Changing frequencies - changing transmitters? Power?

[Peter Murray]

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006, Ric Werme wrote:

[truncated]
> Figured I wouldn't be able to get much by the DXers and others here. :-)
> 
> I don't see a post from dan.strassberg that should be here, but he noted that
> both stations are full Class B FMs, and have the same effective power, so that
> pretty much makes pointless exchanging transmitting locations.

What is being exchanged are existing facilities and licenses. 

The identical license classes of the two stations only dictates the
maximum facilities permitted (typical, in this case, is 152m HAAT (Height
Above Average Terrain) at 50KW. That will provide a certain radius of
theoretical coverage area at "city grade" signal strength (in this case,
54dBu). The facilities of each station was dictated by their city of
license, proximity of other signals with which they may not interefere,
available existing tower space (or of land for the building of a tower)... 
the list goes on. 

The listenable radius of WCRB is almost indistinguishable from that of
WKLB-FM, because the additional height under WCRB's antenna is balanced
out by the 5.2dB of additional power for which WKLB-FM is licensed. The 
biggest difference between these two facilities is the sites from which 
they transmit, since that determines where the signal will cover. In this 
case. WKLB-FM transmits from a tower roughly between Lowell and Lawrence, 
whereas WCRB is located on a tower between Needham and Newton. Garrett 
Wollman and Scott Fybush have details and histories of most of the 
Boston-region FM and AM facilities at http://bostonradio.org.

The FCC site is the authority on what stations have what facilities,
though www.radio-locator.com has a nice interface. The AM and FM Queary
search tools provide all the info radio-locator can provide, and much
more.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio

-Peter

--
Peter Murray (N3IXY)
Oak Hill, VA