K-LOVE in Plymouth IN files for a site change and increased coverage

[justalurker]

Educational Media's 98.3 FM in Plymouth filed for a site change and huge increase in coverage that will bring it's signal to the edge of South Bend and Elkhart Indiana.

They are moving from 400w at 76m to a directional 44kw at 81m

Before: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM1079819.html
After: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM1197476.html

The application was filed July 30th ... a lot of non-comms are trying to beat the freeze before the October filing window.

WIKV is operating under a main studio waiver that allows them to operate as a repeater of KLVR, Santa Rosa, CA. Must be nice having a 44kw translator.

[radiomaps]

If it's 98.3 MHz, it's not affected by the September 8th "freeze." It's not even an I.F. frequency of the reserved band.  http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/DA-07-3521A1.pdf

[justalurker]

My typo ... channel 207 89.3

[Johnathan]

FWIW they are also doing it with K-LOVE's other Northern Indiana outlet, WQKV 88.5.

The current 88.5 coverage map (250 watts at 52 feet HAAT):
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM1143566.html

The proposed change to 88.7 and boost to 25kw at 90 feet HAAT:
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM1198621.html

I'm guessing this would also knock off translator W204BC 88.7 Warsaw, which repeats WPCS, Pensacola, FL (the Rejoice Radio network). But from the looks of it, they could move to another channel. IIRC, satellite-delivered translators can move out of the reserved band if they are displaced by a full power FM.

I'm just disappointed that translator W241AT 96.1 Kokomo, which was supposedly going to deliver WFBQ loud and clear, will instead be yet another outlet for WFRN's "Family Friendly" programming. It's been bought by their nonprofit partner "Friends of Christian Radio." If they really want to impress me, they'd find a way to repeat WIWU-LP or WTGO-LP, offering something that would at least keep me awake. I'd even take K-Love over WFRN, as they at least offer nonstop music.

It's a difficult situation though, because as a non-reserved band TX, it must receive programming via terrestrial means. Of course, they could buy an ISDN line, which is what WFIU does for their 106.1 TX in the City of Firsts.

[justalurker]

With Clear Channel's sell off I doubt if they would bother building the Kokomo translator. It's probably a break even situation if not a loss for them. If they are not going to use it it might as well be built by someone who will use it.

Unless there is some sort of waiver, non-reserved band FX stations MUST receive their signals OTA. The only exception is if they are within the protected contour of the station they are translating. WIWC's protected contour cuts through the middle of Kokomo. Which means (in the non-reserved band) that any use of W241AT must be OTA and must be owned by someone other than Moody Broadcasting. It could translate WGNR if receiving that station is a problem in Kokomo. (Not really a need to translate WIWC with WGNR there.)

If WTGO-LP's OTA signal is reaching Kokomo there is a serious engineering problem. Again, it's a non-reserved channel so it has to be OTA.

The license for W291AM 106.1 FX Kokomo (granted March 7th, 2000) authorizes reception of WFIU "over the air" not by any other means.

[Johnathan]

With Clear Channel's sell off I doubt if they would bother building the Kokomo translator. It's probably a break even situation if not a loss for them. If they are not going to use it it might as well be built by someone who will use it.

If WTGO-LP's OTA signal is reaching Kokomo there is a serious engineering problem. Again, it's a non-reserved channel so it has to be OTA.

The license for W291AM 106.1 FX Kokomo (granted March 7th, 2000) authorizes reception of WFIU "over the air" not by any other means.

You have a point. I hadn't considered the Clear Channel selloff as a factor.

And, admittedly, it's wishful thinking that WTGO could be received over the air here in Kokomo.

However - I have read what the license says, but I know I have also read in different sources through the years that W291AM was not fed over the air. Really, how could it be? Even good car radios can't receive anything south of Indianapolis up here.

I found one page, a "History" document written on behalf of WFIU, that states the following:

Funded by a grant from the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program Fund, WFIU installed a translator broadcasting at 106.1 FM from the main building on the Indiana University-Kokomo campus, reaching Kokomo via a fiber optic audio data circuit.

http://www.indiana.edu/~wfiu/50history-hargiswilliams.htm

I guess it technically may not be an ISDN line; I could speculate that it may in fact be provided through the IU network itself, or perhaps the statewide IHETS.org network. I can confirm (because I have heard it with my own ears) that there was at least one occasion where the "fiber optic audio data circuit" went down, and they decided to just plug in a PC and play the online stream of WFIU instead. Or at least that's what it sounded like, because it was very low fidelity, had very little (if any) stereo separation, and had that usual "compressed" sound that some internet stations do.

[BSURadioGeek]

I was in Plymouth last weekend and I noticed 89.3.  With Pulse FM, the area has a really good representation of Christian music.  But will it be able to sustain it?

[Johnathan]

It's a good question. But they do have quite a variety of commercial (WFRN, Pulse FM) and noncommercial (K-Love, Radio X (WCVM 94.7)) options now.

I think K-Love might do well, as they are non-com, they never stop the music to play talk or preaching, and if they can get the signal upgrades, heck, they will end up with a (distant) rimshot into the South Bend area.

However, I can also see that the area could suffer from over-saturation with the Christian AC format. Then again, WFRN's Soft AC / Inspo has coexisted with Pulse FM's slightly hotter AC format over many years.

I would guess that if K-Love doesn't get the support numbers they want, EMF might do well to try their Adult CHR Air1 format on either or both stations.