WCOP

[Garrett Wollman]

<<On Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:07:06 -0400, "Doug Drown" <vzeej5wn@myfairpoint.net> said:

> I'm assuming the expansion of the AM band constituted something of a 
> failed experiment. Â Other than the fact that it occurred at roughly 
> the same time as FM's rise to dominance, why was it a failure? Â  
> Â -Doug

The expanded-band allocations were made on the basis of identifying
the stations which, if they moved, would provide the greatest
reduction in interference to other stations.  This model guaranteed
failure, because the stations that would most reduce interference were
the ones that had the best signals (for a 5-kW old-style regional
channel), because those stations were the oldest ones on the band and
interfere with everything on their channel that was built after them,
simply as a result of the way the AM band was filled.  Most of these
stations did not even express an interest in moving to the X-band, and
of those that did, very few actually applied for and built their
X-band allotments, and of those, very few actually turned off their
old "standard band" stations so listeners had no reason to move.  It
didn't help that many older radios couldn't tune the X-band when the
stations first started coming on 15 years ago.

Most of the X-banders that have been successful were built under the
"WJDM rule" -- a loophole put in by Congress giving an X-band
allocation to any daytimer which is the only AM facility licensed to a
city of 100,000 or more people.  WWRU was one of these.

-GAWollman