Family Stations Will Sell 94.7FM WFME Newark

[Nick]

Hmmm, could they get a translator on 94.3 or 95.1 from Empire? It just has to be a few watts to serve the areas near Empire that suffer from overloading. 94.3 and 95.1 already have pirates in the outer boroughs and Newark which are located in between Empire and the other licensed stations on 94.3 or 95.1, so there wouldn't be additional interference to the licensed stations on the other side of the pirates as Empire.

There already are pirates on 94.5 and 94.9. The 94.5 pirate can be heard up to White Plains! The first adjacent pirates will lower the value of 94.7.

[TimeIsTight]

The first adjacent pirates will lower the value of 94.7.

The first adjacent pirates will only lower the bid value of WFME if the potential buyers drive around to check the signal and take note of the problem. 

The kinds of neighborhoods where the pirate signals are the strongest are also the kinds of neighborhoods where the fancy lawyers, consulting engineers, bankers, and broadcast executives never go.  These guys would also probably be shocked that these illegal signals have been out there for years with regulating and policing authorities doing very little about it.  They would also probably assume that if there was serious audience size damage that the FCC would deal with it. 

But the pirates don't just interfere with people trying to listen to 94.7, they cause interference somewhere for just about every licensed station on the band, and nobody, including the major commercial station owners, seems to care that much except radio types on internet boards like this.   In the end, the pirate problem likely will not impact the FME license sale price, and the pirate problem will continue until some "mover and shaker" with some real juice can't hear his or her favorite station because of a pirate, has a hissy fit, and calls the right people to demand they do something about the problem.  But I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen anytime soon. 

[ai4i]

Every car radio on the road today outside of some collectables can handle it.

[ai4i]

The Commission only concerns itself with part fifteen compliance, not IF and front end standards.

[badjef]

Hmmm, could they get a translator on 94.3 or 95.1 from Empire? It just has to be a few watts to serve the areas near Empire that suffer from overloading. 94.3 and 95.1 already have pirates in the outer boroughs and Newark which are located in between Empire and the other licensed stations on 94.3 or 95.1, so there wouldn't be additional interference to the licensed stations on the other side of the pirates as Empire.

There already are pirates on 94.5 and 94.9. The 94.5 pirate can be heard up to White Plains! The first adjacent pirates will lower the value of 94.7.

Generally speaking,

The pirates won't be an issue because they will just move frequency. They pick frequencies that they think are otherwise less active. Remember, they want to be heard, too.

But if a radio in a hotel room with David Eduardo "overlooking" Empire has problems receiving 600 watt WQXR, what chances does a much lower powered translator have of being heard from the same location?

But, how about an "on-frequency" translator from Empire? Hmmm. That would be one to explore.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

[ai4i]

But, how about an "on-frequency" translator from Empire?

With the proper power ratio and beam tilt, a synchronous amplifier in Manhattan would cover the burroughs nicely while creating nothing more than a brief glitch in the middle of el Rio del Hudson.

[HHH]

But, how about an "on-frequency" translator from Empire?

With the proper power ratio and beam tilt, a synchronous amplifier in Manhattan would cover the burroughs nicely while creating nothing more than a brief glitch in the middle of el Rio del Hudson.

WFUV, WFMU and WNYU all have on-channel, lower power on-channel boosters designed to fill in lower Manhattan.  None of them are on the Empire, though.  WFUV is near Penn Station, WFMU is on 4 Times Square and WNYU is near Washington Square.  How do these work?

[radioguy39nj]

If 94.7 cannot become a full-market Manhattan FM signal, what major commercial operator would possibly be interested in it?

[Nick]

If 94.7 cannot become a full-market Manhattan FM signal, what major commercial operator would possibly be interested in it?

It can still be very profitable even from its current location. Pulse 87 was turning a profit, but mismanagement caused the company to go bankrupt, not the lack of revenue. It was on 87.7 FM from that big blue building in Queens. Many radios couldn't even tune to 87.7, and overload from Empire made it hard to listen in a 20 block radius. Plus there was a pirate on 87.9 in Newark. Still, Pulse 87 made money with its niche dance format.

[Ike Hull]

But, how about an "on-frequency" translator from Empire?

With the proper power ratio and beam tilt, a synchronous amplifier in Manhattan would cover the burroughs nicely while creating nothing more than a brief glitch in the middle of el Rio del Hudson.

WFUV, WFMU and WNYU all have on-channel, lower power on-channel boosters designed to fill in lower Manhattan.  None of them are on the Empire, though.  WFUV is near Penn Station, WFMU is on 4 Times Square and WNYU is near Washington Square.  How do these work?

WFMU is having a lot of trouble with their on-channel booster. It causes more interference then they'd expected. If it's really as easy as "the proper power ratio and beam tilt," then I hope they find the right engineer to advise them on it before they give up on it and toss it into the Hudson.

As for the WNYU booster, that's at such a low elevation that it probably just fills in the gaps in the "canyons" between tall buildings around NYU, where the main 89.1 signal is very poor.