By Jackie Madrigal


Glades Media regional Mexican WWRF-AM (Radio Fiesta)/West Palm Beach is now simulcasting on FM through a translator on 96.9 on the dial.

Radio Fiesta competes with at least six other Spanish-language stations that can be heard in the market. Liza Flores serves as the station's GM and PD.


Is this possible? I don't know much about radio but as far as I understood you couldn't simulcast an AM signal on an FM translator. Can anybody comment on this?

They are operating under Special Temporary Authority to do this:

"Exhibit 38
Description: STA REQUEST

THIS REQUEST FOR SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY SEEKS PERMISSION TO REBROADCAST THE SIGNAL OF WWRF(AM) ON W245AY."

From:

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?contex t=25&appn=101245443&formid=911&fac_num=153406

In general, I don't think this would be permitted, however, there are several FM translators for AM stations in Alaska.
The application mentions (in the waver request) a pending rule change that would permit this type of re-broadcast.

Do you know if the translator's coverage contour has to be within the AM's coverage?

In this case, the point is made that the 60dBu contour of the FM translator W245AY is completely contained within the WWRF 2mV/m DAYTIME contour. At night, when WWRF reduces power it would seem that the translator is extending the coverage area of the AM station considerably.

The dozen or so FM translators for AM stations in Alaska appear to be considerably outside of the primary AM stations' coverage area.

I've been to Alaska and they need all the help they can get! An FM station goes virtually nowhere and an AM station, not much farther. KFQD, 50kw on 750 goes about 40 miles and that is by far the furthest distance of any station. Another peculiar thing about Alaska was the total lack of ANY nighttime skip, i.e. no AM reception at all in the middle of nowhere after dark! It was just like being too far away to hear anything in the daytime but I didn't think such a thing was possible at night, no interference, just no signal!

Very interesting. Was there no AM buzz either? How about any crackle?

It was 1983 and all I heard was that blowing noise.

How about some shwoooshing sounds of crude going through miles of pipeline...hey...you engineer types...could their be use of more oil pipelines in Alaska to be used for grounding or better AM coverage? Is it not against the law to connect a AM ground system to a nearby railroad track?

According to the Radio-Locator maps, none of the Anchorage stations that I checked, AM or FM can get a "local" contour that extends more than about 30 miles from the transmitter over land. It looks like the Anchorage area is surrounded by mountains that block or absorb the RF pretty well.

Semoochie said:

"Another peculiar thing about Alaska was the total lack of ANY nighttime skip"

Wow! I would have thought that AM DX in Alaska would be terrible in the summer (Very little night) and GREAT in the winter (almost all night)... does the aurora kill it?

We went for 3 weeks, encompassing late September and early October. The farthest north we were was Fairbanks and that didn't seem to be far enough north to significantly extend or decrease daylight hours. It's more of a factor in the Arctic Circle.

I gotta watch this map to see what happens to the aurora zone as the gray line moves west... It looks as if much of Alaska will not get very dark tonight (just twilight)... but does the aurora zone follow the peak of the gray line curve?

http://www.spacew.com/www/realtime.php

I know that working a little 1Kw (250w at night) station out of ND, we would occasionally get winter nighttime phone calls from folks in Alaska who would pick up our skip -- about 2500 miles as the crow flies. We were always pretty impressed with that.

An amusing FAQ from KSDP, Sand Point, AK: http://www.ksdpradio.com/questions.html

They're in the Aleutians, however.

The story you have just read is partially true. The facts have been changed to protect the station.

You can go search that stations website, click on weather and access some Alaska webcams. You can see daylight at 2AM on some of them.

www.konp.com or KONP Port Angeles (a very decent sounding small market stand alone AM station in Port Angeles) just got an FM translator.

K271AZ 102.1MHz Port Angeles had planned on repeating KLOV Winchester, OR. but was then sold before it went on the air. It's 70 watts.

KONP looks like the same deal as the first post...a Legal STA to permit a FM translator for an AM station until a new rule (FCC 07-144) is adopted.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?contex t=25&appn=101242422&formid=911&fac_num=148754

(see the PDF file in Exhibit 38)

Will FM translators save AM ?
Will they transmit in Stereo ?

While driving through Wyoming a few months ago, I noted that KUGR (1490) was being simulcast on FM, on a frequency that radio-locator listed as a FM translator.

Why doesn't radio-locator.com list the translators for AM station as they do with FMs

I had guessed that the listing for the KUGR translator might be out of date. The translator callsign is K285FG. The coverage of this signal suggested that they were operating under the 250 watt construction permit listed in Radio-Locator.

does this mean FM translator is better than HDAM??

62kgw asks:

"does this mean FM translator is better than HDAM??"

I look at it as being just another option, that could work well for some stations, and not so well for others.

IMHO, a translator would not make much sense for 1190, but could really help 1010. However, as in most large metro areas, most of the FM channels are filled, so this seems unlikely.

At night, I think it would be a safe bet to say that the 250 watt FM translator would be listenable for a longer distance than HD reception would be possible on 1490 kHz. During the day, it would be hard to say which would have better coverage because there are too many variables.

I was also thinking about night coverage... NEITHER the HD from 1190 nor a 250 watt FM translator would provide anywhere close to the multi-state night coverage that KEX AM enjoys. CQUAM would provide much better night STEREO coverage than either one!

The FM translator could provide building penetration downtown, if located in a favorable position.

Why not do them all? 50 KW AM for multi-state night coverage, AM HD for the extra features during the day, or perhaps FM HD-2 or 3 on a sister station, CQUAM for stereo coverage at night and a FM translator to penetrate the downtown buildings! Throw in streaming so somebody on the other side of the globe could listen as well!

These are all good tools that a station might draw upon, depending on it's own circumstances.

"However, as in most large metro areas, most of the FM channels are filled, so this seems unlikely."

........or they are being jammed incessantly by satellite-fed religious translators, the likes of Calvary Chapel, K-Love, Air One, Way FM..........................

Circa 1997-2000 or so, I used to be able to pull in KAST somewhat decently at home near EHS, using my late Grandmother's mid-1980s Sony STR-250 stereo receiver* and a cheap six-foot length of speaker wire stretched up the wall, serving as an "antenna".

And then Air One started up on 92.7 and buh-bye KAST.................

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* Purchased from Stereo Super Store at Jantzen Beach in 1987, no less! ;o)

...that and they moved to Portland!

Could either KWBY or KWIP have a translator in Portland or Vancouver?

I think it has to be within the 2mv/m contour so I would say the answer is "no".