Thge WJIB signal

[Chris Hall]

Even the thought of moving WJIB to the Lexington site would be a major mistake, WJIB is where it needs be central to what it needs to cover.
Having experience at both sites first WJIB would loose its North and South Shore coverage as the conductivity of the Lexington site is good
only in the swamp where the tower sits. Belmont Hill and surrounding areas are ledge.
There seems to be a unique oddity at the original WTAO/WJIB site, speculation over the years is there must be an underground aquifer in the Fresh Pond area giving  the 250 signal much better coverage than it realistically should ever have had especially now considering  the ground system currently in use.
When the old Harvey Radio Labs building was revamped with a new roof for current use the rooftop counterpoise ground system was removed and replaced with four long copper rods driven deep into the soil at the tower base.
During the WCAS days attempts were made to relocate 740 to the old CBS WEEI-FM  Medford tower that had been donated to Harvard.  A shunt feed (still legal at the time) and temporary ground system (several radials) was laid over the rock ledge face and measurements were made using a test transmitter.  The results were dismal as it did not come close to meeting COL coverage over Cambridge so that is why it remains where it is