting up or missed something and >was out of position... it wasn't unknown for another reporter to >advise them to "check out what's going on here...." > >But those were the days when traffic reporting was an art... and the >artists like Joe will always be remembered. > >-Eli -Eli From scott@fybush.com Fri May 5 20:56:47 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 20:56:47 -0400 Subject: "BRW says it's a done deal"? In-Reply-To: <20060505232847.25643.qmail@web35909.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20060505232847.25643.qmail@web35909.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <445BF44F.8000908@fybush.com> Just for the record... Mark (BRW) and I have both been at this for long enough to have developed a good sense of humor about the whole thing, and any T-shirt (and calendar) jabs between us should be taken with tongue firmly in cheek and a good sized grain of salt. (Which, it being Cinco de Mayo, may as well be applied to the rim of a margarita glass...) None of which will necessarily stop me from showing up at the next NERW/B-R-I dinner (think late August) in a "Done Deal" T-shirt :-) s Rob Trovato wrote: > > Where can I get one of those T-shirts? > > Or is "BostonRadioWatch" using it to wipe egg off his > face? > > But, but...."BRW says it's a done deal"! > > You know we can all speculate, that's part of the fun. > > But until a formal announcement comes, anyone who says > "Trust me! It's a Done Deal" shows some brazen > foolishness. From revdoug1@verizon.net Fri May 5 22:10:29 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 22:10:29 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <20060505233704.46674.qmail@web35905.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <445BE41B.7020700@billoneill.us> Message-ID: <005901c670b2$3fe6ae90$6401a8c0@pastor2> About as shortsighted, I would say, as GE's sale back in the '80s of all its radio O & Os and the leasing of the NBC Radio Network to Westwood One. What a travesty THAT'S been. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill O'Neill" To: "Rob Trovato" Cc: "Doug Drown" ; "BRI" Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 7:47 PM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > Rob Trovato wrote: > > "...because we're an AM company!" All of our big > > money makers are big 50kw full-service stations. > > Thats the way it is....and thats the way it's always > > gonna be!" > Makes you wonder if that Westinghouse guy was related to the same guy > who said, "....we're a refrigerator company! All of our big money > makers are big, metal appliances. That's the way it....... > > Bill O'Neill > From fox893@yahoo.com Fri May 5 23:55:42 2006 From: fox893@yahoo.com (Cooper Fox) Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 20:55:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Chick music? (was re: Greater Media's out of the Sox bidding) In-Reply-To: <30780.12.37.144.130.1146858458.squirrel@12.37.144.130> Message-ID: <20060506035542.54998.qmail@web37909.mail.mud.yahoo.com> > How is AAA a "chick music" format? > > -- > Stephanie Weil > New York City, NY, USA > Yeah... Last thing I knew AAA tended to primarily target men 35+ Magic 104 North Conway, NH V: (603)356-8870 F: (603)356-8875 ***Commercial Production Demo at: http://cooperfox.voice123.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From dan.strassberg@att.net Sat May 6 00:01:57 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 00:01:57 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: Message-ID: <001901c670c1$d6bf5420$19eefea9@dstrassberg> But WEEI's pattern was designed to protect KOA; there was no CKVL until the mid to late 1950s. When WHDH began operating at night sometime in the 1930s, it was the ONLY AM in North America on (then) 830 at night other than KOA. CKVL became possible only after the ill-fated WXKW Albany NY (which had been slipped in between (then) WHDH and KOA) went dark. CKVL was allegedly designed to protect WHDH. By the time WHDH moved from Saugus to Needham (1947 or 1948), there were, however, many other 850s in the East (Reading PA, Cleveland OH, not sure about Norfolk VA or Raleigh NC, definitely NOT Altoona PA). I believe that CKVL was never able to adjust its night pattern within specs and always delivered a lot more signal to Boston than it should have. In theory, when CKVL was built, it should have protected WHDH to the same degree that WXKW was supposed to have--had IT ever been able to properly adjust its (six-tower, in-line) array. That means that WHDH's NIF SHOULD HAVE been 20 times KOA's 10% skywave value or 2.5 mV/m, whichever was larger. My hunch is that, at some point, WHDH's NIF was refigured (and greatly increased) based on the signal CKVL actually delivered to the Boston area. Anyhow, WEEI's night signal in the direction of Nashua is based on KOA's having much greater nighttime coverage than the FCC now figures it has. Ten or 15 years ago, the FCC changed the formulas by which it figures the nighttime coverage of Class A (ex-Class I) AMs. The 0.5 mV/m 50% skywave contour USED to average about a 750-mile radius from ND 50 kW AMs with conforming Class I antennas. Now the radius is typically closer to 450 miles. KOA is more than 1500 miles from Boston. By the new formulas, KOA's 10% skywave here must be more like 0.2 mV/m. If the no-longer-used but still-notified CKVL allocation were no longer on the books, WEEI would probably be able to let out its night pattern somewhat--but all of the US 850s between here and Denver would prevent much change. Also, if the "ratchet rule" weren't so onerous, WEEI could have moved to the WRKO site and delivered a dynamite signal to Nashua day and night. ARS actually considered such a move but apparently dropped the plan when its full implications became clear. I believe that under present rules, 850 daytimer WCPT Crystal Lake IL (Chicago) could become a full-time Class B station if it could find land on which to place the six-tower array it would need to protect KOA to the west plus such stations as Muskegon MI and Cleveland to the east. WCPT had applied to change its COL to a community much closer to Chicago from which it actually could have served a lot of Chicago at night, but the FCC rejected the application because the move would have deprived Crystal Lake of its "only local broadcast service." Never mind that WSCR, WGN, WBBM, WLS and maybe others (WYLL?) deliver city-grade signals round the clock to Crystal Lake. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sid Schweiger" To: Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 7:14 PM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > >>I just wish the FCC didn't feel like it had to protect whatever > Canadian 850 AM station its protecting with WEEI's massively curtailed > night pattern.<< > > You can believe me when I say that we wish it too, but it's hardly a > "feeling." It's a matter of: > > --a treaty to which the United States is a signatory, and > --the fact that all Canadian AM's, even those which are permanently > silent, are still "notified" to the NARBA countries, which means that > the allocations must by the terms of the treaty be protected. > > > > Sid Schweiger > IT Manager, Entercom Boston LLC > WAAF - WEEI AM/FM - WMKK - WRKO - WVEI AM/FM > 20 Guest St / 3d Floor > Boston MA 02135-2040 > Phone: 617-779-5369 > Fax: 617-779-5379 > E-Mail: sid@wrko.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 6 00:09:08 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 00:09:08 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445BB3EA.5070804@fybush.com> References: <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <445BE924.4562.9D0170@localhost> On 5 May 2006 at 16:22, Scott Fybush wrote: > Leasing time on WKOX(AM) could have helped fill the gap, but if > construction remains on schedule, 1200 won't be a Framingham signal > anymore by the time Opening Day 2007 rolls around. Construction is finally under way for moving the 1200 signal? I thought it was tied up in local zoning disputes. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From wollman@csail.mit.edu Sat May 6 00:29:16 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 00:29:16 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445BE924.4562.9D0170@localhost> References: <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <445BE924.4562.9D0170@localhost> Message-ID: <17500.9756.389234.625793@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Construction is finally under way for moving the 1200 signal? I > thought it was tied up in local zoning disputes. Absolutely. The current order of business, as explained to me by Grady Moates, is: 1) Move WUNR transmitter to a portable storage container behind the building. 2) Completely gut the building. 3) Construct five new (unpainted, unlit) towers. 4) Install three new transmitters (all BE 4MX25s) and their associated phasors, combiners, and dummy loads. 5) Drop the two old towers. 6) Proof the three new facilities (1200, 1330, and 1600). 7) Haul away the old transmitter and the temporary container. -GAWollman From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sat May 6 04:20:58 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 04:20:58 -0400 Subject: "BRW says it's a done deal"? In-Reply-To: <445BF44F.8000908@fybush.com> References: <20060505232847.25643.qmail@web35909.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <445BF44F.8000908@fybush.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605060120i662cf59l2c6f3fde33771a6a@mail.gmail.com> More details via Sat. Herald http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articl eid=138137 "The deal had not been completed last night. Both the Sox and Entercom were hammering away at details. "'The Red Sox and Entercom engaged in productive discussions today regarding a radio contract,' the two sides said in a joint statement. 'They are now in the process of clarifying issues and memorializing understandings reached.' "Still, in an another twist to an unusual deal, Entercom is expected to move the Sox lineup from WEEI-AM (850) to sister station WRKO-AM (680) under the new contract. Both are part of the same corporate radio empire. The move will put the Red Sox on a stronger signal, but not nearly as clear as WBOS-FM (92.9) would have provided, said Scott Fybush, editor of NorthEast Radio Watch." On 5/5/06, Scott Fybush wrote: > Just for the record... > > Mark (BRW) and I have both been at this for long enough to have > developed a good sense of humor about the whole thing, and any T-shirt > (and calendar) jabs between us should be taken with tongue firmly in > cheek and a good sized grain of salt. (Which, it being Cinco de Mayo, > may as well be applied to the rim of a margarita glass...) > > None of which will necessarily stop me from showing up at the next > NERW/B-R-I dinner (think late August) in a "Done Deal" T-shirt :-) > > s > > Rob Trovato wrote: > > > > Where can I get one of those T-shirts? > > > > Or is "BostonRadioWatch" using it to wipe egg off his > > face? > > > > But, but...."BRW says it's a done deal"! > > > > You know we can all speculate, that's part of the fun. > > > > But until a formal announcement comes, anyone who says > > "Trust me! It's a Done Deal" shows some brazen > > foolishness. > From xtrovato@yahoo.com Sat May 6 03:33:42 2006 From: xtrovato@yahoo.com (R Trovato) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 03:33:42 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> Message-ID: <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> > >Bostonradiowatch.com is reporting that the games will be > >moving from WEEI to WRKO. How does this make any sense? WRKO has a better reach into Southern NH than WEEI does. That to me is the only difference. From dan.strassberg@att.net Sat May 6 07:46:54 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 07:46:54 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg><445BE924.4562.9D0170@localhost> <17500.9756.389234.625793@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <002901c67102$cd3c6b40$19eefea9@dstrassberg> NO auxiliary transmitters? I can't believe it! Maybe WKOX will continue to use 100 Mt Wayte as its aux site but what you've written does not provide any backups for WRCA or WUNR. I'm incredulous. And here's an interesting question, with Charles River Broadcasting folding its tent, is there really a reason any longer for moving from 750 South St? Maybe the WRCA towers can remain and become the backup facility for all three stations. WKOX's 1 kW-N from Framingham really would not constitute a satisfactory backup for the 50 kW signal from Newton. I was also surprised to discover that WUNR was not making a temporary move to 750 South St. I don't think anyone can deny that building and commissioning a five-tower, 95-kW triplex would be easier if it didn't have to be done in a 1.6-MHz field. Also, while I can believe that WRCA, which will run 25 kW D, would be allowed to use a 50-kW box, I'm less certain that the FCC allows 50 kW boxes for stations that run less than 21 kW--and WUNR will be running just 20 kW. And do CCU/Beasley/Champion propose any backup power at the Newton site? Is there room in the building for a rather substantial generator? There MUST be room for some pretty hefty dummy loads. I doubt whether a facility of that sort could be practical without dummy loads. Inquiring minds want to know. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Garrett Wollman" To: "A. Joseph Ross" Cc: "Boston Radio Interest" Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 12:29 AM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > < said: > > > Construction is finally under way for moving the 1200 signal? I > > thought it was tied up in local zoning disputes. > > Absolutely. The current order of business, as explained to me by > Grady Moates, is: > > 1) Move WUNR transmitter to a portable storage container behind the > building. > > 2) Completely gut the building. > > 3) Construct five new (unpainted, unlit) towers. > > 4) Install three new transmitters (all BE 4MX25s) and their associated > phasors, combiners, and dummy loads. > > 5) Drop the two old towers. > > 6) Proof the three new facilities (1200, 1330, and 1600). > > 7) Haul away the old transmitter and the temporary container. > > -GAWollman > From dan.strassberg@att.net Sat May 6 08:15:17 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 08:15:17 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us><445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> Message-ID: <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Cape Cod too. WRKO is almost local there because so much of the path from Burlington is over salt water; WEEI is barely audible on the Cape at night. In AM, transmitter location, directional pattern and frequency are VERY important. WRKO has a substantial edge on all counts. When Hildreth picked the Burlington site for WLAW--presumably before World War II--he picked the best available site in the area for a full-time AM, especially given the fact that he was siting a station in Lawrence that was really designed to serve Boston. WBZ has a better site but that site works so well because WBZ is the only Boston AM that's directional to the west. The WROL site, which used to be WHDH's 5 kW site, is great too because the signal reaches so much of the market via salt water. Putting an ND station there is not so bizarre (when it was 5 kW, WHDH was ND days), but putting a station that was directional to the east (as WHDH was at night) in a site that is (north) east of the COL, was definitely an example of brilliant out-of-the-box thinking decades before the term out-of-the-box thinking was coined. I rather doubt that the Saugus site would have worked for the larger three-tower array that WHDH built when it increased to 50 kW, but conventional thinking took over and WHDH moved to Needham. I suspect that a key reason was that, had the 50 kW WHDH remained in Saugus, the big power increase would not have bought any improvement in coverage to the west. The station had to directionalize to keep the signal to the west about where it was with the lower power (at least at night). Moving westward and directionalizing to the east was the obvious way to take advantage of the higher power. But unlike the Burlington site, the Needham site gets no advantages from salt water. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "R Trovato" To: "Sean Smyth" Cc: Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 3:33 AM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > > > >Bostonradiowatch.com is reporting that the games will be > > >moving from WEEI to WRKO. How does this make any sense? > > WRKO has a better reach into Southern NH than WEEI does. > > That to me is the only difference. From boston.guide@about.com Sat May 6 08:26:44 2006 From: boston.guide@about.com (John Maihos) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 08:26:44 -0400 Subject: Joe Green - RIP and others... In-Reply-To: <6.2.3.4.2.20060505210046.0252ab18@mail.comcast.net> References: <6.2.3.4.2.20060505181613.0250f830@mail.comcast.net> <002a01c670a1$d8284080$d1703144@IraApple> <6.2.3.4.2.20060505210046.0252ab18@mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.0.20060506082520.01c2d168@about.com> I wrote a short blog entry on Boston.About.com. If anyone would like to add info about Joe Green, please do so at http://boston.about.com/b/a/257307.htm -John Maihos From revdoug1@verizon.net Sat May 6 08:36:01 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 08:36:01 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us><445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> I didn't realize WBZ was directional west; I had thought it was non-directional. The station's signal is amazing. I've picked it up during daylight hours all the way from Sackville, New Brunswick to Port Jervis. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Strassberg" To: "R Trovato" ; "Boston Radio Interest" Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 8:15 AM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > Cape Cod too. WRKO is almost local there because so much of the path from > Burlington is over salt water; WEEI is barely audible on the Cape at night. > In AM, transmitter location, directional pattern and frequency are VERY > important. WRKO has a substantial edge on all counts. When Hildreth picked > the Burlington site for WLAW--presumably before World War II--he picked the > best available site in the area for a full-time AM, especially given the > fact that he was siting a station in Lawrence that was really designed to > serve Boston. WBZ has a better site but that site works so well because > WBZ is the only Boston AM that's directional to the west. The WROL site, > which used to be WHDH's 5 kW site, is great too because the signal reaches > so much of the market via salt water. Putting an ND station there is not so > bizarre (when it was 5 kW, WHDH was ND days), but putting a station that was > directional to the east (as WHDH was at night) in a site that is (north) > east of the COL, was definitely an example of brilliant out-of-the-box > thinking decades before the term out-of-the-box thinking was coined. I > rather doubt that the Saugus site would have worked for the larger > three-tower array that WHDH built when it increased to 50 kW, but > conventional thinking took over and WHDH moved to Needham. I suspect that a > key reason was that, had the 50 kW WHDH remained in Saugus, the big power > increase would not have bought any improvement in coverage to the west. The > station had to directionalize to keep the signal to the west about where it > was with the lower power (at least at night). Moving westward and > directionalizing to the east was the obvious way to take advantage of the > higher power. But unlike the Burlington site, the Needham site gets no > advantages from salt water. > > -- > Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net > eFax 707-215-6367 > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "R Trovato" > To: "Sean Smyth" > Cc: > Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 3:33 AM > Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > > > > > > > >Bostonradiowatch.com is reporting that the games will be > > > >moving from WEEI to WRKO. How does this make any sense? > > > > WRKO has a better reach into Southern NH than WEEI does. > > > > That to me is the only difference. > > > > From revdoug1@verizon.net Sat May 6 08:43:05 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 08:43:05 -0400 Subject: WHOM question Message-ID: <004001c6710a$9f98ca00$6401a8c0@pastor2> WHOM on Mount Washington touts itself as having New England's most powerful FM signal. I know that's doubtless true in terms of its coverage area, despite the fact that there are quite a few 100-kw FM stations out there. But the station used to claim that it had the most powerful FM signal in North America. (I don't know whether it still does.) Is that a stretch? It can be picked up all the way from Bucksport to Saratoga Springs and from Sherbrooke to Lowell. That's a mighty big area. -Doug From fox893@yahoo.com Sat May 6 09:01:37 2006 From: fox893@yahoo.com (Cooper Fox) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 06:01:37 -0700 (PDT) Subject: WHOM question In-Reply-To: <004001c6710a$9f98ca00$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <20060506130137.27448.qmail@web37910.mail.mud.yahoo.com> > But the station used to claim that it had the most > powerful FM signal in > North America. (I don't know whether it still > does.) Is that a stretch? > It can be picked up all the way from Bucksport to > Saratoga Springs and from > Sherbrooke to Lowell. That's a mighty big area. I was under the impression that in the Southern Appalachians(KY, AL, SC) there were "super FMs" that had an ERP of somewhere around 200 KWs. Basically, designed to cover backwoods areas. Are those still around? Magic 104 North Conway, NH V: (603)356-8870 F: (603)356-8875 ***Commercial Production Demo at: http://cooperfox.voice123.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From cohasset@frontiernet.net Sat May 6 09:49:47 2006 From: cohasset@frontiernet.net (Cohasset / Hippisley) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 13:49:47 +0000 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us><445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> Doug Drown wrote: > I didn't realize WBZ was directional west; I had thought it was > non-directional. The station's signal is amazing. I've picked it up during > daylight hours all the way from Sackville, New Brunswick to Port Jervis. > As I recall, WBZ uses two towers (probably a quarter wavelength, or about 230 feet, apart) to create a cardioid pattern with the null essentially due east and a very broad maximum from North through West to South -- just about ideal for its primary intended coverage area. Somewhere in my files I still have one of the ad sales fliers featuring their coverage pattern. With a decent receiver and minimal line noise it's often audible in Central NY during the day. It's 9:30 a.m. as I type this, and I'm listening to WBZ here in Old Forge, in the western Adirondack Mountains, maybe 30 miles east of Watertown NY and the eastern end of Lake Ontario. But then, I also remember hearing WMEX (1510) on my car radio at mid-day many times as I drove around the Syracuse NY and Finger Lakes region back during previous sunspot minima. I believe WMEX was 5 KW daytime. Today I'm hearing at least three different stations on 1510 at my desk, so I don't know if that would still be possible. Bud Hippisley From revdoug1@verizon.net Sat May 6 10:43:43 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 10:43:43 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us><445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> Message-ID: <005001c6711b$796d74f0$6401a8c0@pastor2> "It's 9:30 a.m. as I type this, and I'm listening to WBZ here in Old Forge, in the western Adirondack Mountains, maybe 30 miles east of Watertown NY and the eastern end of Lake Ontario." Wow. Not only am I impressed, but I may be one of the very few people who will read this who actually knows where Old Forge is. ;-) -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cohasset / Hippisley" To: "Doug Drown" ; Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 9:49 AM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > Doug Drown wrote: > > I didn't realize WBZ was directional west; I had thought it was > > non-directional. The station's signal is amazing. I've picked it up during > > daylight hours all the way from Sackville, New Brunswick to Port Jervis. > > > > As I recall, WBZ uses two towers (probably a quarter wavelength, or > about 230 feet, apart) to create a cardioid pattern with the null > essentially due east and a very broad maximum from North through West to > South -- just about ideal for its primary intended coverage area. > Somewhere in my files I still have one of the ad sales fliers featuring > their coverage pattern. > > With a decent receiver and minimal line noise it's often audible in > Central NY during the day. It's 9:30 a.m. as I type this, and I'm > listening to WBZ here in Old Forge, in the western Adirondack Mountains, > maybe 30 miles east of Watertown NY and the eastern end of Lake Ontario. > > But then, I also remember hearing WMEX (1510) on my car radio at mid-day > many times as I drove around the Syracuse NY and Finger Lakes region > back during previous sunspot minima. I believe WMEX was 5 KW daytime. > Today I'm hearing at least three different stations on 1510 at my desk, > so I don't know if that would still be possible. > > Bud Hippisley > > > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sat May 6 11:26:27 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 11:26:27 -0400 Subject: Globe on Greater Media's Sox pullout Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605060826g6242f431y8179d736ed778b9e@mail.gmail.com> Globe article http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/05/06/sox_likel y_to_move_games_to_wrko/ "Greater Media had been the favorite to win the deal this week, but during several hours of meetings at Fenway Park in the owners' luxury suite Thursday, the two sides could not agree on final terms...When Greater Media walked away, it left a rich deal on the table: $140 million over 10 years, plus an $8 million signing bonus and the ownership stake, according to one account." The article also says that while WBOS "set a billing record" for the month of May, it is still the lowest rated of GM's Boston stations. Peter Smyth did express "strong support" for the station but wouldn't rule out a sports talk format, even without the Sox ("left the door open")... From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sat May 6 11:52:44 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 11:52:44 -0400 Subject: ProJo: Sox radio deal $20 mil. a year? Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605060852y250d6ec9nb62f96eb6105538@mail.gmail.com> http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/newsblog/archives/2006/0 5/red_sox_sign_re.html#more >From a Providence Journal blog: "In a landmark deal guaranteed to reverberate throughout baseball and the broadcasting industry, the Red Sox today secured a record-breaking 10-year, $200 million deal to return their play-by-play rights to Boston flagship WEEI Radio. "The rights had been the subject of a bidding war between Entercom Radio, the parent company of WEEI, and Greater Media, which owns a handful of stations in Boston, including WBOS-FM." -- Journal sports writer Sean McAdam That's TWICE what the Yankees deal was. From francini@mac.com Sat May 6 11:56:30 2006 From: francini@mac.com (John Francini) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 11:56:30 -0400 Subject: Globe on Greater Media's Sox pullout In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605060826g6242f431y8179d736ed778b9e@mail.gmail.com> References: <1fbbbced0605060826g6242f431y8179d736ed778b9e@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Would it not make sense, if this is indeed true, for Entercom to move the entire WEEI format (and, obviously, calls) to 680 and put WRKO on 850? This would keep the synergies of having the sports talk AND the sports broadcasting together, where they belong? John At 11:26 -0400 5/6/06, Bob Nelson wrote: >Globe article > >http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/05/06/sox_likel >y_to_move_games_to_wrko/ > >"Greater Media had been the favorite to win the deal this week, but >during several hours of meetings at Fenway Park in the owners' luxury >suite Thursday, the two sides could not agree on final terms...When >Greater Media walked away, it left a rich deal on the table: $140 >million over 10 years, plus an $8 million signing bonus and the >ownership stake, according to one account." > >The article also says that while WBOS "set a billing record" for the >month of May, it is still the lowest rated of GM's Boston stations. >Peter Smyth did express "strong support" for the station but wouldn't >rule out a sports talk format, even without the Sox >("left the door open")... -- ---- John Francini +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace; | | that two are called a law firm; and that three or more become a Congress.| | And by God I have had _this_ Congress!" | | -- John Adams | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sat May 6 12:03:39 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 12:03:39 -0400 Subject: Globe on Greater Media's Sox pullout In-Reply-To: References: <1fbbbced0605060826g6242f431y8179d736ed778b9e@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605060903q2ee117a9idf5ec3db67b6f68c@mail.gmail.com> On 5/6/06, John Francini wrote: > Would it not make sense, if this is indeed true, for Entercom to move > the entire WEEI format (and, obviously, calls) to 680 and put WRKO on > 850? This would keep the synergies of having the sports talk AND the > sports broadcasting together, where they belong? I had suggested that as a possibility earlier: WEEI AM 680--D&C, Dale & Holley, Big Show, Planet Mikey or Sox, Fox Sports, Celtics (unless they put them on 850) WRKO AM 850--Scott Miller, DePetro, Rush, Howie, Taste of Boston, Savage, Noory The Sox deal (as reported in Prov. Journal blog) with Entercom is said to be $20 million a year for 10 years. So if they did a frequency swap, expect to remain that way for awhile $20 million? Well, that pays the contract of ONE Sox player. That's what Manny Ramirez is guaranteed until the end of 2008 (with team options for '09 and '10 at same price) From francini@mac.com Sat May 6 12:09:46 2006 From: francini@mac.com (John Francini) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 12:09:46 -0400 Subject: Globe on Greater Media's Sox pullout In-Reply-To: <17500.51084.400189.437094@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> References: <1fbbbced0605060826g6242f431y8179d736ed778b9e@mail.gmail.com> <17500.51084.400189.437094@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: I can understand that -- to a point. There've been more than a few times that the talk shows have been more than a little critical of various things that have happened either on the field or in the front office. However, they don't quite get the show-biz maxim that "any publicity is good publicity" -- those critical discussions GET PEOPLE TO TUNE IN, both to the shows and to the games themselves. They strike me as being huge control freaks. People are going to talk. And, since it's Boston, they're going to "analyze and dissect" every tiny action that takes place anywhere within the confines of Fenway Park. It comes with the territory. Regardless. Actually, maybe they do, and it's why they held out for such a huge deal, if Sean McAdam's blog entry is to be believed. I suppose that if the games go to WRKO, WEEI-AM will likely pick up Fox Sports Net--the way they do now when the Patriots are playing--so they won't have to have their local talent compete with the broadcasts themselves. I suppose it depends on _why_ the games get moved to WRKO. If it's because WRKO has a marginally better signal in some parts of metro Boston, it would make sense to do the format swap. If it's because the Sox want to try to keep the game broadcasts and the talk about the games separate, then I suppose Entercom will keep the formats where they are... John >< said: > >> Would it not make sense, if this is indeed true, for Entercom to move >> the entire WEEI format (and, obviously, calls) to 680 and put WRKO on >> 850? This would keep the synergies of having the sports talk AND the >> sports broadcasting together, where they belong? > >It's entirely possible that the Sox didn't want to have the games on >the sports-talk station. > >-GAWollman -- ---- John Francini +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace; | | that two are called a law firm; and that three or more become a Congress.| | And by God I have had _this_ Congress!" | | -- John Adams | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ From wollman@csail.mit.edu Sat May 6 12:12:52 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 12:12:52 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> Message-ID: <17500.51972.801463.59794@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > As I recall, WBZ uses two towers (probably a quarter wavelength, or > about 230 feet, apart) to create a cardioid pattern with the null > essentially due east and a very broad maximum from North through West to > South Almost correct. WBZ's towers are quarter-wave spaced and half a wave tall with a 1:1 field ratio. Only trouble is they were built for 990 kHz, so everything is just slightly off at 1030. To compensate for the over-spacing, the phase angle is 86 degrees instead of 90 as would be expected. -GAWollman From xtrovato@yahoo.com Sat May 6 12:47:42 2006 From: xtrovato@yahoo.com (R Trovato) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 12:47:42 -0400 Subject: WHOM question References: <004001c6710a$9f98ca00$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <04f801c6712c$d6961ea0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> > WHOM on Mount Washington touts itself as having New England's most powerful > FM signal. I know that's doubtless true in terms of its coverage area, > despite the fact that there are quite a few 100-kw FM stations out there. > But the station used to claim that it had the most powerful FM signal in > North America. (I don't know whether it still does.) Is that a stretch? > It can be picked up all the way from Bucksport to Saratoga Springs and from > Sherbrooke to Lowell. That's a mighty big area. It covers an awful lot of pine trees! If you ever fly over NH, Maine and VT, you realize how much land there is with NO people! From mamros@MIT.EDU Sat May 6 12:51:31 2006 From: mamros@MIT.EDU (Shawn Mamros) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 12:51:31 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: Your message of "Fri, 05 May 2006 19:47:39 EDT." <445BE41B.7020700@billoneill.us> Message-ID: <200605061651.k46GpVfc025004@mass-toolpike.mit.edu> Rob Trovato wrote: > "...because we're an AM company!" All of our big > money makers are big 50kw full-service stations. > Thats the way it is....and thats the way it's always > gonna be!" Didn't the FCC at one point mandate that simulcasting an AM on a co-owned FM would no longer be allowed? I thought that was the reason for a lot of the owners of the big AMs to spin off their FMs, including Westinghouse. Bill O'Neill replied: >Makes you wonder if that Westinghouse guy was related to the same guy >who said, "....we're a refrigerator company! All of our big money >makers are big, metal appliances. That's the way it....... Seriously, for the longest time it seemed that Westinghouse Electric couldn't figure out exactly what they wanted to be. Were they in the appliance business, or the broadcast business, or did they want to build nuclear reactors, or what? I recall a friend of mine in college - this would've been the mid-1980s - went for a job interview with Westinghouse. He expressed admiration for their broadcasting business, only to be told by the interviewer that Westinghouse was planning on getting out of broadcasting. Given the parent company's frequent weather shifts, perhaps it was true at the time, but you have to wonder where that interviewer wound up when Westinghouse finally wound up divesting all their non-broacast businesses and acquired (and took the identity of) CBS. -Shawn Mamros E-mail to: mamros -at- mit dot edu From wollman@csail.mit.edu Sat May 6 12:55:39 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 12:55:39 -0400 Subject: WHOM question In-Reply-To: <004001c6710a$9f98ca00$6401a8c0@pastor2> References: <004001c6710a$9f98ca00$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <17500.54539.326319.940107@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > WHOM on Mount Washington touts itself as having New England's most powerful > FM signal. That's certainly not true; many stations up there in C-land have as much or more power. > But the station used to claim that it had the most powerful FM signal in > North America. It does have the largest *land* coverage area. Some of the Mount Wilson FMs have larger coverage radii, but cover more ocean. (KPFK in particular is usually cited as number one among these.) Here's the complete list of licensed facilities in the U.S. with more than 1000 m HAAT and more than 20 kW ERP: Call. | Freq./MHz | HAAT/m | ERP/kW | City | St --------------+-----------+--------+--------+-----------------+---- KRST | 92.3 | 1268 | 22 | ALBUQUERQUE | NM KBQI | 107.9 | 1259 | 22.5 | ALBUQUERQUE | NM KPEK | 100.3 | 1253 | 22.5 | ALBUQUERQUE | NM WPKQ | 103.7 | 1181 | 21.5 | NORTH CONWAY | NH KBZN | 97.9 | 1149 | 26 | OGDEN | UT WHOM | 94.9 | 1141 | 48 | MT. WASHINGTON | NH KQOL-FM | 93.1 | 1141 | 24 | LAS VEGAS | NV KBER | 101.1 | 1140 | 25 | OGDEN | UT KENZ | 101.9 | 1140 | 25 | OGDEN | UT KOSY-FM | 106.5 | 1140 | 25 | SPANISH FORK | UT KRSP-FM | 103.5 | 1140 | 25 | SALT LAKE CITY | UT KSFI | 100.3 | 1140 | 25 | SALT LAKE CITY | UT KSL-FM | 102.7 | 1140 | 25 | MIDVALE | UT KSOP-FM | 104.3 | 1140 | 25 | SALT LAKE CITY | UT KUBL-FM | 93.3 | 1140 | 25 | SALT LAKE CITY | UT KXRK | 96.3 | 1140 | 25 | PROVO | UT KXRV | 105.7 | 1140 | 25 | CENTERVILLE | UT KZHT | 97.1 | 1140 | 25 | SALT LAKE CITY | UT KXTE | 107.5 | 1137 | 24.5 | PAHRUMP | NV KJUL | 104.3 | 1128 | 24.5 | NORTH LAS VEGAS | NV KOMP | 92.3 | 1124 | 25 | LAS VEGAS | NV KNPR | 88.9 | 1122 | 24.5 | LAS VEGAS | NV KXPT | 97.1 | 1120 | 25 | LAS VEGAS | NV KNCQ | 97.3 | 1088 | 28 | REDDING | CA KCBS-FM | 93.1 | 1056 | 28.5 | LOS ANGELES | CA Notice that there are only two "W" callsigns in this list, and both of them are on Mount Washington. Note also that WHOM operates with an ERP approximately twice that of the all the other stations. (As a point of trivia, KCBS-FM's "standard" predicted 60 dBu contour includes all of L.A. county; KPFK's does not. KCBS-FM certainly has the largest coverage by population served. Just by way of contrast, here are all the "superpower" FMs (those with more than 100 kW ERP for class Cs, or more than 50 kW ERP for class Bs, regardless of HAAT): Call. | Freq./MHz | HAAT/m | ERP/kW | City | St --------------+-----------+--------+--------+---------------+---- KRTH-FM | 101.1 | 955 | 51 | LOS ANGELES | CA KLOS | 95.5 | 954 | 61 | LOS ANGELES | CA KRTH-FM | 101.1 | 927 | 54 | LOS ANGELES | CA KVYB | 103.3 | 905 | 105 | SANTA BARBARA | CA KLOS | 95.5 | 890 | 68 | LOS ANGELES | CA KBIG-FM | 104.3 | 882 | 84 | LOS ANGELES | CA KPFK | 90.7 | 863 | 110 | LOS ANGELES | CA KTWV | 94.7 | 863 | 52 | LOS ANGELES | CA WIPR-FM | 91.3 | 825 | 105 | SAN JUAN | PR WSLQ | 99.1 | 607 | 150 | ROANOKE | VA KSKS | 93.7 | 580 | 68 | FRESNO | CA KLYY | 97.5 | 557 | 72 | RIVERSIDE | CA KPFA | 94.1 | 405 | 59 | BERKELEY | CA KMEL | 106.1 | 393 | 69 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA KQED-FM | 88.5 | 387 | 110 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA WKSB | 102.7 | 387 | 53 | WILLIAMSPORT | PA KYSR | 98.7 | 360 | 75 | LOS ANGELES | CA WTSS | 102.5 | 355 | 110 | BUFFALO | NY KIOI | 101.3 | 354 | 125 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA KPFA | 94.1 | 340 | 59 | BERKELEY | CA WFGI-FM | 95.5 | 323 | 57 | JOHNSTOWN | PA KISQ | 98.1 | 309.6 | 75 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA KLLC | 97.3 | 309 | 82 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA KEAR | 106.9 | 305 | 80 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA WMC-FM | 99.7 | 277 | 290 | MEMPHIS | TN WKAR-FM | 90.5 | 273 | 86 | EAST LANSING | MI WILL-FM | 90.9 | 259 | 105 | URBANA | IL WDVE | 102.5 | 250 | 55 | PITTSBURGH | PA WOOD-FM | 105.7 | 247 | 265 | GRAND RAPIDS | MI WFBQ | 94.7 | 245 | 58 | INDIANAPOLIS | IN WIOG | 102.5 | 244 | 86 | BAY CITY | MI WBCT | 93.7 | 238 | 320 | GRAND RAPIDS | MI WUOM | 91.7 | 237 | 93 | ANN ARBOR | MI WNED-FM | 94.5 | 216 | 105 | BUFFALO | NY WHAD | 90.7 | 208 | 72 | DELAFIELD | WI WNTQ | 93.1 | 201 | 97 | SYRACUSE | NY WYYY | 94.5 | 198 | 100 | SYRACUSE | NY WGBH | 89.7 | 198 | 98 | BOSTON | MA WDCX | 99.5 | 195 | 110 | BUFFALO | NY KMYI | 94.1 | 188 | 100 | SAN DIEGO | CA WETA | 90.9 | 186 | 75 | WASHINGTON | DC WVGR | 104.1 | 183 | 108 | GRAND RAPIDS | MI WBCT | 93.7 | 180 | 70 | GRAND RAPIDS | MI WBUF | 92.9 | 177 | 91 | BUFFALO | NY WNCI | 97.9 | 171 | 175 | COLUMBUS | OH WKEE-FM | 100.5 | 171 | 53 | HUNTINGTON | WV WDTW-FM | 106.7 | 155 | 61 | DETROIT | MI WFRG-FM | 104.3 | 151 | 100 | UTICA | NY WUOM | 91.7 | 146 | 110 | ANN ARBOR | MI WPEL-FM | 96.5 | 140 | 57 | MONTROSE | PA WQXK | 105.1 | 136 | 88 | SALEM | OH WMBI-FM | 90.1 | 135 | 100 | CHICAGO | IL WSOY-FM | 102.9 | 135 | 54 | DECATUR | IL WXDX-FM | 105.9 | 131 | 72 | PITTSBURGH | PA WKQI | 95.5 | 130 | 100 | DETROIT | MI WGH-FM | 97.3 | 120 | 74 | NEWPORT NEWS | VA WOMC | 104.3 | 110 | 190 | DETROIT | MI WRVQ | 94.5 | 107 | 200 | RICHMOND | VA WQKT | 104.5 | 101 | 52 | WOOSTER | OH KZZO | 100.5 | 100 | 115 | SACRAMENTO | CA WOMC | 104.3 | 80.2 | 58 | DETROIT | MI WOMC | 104.3 | 79 | 58 | DETROIT | MI What's notable is that so few of them were built with any height at all; there used to be more, but over the years stations have found the call of additional HAAT to be more compelling than the "superpower" designation. -GAWollman From wollman@csail.mit.edu Sat May 6 13:21:49 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 13:21:49 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <002901c67102$cd3c6b40$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <002c01c6707e$48da63e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <445BE924.4562.9D0170@localhost> <17500.9756.389234.625793@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <002901c67102$cd3c6b40$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <17500.56109.56948.900525@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > NO auxiliary transmitters? I didn't say that. In fact, I didn't mention backups at all, since I don't know what any of the stations will be doing for backup. I'm not sure if Grady said anything about backups. > question, with Charles River Broadcasting folding its tent, is there really > a reason any longer for moving from 750 South St? Does Charles River own that parking lot? > Also, while I can believe that WRCA, which will run 25 kW D, would > be allowed to use a 50-kW box, It doesn't need to. They're getting a BE 4MX25. So is WUNR. Since these are solid-state transmitters, there's no issue with odd or low power levels (other than efficiency). > And do CCU/Beasley/Champion propose any backup power at the Newton > site? Don't know. Grady did say that the zoning restrictions mean that (other than replacing the towers) they cannot make any alterations to the exterior of the building, which is why the stations are buying the BEs -- they are the only transmitters small enough and efficient enough to fit three stations in the old building. -GAWollman From lglavin@lycos.com Sat May 6 14:51:07 2006 From: lglavin@lycos.com (Laurence Glavin) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 13:51:07 -0500 Subject: WHOM question Message-ID: <20060506185107.EA52986B12@ws7-1.us4.outblaze.com> > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Garrett Wollman" > To: "Doug Drown" > Subject: WHOM question > Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 12:55:39 -0400 > > Notice that there are only two "W" callsigns in this list, and both of > them are on Mount Washington. Note also that WHOM operates with an > ERP approximately twice that of the all the other stations. (As > Just by way of contrast, here are all the "superpower" FMs (those with > more than 100 kW ERP for class Cs, or more than 50 kW ERP for class > Bs, regardless of HAAT): > > Call. | Freq./MHz | HAAT/m | ERP/kW | City | St > --------------+-----------+--------+--------+---------------+---- > KRTH-FM | 101.1 | 955 | 51 | LOS ANGELES | CA > KLOS | 95.5 | 954 | 61 | LOS ANGELES | CA > KRTH-FM | 101.1 | 927 | 54 | LOS ANGELES | CA > KVYB | 103.3 | 905 | 105 | SANTA BARBARA | CA > KLOS | 95.5 | 890 | 68 | LOS ANGELES | CA > KBIG-FM | 104.3 | 882 | 84 | LOS ANGELES | CA > KPFK | 90.7 | 863 | 110 | LOS ANGELES | CA > KTWV | 94.7 | 863 | 52 | LOS ANGELES | CA > WIPR-FM | 91.3 | 825 | 105 | SAN JUAN | PR > WSLQ | 99.1 | 607 | 150 | ROANOKE | VA > KSKS | 93.7 | 580 | 68 | FRESNO | CA > KLYY | 97.5 | 557 | 72 | RIVERSIDE | CA > KPFA | 94.1 | 405 | 59 | BERKELEY | CA > KMEL | 106.1 | 393 | 69 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA > KQED-FM | 88.5 | 387 | 110 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA > WKSB | 102.7 | 387 | 53 | WILLIAMSPORT | PA > KYSR | 98.7 | 360 | 75 | LOS ANGELES | CA > WTSS | 102.5 | 355 | 110 | BUFFALO | NY > KIOI | 101.3 | 354 | 125 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA > KPFA | 94.1 | 340 | 59 | BERKELEY | CA > WFGI-FM | 95.5 | 323 | 57 | JOHNSTOWN | PA > KISQ | 98.1 | 309.6 | 75 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA > KLLC | 97.3 | 309 | 82 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA > KEAR | 106.9 | 305 | 80 | SAN FRANCISCO | CA > WMC-FM | 99.7 | 277 | 290 | MEMPHIS | TN > WKAR-FM | 90.5 | 273 | 86 | EAST LANSING | MI > WILL-FM | 90.9 | 259 | 105 | URBANA | IL > WDVE | 102.5 | 250 | 55 | PITTSBURGH | PA > WOOD-FM | 105.7 | 247 | 265 | GRAND RAPIDS | MI > WFBQ | 94.7 | 245 | 58 | INDIANAPOLIS | IN > WIOG | 102.5 | 244 | 86 | BAY CITY | MI > WBCT | 93.7 | 238 | 320 | GRAND RAPIDS | MI > WUOM | 91.7 | 237 | 93 | ANN ARBOR | MI > WNED-FM | 94.5 | 216 | 105 | BUFFALO | NY > WHAD | 90.7 | 208 | 72 | DELAFIELD | WI > WNTQ | 93.1 | 201 | 97 | SYRACUSE | NY > WYYY | 94.5 | 198 | 100 | SYRACUSE | NY > WGBH | 89.7 | 198 | 98 | BOSTON | MA > WDCX | 99.5 | 195 | 110 | BUFFALO | NY > KMYI | 94.1 | 188 | 100 | SAN DIEGO | CA > WETA | 90.9 | 186 | 75 | WASHINGTON | DC > WVGR | 104.1 | 183 | 108 | GRAND RAPIDS | MI > WBCT | 93.7 | 180 | 70 | GRAND RAPIDS | MI > WBUF | 92.9 | 177 | 91 | BUFFALO | NY > WNCI | 97.9 | 171 | 175 | COLUMBUS | OH > WKEE-FM | 100.5 | 171 | 53 | HUNTINGTON | WV > WDTW-FM | 106.7 | 155 | 61 | DETROIT | MI > WFRG-FM | 104.3 | 151 | 100 | UTICA | NY > WUOM | 91.7 | 146 | 110 | ANN ARBOR | MI > WPEL-FM | 96.5 | 140 | 57 | MONTROSE | PA > WQXK | 105.1 | 136 | 88 | SALEM | OH > WMBI-FM | 90.1 | 135 | 100 | CHICAGO | IL > WSOY-FM | 102.9 | 135 | 54 | DECATUR | IL > WXDX-FM | 105.9 | 131 | 72 | PITTSBURGH | PA > WKQI | 95.5 | 130 | 100 | DETROIT | MI > WGH-FM | 97.3 | 120 | 74 | NEWPORT NEWS | VA > WOMC | 104.3 | 110 | 190 | DETROIT | MI > WRVQ | 94.5 | 107 | 200 | RICHMOND | VA > WQKT | 104.5 | 101 | 52 | WOOSTER | OH > KZZO | 100.5 | 100 | 115 | SACRAMENTO | CA > WOMC | 104.3 | 80.2 | 58 | DETROIT | MI > WOMC | 104.3 | 79 | 58 | DETROIT | MI > > What's notable is that so few of them were built with any height at > all; there used to be more, but over the years stations have found the > call of additional HAAT to be more compelling than the "superpower" > designation. > > -GAWollman I notice that one of these stations with exceptional facilities is an operation at 95.5 in Detroit. Hmmm. There's a 95.5 in Cleveland that is a successor to WCLV which voluntarily moved off that frequency to one with a lower power restriction. Detroit and Cleveland are not only close together as the crow flies but are sparated by a huge lake so that there wouldn't be much terrain-shielding but instead a straight path mitigated only by a slight amount of the earth's curvature. I wonder if WCLV's coverage area therefore was not all that great taking into account the Detroit signal on the same frequency. Something similar happened to the 94.9 in W. Yarmouth on Cape Cod. In various places on the Cape, first WMTW-FM and then WHOM could be heard interfering with WXTK while it was on 94.9. -- _______________________________________________ Search for businesses by name, location, or phone number. -Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 From revdoug1@verizon.net Sat May 6 14:57:50 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 14:57:50 -0400 Subject: WHOM question References: <004001c6710a$9f98ca00$6401a8c0@pastor2> <04f801c6712c$d6961ea0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> Message-ID: <008101c6713e$f99ced40$6401a8c0@pastor2> "If you ever fly over NH, Maine and VT, you realize how much land there is with NO people!" Tell me about it! --- the county I live in (Somerset, in Maine) is one-third the size of the state of Vermont and the overall population distribution is about 4 people per square mile. Piscataquis is even less. But it's quiet . . . What's more, who's to say moose don't like radio? -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "R Trovato" To: "Doug Drown" ; "Boston Radio Interest Board" Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 12:47 PM Subject: Re: WHOM question > > > > > WHOM on Mount Washington touts itself as having New England's most > powerful > > FM signal. I know that's doubtless true in terms of its coverage area, > > despite the fact that there are quite a few 100-kw FM stations out there. > > But the station used to claim that it had the most powerful FM signal in > > North America. (I don't know whether it still does.) Is that a stretch? > > It can be picked up all the way from Bucksport to Saratoga Springs and > from > > Sherbrooke to Lowell. That's a mighty big area. > > It covers an awful lot of pine trees! > > If you ever fly over NH, Maine and VT, you realize how much land there is > with NO people! > > From kc1ih@mac.com Sat May 6 15:37:22 2006 From: kc1ih@mac.com (Larry Weil) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 15:37:22 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20060506153502.00adfa18@mac.com> At 09:49 AM 5/6/2006, Cohasset / Hippisley wrote: >As I recall, WBZ uses two towers (probably a quarter wavelength, or >about 230 feet, apart) to create a cardioid pattern with the null >essentially due east and a very broad maximum from North through >West to South -- just about ideal for its primary intended coverage area. Why would there need to be a null to the east? Is there a station somewhere in Europe that they are required to protect? Larry Weil Lake Wobegone, NH From wollman@csail.mit.edu Sat May 6 15:39:27 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 15:39:27 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <7.0.1.0.2.20060506153502.00adfa18@mac.com> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> <7.0.1.0.2.20060506153502.00adfa18@mac.com> Message-ID: <17500.64367.155348.777335@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Why would there need to be a null to the east? Because nobody lives there. Why waste half your power over the ocean? -GAWollman From kc1ih@mac.com Sat May 6 16:00:19 2006 From: kc1ih@mac.com (Larry Weil) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 16:00:19 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <17500.64367.155348.777335@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> <7.0.1.0.2.20060506153502.00adfa18@mac.com> <17500.64367.155348.777335@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20060506155640.025951f8@mac.com> At 03:39 PM 5/6/2006, Garrett Wollman wrote: >< said: > > > Why would there need to be a null to the east? > >Because nobody lives there. Why waste half your power over the ocean? But I always thought that directional AM's have no forward gain, that the only purpose of being directional is to protect the signals of other stations on the same or adjacent frequencies. Am I wrong? Larry Weil Lake Wobegone, NH From stephanie@gordsven.com Sat May 6 16:14:46 2006 From: stephanie@gordsven.com (Stephanie Weil) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 16:14:46 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <7.0.1.0.2.20060506155640.025951f8@mac.com> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> <7.0.1.0.2.20060506153502.00adfa18@mac.com> <17500.64367.155348.777335@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <7.0.1.0.2.20060506155640.025951f8@mac.com> Message-ID: <1133.66.65.49.10.1146946486.squirrel@66.65.49.10> On Sat, May 6, 2006 16:00, Larry Weil said: > But I always thought that directional AM's have no forward gain, that > the only purpose of being directional is to protect the signals of > other stations on the same or adjacent frequencies. Am I wrong? Yeah, but picture it like squeezing a balloon. That extra air (signal) has to go somewhere. So if the pattern is pinched in over here, it gets augmented over there. -- Stephanie Weil New York City, NY, USA From dan.strassberg@att.net Sat May 6 16:15:13 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 16:15:13 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us><445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg><003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> Message-ID: <002601c67149$cdbe7440$19eefea9@dstrassberg> > > But then, I also remember hearing WMEX (1510) on my car radio at mid-day > many times as I drove around the Syracuse NY and Finger Lakes region > back during previous sunspot minima. I believe WMEX was 5 KW daytime. > Today I'm hearing at least three different stations on 1510 at my desk, > so I don't know if that would still be possible. > > Bud Hippisley > Well, for many years, Craig Fox (WOLF, WSIV, WVOA (CP)) held a CP for 1510 in the Syracuse area. I think he was granted a move of WOLF to 1510 before WSIV was built. IIRC, he had been granted 50 kW-D/2.5 kW-N DA-2 with lots of towers and patterns aimed due north, although the night pattern must have been designed to miss CJRS. He eventually turned in the CP. I've met Fox. He impressed me as kind of a weired guy. I think, though, that after years of struggling, he got the tall tower at the WOLF site working with acceptable efficiency at 1490. Took him years to solve the problems, which might have been the result of using steel, rather than copper, wire for the Folded Unipole antenna. I've heard that if you want a Folded Unipole to work and you want the strength of steel, you must use copper-plated steel. The resistance of the steel without the copper plating is just too high and the efficiency suffers. Also the high resistance lowers the propagation velocity, which increases the electrical height of the antenna. If you start with a 225-degree tower, as Fox did, you wind up way beyond the point of maximum efficiency, so you take a double hit on efficiency. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sat May 6 16:32:49 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 16:32:49 -0400 Subject: Chick music? (was re: Greater Media's out of the Sox bidding) In-Reply-To: <1114.66.65.49.10.1146944069.squirrel@66.65.49.10> References: <30780.12.37.144.130.1146858458.squirrel@12.37.144.130> <20060506035542.54998.qmail@web37909.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <1fbbbced0605060123g101ff4eck8e668ea242ff869a@mail.gmail.com> <1114.66.65.49.10.1146944069.squirrel@66.65.49.10> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605061332x3149c1c6oe4bdf60da032d8ac@mail.gmail.com> Don't worry, I was kidding... :) Wasn't taking it hard at all. >>Awww .... don't take it so personally. From dan.strassberg@att.net Sat May 6 17:02:22 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 17:02:22 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com><03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net><003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg><003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2><445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net><7.0.1.0.2.20060506153502.00adfa18@mac.com><17500.64367.155348.777335@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu><7.0.1.0.2.20060506155640.025951f8@mac.com> <1133.66.65.49.10.1146946486.squirrel@66.65.49.10> Message-ID: <004d01c67151$a1e88e20$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Yeah, but it's a bookkeeping issue. What you say is true for directional US AMs but, by FCC regulations, not for directional US FMs. But it IS true for directional Canadian FMs. As I understand it, powers stated for directional Canadian FMs are based on the RMS power over 360 degrees (as is the case for all US AMs, directional or not). However, CPs for directional Canadian FMs also state the "peak" power based on the maximum field in the horizontal plane. Powers stated for directional FMs in the US are based only on the maximum field in the horizontal plane. Therefore, a directional FM in the US can have an RMS power that is substantially lower than the power the station advertises on its stationery, which is what the Canadians call peak power but the US calls simply "power." The Canadian method is more precise--and some would say more accurate. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephanie Weil" To: "Larry Weil" Cc: Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 4:14 PM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > > On Sat, May 6, 2006 16:00, Larry Weil said: > > > But I always thought that directional AM's have no forward gain, that > > the only purpose of being directional is to protect the signals of > > other stations on the same or adjacent frequencies. Am I wrong? > > Yeah, but picture it like squeezing a balloon. That extra air (signal) > has to go somewhere. > > So if the pattern is pinched in over here, it gets augmented over there. > > -- > Stephanie Weil > New York City, NY, USA From dan.strassberg@att.net Sat May 6 17:17:45 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 17:17:45 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com><03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net><003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg><003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2><445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net><7.0.1.0.2.20060506153502.00adfa18@mac.com><17500.64367.155348.777335@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <7.0.1.0.2.20060506155640.025951f8@mac.com> Message-ID: <001901c67152$af153f20$19eefea9@dstrassberg> You ARE wrong. Per FCC regulations, what you say is true of directional FMs in the US but not true of directional AMs. For example, WWJ Detroit's signal to the north at night is almost 8000 mV/m @ 1 km. The RMS field is about 2400 mV/m @ 1km--decent for 50 kW, which is what WWJ runs. But WWJ's equivalent power at the signal maximum is (80/24)^2*50,000 or the equivalent of something in the neighborhood of 555 kW. The pattern is, of course, a teardrop, so the arc over which the signal exceeds the equivalent of 500 kW is pretty small. Directional US AMs rarely mention the peak power at the pattern maximum, say, on the station's letterhead. I suppose the FCC may actually have a rule about not advertising this value because doing so would be misleading, but as I said in another posting, the peak power is the only power that directional US FMs mention. Of course, if the FCC were consistent in this matter it would be inconsistent with its rule of not being consistent ;>) -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry Weil" To: Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 4:00 PM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > At 03:39 PM 5/6/2006, Garrett Wollman wrote: > > >< said: > > > > > Why would there need to be a null to the east? > > > >Because nobody lives there. Why waste half your power over the ocean? > > But I always thought that directional AM's have no forward gain, that > the only purpose of being directional is to protect the signals of > other stations on the same or adjacent frequencies. Am I wrong? > > > Larry Weil > Lake Wobegone, NH > From dan.strassberg@att.net Sat May 6 17:17:52 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 17:17:52 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com><03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net><003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg><003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2><445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> <7.0.1.0.2.20060506153502.00adfa18@mac.com> Message-ID: <001a01c67152$af925e60$19eefea9@dstrassberg> The pattern was designed to avoid wasting energy over the ocean. As a result, WBZ's signal over an arc of close to 180 degrees centered on the west is the equivalent of about 100 kW into a single half-wave tower. More recently, however, a 1030 station was built in, IIRC, San Juan PR. Although far from the center of WBZ's null, this station receives less interference from WBZ than it would receive if the Boston station were ND. Consequently, if WBZ were to make any changes in its facilities, it would certainly not be allowed to increase its night signal in the direction of Puerto Rico and might be required, under the "ratchet rule," to reduce its signal toward Puerto Rico by 10% (depends on whether WBZ's 10% skywave in PR is greater or less than 0.1 mV/m. If greater, WBZ establishes the PR station's NIF contour at something greater than 2 mV/m. In that case, WBZ would have to reduce its signal toward PR at night in connection with any substantive change in its operation). Based on all of the machinations that west coast stations are now going through to reduce the signals they send toward Hawaii, which is farther from, say, San Diego than I believe PR to be from Boston, I'd say that it's likely that WBZ's 10% skywave in PR IS greater than 0.1 mV/m. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry Weil" To: Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 3:37 PM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > At 09:49 AM 5/6/2006, Cohasset / Hippisley wrote: > > >As I recall, WBZ uses two towers (probably a quarter wavelength, or > >about 230 feet, apart) to create a cardioid pattern with the null > >essentially due east and a very broad maximum from North through > >West to South -- just about ideal for its primary intended coverage area. > > Why would there need to be a null to the east? Is there a station > somewhere in Europe that they are required to protect? > > > Larry Weil > Lake Wobegone, NH > From sid@wrko.com Sat May 6 17:21:42 2006 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 15:21:42 -0600 Subject: Soxless Boss Message-ID: >>Why would there need to be a null to the east? Is there a station somewhere in Europe that they are required to protect?<< WBZ, just like the other I-A directional (WWL), does not want to waste signal where there are no people. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom Boston LLC WAAF - WEEI AM/FM - WMKK - WRKO - WVEI AM/FM 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Boston MA 02135-2040 Phone: 617-779-5369 Fax: 617-779-5379 E-Mail: sid@wrko.com From wollman@csail.mit.edu Sat May 6 19:26:49 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 19:26:49 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <7.0.1.0.2.20060506155640.025951f8@mac.com> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> <7.0.1.0.2.20060506153502.00adfa18@mac.com> <17500.64367.155348.777335@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <7.0.1.0.2.20060506155640.025951f8@mac.com> Message-ID: <17501.12473.685148.398071@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > But I always thought that directional AM's have no forward gain, that > the only purpose of being directional is to protect the signals of > other stations on the same or adjacent frequencies. Am I wrong? Yes, you are wrong. All AM stations in the U.S. are licensed on the basis of "nominal power". For a non-directional station, nominal power is defined to be the RF power presented to the antenna (with any resistive load to decrease antenna-system efficiency considered part of the antenna). This can be computed as the square of the measured base current times the pre-determined antenna impedance. For a directional station, however, antenna-system impedance, and thus nominal power, is computed at the "common point" -- that is, the point inside the phasor at which the input signal branches off to separate L-C networks for each tower. The practical upshot of this is that an AM station which reduces power in one direction must consequently radiate more in another direction, since the power is computed on the transmitter side of the phasing network. There are other methods of computing power, but they are designed to have the same result. Then there's this language in 73.51(b): # (1) For stations with nominal powers of 5 kW, or less, the authorized # antenna input power to directional antennas shall exceed the nominal # power by 8 percent. # (2) For stations with nominal powers in excess of 5 kW, the authorized # antenna input power to directional antennas shall exceed the nominal # power by 5.3 percent. (Essentially what this means is that the combination of phasing network and transmission line is allowed to be 92.5% efficient for a 5-kW station but must be 95% efficient for a 50-kW station.) The only reason "nominal power" exists is because of the pre-1985 restriction of stations to a small list of power levels. If a station had to replace its antenna with a more-efficient one before 1985, it would have to either step back its power considerably, or install a dissipative network to reduce antenna efficiency back to its old value. (The list, in kW, was 50, 25, 10, 5, 2.5, 1, 0.5, and 0.25.) Otherwise, for non-directional stations, straight antenna-input power could be used (as I believe is the case in Canada). Other than the "letterhead 50", there is no advantage to doing this in the current regime, but existing stations are allowed to keep it until they change parameters. -GAWollman From wollman@csail.mit.edu Sat May 6 19:31:22 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 19:31:22 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <17501.12473.685148.398071@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us> <445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> <7.0.1.0.2.20060506153502.00adfa18@mac.com> <17500.64367.155348.777335@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <7.0.1.0.2.20060506155640.025951f8@mac.com> <17501.12473.685148.398071@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <17501.12746.33832.422936@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < The practical upshot of this is that an AM station which reduces power > in one direction must consequently radiate more in another direction, > since the power is computed on the transmitter side of the phasing > network. Unless, of course, the station uses parasitics -- but I don't believe any U.S. station is licensed to do so. Some stations elsewhere do, however; PJB in Bonaire was formerly one example: one tower was driven by the 500-kW transmitter, and four towers surrounding it in the near field were tuned or detuned to provide the desired directional pattern. -GAWollman From me@billoneill.us Sat May 6 20:06:30 2006 From: me@billoneill.us (Bill O'Neill) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 20:06:30 -0400 Subject: WHOM question In-Reply-To: <004001c6710a$9f98ca00$6401a8c0@pastor2> References: <004001c6710a$9f98ca00$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <445D3A06.9020807@billoneill.us> Doug Drown wrote: > WHOM can be picked up all the way from Bucksport to Saratoga Springs and from > Sherbrooke to Lowell. That's a mighty big area. > > -Doug > WHOM comes in (practically) like a local here in Addison County, Vermont. Aside from WJJR (50 kW, 98.1 Rutland), WHOM pretty much has (safe/office) AC to itself. WEZF (100 kW, 92.9 Burlington) skews slightly younger with its mix. Bill O'Neill From revdoug1@verizon.net Sat May 6 20:14:01 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 20:14:01 -0400 Subject: WHOM question References: <004001c6710a$9f98ca00$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445D3A06.9020807@billoneill.us> Message-ID: <012501c6716b$24ef4de0$6401a8c0@pastor2> Same here in north central Maine. It's one of the dominant signals in the area. We're about 110 miles from Mount Washington. I was listening to WHOM the other day on the Eastern Townships Autoroute between Mount Orford and Brome Mountain in Quebec, well beyond Sherbrooke, toward Montreal. It was coming in quite well. I've picked up the signal in the hills around Schenectady, too, though I haven't tried recently. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill O'Neill" To: "Doug Drown" Cc: "Boston Radio Interest Board" Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 8:06 PM Subject: Re: WHOM question > Doug Drown wrote: > > WHOM can be picked up all the way from Bucksport to Saratoga Springs and from > > Sherbrooke to Lowell. That's a mighty big area. > > > > -Doug > > > WHOM comes in (practically) like a local here in Addison County, > Vermont. Aside from WJJR (50 kW, 98.1 Rutland), WHOM pretty much has > (safe/office) AC to itself. WEZF (100 kW, 92.9 Burlington) skews > slightly younger with its mix. > > Bill O'Neill > From me@billoneill.us Sat May 6 20:18:08 2006 From: me@billoneill.us (Bill O'Neill) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 20:18:08 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us><445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> Message-ID: <445D3CC0.3060505@billoneill.us> Cohasset / Hippisley wrote: > With a decent receiver and minimal line noise it's often audible in > Central NY during the day. It's 9:30 a.m. as I type this, and I'm > listening to WBZ here in Old Forge, in the western Adirondack > Mountains, maybe 30 miles east of Watertown NY and the eastern end of > Lake Ontario. > For some reason, WBZ doesn't do well at all here, day or night, in this area (Shoreham and north to Burlington along the lake). Particularly the last two years. A lot of hash, noise. The NYC AMs do much better. Good that WGY (810 Schdty) and WROW (590 Schtdy) make it D/N). My radio listening still seems to be a good dose of AM dial on typical days. Bill O'Neill From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 6 20:48:16 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 20:48:16 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <445D0B90.11348.427B41@localhost> On 6 May 2006 at 8:36, Doug Drown wrote: > I didn't realize WBZ was directional west; I had thought it was > non-directional. The station's signal is amazing. I've picked it up > during daylight hours all the way from Sackville, New Brunswick to > Port Jervis. I remember when I was in Bermuda for Spring Break 1966, I heard WBZ on the radio of a nearby car, loud and clear, around 1 AM. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 6 20:48:16 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 20:48:16 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <200605061651.k46GpVfc025004@mass-toolpike.mit.edu> References: Your message of "Fri, 05 May 2006 19:47:39 EDT." <445BE41B.7020700@billoneill.us> Message-ID: <445D0B90.22120.427BDA@localhost> On 6 May 2006 at 12:51, Shawn Mamros wrote: > Didn't the FCC at one point mandate that simulcasting an AM on a > co-owned FM would no longer be allowed? I thought that was the > reason for a lot of the owners of the big AMs to spin off their > FMs, including Westinghouse. They did, but WBZ-FM was doing separate programs long before that. The anti-simulcasting rule was adopted in the mid-1960s, and WBZ-FM was doing separate programs in the late 1950s. When I got my first FM radio in December 1958, WBZ-FM was signing on at 5:00 PM, running classical music until midnight, then signing off. The only simulcasting they did was for an hour on Sunday, when they did a "stereo hour," using AM as one channel and FM as the other. At one point, I called them up and suggested they simulcast the AM during the day, before the separate FM programs started. A couple of weeks later, they were doing it. I guess I was a 14-year-old radio consultant! -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From scott@fybush.com Sat May 6 23:34:51 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Sat, 06 May 2006 23:34:51 -0400 Subject: Globe on Greater Media's Sox pullout In-Reply-To: References: <1fbbbced0605060826g6242f431y8179d736ed778b9e@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <445D6ADB.7070101@fybush.com> John Francini wrote: > Would it not make sense, if this is indeed true, for Entercom to move > the entire WEEI format (and, obviously, calls) to 680 and put WRKO on > 850? This would keep the synergies of having the sports talk AND the > sports broadcasting together, where they belong? A theory on this - As the WEEI network expands, it will probably keep adding stations in markets where the Sox network rights are already tied up by longstanding incumbents, just as is already the case at WTAG in Worcester and WHYN in Springfield. Keeping the Sox play-by-play on Boston-market-only WRKO makes it a little smoother for the whole "WEEI network" to keep going in all of its markets. (Except, of course, Providence, where presumably the Sox will stay on WEEI-FM next season?) Just a thought... s From cohasset@frontiernet.net Sat May 6 23:38:26 2006 From: cohasset@frontiernet.net (Cohasset / Hippisley) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 03:38:26 +0000 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445D3CC0.3060505@billoneill.us> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us><445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> <445D3CC0.3060505@billoneill.us> Message-ID: <445D6BB2.9020103@frontiernet.net> Bill O'Neill wrote: > Cohasset / Hippisley wrote: >> With a decent receiver and minimal line noise it's often audible in >> Central NY during the day. It's 9:30 a.m. as I type this, and I'm >> listening to WBZ here in Old Forge, in the western Adirondack >> Mountains, maybe 30 miles east of Watertown NY and the eastern end of >> Lake Ontario. >> > For some reason, WBZ doesn't do well at all here, day or night, in > this area (Shoreham and north to Burlington along the lake). > Particularly the last two years. A lot of hash, noise. The NYC AMs do > much better. Good that WGY (810 Schdty) and WROW (590 Schtdy) make it > D/N). My radio listening still seems to be a good dose of AM dial on > typical days. Many possible factors could be at work: 1. Automobile ignition (and fuel pump) hash seems to have gotten worse over the years, and I've noticed on my GM cars that each individual car seems to get worse as it gets older and metal-to-metal body and frame joints become highly resistive with increasing corrosion. At home and in the neighborhood all of us now are subject to far more "radiators" of junk on the broadcast band frequencies. Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) are particularly troublesome in the 1-3 MHz range, especially if they're Type A FCC rated (office & industry environment) rather than FCC Type B (residential). But almost everything in your house these days that uses electricity has a deservedly bad reputation -- microwave ovens; any device that uses a wall-wart; PC monitors and power supplies; plasma TVs; etc. 2. Power line "leaks" from defective transmission system hardware are a major source of hash on the broadcast band. Similarly, high intensity "garbage" from defective furnaces and industrial equipment can travel for miles before being attenuated enough to be below the normal noise floor in your car radio or table radio. Because so few people listen to weak signals on the AM broadcast band these days, there is very little pressure exerted on the power utilities to fix either of these problems. Typically, it takes continual, repetitive complaining, backed up with semi-quantitative data some rough localization information, to get action. 3, Although fairly rare, it's worth keeping in mind that when the maximum usable frequency (MUF) is low enough, there can be a "skip zone" on the AM broadcast band -- especially the upper end -- at the transition from ground wave to sky wave reception. Also, depending on the lengths and phasing of the vertical elements in a broadcast station's directional array, there may be deliberately placed nulls in the vertical pattern that result in minimal strength at certain distances and directions from the station. 4. Lack of diversity reception is another factor. We have a sprawling one-story house, and I find that many of the AM broadcast stations that are big at my desk in my office / radio room are not so great on the clock radio in the master bedroom at the other end of the house, and vice versa. The clock radio receives AM with the good old ferrite loopstick, whereas the equipment in my office has the advantage of listening on a variety of outdoor antennas that I can switch between. The distance between the ferrite loopstick and the nearest of the outdoor antennas is about 100 feet. If I were serious about this stuff, I'd switch to single-sideband reception and bring all the antennas to a single electronic "voting" circuit that could pick the "right" antenna at any given instant. Nevertheless, at both ends of the house, the consistently big nighttime signals include 1130 (Bloomberg NYC), 1090 (WBAL), 880 (NYC), 1020 (KDKA), 770 (NYC), 1060 (KYW), 1080 (WTIC), 1520 (WKBW -- or is it WBKW these days?), and 1530 (?). Of these, the selective fade can be extremely irritating on all except 1130 and 880. For whatever the reason, those two stations just don't seem to suffer as much in this part of the state from selective fade -- whether at one end of my house or the other, or in my car between here and Utica, 60 miles to the south. 5. Finally, local terrain characteristics may cause localized "dead spots" in the coverage areas of stations. Moving to a new home may help.... :-) Bud Hippisley From attychase@comcast.net Sat May 6 23:39:18 2006 From: attychase@comcast.net (Robert S Chase) Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 23:39:18 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days References: Message-ID: <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice> I think when WMEX was at the Quincy transmitter site (where the bank complex is now) it was 50 KW DA days, power reduction at night. > But then, I also remember hearing WMEX (1510) on my car radio at mid-day > many times as I drove around the Syracuse NY and Finger Lakes region > back during previous sunspot minima. I believe WMEX was 5 KW daytime. > Today I'm hearing at least three different stations on 1510 at my desk, > so I don't know if that would still be possible. From stephanie@gordsven.com Sun May 7 01:49:28 2006 From: stephanie@gordsven.com (Stephanie Weil) Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 01:49:28 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445D6BB2.9020103@frontiernet.net> References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us><445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2> <445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> <445D3CC0.3060505@billoneill.us> <445D6BB2.9020103@frontiernet.net> Message-ID: <3777.66.65.49.10.1146980968.squirrel@66.65.49.10> On Sat, May 6, 2006 23:38, Cohasset / Hippisley said: > (KDKA), 770 (NYC), 1060 (KYW), 1080 (WTIC), 1520 (WKBW -- or is it WBKW > these days?), and 1530 (?). AM 1520 is WWKB AM 77 is WABC AM 1530 might be WCKY out of Cincinatti -- Stephanie Weil New York City, NY, USA From radiotest@cox.net Sun May 7 08:46:49 2006 From: radiotest@cox.net (Dale H. Cook) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 08:46:49 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice> References: <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20060507081824.0229d468@cox.net> At 11:39 PM 5/6/2006, Robert S Chase wrote: >I think when WMEX was at the Quincy transmitter site (where the bank >complex is now) it was 50 KW DA days, power reduction at night. At the old Quincy site WMEX was 50 kW days and 5 kW nights. Some years ago I discussed the Quincy array with John H. Garabedian (now host of the sat program Open House Party), who was, from 1969 to 1971 IIRC, afternoon drive jock, Program Director and Chief Engineer at WMEX. I was fairly new to broadcasting at that time (I entered the field in 1969), and enjoyed what John did at WMEX. He positioned the station as "The New Music Authority" and played music that the RKO stations (under Bill Drake) did not. John also started the 5 PM hour each weekday with a 30-minute music sweep called "Silence Is Golden," introduced by a snippet from the Tremeloes' recording of that song. John's repositioning of the station ended in 1971 when Max Richmond died and his brother Dick took over. Dale H. Cook, Chief Engineer, Centennial Broadcasting, Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA - WZZI / WZZU / WLNI / WLEQ http://members.cox.net/dalehcook/starcity.shtml From chuckigo@maine.rr.com Sun May 7 09:12:49 2006 From: chuckigo@maine.rr.com (Chuck Igo) Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 09:12:49 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss In-Reply-To: <445D6BB2.9020103@frontiernet.net> Message-ID: <000001c671d7$f18a0720$0300a8c0@maine.rr.com> Cohasset / Hippisley wrote: (regarding varied receptions of certain signals) >> Many possible factors could be at work: 1. Automobile ignition (and fuel pump) hash seems to have gotten worse over the years, ...(snip). But almost everything in your house these days that uses electricity has a deservedly bad reputation -- microwave ovens; any device that uses a wall-wart; PC monitors and power supplies; plasma TVs; etc. 2. Power line "leaks" from defective transmission system hardware are a major source of hash on the broadcast band. (snip) 3, Although fairly rare, it's worth keeping in mind that when the maximum usable frequency (MUF) is low enough, there can be a "skip zone" on the AM broadcast band -- (snip) 4. Lack of diversity reception is another factor. (snip) 5. Finally, local terrain characteristics may cause localized "dead spots" in the coverage areas of stations. Moving to a new home may help.... :-) << And, if you really want to receive a particular over-the-air signal while in your car, turn off your cellphone. Amazing how much is actually coming from a phone that's on but not in use. My vehicles' radios and tv's in the house actually "buzz" when there's an incoming call - and always do so before the phone actually rings. My wife leaves her phone on silent many times, but thanks to the buzzing on the tv set, I can let her know she has a call. She thinks I'm omnicient. Please, don't tell her as this is about the only thing I do correct, lately. ;-) Our station's vehicle is a PT Cruiser that has a very nicely-designed dc/ac conversion system with additional amps for remote broadcast use. A cellphone in-use in that car renders the radio useless. We have to use the kill-switch on the speakers or else we'll only hear the constant bleats and blats of electronic hash out of the radio. - -Chuck (can't hear BZ near Nat'lSemiconductor in SP, Maine) Igo From cohasset@frontiernet.net Sun May 7 09:32:59 2006 From: cohasset@frontiernet.net (Cohasset / Hippisley) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 13:32:59 +0000 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <7.0.1.0.2.20060507081824.0229d468@cox.net> References: <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice> <7.0.1.0.2.20060507081824.0229d468@cox.net> Message-ID: <445DF70B.5050406@frontiernet.net> Thanks to all for the retrospectives and nostalgia relating to WMEX. While I was at MIT it was one of two "consistent" Top 40 stations (the other being WCOP) that I listened to. Unlike WCOP, it was often quite usable in Central NY at night, frequently comparable to WKBW in strength, for connecting with Boston while I was home for breaks or summer vacations. Ah, the good old days of Arnie "Woo-Woo" Ginsburg.... And to this day I occasionally catch myself quietly singing along to the Adventure Car Hop mantra -- "Out on Route 1 in Saugus, come dressed just as you are....Adventure Car Hop is the place to go, where you never get out of your car." Sigh.... Bud Hippisley ************************ Dale H. Cook wrote: > At 11:39 PM 5/6/2006, Robert S Chase wrote: > >> I think when WMEX was at the Quincy transmitter site (where the bank >> complex is now) it was 50 KW DA days, power reduction at night. > > At the old Quincy site WMEX was 50 kW days and 5 kW nights. Some years > ago I discussed the Quincy array with John H. Garabedian (now host of > the sat program Open House Party), who was, from 1969 to 1971 IIRC, > afternoon drive jock, Program Director and Chief Engineer at WMEX. > > I From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 7 12:39:40 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 12:39:40 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <445B8592.3060707@billoneill.us><445B88B9.5020906@fybush.com> <03c101c670e1$545a62c0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <003101c67106$d6279aa0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <003a01c67109$a2bf7ae0$6401a8c0@pastor2><445CA97B.9090300@frontiernet.net> <445D3CC0.3060505@billoneill.us> <445D6BB2.9020103@frontiernet.net> Message-ID: <002801c671f5$1081b520$19eefea9@dstrassberg> If you get WCBS well, you also should get WFAN 660 well. The two stations are diplexed from the same tower. The tower is electrically shorter at 660 than at 880, but 660 should still bomb in. 1520 is WWKB now and has been for more than three decades, I believe. 1530 is once again WCKY, its legacy calls, after a number of years as WSAI (legacy Cincinnati calls--but on 1360). I am surprised that you didn't also list WTAM 1100, WLW 700, WHAS 840, and WTWP (ex WTOP) 1500. All should put killer night signals into central New York. Another pretty decent night signal in central New York ought to be WRVA 1140. WGY 810 puts a very respectable groundwave into Utica and is likely listenable all day in Syracuse on a good receiver unless local noise sources preclude it. Something similar is probably true with WHAM 1180 (except the roles of Utica and Syrcause would be reversed). -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cohasset / Hippisley" Cc: Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 11:38 PM Subject: Re: Soxless Boss > > Nevertheless, at both ends of the house, the consistently big nighttime > signals include 1130 (Bloomberg NYC), 1090 (WBAL), 880 (NYC), 1020 > (KDKA), 770 (NYC), 1060 (KYW), 1080 (WTIC), 1520 (WKBW -- or is it WBKW > these days?), and 1530 (?). Of these, the selective fade can be > extremely irritating on all except 1130 and 880. For whatever the > reason, those two stations just don't seem to suffer as much in this > part of the state from selective fade -- whether at one end of my house > or the other, or in my car between here and Utica, 60 miles to the south. > Bud Hippisley From dlh@donnahalper.com Sun May 7 12:44:47 2006 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 12:44:47 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <7.0.1.0.2.20060507081824.0229d468@cox.net> References: <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice> <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060507124303.02e88e28@pop.registeredsite.com> >Dale wrote-- >At the old Quincy site WMEX was 50 kW days and 5 kW nights. Some years ago >I discussed the Quincy array with John H. Garabedian (now host of the sat >program Open House Party), who was, from 1969 to 1971 IIRC, afternoon >drive jock, Program Director and Chief Engineer at WMEX. My recollection of the WMEX signal from when I was growing up here was that at night you could get it in Northern Maine and in Gander Newfoundland, but you couldn't get it in much of Boston. The standing joke was that the station was #1 in 18-24 year old fish and also very big with 15-54 year old moose... From lspin@comcast.net Sun May 7 13:09:59 2006 From: lspin@comcast.net (Lou) Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 13:09:59 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060507124303.02e88e28@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <001501c671f9$1342fb30$6701a8c0@DAS8200> I can't count how many times I mistakenly tuned into WPTR, Albany, at night, thinking it was WMEX because it was coming into our North End (Boston) apartment so much stronger. Dale, you really stirred a brain cell when you mentioned John H's "Silence is Golden" commercial-free half-hour. Wow... I need to sit for a second or two! -Lou -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Donna Halper Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 11:45 AM To: Dale H. Cook; boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org Subject: Re: WMEX 50 KW DA days My recollection of the WMEX signal from when I was growing up here was that at night you could get it in Northern Maine and in Gander Newfoundland, but you couldn't get it in much of Boston. The standing joke was that the station was #1 in 18-24 year old fish and also very big with 15-54 year old moose... From revdoug1@verizon.net Sun May 7 13:12:11 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 13:12:11 -0400 Subject: Soxless Boss References: <000001c671d7$f18a0720$0300a8c0@maine.rr.com> Message-ID: <01e601c671f9$61904cc0$6401a8c0@pastor2> Another source: Don't forget the local cable TV system. We used to have great AM reception locally until cable came along. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chuck Igo" To: "'Cohasset / Hippisley'" Cc: Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 9:12 AM Subject: RE: Soxless Boss > Cohasset / Hippisley wrote: (regarding varied receptions of certain > signals) > > >> Many possible factors could be at work: > 1. Automobile ignition (and fuel pump) hash seems to have gotten worse > over the years, ...(snip). But almost everything in your house these > days > that uses electricity has a deservedly bad reputation -- microwave > ovens; any device that uses a wall-wart; PC monitors and power supplies; > > plasma TVs; etc. > 2. Power line "leaks" from defective transmission system hardware are a > > major source of hash on the broadcast band. (snip) > 3, Although fairly rare, it's worth keeping in mind that when the > maximum usable frequency (MUF) is low enough, there can be a "skip zone" > > on the AM broadcast band -- (snip) > 4. Lack of diversity reception is another factor. (snip) > 5. Finally, local terrain characteristics may cause localized "dead > spots" in the coverage areas of stations. Moving to a new home may > help.... :-) << > > And, if you really want to receive a particular over-the-air signal > while in your car, turn off your cellphone. Amazing how much is > actually coming from a phone that's on but not in use. > My vehicles' radios and tv's in the house actually "buzz" when there's > an incoming call - and always do so before the phone actually rings. My > wife leaves her phone on silent many times, but thanks to the buzzing on > the tv set, I can let her know she has a call. She thinks I'm > omnicient. Please, don't tell her as this is about the only thing I do > correct, lately. ;-) > > Our station's vehicle is a PT Cruiser that has a very nicely-designed > dc/ac conversion system with additional amps for remote broadcast use. > A cellphone in-use in that car renders the radio useless. We have to > use the kill-switch on the speakers or else we'll only hear the constant > bleats and blats of electronic hash out of the radio. > > - -Chuck (can't hear BZ near Nat'lSemiconductor in SP, Maine) Igo > > From revdoug1@verizon.net Sun May 7 13:16:22 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 13:16:22 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days References: <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice> <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice> <5.1.0.14.2.20060507124303.02e88e28@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <01f201c671f9$f7647870$6401a8c0@pastor2> I grew up in the Gardner-Fitchburg and was always frustrated that we never could get WMEX. I loved the station. I was aghast when, at the age of 14 or so, I went on my first trip up through coastal and central Maine and found we could pick up the signal during virtually the entire journey. I was REALLY envious. (Maybe, subconsciously, that was why I moved to Maine twelve years later.) -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Halper" To: "Dale H. Cook" ; Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 12:44 PM Subject: Re: WMEX 50 KW DA days > > >Dale wrote-- > >At the old Quincy site WMEX was 50 kW days and 5 kW nights. Some years ago > >I discussed the Quincy array with John H. Garabedian (now host of the sat > >program Open House Party), who was, from 1969 to 1971 IIRC, afternoon > >drive jock, Program Director and Chief Engineer at WMEX. > > My recollection of the WMEX signal from when I was growing up here was that > at night you could get it in Northern Maine and in Gander Newfoundland, but > you couldn't get it in much of Boston. The standing joke was that the > station was #1 in 18-24 year old fish and also very big with 15-54 year old > moose... > > From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 7 13:16:34 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 13:16:34 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days References: <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice> <7.0.1.0.2.20060507081824.0229d468@cox.net> Message-ID: <004c01c671fa$048dc380$19eefea9@dstrassberg> I don't think Garabedian was ever CE of WMEX. In fact, I don't think Garbedian is an engineer at all, although he became quite knowlegeable about engineering issues as a result of all the work he personally did related to planning and building WGTR 1060 and later increasing its power and putting it on at night. The latter effort proved to be an exercise in futility for Garabedian and he lost interest and sold the station. It took 25 years and a succession of owners before Alex Langer brought in the right people and solved the technical problems. AFAIK, the CE of WMEX was a fellow from New Bedford or Fall River named Ed Juaire. Ed was also CE of WSAR, IIRC. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dale H. Cook" To: Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 8:46 AM Subject: Re: WMEX 50 KW DA days > At the old Quincy site WMEX was 50 kW days and 5 kW nights. Some > years ago I discussed the Quincy array with John H. Garabedian (now > host of the sat program Open House Party), who was, from 1969 to 1971 > IIRC, afternoon drive jock, Program Director and Chief Engineer at WMEX. > > Dale H. Cook, Chief Engineer, Centennial Broadcasting, > Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA - WZZI / WZZU / WLNI / WLEQ > http://members.cox.net/dalehcook/starcity.shtml > > From elipolo@earthlink.net Sun May 7 14:17:56 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 14:17:56 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days Message-ID: > From: "Robert S Chase" > To: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org > Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 23:39:18 -0400 > Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days > > I think when WMEX was at the Quincy transmitter site (where the bank > complex is now) it was 50 KW DA days, power reduction at night. IIRC, WMEX didn't get their power increase to 50 kW days from Quincy until 1968 or 1969. During the mid-60's, the era which many people consider their Top 40 heyday, they were still 5 kW day and night. EP From revdoug1@verizon.net Sun May 7 14:15:42 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 14:15:42 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days References: <001501c671f9$1342fb30$6701a8c0@DAS8200> Message-ID: <020201c67202$41574fe0$6401a8c0@pastor2> A bit of related trivia: John H. was also known as Johnny Gardner, and did the mid-morning shift at WPTR in the early- to mid-sixties. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lou" To: "'Donna Halper'" ; "'Dale H. Cook'" ; Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 1:09 PM Subject: RE: WMEX 50 KW DA days > I can't count how many times I mistakenly tuned into WPTR, Albany, at night, > thinking it was WMEX because it was coming into our North End (Boston) > apartment so much stronger. > > Dale, you really stirred a brain cell when you mentioned John H's "Silence > is Golden" commercial-free half-hour. Wow... I need to sit for a second or > two! > > -Lou > > -----Original Message----- > From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org > [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of > Donna Halper > Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 11:45 AM > To: Dale H. Cook; boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org > Subject: Re: WMEX 50 KW DA days > > > My recollection of the WMEX signal from when I was growing up here was that > at night you could get it in Northern Maine and in Gander Newfoundland, but > you couldn't get it in much of Boston. The standing joke was that the > station was #1 in 18-24 year old fish and also very big with 15-54 year old > moose... > > > > From chuckigo@maine.rr.com Sun May 7 13:58:21 2006 From: chuckigo@maine.rr.com (Chuck Igo) Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 13:58:21 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <004c01c671fa$048dc380$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <000401c671ff$d4cc5d40$0300a8c0@maine.rr.com> Dan wrote: >> I don't think Garabedian was ever CE of WMEX. In fact, I don't think Garbedian is an engineer at all, although he became quite knowlegeable about engineering issues as a result of all the work he personally did related to planning and building WGTR 1060 and later increasing its power and putting it on at night. The latter effort proved to be an exercise in futility for Garabedian and he lost interest and sold the station. It took 25 years and a succession of owners before Alex Langer brought in the right people and solved the technical problems. AFAIK, the CE of WMEX was a fellow from New Bedford or Fall River named Ed Juaire. Ed was also CE of WSAR, IIRC. << And isn't there an urban legend/lore of how Bud Ballou got some help in getting to Boston by playing some sort of part in the design of the WKBW night pattern? From what I recall, the engineer apparently got approval, after a little input from Bud, of a pattern that put KB into Boston at night better than WMEX. And in lieu of an aircheck (nothing beats real-time competition), Bud was brought from Buffalo to Boston. - - Chuck (mom's Vega only had an AM radio) Igo From sid@wrko.com Sun May 7 16:33:49 2006 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 14:33:49 -0600 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days Message-ID: >>AFAIK, the CE of WMEX was a fellow from New Bedford or Fall River named Ed Juaire. Ed was also CE of WSAR, IIRC.<< You are correct. Ed gave me my start in engineering while he was the DOE for the Knight Quality Stations group, which owned WSAR at that time (mid-1970's). Ed was also briefly WSAR's GM. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom Boston LLC WAAF - WEEI AM/FM - WMKK - WRKO - WVEI AM/FM 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Boston MA 02135-2040 Phone: 617-779-5369 Fax: 617-779-5379 E-Mail: sid@wrko.com From rickkelly@gmail.com Sun May 7 18:08:27 2006 From: rickkelly@gmail.com (Rick Kelly) Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 18:08:27 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <004c01c671fa$048dc380$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice> <7.0.1.0.2.20060507081824.0229d468@cox.net> <004c01c671fa$048dc380$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <521b7fd10605071508ta483d0fu9b7a331604e22016@mail.gmail.com> On 5/7/06, Dan Strassberg wrote: > I don't think Garabedian was ever CE of WMEX. In fact, I don't think > Garbedian is an engineer at all, Although John H. must have had a 1st Class License. Prior to WMEX he did overnights at WPTR, and in those days, it was required to have a 1st to do all nights there. -- -Rick Kelly www.northeastairchecks.com From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 7 19:57:51 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 19:57:51 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days References: <000401c671ff$d4cc5d40$0300a8c0@maine.rr.com> Message-ID: <001f01c67236$8e5e8f40$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Sounds like an urban legend for sure. I think the WWKB/WGR array dates back to NARBA (March 1941) or possibly even earlier. I doubt whether Bud Ballou had even been born when it was designed, or if he had already been born, he was probably still in diapers. BTW, that array was one of the first AM diplexes in the US (although it was predated by around a decade by the WNAC/WAAB Blaw-Knox diamond tower in Quincy--but WNAC and WAAB were both nondirectional at that time). WKBW and WGR are both directional--however only one tower is common between the two antenna systems. The whole system has six towers; four are used by WGR at night (WGR is DA-N), three are used by WWKB (DA-1), and one tower is common to the two systems. So one of WWKB's towers has a monster ground system for 1520. If the radials are quarter wave at 550 they are 0.69 wave at 1520. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chuck Igo" To: "'Dan Strassberg'" ; Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 1:58 PM Subject: RE: WMEX 50 KW DA days > Dan wrote: > >> I don't think Garabedian was ever CE of WMEX. In fact, I don't think > Garbedian is an engineer at all, although he became quite knowlegeable > about engineering issues as a result of all the work he personally did > related to planning and building WGTR 1060 and later increasing its > power and putting it on at night. The latter effort proved to be an > exercise in futility for Garabedian and he lost interest and sold the > station. It took 25 years and a succession of owners before Alex Langer > brought in the right people and solved the technical problems. > > AFAIK, the CE of WMEX was a fellow from New Bedford or Fall River named > Ed Juaire. Ed was also CE of WSAR, IIRC. << > > And isn't there an urban legend/lore of how Bud Ballou got some help in > getting to Boston by playing some sort of part in the design of the WKBW > night pattern? From what I recall, the engineer apparently got > approval, after a little input from Bud, of a pattern that put KB into > Boston at night better than WMEX. And in lieu of an aircheck (nothing > beats real-time competition), Bud was brought from Buffalo to Boston. > > - - Chuck (mom's Vega only had an AM radio) Igo > From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 7 20:29:51 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 20:29:51 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days References: <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice><7.0.1.0.2.20060507081824.0229d468@cox.net><004c01c671fa$048dc380$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <521b7fd10605071508ta483d0fu9b7a331604e22016@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <002001c67236$8efd4040$19eefea9@dstrassberg> I don't question that Garbedian had a first phone. And I'm sure that he knew a hell of a lot more about technical stuff than the average DJ with a first phone--even more than some guys who worked as station engineers. I'm told that he did most of the design for WGTR, which, even as a 1 kW daytimer, was not a trivial design job. The spacing issues to KYW complicated the project. WGTR's original application (and I think its CP as originally granted) specified a Tx site at the foot of Oak St in Natick. Oak St is on the east side of Natick; it crosses Route 9. However, another applicant whose application had been tossed by the FCC because it was not timely filed challenged the grant and was successful in getting a comparative hearing. Eventually, Garbedian's Home Service Corp bought out the other applicant and the buyout included the property on Kendall Ave near the Framingham and Sherborn lines. This was the property where WGTR's original transmitter site was located. Since the goal was to serve the MetroWest market, the Kendall Ave site was much superior to Oak St because of Kendall Ave's location right in the middle of the market. However, Kendall Ave is five miles or so closer to KYW and the result was prohibited overlap. Today, such a situation would be handled by simply reducing the station's power by a few percent, but those were the days of fixed powers on AM and if Garabedian couldn't make 1 kW work, he would have had to reduce the station's power to 500W. He did make 1 kW work, though, by using a 140' tower (56 degrees at 1060), which was the tallest tower that would not cause prohibited overlap with KYW and also the shortest tower that would produce the required Class II efficiency of 175 mV/m @ 1 mile (now known as 281.7 mV/m @ 1 km). Note that when 1060 returned to the air in 1997 as WJLT from the WKOX towers on Mt Wayte Ave in Framingham, the power had been reduced to 500W because WKOX's top-loaded towers are electrically taller than half wave even at 1060 and the efficiency was such that 500W from the tall towers was equivalent to 1 kW from the Kendall Ave tower. This has to be close to the ultimate in AM techno-geek trvia tales ;>) -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Kelly" To: "Dan Strassberg" Cc: Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 6:08 PM Subject: Re: WMEX 50 KW DA days > On 5/7/06, Dan Strassberg wrote: > > > I don't think Garabedian was ever CE of WMEX. In fact, I don't think > > Garbedian is an engineer at all, > > Although John H. must have had a 1st Class License. Prior to WMEX he > did overnights at WPTR, and in those days, it was required to have a > 1st to do all nights there. > > -- > -Rick Kelly > www.northeastairchecks.com > From dlh@donnahalper.com Sun May 7 21:17:52 2006 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 21:17:52 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <001f01c67236$8e5e8f40$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <000401c671ff$d4cc5d40$0300a8c0@maine.rr.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060507211230.07c72890@pop.registeredsite.com> At 07:57 PM 5/7/2006 -0400, Dan Strassberg wrote: >Sounds like an urban legend for sure. I think the WWKB/WGR array dates back >to NARBA (March 1941) or possibly even earlier. I doubt whether Bud Ballou >had even been born when it was designed Bud Ballou died suddenly in April of 1976-- there were lots of rumours, but the only thing the obit said was he died of an aneurysm, as I recall. He was 34. He has been on two top 40 stations in Syracuse before coming to Boston-- I think he came here sometime in mid 1965. From markwa1ion@aol.com Sun May 7 21:32:14 2006 From: markwa1ion@aol.com (markwa1ion@aol.com) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 21:32:14 -0400 Subject: Boston stations at long hauls (was WMEX 50 KW DA days) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8C840565EE325E9-1A4C-9676@MBLK-M21.sysops.aol.com> WMEX-1510 North Quincy, MA (pre-1981; 50 kW day, 5 kW night) and WWZN (et al.) Waltham, MA more recently both hit Europe with a lot of RF when propagation is right. In 1977 I heard the N. Quincy version quite well in Ireland and, via the DXTuners network of PC-controlled receivers, got WWZN recently on the Ilfracombe, UK and Rommele, Sweden receivers. DX Audio page "http://home.comcast.net/~markwa1ion/dx_audio.htm" has audio clips of WBZ-1030 heard in Australia, Midway Island (Pacific), and Florida; WWZN-1510 heard in UK and Sweden; and WHDH/WEEI-850 heard in Ireland and UK. As far as other Boston-area stations, 590 I've heard as far as the Delmarva peninsula (Bethany Beach); 680 to Ireland; 740 and 950 to Nova Scotia; 800 to Montauk, NY; 1060 & 1090 to Newfoundland; 1120 to Maine; 1150 to Montauk, NY; 1260 to Ireland; 1200/1230/1300/1390/1410/1430/1460/1550/1600 to Newfoundland; 1360 to Montauk, NY. Quite a while ago, US Navy guy Charlie Taylor noted many Boston and NYC stations all day from Bermuda. Before 1030 got piled up with other stations, WBZ could be heard all day (on good equipment: R-390A, Beverage) from Jacksonville, FL. Jacksonville's 690 and the Turks and Caicos 530 can be heard all day from West Dennis Beach on Cape Cod, at least on a Drake R8A. Amazing what salt water will do. Mark Connelly - Billerica, MA << I think when WMEX was at the Quincy transmitter site (where the bank complex is now) it was 50 KW DA days, power reduction at night. > But then, I also remember hearing WMEX (1510) on my car radio at mid-day > many times as I drove around the Syracuse NY and Finger Lakes region > back during previous sunspot minima. I believe WMEX was 5 KW daytime. > Today I'm hearing at least three different stations on 1510 at my desk, > so I don't know if that would still be possible. >> From lspin@comcast.net Sun May 7 23:21:30 2006 From: lspin@comcast.net (Lou) Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 23:21:30 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060507211230.07c72890@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <000901c6724e$8085b660$6701a8c0@DAS8200> There's a really great website that pays tribute to WOLF in Syracuse, and to all the talent that worked there. There are lots of photos and airchecks included. It's got a terrific tribute to Bud Ballou who worked there a few years before arriving at WMEX. Other familiar station alumni are Rick Gary, also of WMEX, and some guy named Dale Dorman. This will take you directly to the Ballou tribute page, but check out the whole site for some cool radio stuff: http://www.wolf1490.net/id27.html -Lou -----Original Message----- On Behalf Of Donna Halper Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 8:18 PM Subject: Re: WMEX 50 KW DA days Bud Ballou died suddenly in April of 1976-- there were lots of rumours, but the only thing the obit said was he died of an aneurysm, as I recall. He was 34. He has been on two top 40 stations in Syracuse before coming to Boston-- I think he came here sometime in mid 1965. From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 7 23:32:30 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 23:32:30 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <445E838E.27947.7AA672@localhost> On 7 May 2006 at 14:17, Eli Polonsky wrote: > IIRC, WMEX didn't get their power increase to 50 kW days from Quincy > until 1968 or 1969. During the mid-60's, the era which many people > consider their Top 40 heyday, they were still 5 kW day and night. Right. It was while I was in law school that I discovered "Broadcasting" magazine in the university library and began reading it regularly. That was 1967-70. And I remember reading there that WMEX had applied for 50,000 watts. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 7 23:32:31 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 23:32:31 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060507211230.07c72890@pop.registeredsite.com> References: <001f01c67236$8e5e8f40$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <445E838F.5384.7AA95E@localhost> On 7 May 2006 at 21:17, Donna Halper wrote: > Bud Ballou died suddenly in April of 1976-- there were lots of > rumours, but the only thing the obit said was he died of an aneurysm, > as I recall. He was 34. He has been on two top 40 stations in > Syracuse before coming to Boston-- I think he came here sometime in > mid 1965. I remember him in 1971, I think, introducing Buffalo Bob Smith to a college audience at New England Life Hall. A friend of mine was going to Suffolk University at the time and got me a ticket. At the end of the show, Bud Ballou came on stage, and Buffalo Bob sang, "Here's a friend of Howdy-Doo / And his name is Bud Ballou..." Was that his real name? I keep wondering whether he named himself after the Bob & Ray character Wally Ballou. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 7 23:32:30 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 23:32:30 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <445DF70B.5050406@frontiernet.net> References: <7.0.1.0.2.20060507081824.0229d468@cox.net> Message-ID: <445E838E.31116.7AA5AA@localhost> On 7 May 2006 at 13:32, Cohasset / Hippisley wrote: > Thanks to all for the retrospectives and nostalgia relating to WMEX. > While I was at MIT it was one of two "consistent" Top 40 stations (the > other being WCOP) that I listened to. Unlike WCOP, it was often > quite usable in Central NY at night, frequently comparable to WKBW in > strength, for connecting with Boston while I was home for breaks or > summer vacations. WCOP flipped from Top 40 to MOR music in the summer of 1962. At that time, WMEX was 5000 watts day and night. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From revdoug1@verizon.net Sun May 7 23:35:48 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 23:35:48 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days References: <000401c671ff$d4cc5d40$0300a8c0@maine.rr.com> <5.1.0.14.2.20060507211230.07c72890@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <023501c67250$7fc07fb0$6401a8c0@pastor2> Were WWKB (nee WKBW) and WGR once co-owned? Seems I recall that WKBW was originally a religious station. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Halper" To: "Dan Strassberg" ; "Chuck Igo" ; Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 9:17 PM Subject: Re: WMEX 50 KW DA days > At 07:57 PM 5/7/2006 -0400, Dan Strassberg wrote: > >Sounds like an urban legend for sure. I think the WWKB/WGR array dates back > >to NARBA (March 1941) or possibly even earlier. I doubt whether Bud Ballou > >had even been born when it was designed > > Bud Ballou died suddenly in April of 1976-- there were lots of rumours, but > the only thing the obit said was he died of an aneurysm, as I recall. He > was 34. He has been on two top 40 stations in Syracuse before coming to > Boston-- I think he came here sometime in mid 1965. > > From scott@fybush.com Sun May 7 23:43:32 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 23:43:32 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <023501c67250$7fc07fb0$6401a8c0@pastor2> References: <000401c671ff$d4cc5d40$0300a8c0@maine.rr.com> <5.1.0.14.2.20060507211230.07c72890@pop.registeredsite.com> <023501c67250$7fc07fb0$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <445EBE64.8050509@fybush.com> Doug Drown wrote: > Were WWKB (nee WKBW) and WGR once co-owned? Seems I recall that WKBW was > originally a religious station. It was - the calls were said to stand for "Well-Known Bible Witness," though I suspect that was made up after the fact. Later, both stations were owned by the BBC. The *Buffalo* Broadcasting Corporation, that is. It was in that era that the diplexed six-tower site in Hamburg was built. The duopoly ended in the early forties, when the FCC implemented its one-to-an-owner rule. Of course, the stations came to be co-owned again much, much later in their lives... s From elipolo@earthlink.net Mon May 8 00:59:26 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Mon, 08 May 2006 00:59:26 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days Message-ID: > From: "Dan Strassberg" > To: "Rick Kelly" , > "Boston Radio Interest" > > Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 20:29:51 -0400 > Subject: Re: WMEX 50 KW DA days > > Note that when 1060 returned to the air in 1997 as WJLT from the > WKOX towers on Mt Wayte Ave in Framingham, the power had been > reduced to 500W because WKOX's top-loaded towers are electrically > taller than half wave even at 1060 and the efficiency was such > that 500W from the tall towers was equivalent to 1 kW from the > Kendall Ave tower. > > This has to be close to the ultimate in AM techno-geek trvia tales > ;>) I'll bring it even closer by noting that WJLT broadcast in C-Quam AM Stereo at that time, until the increase to 40 kW days and the call letter change to (coincidentally) WMEX in 2000, prior to becoming WBIX about a year later. EP From hykker@grolen.com Sun May 7 21:24:38 2006 From: hykker@grolen.com (SteveOrdinetz) Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 21:24:38 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <7.0.1.0.2.20060507081824.0229d468@cox.net> References: <000901c67187$d3a976a0$6400a8c0@HomeOffice> <7.0.1.0.2.20060507081824.0229d468@cox.net> Message-ID: <6.0.3.0.0.20060507212330.01baf9c8@pop3.grolen.com> Dale H. Cook wrote: > John also started the 5 PM hour each weekday with a 30-minute music > sweep called "Silence Is Golden," introduced by a snippet from the > Tremeloes' recording of that song. Actually, he used the 4 Seasons' version IIRC. From dan.strassberg@att.net Mon May 8 07:09:54 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 07:09:54 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days References: <001f01c67236$8e5e8f40$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <445E838F.5384.7AA95E@localhost> Message-ID: <002101c67290$1aa1b460$19eefea9@dstrassberg> I believe that Bud Ballou's real given name was Dudley, so he was not the real-life embodiment of the Bob and Ray character, Wally Ballou. But you can kind of see why he would have preferred Bud Ballou to Dud Ballou. Now a new trivia question: What national talk-show host currently on the air in the Boston market also has the real given name of Dudley. (Hint: His on-air monicker is arguably closer to Dud than to Bud.) -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "A. Joseph Ross" To: "Dan Strassberg" ; "Chuck Igo" ; ; "Donna Halper" Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2006 11:32 PM Subject: Re: WMEX 50 KW DA days > On 7 May 2006 at 21:17, Donna Halper wrote: > > > Bud Ballou died suddenly in April of 1976-- there were lots of > > rumours, but the only thing the obit said was he died of an aneurysm, > > as I recall. He was 34. He has been on two top 40 stations in > > Syracuse before coming to Boston-- I think he came here sometime in > > mid 1965. > > I remember him in 1971, I think, introducing Buffalo Bob Smith to a > college audience at New England Life Hall. A friend of mine was > going to Suffolk University at the time and got me a ticket. At the > end of the show, Bud Ballou came on stage, and Buffalo Bob sang, > "Here's a friend of Howdy-Doo / And his name is Bud Ballou..." > > Was that his real name? I keep wondering whether he named himself > after the Bob & Ray character Wally Ballou. > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 > 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 > Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com > > From hykker@grolen.com Mon May 8 07:17:54 2006 From: hykker@grolen.com (SteveOrdinetz) Date: Mon, 08 May 2006 07:17:54 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <445E838F.5384.7AA95E@localhost> References: <001f01c67236$8e5e8f40$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <445E838F.5384.7AA95E@localhost> Message-ID: <6.0.3.0.0.20060508071415.01b1db00@pop3.grolen.com> A. Joseph Ross wrote: >On 7 May 2006 at 21:17, Donna Halper wrote: > > > Bud Ballou died suddenly in April of 1976-- there were lots of > > rumours, but the only thing the obit said was he died of an aneurysm, > > as I recall. He was 34. He has been on two top 40 stations in > > Syracuse before coming to Boston-- I think he came here sometime in > > mid 1965. > >I remember him in 1971, I think, introducing Buffalo Bob Smith to a >college audience at New England Life Hall. A friend of mine was >going to Suffolk University at the time and got me a ticket. At the >end of the show, Bud Ballou came on stage, and Buffalo Bob sang, >"Here's a friend of Howdy-Doo / And his name is Bud Ballou..." > >Was that his real name? I keep wondering whether he named himself >after the Bob & Ray character Wally Ballou. I somehow recall him joining WMEX in 1970. He definitely was at WKBW in '67-68. Going by some old surveys, he seemed to have left by the autumn of '71 (didn't he go to 105.7?). I read somewhere that his real name was Dudley Ballou. From revdoug1@verizon.net Mon May 8 07:41:48 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Mon, 08 May 2006 07:41:48 -0400 Subject: DJs' pay scales ('60s-'70s) Message-ID: <026901c67294$645bc560$6401a8c0@pastor2> The WMEX thread, and particularly the info. about Bud Ballou, has led me to wondering about something. Many Top 40 DJs went from station to station, presumably working their way up the ladder; it wasn't uncommon for a person to stay at a station for two or three years (sometimes less) and then move on. What sorts of salaries did these guys get --- at WMEX and WRKO, for example --- during the mid '60s to early '70s? I remember reading that when Bob Dayton was fired from WABC (when I was in junior high), he was pulling in $40,000 a year. I assume that would have been VERY much out of the ordinary. -Doug From gary@garysicecream.com Mon May 8 08:21:50 2006 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 08:21:50 -0400 Subject: DJs' pay scales ('60s-'70s) In-Reply-To: <026901c67294$645bc560$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <029101c67299$fbd52350$6500a8c0@Office> I know the WRKO jocks in the late 60's were making a big $300/week. Almost sounds like what I'm making now.......opps....did I say that!?! -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Doug Drown Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 7:42 AM To: Boston Radio Interest Board Subject: DJs' pay scales ('60s-'70s) The WMEX thread, and particularly the info. about Bud Ballou, has led me to wondering about something. Many Top 40 DJs went from station to station, presumably working their way up the ladder; it wasn't uncommon for a person to stay at a station for two or three years (sometimes less) and then move on. What sorts of salaries did these guys get --- at WMEX and WRKO, for example --- during the mid '60s to early '70s? I remember reading that when Bob Dayton was fired from WABC (when I was in junior high), he was pulling in $40,000 a year. I assume that would have been VERY much out of the ordinary. -Doug -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.5.3/331 - Release Date: 5/3/2006 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.5.3/331 - Release Date: 5/3/2006 From sid@wrko.com Mon May 8 09:03:49 2006 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Mon, 08 May 2006 07:03:49 -0600 Subject: DJs' pay scales ('60s-'70s) Message-ID: >>I remember reading that when Bob Dayton was fired from WABC (when I was in junior high), he was pulling in $40,000 a year. I assume that would have been VERY much out of the ordinary.<< Dayton was fired in 1965, and in the mid-1970's when I was working for ABC, union scale for the WABC jocks was $56,000, so $40,000 ten years earlier is not necessarily out of line. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom Boston LLC WAAF - WEEI AM/FM - WMKK - WRKO - WVEI AM/FM 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Boston MA 02135-2040 Phone: 617-779-5369 Fax: 617-779-5379 E-Mail: sid@wrko.com From rogerkirk@mail.ttlc.net Mon May 8 09:20:15 2006 From: rogerkirk@mail.ttlc.net (rogerkirk) Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 09:20:15 -0400 Subject: DJs' pay scales ('60s-'70s) Message-ID: <200605080920.AA3498770562@mail.ttlc.net> "Sid Schweiger" wrote: >Dayton was fired in 1965, and in the mid-1970's when I was working for >ABC, union scale for the WABC jocks was $56,000, so $40,000 ten years >earlier is not necessarily out of line. IIRC, circa 1972, Robert W. Morgan (KHJ) was hired away for $80,000. I want to say Chicago, but my memory fails to confirm that info. From me@billoneill.us Mon May 8 09:50:45 2006 From: me@billoneill.us (Bill O'Neill) Date: Mon, 08 May 2006 09:50:45 -0400 Subject: DJs' pay scales ('60s-'70s) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <445F4CB5.7010501@billoneill.us> Sid Schweiger wrote: > Dayton was fired in 1965, and in the mid-1970's when I was working for > ABC, union scale for the WABC jocks was $56,000, so $40,000 ten years > earlier is not necessarily out of line. > $56K in 1975 is about $210K in today's dollars. Bill O'Neill From rickkelly@gmail.com Mon May 8 09:58:43 2006 From: rickkelly@gmail.com (Rick Kelly) Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 09:58:43 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <6.0.3.0.0.20060508071415.01b1db00@pop3.grolen.com> References: <001f01c67236$8e5e8f40$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <445E838F.5384.7AA95E@localhost> <6.0.3.0.0.20060508071415.01b1db00@pop3.grolen.com> Message-ID: <521b7fd10605080658v658d1000paf0dcf5cede3e1fe@mail.gmail.com> On 5/8/06, SteveOrdinetz wrote: > I somehow recall him joining WMEX in 1970. He definitely was at WKBW in > '67-68. Going by some old surveys, he seemed to have left by the autumn of > '71 (didn't he go to 105.7?). I read somewhere that his real name was > Dudley Ballou. Yes, he was on WVBF. There an aircheck of him on WVBF at www.northeastairchecks.com. -- -Rick Kelly From raccoonradio@gmail.com Mon May 8 11:22:42 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 11:22:42 -0400 Subject: 'RKO announces Sox deal official Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605080822y341856a5mf3a6564737f17c83@mail.gmail.com> DePetro was mentioning it this morning as he talked to Sox Chief Oper. officer Mike Dee. The WRKO website now has the official announcement: http://wrko.com/Article.asp?PT=Top%20Story&id=212257 "We are pleased that we can move our radio broadcasts to a 50,000-watt station with an excellent signal pattern, one that was the radio home of the Red Sox for twelve years," (Sox CEO Larry) Lucchino said" (...excellent signal except to the west, but maybe WAAF can fix that) "We look forward to building a stronger network of affiliated stations throughout New England" (Dee) So, what becomes of Taste of Boston? I think if they really want to keep Taste around for awhile, it's safe until next spring when Sox start on 680. They could keep it up w/ Celtics (assuming Celts don't move totally to 850) and TOB, since Celts aren't on virtually every weeknight--maybe 2 or 3 weeknights per week. But the Sox ARE on just about every weeknight (maybe 2 days off per month!)... I'm guessing they'll keep Savage where he is and, after the post game show, say, "Now, you can talk about tonight's game--over on AM 850". OR will they do a post game _Sox talk_ show on 680? From dan.strassberg@att.net Mon May 8 12:35:15 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 12:35:15 -0400 Subject: 'RKO announces Sox deal official References: <1fbbbced0605080822y341856a5mf3a6564737f17c83@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <001301c672bd$8374e7a0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Interesting that the Sox have acquired an option to buy at least part of WRKO. Also interesting is the reference to AM HD Radio. I wonder if anyone at the Red Sox realizes that the eight-second delay, which may have had something to do with the demise of the deal with GM, is also a technical issue with AM-band HD Radio. AM portables should pick up WRKO just fine in the stands at Fenway, but even though cheap pocket radios are, for the moment at least, analog only, HD Radio demands that both the analog and digital streams be delayed by eight seconds. So if WRKO goes HD and doesn't turn HD off during the games, a portable radio won't help a fan very much; the descriptions of the action will be 8 sec behind real time. Presumably, this discussion is related to WCRN, too. Sounds as if Entercom realizes that, at least by day (and this statement will hold true even after the FCC authorizes nighttime use of HD on the AM band), if both WCRN and WEEI were to run HD, both stations' analog signals would be impaired in a large part of their coverage areas and so, too would both stations' HD signals. That fact might have been a factor in the decision to move the games from 850 to 680. I wonder whether Entercom ever considered having the Sox buy WWZN and move the games there. If Entercom were to put the Sox on WAAF, WWZN's coverage deficiencies would have become immaterial, as would WAAF's signal deficiencies downtown. The 1510 and 107.3 coverage footprints are quite complementary. The whole thing might have become a win-win situation. The Sox would have gotten their o&o, Entercom would have spent a lot less for the rights, and an organization with enough $$$ to pay for the lease on the transmitter site would own WWZN. Regardless, the Sox/Entercom announcement appears to be good news for AM Radio in Boston because the Sox are staying on AM. Had this deal not been done with an AM station, I wonder whether AM could have survived here for any programming other than ethnic, religous, and WJIB. Now, when WILL we hear about the fate of WWZN? -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Nelson" To: ; Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 11:22 AM Subject: 'RKO announces Sox deal official > DePetro was mentioning it this morning as he talked to Sox > Chief Oper. officer Mike Dee. The WRKO website now has the official > announcement: > > http://wrko.com/Article.asp?PT=Top%20Story&id=212257 > > "We are pleased that we can move our radio broadcasts to a 50,000-watt > station with an excellent signal pattern, one that was the radio home > of the Red Sox for twelve years," (Sox CEO Larry) Lucchino said" > > (...excellent signal except to the west, but maybe WAAF can > fix that) > > "We look forward to building a stronger network of affiliated stations > throughout New England" (Dee) > > So, what becomes of Taste of Boston? > > I think if they really want to keep Taste around for awhile, it's safe > until next spring when Sox start on 680. They could keep it up w/ > Celtics (assuming Celts don't move totally to 850) and TOB, since > Celts aren't on virtually every weeknight--maybe 2 or 3 weeknights per > week. But the Sox ARE on just about every weeknight (maybe 2 days off > per month!)... > > I'm guessing they'll keep Savage where he is and, after the post game > show, say, "Now, you can talk about tonight's game--over on AM 850". > OR will they do a post game _Sox talk_ show on 680? > From wollman@csail.mit.edu Mon May 8 12:40:27 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 12:40:27 -0400 Subject: 'RKO announces Sox deal official In-Reply-To: <001301c672bd$8374e7a0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <1fbbbced0605080822y341856a5mf3a6564737f17c83@mail.gmail.com> <001301c672bd$8374e7a0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <17503.29819.510195.217162@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Now, when WILL we hear about the fate of WWZN? I have been told that Allen is not willing to sell the operation piecemeal: any buyer has to take all the stations and the newspaper. That's one way to ensure he makes a loss on the deal, I suppose. -GAWollman From revdoug1@verizon.net Mon May 8 14:08:38 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Mon, 08 May 2006 14:08:38 -0400 Subject: WWZN / WMEX References: <1fbbbced0605080822y341856a5mf3a6564737f17c83@mail.gmail.com> <001301c672bd$8374e7a0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <17503.29819.510195.217162@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <02e001c672ca$6ef83b80$6401a8c0@pastor2> WWZN's fate, whatever it will be, brings up the observation that Allen and his predecessors, all the way back to the early '70s, have struggled to keep the station afloat. WMEX began to lose its way after WRKO came on the scene. The circa 1970 power increase to 50 kw days, 5 kw nights didn't help all that much. Hence my question: What were the Maxwells assuming when they raised the daytime power output? I said in a post a few days ago that I never could get WMEX when I was growing up in Ashburnham, and even after it went to 50,000 watts, I still couldn't. So what was the point? If it was to compete with 'RKO, it didn't work. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Garrett Wollman" To: "Dan Strassberg" Cc: Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 12:40 PM Subject: Re: 'RKO announces Sox deal official > < said: > > > Now, when WILL we hear about the fate of WWZN? > > I have been told that Allen is not willing to sell the operation > piecemeal: any buyer has to take all the stations and the newspaper. > That's one way to ensure he makes a loss on the deal, I suppose. > > -GAWollman > > From dan.strassberg@att.net Mon May 8 14:57:40 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 14:57:40 -0400 Subject: WWZN / WMEX References: <1fbbbced0605080822y341856a5mf3a6564737f17c83@mail.gmail.com><001301c672bd$8374e7a0$19eefea9@dstrassberg><17503.29819.510195.217162@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <02e001c672ca$6ef83b80$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <001e01c672d1$500257e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> You mean the Richmonds--not the Maxwells. One of the Richmond brothers was Maxwell Richmond; the other went by Dickie Richmond, I believe. The Richmonds had had pretty good success with WPGC Morningside MD (Washington DC), another high-on the- dial AM (originally a daytimer) that they first converted to relatively high daytime power (10 kW) and then to 50 kW with low night power (a few hundred watts). They were probably hoping to work the same kind of magic with WMEX and they didn't do badly at all. The 50 kW-D pattern from Squantum looked absolutely insane on paper because the site was near the water's edge and all of the energy went out to sea. Had to be that way, though, because WNLC, only 77 miles away, had moved onto the frequency in the late 50s/early 60s. WNLC ran 10 kW-D into three towers and 5 kW-N into six. The day pattern was, believe it or not, aimed right AT WMEX. The thing that most people who used a textbook approach missed about the 50 kW-D pattern was that it reached a LOT of people via a salt water path. The signal was WAY better inland than the 5 kW signal, which WMEX continued to use at night. What got WMEX into the Waverly Sq nightmare were a few things. One was the Red Sox rights, which the station held when it applied to increase to 50 kW-U. The other was the State St South office complex, which had gone up just west of the Squantum site. Despite attempts to improve the ground system, the new buildings utterly decimated the already miserable 5-kW night signal to the west, but the 50-kW day signal was not seriously affected. To appease Red Sox management, WITS leased time for the night games on WDLW 1330 (now WRCA). But management was still not happy and was threatening to pull the contract--and it was really true that the signal had gotten a lot worse than it was when the contract was signed. In hindsight, the station should have retained the Squantum site for days--something that would have cost very little because the station owned the land and building. The night site had to be just about exactly where it is--to protect WLAC and CJRS, and deliver a respectable signal to the City of Boston. But because of the population density, mitigation of complaints of interference cost a bloody fortune (reportedly north of $1 million). Given the constraints and the abysmal soil conductivity in the densely populated area around Waverly Sq, the night signal really isn't bad. But despite the half-wave towers, the day signal isn't nearly as good as the former 50 kW-D signal. To top it off, when WNLC finally went dark about 20 years after the Waltham site when on the air, had the Boston station remained in Quincy by day, it could now be operating with 50 kW-ND during noncritical daytime hours. As it is, the higher efficiency of the tall towers necessitates directional operation at all times. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Drown" To: "Boston Radio Interest Board" Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 2:08 PM Subject: WWZN / WMEX > WWZN's fate, whatever it will be, brings up the observation that Allen and > his predecessors, all the way back to the early '70s, have struggled to keep > the station afloat. WMEX began to lose its way after WRKO came on the > scene. The circa 1970 power increase to 50 kw days, 5 kw nights didn't help > all that much. Hence my question: What were the Maxwells assuming when they > raised the daytime power output? I said in a post a few days ago that I > never could get WMEX when I was growing up in Ashburnham, and even after it > went to 50,000 watts, I still couldn't. So what was the point? If it was > to compete with 'RKO, it didn't work. > > -Doug > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Garrett Wollman" > To: "Dan Strassberg" > Cc: > Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 12:40 PM > Subject: Re: 'RKO announces Sox deal official > > > > < said: > > > > > Now, when WILL we hear about the fate of WWZN? > > > > I have been told that Allen is not willing to sell the operation > > piecemeal: any buyer has to take all the stations and the newspaper. > > That's one way to ensure he makes a loss on the deal, I suppose. > > > > -GAWollman > > > > > From xtrovato@yahoo.com Mon May 8 14:25:53 2006 From: xtrovato@yahoo.com (R Trovato) Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 14:25:53 -0400 Subject: WWZN / WMEX References: <1fbbbced0605080822y341856a5mf3a6564737f17c83@mail.gmail.com><001301c672bd$8374e7a0$19eefea9@dstrassberg><17503.29819.510195.217162@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <02e001c672ca$6ef83b80$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <01b601c672cc$ffe17ba0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> From: "Doug Drown" > Hence my question: What were the Maxwells assuming when they > raised the daytime power output? I said in a post a few days ago that I > never could get WMEX when I was growing up in Ashburnham, and even after it > went to 50,000 watts, I still couldn't. So what was the point? While they couldn't really "extend" their coverage area, the power increase did put a stronger signal into where it already was. The other point was to be able to say on the letterhead "50,000 Watts!" Could help with sales, etc. From joe@attorneyross.com Tue May 9 00:58:14 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Tue, 09 May 2006 00:58:14 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days In-Reply-To: <6.0.3.0.0.20060508071415.01b1db00@pop3.grolen.com> References: <445E838F.5384.7AA95E@localhost> Message-ID: <445FE926.2266.7E9833@localhost> On 8 May 2006 at 7:17, SteveOrdinetz wrote: > I somehow recall him joining WMEX in 1970. He definitely was at WKBW > in '67-68. Going by some old surveys, he seemed to have left by the > autumn of '71 (didn't he go to 105.7?). I read somewhere that his > real name was Dudley Ballou. That's what it says on the Website that Donna gave us yesterday. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From gjspatola@wavecable.com Tue May 9 00:52:58 2006 From: gjspatola@wavecable.com (Glenn and Judy Spatola) Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 21:52:58 -0700 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days References: <001f01c67236$8e5e8f40$19eefea9@dstrassberg><445E838F.5384.7AA95E@localhost><6.0.3.0.0.20060508071415.01b1db00@pop3.grolen.com> <521b7fd10605080658v658d1000paf0dcf5cede3e1fe@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <005b01c67324$71ccc560$74317118@wavecable.com> With WMEX, WKBW and WPTR in such close proximity on the AM radio dial it was difficult sometimes to be sure which station I was listening to. I grew up in Methuen, and nearby 1490 WHAV made it VERY difficult to get a clear signal from WMEX. I found one corner of the house where my 8-transistor Emerson portable radio could pull it in. But I'm sure you guys in Mattapan had no trouble at all. Glenn Spatola From readaaron@friedbagels.com Tue May 9 10:26:11 2006 From: readaaron@friedbagels.com (Aaron Read) Date: Tue, 09 May 2006 10:26:11 -0400 Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas Message-ID: <4460A683.2000302@friedbagels.com> http://lists.bostonradio.org/pipermail/boston-radio-interest/2006-May/008583.html Part of WWZN 1510's big problem is the outrageously high rent they're paying for their land lease. IIRC it's something in the tens of thousands per month? Of course, finding a new place to put a five tower array (it is five towers, right?) is not a trivial thing. Not with such a highly directional pattern. However, since WWZN has such a high frequency, I think they may be able to get out of their current location within a few years using the new Kinstar antennas. Kinstar is not yet FCC-approved for anything but omni AM's but that will almost certainly change once Kinstar finishes the research on it. They've mostly been focusing on the Expanded Band market which doesn't allow directional patterns, but I'm sure they'll get other people with DA's knocking on their door soon. I saw a presentation on these antennas at NAB and it's a remarkable design. At the high end of the band (down to about 1300-1400kHz) the radiating elements are so short you can use wooden telephone poles to support the four corners of the elements! We're talking total height of about 50-60ft while maintaining about 95-98% efficiency. HELL of a lot easier to find a field that can take that can handle poles that short than to find a place to put quarter-wave towers that're still over 100ft tall. There's a couple of decent-sized woods/fields less than a mile from the current WWZN site...one over by Bentley College and another by that old military installation. If directional use for the Kinstar system is approved, I'd wager 1510 could finagle a lease that's a lot more financially attractive at one of those places. The "towers" probably would be completely hidden by the trees. Those of you who like AM transmission physics should check this puppy out, it's really an exceedingly clever design. I don't mean to shill for Kintronic but I was very impressed by their preso two weeks ago. http://www.kintronic.com/site/systems/kinstar.asp -- -------------------------- Aaron Read readaaron@friedbagels.com www.friedbagels.com Boston, MA 02176 From dan.strassberg@att.net Tue May 9 12:54:06 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 12:54:06 -0400 Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas References: <4460A683.2000302@friedbagels.com> Message-ID: <001901c67389$344838e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> The company behind KinStar is northern-Virginia based Kintronics, which I believe is the largest manufacturer of phasors for AM DAs. The WWZN array is four towers--two used by day (same pair for both D and CH); all four used at night. Remember, the WWZN towers are 198 degrees and hence are quite efficient (better than 400 mV/m/kW @ 1 km). Given the high-on-the-dial frequency and the abysmal soil conductivity near the site, that efficiency was necessary to get 25 mV/m over the CoL's "principal business district." That signal level, though no longer required, was required in 1981 when the array was constructed. The KinStar design is heavily top loaded and, in its way, very reminiscent of a lot of MW transmitting antennas built in the '20s and early '30s. Many of them started out as horizontal longwires. More than a few of those were converted to vertical radiators with the longwire portion becoming, in most cases, a "bedspring" top load for the vertical element, which had started life as the feed line to the horizontal radiator. A lot of these antennas had decent efficiency but few achieved the Class B miinimum of 281.7 mV/m/kW @ 1 km or the typical efficiency of a 90-degree series-fed radiator with 120 quarter-wave ground radials (approximately 306 mV/m/kW @ 1 km). Kintronics is not claiming the ability to achieve much more than quarter-wave efficiency from the KinStar design. As I see it, Louis duTreil's big contribution to the KinStar technology (besides his copious measurements) is his design of several matching network topologies that allow standard MW transmitters to drive the extremely low impedance of the short antennas. I would not put any money on the likelihood of getting local approval for constructing a KinStar DA in the Waltham-Belmont area, even though it might be accomplished by using 50' wooden telephone poles. This is NIMBY country and the folks around Waverly Sq who haven't been able to use their telephones without hearing WWZN (or all of the many call signs the station has had over the last quarter century) are not likely to soon forget the problems they have been living with. It will take an organization as well financed, as determined, and as patient as CCU was about the Oak Hill WKOX/WRCA/WUNR site to make any changes in the WWZN array that require modification or construction of towers. Now, a diplex from the WMKI site might be a different story but the night power would have to be throttled back big time--to the point where a CoL change would probably be required, and THAT will have to wait for a new AM filing window, which is not even a prospect until 2008 at the earliest. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Aaron Read" To: Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 10:26 AM Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas > http://lists.bostonradio.org/pipermail/boston-radio-interest/2006-May/008583 .html > > Part of WWZN 1510's big problem is the outrageously high rent they're > paying for their land lease. IIRC it's something in the tens of > thousands per month? > > Of course, finding a new place to put a five tower array (it is five > towers, right?) is not a trivial thing. Not with such a highly > directional pattern. > > However, since WWZN has such a high frequency, I think they may be able > to get out of their current location within a few years using the new > Kinstar antennas. Kinstar is not yet FCC-approved for anything but omni > AM's but that will almost certainly change once Kinstar finishes the > research on it. -- > > -------------------------- > Aaron Read > readaaron@friedbagels.com > www.friedbagels.com > Boston, MA 02176 > > > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Tue May 9 15:15:27 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 15:15:27 -0400 Subject: Globe: Some '07 Sox games on WEEI Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605091215x648c213cp66983fdd185dfa60@mail.gmail.com> "Red Sox fans who want to hear all of the games on the radio next season will have to switch between the Sox's new home, WRKO-AM, and Boston's dominant sports station, WEEI-AM." http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/05/09/sox_games_to_be_split_between_wrko_weei_in_radio_accord/ "WEEI, the Sox's current flagship, will keep roughly 30 games next season -- all Friday night games, as well as weekday afternoon games -- while WRKO will take the rest. WRKO will air pre and postgame shows, but WEEI will continue to take calls from fans and host its exclusive interviews" Whither Howie? "One small change: WRKO may stop Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr's show at 6:30 p.m., instead of 7, to make way for the Red Sox." I don't know if this means that Howie will do the show until 7 pm on a handful of affiliates, but WRKO will break free for the pre-game, or that the show will simply end at 6:30. Maybe WRKO will do the latter, and the last half hour will be a rebroadcast of bits from earlier in the day for those who missed them earlier. I don't know if the Sox season will open at home or on the road, but if it's the latter, it means that Opening Day and _Home_ Opening Day games would probably be on WEEI. Or maybe both, who knows? Spring training: there's a limited amount a games on radio, some of which are at 1 pm. That would be WEEI. Kind of like what happened last yr or the year before in Philly--the splitting of games. WPHT had some kind of Sinatra show Friday nights, so Phillies games on Friday nights when to WIP instead. From dan.strassberg@att.net Tue May 9 15:39:10 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 15:39:10 -0400 Subject: Globe: Some '07 Sox games on WEEI References: <1fbbbced0605091215x648c213cp66983fdd185dfa60@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <001501c673a0$437f0fc0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> What's special about Friday nights on WRKO? Taste of Boston? I know that TOB is brokered time but does WRKO REALLY have contractual commitments with advertisers for Friday nights throughout the 2007 baseball season? If so, TOB sounds a lot more successful from a sales standpoint than any listener would suspect. Anybody know whether Todd Feinberg is the independent producer? I think he might be and I bet he handles sales of segments on the show, too. If so, it proves that guys who sound like dorks can be pretty clever business people. He probably developed the concept, lined up some sponsors, and with contracts with advertisers waiting to be signed probably had no trouble getting (then) PD Brian Whittemore to sell him the air time. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Nelson" To: ; Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 3:15 PM Subject: Globe: Some '07 Sox games on WEEI > "Red Sox fans who want to hear all of the games on the radio next > season will have to switch between the Sox's new home, WRKO-AM, and > Boston's dominant sports station, WEEI-AM." > > http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/05/09/sox_games_to_be_spl it_between_wrko_weei_in_radio_accord/ > > "WEEI, the Sox's current flagship, will keep roughly 30 games next > season -- all Friday night games, as well as weekday afternoon games > -- while WRKO will take the rest. WRKO will air pre and postgame > shows, but WEEI will continue to take calls from fans and host its > exclusive interviews" > > Whither Howie? "One small change: WRKO may stop Boston Herald > columnist Howie Carr's show at 6:30 p.m., instead of 7, to make way > for the Red Sox." I don't know if this means that Howie will do the > show until 7 pm > on a handful of affiliates, but WRKO will break free for the pre-game, > or that the show will simply end at > 6:30. Maybe WRKO will do the latter, and the last half hour will be a > rebroadcast of bits from earlier in the day for those who missed them > earlier. > > I don't know if the Sox season will open at home or on the road, but > if it's the latter, it means that Opening Day and _Home_ Opening Day > games would probably be on WEEI. Or maybe both, who knows? > > Spring training: there's a limited amount a games on radio, some of > which are at 1 pm. That would be WEEI. > > Kind of like what happened last yr or the year before in Philly--the > splitting of games. WPHT had some kind of Sinatra show Friday nights, > so Phillies games on Friday nights when to WIP instead. > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Tue May 9 15:50:51 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 15:50:51 -0400 Subject: Globe: Some '07 Sox games on WEEI In-Reply-To: <001501c673a0$437f0fc0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <1fbbbced0605091215x648c213cp66983fdd185dfa60@mail.gmail.com> <001501c673a0$437f0fc0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605091250l2862e096xf956f9b35c24a94@mail.gmail.com> On 5/9/06, Dan Strassberg wrote: > What's special about Friday nights on WRKO? Taste of Boston? I know that TOB > is brokered time but does WRKO REALLY have contractual commitments with > advertisers for Friday nights throughout the 2007 baseball season? Good question. Maybe it's just trying to throw a bone to WEEI--to give them SOME games once in awhile. Or, yes, it could be some kind of sponsor commitment. Most listeners will get used to the switching back and forth between stations--and yes, while 30 regular season games will be on WEEI, it means a whopping 132 will be on 'RKO). There will be announcements on both stations saying where the given game will be on the dial, just as how WRKO mentions the Red Sox game will air on "AM 850" etc. From francini@mac.com Tue May 9 16:05:06 2006 From: francini@mac.com (John Francini) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 16:05:06 -0400 Subject: Globe: Some '07 Sox games on WEEI In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605091250l2862e096xf956f9b35c24a94@mail.gmail.com> References: <1fbbbced0605091215x648c213cp66983fdd185dfa60@mail.gmail.com> <001501c673a0$437f0fc0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <1fbbbced0605091250l2862e096xf956f9b35c24a94@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: "AM 850". Another case where station A won't mention station B's calls, even though they are co-owned? Is this merely professional courtesy or some sort of FCC rule? John On 9 May 2006, at 15:50, Bob Nelson wrote: > On 5/9/06, Dan Strassberg wrote: >> What's special about Friday nights on WRKO? Taste of Boston? I >> know that TOB >> is brokered time but does WRKO REALLY have contractual commitments >> with >> advertisers for Friday nights throughout the 2007 baseball season? > > Good question. Maybe it's just trying to throw a bone to WEEI--to > give them SOME > games once in awhile. Or, yes, it could be some kind of sponsor > commitment. > > Most listeners will get used to the switching back and forth between > stations--and yes, > while 30 regular season games will be on WEEI, it means a whopping 132 > will be on > 'RKO). There will be announcements on both stations saying where the > given game will be > on the dial, just as how WRKO mentions the Red Sox game will air on > "AM 850" etc. > From stephanie@gordsven.com Tue May 9 16:13:37 2006 From: stephanie@gordsven.com (Stephanie Weil) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 16:13:37 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Globe: Some '07 Sox games on WEEI In-Reply-To: References: <1fbbbced0605091215x648c213cp66983fdd185dfa60@mail.gmail.com> <001501c673a0$437f0fc0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <1fbbbced0605091250l2862e096xf956f9b35c24a94@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <18641.12.37.144.130.1147205617.squirrel@12.37.144.130> On Tue, May 9, 2006 16:05, John Francini said: > "AM 850". Another case where station A won't mention station B's > calls, even though they are co-owned? I don't think it is an FCC rule. Now that AM 88 (WCBS) and WFAN (AM 66) are co-owned, they both announce where a game is going to be. Ditto AM 77 and AM 1050. But it used to be, back when these were all separately owned, that - if an overflow game belonging to, say AM 66 was shunted off to AM 1050 (WEVD then, WEPN now) or AM 1130 (WNEW then, WBBR now), - they'd just mention the dial position, never the station's name. Now if the Yanks are playing on AM 88, the Fan (AM 66) will say you can hear the game on WCBS-eight-eighty (gulp gulp). -- Stephanie Weil New York City, NY, USA -- Stephanie Weil New York City, NY, USA From dan.strassberg@att.net Tue May 9 16:15:22 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 16:15:22 -0400 Subject: Globe: Some '07 Sox games on WEEI References: <1fbbbced0605091215x648c213cp66983fdd185dfa60@mail.gmail.com> <001501c673a0$437f0fc0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <1fbbbced0605091250l2862e096xf956f9b35c24a94@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <002401c673a5$527c1720$19eefea9@dstrassberg> It's neither. The idea is to not confuse listeners who fill out Arbitron diaries. I imagine that, at least in large markets, a lot of co-owned stations have their own sales staffs (even if they share GMs, PDs, and Sales Managers). Since the sales staff's compensation depends on rates and rates depend on ratings, anything that might credit listenership to the wrong station is likely to really upset the sales force. Stations can't afford to do that. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Francini" To: "Bob Nelson" Cc: "Dan Strassberg" ; Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 4:05 PM Subject: Re: Globe: Some '07 Sox games on WEEI > "AM 850". Another case where station A won't mention station B's > calls, even though they are co-owned? > > Is this merely professional courtesy or some sort of FCC rule? > > John > > On 9 May 2006, at 15:50, Bob Nelson wrote: > > > On 5/9/06, Dan Strassberg wrote: > >> What's special about Friday nights on WRKO? Taste of Boston? I > >> know that TOB > >> is brokered time but does WRKO REALLY have contractual commitments > >> with > >> advertisers for Friday nights throughout the 2007 baseball season? > > > > Good question. Maybe it's just trying to throw a bone to WEEI--to > > give them SOME > > games once in awhile. Or, yes, it could be some kind of sponsor > > commitment. > > > > Most listeners will get used to the switching back and forth between > > stations--and yes, > > while 30 regular season games will be on WEEI, it means a whopping 132 > > will be on > > 'RKO). There will be announcements on both stations saying where the > > given game will be > > on the dial, just as how WRKO mentions the Red Sox game will air on > > "AM 850" etc. > > > From dboucher@magic1067.com Tue May 9 16:09:26 2006 From: dboucher@magic1067.com (David Allan Boucher) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 16:09:26 -0400 Subject: Globe: Some '07 Sox games on WEEI References: <1fbbbced0605091215x648c213cp66983fdd185dfa60@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: > Whither Howie? "One small change: WRKO may stop Boston Herald > columnist Howie Carr's show at 6:30 p.m., instead of 7, to make way > for the Red Sox." I don't know if this means that Howie will do the > show until 7 pm > on a handful of affiliates, but WRKO will break free for the pre-game, > or that the show will simply end at > 6:30. With the price tage of the Sox rights....I think you may see pre-and post- game coverage extended....to fit in more Sox $pots. Maybe the pre-game will start at 6PM? From scott@fybush.com Tue May 9 15:39:00 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Tue, 09 May 2006 15:39:00 -0400 Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas In-Reply-To: <4460A683.2000302@friedbagels.com> References: <4460A683.2000302@friedbagels.com> Message-ID: <4460EFD4.6090800@fybush.com> Aaron Read wrote: > However, since WWZN has such a high frequency, I think they may be able > to get out of their current location within a few years using the new > Kinstar antennas. Kinstar is not yet FCC-approved for anything but omni > AM's but that will almost certainly change once Kinstar finishes the > research on it. They've mostly been focusing on the Expanded Band > market which doesn't allow directional patterns, but I'm sure they'll > get other people with DA's knocking on their door soon. > > I saw a presentation on these antennas at NAB and it's a remarkable > design. At the high end of the band (down to about 1300-1400kHz) the > radiating elements are so short you can use wooden telephone poles to > support the four corners of the elements! We're talking total height of > about 50-60ft while maintaining about 95-98% efficiency. HELL of a lot > easier to find a field that can take that can handle poles that short > than to find a place to put quarter-wave towers that're still over 100ft > tall. > > There's a couple of decent-sized woods/fields less than a mile from the > current WWZN site...one over by Bentley College and another by that old > military installation. If directional use for the Kinstar system is > approved, I'd wager 1510 could finagle a lease that's a lot more > financially attractive at one of those places. The "towers" probably > would be completely hidden by the trees. The Kinstar is indeed an interesting antenna, and potentially quite useful for situations with draconian height restrictions. I'm not convinced that it would be the salvation of WWZN, though. While the existing four-tower array is very closely spaced, and a similar array of Kinstars could probably be spaced almost as tightly, there's still the pesky matter of a ground system. Yes, the Kinstar means you don't need a quarter-wave of steel in the air, but you DO still need a full quarter-wave of copper in the ground. (In fact, I'd venture to guess that a really good ground system is even more important with a Kinstar than it would be with a standard quarter-wave tower.) That land doesn't come cheap anywhere that 1510 would need to be. I'd also be very concerned about the skywave takeoff angle from the Kinstar. (Perhaps this was addressed in the presentation at NAB, which I was unable to attend.) For a powerful directional 50 kW station at the top of the dial, there's a danger of skywave cancellation even during the day at relatively close distances. (I get that problem here in Rochester when trying to listen to WWKB around dusk. In the summertime, it's essentially unlistenable at about 70 miles out because of cancellation between the skywave and the strong groundwave.) There's another, much bigger problem that WWZN would subject itself to if it were to make a voluntary move of its night transmitter, and that's the FCC's well-meaning but misguided ratcheting rule, which I could expand on at mind-numbing length if anyone's interested... s From elipolo@earthlink.net Tue May 9 17:23:05 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 17:23:05 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: 'RKO announces Sox deal official Message-ID: <20001856.1147209785609.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> > > From: "Dan Strassberg" > To: "Bob Nelson" , > > Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 12:35:15 -0400 > Subject: Re: 'RKO announces Sox deal official > > Regardless, the Sox/Entercom announcement appears to > be good news for AM Radio in Boston because the Sox are > staying on AM. Had this deal not been done with an AM > station, I wonder whether AM could have survived here for > any programming other than ethnic, religous, and WJIB. And WBZ. The big AM N/T stations are still doing well in many major markets. EP From dan.strassberg@att.net Tue May 9 17:23:43 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 17:23:43 -0400 Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas References: <4460A683.2000302@friedbagels.com> <4460EFD4.6090800@fybush.com> Message-ID: <000f01c673ae$ddc4be00$19eefea9@dstrassberg> As AM facilities, go, though, WWZN's array is fairly new--25 years. Still, I guess the ratchet rule wasn't yet in force when it was built, but it might have been. For example, I can believe that WWZN's night groundwave toward Sherbrooke is 10% less than that from the old 5 kW facility. And the tall towers must further reduce the radiation over the critical angles for Sherbrooke, which is something like 200 airline miles from Waverly Sq. The big potential issue is whether the new method of calculating the NIF, which takes into account first-adjacent 10% skywaves, was in effect in 1980-81. If not (and I bet that this is the case), WWZN's NIF has to be dramatically understated. The Boston 1510 is one of those rare birds--a legacy Class B that has been on its Class A channel so long that it actually receives protection from the co-channel Class As (both WLAC and KGA, although Boston is so far from Spokane that I can't imagine that KGA has to do much to protect WWZN). So my guess is that if you ignore the first adjacents, WWZN has a really, really low NIF (maybe less than 3 mV/m). But since WTWP and WWKB don't protect WWZN at all, they together might easily raise WWZN's NIF to 25 mV/m or more. If that's the case, WWZN may not deliver an NIF signal to 80% of Boston, let alone 100%. The FCC usually grants waivers of CoL NIF coverage requirements to AMs that are forced to change facilities due to loss of a transmitter site. But that would not be the case with the scenarios we're talking about here. Of course, WWZN could become a daytimer ;>) And it could move in with WMKI. For sure the WMKI array would allow WWZN to adequately protect WLAC from daytime skywave, even while running 50 kW. And at mid-day, WWZN could run 50 kW-ND. Then, whenever another AM filing window opened, the CoL could be changed to Quincy or Milton. I think WWZN could run 5 kW or something close from the WMKI array and would probably cover one of those communities well enough to be licensed as a Class B. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Fybush" To: "Aaron Read" Cc: Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 3:39 PM Subject: Re: WWZN and Kinstar antennas > > There's another, much bigger problem that WWZN would subject itself to > if it were to make a voluntary move of its night transmitter, and that's > the FCC's well-meaning but misguided ratcheting rule, which I could > expand on at mind-numbing length if anyone's interested... > > s From elipolo@earthlink.net Tue May 9 17:33:08 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 17:33:08 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas Message-ID: <3371205.1147210388086.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> > > From: Aaron Read > To: boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org > Date: Tue, 09 May 2006 10:26:11 -0400 > Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas > > There's a couple of decent-sized woods/fields less than a mile > from the current WWZN site...one over by Bentley College and > another by that old military installation. If directional use for the > Kinstar system is approved, I'd wager 1510 could finagle a lease > that's a lot more financially attractive at one of those places. > The "towers" probably would be completely hidden by the trees. Those sites would be very close to the WTTT 1150 site at the Lexington/Waltham/Belmont town lines. Though 1150 is not near 1510 on the dial, I don't know if there would be any problem with having those sites that close together. I guess Dan would have to answer that one. EP From dan.strassberg@att.net Tue May 9 17:57:22 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 17:57:22 -0400 Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas References: <3371205.1147210388086.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <003101c673b3$906f6ec0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> If you look at how close everybody is to everybody else in the Jersay Meadowlands, the proximity of WWZN and WTTT doesn't seem unusual. However, proximity to WWZN may have caused (and may still be causing) fits for WAZN. I know that there were problems with detuning the ex-100.7 tower at the WTTT site, and I'm not sure whether WAZN has yet received a license to cover. The detuning problem may or may not be related to WWZN. For sure, the FM tower HAS to be detuned at 1470 because it's in the near field of the WTTT/WAZN towers and if not detuned, it would totally mess up the WTTT and WAZN patterns. I don't know whether the FM tower needs to be detuned at 1510 but I can say that for several months, 1510 was about as loud as or louder than 1470 when I was tiuned to 1470. Of course, 1470 is only 40 kHz from 1510, but then 1010 and 1050 in New York are also 40 kHz apart and are probably about as close. And both of those stations are 50 kW directional 24/7. Also a 40 kHz difference at 1510 can be more challenging than a 40-kHz difference at 1050. The frequency difference as a percentage of the carrier frequency is 3.8% at the lower frequency but only 2.6% at the higher one, so the problem is almost 50% more difficult. On my Super Radio III, 1510 causes an image with 1470 that totally wipes out 1430 a lot of the time. This seems to be a problem with the Super Radio's tuned RF stage overloading because I haven't detected the problem on radios that have no TRF stage. Even on my car radio, which does have a TRF stage, the problem is not as bad as on the Super Radio. The car radio must have more headroom. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eli Polonsky" To: Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 5:33 PM Subject: Re: WWZN and Kinstar antennas > > > From: Aaron Read > > To: boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org > > Date: Tue, 09 May 2006 10:26:11 -0400 > > Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas > > > > There's a couple of decent-sized woods/fields less than a mile > > from the current WWZN site...one over by Bentley College and > > another by that old military installation. If directional use for the > > Kinstar system is approved, I'd wager 1510 could finagle a lease > > that's a lot more financially attractive at one of those places. > > The "towers" probably would be completely hidden by the trees. > > Those sites would be very close to the WTTT 1150 site at the > Lexington/Waltham/Belmont town lines. Though 1150 is not near > 1510 on the dial, I don't know if there would be any problem with > having those sites that close together. I guess Dan would have to > answer that one. > > EP > > > From stephanie@gordsven.com Tue May 9 18:10:21 2006 From: stephanie@gordsven.com (Stephanie Weil) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 18:10:21 -0400 (EDT) Subject: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York Message-ID: <59578.12.37.144.130.1147212621.squirrel@12.37.144.130> New York City's AM 1480 WZRC is simulcasting its Chinese news-talk/full-service format on WLYN in Lynn. Both stations are owned by Multicultural Broadcasting and at the top of the hour, WZRC has been sending out a legal ID saying "WZRC New York and WLYN, Lynn, Boston". Anyone have any idea how long this is going on? What's the signal like in Boston proper for WLYN? Considering the frequent commute between New York and Boston for the Chinese community in this area, brought about by cheap bus lines; it makes sense to network the two stations, I guess. -- Stephanie Weil New York City, NY, USA From elipolo@earthlink.net Tue May 9 18:28:38 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 18:28:38 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas Message-ID: <804282.1147213718471.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> --- Dan Strassberg wrote: > If you look at how close everybody is to everybody else in > the Jersay Meadowlands, the proximity of WWZN and WTTT > doesn't seem unusual. However, proximity to WWZN may > have caused (and may still be causing) fits for WAZN. Right, but the sites that Aaron hypothetically proposed are about even a mile closer to the WTTT/WAZN site than the current WWZN site. The location mentioned by the old military base in Waltham is practically almost just across Trapelo Rd. from the site. That's why I was wondering if there would be issues for the two sites to be that close together. EP From me@billoneill.us Tue May 9 20:22:38 2006 From: me@billoneill.us (Bill O'Neill) Date: Tue, 09 May 2006 20:22:38 -0400 Subject: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York In-Reply-To: <59578.12.37.144.130.1147212621.squirrel@12.37.144.130> References: <59578.12.37.144.130.1147212621.squirrel@12.37.144.130> Message-ID: <4461324E.3000703@billoneill.us> Stephanie Weil wrote: > New York City's AM 1480 WZRC is simulcasting its Chinese news-talk/full-service format on WLYN in Lynn. Anyone have any idea how long this is going on? What's the signal like in Boston proper for WLYN? Real question is why do I listen to them and an hour later, I'm hungry for more? Bill O'Neill From markwa1ion@aol.com Tue May 9 20:57:57 2006 From: markwa1ion@aol.com (markwa1ion@aol.com) Date: Tue, 09 May 2006 20:57:57 -0400 Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8C841E3E95995C2-5BC-1406@MBLK-M03.sysops.aol.com> << So my guess is that if you ignore the first adjacents, WWZN has a really, really low NIF (maybe less than 3 mV/m). But since WTWP and WWKB don't protect WWZN at all, they together might easily raise WWZN's NIF to 25 mV/m or more. >> What happens to WWZN's NIF if night IBOC (HD) is authorized for WTWP-1500 or WWKB-1520 ? It won't be a pretty picture. The frequency will sound like an unlubricated Ronco Shred-O-Matic. A move of WWZN to the WMKI site will put it within a mile of its old Squantum St. home. Certainly 50 kW ND day from there would be better than what they have now. Since southwest towards Nashville is the major night null direction, listeners in places like the Norwood Automile would get a much poorer signal after sunset. I think that if there was a way to get WWZN into the Oak Park (Newton) tower complex, that would even make more sense. It's wet marshy flat land (admittedly fresh water) and close to the city. A convincing case could be made to get 890, 1060, 1150, 1470, and 1550 in there too. Maybe throw in little 650 while we're at it. Downside: neighbors wouldn't be too happy about the site turning into Boston's version of the NJ Meadowlands. The 1150/1470 Lexington site is even poorer than 1510's site: Belmont Hill (a.k.a. Wellington Hill) and Turkey Hill - Arlington are in front of it on bearings east and northeast. Try to get either 1150 or 1470 in somewhere like Danvers at night ... forget about it. At least 1510's profile going east is fairly flat and somewhat damp. It's hideous to the west and northwest though, right through rocky ledge. 890 and 1060 are Boston station wannabe's, might as well get them into 1200's new Newton home: closer to downtown while still hitting some of MetroWest too. If those Kinstar antennas didn't need the full-book ground radials, they could be installed atop large water tanks or skyscrapers. I guess height doesn't do that much for AM, but a Kinstar atop the Hancock Tower or Pru would probably still make some noise if some of the building metal could act as a sort of ground. I suppose the antenna still wouldn't do as if it was in a salt-marsh though. Too bad nobody ever grabbed that perfect location at the mouth of the North River where 3A crosses from Marshfield into Scituate. Signals really pick up when you drive through there. Mark Connelly - Billerica, MA From wollman@csail.mit.edu Tue May 9 21:43:42 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 21:43:42 -0400 Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas In-Reply-To: <8C841E3E95995C2-5BC-1406@MBLK-M03.sysops.aol.com> References: <8C841E3E95995C2-5BC-1406@MBLK-M03.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <17505.17742.98273.981954@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < What happens to WWZN's NIF if night IBOC (HD) is authorized for > WTWP-1500 or WWKB-1520 ? I don't think anything happens -- at least officially. The IBOC sideband splat is 20 dB down from the carrier, so from basic physics one would predict that the received interference would likewise be lower (enough so as not to figure in the NIF computation). That doesn't mean it won't screw things up in real life. -GAWollman From madprof@ix.netcom.com Tue May 9 08:55:15 2006 From: madprof@ix.netcom.com (Robert F. Sutherland) Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 08:55:15 -0400 Subject: WMEX 50 KW DA days Message-ID: <003301c67367$d238c780$9b789c04@p133> while the subject of the old WMEX is still in the Groups thoughts, n a memory & a request: In my high school days (1962-68) in New Lebanon NY, 42:27:35,73:24:03 east of Albany, west of Pittsfield MA, I used to listen to either WMEX or WNLC 1510 New London, at first depending on propagation conditions (the luck of the day), then later when I used a home-brew 12? loop to directionalize & null out (well, sometimes imperfectly) the non-desired signal. This was using an old tube Zenith upright (wooden case with rounded top, 12? (15??) vernier dial with excellent side-channel rejection. At age 15, the ability of separating WMEX vs. WNLC felt to be a major accomplishment. Please note that WKBW 1520 was ~ 277 miles away, and WPTR Albany 1540 was ~30 miles, which this radio rejected well. I admit, I preferred WMEX then, due to music selection. a request: (those who have heard this before from me, forgive me) in the interest of the exercise of recreating the old WMEX theoretical patterns for 50kd, 5kn, and comparing to current WWZN theoretical patterns: anyone who knows the WMEX (N.Quincey) array parameters (2 towers, field ratio, phase, spacing, orientation & RMS Theoretical) - I asked Grady Moates, who said when he ran across them, he?d send (Grady, I?m not complaining - you justifiably have much higher priorities every day). - I wrote John Garabedian, who never replied. - An inquiry to the FCC was answered with willingness, if I would pay their search fee of $20.hr, expected 4 hours.... which I canit quite justify in my budget. - Dan Strassberg (thank you so much!) was able to provide a verbal description of the old DA-1 pattern ?inexact plot? from a ~1970 NRC Night pattern book, and for the 50kd CP day pattern, and history of the array ?move?, namely Commonwealth of Mass took part of the property to build the new bridge across the Neponset River), which caused the towers to be duplicated a fraction of a wavelength east and slightly north of its original location by building a second tower due north of the new day tower. I visited the Squantum site (deep boots recommended, & very slippery mud) , able to generally verify Dan?s notes. But, I still wish to learn the array parameters! PLEASE post if you know them, or have any other suggestions Bob Sutherland From markwa1ion@aol.com Tue May 9 22:05:04 2006 From: markwa1ion@aol.com (markwa1ion@aol.com) Date: Tue, 09 May 2006 22:05:04 -0400 Subject: Fwd: WWZN and Kinstar antennas In-Reply-To: <8C841ED06907FA8-5BC-18CA@MBLK-M03.sysops.aol.com> References: <8C841E3E95995C2-5BC-1406@MBLK-M03.sysops.aol.com> <17505.17742.98273.981954@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <8C841ED06907FA8-5BC-18CA@MBLK-M03.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8C841ED49F6D9EA-5BC-18F3@MBLK-M03.sysops.aol.com> -----Original Message----- From: MarkWA1ION To: wollman@csail.mit.edu Sent: Tue, 9 May 2006 22:03:11 -0400 Subject: Re: WWZN and Kinstar antennas Hi Garrett. The difference between IBOC splatter and regular splatter is that the IBOC splatter is always on, like a Husqvarna buzz-saw or an annoying mosquito an inch from your ear. Regular AM splash, even the notorious slop from "Theme from Shaft" (Isaac Hayes, 1971), is much more intermittent.? ? Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Billerica, MA? ? -----Original Message-----? From: Garrett Wollman ? To: markwa1ion@aol.com? Cc: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.BostonRadio.org? Sent: Tue, 9 May 2006 21:43:42 -0400? Subject: Re: WWZN and Kinstar antennas? ? < What happens to WWZN's NIF if night IBOC (HD) is authorized for? > WTWP-1500 or WWKB-1520 ?? ? I don't think anything happens -- at least officially. The IBOC? sideband splat is 20 dB down from the carrier, so from basic physics? one would predict that the received interference would likewise be? lower (enough so as not to figure in the NIF computation). That? doesn't mean it won't screw things up in real life.? ? -GAWollman? ? From scott@fybush.com Tue May 9 23:40:47 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Tue, 09 May 2006 23:40:47 -0400 Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas In-Reply-To: <804282.1147213718471.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> References: <804282.1147213718471.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <446160BF.8000305@fybush.com> Eli Polonsky wrote: > Right, but the sites that Aaron hypothetically proposed are about > even a mile closer to the WTTT/WAZN site than the current WWZN > site. The location mentioned by the old military base in Waltham is > practically almost just across Trapelo Rd. from the site. That's why > I was wondering if there would be issues for the two sites to be > that close together. That, by itself, shouldn't be a problem. I'm much more curious about how a WWZN move would be affected by ratcheting. Even if then-WITS *was* ratcheted in 1981 (and I don't believe it would have been), my casual reading of the rules seems to say that a subsequent move would again require ratcheting. Reducing WWZN's night signal toward WLAC by 10% would hurt. So would reducing WWZN's night signal toward WRNJ in New Jersey. With WNLC gone, it seems to me that the real winner might be a night site significantly SOUTH and west of Boston. I wonder if the thing to do, in the next AM major change window, might not be a city of license change for 1510 to allow it to move at least its night operations somewhere down around the old WBZ site in Millis, with the signal aimed north and east back at greater Boston? The issue would then become protection of the dead CJRS allocation, and I'm not entirely sure how you'd resolve that. The issue of 1510's NIF is an interesting one, too. 1510 is actually one of - if not THE - cleanest channels on the AM dial at night. There are only six fulltime facilities on 1510 in the continental US - WWZN, WRNJ in New Jersey, WLAC, KGA in Spokane, KSPA Ontario CA and KYOL in Denver. Everything else is class D, and of those class Ds, I find only a tiny handful that have any unprotected night power at all. The Pittsburgh 1510 has a watt, which I don't believe it uses. KFNN Mesa AZ has 100 watts, and KPIG Piedmont (Oakland) CA has 230 watts. Everyone else signs off at sunset, or is supposed to. That makes ratcheting much easier for WWZN, since there are only a tiny number of stations whose NIF limit it contributes to. It's a mixed blessing for WWZN, though, because it means that all the signal coming its way at night - and at a pretty substantial level - comes from the single source of WLAC. That can be much more destructive interference, from the listener's standpoint, than the same level of incoming signal would be if it were the "babble" of multiple co-channel stations heard on other frequencies. s From wollman@csail.mit.edu Wed May 10 00:55:00 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 00:55:00 -0400 Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas In-Reply-To: <446160BF.8000305@fybush.com> References: <804282.1147213718471.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <446160BF.8000305@fybush.com> Message-ID: <17505.29220.199436.562165@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > I'm much more curious about how a WWZN move would be affected by > ratcheting. Even if then-WITS *was* ratcheted in 1981 (and I don't > believe it would have been), my casual reading of the rules seems to say > that a subsequent move would again require ratcheting. Reducing WWZN's > night signal toward WLAC by 10% would hurt. So would reducing WWZN's > night signal toward WRNJ in New Jersey. Interestingly, WWZN's pattern min is not in a direct line towards WLAC, but about 15 degrees north of it. WLAC's pattern min is in the direction of Spokane, but there's also a secondary null in the direction of Boston (although the deepest point is again slightly north of there). WWZN has a very mild null (6.8 dB below pattern max) in the direction of Sherbrooke; Sherbrooke is close enough to Boston that it fits within WLAC's null towards Boston. WRNJ does not appear to protect CJRS in the pattern at all; presumably any protection that the Canadians demand is provided by the limited (230 W) night power. > It's a mixed blessing for WWZN, though, because it means that all the > signal coming its way at night - and at a pretty substantial level - > comes from the single source of WLAC. A quick listen test.... Here in Framingham, the biggest interferer tonight on 1510 appears to be WRNJ -- no sign of WLAC. Framingham is just south of the line from Nashville to Boston, and thus deeply nulled by both WLAC and WWZN. WRNJ is supposed to have a deep null this way as well (although not as deep as its nulls towards Nashville and Spokane). In any event, I found WWZN to be copyable, but the average listener would not tolerate it for long. It's a good signal here daytime. -GAWollman From elipolo@earthlink.net Wed May 10 02:27:56 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 02:27:56 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas Message-ID: <32695325.1147242476806.JavaMail.root@elwamui-sweet.atl.sa.earthlink.net> --- Scott Fybush wrote: > The issue of 1510's NIF is an interesting one, too. 1510 is > actually one of - if not THE - cleanest channels on the AM dial > at night. 1510 itself may be fairly clean, but the frequency here in the greater Boston area suffers from very strong first adjacent skywave interference at night from 1500 in Washington DC and 1520 in Buffalo NY. Those two used to practically drown out the old WMEX from both sides at night where I grew up in Newton, less than ten miles west of Boston. If you get out from WWZN's prime signal direction at night, it's the first adjacent channel interference and heterodynes that make it unlistenable more than any co-channel stations. EP From dan.strassberg@att.net Wed May 10 07:06:30 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 07:06:30 -0400 Subject: WWZN and Kinstar antennas References: <804282.1147213718471.JavaMail.root@elwamui-cypress.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <446160BF.8000305@fybush.com> Message-ID: <002f01c67421$cf2ccb80$19eefea9@dstrassberg> I think Piedmont is a Class B. I believe the night pattern RMS is just greater than 140.85 mV/m @ 1 km, qualifying the station for Class B status and nighttime protection. Were this not the case, no CoL change would have been required to add night service, and the Col WAS changed from San Rafael to Piedmont. As for how you mollify Canada for constructing a facility that interferes with a dark or unbuilt internationally notified Canadian facility, Ron Rackley has done it, thus enabling WYLL's increase to 50 kW-N. There was an unbult 1160 station in, I believe, North Bay ON. Rackley was able to get Canada to accept replacing it with an unbuilt station on, IIRC, 770. I think the replacement has a higher NIF than the original, but, notwithstanding, probably covers more area because of the lower frequency. To my knowledge, this is the only case in which something like that has been accomplished with Canada. However, I don't understand how WDGY 630 Hudson WI (St Paul MN) was able to get its now-built upgrade to 2.5 kW-N from the WCTS site. That upgrade appears to destroy a co-channel Canadian somewhere in SK or MB--and AFAIK, THAT station is still on the air. The WDGY signal is aimed north-northwest. All the years that the late KDWB occupied 630 in the Twin Cities, it was limited to 500 W-N (5 kW-D) and had a night pattern with a deep minimum to the north. Before its upgrade, WDGY was running something like 230W-N as a Class D from what it now the site of co-owned WMIN 740. That site is much closer to Hudson than is the WCTS site. And WDGY's 230W night pattern was, like KDWB's, deeply nulled to the north. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Fybush" To: "Eli Polonsky" Cc: ; "Dan Strassberg" Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 11:40 PM Subject: Re: WWZN and Kinstar antennas > Eli Polonsky wrote: > > > Right, but the sites that Aaron hypothetically proposed are about > > even a mile closer to the WTTT/WAZN site than the current WWZN > > site. The location mentioned by the old military base in Waltham is > > practically almost just across Trapelo Rd. from the site. That's why > > I was wondering if there would be issues for the two sites to be > > that close together. > > That, by itself, shouldn't be a problem. > > I'm much more curious about how a WWZN move would be affected by > ratcheting. Even if then-WITS *was* ratcheted in 1981 (and I don't > believe it would have been), my casual reading of the rules seems to say > that a subsequent move would again require ratcheting. Reducing WWZN's > night signal toward WLAC by 10% would hurt. So would reducing WWZN's > night signal toward WRNJ in New Jersey. > > With WNLC gone, it seems to me that the real winner might be a night > site significantly SOUTH and west of Boston. I wonder if the thing to > do, in the next AM major change window, might not be a city of license > change for 1510 to allow it to move at least its night operations > somewhere down around the old WBZ site in Millis, with the signal aimed > north and east back at greater Boston? The issue would then become > protection of the dead CJRS allocation, and I'm not entirely sure how > you'd resolve that. > > The issue of 1510's NIF is an interesting one, too. 1510 is actually one > of - if not THE - cleanest channels on the AM dial at night. There are > only six fulltime facilities on 1510 in the continental US - WWZN, WRNJ > in New Jersey, WLAC, KGA in Spokane, KSPA Ontario CA and KYOL in Denver. > Everything else is class D, and of those class Ds, I find only a tiny > handful that have any unprotected night power at all. The Pittsburgh > 1510 has a watt, which I don't believe it uses. KFNN Mesa AZ has 100 > watts, and KPIG Piedmont (Oakland) CA has 230 watts. Everyone else signs > off at sunset, or is supposed to. That makes ratcheting much easier for > WWZN, since there are only a tiny number of stations whose NIF limit it > contributes to. > > It's a mixed blessing for WWZN, though, because it means that all the > signal coming its way at night - and at a pretty substantial level - > comes from the single source of WLAC. That can be much more destructive > interference, from the listener's standpoint, than the same level of > incoming signal would be if it were the "babble" of multiple co-channel > stations heard on other frequencies. > > s > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu May 11 02:51:36 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 02:51:36 -0400 Subject: Just plain Todd on WRKO ("Taste" gone) Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605102351r52c51a82red85dba61a55f191@mail.gmail.com> The Taste of Boston on WRKO is now simply the Todd Feinburg show. A look at the WRKO page showing what topics were discussed: New Bedford schools; minorities in the US; "Philosopher's Cafe", and medical malpractice. Just as "Boston This Morning" suddenly morphed into "Scott Allen Miller Show", "Taste" has been modified... From fox893@yahoo.com Thu May 11 04:13:19 2006 From: fox893@yahoo.com (Cooper Fox) Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 01:13:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Just plain Todd on WRKO ("Taste" gone) In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605102351r52c51a82red85dba61a55f191@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20060511081319.44307.qmail@web37907.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Speaking of WRKO... My wife and I took a trip to CT and had a chance to listen to WRKO on the way down and back. Yesterday, Howie Carr made a comment about "new breaks" . Have they changed many things lately. I noticed they did a news/traffic break every :20. Have they always done this? --- Bob Nelson wrote: > The Taste of Boston on WRKO is now simply the Todd > Feinburg show. A > look at the WRKO page showing what topics were > discussed: New Bedford > schools; minorities in the US; > "Philosopher's Cafe", and medical malpractice. Just > as "Boston This > Morning" suddenly morphed into "Scott Allen Miller > Show", "Taste" has > been modified... > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From rogerkirk@mail.ttlc.net Thu May 11 08:33:43 2006 From: rogerkirk@mail.ttlc.net (rogerkirk) Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 08:33:43 -0400 Subject: Just plain Todd on WRKO ("Taste" gone) Message-ID: <200605110833.AA3403350272@mail.ttlc.net> "Bob Nelson" wrote: >The Taste of Boston on WRKO is now simply the Todd Feinburg show. A >look at the WRKO page showing what topics were discussed: New Bedford >schools; minorities in the US; >"Philosopher's Cafe", and medical malpractice. Just as "Boston This >Morning" suddenly morphed into "Scott Allen Miller Show", "Taste" has >been modified... This is a slow process. Anthony "Pic" Picarelli (sp?) just disappeared about 3 weeks ago. No mention, nada. The "live" reports from a female "lifestyle reporter" at various clubs, et al also disappeared. Although, I'm not surprised. She wasn't very effective and seemed uncomfortable in the role despite some "at times obvious" verbal on-air coaching from Todd. The magazine format and the :00 :20 :40 breaks call for 3 guests/segments per hour and I think that lining up that number of guests per week is a chore. It's almost as if Todd is responsible for all aspects of his show - guest procurement included. Anybody have any inside info? From dan.strassberg@att.net Thu May 11 10:33:41 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 10:33:41 -0400 Subject: Just plain Todd on WRKO ("Taste" gone) References: <200605110833.AA3403350272@mail.ttlc.net> Message-ID: <000701c67507$eb355680$19eefea9@dstrassberg> I've heard that the show is brokered time. If so, wouldn't that make Feinburg the show's "independent producer?" And if so, wouldn't he, or an employee of his (not of Entercom) be responsible for booking the guests? -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "rogerkirk" To: ; ; "Bob Nelson" Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 8:33 AM Subject: Re: Just plain Todd on WRKO ("Taste" gone) > "Bob Nelson" wrote: > > >The Taste of Boston on WRKO is now simply the Todd Feinburg show. A > >look at the WRKO page showing what topics were discussed: New Bedford > >schools; minorities in the US; > >"Philosopher's Cafe", and medical malpractice. Just as "Boston This > >Morning" suddenly morphed into "Scott Allen Miller Show", "Taste" has > >been modified... > > This is a slow process. Anthony "Pic" Picarelli (sp?) just disappeared about 3 weeks ago. No mention, nada. The "live" reports from a female "lifestyle reporter" at various clubs, et al also disappeared. Although, I'm not surprised. She wasn't very effective and seemed uncomfortable in the role despite some "at times obvious" verbal on-air coaching from Todd. > > The magazine format and the :00 :20 :40 breaks call for 3 guests/segments per hour and I think that lining up that number of guests per week is a chore. It's almost as if Todd is responsible for all aspects of his show - guest procurement included. Anybody have any inside info? > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu May 11 10:35:50 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 10:35:50 -0400 Subject: Just plain Todd on WRKO ("Taste" gone) In-Reply-To: <200605110833.AA3403350272@mail.ttlc.net> References: <200605110833.AA3403350272@mail.ttlc.net> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605110735y2c093f06xa57720e33dbf5df9@mail.gmail.com> A few weeks back, WRKO went to breaks "on the 20s" (or at least having news headlines on the 20s) for most of its shows but I think in some cases, like during Limbaugh, they go with news on the hour and half hour, and breaks at other times (they have to follow Rush's clock) > The magazine format and the :00 :20 :40 breaks call for 3 guests/segments per hour From elipolo@earthlink.net Thu May 11 13:47:02 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 13:47:02 -0400 Subject: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York Message-ID: > > From: "Stephanie Weil" > To: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.BostonRadio.org > Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 18:10:21 -0400 (EDT) > Subject: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York > > What's the signal like in Boston proper for WLYN? WLYN's 700 watt day signal comes in quite well in Boston proper. It comes over mostly salt water from the North Shore just ten miles from downtown Boston. It's obviously not a powerhouse signal, but it's very listenable in the city and the immediate Boston metro, and it also hits the coast of the South Shore well. It weakens as you travel inland, but still can be heard to Route 128 and a lot farther in some areas depending on conditions. Their problem is that they've been broadcasting on only the left channel of their C-Quam AM Stereo signal for at a few months now. WLYN is one of the only two surviving AM Stereo stations in greater Boston, but the only one remaining broadcasting properly in that mode is WJIB 740. WLYN's 76 watt mono night signal becomes very weak south of the Tobin Bridge. It can be heard faintly in Boston, but with a lot of background noise from WDRC Hartford and other co-channels in the Northeast which may drown it out on nights with strong skywave. Eli Polonsky From lglavin@lycos.com Thu May 11 16:50:59 2006 From: lglavin@lycos.com (Laurence Glavin) Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 15:50:59 -0500 Subject: Just plain Todd on WRKO ("Taste" gone) Message-ID: <20060511205059.A92193384B@ws7-3.us4.outblaze.com> > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bob Nelson" > To: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org, raccoonradio@gmail.com > Subject: Just plain Todd on WRKO ("Taste" gone) > Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 02:51:36 -0400 > > > The Taste of Boston on WRKO is now simply the Todd Feinburg show. A > look at the WRKO page showing what topics were discussed: New Bedford > schools; minorities in the US; > "Philosopher's Cafe", and medical malpractice. Just as "Boston This > Morning" suddenly morphed into "Scott Allen Miller Show", "Taste" has > been modified... This means Todd works seven days a week until b-ball returns. The last person I recall to do this was Robert J. Lurtsema. -- _______________________________________________ Search for businesses by name, location, or phone number. -Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 From kc1ih@mac.com Thu May 11 17:23:46 2006 From: kc1ih@mac.com (Larry Weil) Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 17:23:46 -0400 Subject: Just plain Todd on WRKO ("Taste" gone) In-Reply-To: <20060511205059.A92193384B@ws7-3.us4.outblaze.com> References: <20060511205059.A92193384B@ws7-3.us4.outblaze.com> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20060511171855.025ab830@mac.com> At 04:50 PM 5/11/2006, Laurence Glavin wrote: >This means Todd works seven days a week until b-ball returns. >The last person I recall to do this was Robert J. Lurtsema. Are all Todd's shows live? Dick Goldin used to work 7 days a week at WQRC. Ron Della Chiesa was on the air 7 days a week for a number of years between WGBH and WPLM, but I believe the WPLM shows are pre-recorded/voice tracked. Larry Weil Lake Wobegone, NH From markwa1ion@aol.com Fri May 12 14:59:13 2006 From: markwa1ion@aol.com (markwa1ion@aol.com) Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 14:59:13 -0400 Subject: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8C8440D4B2E609F-234-28F4@mblk-r30.sysops.aol.com> At Brewster, MA on the Cape, V-Soft gives Lynn's little 700 watts a 1.58 mV/m versus only 1.14 mV/m for 50 kW WWZN-1510 (day). WEEI-850, also with 50 gallons, only does 2.36 mV, not a whole lot better than WLYN. With the directional antenna (Flag) I use here in Billerica, the WLYN 76 watt night signal is usually tops on 1360. Now that Bathurst, New Brunswick (CKBC) is gone, the interference WLYN takes is either from whatever WDRC signal leaks through from the back of my cardioid antenna system or, quite often, WLYN is dogged by a hefty 1 kHz heterodyne from the big Spain station on 1359, basically on the same easterly bearing as Lynn. Mark Connelly - Billerica, MA << WLYN's 700 watt day signal comes in quite well in Boston proper. It comes over mostly salt water from the North Shore just ten miles from downtown Boston. It's obviously not a powerhouse signal, but it's very listenable in the city and the immediate Boston metro, and it also hits the coast of the South Shore well. It weakens as you travel inland, but still can be heard to Route 128 and a lot farther in some areas depending on conditions. ... WLYN's 76 watt mono night signal becomes very weak south of the Tobin Bridge. It can be heard faintly in Boston, but with a lot of background noise from WDRC Hartford and other co-channels in the Northeast which may drown it out on nights with strong skywave. Eli Polonsky >> From paulcurrier@adelphia.net Fri May 12 15:12:13 2006 From: paulcurrier@adelphia.net (Paul B. Currier) Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 15:12:13 -0400 Subject: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York References: <8C8440D4B2E609F-234-28F4@mblk-r30.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <000501c675f7$f9cea840$a7483518@DG07P241> I remember picking up WLYN in the early 60's when I was in Limestone Maine. Nearly fell out of my chair when I first picked it up! Paul Sandwich Cape Cod ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 2:59 PM Subject: Re: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York > At Brewster, MA on the Cape, V-Soft gives Lynn's little 700 watts a > 1.58 mV/m versus only 1.14 mV/m for 50 kW WWZN-1510 (day). WEEI-850, > also with 50 gallons, only does 2.36 mV, not a whole lot better than > WLYN. > > With the directional antenna (Flag) I use here in Billerica, the WLYN > 76 watt night signal is usually tops on 1360. Now that Bathurst, New > Brunswick (CKBC) is gone, the interference WLYN takes is either from > whatever WDRC signal leaks through from the back of my cardioid antenna > system or, quite often, WLYN is dogged by a hefty 1 kHz heterodyne from > the big Spain station on 1359, basically on the same easterly bearing > as Lynn. > > Mark Connelly - Billerica, MA > > << > WLYN's 700 watt day signal comes in quite well in Boston > proper. It comes over mostly salt water from the North > Shore just ten miles from downtown Boston. It's obviously > not a powerhouse signal, but it's very listenable in the > city and the immediate Boston metro, and it also hits the > coast of the South Shore well. > > It weakens as you travel inland, but still can be heard > to Route 128 and a lot farther in some areas depending > on conditions. > > ... > > WLYN's 76 watt mono night signal becomes very weak south > of the Tobin Bridge. It can be heard faintly in Boston, > but with a lot of background noise from WDRC Hartford and > other co-channels in the Northeast which may drown it out > on nights with strong skywave. > > Eli Polonsky > >> > > From revdoug1@verizon.net Fri May 12 17:44:24 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 17:44:24 -0400 Subject: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York References: <8C8440D4B2E609F-234-28F4@mblk-r30.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <058801c6760d$3cc147b0$6401a8c0@pastor2> Pardon my ignorance (I may well be wrong on this), but wasn't WLYN at one time a 5 kw daytimer? If so, why (and when) was the daytime power reduced to 700 watts? -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 2:59 PM Subject: Re: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York > At Brewster, MA on the Cape, V-Soft gives Lynn's little 700 watts a > 1.58 mV/m versus only 1.14 mV/m for 50 kW WWZN-1510 (day). WEEI-850, > also with 50 gallons, only does 2.36 mV, not a whole lot better than > WLYN. > > With the directional antenna (Flag) I use here in Billerica, the WLYN > 76 watt night signal is usually tops on 1360. Now that Bathurst, New > Brunswick (CKBC) is gone, the interference WLYN takes is either from > whatever WDRC signal leaks through from the back of my cardioid antenna > system or, quite often, WLYN is dogged by a hefty 1 kHz heterodyne from > the big Spain station on 1359, basically on the same easterly bearing > as Lynn. > > Mark Connelly - Billerica, MA > > << > WLYN's 700 watt day signal comes in quite well in Boston > proper. It comes over mostly salt water from the North > Shore just ten miles from downtown Boston. It's obviously > not a powerhouse signal, but it's very listenable in the > city and the immediate Boston metro, and it also hits the > coast of the South Shore well. > > It weakens as you travel inland, but still can be heard > to Route 128 and a lot farther in some areas depending > on conditions. > > ... > > WLYN's 76 watt mono night signal becomes very weak south > of the Tobin Bridge. It can be heard faintly in Boston, > but with a lot of background noise from WDRC Hartford and > other co-channels in the Northeast which may drown it out > on nights with strong skywave. > > Eli Polonsky > >> > > From dlh@donnahalper.com Fri May 12 17:52:55 2006 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 17:52:55 -0400 Subject: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York In-Reply-To: <058801c6760d$3cc147b0$6401a8c0@pastor2> References: <8C8440D4B2E609F-234-28F4@mblk-r30.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060512175041.02eaccf8@pop.registeredsite.com> At 05:44 PM 5/12/2006 -0400, Doug Drown wrote: >Pardon my ignorance (I may well be wrong on this), but wasn't WLYN at one >time a 5 kw daytimer? It was indeed a day-timer, but never 5 watts. I am friends with the original GM's grand-son and have some of the early articles written in the Lynn newspapers. I believe it went on the air with 500 watts in mid December 1947. From dan.strassberg@att.net Fri May 12 22:53:28 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 22:53:28 -0400 Subject: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York References: <8C8440D4B2E609F-234-28F4@mblk-r30.sysops.aol.com> <058801c6760d$3cc147b0$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <002501c67638$6e12a680$19eefea9@dstrassberg> WLYN was a 1 kW daytimer for many years. WLYN-FM's (later WFNX's) antenna was located atop the WLYN (AM) tower--most likely side-mounted (which was more common than top-mounting for FM antennas added to existing AM towers). Many years ago, when the FM was already running the maximum power for a Class A, the FCC allowed Class A FMs both greater antenna height (100m--up from 250') and 3 kW (up from 1 kW and subsequently increased to 6 kW). (Of course, even before the blanket increase, Class As, like FMs of all other classes, were allowed greater antenna heights if they reduced their ERP to achieve coverage equivalent to that of the class maximum.) WLYN was granted the equivalent of 3 kW at 100m. This was accomplished, in part, by increasing the tower height (and, I believe, top-mounting the FM antenna on the new taller tower). WLYN (AM) thus got a more efficient, half-wave tower, but because of proximity to first-adjacent WFEA, could barely increase its coverage. WLYN thus became one of the first beneficiaries of the new rule allowing AMs to operate at virtually any power instead of just 250W, 500W, 1 kW, 2.5 kW, 5 kW, 10 kW, 25 kW, and 50 kW. 700W into a half-wave tower was probably equivalent to a little more than 1 kW into the shorter tower that WLYN had been using. I don't think there was ever an intermediate step that required WLYN to reduce to 500W--the nearest, lower, round-number power. I have a feeling that for a LONG time after WLYN increased its tower height, there was something seriously wrong with the AM installation because where I live, the AM signal became noticeably weaker and did not improve until after the station had changed ownership a couple of times. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Drown" To: ; Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 5:44 PM Subject: Re: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York > Pardon my ignorance (I may well be wrong on this), but wasn't WLYN at one > time a 5 kw daytimer? If so, why (and when) was the daytime power reduced > to 700 watts? > > -Doug > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: > To: > Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 2:59 PM > Subject: Re: WLYN simulcasting WZRC New York > > > > At Brewster, MA on the Cape, V-Soft gives Lynn's little 700 watts a > > 1.58 mV/m versus only 1.14 mV/m for 50 kW WWZN-1510 (day). WEEI-850, > > also with 50 gallons, only does 2.36 mV, not a whole lot better than > > WLYN. > > > > With the directional antenna (Flag) I use here in Billerica, the WLYN > > 76 watt night signal is usually tops on 1360. Now that Bathurst, New > > Brunswick (CKBC) is gone, the interference WLYN takes is either from > > whatever WDRC signal leaks through from the back of my cardioid antenna > > system or, quite often, WLYN is dogged by a hefty 1 kHz heterodyne from > > the big Spain station on 1359, basically on the same easterly bearing > > as Lynn. > > > > Mark Connelly - Billerica, MA > > > > << > > WLYN's 700 watt day signal comes in quite well in Boston > > proper. It comes over mostly salt water from the North > > Shore just ten miles from downtown Boston. It's obviously > > not a powerhouse signal, but it's very listenable in the > > city and the immediate Boston metro, and it also hits the > > coast of the South Shore well. > > > > It weakens as you travel inland, but still can be heard > > to Route 128 and a lot farther in some areas depending > > on conditions. > > > > ... > > > > WLYN's 76 watt mono night signal becomes very weak south > > of the Tobin Bridge. It can be heard faintly in Boston, > > but with a lot of background noise from WDRC Hartford and > > other co-channels in the Northeast which may drown it out > > on nights with strong skywave. > > > > Eli Polonsky > > >> > > > > > From dan.strassberg@att.net Sat May 13 18:28:06 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sat, 13 May 2006 18:28:06 -0400 Subject: WAAF and the Red Sox Message-ID: <000f01c676dc$855ec0e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> I assume that there is a reason why we haven't heard any more about how Entercom proposes to fill the gap in MetroWest in the signal footprint for next year's Red Sox night games. Several people on this list, including Scott Fybush, have commented that adding WAAF to the network--at least for night games--could make a lot of sense. Could it be that Entercom is constrained from making this move because the Red Sox contract with WTAG continues at least through the 2007 season? I had hoped that WAAF's CoL change to Westborough would eliminate a conflict with WTAG, regardless of whether WAAF was transmitting for Paxton or W Boyleston. There is signal overlap among many more than two of the Red Sox network affiliates and I thought that, as long as two affiliates weren't licensed to the same community, the standard affiliate agreement posed no problems, but maybe that isn't so or maybe WTAG's contract is different. Can anyone elaborate? -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 From scott@fybush.com Sun May 14 00:58:16 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 00:58:16 -0400 Subject: WAAF and the Red Sox In-Reply-To: <000f01c676dc$855ec0e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <000f01c676dc$855ec0e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <4466B8E8.70106@fybush.com> Dan Strassberg wrote: > I assume that there is a reason why we haven't heard any more about how > Entercom proposes to fill the gap in MetroWest in the signal footprint for > next year's Red Sox night games. Several people on this list, including > Scott Fybush, have commented that adding WAAF to the network--at least for > night games--could make a lot of sense. Could it be that Entercom is > constrained from making this move because the Red Sox contract with WTAG > continues at least through the 2007 season? I had hoped that WAAF's CoL > change to Westborough would eliminate a conflict with WTAG, regardless of > whether WAAF was transmitting for Paxton or W Boyleston. There is signal > overlap among many more than two of the Red Sox network affiliates and I > thought that, as long as two affiliates weren't licensed to the same > community, the standard affiliate agreement posed no problems, but maybe > that isn't so or maybe WTAG's contract is different. Can anyone elaborate? I'm no affiliate-relations expert, but my guess would be that - at least for an Arbitron-defined market - the contract probably provides for exclusivity within that market, not just within that city of license. It's possible that there's at least some wiggle room there, as witness the existence of WEIM as another Sox affiliate within the Worcester metro. But WEIM and WTAG barely have any overlap within their night signal contours. WAAF, regardless of which site it's using and regardless of where it's licensed to, throws at least 60 dBu, and probably a lot more than that, over the entire WTAG night signal. I'd have to think WTAG wouldn't be very happy about that. I wonder if we'll see some night games on WMKK instead? It's unquestionably in the Boston market, and wouldn't cause WTAG any grief. s From brian_vita@cssinc.com Sun May 14 02:39:43 2006 From: brian_vita@cssinc.com (Brian Vita) Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 02:39:43 -0400 Subject: Clear Channel & HD Radio Message-ID: <4466D0AF.5090002@cssinc.com> Its no secret that Clear Channel is very aggressively pushing HD radio. They're also now pushing their "HD2" channels. To that end, their streaming all of them that are currently on the air. You can check them out at: www.clearchannelmusic.com I've been listening to the AC station out of Witchita KS(KRBB-FM B-98 "The Right Mix") on their HD-2 station which is (allegedly) NAC since about 9:30AM Saturday. While its billed as a "Smooth Jazz" station its got loads of AC mixed in with it. Kind of like a bad marriage between Magic and WSJZ. My wife likes it. I think that the AC makes it unlistenable. Interestingly, the online version of RDS doesn't work with their player. That is to say, the songs are being played blind with no title/artist info. The station is jockless with the exception of a sweeper that plays every 15 or so. No actual station ID given. Right now: Philippe Saisse - Do It Again (cover of Steely Dan song) - NAC Phil Collins - Everyday? - (some kind of AC vocal drek) AC Vocal Dave Brubeck - Take Five Some Rose Royce Clone - Wishing on A Star - AC Vocal A smooth jazz piece that I know but don't know the name George Michael - Hairless Sister, err, Careless Whisper - AC Vocal I think that this is what you get when you allow an AC programmer to program a NAC station... Slightly earlier: Luther Vandross - Dance with my Father - AC Vocal -- Brian T. Vita, President Cinema Service & Supply, Inc. 77 Walnut St - Ste 4 Peabody, MA 01960-5691 USA Sales: (800)231-8849 Office: (978)538-7575 Fax: (978)538-7550 www.cssinc.com From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 14 08:55:12 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 08:55:12 -0400 Subject: WAAF and the Red Sox References: <000f01c676dc$855ec0e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <4466B8E8.70106@fybush.com> Message-ID: <002101c67755$a766de60$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Well, WBOQ's entire 60 dBu coverage area must lie within WEEI's 5 mV/m contour. If we assume that WYLF is operating within the terms of its license (not usually a good assumption, but that's a different thread), WEEI ought to cover all of WBOQ's service area with an acceptable (albeit, not necessarily great) nighttime signal. This has to mean that Entercom agreed to let WBOQ become a Red Sox affiliate in 2005 and 2006. I assume that if Red Sox night games were on WMKK, Entercom and Doug Tanger would have to work out some sort of agreement. BTW, unless I am misremembering what I learned at the V-Soft site (and I might be), ONLY WAAF of all "Boston" market FMs puts 60 dBu into Framingham and it misses 60 dBu by a whisker in Natick. I believe these figures are for the Paxton signal; the W Boyleston signal probably does better in Natick than does the Paxton signal. Also, I had previously written that WRKO's signal in MetroWest was better than WEEIs and then seemingly retracted that statement when I posted the signal strengths of both stations in Natick and Framingham. Not that it matters very much, but I am pleased to report that if you use V-Soft's data to check signal strengths in the correct communities, I WAS correct after all. West of Southboro, WRKO's night signal is stronger than WEEIs. And in Marlborough, WRKO's day and night signals are both stronger than WEEI's. Although the day signals of both stations are adequate in these communities (better, in fact, than WBZ's), neither WRKO nor WEEI has an adequate night signal in Marlborough. (IIRC, we're talking 1 mV/m vs 0.75 or something like that.) Although WRKO is about 20% farther from Marlborough than WEEI is, WRKO starts out with a stronger signal day and night in the direction of Marlborough (only about 5% stronger by day but more than 60% stronger by night). The stronger signals and the 20% lower frequency eventually make up for the distance, and once you get beyond a certain distance (somewhere near Southborough), WRKO wins. Of course, at night, by the time you reach the point where WRKO wins, both signal are so weak that they are useless ;>( -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Fybush" To: "Dan Strassberg" Cc: "Boston Radio Interest" Sent: Sunday, May 14, 2006 12:58 AM Subject: Re: WAAF and the Red Sox > Dan Strassberg wrote: > > I assume that there is a reason why we haven't heard any more about how > > Entercom proposes to fill the gap in MetroWest in the signal footprint for > > next year's Red Sox night games. Several people on this list, including > > Scott Fybush, have commented that adding WAAF to the network--at least for > > night games--could make a lot of sense. Could it be that Entercom is > > constrained from making this move because the Red Sox contract with WTAG > > continues at least through the 2007 season? I had hoped that WAAF's CoL > > change to Westborough would eliminate a conflict with WTAG, regardless of > > whether WAAF was transmitting for Paxton or W Boyleston. There is signal > > overlap among many more than two of the Red Sox network affiliates and I > > thought that, as long as two affiliates weren't licensed to the same > > community, the standard affiliate agreement posed no problems, but maybe > > that isn't so or maybe WTAG's contract is different. Can anyone elaborate? > > I'm no affiliate-relations expert, but my guess would be that - at least > for an Arbitron-defined market - the contract probably provides for > exclusivity within that market, not just within that city of license. > > It's possible that there's at least some wiggle room there, as witness > the existence of WEIM as another Sox affiliate within the Worcester > metro. But WEIM and WTAG barely have any overlap within their night > signal contours. WAAF, regardless of which site it's using and > regardless of where it's licensed to, throws at least 60 dBu, and > probably a lot more than that, over the entire WTAG night signal. I'd > have to think WTAG wouldn't be very happy about that. > > I wonder if we'll see some night games on WMKK instead? It's > unquestionably in the Boston market, and wouldn't cause WTAG any grief. > > s From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sun May 14 10:38:03 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 10:38:03 -0400 Subject: Clear Channel & HD Radio In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605140737y37f5db95l702335f04f140e0b@mail.gmail.com> References: <4466D0AF.5090002@cssinc.com> <1fbbbced0605140737y37f5db95l702335f04f140e0b@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605140738g55637312va3a94748a841c40b@mail.gmail.com> A tape trader sent me a couple of tapes (well, one was a mini disc) of HD-2 stations. One was a classic country station (no jocks) associated with KMPS in Seattle. The other, also jockless, was "Gretchen 99.9" out of Florida, associated with WKIS Boca Raton. Named after country singer Gretchen Wilson ("Redneck Woman"), it featured artists like Hank Williams Jr., Toby Keith, Travis Trit, Gretchen Wilson, and Shooter Jennings. Shooter, who played his dad Waylon in "Walk The Line", did a song that might not get played on "regular" country radio because of its title (you'll see it if you go to his website--it's on the T-shirt he's wearing...) The station pushes 100,000 watts. I guess some Boston HD-2 stations are doing smooth jazz, pre-Beatles oldies, classic country, 80s rock, comedy, acoustic, etc. http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.asp?hid=132104&pt=todaysnews From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sun May 14 13:56:58 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 13:56:58 -0400 Subject: Clear Channel & HD Radio In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605141056u6a9546f1pd610c30bbe0dea48@mail.gmail.com> References: <4466D0AF.5090002@cssinc.com> <1fbbbced0605140737y37f5db95l702335f04f140e0b@mail.gmail.com> <1fbbbced0605140738g55637312va3a94748a841c40b@mail.gmail.com> <1fbbbced0605141056u6a9546f1pd610c30bbe0dea48@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605141056y19b3e871mcf4aae27dd754f43@mail.gmail.com> No idea how well the signal gets out; I just got tapes of these 2 stations. I know about WKIS-HD 99.9 being 100,000 watts from reading it on the Net. From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sun May 14 14:11:28 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 14:11:28 -0400 Subject: Globe: WBOQ fears Red Sox loss Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605141111y57b74dd0t863d5876724cfd63@mail.gmail.com> http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/05/14/radio_stations_fear_a_big_red_sox_loss/ "...it is unclear whether a new 10-year deal to switch most Sox games to WRKO-AM next season will leave the small station (WBOQ), and affiliates like it across New England, out of the running to broadcast games next year, according to the station's president, Todd Tanger. '''We'd like to continue if it makes sense financially,' Tanger said. ''But if they need a big payment from us to make this deal work, we probably couldn't afford to be part of it.' " From wollman@csail.mit.edu Sun May 14 15:50:54 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 15:50:54 -0400 Subject: Clear Channel & HD Radio In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605141056y19b3e871mcf4aae27dd754f43@mail.gmail.com> References: <4466D0AF.5090002@cssinc.com> <1fbbbced0605140737y37f5db95l702335f04f140e0b@mail.gmail.com> <1fbbbced0605140738g55637312va3a94748a841c40b@mail.gmail.com> <1fbbbced0605141056u6a9546f1pd610c30bbe0dea48@mail.gmail.com> <1fbbbced0605141056y19b3e871mcf4aae27dd754f43@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <17511.35358.116104.555521@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > No idea how well the signal gets out; I just got tapes of these 2 > stations. I know about WKIS-HD 99.9 being 100,000 watts from reading > it on the Net. Actually, it's only 1,000 watts. IBOC sideband power is 20 dB down from the main carrier. (So in a way, IBOC is a means for radio stations to shift their electricity costs onto listeners.) -GAWollman From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sun May 14 16:05:43 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 16:05:43 -0400 Subject: Clear Channel & HD Radio In-Reply-To: <17511.35358.116104.555521@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> References: <4466D0AF.5090002@cssinc.com> <1fbbbced0605140737y37f5db95l702335f04f140e0b@mail.gmail.com> <1fbbbced0605140738g55637312va3a94748a841c40b@mail.gmail.com> <1fbbbced0605141056u6a9546f1pd610c30bbe0dea48@mail.gmail.com> <1fbbbced0605141056y19b3e871mcf4aae27dd754f43@mail.gmail.com> <17511.35358.116104.555521@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605141305qf24c6fnde127f94f561e80b@mail.gmail.com> On 5/14/06, Garrett Wollman wrote: > Actually, it's only 1,000 watts. IBOC sideband power is 20 dB down > from the main carrier. (So in a way, IBOC is a means for radio > stations to shift their electricity costs onto listeners.) OK, good to know. The Radio INK article ("Beasley Broadcast Group's WKIS FM/KISS Country, has launched a new radio station, the 100,000 watt Gretchen 99.9 in HD.") and a press release in .pdf format by the station both said "100,000 watts". So does this mean that they put out 1,000 watts, but the _coverage area_ would be similar to that of a 100kW station? (btw, I looked up the regular WKIS-FM signal on radio-locator.com, and it said that the regular signal was 100kW)...coverage map: http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WKIS&service=FM&status=L&hours=U From revdoug1@verizon.net Sun May 14 17:37:14 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 17:37:14 -0400 Subject: Affiliation agreements? Message-ID: <005401c6779e$9155df60$6401a8c0@pastor2> Dan said: \\There is signal overlap among many more than two of the Red Sox network affiliates and I thought that, as long as two affiliates weren't licensed to the same community, the standard affiliate agreement posed no problems . . .// Speaking not of the Sox Network in particular, but of networks in general: just what does a standard affiliate agreement constitute in terms of CoL and overlap? Until recently, two stations in Bangor --- WZON (AM) and WVOM (FM) (not co-owned) were carrying identical ABC hourly newscasts. WVOM has recently joined Fox, and its sister AM station, WABI, carries the same newscasts. Whatever the "rules" are, there must be exceptions. What are they? -Doug From hykker@grolen.com Sun May 14 19:09:54 2006 From: hykker@grolen.com (SteveOrdinetz) Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 19:09:54 -0400 Subject: Affiliation agreements? In-Reply-To: <005401c6779e$9155df60$6401a8c0@pastor2> References: <005401c6779e$9155df60$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <6.0.3.0.0.20060514190722.01c49ec0@pop3.grolen.com> Doug Drown wrote: >Speaking not of the Sox Network in particular, but of networks in general: >just what does a standard affiliate agreement constitute in terms of CoL and >overlap? Until recently, two stations in Bangor --- WZON (AM) and WVOM (FM) >(not co-owned) were carrying identical ABC hourly newscasts. WVOM has >recently joined Fox, and its sister AM station, WABI, carries the same >newscasts. Whatever the "rules" are, there must be exceptions. What are >they? It varies all over the place. Some networks give their affiliates a much larger "exclusive" area than others. From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 14 22:18:27 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 22:18:27 -0400 Subject: WAAF and the Red Sox References: <000f01c676dc$855ec0e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg><4466B8E8.70106@fybush.com><002101c67755$a766de60$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <17511.35142.355723.453169@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <001001c677c5$f2572d60$19eefea9@dstrassberg> I've discovered that V-Soft Web site has entries for WAAF at both the Paxton and W Boylston sites, and finding the correct entry in each ZIP code is a bit counter-intuitive. To find the signal strength from W Boylston, it appears that you must look for WAAF WORCESTER. To find the signal strength from Paxton, you apparently search for WAAF WESTBOROUGH. I tried the following ZIP codes: 01701 (Framingham), 01760 (Natick), 02451 (Waltham), 02476 (Arlington), 01612 (Paxton), 01583 (W Boylston), and 02139 (Cambridge). In all cases except Paxton, WAAF WORCESTER (that is, W Boyleston) showed greater signal strength. In Paxton, WAAF WESTBOROUGH (that is, Paxton) showed 36 dB greater signal strength than WAAF WORCESTER (115.2 dBu vs 79.0 dBu, that is 572.77 mV/m vs 8.93 mV/m). In all of the other ZIPs, however, WORCESTER was stronger than WESTBOROUGH by 1.3 dBu (18.4%) to 5.1 dBu (80.3%). Surprisingly, the largest advantage for WORCESTER was not in W Boyleston (4.7 dBu); it was in Arlington (5.1 dBu). -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Garrett Wollman" To: "Dan Strassberg" Sent: Sunday, May 14, 2006 3:47 PM Subject: Re: WAAF and the Red Sox > < said: > > > BTW, unless I am misremembering what I learned at the V-Soft site (and I > > might be), ONLY WAAF of all "Boston" market FMs puts 60 dBu into Framingham > > and it misses 60 dBu by a whisker in Natick. I believe these figures are for > > the Paxton signal; the W Boyleston signal probably does better in Natick > > than does the Paxton signal. > > You are very much misremembering. > > All of the FM-128 signals put at least 77.8 dBu at me. The Pru FMs > deliver about 72. 93.7 and 99.5 are nearly tied at about 63, WERS is > 61, WXRV is 57, WILD-FM is 53, and Plymouth is 52. > > -GAWollman > From dan.strassberg@att.net Tue May 16 15:32:26 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 15:32:26 -0400 Subject: WAMG gets night power increase Message-ID: <002b01c6791f$8e9def60$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Today's FCC actions indicate that WAMG has been granted an increase in night power from 3.4 kW to 6 kW. No tower construction is involved--only electrical changes. Given the stories that have been floating around about Jessamy Tang's erratic managment style and fear of spending money on anything (apparently lest she draw the ire of the investors), I wonder whether she will ever spring for the cost of the new phasing unit. If she does, how long will it take to get the unit built, installed, adjusted, and proofed? Lead times for these custom-built items are unbelievably long. Don't hold your breath for the improved night signal to go on the air, but if it is built, there will be a dramatic improvement over two narrow arcs to the north and south of the transmitter site (the northern of these two arcs covers a lot of the Town of Framingham) and more subtle improvements over wider arcs to the northeast and southeast. Depending on how accurate the augmentations are on the existing night pattern, there will either be only a slight improvement due east or a slight reduction in signal strength in that direction that not many people are likely to notice. Because there is no change in the requirements for protecting WLS, there will be no change at all in the signal to the west. WAMG's night signal does not now and will not reach such places as Southborough or Marlborough. The application also specifies that there will be minor adjustments to the day pattern, further reducing the signal in the broad minima to the north and south. This minor change may somewhat reduce interference to 900 in Nashua but the effect will be minimal, most likely noticeable as slight increases in the width of the regions to the north and south of the array where phasing so badly distorts the signal that it is unlistenable. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 From scott@fybush.com Tue May 16 16:20:51 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 16:20:51 -0400 Subject: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP and WSAH? Message-ID: <446A3423.2070700@fybush.com> http://www.tech-notes.tv/Archive/tech_notes_SE05-16-06.pdf Here's an interesting development - who'd have thought that a home shopping TV channel wouldn't be able to make it? One wonders now what will become of WMFP in Boston and WSAH in Connecticut? Could WMFP in fact end up as the My Network TV affiliate when all is said and done? s From ssmyth@suscom.net Tue May 16 16:39:16 2006 From: ssmyth@suscom.net (Sean Smyth) Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 16:39:16 -0400 Subject: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP and WSAH? In-Reply-To: <446A3423.2070700@fybush.com> References: <446A3423.2070700@fybush.com> Message-ID: On Tue, 16 May 2006 16:20:51 -0400 Scott Fybush wrote: >One wonders now what will become of WMFP in Boston and WSAH in >Connecticut? Could WMFP in fact end up as the My Network TV >affiliate when all is said and done? Here's an off-the-wall thought -- would the Red Sox, who wanted an equity stake in a radio station, be interested in buying Ch. 62 to broaden the team's media empire? I see no reason why they would -- NESN gives them the added benefit of cable subscriber fees in addition to ad revenue. But if the Sox wanted to somehow build Ch. 62 into a WTBS/WGN-like Superstation (of course, those channels are cutting back on sports programming) and get cable clearance in 25 to 30 percent of the country, it might be an interesting idea. From revdoug1@verizon.net Tue May 16 17:57:02 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 17:57:02 -0400 Subject: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP and WSAH? References: <446A3423.2070700@fybush.com> Message-ID: <009201c67933$aa42b7f0$6401a8c0@pastor2> Is WTBS Channel 17 in Atlanta, from which TBS Superstation evolved, still operating as a separate entity? I know WGN-TV 9 in Chicago has partially separate programming from its national counterpart. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sean Smyth" To: "Scott Fybush" ; "Boston Radio Interest" Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 4:39 PM Subject: Re: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP and WSAH? > On Tue, 16 May 2006 16:20:51 -0400 > Scott Fybush wrote: > >One wonders now what will become of WMFP in Boston and WSAH in > >Connecticut? Could WMFP in fact end up as the My Network TV > >affiliate when all is said and done? > > Here's an off-the-wall thought -- would the Red Sox, who wanted > an equity stake in a radio station, be interested in buying Ch. > 62 to broaden the team's media empire? > > I see no reason why they would -- NESN gives them the added > benefit of cable subscriber fees in addition to ad revenue. But > if the Sox wanted to somehow build Ch. 62 into a WTBS/WGN-like > Superstation (of course, those channels are cutting back on > sports programming) and get cable clearance in 25 to 30 percent > of the country, it might be an interesting idea. > From joe@attorneyross.com Wed May 17 00:22:18 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 00:22:18 -0400 Subject: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP and WSAH? In-Reply-To: References: <446A3423.2070700@fybush.com> Message-ID: <446A6CBA.13853.7CF401@localhost> On 16 May 2006 at 16:39, Sean Smyth wrote: > Here's an off-the-wall thought -- would the Red Sox, who wanted > an equity stake in a radio station, be interested in buying Ch. > 62 to broaden the team's media empire? Here's an even more off-the-wall thought. Charles River Broadcasting acquires Channel 62 and continues classical programming as WCRB-TV. Yes, I know, even Joseph Gallant wouldn't come up with that one. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From hinsdalien@yahoo.com Wed May 17 00:49:03 2006 From: hinsdalien@yahoo.com (Doug Bassett) Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 21:49:03 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP and WSAH? In-Reply-To: <009201c67933$aa42b7f0$6401a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <20060517044903.65639.qmail@web31814.mail.mud.yahoo.com> --- Doug Drown wrote: > Is WTBS Channel 17 in Atlanta, from which TBS > Superstation evolved, still > operating as a separate entity? > I know WGN-TV 9 in Chicago has partially separate > programming from its > national counterpart. > > -Doug My local cable system caries WGN, and I enjoy watching the evening news from the Windy City on (rare) occasion. If I stay up late enough I can also check out what's happening in So-Cal on KTLA (more likely, given the infant's feeding schedule). Dunno if either feed I get is different than what the locals get...I'm assuming not (at least in the case of KTLA), given the nature of the advertising. I'm probably not going to visit my So-Cal Toyota dealer anytime soon, though the folks at KTLA seem to think it might be a nice idea for me to. I thank them (or whoever it is) for paying for the closed captioning, so I can read what I'm supposed to be hearing over the din of a two moth old child who doesn't want his diaper changed (but DEFINATELY needs it). AFAIK WTBS the Superstation and WTBS the Atlanta-station are two separate broadcast entities. As an aside, how common is it west of the Mississippi (i.e. in K-land) to drop the first letter of the calls? "'TLA" vs. "KTLA:..."'PIX" vs. "WPIX", etc. I know that dropping the "W" eliminates three syllables, vs. just one for the "K". There ya go. My first post on b-r-i in quite a long while. (always a faithful reader:) Doug "Brigham" Bassett Dummerston, Vt. (Middays @ WTSA-FM...adjusting to fatherhood in all other dayparts) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From scott@fybush.com Wed May 17 09:23:51 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 09:23:51 -0400 Subject: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP and WSAH? In-Reply-To: <20060517044903.65639.qmail@web31814.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20060517044903.65639.qmail@web31814.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <446B23E7.8040906@fybush.com> Doug Bassett wrote: > My local cable system caries WGN, and I enjoy watching > the evening news from the Windy City on (rare) > occasion. If I stay up late enough I can also check > out what's happening in So-Cal on KTLA (more likely, > given the infant's feeding schedule). Dunno if either > feed I get is different than what the locals get...I'm > assuming not (at least in the case of KTLA), given the > nature of the advertising. I'm probably not going to > visit my So-Cal Toyota dealer anytime soon, though the > folks at KTLA seem to think it might be a nice idea > for me to. I thank them (or whoever it is) for paying > for the closed captioning, so I can read what I'm > supposed to be hearing over the din of a two moth old > child who doesn't want his diaper changed (but > DEFINATELY needs it). AFAIK WTBS the Superstation and > WTBS the Atlanta-station are two separate broadcast > entities. It's actually WGN that has the greatest divergence between the local feed and the national feed these days. Aside from the noon and 9 PM (CT) newscasts and Chicago sports, there's almost nothing in common on the schedules of WGN-TV and WGN Superstation. WGN-TV is Chicago's WB affiliate, and will pick up the new CW network this fall. WGN Superstation runs movies and reruns in prime time. Their syndicated programming lineups diverge as well. All the programming on TBS Superstation is purchased and cleared for national cable, and there are at most only minor programming differences between the superstation feed and Channel 17 in Atlanta. WTBS in Atlanta sells its own local advertising, however, and runs its own local public affairs shows on Saturday morning. When last I saw WTBS 17, its legal ID was a very subtle "wtbs atlanta" superimposed right over the show in progress. The KTLA feed you see on cable is the straight LA feed. It's up to the local cable companies to black out any "syndex" (syndication-exclusive) content if the local rightsholder for that programming objects. s From ssmyth@suscom.net Wed May 17 11:36:57 2006 From: ssmyth@suscom.net (Sean Smyth) Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 11:36:57 -0400 Subject: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP and WSAH? In-Reply-To: <446B23E7.8040906@fybush.com> References: <20060517044903.65639.qmail@web31814.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <446B23E7.8040906@fybush.com> Message-ID: On Wed, 17 May 2006 09:23:51 -0400 Scott Fybush wrote: >It's actually WGN that has the greatest divergence between the >local feed and the national feed these days. Getting back to the original thought: Would a new cable superstation make financial sense nowadays? I'm presuming if one were to pop up it'd be very hard to place sports programming on it because of leagues and rights-fee issues -- the NBA has been fighting for years to get WGN to drop Bulls games, and it got TBS to drop Hawks games a long time ago. From elipolo@earthlink.net Wed May 17 13:35:13 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 13:35:13 -0400 Subject: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP Message-ID: > > From: "A. Joseph Ross" > CC: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.BostonRadio.org > To: Sean Smyth > Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 00:22:18 -0400 > Subject: Re: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP > > Here's an even more off-the-wall thought. Charles River Broadcasting > acquires Channel 62 and continues classical programming as WCRB-TV. If that happens, they should invest in an analog multiplex stereo generator for the audio. WMFP doesn't appear to be broadcasting in stereo on their analog signal. (I don't know about their digital signal, if they have one. I don't have a DTV receiver). EP From lglavin@lycos.com Wed May 17 18:17:23 2006 From: lglavin@lycos.com (Laurence Glavin) Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 17:17:23 -0500 Subject: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP Message-ID: <20060517221723.828D2E5BC7@ws7-2.us4.outblaze.com> > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Eli Polonsky" > To: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org > Subject: Re: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP > Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 13:35:13 -0400 > > > > > From: "A. Joseph Ross" > > CC: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.BostonRadio.org > > To: Sean Smyth > > Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 00:22:18 -0400 > > Subject: Re: Shop at Home TV is going dark - what becomes of WMFP > > > > Here's an even more off-the-wall thought. Charles River Broadcasting > > acquires Channel 62 and continues classical programming as WCRB-TV. > > If that happens, they should invest in an analog multiplex stereo > generator for the audio. WMFP doesn't appear to be broadcasting > in stereo on their analog signal. (I don't know about their > digital signal, if they have one. I don't have a DTV receiver). > > EP Interesting that neither Boston paper had anything about WMFP today. I forwarded an item to the Globe to give them a heads-up; I don't know who at the Herald has a bailiwick and email address. -- _______________________________________________ Search for businesses by name, location, or phone number. -Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 From revdoug1@verizon.net Wed May 17 20:24:55 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 20:24:55 -0400 Subject: WCRB-TV Message-ID: <003501c67a11$7dbe3d10$6501a8c0@pastor2> "Here's an even more off-the-wall thought. Charles River Broadcasting acquires Channel 62 and continues classical programming as WCRB-TV. If that happens, they should invest in an analog multiplex stereo . . ." The idea is really intriguing, but my question is --- excuse my ignorance --- just what would they broadcast? Are there enough tapes of recorded concerts and recitals to fill a day-in, day-out, 24/7/365 schedule? To my knowledge, the classical music world doesn't have anything comparable to music videos a la MTV or VH1 . . . at least not much. And telecasting live concerts ain't cheap. -Doug From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 18 00:07:31 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 00:07:31 -0400 Subject: WCRB-TV In-Reply-To: <003501c67a11$7dbe3d10$6501a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <446BBAC3.6301.3A25DE@localhost> On 17 May 2006 at 20:24, Doug Drown wrote: > The idea is really intriguing, but my question is --- excuse my > ignorance --- just what would they broadcast? Are there enough tapes > of recorded concerts and recitals to fill a day-in, day-out, 24/7/365 > schedule? To my knowledge, the classical music world doesn't have > anything comparable to music videos a la MTV or VH1 . . . at least not > much. And telecasting live concerts ain't cheap. Well, it WAS meant to be a joke. I'm not sure who would watch it. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From scott@fybush.com Thu May 18 00:14:34 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 00:14:34 -0400 Subject: WCRB-TV In-Reply-To: <446BBAC3.6301.3A25DE@localhost> References: <446BBAC3.6301.3A25DE@localhost> Message-ID: <446BF4AA.9050001@fybush.com> A. Joseph Ross wrote: > On 17 May 2006 at 20:24, Doug Drown wrote: > >> The idea is really intriguing, but my question is --- excuse my >> ignorance --- just what would they broadcast? Are there enough tapes >> of recorded concerts and recitals to fill a day-in, day-out, 24/7/365 >> schedule? To my knowledge, the classical music world doesn't have >> anything comparable to music videos a la MTV or VH1 . . . at least not >> much. And telecasting live concerts ain't cheap. > > Well, it WAS meant to be a joke. > > I'm not sure who would watch it. There is actually a network called "ARTS" that provides a 24-hour service of clips of classical performances, operas and such. It's all public-domain material, much of it either European or very old (or both), and is carried late at night by some public TV stations and on some cable-access channels. From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 18 00:22:24 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 00:22:24 -0400 Subject: WCRB-TV In-Reply-To: <446BF4AA.9050001@fybush.com> References: <446BBAC3.6301.3A25DE@localhost> Message-ID: <446BBE40.23135.47C6A2@localhost> On 18 May 2006 at 0:14, Scott Fybush wrote: > There is actually a network called "ARTS" that provides a 24-hour > service of clips of classical performances, operas and such. It's all > public-domain material, much of it either European or very old (or > both), and is carried late at night by some public TV stations and on > some cable-access channels. I suppose, but I can't imagine how a classical-music TV channel could be profitable. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From chrisf01864@lycos.com Thu May 18 13:09:35 2006 From: chrisf01864@lycos.com (christopher fuccione) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 09:09:35 -0800 Subject: whats up with HD radio Message-ID: <20060518170935.36124CA0BF@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> I've been hearing stuff about HD radio. and I have a few questions. 1)Is there a monthly fee like satellite radio? 2) are the radios stationary for the house, for the car or portable like a Walkman? 3) I hear that stations that are out there now can have multiple stations at the same times. So how are the choices. The music type I'm looking for are Contemporary Christian music, Gaelic(Irish), and show tunes. Thank Chris Fuccione -- _______________________________________________ Search for businesses by name, location, or phone number. -Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu May 18 15:13:46 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 15:13:46 -0400 Subject: whats up with HD radio In-Reply-To: <20060518170935.36124CA0BF@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> References: <20060518170935.36124CA0BF@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605181213v46dbea82pe3a0ec2be508334f@mail.gmail.com> There's no fee (and HD radio ads are mentioning that) but the receiver will cost at least $299-- though I've heard of some cheaper ones. They're stationary for the house--not sure if there's a portable one yet. Some info: http://hdradio.com/index.php Some HD stations may be simulcasting over the Net, to give you a taste. I don't know about the types of music you mentioned but some of the secondary channels I've heard of include classic country, classical, pre-Beatles oldies, rock of the 80s, smooth jazz, indie rock, etc. A list of stations on-air or soon to be on-air here: http://hdradio.com/index.php From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu May 18 15:15:01 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 15:15:01 -0400 Subject: whats up with HD radio In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605181213v46dbea82pe3a0ec2be508334f@mail.gmail.com> References: <20060518170935.36124CA0BF@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> <1fbbbced0605181213v46dbea82pe3a0ec2be508334f@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605181215q5542a844o9a79d14ec17e2d06@mail.gmail.com> Oops--this was the link I meant: http://www.ibiquity.com/cgi-bin/liststations?state=MA&go=Go%21 From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu May 18 15:16:31 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 15:16:31 -0400 Subject: Simon, Globe: Sat.radio interferes with FM recep Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605181216y6846ad2k375e963865a781c@mail.gmail.com> http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2006/05/18/satellite_shows_are_interfering_with_some_fm_stations/ "...to attract listeners who want a low-cost option, both XM and Sirius have licensed ''do it yourself" plug-in receivers that can be used in a car or with a home stereo. These plug-in receivers, known as FM modulators, usually contain small, low-power wireless transmitters. "''We have gotten numerous complaints," says William Kuhlman, chief engineer of MIT station WMBR-FM (88.1). Listeners trying to tune in to this small MIT-based station, he says, ''hear bits of Howard Stern bleeding through into our morning shows when they commute to work." The problem is national. The Vermont public radio system in particular is encountering difficulties with its new classical radio network, according to Scott Fybush, editor of the Rochester, N.Y.-based NorthEast Radio Watch." From kc1ih@mac.com Thu May 18 15:28:50 2006 From: kc1ih@mac.com (Larry Weil) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 15:28:50 -0400 Subject: Simon, Globe: Sat.radio interferes with FM recep In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605181216y6846ad2k375e963865a781c@mail.gmail.com> References: <1fbbbced0605181216y6846ad2k375e963865a781c@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20060518152636.02597f30@mac.com> At 03:16 PM 5/18/2006, Bob Nelson wrote: >http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2006/05/18/satellite_shows_are_interfering_with_some_fm_stations/ > >"...to attract listeners who want a low-cost option, both XM and >Sirius have licensed ''do it yourself" plug-in receivers that can be >used in a car or with a home stereo. These plug-in receivers, known as >FM modulators, usually contain small, low-power wireless transmitters. Actually, the devices are known as plug-and-play receivers, and either they or the car kit they come with contain FM modulators, depending on the model. Larry Weil Lake Wobegone, NH From dan.strassberg@att.net Thu May 18 15:33:39 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 15:33:39 -0400 Subject: whats up with HD radio References: <20060518170935.36124CA0BF@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> Message-ID: <002d01c67ab2$17ba71e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> 1) No monthly fees--just the currently steep initial-purchase price. 2) No Walkman-style receivers yet. Not clear when these will arive. Few car radios so far, but they are surely coming. Several tabletop or boom-box-style models now. 3) The multiple channels are only for FM stations. AM is limited to a single channel per station. This doesn't HAVE to carry the same program as the analog channel, but there would be practical problems it if didn't. If the digital signal drops out (a common occurrence in car radios), the radio is supposed to drop back into the analog mode, where if everything is working as intended, the same program would continue uninterrupted. Running separate programs on the AM and digital signals would disable this feature, possibly rendering the digital reception unacceptable in all but the strongest-signal areas. Somebody else will have to answer your question about what programming is available on the HD2 channels of Boston FMs. I don't think any of the formats you listed is available. The most likely purveyor of CCM would be Salem (WEZE, WROL, WTTT). Since these are all AM stations, they couldn't have HD2 channels. Also Salem has stated that it is adopting a wait-and-see position on HD Radio--at least on its AM stations. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "christopher fuccione" To: Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2006 1:09 PM Subject: whats up with HD radio > I've been hearing stuff about HD radio. and I have a few questions. > > 1)Is there a monthly fee like satellite radio? > > 2) are the radios stationary for the house, for the car or portable like a Walkman? > > 3) I hear that stations that are out there now can have multiple stations at the same times. So how are the choices. The music type I'm looking for are Contemporary Christian music, Gaelic(Irish), and show tunes. > > Thank > > Chris Fuccione > > -- > _______________________________________________ > > Search for businesses by name, location, or phone number. -Lycos Yellow Pages > > http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp ?SRC=lycos10 > > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu May 18 15:49:40 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 15:49:40 -0400 Subject: Simon, Globe: Sat.radio interferes with FM recep In-Reply-To: <7.0.1.0.2.20060518152636.02597f30@mac.com> References: <1fbbbced0605181216y6846ad2k375e963865a781c@mail.gmail.com> <7.0.1.0.2.20060518152636.02597f30@mac.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605181249v33b34b2fgf40455d65cbf24e0@mail.gmail.com> Yes--and add to this the (external) mini-FM transmitters (I have a couple) with which people can play mp3 players, a cassette Walkman, mini-disc, etc., through the car stereo by tuning to a certain frequency. Even more interference in the making. > Actually, the devices are known as plug-and-play receivers, and > either they or the car kit they come with contain FM modulators, > depending on the model. From gary@garysicecream.com Thu May 18 16:15:47 2006 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 16:15:47 -0400 Subject: Things needed for the WCAP reunion party Message-ID: <016501c67ab7$da246560$6500a8c0@Office> As part of the June 10th WCAP 55th Birthday/Reunion party, I'm looking for some of the theme songs some of the talent used to use. One of the songs had no words, other than "La la la la la la la, la la la la la...." etc. It was either called "I Think that I've Been Thinking About You", or "Go Go Pogo". Can't seem to find a copy of it - or even much about it on the net. Can ayone help? Gary Francis Reunion Co-Organizer -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.5.6/336 - Release Date: 5/10/2006 From lglavin@lycos.com Thu May 18 17:50:11 2006 From: lglavin@lycos.com (Laurence Glavin) Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 16:50:11 -0500 Subject: Boston Herald Article On WBUR Message-ID: <20060518215011.C3C703384B@ws7-3.us4.outblaze.com> The Boston Herald for May 18th ran a substantial piece about WBUR's recent success. (Some of it attributed to Howard Stern's departure from terrestrial radio!) Read it at: http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=139752 One item not mentioned in the Herald story...the power-increase and modified DA WBUR installed last year. I wonder if there will be a follw-up about WGBH-FM's relative inertness after the big changes one year ago. I checked rrconline.org, and after all the upheavals at the 89.7 dial spot, there was a minimal uptick in the ratings (about 1./10th of a %) and TSL. Laurence Glavin Methuen (A river runs through it) MA My house is near a wetland that successfully absorbed most of the flooding; I had electricity, heat that I hated to have to turn on, and cable TV. -- _______________________________________________ Search for businesses by name, location, or phone number. -Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 From joe@attorneyross.com Fri May 19 00:14:55 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 00:14:55 -0400 Subject: WCRB-TV In-Reply-To: <20060518124841.90368.qmail@web52607.mail.yahoo.com> References: <446BBE40.23135.47C6A2@localhost> Message-ID: <446D0DFF.14314.5A0A72@localhost> On 18 May 2006 at 5:48, Maureen Carney wrote: > It's on 24/7 on the Burlington, MA cable system. OK, but is it showing a profit or is it a nonprofit enterprise? -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Fri May 19 00:18:32 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 00:18:32 -0400 Subject: Boston Herald Article On WBUR In-Reply-To: <20060518215011.C3C703384B@ws7-3.us4.outblaze.com> Message-ID: <446D0ED8.10997.5D5ABA@localhost> On 18 May 2006 at 16:50, Laurence Glavin wrote: > The Boston Herald for May 18th ran a substantial piece about > WBUR's recent success. (Some of it attributed to Howard > Stern's departure from terrestrial radio!) Read it at: What I don't understand is why there is such an overlap between Howard Stern listeners and NPR listeners. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From readaaron@friedbagels.com Fri May 19 10:52:04 2006 From: readaaron@friedbagels.com (Aaron Read) Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 10:52:04 -0400 Subject: What's up with HD Radio Message-ID: <446DDB94.40500@friedbagels.com> Walkman/portable radios are not on anyone's radar. I would not expect them for several years; the DSP chip that decodes the HD Radio algorithm is getting less power-hungry every year but so far it still sucks down waaaaay too many electrons to be used in portables. There are also real questions amongst engineers about how exactly portable radios will be designed; the current crop of $5 walkmans & clock radios got that way by cutting a LOT of corners in the receiver filtering and technology...the result has been piss-poor tuners that can only receive the biggest signals out there. A lot of radio engineers are still mad about that and are trying to prevent it from happening again with HD Radio. Currently there's only one real option for non-car HD Radio and that's the Boston Acoustics Recepter HD Radio, which is $300. There's a handful of VERY high-end surround receivers from Yamaha I think, they're in the $1500 range. There's also car radios out there...Kenwood makes an add-on HD tuner that'll work with most any in-dash unit that can take a Sirius tuner. Panasonic & Eclipse make "all in one" units. Most retail outlets don't have radios yet but I know Tweeter Etc carries the BA Recepter HD, and that Radio Shack is supposed to start carrying the BA this summer. Crutchfield is still probably your best bet for home or car radios, though. By Christmas 2006 we are supposed to see several new home and car radios hit the market. However, we've been told the same thing for Christmas 2004 and 2005, too. I'm getting cynical. Multiple audio channels is officially called "Multicasting" and at the moment, the FCC is only authorizing two extra channels...meaning there's the HD-1 digital channel which, by the rules, MUST be the exact same audio as the analog channel (and must be time-sync'd). In addition to the HD-1 is also an HD-2 and HD-3 channel. Some stations are ready to deploy an HD-4 channel, and the system can theoretically support up to HD-7, but the FCC is not authorizing it yet. The limiting factor is that all these extra channels must draw from the same pool of digital bandwidth: 96kbps. So if you have an HD-2 channel, you have to split that 96kbps between two channels. If you have an HD-3, that means it's split three ways. And so on and so forth. Thanks to the HDC codec, even a 12kbps channel sounds better than you'd expect...but it's still pretty crunchy at that level. There is technically nothing stopping AM stations from multicasting but the problem is the bandwidth. AM only has 32kbps to play with and that's barely enough to deliver a quality stereo channel for HD-1. Whenever AM goes "all-digital" and the analog is gone, there will be more bandwidth and I think you'll see more multicasting there. Another note, AM stations are only authorized to use their digital carriers between 6am and 6pm daily. So there hasn't been a big rush to convert AM stations yet...in Boston I think only WBZ, WMKI and WBUR-AM (the latter being on the Cape but the digital is receivable along the Boston coast thanks to saltwater groundwave) are regularly using digital, although WILD-AM, WXKS-AM and WTAG have signed agreements and I believe they have systems in place, but I don't think they use 'em. Easy way to tell, though...just tune to their frequency during the day, then go one channel up or down. If you hear a roar of white noise/static (on an analog radio) then they're running their HD digital carriers. Most commercial stations have joined the "HD Radio Alliance" and are coordinating which formats they put on their HD-2 channels for at least the next few years as the technology rolls out and more radios become available. You can find a good listing of stations & formats in your state here: http://www.hdradio.com/stations_on_the_air.php So far nobody is doing any of the three formats you wanted (Contemporary Christian music, Gaelic(Irish), and show tunes) although I do feel compelled to point out that several of the local college stations do have shows dedicated to all three of those genres (not at the same time, though :-) -- -------------------------- Aaron Read readaaron@friedbagels.com www.friedbagels.com Boston, MA 02176 1) No monthly fees--just the currently steep initial-purchase price. 2) No Walkman-style receivers yet. Not clear when these will arive. Few car radios so far, but they are surely coming. Several tabletop or boom-box-style models now. 3) The multiple channels are only for FM stations. AM is limited to a single channel per station. This doesn't HAVE to carry the same program as the analog channel, but there would be practical problems it if didn't. If the digital signal drops out (a common occurrence in car radios), the radio is supposed to drop back into the analog mode, where if everything is working as intended, the same program would continue uninterrupted. Running separate programs on the AM and digital signals would disable this feature, possibly rendering the digital reception unacceptable in all but the strongest-signal areas. Somebody else will have to answer your question about what programming is available on the HD2 channels of Boston FMs. I don't think any of the formats you listed is available. The most likely purveyor of CCM would be Salem (WEZE, WROL, WTTT). Since these are all AM stations, they couldn't have HD2 channels. Also Salem has stated that it is adopting a wait-and-see position on HD Radio--at least on its AM stations. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 From stuff@struff.com Fri May 19 12:52:09 2006 From: stuff@struff.com (stuff@struff.com) Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 11:52:09 -0500 Subject: Subject: whats up with HD radio In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20060519165209.M94181@struff.com> > From: "christopher fuccione" > To: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org > Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 09:09:35 -0800 > Subject: whats up with HD radio > > I've been hearing stuff about HD radio. and I have a few questions. > > 1)Is there a monthly fee like satellite radio? > > 2) are the radios stationary for the house, for the car or portable like a > Walkman? > > 3) I hear that stations that are out there now can have multiple stations > at the same times. So how are the choices. The music type I'm looking for > are Contemporary Christian music, Gaelic(Irish), and show tunes. > Not to be advertising for anything but XM radio has just about everything you want including home and car and portable radios, three different commercial- free Christian channels (http://www.xmradio.com/programming/neighborhood.jsp? hood=christian), and a commercial-free Show Tunes channel (http://www.xmradio.com/programming/channel_page.jsp?ch=28). The radios cost a lot less than HD radio but the trade-off is the monthly subscription (which I find negligible given all of the positive aspects). From stephanie@gordsven.com Fri May 19 13:22:55 2006 From: stephanie@gordsven.com (Stephanie Weil) Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 13:22:55 -0400 (EDT) Subject: What's up with HD Radio In-Reply-To: <446DDB94.40500@friedbagels.com> References: <446DDB94.40500@friedbagels.com> Message-ID: <35484.12.37.144.130.1148059375.squirrel@12.37.144.130> On Fri, May 19, 2006 10:52, Aaron Read said: > the current crop of $5 walkmans & > clock radios got that way by cutting a LOT of corners in the receiver > filtering and technology...the result has been piss-poor tuners that can > only receive the biggest signals out there. A lot of radio engineers > are still mad about that and are trying to prevent it from happening > again with HD Radio. That means a lot of people aren't going to be able to afford a radio if the cheapest thing is going to go for 30 or 40 dollars. Most of these five dollar portable and table radios have pretty decent FM tuners - good enough for all the local signals. Most people listen to FM anyway, so such a device suits them fine. -- Stephanie Weil New York City, NY, USA From dan.strassberg@att.net Fri May 19 16:21:38 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 16:21:38 -0400 Subject: What's up with HD Radio References: <446DDB94.40500@friedbagels.com> Message-ID: <003701c67b81$d8cf4de0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> WILD, WXKS (AM) and WMKI are all running HD Radio and have been doing so for several months. Of those three, WMKI started considerably before the other two. I am confused about the situation at WKOX. WKOX is not running HD Radio yet. I thought they would start when they got their new 10 kW solid-state Tx installed in Framingham. But installing a new Tx in Framingham started to sound like a questionable project when the City of Newton granted the building permit for the WKOX/WRCA/WUNR triplex. Construction is now reported to be underway at 750 Saw Mill Brook Parkway and it seems possible that WKOX could be operating from Newton before the snow flies. If so, why bother with a new Tx install in Framingham? However, Scott Fybush's Tower Site of the Week this week suggests that WKOX IS pushing ahead with the install of a new 10 kW sold-state AM Tx at 100 Mt Wayte Ave. Does that mean that 100 Mt Wayte will become WKOX's back-up site? It's kind of far from Newton. With Charles River Broadcasting Co giving up the ghost, is there no possibility that 750 South St could become the backup site for WKOX, WRCA, and WUNR? There are several reasons why that site seems much preferable to 100 Mt Wayte as a backup for the three stations. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Aaron Read" To: Sent: Friday, May 19, 2006 10:52 AM Subject: What's up with HD Radio > WILD-AM, WXKS-AM and WTAG have signed agreements and I > believe they have systems in place, but I don't think they use 'em. > Easy way to tell, though...just tune to their frequency during the day, > then go one channel up or down. If you hear a roar of white > noise/static (on an analog radio) then they're running their HD digital > carriers. From dan.strassberg@att.net Fri May 19 16:38:33 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 16:38:33 -0400 Subject: What's up with HD Radio References: <446DDB94.40500@friedbagels.com> Message-ID: <005801c67b84$3761e5a0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> WILD, WXKS (AM) and WMKI are all running HD Radio and have been doing so for several months. Of those three, WMKI started considerably before the other two. I am confused about the situation at WKOX. WKOX is not running HD Radio yet. I thought they would start when they got their new 10 kW solid-state Tx installed in Framingham. But installing a new Tx in Framingham started to sound like a questionable project when the City of Newton granted the building permit for the WKOX/WRCA/WUNR triplex. Construction is now reported to be underway at 750 Saw Mill Brook Parkway and it seems possible that WKOX could be operating from Newton before the snow flies. If so, why bother with a new Tx install in Framingham? However, Scott Fybush's Tower Site of the Week this week suggests that WKOX IS pushing ahead with the install of a new 10 kW sold-state AM Tx at 100 Mt Wayte Ave. Does that mean that 100 Mt Wayte will become WKOX's back-up site? It's kind of far from Newton. With Charles River Broadcasting Co giving up the ghost, is there no possibility that 750 South St could become the backup site for WKOX, WRCA, and WUNR? There are several reasons why that site seems much preferable to 100 Mt Wayte as a backup for the three stations. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Aaron Read" To: Sent: Friday, May 19, 2006 10:52 AM Subject: What's up with HD Radio > WILD-AM, WXKS-AM and WTAG have signed agreements and I > believe they have systems in place, but I don't think they use 'em. > Easy way to tell, though...just tune to their frequency during the day, > then go one channel up or down. If you hear a roar of white > noise/static (on an analog radio) then they're running their HD digital > carriers. From wollman@csail.mit.edu Fri May 19 18:16:21 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 18:16:21 -0400 Subject: WKOX In-Reply-To: <003701c67b81$d8cf4de0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <446DDB94.40500@friedbagels.com> <003701c67b81$d8cf4de0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <17518.17333.40630.590772@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > However, Scott Fybush's Tower Site of the Week this week suggests > that WKOX IS pushing ahead with the install of a new 10 kW > sold-state AM Tx No "pushing ahead" about it. The transmitter has been installed and on the air for some weeks now. It's a BE AM10A. > Does that mean that 100 Mt Wayte will become WKOX's back-up site? I would be surprised. The new transmitter fits in a single rack; there would be no difficulty moving it to any other 1200 site in the country (including Oak Hill if necessary), and it's modern enough that it can easily be retuned. -GAWollman From dlh@donnahalper.com Mon May 22 18:54:11 2006 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 18:54:11 -0400 Subject: WMEX question In-Reply-To: <003701c67b81$d8cf4de0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <446DDB94.40500@friedbagels.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060522185105.00bd2038@pop.registeredsite.com> I just found an old undated photo of some folks at WMEX, one of whom looks like the late Mac Richmond. The only clue as to the photo's year is a slogan on the wall-- "WMEX: Home of Modern Radio." I don't recall that as a slogan from Mac's era-- they used Color Radio a lot and several other slogans whenever they changed to new permutations of top 40. But does "modern radio" ring any bells, or did I find a picture from right when Mac and his brothers bought the station in 1957? From dan.strassberg@att.net Tue May 23 12:43:01 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 12:43:01 -0400 Subject: WAZN FINALLY gets license to cover Message-ID: <002901c67e88$10fb6240$19eefea9@dstrassberg> WAZN 1470 is now officially licensed to Watertown. Today's FCC actions announced the grant of a modification of CP to add a single small augmentation of the night pattern to the northeast and grant of a license to cover. It has certainly been 18 months (and maybe 30 months) since the GM of the multi-ethnic brokered-time station posted on a local BBS that the work on the move from Marlborough to the WTTT site (at that time, I believe it was still the WAMG site) in Lexington was nearly complete. At that time, my post questioning how close to complete the work could possibly have been elicited an angry response from the GM. In this post, I am officially gloating. But I guess congratulations are also in order to Multicultural Broadcasting's for its tenacity in hanging in so long with a project that must have seemed endless on many occasions. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 From joe@attorneyross.com Tue May 23 23:47:09 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 23:47:09 -0400 Subject: WATD Message-ID: <44739EFD.15254.3007A3@localhost> Suinday I was in Woburn and was surprised to be able to get WATD with a local-quality signal on my car radio. Of course, at home in Brookline, I can't get WATD on anything other than my car radio. That must be a pretty good car radio. But I was surprised to get such a good signal in Woburn. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From stuff@struff.com Wed May 24 12:11:25 2006 From: stuff@struff.com (stuff@struff.com) Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 11:11:25 -0500 Subject: WATD In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20060524161125.M82197@struff.com> I catch WATD on Scan on I-93 in Andover...loud and clear! > From: "A. Joseph Ross" > To: Boston-radio-interest@rolinin.BostonRadio.org > Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 23:47:09 -0400 > Subject: WATD > > Suinday I was in Woburn and was surprised to be able to get WATD with > a local-quality signal on my car radio. > > Of course, at home in Brookline, I can't get WATD on anything other > than my car radio. That must be a pretty good car radio. But I was > surprised to get such a good signal in Woburn. From elipolo@earthlink.net Wed May 24 12:57:54 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 12:57:54 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: WAZN FINALLY gets license to cover Message-ID: <22138909.1148489874504.JavaMail.root@elwamui-rubis.atl.sa.earthlink.net> > To: "Boston Radio Interest" > > Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 12:43:01 -0400 > Subject: WAZN FINALLY gets license to cover > > But I guess congratulations are also in order to Multicultural > Broadcasting's for its tenacity in hanging in so long with a > project that must have seemed endless on many occasions. Maybe when that's done they can get to the AM Stereo on WLYN. It's been left channel only for about half a year now. Eli From stephanie@gordsven.com Wed May 24 13:07:27 2006 From: stephanie@gordsven.com (Stephanie Weil) Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 13:07:27 -0400 (EDT) Subject: AM stereo WLYN (Re: WAZN FINALLY gets license to cover) In-Reply-To: <22138909.1148489874504.JavaMail.root@elwamui-rubis.atl.sa.earthlink.n et> References: <22138909.1148489874504.JavaMail.root@elwamui-rubis.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <53226.12.37.144.130.1148490447.squirrel@12.37.144.130> On Wed, May 24, 2006 12:57, Eli Polonsky said: > Maybe when that's done they can get to the AM Stereo on WLYN. > It's been left channel only for about half a year now. Why even bother transmitting AM stereo? Nobody in this country has AM-Stereo radios anymore. Just one more box the signal has to go through. -- Stephanie Weil New York City, NY, USA From elipolo@earthlink.net Wed May 24 13:24:51 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 13:24:51 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: AM stereo WLYN Message-ID: <30308279.1148491491730.JavaMail.root@elwamui-rubis.atl.sa.earthlink.net> --- Stephanie Weil wrote: > On Wed, May 24, 2006 12:57, Eli Polonsky said: > > > Maybe when that's done they can get to the AM Stereo on WLYN. > > It's been left channel only for about half a year now. > > Why even bother transmitting AM stereo? Nobody in this country has > AM-Stereo radios anymore. I do! Home, car, and Walkman. Some I bought in the 80's, some I bought on eBay. WJIB sounds excellent on a wideband AM stereo. Almost as good as FM stereo, much better than you'd ever think AM could sound if you haven't heard it. EP From stephanie@gordsven.com Wed May 24 13:27:06 2006 From: stephanie@gordsven.com (Stephanie Weil) Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 13:27:06 -0400 (EDT) Subject: AM stereo WLYN In-Reply-To: <30308279.1148491491730.JavaMail.root@elwamui-rubis.atl.sa.earthlink.n et> References: <30308279.1148491491730.JavaMail.root@elwamui-rubis.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <37547.12.37.144.130.1148491626.squirrel@12.37.144.130> On Wed, May 24, 2006 13:24, Eli Polonsky said: > I do! Home, car, and Walkman. Some I bought in the 80's, some I > bought on eBay. WJIB sounds excellent on a wideband AM stereo. > Almost as good as FM stereo, much better than you'd ever think > AM could sound if you haven't heard it. Well, I'm assuming the general public, not us radio geeks. :) I also used to have an AM-Stereo Walkman by Sony. Gave it away after the AM stereo stations in this city went back tomono. -- Stephanie Weil New York City, NY, USA From rogerkola@aol.com Wed May 24 17:11:35 2006 From: rogerkola@aol.com (Roger Kolakowski) Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 17:11:35 -0400 Subject: AM stereo WLYN References: <30308279.1148491491730.JavaMail.root@elwamui-rubis.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <005801c67f76$a4e86540$0200a8c0@Tanguray> Ed... Any suggestion on receivers? Who won the AM Stereo wars? C-Quam? Thanks! Roger WA1KAT ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eli Polonsky" To: Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 1:24 PM Subject: Re: AM stereo WLYN > --- Stephanie Weil wrote: > > > On Wed, May 24, 2006 12:57, Eli Polonsky said: > > > > > Maybe when that's done they can get to the AM Stereo on WLYN. > > > It's been left channel only for about half a year now. > > > > Why even bother transmitting AM stereo? Nobody in this country has > > AM-Stereo radios anymore. > > I do! Home, car, and Walkman. Some I bought in the 80's, some I > bought on eBay. WJIB sounds excellent on a wideband AM stereo. > Almost as good as FM stereo, much better than you'd ever think > AM could sound if you haven't heard it. > > EP > > > > From marklaurence@mac.com Wed May 24 18:00:10 2006 From: marklaurence@mac.com (Mark Laurence) Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 18:00:10 -0400 Subject: AM stereo WLYN In-Reply-To: <005801c67f76$a4e86540$0200a8c0@Tanguray> References: <30308279.1148491491730.JavaMail.root@elwamui-rubis.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <005801c67f76$a4e86540$0200a8c0@Tanguray> Message-ID: On May 24, 2006, at 5:11 PM, Roger Kolakowski wrote: > > Who won the AM Stereo wars? C-Quam? FM. Mark From elipolo@earthlink.net Thu May 25 03:34:20 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 03:34:20 -0400 Subject: AM stereo WLYN Message-ID: --- Roger Kolakowski wrote: > Any suggestion on receivers? Who won the AM Stereo wars? > C-Quam? Yes, sometime around the early 1990's the FCC quietly decided that C-Quam would be the U.S. standard for AM stereo. They waited until what interest there was in AM stereo in the 1980's was already practically dead. The manufacturers weren't willing to make many receivers until a standard was agreed on, and by then, many of the stations that had tried broadcasting music in AM stereo had already given up (and gone to talk, etc... formats). By that time, very few decided that it was worth trying music again in AM stereo (WJIB here being an exception). I recall the reason I didn't buy an aftermarket AM stereo car receiver back in the 80's was that companies such as Sony, Pioneer and Kenwood were charging almost $100 more for the units that otherwise had the same FM stereo and cassette deck as the AM mono models, all for an AM stereo chip that probably cost about $2 to manufacture. No small wonder people weren't buying those. I bought my Sony AM stereo car deck used many years later on eBay. I did have a Sony AM stereo Walkman and a Radio Shack AM stereo add-on home tuner back then. I was working at an AM stereo station (1150 when it was oldies WMEX) and I'm glad I had the Radio Shack tuner so that my shows could be recorded at home in AM stereo. The tapes still sound quite good! Some speculate that the delay and the bad marketing of AM stereo was deliberate on the part of certain interests. I've heard cynical stories ranging from the competition wars of the different manufacturers to large FM station owners who allegedly didn't want stereo competition for their music formats on the AM dial. It's all become moot now anyway since analog AM stereo is not compatible with IBOC HD digital, which is the way things are going. That was the final nail in the AM stereo coffin. Anyway, as for available C-Quam AM stereo receivers, very few are still being currently manufactured now in the U.S. http://www.audiocubes.com is still claiming to offer three Sony Japan analog AM stereo radios, the SRF-A300 portable and SRF-AX51V, SRF-AX15 Walkmans, though these apparently don't have the wideband mode that was available on some of the old U.S. Models. A company called Fanfare still claims to sell this very expensive high-end home tuner with wideband C-Quam AM stereo: . There is also a "homemade" wideband C-Quam AM stereo tuner being sold here for much less: . Beyond that, you're left with eBay, and ten to twenty-five year old receivers in various states of wear. At this very moment there are no actual AM stereo receivers listed, but they pop up fairly often, usually Sony Walkmans, the Radio Shack TM-152 add-on analog tuner, and the MCS-3050 digital tuner are the most common. Enter "AM stereo" in quotes and ignore any listings that don't specify C-Quam or AM stereo distinct from "FM/AM stereo", which isn't really AM stereo. It isn't intentional deception, just vague terminology. EP From n1qgs@yahoo.com Thu May 25 12:47:46 2006 From: n1qgs@yahoo.com (John Bolduc) Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 09:47:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Nobody has AM Stereo radios anymore In-Reply-To: <53226.12.37.144.130.1148490447.squirrel@12.37.144.130> Message-ID: <20060525164746.85890.qmail@web30714.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I still have my Radio Shack AM Stereo tuner in my living room, and my car factory radio in my Oldsmobile still pulls in a handful of AM Stereo signals, mostly at night. John B Derry NH From markwats@comcast.net Thu May 25 17:14:25 2006 From: markwats@comcast.net (Mark Watson) Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 17:14:25 -0400 Subject: WGAN Radio Newsman Dick Johnson Has Passed Message-ID: <002301c68040$36697120$19b38018@Mark> Longtime WGAN (560 Portland) newsman Dick Johnson died Wed. (5/24) night at the age of 69. Johnson had been with WGAN nearly 40 years. Here is a link to a brief AP article on the Portland Press Herald website (note there are other stories on this page, Dick Johnson's story is first): http://news.mainetoday.com/midday/index.html#5 Mark Watson From lglavin@lycos.com Thu May 25 18:10:10 2006 From: lglavin@lycos.com (Laurence Glavin) Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 17:10:10 -0500 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers Message-ID: <20060525221010.66836CA0BC@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> When John Silber ran for Governator of Massachusetts, some of his more outrageous comments were described by the Boston Herald as "Silber Shockers". The Spring Arbitrons(tm) have just been released and they contain two shockers: (1) The disappearance of WILD-AM. Their current menu of local and bird-fed talk shows has captured the imagination of NO BODY. Since there's too much of interest on-the-air in morning drive, I've only sampled Jimmy Myer's show one or twice, and he is forced to read from newspapers because the callers aren't there. Al Sharpton's show in afternoon drive is unlistenable. And WILD-AM's "sound quality" seems more dimished by the IBOC transmission than WBZ-AM, WXKS-AM or WMKI on my car radio at least. (2) The appearance after a long hiatus of Harvard's WHRB. I don't know the timespan of this Arbitrend, but some of it may have coincided with the WHRB Orgies(tm)in general, and the Mozart Orgy that ran from early to mid-May. S I D E B A R S: The addition of nationally-syndicated cementhead Sean Hannity did nothing to lift WTTT-AM 1150 from below the radar. Switching to sports similarly deflated the rating fortunes of WAMG-AM 890, now dwelling in WWZN-land. I wonder if it's law of the Universe that radio stations putuatively undergoing, or expected to undergo format changes, achieve some of their best numbers. For whatever the 'Trends number means, WCRB got its best 12-and-over number in a while. One possible cause for the uptick, after last October's monsoons (hey is New England turning into India?) the old WCRB antenna was blown away, and Charles River had to install new transmitting equipment, including HD which does not hurt FM. -- _______________________________________________ Search for businesses by name, location, or phone number. -Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 From wollman@csail.mit.edu Thu May 25 18:14:12 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 18:14:12 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <20060525221010.66836CA0BC@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> References: <20060525221010.66836CA0BC@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> Message-ID: <17526.11316.190978.224587@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > When John Silber ran for Governator of Massachusetts, some of his > more outrageous comments were described by the Boston Herald as "Silber Shockers". While we're talking about ratings, Clea Simon had an article in today's Glob and mentioned the Boston non-comm. ratings: good for WBUR, bad for WGBH. -GAWollman From hishaun@hotmail.com Thu May 25 20:37:19 2006 From: hishaun@hotmail.com (Shaun Hayes) Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 20:37:19 -0400 Subject: AM stereo receivers In-Reply-To: Message-ID: >Any suggestion on receivers?... Try auto boneyards for radios pulled out of Chryslers from '85 thru '93. You might want to check this site: http://users.andara.com/~amstereo/amsradiolist.htm From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 25 23:20:10 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 23:20:10 -0400 Subject: AM stereo WLYN In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <44763BAA.17294.23CA2B@localhost> On 25 May 2006 at 3:34, Eli Polonsky wrote: > I was working at an > AM stereo station (1150 when it was oldies WMEX) and I'm > glad I had the Radio Shack tuner so that my shows could be > recorded at home in AM stereo. Which Dan Donovan were you? -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From rogerkola@aol.com Thu May 25 23:29:58 2006 From: rogerkola@aol.com (Roger Kolakowski) Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 23:29:58 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers References: <20060525221010.66836CA0BC@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> <17526.11316.190978.224587@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <003d01c68074$aa1803a0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> Just to kill my curiosity... Does a station need to have subscribed to the service to be listed in the "open" 12+ Arb ratings? Thanks! Roger WA1KAT ----- Original Message ----- From: "Garrett Wollman" To: "Laurence Glavin" Cc: Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 6:14 PM Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers > < said: > > > When John Silber ran for Governator of Massachusetts, some of his > > more outrageous comments were described by the Boston Herald as "Silber Shockers". > > While we're talking about ratings, Clea Simon had an article in > today's Glob and mentioned the Boston non-comm. ratings: good for > WBUR, bad for WGBH. > > -GAWollman > > From elipolo@earthlink.net Fri May 26 01:33:50 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 01:33:50 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: AM stereo WLYN Message-ID: <1539018.1148621630681.JavaMail.root@elwamui-little.atl.sa.earthlink.net> --- "A. Joseph Ross" wrote: > On 25 May 2006 at 3:34, Eli Polonsky wrote: > > > I was working at an AM stereo station (1150 when it was > > oldies WMEX) and I'm glad I had the Radio Shack tuner so > > that my shows could be recorded at home in AM stereo. > > Which Dan Donovan were you? None of the Dan Donovan's made it over from the original 1510 WMEX to the mid-80's 1150 oldies incarnation. I don't think any of the DJ's from the original 1510 WMEX actually made it to the 1150 WMEX. The 1150 WMEX did start up their oldies fomat with some known veteran area talent, but they were from different stations. I was just a weekend overnighter and other fill-in host calling myself "Eric Parker" for summer and fall of 1988 (and I was a satellite feed board-op there for two years before that). Eli Polonsky From xtrovato@yahoo.com Fri May 26 02:20:56 2006 From: xtrovato@yahoo.com (R Trovato) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 02:20:56 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers References: <20060525221010.66836CA0BC@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com><17526.11316.190978.224587@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <003d01c68074$aa1803a0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> Message-ID: <02f401c6808c$a6c14aa0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> > Just to kill my curiosity... > > Does a station need to have subscribed to the service to be listed in the > "open" 12+ Arb ratings? To be simply listed? No. However, to have their own copy....and to be able to provide and quote those numbers to advertisers? Yes. The most recent book I have near my desk is 2005. It shows that these stations did NOT subscribe to Arbitron: WAMG WJIB WKOX WLLH WPLM WVFM WOKQ WXLO WZID WCTK All have some showing in the book, but none subscribe. Mostly due to the fact that the most (if not all) of their advertising income comes from local clients who do not care about the ratings. (And the fact that their showing is so miniscule, it wouldn't be of any use to them in selling spots.) I wonder if Jib-guy can tell us what it would cost a very small station to subscribe? From raccoonradio@gmail.com Fri May 26 02:38:26 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 02:38:26 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <02f401c6808c$a6c14aa0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> References: <20060525221010.66836CA0BC@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> <17526.11316.190978.224587@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <003d01c68074$aa1803a0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> <02f401c6808c$a6c14aa0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605252338j121f3c89gbdfd6bcf4c36f204@mail.gmail.com> Just checking out the 12+ numbers myself on radioandrecords.com: --Slight uptick for WEEI and WRKO, and WTKK.. Highest ratings in awhile for Mike 93.7...The Air America/prog. talkers in a tie for last. WBCN slightly lower, but the BIG fall was the loss of Howard last period before this one. Traditionally strong stations like Oldies 103.3, WMJX, JAM'n 94.5, and Kiss 108 still doing fairly well. yes, the addition of Hannity doesn't do anything for WTTT in the 12+ ratings. Wonder if Worcester's WCRN will appear in the NEXT book, with switch to talk (Blute, Carr, etc.) From chuckigo@maine.rr.com Thu May 25 12:42:52 2006 From: chuckigo@maine.rr.com (Chuck Igo) Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 12:42:52 -0400 Subject: Maine's Dick Johnson Message-ID: <000101c6801a$461dc920$0300a8c0@maine.rr.com> Sad to share the news of the passing of Maine broadcast icon, Dick Johnson, last evening at the age of 69. Dick spent the better part of a half-century in radio, having done and seen it all... from jock to news reporter. his almost-40 years of service at WGAN (AM 560) in Portland alone is a testament to him and his talents. Dick was inducted into the Maine Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2003, and was still actively working in and out of the WGAN newsroom: anchoring, reporting and awaiting the latest NASCAR news (his personal passion), up until he suffered a heart attack in January. He had made some positive steps on the road back over the past few months. I had the pleasure of knowing Dick for at least half his broadcast career. Great guy, infectious laugh. Maine, and radio, has lost a friend. Rest easy, Dickie. From hykker@grolen.com Fri May 26 07:35:21 2006 From: hykker@grolen.com (SteveOrdinetz) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 07:35:21 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <02f401c6808c$a6c14aa0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> References: <20060525221010.66836CA0BC@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> <17526.11316.190978.224587@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <003d01c68074$aa1803a0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> <02f401c6808c$a6c14aa0$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> Message-ID: <6.0.3.0.0.20060526073220.01b8dec0@pop3.grolen.com> , R Trovato wrote: >It shows that these stations did NOT subscribe to Arbitron: > > >WOKQ >WXLO >WZID >WCTK > >All have some showing in the book, but none subscribe. > >Mostly due to the fact that the most (if not all) of their advertising >income comes from local clients who do not care about the ratings. (And the >fact that their showing is so miniscule, it wouldn't be of any use to them >in selling spots.) My guess is that these stations DO subscribe to Arbitron...just not the Boston book. WOKQ, WZID & WXLO are all strong players in their home markets. From stevewest106@hotmail.com Fri May 26 08:39:15 2006 From: stevewest106@hotmail.com (Steve West) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 08:39:15 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <20060525221010.66836CA0BC@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> Message-ID: I have a theory... that no matter how optimistic people are about it, once the audience leaves an AM station, for any reason, they DON'T COME BACK. Ever. The reason: thanks to all our electronic gadgetry today, the AM band is almost unlistenable and unless people have a specific reason to listen to an AM station (I.E. WBZ for news or WEEI for the Red Sox), they don't and won't change to the AM band. So... WILD essentially moves to FM, and the uniqueness of 1090 goes away. So does the audience, some of whom move to 97.7 and some elsewhere, but none of the former music & personality listeners give a rats behind about the talk on a noisy mono AM signal... and they return once or twice to see if it was just a bad dream and WILD will still be there... only to find noise (to their mind) in it's place. And then they never return to AM for anything else. So my programming theory, for those in a position to do something about it, is thus: if you own or purchase an AM station and it's got decent ratings and an audience, DON'T FLIP IT! AM is on borrowed time and nobody has the patience to sit through a station's growing pains, not to mention that once their favorate format and personalities are gone, they WILL move to FM. In that vein, even a simulcast of 97.7 and 1090 would have maintained some of the audience. Am I alone in thinking that the day is coming when the mass surrenders of AM broadcasters begins, and stations simply go dark because NO format works on signals which are much better covered on FM? Off topic for a second, had AM radio started broadcasting and receivers available of HD radio 10 years ago... it might have saved the band, but I really think AM's days are numbered, with a few notable exceptions in the form of the nation's WBZ's, WFAN's and so on. oh, and the sidebar... WGBH is a favorite of mine out here since I can receive it well, and their HD2 feed as well out here in Franklin County. Does anyone think that if they returned 8 hours of Classical music to the mix that ratings would improve? Do ratings matter for a non-comm? Some interesting questions for the group. Steve _________________________________________________________________ Don’t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ From revdoug1@verizon.net Fri May 26 10:16:07 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 10:16:07 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers References: Message-ID: <00a701c680ce$eef575c0$6501a8c0@pastor2> Steve, I think everything you've said makes sense. Ask any kid nowadays whether he/she listens to AM. They barely know what AM is. And as for the 25+ crowd, you're right --- unless the station has an established niche audience, like WBZ, WRKO, WJIB, WEEI, or something ethnic, it has little chance of a long-time survival. The 50 kw'ers, the larger regional stations like WTAG, and a few small-town stations that lack competition will likely still be around for a long time. The rest will fade away. Canada has been slowly doing away with AM radio for twenty years now. By and large, the only stations still hanging on and doing reasonably well are old, established niche stations, talk/news outlets, and a handful of remaining CBC stations that haven't yet converted to FM. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve West" To: ; Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 8:39 AM Subject: RE: Spring Arbs Shockers > I have a theory... that no matter how optimistic people are about it, once > the audience leaves an AM station, for any reason, they DON'T COME BACK. > Ever. The reason: thanks to all our electronic gadgetry today, the AM band > is almost unlistenable and unless people have a specific reason to listen to > an AM station (I.E. WBZ for news or WEEI for the Red Sox), they don't and > won't change to the AM band. > > So... WILD essentially moves to FM, and the uniqueness of 1090 goes away. > So does the audience, some of whom move to 97.7 and some elsewhere, but none > of the former music & personality listeners give a rats behind about the > talk on a noisy mono AM signal... and they return once or twice to see if it > was just a bad dream and WILD will still be there... only to find noise (to > their mind) in it's place. And then they never return to AM for anything > else. > > So my programming theory, for those in a position to do something about it, > is thus: if you own or purchase an AM station and it's got decent ratings > and an audience, DON'T FLIP IT! AM is on borrowed time and nobody has the > patience to sit through a station's growing pains, not to mention that once > their favorate format and personalities are gone, they WILL move to FM. In > that vein, even a simulcast of 97.7 and 1090 would have maintained some of > the audience. > > Am I alone in thinking that the day is coming when the mass surrenders of AM > broadcasters begins, and stations simply go dark because NO format works on > signals which are much better covered on FM? Off topic for a second, had AM > radio started broadcasting and receivers available of HD radio 10 years > ago... it might have saved the band, but I really think AM's days are > numbered, with a few notable exceptions in the form of the nation's WBZ's, > WFAN's and so on. > > oh, and the sidebar... WGBH is a favorite of mine out here since I can > receive it well, and their HD2 feed as well out here in Franklin County. > Does anyone think that if they returned 8 hours of Classical music to the > mix that ratings would improve? Do ratings matter for a non-comm? Some > interesting questions for the group. > > Steve > > _________________________________________________________________ > Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! > http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ > > From rogerkirk@ttlc.net Fri May 26 11:02:45 2006 From: rogerkirk@ttlc.net (rogerkirk) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 11:02:45 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers Message-ID: <200605261102.AA56885488@mail.ttlc.net> "Steve West" >Am I alone in thinking that the day is coming when the mass surrenders >of AM broadcasters begins, and stations simply go dark because NO >format works on signals which are much better covered on FM? Perhaps the theory is that when most of the small stations have gone bankrupt and turned in their licences, there will be a complete re-structure of the allocations and then there will be a few powerhouses at 50KW evenly spaced throughout the US. The preceeding pipedream bought to you by Gallant & Gallant Prognosticators, L.L.C. From stephanie@gordsven.com Fri May 26 11:14:22 2006 From: stephanie@gordsven.com (Stephanie Weil) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 11:14:22 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <200605261102.AA56885488@mail.ttlc.net> References: <200605261102.AA56885488@mail.ttlc.net> Message-ID: <30099.12.37.144.130.1148656462.squirrel@12.37.144.130> On Fri, May 26, 2006 11:02, rogerkirk said: bankrupt and turned in their licences, there will be a complete > re-structure of the allocations and then there will be a few powerhouses > at 50KW evenly spaced throughout the US. How about cranking them up to maybe 100,000 watts? IBOC AM's gonna be a disaster for all these tiny stations. The clears will probably be able to get away with it though. -- Stephanie Weil New York City, NY, USA From dan.strassberg@att.net Fri May 26 11:22:36 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 11:22:36 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers References: <00a701c680ce$eef575c0$6501a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <002001c680db$1ec8b120$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Then explain why WJIB's ratings have been INCREASING. Obviously, it's not kids who are listening, but it's older people who lost their radio "home" when WXKS (AM) flipped and found again it near the low end of the AM dial. The people who return to AM aren't kids, but they WILL come back if they find content that they are looking for. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Drown" To: "Steve West" ; ; Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 10:16 AM Subject: Re: Spring Arbs Shockers > Steve, > I think everything you've said makes sense. Ask any kid nowadays whether > he/she listens to AM. They barely know what AM is. And as for the 25+ > crowd, you're right --- unless the station has an established niche > audience, like WBZ, WRKO, WJIB, WEEI, or something ethnic, it has little > chance of a long-time survival. The 50 kw'ers, the larger regional stations > like WTAG, and a few small-town stations that lack competition will likely > still be around for a long time. The rest will fade away. > > Canada has been slowly doing away with AM radio for twenty years now. By > and large, the only stations still hanging on and doing reasonably well are > old, established niche stations, talk/news outlets, and a handful of > remaining CBC stations that haven't yet converted to FM. > > -Doug > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Steve West" > To: ; > Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 8:39 AM > Subject: RE: Spring Arbs Shockers > > > > I have a theory... that no matter how optimistic people are about it, once > > the audience leaves an AM station, for any reason, they DON'T COME BACK. > > Ever. The reason: thanks to all our electronic gadgetry today, the AM > band > > is almost unlistenable and unless people have a specific reason to listen > to > > an AM station (I.E. WBZ for news or WEEI for the Red Sox), they don't and > > won't change to the AM band. > > > > So... WILD essentially moves to FM, and the uniqueness of 1090 goes away. > > So does the audience, some of whom move to 97.7 and some elsewhere, but > none > > of the former music & personality listeners give a rats behind about the > > talk on a noisy mono AM signal... and they return once or twice to see if > it > > was just a bad dream and WILD will still be there... only to find noise > (to > > their mind) in it's place. And then they never return to AM for anything > > else. > > > > So my programming theory, for those in a position to do something about > it, > > is thus: if you own or purchase an AM station and it's got decent ratings > > and an audience, DON'T FLIP IT! AM is on borrowed time and nobody has the > > patience to sit through a station's growing pains, not to mention that > once > > their favorate format and personalities are gone, they WILL move to FM. > In > > that vein, even a simulcast of 97.7 and 1090 would have maintained some of > > the audience. > > > > Am I alone in thinking that the day is coming when the mass surrenders of > AM > > broadcasters begins, and stations simply go dark because NO format works > on > > signals which are much better covered on FM? Off topic for a second, had > AM > > radio started broadcasting and receivers available of HD radio 10 years > > ago... it might have saved the band, but I really think AM's days are > > numbered, with a few notable exceptions in the form of the nation's WBZ's, > > WFAN's and so on. > > > > oh, and the sidebar... WGBH is a favorite of mine out here since I can > > receive it well, and their HD2 feed as well out here in Franklin County. > > Does anyone think that if they returned 8 hours of Classical music to the > > mix that ratings would improve? Do ratings matter for a non-comm? Some > > interesting questions for the group. > > > > Steve > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > > Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! > > http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ > > > > > From wollman@csail.mit.edu Fri May 26 11:54:11 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 11:54:11 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <30099.12.37.144.130.1148656462.squirrel@12.37.144.130> References: <200605261102.AA56885488@mail.ttlc.net> <30099.12.37.144.130.1148656462.squirrel@12.37.144.130> Message-ID: <17527.9379.923735.109168@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > IBOC AM's gonna be a disaster for all these tiny stations. The clears > will probably be able to get away with it though. Glynn Walden claims that the opposite is actually true: that the noise floor for those stations is so high already that an additional -20 dB of IBOC all around won't make much difference, whereas the big stations on relatively clear channels will get hurt by their big-signal first-adjacents. (He's very open about his goal to have all broadcasting completely move to digital within ten years. IBOC will certainly accelerate this, but I doubt it will happen in a way that benefits CBS. 5-kHz AM already sounds like crap.) -GAWollman From markwa1ion@aol.com Fri May 26 12:19:20 2006 From: markwa1ion@aol.com (markwa1ion@aol.com) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 12:19:20 -0400 Subject: WATD, Ed & George, oldies In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8C84EF747450DC3-1AC4-5EA0@mblk-r35.sysops.aol.com> << From: stuff@struff.com I catch WATD on Scan on I-93 in Andover...loud and clear! >> I wish I could get WATD reliably here in Billerica just north of the Burlington line near the 3A/62 junction. NH on 95.7 and Worcester on 96.1 provide major grief. I used to be on the South Shore quite regularly commuting to/from my parents' home in West Yarmouth. They've since passed on and I'm not doing all that much driving down in that area anymore. Anyway I was a big fan of Ed & George's Saturday night oldies-fest. They actually would play two of my all-time favorite tunes from 1961: "Temptation" by the Everly Bros. (which sounds like the progenitor of R.E.M.'s "Radio Free Europe") and "Louisiana Mama" by Gene Pitney. Those tunes could make me break the speed limit (or sound barrier?) on Route 3. I could add Bobby Blue Bland's "Turn On Your Lovelight" from late '61 to that list too. Bland's original tight soul version blows away some of the later highly-bloated jam-band-noodling renditions of "Lovelight" (versions that only sound good if you're wasted). Ed & George would trot out some of the mid-'60s (pre "Bosstown Sound") Boston band garage goodies from Teddy & the Pandas, Myles & the Wild Ones, Barbarians, Ramrods, Lost, etc. Who else is playing this stuff ? WCRN (when it was a not-too-bad satellite oldies station) missed most of these due to its non-local focus. I'd think XM/Sirius would miss 'em too. Little Walter was more about doo-wop, that's fine but it's not my prime interest. WJIB throws me some pleasant surprises at times, but it's generally too mellow. I'm basically a guitar guy. WODS Oldies 103 ? Totally flaming useless ! Little evidence of being a station for Boston '60s kids. OK for '70s light-pop. In the '70s I was into Aerosmith, not "Afternoon Delight" type mush. Other than shows like Ed & George, the only way my rarer '60s desires are being covered is by my own CD's. Some tunes are downright hard to purchase on CD's or iTunes. Thank goodness for some labels like Rhino, Ace, Collectibles, and Collector's Choice. I graduated high school in the class of '67. It seems that people who graduated around then are a fairly sizeable portion of the population and, in some cases, do a lot of the spending. So why do we get so many crazy ethnic and talk programs on the radio and such feeble excuses for oldies stations ? Radio used to be cool: Jonathan Richman wrote "Roadrunner" as a love song to it. Now if you drive around at night, you'd better have your own CD's. Somebody spin me up "Live" by the Merry-Go-Round right now please ! I guess this message is turning into a protracted ramble about tunes I can't hear anywhere. WESX and WJDA now doing Spanish religion, well "whoop-dee-doo" as Archie Bunker would say. In any event, something like Ed & George's show on a station north of Boston would be a treat. Maybe there is something and I just don't know about it. By the way, does anybody remember Eddy Mitchell's afternoon show on WCOP-1150 circa summer/autumn 1961 ? He used comedy clips and sound effects to great effect, especially when dubbed over the duller songs that he (and most of his 10 - 15 year old audience) thought were lame. ROTFLMAO - Wicked funny ! Also great was early '60s Chuck Stevens from 550 in RI: his schtick of mentioning (/ bashing) other stations and DJ's was priceless. Seems to me he used the term "Carl DeSnooze". Any airchecks (or just reminiscences) of Mitchell and Stevens would be appreciated. Mark Connelly - Billerica, MA How I Got Started in Radio and Electronics: "http://www.qsl.net/wa1ion/wa1ion_history.htm" Boston Radio and Popular Music Page: "http://www.geocities.com/WA1ION_Mark/index.html" From readaaron@friedbagels.com Fri May 26 11:16:59 2006 From: readaaron@friedbagels.com (Aaron Read) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 11:16:59 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers Message-ID: <44771BEB.3040506@friedbagels.com> Steve West stevewest106@hotmail.com Fri May 26 08:39:15 EDT 2006 (snip) Am I alone in thinking that the day is coming when the mass surrenders of AM broadcasters begins, and stations simply go dark because NO format works on signals which are much better covered on FM? Off topic for a second, had AM radio started broadcasting and receivers available of HD radio 10 years ago... it might have saved the band, but I really think AM's days are numbered, with a few notable exceptions in the form of the nation's WBZ's, WFAN's and so on. (snip) --------- It's a valid theory but I think you dismiss HD Radio too quickly. This is what a lot of AM station owners are betting on; that HD Radio's higher fidelity and inherent stereo (as well as the data services aspect) will give enough to the AM band to make it compete on more level footing with FM. Granted it's not a panacea, but I think the idea has merit. FWIW, action on the post-sunset operation of IBOC is due soon (this summer, I'm told) and the odds are very good that it will be authorized, and that a handful (perhaps 5% nationwide) of smaller "shoehorned" AM licensees will either be forced to go dark completely or re-relegated to daytime only status. This is not just speculation...I've seen the math and it appears to work. DXing as we know it will completely go away, of course...as will reception outside of the protected contours. But the FCC's been telling us for decades that we can't count on either of those. Interestingly, many nighttime and especially many DAYTIME signals will get MARKED improvements in coverage from being IBOC. By which I mean that digital is all-or-nothing; if the signal's above the threshold, you get the best audio quality IBOC can deliver and it's *consistent*. Whereas analog, of course, gets progressively "worse" sounding the lower the signal gets; more static, more susceptibility to noise, etc etc etc. I know the engineer at a local AM who was telling me the results of his "drive test" after turning on IBOC and the results were amazing; he estimated that their effective coverage area is over 30% bigger for listeners using HD Radios. As for WGBH...ratings matter very much to any non-comm that runs underwriting, and WGBH does. However, if anything you will see less classical on their main channel, not more. Until WCRB announced it was going away, the ratings were consistently dropping for WGBH...hence the addition of an extra hour of Morning Edition, adding Weekend Edition, and, of course, the Open Source experiment. I suspect they're too far down the news/talk road to reverse course and try to go for all-classical to grab WCRB's listeners. Which I doubt they would anyway...WGBH and WCRB play fairly different subgenres of classical, don't they? -- -------------------------- Aaron Read readaaron@friedbagels.com www.friedbagels.com Boston, MA 02176 From wollman@csail.mit.edu Fri May 26 13:01:31 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 13:01:31 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <44771BEB.3040506@friedbagels.com> References: <44771BEB.3040506@friedbagels.com> Message-ID: <17527.13419.750496.894493@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Interestingly, many nighttime and especially many DAYTIME signals will > get MARKED improvements in coverage from being IBOC. By which I mean > that digital is all-or-nothing; if the signal's above the threshold, you > get the best audio quality IBOC can deliver and it's *consistent*. Well, consistently bad, anyway. > Whereas analog, of course, gets progressively "worse" sounding the lower > the signal gets; more static, more susceptibility to noise, etc etc etc. Except that human auditory systems evolved to deal with noisy inputs; they didn't evolve to deal with the sort of distortion imparted by the iBiquity's audio codec -- and with the pressure to squeeze even more "exported" bits onto the HD bitstream, I don't expect relief (at least on the AM side) any time soon. The FM doesn't sound nearly as objectionable at 64 kbit/s or more. (Speaking of IBOC and audio quality, has anyone noticed how awful WBZ sounds these days?) -GAWollman From scott@fybush.com Fri May 26 13:24:07 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 13:24:07 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <17527.9379.923735.109168@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> References: <200605261102.AA56885488@mail.ttlc.net> <30099.12.37.144.130.1148656462.squirrel@12.37.144.130> <17527.9379.923735.109168@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <447739B7.6050109@fybush.com> Garrett Wollman wrote: > < said: > >> IBOC AM's gonna be a disaster for all these tiny stations. The clears >> will probably be able to get away with it though. > > Glynn Walden claims that the opposite is actually true: that the noise > floor for those stations is so high already that an additional -20 dB > of IBOC all around won't make much difference, whereas the big > stations on relatively clear channels will get hurt by their > big-signal first-adjacents. (He's very open about his goal to have > all broadcasting completely move to digital within ten years. IBOC > will certainly accelerate this, but I doubt it will happen in a way > that benefits CBS. 5-kHz AM already sounds like crap.) A senior engineer of my acquaintance (and Garrett's), who does corporate-level allocations work for one of those Big Broadcasters That Starts With A "C", has pretty much staked his entire career on the idea that when it comes to AM in the modern environment, there is one factor - and one factor only - that matters, and that's the NIF (nighttime interference-free) contour, which is a factor of both the desired station's own signal level and of the level of incoming signal from other co- and adjacent-channel stations. If you subscribe to this theory (and I do), it becomes clear that the addition of IBOC at night will create only an incremental rise in the noise floor on most of the regional and local channels. Up here in Rochester, the worst that happens to most of the ex-class III signals on 1280, 1370, 1460 and so on is that they lose the very outermost edges of their currently-usable NIF signals. For the class A clears, though, the theoretical NIF is 0.5 mV/m (which is to say, skywave reception is protected from interference to the 0.5 mV/m contour). That's a pretty fragile signal level, and so ANY new interference becomes exceedingly noticeable and objectionable. (Think about how often and how easily the AM DXers catch stations running day facilities at night on the clear channels, even with fairly low power, when the same power at the same distance would just fade into the ambient noise on the regional and local channels.) The former class II stations (now class B) on clear channels, such as WRKO and WEEI, will fall somewhere in the middle. They already operate with much higher NIFs than the class As, so the noise floor on their channels is higher already, but the channels tend to still be clean enough that there's at least some audience outside the NIF contours. (Hmm...Sox, WRKO, 2007, Metrowest...) The point to take away from all of this, I think, is this: the advent of night IBOC, if it comes to pass, will force a lot of stations with optimistic owners to sit down and take a good hard look at their licenses. If you bought a class D license that says "Quincy" on it, then what you've bought is protected coverage of Quincy (and, if you're lucky, vicinity) during daylight hours. Anything else is gravy - and subject to going away without any legal recourse. The TANSTAAFL principle applies. If you wanted a class A signal in Boston, you'd have had to pay class A Boston money for it. That, of course, is just the engineering side of it. On the programming side, broadcasters are very nervous right now, and some companies are making moves that may not be healthy for the long-term survival of the AM band, digital or not. It hasn't happened in Boston *yet*, but in New Orleans, Salt Lake City and, soon, Phoenix, Entercom and Bonneville have begun simulcasting the news-talk programming of their huge-signal AMs (we're talking gigantic sticks like KSL and WWL) on equally huge-signal FMs. If that doesn't send the message to listeners that AM is a redundant medium, offering nothing that can't be found (with better sound quality) on FM, I don't know what does. I have to believe that it lowers the overall value of the remaining decent AM facilities - but it's also understandable that skittish broadcasters are trying everything they can throw out there to stem audience erosion to all those other media choices. And yet you've still got plenty of folks willing to throw millions upon millions of dollars out there to buy marginal (or at least second-tier) AM facilities, for whatever reason. Interesting times. s From Joe@attorneyross.com Fri May 26 13:45:36 2006 From: Joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 13:45:36 -0400 Subject: WATD, Ed & George, oldies In-Reply-To: <8C84EF747450DC3-1AC4-5EA0@mblk-r35.sysops.aol.com> References: Message-ID: <44770680.26176.1E316B@localhost> On 26 May 2006 markwa1ion@aol.com wrote: > Anyway I was a big fan of Ed & George's Saturday night oldies-fest. > They actually would play two of my all-time favorite tunes from 1961: > "Temptation" by the Everly Bros. (which sounds like the progenitor of > R.E.M.'s "Radio Free Europe") and "Louisiana Mama" by Gene Pitney. > Those tunes could make me break the speed limit (or sound barrier?) on > Route 3. I could add Bobby Blue Bland's "Turn On Your Lovelight" from > late '61 to that list too. Bland's original tight soul version blows > away some of the later highly-bloated jam-band-noodling renditions of > "Lovelight" (versions that only sound good if you're wasted). Ed and George's program is available online. Try 959watd.com for the link. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax: 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From raccoonradio@gmail.com Fri May 26 15:45:22 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 15:45:22 -0400 Subject: WATD, Ed & George, oldies In-Reply-To: <44770680.26176.1E316B@localhost> References: <8C84EF747450DC3-1AC4-5EA0@mblk-r35.sysops.aol.com> <44770680.26176.1E316B@localhost> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605261245k2641f5esd26ef7acbb817485@mail.gmail.com> I can get WATD on the North Shore fairly well but sometimes WSRS walks over it. Not so much a problem with WZID on the other side, but I'm sure if I were to drive toward Manchester NH it would cause problems. Some good oldies shows out there, including streamcasts. Ron Dwyer is on WATD and also on WCIB on the Cape--he plays those songs you don't often hear anymore (and I loved it when he played an extended remix of "Reach Out (I'll be There)"...Lost 45s focuses too much on the 70s with some very infrequent 60s/80s cuts. From raccoonradio@gmail.com Fri May 26 15:49:46 2006 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 15:49:46 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <447739B7.6050109@fybush.com> References: <200605261102.AA56885488@mail.ttlc.net> <30099.12.37.144.130.1148656462.squirrel@12.37.144.130> <17527.9379.923735.109168@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <447739B7.6050109@fybush.com> Message-ID: <1fbbbced0605261249x5c10f8d9w8179e97636f4ae89@mail.gmail.com> Doug Drown wrote: >>Ask any kid nowadays whether he/she listens to AM. They barely know what AM is. Except for the Red Sox games on WEEI--and even then, they're on FM in Gloucester, Cape Cod, etc. On 5/26/06, Scott Fybush wrote: It hasn't happened in Boston *yet*, but in New > Orleans, Salt Lake City and, soon, Phoenix, Entercom and Bonneville have > begun simulcasting the news-talk programming of their huge-signal AMs > (we're talking gigantic sticks like KSL and WWL) on equally huge-signal > FMs. If not for half-decent ratings on "Mike" we would have already had WRKO-FM 93.7... simulcast w/ 680 From billings@suscom-maine.net Fri May 26 15:33:31 2006 From: billings@suscom-maine.net (Daniel Billings) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 15:33:31 -0400 Subject: Maine's Dick Johnson In-Reply-To: <000101c6801a$461dc920$0300a8c0@maine.rr.com> Message-ID: <003801c680fb$4886fab0$3c9e05cf@yourm3vezyx8af> Dickie was a great guy. I listened to him on the radio when I was a kid and then got to work with him. Sad news. WGAN without Dick Johnson just seems wrong. -- Dan Billings, Bowdoinham, Maine From billings@suscom-maine.net Fri May 26 15:42:23 2006 From: billings@suscom-maine.net (Daniel Billings) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 15:42:23 -0400 Subject: Fox's Jane Skinner In-Reply-To: <20060502193532.47346.qmail@web37913.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <003901c680fc$85a6e8a0$3c9e05cf@yourm3vezyx8af> Yes. -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Cooper Fox Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 3:36 PM To: Radio Listserv Subject: Fox's Jane Skinner When was she at WCSH Portland? From paulcurrier@adelphia.net Fri May 26 17:51:55 2006 From: paulcurrier@adelphia.net (Paul B. Currier) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 17:51:55 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers References: <200605261102.AA56885488@mail.ttlc.net><30099.12.37.144.130.1148656462.squirrel@12.37.144.130><17527.9379.923735.109168@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu><447739B7.6050109@fybush.com> <1fbbbced0605261249x5c10f8d9w8179e97636f4ae89@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <001501c6810e$9b1e5760$a7483518@DG07P241> I thought that many years ago the FCC ruled against FM being a simulcast vehicle for the then dominant AM band. Has this ruling been overruled? Paul Sandwich ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Nelson" To: "Scott Fybush" ; ; Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 3:49 PM Subject: Re: Spring Arbs Shockers > Doug Drown wrote: > >>Ask any kid nowadays whether > he/she listens to AM. They barely know what AM is. > > Except for the Red Sox games on WEEI--and even then, they're on FM in > Gloucester, > Cape Cod, etc. > > On 5/26/06, Scott Fybush wrote: > It hasn't happened in Boston *yet*, but in New > > Orleans, Salt Lake City and, soon, Phoenix, Entercom and Bonneville have > > begun simulcasting the news-talk programming of their huge-signal AMs > > (we're talking gigantic sticks like KSL and WWL) on equally huge-signal > > FMs. > > If not for half-decent ratings on "Mike" we would have already had > WRKO-FM 93.7... > simulcast w/ 680 > > From revdoug1@verizon.net Fri May 26 17:08:49 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 17:08:49 -0400 Subject: Maine's Dick Johnson References: <003801c680fb$4886fab0$3c9e05cf@yourm3vezyx8af> Message-ID: <011d01c68108$9666d180$6501a8c0@pastor2> Dick had what I thought was an odd, somewhat halting style of delivery that made him stand out --- nothing of the smoothness that characterizes most newscasters nowadays. But that was also what made him unique. And he was a darned good, thorough reporter. You're right --- WGAN, without him, just seems wrong. I've been in Maine 30 years and he was the station's one constant in all that time, through changes in ownership, formats and many other staff. I wonder what it must have been like for him to do newscasts for WZAN, formerly 'GAN's perennial rival WCSH? What an interesting irony. Requiescat in pacem, Dick. You're going to be missed. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "Daniel Billings" To: "'Chuck Igo'" ; Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 3:33 PM Subject: RE: Maine's Dick Johnson > Dickie was a great guy. I listened to him on the radio when I was a kid and > then got to work with him. Sad news. > > WGAN without Dick Johnson just seems wrong. > > -- Dan Billings, Bowdoinham, Maine > > From rogerkirk@ttlc.net Fri May 26 18:46:29 2006 From: rogerkirk@ttlc.net (rogerkirk) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 18:46:29 -0400 Subject: Something New? Something Old? Message-ID: <200605261846.AA3050635392@mail.ttlc.net> It appears that Snapple has purchased all commerical avails for 40 days at WFNX (only $2 million) and they're touting it as a "40 day Free For All" with "no commercials" - just "underwriting". It is being called "brandcasting." Has anybody heard of this before? I know that stations have gone commercial-free for X number of songs as a stunt for changing formnats, but I've never heard of one company buying all the time in such a large amount. From rogerkirk@ttlc.net Fri May 26 18:55:04 2006 From: rogerkirk@ttlc.net (rogerkirk) Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 18:55:04 -0400 Subject: Something New? Something Old? Message-ID: <200605261855.AA282460416@mail.ttlc.net> It appears that Snapple has purchased all commerical avails for 40 days at WFNX (only $2 million) and they're touting it as a "40 day Free For All" with "no commercials" - just "underwriting". It is being called "brandcasting." Has anybody heard of this before? I know that stations have gone commercial-free for X number of songs as a stunt for changing formnats, but I've never heard of one company buying all the time in such a large amount. From cohasset@frontiernet.net Fri May 26 21:14:45 2006 From: cohasset@frontiernet.net (Cohasset / Hippisley) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 01:14:45 +0000 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605261249x5c10f8d9w8179e97636f4ae89@mail.gmail.com> References: <200605261102.AA56885488@mail.ttlc.net> <30099.12.37.144.130.1148656462.squirrel@12.37.144.130> <17527.9379.923735.109168@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> <447739B7.6050109@fybush.com> <1fbbbced0605261249x5c10f8d9w8179e97636f4ae89@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <4477A805.7090701@frontiernet.net> Bob Nelson wrote: > Doug Drown wrote: >>> Ask any kid nowadays whether > he/she listens to AM. They barely know what AM is. > > Except for the Red Sox games on WEEI--and even then, they're on FM in > Gloucester, > Cape Cod, etc. Yes, my son learned all about AM DXing over the past four years or so from trying to find Red Sox games on the clock radio by his bed. (Up here in the Adirondacks, WTIC has been the most consistent source, but there have been many nights when propagation vagaries forced him to search for alternate frequencies.) Recently he received a portable XM radio and subscription as a gift, so I suspect his AM DXing days are over -- at least for now. But when I talk about "selective fade" he knows what I'm referring to.... Bud Hippisley From gary@garysicecream.com Sat May 27 10:02:45 2006 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 10:02:45 -0400 Subject: Radiothon remote tonight Message-ID: <010b01c68196$3aac5d90$6500a8c0@Office> Begging the moderator's permission...... Tonight WCAP will be featuring a LIVE SockHop Fundraiser to benefit the Lowell Flood Victims Relief Fund. Many people in the Pawtucketville section of Lowell lost their homes, cars and all their belongings a few weeks ago during the 2006 Great Flood. Tonight Gary Francis (that?s me) is turning The Saturday Night Sock Hop into a fundraiser to raise cash for the families. Show will be broadcast live from the front of Gary's Ice Cream & Grill, 127 Merrimack Street in downtown Lowell. Originally this was going to be an antique car show - but raising money for The Salvation Army's Flood Fund is more important - although some antique cars may still show up. Listen from 6pm - 10pm or better yet - come on down - hang out - and help out! FYI, 2 weeks from tonight is the 55th Anniversary Party of WCAP. It was on June 10, 1951 that WCAP first signed on the air. We're having a party with everybody welcome - especially former WCAP Staff! We have voices from the music days as well as the talk days coming by to help us celebrate - Mark Adams, Joe Abrams, Casey Crane, Joe Cochran, Kevin Dunn, Pat McCarthy and dozens more - even our own Donna Halper, the queen of radio history will be here! So come on down - same place - same time - Gary's Ice Cream, 127 Merrimack St, Lowell, June 3 also from 6 - 10 and live on 980am WCAP -Gary Francis News Director (and more) WCAP -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/343 - Release Date: 5/18/2006 From gary@garysicecream.com Sat May 27 10:11:49 2006 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 10:11:49 -0400 Subject: Date correction for Birthday party for WCAP Message-ID: <010d01c68197$7f0fe230$6500a8c0@Office> OK....so I'm a dummy.......the WCAP Birthday Party is two weeks from tonight - Saturday June 10......June 10....June 10.......teacher used to tell us to say something 3 times so you don't forget! Saturday, June 10th! Sorry Gary Francis -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/343 - Release Date: 5/18/2006 From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 27 12:19:56 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 12:19:56 -0400 Subject: AM stereo WLYN In-Reply-To: <1539018.1148621630681.JavaMail.root@elwamui-little.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <447843EC.1855.494A1D@localhost> On 26 May 2006 at 0:00, Eli Polonsky wrote: > None of the Dan Donovan's made it over from the original 1510 > WMEX to the mid-80's 1150 oldies incarnation. I don't think any > of the DJ's from the original 1510 WMEX actually made it to the > 1150 WMEX. The 1150 WMEX did start up their oldies fomat with > some known veteran area talent, but they were from different > stations. I was just a weekend overnighter and other fill-in host > calling myself "Eric Parker" for summer and fall of 1988 (and I was a > satellite feed board-op there for two years before that). My mistake. I didn't pick up on the fact that you said 1150, not 1510. At times they seemed to be trying to recreate the old WMEX ambiance on 1150, but they didn't do it very well. I do know of one of the old "WMEX Good Guys" who made it onto 1150 at least once. One of the Fenways did an airshift for one Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Just a one-shot, though, and I don't know which Fenway it was. I don't know why WMEX 1150 couldn't have used some of the old Deejay names, since they were station names and probably weren't owned by anyone. They could have had a Dan Donovan, Fenway, or Melvin X. Melvin if they wanted to. Or since by that time it was generally known that Mel Miller was Melvin X. Melvin, perhaps they could have created a new name, Melvin X. something else. They did, occasionally, use the "WMEX Good Guys" slogan. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 27 12:19:56 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 12:19:56 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <00a701c680ce$eef575c0$6501a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <447843EC.5187.494ABD@localhost> On 26 May 2006 at 10:16, Doug Drown wrote: > Steve, > I think everything you've said makes sense. Ask any kid nowadays > whether he/she listens to AM. They barely know what AM is. Which makes me wonder why Radio Disney keeps going. What is its audience? > Canada has been slowly doing away with AM radio for twenty years now. > By and large, the only stations still hanging on and doing reasonably > well are old, established niche stations, talk/news outlets, and a > handful of remaining CBC stations that haven't yet converted to FM. Except there have been some new stations taking over some of the old converted CBC stations. For example, a new station doing beautiful music has taken over the old CBL transmitter, and it signal competes at night with WJIB. Interestingly enough, it was because of CBL that I discovered WJIB. I had a button on my car radio set for 740 because I liked to listen to the CBC news at night. As a result, I occasionally would check to see what was going on with WCAS and its later incarnations and eventually discovered Bob's WWEA and WJIB. And it was while I was waiting to pick up my sister's kids at Hebrew School one Sunday that I discovered Let's Talk About Radio. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 27 12:19:56 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 12:19:56 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <1fbbbced0605261249x5c10f8d9w8179e97636f4ae89@mail.gmail.com> References: <447739B7.6050109@fybush.com> Message-ID: <447843EC.31820.494B4E@localhost> On 26 May 2006 at 15:49, Bob Nelson wrote: > If not for half-decent ratings on "Mike" we would have already had > WRKO-FM 93.7... simulcast w/ 680 AM-FM simulcasts return! 1950s/60s nostalgia! -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 27 12:19:57 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 12:19:57 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <001501c6810e$9b1e5760$a7483518@DG07P241> Message-ID: <447843ED.10337.494FAE@localhost> On 26 May 2006 at 17:51, Paul B. Currier wrote: > I thought that many years ago the FCC ruled against FM being a > simulcast vehicle for the then dominant AM band. Has this ruling been > overruled? Long ago, I think. The situation of a dominant AM band and a need to encourage FM is about 40 years out of date. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From rogerkirk@ttlc.net Sat May 27 12:40:16 2006 From: rogerkirk@ttlc.net (rogerkirk) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 12:40:16 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers Message-ID: <200605271240.AA2517434470@mail.ttlc.net> "A. Joseph Ross" wrote: >Long ago, I think. The situation of a dominant AM band and a need to >encourage FM is about 40 years out of date. Yes, but now we have a dominant FM band and a need to encourage AM. From kc1ih@mac.com Sat May 27 12:50:30 2006 From: kc1ih@mac.com (Larry Weil) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 12:50:30 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <200605271240.AA2517434470@mail.ttlc.net> References: <200605271240.AA2517434470@mail.ttlc.net> Message-ID: At 12:40 PM -0400 5/27/06, rogerkirk wrote: > >Yes, but now we have a dominant FM band and a need to encourage AM. Why? Or would it be best to let AM die a peaceful death? -- Larry Weil Lake Wobegone, NH From revdoug1@verizon.net Sat May 27 13:52:03 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 13:52:03 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers References: <447843EC.5187.494ABD@localhost> Message-ID: <001801c681b6$43d659f0$6501a8c0@pastor2> The old CBL (I don't know the current call letters) does nicely with its nostalgia format. Unfortunately it doesn't come in well very often up here in central Maine. The former CBM 940 in Montreal is now news-and-talk CINW (the heir to historic CFCF), and the old CBF 690 is now CINQ, I believe, CINW's francophone counterpart. Both stations reach into western Maine day and night; CINQ, for whatever reasons, has the stronger signal of the two. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "A. Joseph Ross" To: "Doug Drown" Cc: Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 12:19 PM Subject: Re: Spring Arbs Shockers > On 26 May 2006 at 10:16, Doug Drown wrote: > > > Steve, > > I think everything you've said makes sense. Ask any kid nowadays > > whether he/she listens to AM. They barely know what AM is. > > Which makes me wonder why Radio Disney keeps going. What is its > audience? > > > Canada has been slowly doing away with AM radio for twenty years now. > > By and large, the only stations still hanging on and doing reasonably > > well are old, established niche stations, talk/news outlets, and a > > handful of remaining CBC stations that haven't yet converted to FM. > > Except there have been some new stations taking over some of the old > converted CBC stations. For example, a new station doing beautiful > music has taken over the old CBL transmitter, and it signal competes > at night with WJIB. > > Interestingly enough, it was because of CBL that I discovered WJIB. > I had a button on my car radio set for 740 because I liked to listen > to the CBC news at night. As a result, I occasionally would check to > see what was going on with WCAS and its later incarnations and > eventually discovered Bob's WWEA and WJIB. And it was while I was > waiting to pick up my sister's kids at Hebrew School one Sunday that > I discovered Let's Talk About Radio. > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 > 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 > Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com > > > From dan.strassberg@att.net Sat May 27 14:10:53 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 14:10:53 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers References: <447843EC.5187.494ABD@localhost> <001801c681b6$43d659f0$6501a8c0@pastor2> Message-ID: <003a01c681b8$eacff2a0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Drown" To: "A. Joseph Ross" Cc: Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 1:52 PM Subject: Re: Spring Arbs Shockers > The old CBF 690 is now CINQ, I believe. Aren't the calls CINF? Cinq is french for "five." How do you turn 690 into five? > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "A. Joseph Ross" > To: "Doug Drown" > Cc: > Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 12:19 PM > Subject: Re: Spring Arbs Shockers > > > > For example, a new station doing beautiful > > music has taken over the old CBL transmitter, and it signal competes > > at night with WJIB. I think it's wrong to refer to CHWO's format at beautiful music. It is clearly adult standards or nostalgia. I think the station's slogan is 40+ radio or something like that. Might even be golden-age radio (perish the thought), but I don't think so. > > -- > > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 > > 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 > > Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com > > > > > > > From dlh@donnahalper.com Sat May 27 19:22:50 2006 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 19:22:50 -0400 Subject: The History of Rock and Roll Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060527192022.02be06d8@pop.registeredsite.com> I noticed that Oldies 103.3 is re-playing a classic, the old Drake-Chenault History of Rock and Roll. It has aged very well, and has some very interesting soundbyte-interviews and the tight production they expected back in those AM top 40 days... but the announcer doing the voice-overs sounds like an old time Middle of the Road announcer-- and I cannot recall his name. I know I've heard him before. Anybody recall who narrated it back then? And is it available for purchase anywhere? From hykker@grolen.com Sat May 27 20:10:59 2006 From: hykker@grolen.com (SteveOrdinetz) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 20:10:59 -0400 Subject: AM stereo WLYN In-Reply-To: <447843EC.1855.494A1D@localhost> References: <1539018.1148621630681.JavaMail.root@elwamui-little.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <447843EC.1855.494A1D@localhost> Message-ID: <6.0.3.0.0.20060527201007.01becd80@pop3.grolen.com> A. Joseph Ross wrote: >I don't know why WMEX 1150 couldn't have used some of the old Deejay >names, since they were station names and probably weren't owned by >anyone. They could have had a Dan Donovan, Fenway, or Melvin X. >Melvin if they wanted to. Or since by that time it was generally >known that Mel Miller was Melvin X. Melvin, perhaps they could have >created a new name, Melvin X. something else. They did, >occasionally, use the "WMEX Good Guys" slogan. Wasn't JJ Jeffreys also one of the "Melvins"? I know he was Fenway at one point. From hykker@grolen.com Sat May 27 20:13:58 2006 From: hykker@grolen.com (SteveOrdinetz) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 20:13:58 -0400 Subject: The History of Rock and Roll In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060527192022.02be06d8@pop.registeredsite.com> References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060527192022.02be06d8@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <6.0.3.0.0.20060527201238.01be9600@pop3.grolen.com> At 07:22 PM 5/27/2006, Donna Halper wrote: >I noticed that Oldies 103.3 is re-playing a classic, the old >Drake-Chenault History of Rock and Roll. It has aged very well, and has >some very interesting soundbyte-interviews and the tight production they >expected back in those AM top 40 days... but the announcer doing the >voice-overs sounds like an old time Middle of the Road announcer-- and I >cannot recall his name. I know I've heard him before. Anybody recall who >narrated it back then? And is it available for purchase anywhere? Wasn't the national version narrated by a KHJ jock named Humble Harve? From paulconnors@earthlink.net Sat May 27 20:51:03 2006 From: paulconnors@earthlink.net (Paul Connors) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 20:51:03 -0400 Subject: The History of Rock and Roll Message-ID: <380-2200650280513222@earthlink.net> I believe the narrator was Bill Drake himself. > At 07:22 PM 5/27/2006, Donna Halper wrote: > >I noticed that Oldies 103.3 is re-playing a classic, the old > >Drake-Chenault History of Rock and Roll. It has aged very well, and has > >some very interesting soundbyte-interviews and the tight production they > >expected back in those AM top 40 days... but the announcer doing the > >voice-overs sounds like an old time Middle of the Road announcer-- and I > >cannot recall his name. I know I've heard him before. Anybody recall who > >narrated it back then? And is it available for purchase anywhere? > > > Wasn't the national version narrated by a KHJ jock named Humble Harve? > From rogerkola@aol.com Sat May 27 21:04:41 2006 From: rogerkola@aol.com (Roger Kolakowski) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 21:04:41 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM References: Message-ID: <001c01c681f2$b592bfc0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve West" >>I have a theory... that no matter how optimistic people are about it, once the audience leaves an AM station, for any reason, they DON'T COME BACK. Ever. The reason: thanks to all our electronic gadgetry today, the AM band is almost unlistenable and unless people have a specific reason to listen to an AM station (I.E. WBZ for news or WEEI for the Red Sox), they don't and won't change to the AM band.<< Steve et al... My theory is that the future of the AM band, especially in an FM saturated area such as Boston, is exactly what it is moving away from now. AM Radio is the perfect local replacement for the newspaper you no longer have time to read. Local news, sports, weather, business news, commentary...everything that the LPFM's want to provide could be done on 1Kw AM stations and if they remained commercial, the spots sold at "local AM rates," to local advertisers (how far are you going to drive for a meal, social activities, tires, auto repair, and how far will local landscapers, painters, roofers drive to work on your house?) they could become viable "Mom and Pop" organizations. Perhaps going back to ownership by local businesses, as an outlet for their product or by organizations again, spreading their good will, or even cities or towns, much like local cable TV channels. Local interest is the key. Of course, station prices would have to come back to reality so that debt service and costs could be met. The biggest problem with this ideal is the current demographics are truly going away with the baby boomers, and if some thing doesn't start happening soon, there won't be anyone listening. Roger WA1KAT From gary@garysicecream.com Sat May 27 21:32:22 2006 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 21:32:22 -0400 Subject: The History of Rock and Roll In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060527192022.02be06d8@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <016001c681f6$913f71f0$6500a8c0@Office> Actually - this is not the original History of Rock & Roll. This is the later remake - the one that Bill Drake himself voiced. The first one was voiced by Robert W Morgan and Harble Harve - they did individual hours. The Boston version was voiced by Frank Kingston Smith - he used to tell hilarious stories about the recording of the hours in real time in a hallway of WRKO. If they made a mistake - they had to start the whole hour over again! -Gary Francis -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Donna Halper Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 7:23 PM To: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org Subject: The History of Rock and Roll I noticed that Oldies 103.3 is re-playing a classic, the old Drake-Chenault History of Rock and Roll. It has aged very well, and has some very interesting soundbyte-interviews and the tight production they expected back in those AM top 40 days... but the announcer doing the voice-overs sounds like an old time Middle of the Road announcer-- and I cannot recall his name. I know I've heard him before. Anybody recall who narrated it back then? And is it available for purchase anywhere? -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/343 - Release Date: 5/18/2006 -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/343 - Release Date: 5/18/2006 From dlh@donnahalper.com Sat May 27 21:54:11 2006 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 21:54:11 -0400 Subject: The History of Rock and Roll In-Reply-To: <016001c681f6$913f71f0$6500a8c0@Office> References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060527192022.02be06d8@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060527215256.02c05fd8@pop.registeredsite.com> At 09:32 PM 5/27/2006 -0400, Gary's Ice Cream wrote: >Actually - this is not the original History of Rock & Roll. This is the >later remake - the one that Bill Drake himself voiced. The first one was >voiced by Robert W Morgan and Harble Harve - they did individual hours. The >Boston version was voiced by Frank Kingston Smith Ah okay-- it all comes back to me now. I used to work with Frank Kingston Smith (when he was "Bobby Mitchell")-- I answered the Hitline during his show. And yeah, it was Robert W. Morgan whose name I couldn't think of...that's the one I recall listening to. From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 27 22:12:00 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 22:12:00 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <200605271240.AA2517434470@mail.ttlc.net> Message-ID: <4478CEB0.1919.2676C71@localhost> On 27 May 2006 at 12:40, rogerkirk wrote: > >Long ago, I think. The situation of a dominant AM band and a need to > > encourage FM is about 40 years out of date. > > Yes, but now we have a dominant FM band and a need to encourage AM. I think the situation is different. AM is older technology. I suspect the best thing that could be done to encourage AM might be to require receiver manufacturers to do a decent job with the AM part of the receiver. Are people still applying for new AM stations? If so, I wonder why. It occurs to me that if most of the commercial broadcasters go away, the AM band, with or without IBOC, and perhaps with some new standards for station separation, might become an ideal place for low- power community stations and college and high-school stations, instead of trying to find places to fit them in on FM. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 27 22:12:00 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 22:12:00 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: References: <200605271240.AA2517434470@mail.ttlc.net> Message-ID: <4478CEB0.26929.2676D03@localhost> On 27 May 2006 at 12:50, Larry Weil wrote: > At 12:40 PM -0400 5/27/06, rogerkirk wrote: > > > >Yes, but now we have a dominant FM band and a need to encourage AM. > > Why? Or would it be best to let AM die a peaceful death? Interestingly enough, in Robert Heinlein's novelet, Logic of Empire, published in 1941 and set sometime around now, he has freedom- fighters on Venus use AM transmissions for communications on the assumption that the authorities won't pick up the signals because AM has become completely obsolete. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 27 22:12:01 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 22:12:01 -0400 Subject: AM stereo WLYN In-Reply-To: <6.0.3.0.0.20060527201007.01becd80@pop3.grolen.com> References: <447843EC.1855.494A1D@localhost> Message-ID: <4478CEB1.6140.2677022@localhost> On 27 May 2006 at 20:10, SteveOrdinetz wrote: > Wasn't JJ Jeffreys also one of the "Melvins"? I know he was Fenway at > one point. I didn't know anyone other than Mel Miller was Melvin X. The same weekend that WMEX 1150 debuted, WROR 98.5 did a Rock & Roll Revival Weekend, with a number of the old WMEX and WRKO deejays. Mel Miller used his own name and "Melvin X. Melvin" interchangeably, as well as the two show titles, "Gold Platter Show" and "Housewives' Hit Parade." -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 27 22:12:01 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 22:12:01 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM In-Reply-To: <001c01c681f2$b592bfc0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> Message-ID: <4478CEB1.819.26770C0@localhost> On 27 May 2006 at 21:04, Roger Kolakowski wrote: > My theory is that the future of the AM band, especially in an FM > saturated area such as Boston, is exactly what it is moving away from > now. AM Radio is the perfect local replacement for the newspaper you > no longer have time to read. Local news, sports, weather, business > news, commentary...everything that the LPFM's want to provide could be > done on 1Kw AM stations and if they remained commercial, the spots > sold at "local AM rates," to local advertisers (how far are you going > to drive for a meal, social activities, tires, auto repair, and how > far will local landscapers, painters, roofers drive to work on your > house?) they could become viable "Mom and Pop" organizations. That's about what I'm thinking. But for that to happen, the whole IBOC thing has to go on the AM band or the cost of equipment has to come down. And the large chains have to decide that AM stations aren't worth keeping and be willing to unload them at rock-bottom prices. Or else someone has to get the idea that running local media is something that a large conglomerate should do. Since large chains own a lot of local weekly newspapers, this isn't all that far- fetched. And then the stations have to be able to advertise their existence somehow in other local media. > The biggest problem with this ideal is the current demographics are > truly going away with the baby boomers, and if some thing doesn't > start happening soon, there won't be anyone listening. That could actually help transform the AM band by making it something the large companies will want to get out of. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 27 22:12:00 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 22:12:00 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <003a01c681b8$eacff2a0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <4478CEB0.9499.2676BE0@localhost> On 27 May 2006 at 14:10, Dan Strassberg wrote: > I think it's wrong to refer to CHWO's format at beautiful music. It is > clearly adult standards or nostalgia. I think the station's slogan is > 40+ radio or something like that. Might even be golden-age radio > (perish the thought), but I don't think so. You're right, but I couldn't think of the term "adult standards." -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From xtrovato@yahoo.com Sat May 27 22:56:34 2006 From: xtrovato@yahoo.com (R Trovato) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 22:56:34 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM References: <001c01c681f2$b592bfc0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> Message-ID: <04f001c68202$70229d60$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> > From: "Steve West" > >>I have a theory... that no matter how optimistic people are about it, once > the audience leaves an AM station, for any reason, they DON'T COME BACK. > Ever. The reason: thanks to all our electronic gadgetry today, the AM band > is almost unlistenable... Well, with IBOC....whats to stop a station like 1510AM from going, say, "Smooth Jazz"? ...or 1330AM going back to Classical? The audio would/should be CD quality...and indistinguishable from an FM station, right? From rogerkola@aol.com Sat May 27 23:52:42 2006 From: rogerkola@aol.com (Roger Kolakowski) Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 23:52:42 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM References: <4478CEB1.819.26770C0@localhost> Message-ID: <001b01c6820a$2c6f18c0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> >>And then the stations have to be able to advertise their existence somehow in other local media.<< Easily done with trade deals, much as the in town shows advertise their wares for free on local radio for tickets.. Highlights of Channel 4's offerings are given daily on the radio, more in depth coverage of a particular newspaper story is touted following the news at the top of the hour. In response, commercials and column inches are exchanged. In regards to the IBOC "challenge," has the FCC ever redesignated the AM emissions identifier from A3EG for the actual width of the signal IBOC stations do transmit? The simple fact that IBOC on the crowded graveyard channels will degrade the value of two adjacent channels, possibly owned by non "network" privately owned stations, looks like the makings of a legal challenge for lost value in the future. I still can't believe they technically can defend the hash put out. As an aside. WBZ was running their IBOC at 7P tonight, did the 6P curfew move with DST? Roger WA1KAT ----- Original Message ----- From: "A. Joseph Ross" To: "Roger Kolakowski" Cc: Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 10:12 PM Subject: Re: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM > On 27 May 2006 at 21:04, Roger Kolakowski wrote: > > > My theory is that the future of the AM band, especially in an FM > > saturated area such as Boston, is exactly what it is moving away from > > now. AM Radio is the perfect local replacement for the newspaper you > > no longer have time to read. Local news, sports, weather, business > > news, commentary...everything that the LPFM's want to provide could be > > done on 1Kw AM stations and if they remained commercial, the spots > > sold at "local AM rates," to local advertisers (how far are you going > > to drive for a meal, social activities, tires, auto repair, and how > > far will local landscapers, painters, roofers drive to work on your > > house?) they could become viable "Mom and Pop" organizations. > > That's about what I'm thinking. But for that to happen, the whole > IBOC thing has to go on the AM band or the cost of equipment has to > come down. And the large chains have to decide that AM stations > aren't worth keeping and be willing to unload them at rock-bottom > prices. > > Or else someone has to get the idea that running local media is > something that a large conglomerate should do. Since large chains > own a lot of local weekly newspapers, this isn't all that far- > fetched. > > And then the stations have to be able to advertise their existence > somehow in other local media. > > > The biggest problem with this ideal is the current demographics are > > truly going away with the baby boomers, and if some thing doesn't > > start happening soon, there won't be anyone listening. > > That could actually help transform the AM band by making it something > the large companies will want to get out of. > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 > 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 > Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com > > > From elipolo@earthlink.net Sun May 28 00:18:04 2006 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 00:18:04 -0400 (EDT) Subject: AM stereo WLYN Message-ID: <3251296.1148789884688.JavaMail.root@elwamui-sweet.atl.sa.earthlink.net> > > From: "A. Joseph Ross" > CC: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org > To: Eli Polonsky > Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 12:19:56 -0400 > Subject: Re: AM stereo WLYN > > On 26 May 2006 at 0:00, Eli Polonsky wrote: > >> I was just a weekend overnighter and other fill-in host > > calling myself "Eric Parker" for summer and fall of 1988 > > (and I was a satellite feed board-op there for two years > > before that). > > My mistake. I didn't pick up on the fact that you said 1150, not > 1510. AM stereo didn't yet exist when 1510 was WMEX. 1510 went AM stereo in the mid-80's when it became WSSH-AM, easy listening via satellite (not simulcasting the FM until it became WSSH-AM a second time briefly a few years later). 1510 originally used the Kahn AM stereo system as WSSH-AM. I think it was the only Boston area station to use that mode. 1510 went back to mono with a number of format and ownership flips in the early 90's, and then flipped to C-Quam AM stereo in the mid- 1990's when it became WNRB (Christian satellite). The AM stereo light stayed on for about the first two years of their mono sports programming starting in 1997. > At times they seemed to be trying to recreate the old WMEX > ambiance on 1150, but they didn't do it very well. That was the original idea, but at times it got diluted by differing opinions of various PD's and managements, and cost-cutting by running generic sounding oldies satellite feeds like Transtar's Oldies Channel (now part of Westwood One). By the time I got my airshifts in '88 they had dropped the satellite (which allowed me to get live shifts), dug out the old jingles, and cranked up the reverb again, going for that old "Wimmex" sound, so it was fun for me while it lasted. However, even almost twenty years ago, simulating Boston's heritage 1960's Top 40 rocker really didn't give 1150 WMEX enough ratings to survive, especially once WODS came on. After a decade or two goes by, I don't think reviving heritage calls and formats matters much to most listeners beyond us radio geeks. The current WROR is now doing fairly well in the ratings, but I think it would be doing the same regardless of the call letters. Todays listeners respond to the programming. > I don't know why WMEX 1150 couldn't have used some of > the old Deejay names, since they were station names and > probably weren't owned by anyone. They could have had a > Dan Donovan, Fenway, or Melvin X. Melvin if they wanted to. The reality was that by then it was the mid 80's, not the early 60's, and managements no longer forced pseudonyms on their DJ's, or at least gave them the opportunity to choose their own pseudonym if their given name was inappropriate for the format. Most (not all) of the DJ's on 1150 WMEX did use pseudonyms, but some of them may have also used the same names on other stations throughout their careers as well. EP From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 28 07:05:58 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 07:05:58 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM References: <001c01c681f2$b592bfc0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> <04f001c68202$70229d60$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> Message-ID: <004901c68246$baa169e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> A bit of humor, I assume. iBiquity reserves "CD Quality" for the FM-band version of HD Radio. They refer to the AM-band version as offering "FM Quality." Someone in Marketing was obviously thinking clearly when they came up that THAT positioner. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "R Trovato" To: ; "Brian Vita" Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 10:56 PM Subject: Re: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM > > The audio would/should be CD quality...and indistinguishable from an FM > station, right? > > > > From hykker@grolen.com Sun May 28 08:43:50 2006 From: hykker@grolen.com (SteveOrdinetz) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 08:43:50 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <4478CEB0.1919.2676C71@localhost> References: <200605271240.AA2517434470@mail.ttlc.net> <4478CEB0.1919.2676C71@localhost> Message-ID: <6.0.3.0.0.20060528084055.01b19de8@pop3.grolen.com> A. Joseph Ross wrote: >Are people still applying for new AM stations? If so, I wonder why. Dunno if the station has made it to the air yet, but Bob Vinikoor spent many years and $$$$$$ on lawyers fees getting zoning permits to put up a tower site for a highly directional 720 in the Lebanon, N.H. area. From hykker@grolen.com Sun May 28 09:00:43 2006 From: hykker@grolen.com (SteveOrdinetz) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 09:00:43 -0400 Subject: AM stereo WLYN In-Reply-To: <3251296.1148789884688.JavaMail.root@elwamui-sweet.atl.sa.e arthlink.net> References: <3251296.1148789884688.JavaMail.root@elwamui-sweet.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <6.0.3.0.0.20060528084406.01b19de8@pop3.grolen.com> Eli Polonsky wrote: >After a decade or two goes by, I don't think reviving heritage >calls and formats matters much to most listeners beyond us >radio geeks. The current WROR is now doing fairly well in the >ratings, but I think it would be doing the same regardless of >the call letters. Todays listeners respond to the programming. I think they always did. About the only instance I can think of where reviving old call letters was successful was with WJBQ in Portland...and given that (both times) they had a Top 40 format, I doubt the current listeners remember the "old" WJBQ which went away back in the 80s. I also question how much heritage the WROR calls ever had to begin with...formatically the 98.5 incarnation was mostly AC, but all over the place presentationally. I agree that whatever success 105.7 has had is more from finding their own niche as opposed to any "warm & fuzzies" from the calls. From scott@fybush.com Sun May 28 09:34:59 2006 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 09:34:59 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <6.0.3.0.0.20060528084055.01b19de8@pop3.grolen.com> References: <200605271240.AA2517434470@mail.ttlc.net> <4478CEB0.1919.2676C71@localhost> <6.0.3.0.0.20060528084055.01b19de8@pop3.grolen.com> Message-ID: <4479A703.5030801@fybush.com> SteveOrdinetz wrote: > A. Joseph Ross wrote: > >> Are people still applying for new AM stations? If so, I wonder why. > > > Dunno if the station has made it to the air yet, but Bob Vinikoor spent > many years and $$$$$$ on lawyers fees getting zoning permits to put up a > tower site for a highly directional 720 in the Lebanon, N.H. area. The FCC is still sorting through the literally THOUSANDS of applications it received the last time it opened a window for new AM station applications and major changes to existing facilities. That was in early 2004, and it will yield at least a hundred new AMs when it's all over. SOMEBODY still wants all those signals, whether it's speculation about the future value HD might bring or the "greater fool" theory in action - or simply the desire to get on the air for (possibly) a little less than it would cost to buy an existing station, for which prices have remained very high. s From dlh@donnahalper.com Sun May 28 12:48:45 2006 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 12:48:45 -0400 Subject: I need a guest speaker Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060528124130.02c38900@pop.registeredsite.com> If any of you live near Boston and want to do a good deed, I am teaching a summer course in oral communication skills (sometimes called "Speech and Performance" at some colleges); the class is mostly made up of freshmen and sophomores who are going into the communication field. It's at U.Mass/Boston (easy to reach on the Red Line or by car) and I'd love to find a guest speaker or two to talk about the art of being a DJ. This is *not* about getting a job -- it's about how one becomes a good announcer, what skills are needed, how you do what you do on the air, how you prepare, etc. Fun, informal, and I can buy you lunch. Such a deal. The class meets on Tues and Thurs at 1.30 and if any of my list-members in the area would be willing to pay the students a visit, please let me know. From gary@garysicecream.com Sun May 28 15:11:28 2006 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 15:11:28 -0400 Subject: I need a guest speaker In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060528124130.02c38900@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <01c101c6828a$862c8480$6500a8c0@Office> ?? Why did you spell guest with a "P"??? Sorry....an old line used often by Fenway (WMEX - the Eddie Hyder incarnation) and by Bruce Bradley -Gary F -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@rolinin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Donna Halper Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2006 12:49 PM To: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org Subject: I need a guest speaker If any of you live near Boston and want to do a good deed, I am teaching a summer course in oral communication skills (sometimes called "Speech and Performance" at some colleges); the class is mostly made up of freshmen and sophomores who are going into the communication field. It's at U.Mass/Boston (easy to reach on the Red Line or by car) and I'd love to find a guest speaker or two to talk about the art of being a DJ. This is *not* about getting a job -- it's about how one becomes a good announcer, what skills are needed, how you do what you do on the air, how you prepare, etc. Fun, informal, and I can buy you lunch. Such a deal. The class meets on Tues and Thurs at 1.30 and if any of my list-members in the area would be willing to pay the students a visit, please let me know. -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/343 - Release Date: 5/18/2006 -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/343 - Release Date: 5/18/2006 From gary@garysicecream.com Sun May 28 15:16:56 2006 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 15:16:56 -0400 Subject: Thank you! Message-ID: <01c501c6828b$4914c200$6500a8c0@Office> Thanks to my fellow radio comrades for coming through last night and either coming down to donate or sending me an e-mail asking how to support the "Lowell Flood Relief Fund" sponsored by the Salvation Army. Last night hundreds of people either came to our 4-hour Radiothon or drove by and dropped money into the SalArmy Kettle to help the victims of the Flood of 2006 here in Lowell. Don't have final tally yet - the kettle is locked - but it is stuffed with cash and checks! Roger Kirk and his lovely better half stopped by..........Dan Bouret (formerly of WCAP) was a huge help as event producer and co-host. So thanks again to everyone here on the list who supported us! -Gary Francis WCAP Lowell, MA -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/343 - Release Date: 5/18/2006 From xtrovato@yahoo.com Sun May 28 17:15:12 2006 From: xtrovato@yahoo.com (R Trovato) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 17:15:12 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM References: <001c01c681f2$b592bfc0$0200a8c0@Tanguray><04f001c68202$70229d60$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <004901c68246$baa169e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <035c01c6829b$d05dfc80$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> > iBiquity reserves "CD Quality" for the FM-band > version of HD Radio. > They refer to the AM-band version as offering "FM > Quality." In that case.....with everyone is singing the funeral march for the AM band... Why couldn't the IBOC AM's fill in the gaps with the formats that are in need? Like Smooth Jazz.....and the soon to be homeless Classical? From gjspatola@wavecable.com Sun May 28 17:59:48 2006 From: gjspatola@wavecable.com (Glenn and Judy Spatola) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 14:59:48 -0700 Subject: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) References: Message-ID: <000601c682a2$09cbc5a0$452c7118@wavecable.com> At one time in the early 1960's the WMEX daytime line-up included BOTH Mel Miller and Melvin X Melvin. It was Fenway (mornings til 10) , then Mel Miller (mid-days 10 to 2), and Melvin X Melvin (2 to 6pm). Dan Donovan was not part of the schedule during that time. As a 13 or 14-year old, I wrote to Mel Miller, and actually received a reply. I had asked him if Mel Miller was his real name, and he said it was. Also, I think that he signed his letter: "Mel Miller, Program Director." Looking back, I think J. J. Jeffrey was Melvin X at that time, and Mel Miller was definitely a different voice, not the same (Good) guy. That was during the period when the Radio section of the Boston Sunday Advertiser newspaper described WMEX and WBZ as stations with "highly identifiable air personalities." Glenn ----- Original Message ----- > Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 22:12:01 -0400 > From: "A. Joseph Ross" > Subject: Re: AM stereo WLYN > To: SteveOrdinetz > Cc: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org > Message-ID: <4478CEB1.6140.2677022@localhost> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > On 27 May 2006 at 20:10, SteveOrdinetz wrote: > > > Wasn't JJ Jeffreys also one of the "Melvins"? I know he was Fenway at > > one point. > > I didn't know anyone other than Mel Miller was Melvin X. > > The same weekend that WMEX 1150 debuted, WROR 98.5 did a Rock & Roll > Revival Weekend, with a number of the old WMEX and WRKO deejays. Mel > Miller used his own name and "Melvin X. Melvin" interchangeably, as > well as the two show titles, "Gold Platter Show" and "Housewives' Hit > Parade." > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 > 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 > Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From dlh@donnahalper.com Sun May 28 18:24:47 2006 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 18:24:47 -0400 Subject: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) In-Reply-To: <000601c682a2$09cbc5a0$452c7118@wavecable.com> References: Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060528181516.02f06048@pop.registeredsite.com> >Glenn wrote-- > >As a 13 or 14-year old, I wrote to Mel Miller, and actually received a >reply. I had asked him if Mel Miller was his real name, and he said it was. >Also, I think that he signed his letter: "Mel Miller, Program Director." That was my understanding too-- the name may have been ethnic many years ago, but a lot of immigrants got their names shortened at Ellis Island. And some, like the late Bob Clayton (real name Klayman, I think?) got told they had to change their name because their real name sounded (gasp) "too Jewish." >Glenn also wrote-- >Looking back, I think J. J. Jeffrey was Melvin X at that time, and Mel >Miller was definitely a different voice, not the same (Good) guy. Tom Shovan (may he rest in peace) was one of the Melvin X's, as he told an interviewer in a 1983 book called "The Program Director's Handbook." Tom was a big guy-- sometimes weighed up to 400 lbs-- and he worked in New England radio under a number of names... From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 28 17:51:13 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 17:51:13 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM References: <001c01c681f2$b592bfc0$0200a8c0@Tanguray><04f001c68202$70229d60$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <004901c68246$baa169e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <035c01c6829b$d05dfc80$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> Message-ID: <003701c682a0$daa40b80$19eefea9@dstrassberg> The simple answer is that, especially until HD receivers are in the hands of most of the population, other approaches have MUCH higher return on investment (largely because the investment for a station to add HD radio is hundreds of $k and the investment for the other approaches is negligible). The other approaches I am referring to are brokered ethnic, brokered religion, and syndicated talk. The Boston market is home to two stations (590 and 950) that do brokered religion (between Spanish and Irish, one of these--950--actually does more brokered ethnic than brokered religion), and nine stations (if I haven't missed some) that do primarily brokered ethnic (650, 800, 1230, 1300, 1330, 1360, 1470, 1550, 1600). It's a foregone conclusion that 1510 will flip to brokered ethnic when Paul Allen finally sells it. 1430 is another candidate to go brokered ethnic after 1200 becomes a full-market signal. Remember that the ethnic makeup of all parts of the country is changing and greater Boston is no exception. AM is fulfilling a real need for radio that serves non-English speakers. The formats you've mentioned serve market niches and will probably exist only on the HD-n channels of FM stations. Although it has been pointed out that HD subchannels are technically possible in the AM band, there is a real question about whether, given the limited bit rate, such service, with its very obvious compression artifacts, would be economically viable even for pure talk formats, let alone any sort of music. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "R Trovato" To: "Dan Strassberg" ; ; "Brian Vita" Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2006 5:15 PM Subject: Re: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM > > > > > iBiquity reserves "CD Quality" for the FM-band > > version of HD Radio. > > > They refer to the AM-band version as offering "FM > > Quality." > > In that case.....with everyone is singing the funeral march for the AM > band... > > Why couldn't the IBOC AM's fill in the gaps with the formats that are in > need? > > Like Smooth Jazz.....and the soon to be homeless Classical? > From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 28 18:11:11 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 18:11:11 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM References: <001c01c681f2$b592bfc0$0200a8c0@Tanguray><04f001c68202$70229d60$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <004901c68246$baa169e0$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <035c01c6829b$d05dfc80$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> Message-ID: <004d01c682a3$a750ac40$19eefea9@dstrassberg> The simple answer is that, especially until HD receivers are in the hands of most of the population, other approaches have MUCH higher return on investment (largely because the investment for a station to add HD radio is hundreds of $k and the investment for the other approaches is negligible). The other approaches I am referring to are brokered ethnic, brokered religion, and syndicated talk. The Boston market is home to two stations (590 and 950) that do brokered religion (between Spanish and Irish, one of these--950--actually does more brokered ethnic than brokered religion), and nine stations (if I haven't missed some) that do primarily brokered ethnic (650, 800, 1230, 1300, 1330, 1360, 1470, 1550, 1600). It's a foregone conclusion that 1510 will flip to brokered ethnic when Paul Allen finally sells it. 1430 is another candidate to go brokered ethnic after 1200 becomes a full-market signal. Remember that the ethnic makeup of all parts of the country is changing and greater Boston is no exception. AM is fulfilling a real need for radio that serves non-English speakers. The formats you've mentioned serve market niches and will probably exist only on the HD-n channels of FM stations. Although it has been pointed out that HD subchannels are technically possible in the AM band, there is a real question about whether, given the limited bit rate, such service, with its very obvious compression artifacts, would be economically viable even for pure talk formats, let alone any sort of music. -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "R Trovato" To: "Dan Strassberg" ; ; "Brian Vita" Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2006 5:15 PM Subject: Re: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM > > > > > iBiquity reserves "CD Quality" for the FM-band > > version of HD Radio. > > > They refer to the AM-band version as offering "FM > > Quality." > > In that case.....with everyone is singing the funeral march for the AM > band... > > Why couldn't the IBOC AM's fill in the gaps with the formats that are in > need? > > Like Smooth Jazz.....and the soon to be homeless Classical? > From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 28 18:49:23 2006 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan Strassberg) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 18:49:23 -0400 Subject: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060528181516.02f06048@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <000d01c682a9$1d32f300$19eefea9@dstrassberg> When I was an undergrad at RPI in Troy NY in the early 50s, a new announcer by the name of Arnold Friedman one day appeared at WROW 590 in Albany. Good voice, good delivery, very professional sounding for what I'd call a medium market. After a month or six weeks, Friedman just as suddenly disappeared. I decided that things just hadn't worked out for him at WROW. A month or so later, though, another new announcer by the name of Mark Edwards appeared at WROW. The funny thing was that he sounded EXACTLY like Friedman. A couple of months later, a trip to visit WROW's studios (very cramped, cluttered, and grungy--I was amazed at the professional sound that came out of that dump) got me the story behind the story. As I suspected, Edwards and Friedman were the same guy. WROW's (then) owner, Harry L Goldman, decided that the name Arnold Friedman just sounded too Jewish for his station. I guess advertisers could buy time without ever finding out that the station was owned by a guy named Goldman but they had to know that one of the announcers was named Friedman. I wonder whether there were any conversations between sales staff and advertisers that went something like : "A Jew? at OUR station? Oh, you must mean that guy Friedman. No, things just didn't work out with him. He's gone." -- Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net eFax 707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Halper" To: "Glenn and Judy Spatola" ; Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2006 6:24 PM Subject: Re: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) > > >Glenn wrote-- > > > >As a 13 or 14-year old, I wrote to Mel Miller, and actually received a > >reply. I had asked him if Mel Miller was his real name, and he said it was. > >Also, I think that he signed his letter: "Mel Miller, Program Director." > > That was my understanding too-- the name may have been ethnic many years > ago, but a lot of immigrants got their names shortened at Ellis > Island. And some, like the late Bob Clayton (real name Klayman, I think?) > got told they had to change their name because their real name sounded > (gasp) "too Jewish." > > >Glenn also wrote-- > >Looking back, I think J. J. Jeffrey was Melvin X at that time, and Mel > >Miller was definitely a different voice, not the same (Good) guy. > > Tom Shovan (may he rest in peace) was one of the Melvin X's, as he told an > interviewer in a 1983 book called "The Program Director's Handbook." Tom > was a big guy-- sometimes weighed up to 400 lbs-- and he worked in New > England radio under a number of names... > From sid@wrko.com Sun May 28 20:12:52 2006 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 18:12:52 -0600 Subject: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) Message-ID: >>I think that he signed his letter: "Mel Miller, Program Director."<< Mel Miller was also the PD, later on, of WRKO during part of its Drake-format period (after Bob Henabery, I believe). Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom Boston LLC WAAF - WEEI AM/FM - WMKK - WRKO - WVEI AM/FM 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Boston MA 02135-2040 Phone: 617-779-5369 Fax: 617-779-5379 E-Mail: sid@wrko.com From songbook2@comcast.net Sun May 28 18:03:00 2006 From: songbook2@comcast.net (Russ Butler) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 15:03:00 -0700 Subject: 740Am Toronto Message-ID: <447A1E14.5050102@comcast.net> Dan Strassberg asked about 740AM Toronto's slogan: CHWO in Oakville / Toronto airs a pop standards format branded as "Prine Time Radio" with the slogan "All Favorites, AM 740." From wollman@csail.mit.edu Sun May 28 22:12:38 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 22:12:38 -0400 Subject: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060528181516.02f06048@pop.registeredsite.com> References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060528181516.02f06048@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <17530.22678.633260.450809@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: >> [Glenn Spatola:] >> Also, I think that he signed his letter: "Mel Miller, Program Director." > That was my understanding too-- the name may have been ethnic many years > ago, but a lot of immigrants got their names shortened at Ellis > Island. Most people in the U.S. named "Miller" were originally "Mueller" and are of German descent. Few people in England were named "Miller" as English millers (in the time when family names were being fixed) were generally regarded as dishonest. German millers suffered no such prejudice. -GAWollman From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 28 23:10:49 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 23:10:49 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM In-Reply-To: <035c01c6829b$d05dfc80$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> Message-ID: <447A2DF9.8750.61CE0C@localhost> On 28 May 2006 at 17:15, R Trovato wrote: > Why couldn't the IBOC AM's fill in the gaps with the formats that are > in need? > > Like Smooth Jazz.....and the soon to be homeless Classical? Maybe they will some day. But before that can happen, there will have to be enough IBOC receivers out there. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 28 23:10:49 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 23:10:49 -0400 Subject: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) In-Reply-To: <17530.22678.633260.450809@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060528181516.02f06048@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <447A2DF9.8473.61CFE7@localhost> On 28 May 2006 at 22:12, Garrett Wollman wrote: > Most people in the U.S. named "Miller" were originally "Mueller" and > are of German descent. Few people in England were named "Miller" as > English millers (in the time when family names were being fixed) were > generally regarded as dishonest. German millers suffered no such > prejudice. There are also a few Jewish Millers, and I have no idea where the name originated for them. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 28 23:10:49 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 23:10:49 -0400 Subject: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) In-Reply-To: <000601c682a2$09cbc5a0$452c7118@wavecable.com> Message-ID: <447A2DF9.3968.61D082@localhost> On 28 May 2006 at 14:59, Glenn and Judy Spatola wrote: > At one time in the early 1960's the WMEX daytime line-up included BOTH > Mel Miller and Melvin X Melvin. It was Fenway (mornings til 10) , > then Mel Miller (mid-days 10 to 2), and Melvin X Melvin (2 to 6pm). > Dan Donovan was not part of the schedule during that time. I only started listening to WMEX in the summer of 1962, which was between my junior and senior years in high school. That was when WCOP suddenly stopped the rock & roll format. At that time, Mel Miller and Melvin X. Melvin were both on the schedule, Miller in the morning and Melvin in the afternoon. between them was either Dan Donovan or "The Jones Boy," I forget which. So I suppose it was possible for someone to do an airshift in the morning, take three hours off, and then another in the afternoon. Mel Miller used a bit of an echo, which may have partly kept his voice sounding different. WMEX reception at night in my little corner of Bedford was very bad, and it was often difficult to keep WKBW from interfering. Before WCOP ended the rock & roll format, the only time I listened to WMEX was on Sunday evening, when Arnie Ginsburg played oldies for an hour or so. I can't remember how I even discovered that. Since it was summer and I was home in the daytime a lot, I had plenty of chance to listen to WMEX in the daytime, and that was when I discovered the wonderfully weird ambiance of the station, and it became my favorite station. I had an FM radio at the time, so I had the option of listening to rock & roll music on WKBR-FM in Manchester, and I sometimes did (especially at night, when WBZ and WMEX had talk shows), but WMEX was my favorite at that time because of the weirdness of the DJs. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 28 23:10:49 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 23:10:49 -0400 Subject: AM stereo WLYN In-Reply-To: <6.0.3.0.0.20060528084406.01b19de8@pop3.grolen.com> References: <3251296.1148789884688.JavaMail.root@elwamui-sweet.atl.sa.e arthlink.net> Message-ID: <447A2DF9.32226.61CF51@localhost> On 28 May 2006 at 9:00, SteveOrdinetz wrote: > I think they always did. About the only instance I can think of where > reviving old call letters was successful was with WJBQ in > Portland...and given that (both times) they had a Top 40 format, I > doubt the current listeners remember the "old" WJBQ which went away > back in the 80s. I also question how much heritage the WROR calls > ever had to begin with...formatically the 98.5 incarnation was mostly > AC, but all over the place presentationally. I agree that whatever > success 105.7 has had is more from finding their own niche as opposed > to any "warm & fuzzies" from the calls. Call letters are essentially branding. When the WROR 105.7 started, it was trying to capture the listeners who used to enjoy the old WROR. They did what they could to re-create that ambiance to some extent, but then they were on their own. Likewise, the use of the WMEX calls for an oldies station on 1150 made sense, at a time when there was on other oldies station, and provided they actually did a much better job than they did in re- creating the WMEX sound. They had billboards and bumper-stickers proclaiming "WMEX is back!" They could have created some excitement and made a successful station if they had done it right, if the migration of music formats to FM weren't quite so far along, and if WODS hadn't come along. As is, they kept the format in some form for five years, and that ain't bad. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 28 23:10:49 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 23:10:49 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers In-Reply-To: <6.0.3.0.0.20060528084055.01b19de8@pop3.grolen.com> References: <4478CEB0.1919.2676C71@localhost> Message-ID: <447A2DF9.28629.61CEB7@localhost> On 28 May 2006 at 8:43, SteveOrdinetz wrote: > Dunno if the station has made it to the air yet, but Bob Vinikoor > spent many years and $$$$$$ on lawyers fees getting zoning permits to > put up a tower site for a highly directional 720 in the Lebanon, N.H. > area. So if AM is going the way of the dodo, why is someone spending that much time and money on such a station, especially a highly directional station? For that matter, why is so much money and effort being spent to move WKOX to a Newton site? Someone must see a future in AM radio. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 28 23:10:49 2006 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 23:10:49 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM In-Reply-To: <04f001c68202$70229d60$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> Message-ID: <447A2DF9.14858.61CD7B@localhost> On 27 May 2006 at 22:56, R Trovato wrote: > The audio would/should be CD quality...and indistinguishable from an > FM station, right? Not the way I've heard it. HD AM audio would be comparable to analog FM, and HD FM audio would be CD quality. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com From brian_vita@cssinc.com Sun May 28 23:52:11 2006 From: brian_vita@cssinc.com (Brian Vita) Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 23:52:11 -0400 Subject: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) In-Reply-To: <000d01c682a9$1d32f300$19eefea9@dstrassberg> References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060528181516.02f06048@pop.registeredsite.com> <000d01c682a9$1d32f300$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <447A6FEB.40808@cssinc.com> Dan Strassberg wrote: >WROW's (then) owner, Harry L Goldman, decided that the name >Arnold Friedman just sounded too Jewish for his station. I guess advertisers >could buy time without ever finding out that the station was owned by a guy >named Goldman but they had to know that one of the announcers was named >Friedman. I wonder whether there were any conversations between sales staff >and advertisers that went something like : "A Jew? at OUR station? Oh, you >must mean that guy Friedman. No, things just didn't work out with him. He's >gone." > > > > Strange but there are still people concerned about the stereotype. While slightly off topic but still on the same subject, I had a similar situation happen to me during a consulting gig a few years ago. I was down in Queens consulting for two Orthodox Jewish gentlemen who had just closed their sweater mill and were considering turning it into an entertainment complex which would have included a movie theatre. Late into the afternoon they kind of pigeon holed me into a corner and asked me, quite seriously, if I thought it would be a problem for them getting into the entertainment business because they were Jews. I had to explain to them it was more difficult for me being a non-Jew. Apparently these guys hadn't heard of Speilberg, Louis B Meyer, and the other 80% of Hollywood. -- Brian T. Vita, President Cinema Service & Supply, Inc. 77 Walnut St - Ste 4 Peabody, MA 01960-5691 USA Sales: (800)231-8849 Office: (978)538-7575 Fax: (978)538-7550 www.cssinc.com From wollman@csail.mit.edu Mon May 29 00:52:15 2006 From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 00:52:15 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM In-Reply-To: <447A2DF9.14858.61CD7B@localhost> References: <04f001c68202$70229d60$767ffea9@hsd1.ma.comcast.net> <447A2DF9.14858.61CD7B@localhost> Message-ID: <17530.32255.666901.770509@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Not the way I've heard it. HD AM audio would be comparable to analog > FM, and HD FM audio would be CD quality. >From what I've heard (as in actually listened to, not what iBiquity claims), HD "AM" is comparable to 32k streaming audio (which should come as no surprise) and HD "FM" is comparable to real wideband FM (the artifacts are just different). The VHF system could sound a *lot* better than FM, but most stations would rather devote that extra bit-budget to a second (or third, or fourth) service. (The Eureka-147 world went through this a few years ago, which helps to explain why DVB-T is the most popular "digital radio" platform in Europe -- the bandwidth available is much higher, so the same stations sound better on DVB than they do on "DAB".) -GAWollman From dlh@donnahalper.com Mon May 29 01:15:01 2006 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 01:15:01 -0400 Subject: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) In-Reply-To: <447A6FEB.40808@cssinc.com> References: <000d01c682a9$1d32f300$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <5.1.0.14.2.20060528181516.02f06048@pop.registeredsite.com> <000d01c682a9$1d32f300$19eefea9@dstrassberg> Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060529010318.02f199c8@pop.registeredsite.com> At 11:52 PM 5/28/2006 -0400, Brian Vita wrote: Brian wrote-- >Late into the afternoon they kind of pigeon holed me into a corner and >asked me, quite seriously, if I thought it would be a problem for them >getting into the entertainment business because they were Jews. I had to >explain to them it was more difficult for me being a non-Jew. Apparently >these guys hadn't heard of Speilberg, Louis B Meyer, and the other 80% of >Hollywood. Oh Brian, you're joking, right? One of the oldest stereotypes on the planet is that Hollywood is dominated by Jews. Au contraire. For one thing, most of the studios are owned by overseas concerns which have few if any Jews on their boards. For another, even in the day when there were some Jewish studio heads like Mayer, these men were highly assimilated to the point of refusing to allow ANY Jewish content in their films. Perhaps due to the brutal anti-Semitism of that era, these moguls did everything they could to hide their ancestry and fit in with gentile society-- they married non-Jews, raised their kids as Christians, and had no further relationship with the Jewish community whatsoever-- and yet, those who didn't like Jews continued to refer to these guys as part of the "Jewish plot to control the entertainment industry" (Henry Ford's quote). And while Spielberg or Streisand may be identifiably Jewish, these days, Hollywood is a pretty diverse place where there are just as many non-Jews-- if we were to start naming major directors, I think we'd have as large a number of gentiles in fact. But your two Orthodox Jews had a point-- there are not too many highly religious people (whether it's Orthodox Jews or Evangelical Christians) working in Hollywood. It's a pretty secular place, based on what I've seen... SO don't worry, Brian-- if you have a good idea for something, you still may have your big chance to become a Hollywood star!!! [Btw, I fear this thread will quickly spin off-topic, if it hasn't already, but I had to say something before it did.] From chuckigo@maine.rr.com Mon May 29 06:13:42 2006 From: chuckigo@maine.rr.com (chuckigo@maine.rr.com) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 06:13:42 -0400 Subject: AM stereo WLYN In-Reply-To: <447A2DF9.32226.61CF51@localhost> References: <447A2DF9.32226.61CF51@localhost> Message-ID: our esteemed counselor wrote: > > Call letters are essentially branding. When the WROR 105.7 > started, > it was trying to capture the listeners who used to enjoy the old > WROR. They did what they could to re-create that ambiance to some > extent, but then they were on their own. > and not just the call letters made it to 105.7 for the memory ride... add to the mix Joe Martelle (after the non-compete sit-out), Jimmy Roberts, Dan Justin... many of the 98.5 folks found their way to 105.7 in an attempt to rebuild some of that heritage. - - Chuck Igo From gary@garysicecream.com Mon May 29 07:02:59 2006 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 07:02:59 -0400 Subject: Fatal I-495 Message-ID: <020f01c6830f$7255c6d0$6500a8c0@Office> A 33 yr old Chelsea man died last night when his pickup truck went out of control jumping a guardrail then smashing into a sign support pole on Rt 495 SB ? the impact tore the truck into 3 pieces ? the driver was ejected from the vehicle. Police say he was not wearing a seatbelt. The accident happened about a mile north of I-93, just after Rt 28. The drivers identity has not yet been released. Traffic was backed while state police reconstruction crews investigated. -Gary Francis (Frascarelli), WCAP -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/343 - Release Date: 5/18/2006 From gary@garysicecream.com Mon May 29 07:11:44 2006 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 07:11:44 -0400 Subject: Opps....sorry Message-ID: <021501c68310$ab2f5880$6500a8c0@Office> News story wasn't supposed to go to this address. I clicked one line too high in my address book.. Sorry -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/343 - Release Date: 5/18/2006 From gary@garysicecream.com Mon May 29 07:11:00 2006 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Gary's Ice Cream) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 07:11:00 -0400 Subject: Opps...sorry Message-ID: <021401c68310$9148f1b0$6500a8c0@Office> News story wasn't -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/343 - Release Date: 5/18/2006 From revdoug1@verizon.net Mon May 29 07:17:17 2006 From: revdoug1@verizon.net (Doug Drown) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 07:17:17 -0400 Subject: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) References: <447A2DF9.3968.61D082@localhost> Message-ID: <00ae01c68311$72388ff0$6501a8c0@pastor2> Growing up in northern Worcester County in the mid-'60s, I discovered WRKO-FM, WKBR-FM and WHYN-FM, with crystal-clear signals playing their AM counterparts' Top 40 formats. They opened up a whole new world to me. Not long afterward, FM rock began to have a life of its own, with the advent of WBCN and the spinning-off of WAAB-FM (WAAF) and WHEB-FM. That was the beginning of the end of Top 40. -Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: "A. Joseph Ross" To: "Glenn and Judy Spatola" Cc: Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2006 11:10 PM Subject: Re: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) > On 28 May 2006 at 14:59, Glenn and Judy Spatola wrote: > > > At one time in the early 1960's the WMEX daytime line-up included BOTH > > Mel Miller and Melvin X Melvin. It was Fenway (mornings til 10) , > > then Mel Miller (mid-days 10 to 2), and Melvin X Melvin (2 to 6pm). > > Dan Donovan was not part of the schedule during that time. > > I only started listening to WMEX in the summer of 1962, which was > between my junior and senior years in high school. That was when > WCOP suddenly stopped the rock & roll format. At that time, Mel > Miller and Melvin X. Melvin were both on the schedule, Miller in the > morning and Melvin in the afternoon. between them was either Dan > Donovan or "The Jones Boy," I forget which. So I suppose it was > possible for someone to do an airshift in the morning, take three > hours off, and then another in the afternoon. Mel Miller used a bit > of an echo, which may have partly kept his voice sounding different. > > WMEX reception at night in my little corner of Bedford was very bad, > and it was often difficult to keep WKBW from interfering. Before > WCOP ended the rock & roll format, the only time I listened to WMEX > was on Sunday evening, when Arnie Ginsburg played oldies for an hour > or so. I can't remember how I even discovered that. > > Since it was summer and I was home in the daytime a lot, I had plenty > of chance to listen to WMEX in the daytime, and that was when I > discovered the wonderfully weird ambiance of the station, and it > became my favorite station. > > I had an FM radio at the time, so I had the option of listening to > rock & roll music on WKBR-FM in Manchester, and I sometimes did > (especially at night, when WBZ and WMEX had talk shows), but WMEX was > my favorite at that time because of the weirdness of the DJs. > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 > 15 Court Square, Suite 210 Fax 617.742.7581 > Boston, MA 02108-2503 http://www.attorneyross.com > > > From brian_vita@cssinc.com Mon May 29 10:07:28 2006 From: brian_vita@cssinc.com (Brian Vita) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 10:07:28 -0400 Subject: WMEX (was AM stereo WLYN) In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060529010318.02f199c8@pop.registeredsite.com> References: <000d01c682a9$1d32f300$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <5.1.0.14.2.20060528181516.02f06048@pop.registeredsite.com> <000d01c682a9$1d32f300$19eefea9@dstrassberg> <5.1.0.14.2.20060529010318.02f199c8@pop.registeredsite.com> Message-ID: <447B0020.4010407@cssinc.com> Donna Halper wrote: > > Oh Brian, you're joking, right? One of the oldest stereotypes on the > planet is that Hollywood is dominated by Jews. Au contraire. For one > thing, most of the studios are owned by overseas concerns which have > few if any Jews on their boards. . And while Spielberg or Streisand > may be identifiably Jewish, these days, Hollywood is a pretty diverse > place where there are just as many non-Jews-- if we were to start > naming major directors, I think we'd have as large a number of > gentiles in fact. But your two Orthodox Jews had a point-- there are > not too many highly religious people (whether it's Orthodox Jews or > Evangelical Christians) working in Hollywood. It's a pretty secular > place, based on what I've seen... While I can't address the entire entertainment industry, after spending my entire adult life in the movie industry, I think that I can adequately address this. The post was not a critique or part of some conspiracy theory and was not in any way meant to be anti-semitic; it was simply an observation. When I started in the exhibition industry 20+ years ago, it was predominantly Jewish. Whether this was by design or coincidence, I don't know. The upper management of Boston's primary circuit, Sack Theaters, was entirely Jewish; Sack, Frieberg, Goldwater, et al. The other predominant chain, Redstone (nee Rheinstein) was also Jewish. Above the entry level in the distribution area, was liberally sprinkled with Horowitzes, Weinsteins, Weisbergs, etc. I don't think that there was any conspiracy or sinister plot to control the industry. The point that I was making was that the entertainment industry was one of the (possibly few) places where anti-semitism was not a problem. -- Brian T. Vita, President Cinema Service & Supply, Inc. 77 Walnut St - Ste 4 Peabody, MA 01960-5691 USA Sales: (800)231-8849 Office: (978)538-7575 Fax: (978)538-7550 www.cssinc.com From charlieprofit@cabradio.com Mon May 29 15:27:14 2006 From: charlieprofit@cabradio.com (Charlie Profit) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 15:27:14 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM In-Reply-To: <001c01c681f2$b592bfc0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> Message-ID: <200605291927.k4TJRG6R082335@rolinin.bostonradio.org> With all due respect, Steve West's theory is somewhat flawed. Most people will listen if it appeals to them enough, or said a different way, if they are given a good enough reason to. To give that "reason" you have to either have a great marketing campaign, or be serving a niche. Most AM's don't have budgets to market themselves against the market leaders, thus there is a smaller audience there. Many niche formats attract a smaller audience to begin with, so you can't expect to appeal to the masses. If someone leaves your niche format, it's usually because you are not serving them well enough, or they get new interests, not because of new gadgetry. The gadgetry is working against us for the younger demos...not the older demos familiar with AM. I know for a fact...using my station specifically (WXCT AM 990), that people will come back to AM when they have a reason to. We were conservative talk when the station was sold and the new owners brought in a Spanish broker. A year and a half later, we were back to talk (talk radio for women) and as such we have people listening to us AGAIN...yes, they came back. We are in the Hartford DMA, and there are plenty of options. We just gave the former listeners a reason to come back. Did they ALL come back...No. But many have, and we are picking up new listeners every day. Steve's theory, "Leaving for any reason and never coming back, ever" is a bit extreme. If you have a struggling AM station and are looking for a new format for your station that attracts advertisers as well as listeners...There are resources to tap into your market to make the Talk Radio for Women format successful. Charlie Profit General Manager WXCT AM 990 Talk Radio for Women 440 Old Turnpike Rd Plantsville, CT 06479 (860)621-1754 office (860)426-8006 direct www.talkradio990.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve West" >>I have a theory... that no matter how optimistic people are about it, >>once the audience leaves an AM station, for any reason, they DON'T COME BACK. Ever. The reason: thanks to all our electronic gadgetry today, the AM band is almost unlistenable and unless people have a specific reason to listen to an AM station (I.E. WBZ for news or WEEI for the Red Sox), they don't and won't change to the AM band.<< From readaaron@friedbagels.com Tue May 30 12:37:59 2006 From: readaaron@friedbagels.com (Aaron Read) Date: Tue, 30 May 2006 12:37:59 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers (and AM IBOC) Message-ID: <447C74E7.8000509@friedbagels.com> Garrett - your point about audio fidelity vs. reception quality is entirely true, but I wonder how relevant it is in today's age of kids raised on webcasts and iPods? Bud's post below would seem to bolster my argument...that a consistent reception quality, even if the audio fidelity isn't as great...would be the ultimate winning factor. I would think this especially true with AM while in the car. It doesn't matter if the audio fidelity is fabulous or horrible when a weak signal is so full of noise you can't hear it at all; a common problem on anything but the Class A's and the better Class B's. And after all, content is ALWAYS king...hence why people still listen to WBZ, WEEI-AM and WBUR-AM (or WJIB for that matter). Those stations have content people want to hear. Another nice bonus for AM while driving; the inherent buffer means that driving under a bridge usually (emphasis on usually) does not result in a washout of static...assuming you can get out from the under the bridge within 4 or 5 seconds. I haven't listened to XM as much, but most of the news/talk channels on Sirius are HIGHLY compressed and sound it. I assume XM is not dissimilar. After all, the satellite system is designed for 100 channels of "CD quality" (I use the term loosely) sound...if Sirius and XM are getting 125+ channels, they must be "stealing" the bits from somewhere...and quite a few of them. -- -------------------------- Aaron Read readaaron@friedbagels.com www.friedbagels.com Boston, MA 02176 http://lists.bostonradio.org/pipermail/boston-radio-interest/2006-May/008713.html Bob Nelson wrote: > Doug Drown wrote: >>> Ask any kid nowadays whether > he/she listens to AM. They barely know what AM is. > > Except for the Red Sox games on WEEI--and even then, they're on FM in > Gloucester, > Cape Cod, etc. Yes, my son learned all about AM DXing over the past four years or so from trying to find Red Sox games on the clock radio by his bed. (Up here in the Adirondacks, WTIC has been the most consistent source, but there have been many nights when propagation vagaries forced him to search for alternate frequencies.) Recently he received a portable XM radio and subscription as a gift, so I suspect his AM DXing days are over -- at least for now. But when I talk about "selective fade" he knows what I'm referring to.... Bud Hippisley From markwa1ion@aol.com Wed May 31 06:55:50 2006 From: markwa1ion@aol.com (markwa1ion@aol.com) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 06:55:50 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM (Charlie Profit) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8C852B7EA3DECEF-838-7AFF@mblk-r24.sysops.aol.com> >From Charlie Profit << If someone leaves your niche format, it's usually because you are not serving them well enough, or they get new interests, not because of new gadgetry. The gadgetry is working against us for the younger demos...not the older demos familiar with AM. >> >From Steve West << I have a theory... that no matter how optimistic people are about it, once the audience leaves an AM station, for any reason, they DON'T COME BACK. Ever. The reason: thanks to all our electronic gadgetry today, the AM band is almost unlistenable >> I think we're working two different points re "gadgetry". The first has to do with devices that have come on the scene to compete with traditional broadcasting: XM/Sirius, webcasts, iPod, etc. The second point deals with the radio frequency interference (RFI) from a myriad of newly-introduced devices having digital or switching power supply circuitry. Anything from PC's to toasters. These create an environment hostile to AM listening especially, and to some extent FM as well. I can get WEEI-850 and most other Boston AM's better, day and night, from Portugal Cove South, Newfoundland (using a good receiver and longwire antenna near the beach) than I could ever hope to hear it in my office in Wilmington, MA. Better reception at 900 miles than 15 miles. At work, even very few Boston FM's make it through the comb-like spectrum of "buzzies" from computers and other equipment. My entertainment listening at work is 99% CD's or MP3's. A great format is only worthwhile if you can hear the signal to start with. Mark Connelly - Billerica, MA From chrisf01864@lycos.com Wed May 31 16:15:13 2006 From: chrisf01864@lycos.com (christopher fuccione) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 12:15:13 -0800 Subject: Where do I find the ratings? was Spring Arbs Shockers Message-ID: <20060531201513.3A70CCA0B8@ws7-4.us4.outblaze.com> Is there a web site that has a listing on what stations got ranked where? Thanks Chris Fuccione -- _______________________________________________ Search for businesses by name, location, or phone number. -Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 From lglavin@lycos.com Wed May 31 17:04:32 2006 From: lglavin@lycos.com (Laurence Glavin) Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 16:04:32 -0500 Subject: Where do I find the ratings? was Spring Arbs Shockers Message-ID: <20060531210438.1EF74E5BFE@ws7-2.us4.outblaze.com> > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "christopher fuccione" > To: boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org > Subject: Where do I find the ratings? was Spring Arbs Shockers > Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 12:15:13 -0800 > > > Is there a web site that has a listing on what stations got ranked where? > > Thanks > > Chris Fuccione > There are several, some of them require registration, so the most accessible is: http://www.radioandrecords.com Click on the 'RATINGS' box atop the Home Page; the Boston numbers appeared on May 25th. -- _______________________________________________ Search for businesses by name, location, or phone number. -Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 From hykker@grolen.com Mon May 29 22:00:20 2006 From: hykker@grolen.com (SteveOrdinetz) Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 22:00:20 -0400 Subject: Spring Arbs Shockers - Now the Future of AM In-Reply-To: <200605291927.k4TJRG6R082335@rolinin.bostonradio.org> References: <001c01c681f2$b592bfc0$0200a8c0@Tanguray> <200605291927.k4TJRG6R082335@rolinin.bostonradio.org> Message-ID: <6.0.3.0.0.20060529215842.01be0f58@pop3.grolen.com> Charlie Profit wrote: >If you have a struggling AM station and are looking for a new format for >your station that attracts advertisers as well as listeners...There are >resources to tap into your market to make the Talk Radio for Women format >successful. What exactly is "talk radio for women"? Most women I know dislike even the concept of talk radio.