A while back I ran into a problem with the government-run map server that the site uses to plot coverage maps and transmitter locations. I figured it would resolve itself in a day or twenty, so I promptly forgot that the Tiger map browser was not loading maps anymore.
That was about three months ago. And today, while working on the Montgomery page, I re-discovered the problem. No only can we (and the FCC) not plot transmitter locations, the Tiger map browser interface is completely broken.
Since this entire site is hand-written because I have neither the smarts nor the money to do a fancy-dancy database interface, that means I gotta go through and change about a hundred links to the map server on all the Technical Profile pages.
Joy.
Since there are a multitude of plotting/mapping options available on other media websites like Radio-Locator, RECnet and FM/TV Fool, I am not going to be in any hurry to fix all those links. (And I was in a hurry to do Montgomery but I still put it off for six months, so… buyer beware.)
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Montgomery metro page now online!
The Montgomery AM/FM/TV pages are now online. I know it's been a long time coming, so try not to be too disappointed. ;)
If you have some historical information to contribute, corrections or just plain ol' kudos or criticisms, drop me a line at the e-mail address plastered all over the website.
If you have some historical information to contribute, corrections or just plain ol' kudos or criticisms, drop me a line at the e-mail address plastered all over the website.
Monday, May 24, 2010
AM radio station links updated
Links to station websites have been updated. There were a ton of new links, dead links and all manner of madness but I think got most of it sorted out. I left a few "under construction" pages linked just in case they become active in the next month or two.
If you know of a web site address that isn't listed, do let me know. Contact info is on the website.
If you know of a web site address that isn't listed, do let me know. Contact info is on the website.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Follow me (I'm the Pied Piper)
That's a little something for the old timers. You never heard that Crispian St. Peters song on the radio anymore.
If you want to keep up with the blog posts from the Alabama Broadcast Media Page, it's easy. On the bottom right side of the blog is a little "Follow Me" button for Google Buzz users. Click that and you'll have my useless rambling delivered to your inbox whenever I post!
If you're not a Google user, you can also subscribe by clicking the RSS feed button on your browser.
There you go, my friend… the choice is yours. :)
If you want to keep up with the blog posts from the Alabama Broadcast Media Page, it's easy. On the bottom right side of the blog is a little "Follow Me" button for Google Buzz users. Click that and you'll have my useless rambling delivered to your inbox whenever I post!
If you're not a Google user, you can also subscribe by clicking the RSS feed button on your browser.
There you go, my friend… the choice is yours. :)
Flotsam & jetsam
A few more notes from the week's changes.
In Birmingham, another translator move, although this one is a bit odd. WAY-FM's ever silent W275AR at 102.9 MHz has a CP to move to 92.3, from the old 104.1 site in Hoover. Call me crazy (everyone else does) but 102.9 MHz from atop Red Mountain seems like a much better signal to sell off than this one. First, it's a downgrade in coverage, PLUS it's first adjacent to Crawford's WXJC-FM. Granted, WXJC's piddly signal isn't exactly blowing down radios in Hoover, but it is possible to hear the station in some places. That will change if this facility is ever put on the air. WXJC-FM also runs HD (God only knows why) so it's conceivable that the HD sideband could affect the translator, or more likely vice-versa.
Up on the mighty Tennessee River, Priceville's LPTV WYAM has apparently cut over to digital and dropped their analog signal. The slightly directional signal should cover all of Decatur, Athens and a good chunk of western Huntsville.
Finally, the history for Fort Payne's WFPA has been sorted out thanks to the gracious help of someone in the know. Thank you. And remember, all the history is written by contributors, so if you have some dusty memories of radio or TV, be sure to send it off to me. My address is all over the website.
In Birmingham, another translator move, although this one is a bit odd. WAY-FM's ever silent W275AR at 102.9 MHz has a CP to move to 92.3, from the old 104.1 site in Hoover. Call me crazy (everyone else does) but 102.9 MHz from atop Red Mountain seems like a much better signal to sell off than this one. First, it's a downgrade in coverage, PLUS it's first adjacent to Crawford's WXJC-FM. Granted, WXJC's piddly signal isn't exactly blowing down radios in Hoover, but it is possible to hear the station in some places. That will change if this facility is ever put on the air. WXJC-FM also runs HD (God only knows why) so it's conceivable that the HD sideband could affect the translator, or more likely vice-versa.
Up on the mighty Tennessee River, Priceville's LPTV WYAM has apparently cut over to digital and dropped their analog signal. The slightly directional signal should cover all of Decatur, Athens and a good chunk of western Huntsville.
Finally, the history for Fort Payne's WFPA has been sorted out thanks to the gracious help of someone in the know. Thank you. And remember, all the history is written by contributors, so if you have some dusty memories of radio or TV, be sure to send it off to me. My address is all over the website.
Moves around Montgomery
A few TV notes to pass along. WNCF and WBMM have both completed their latest construction permits. WNCF-DT 32 upped their power from 35 kW to 83 kW. WBMM-DT appears to have moved from RF channel 24 to channel 22, and increased power from the 300 watts on their STA to 65 kW. WBMM may have already been on 22 with some other setup; the FCC database does not make it clear whether the listed STA is actively being used or not.
On to one of my favorite subjects now, translators. WAY-FM's translator on 91.5 MHz (W218BG) has received a construction permit to slide down the dial to 102.3 MHz, with 250 watts. Could this translator be rebroadcasting another local AM before long? We'll see. It'll have a dumbbell-shaped radiation pattern with lobes to the WNW and ESE so it won't exactly be an easy catch all over the Gump.
On to one of my favorite subjects now, translators. WAY-FM's translator on 91.5 MHz (W218BG) has received a construction permit to slide down the dial to 102.3 MHz, with 250 watts. Could this translator be rebroadcasting another local AM before long? We'll see. It'll have a dumbbell-shaped radiation pattern with lobes to the WNW and ESE so it won't exactly be an easy catch all over the Gump.
WPNN gets construction permit… for daytime only operation?
This is an odd one. Pensacola's WPNN at 790 kHz on the standard radio dial has just received a construction permit to upgrade their daytime facilities.
Their current setup is odd: 1 kW days from a site in the heart of Pensacola, 66 watts nights from a site across Escambia Bay, south of Milton and I-10. The construction permit will move the daytime service to the Milton site and be a 3 tower directional array, with a major kidney-shaped lope to the west to cover Pensacola.
Now here's the oddity: Radio-Locator lists the CP as a daytime only operation. As far as I can tell, this new setup does not include any nighttime service! It's normal for daytimers to get nighttime authorization added, but I don't think I've ever seen a station go from fulltime service to daytime-only.
The nighttime/dayime CP transmitter site is the same 3 tower setup currently used by WEBY.
Their current setup is odd: 1 kW days from a site in the heart of Pensacola, 66 watts nights from a site across Escambia Bay, south of Milton and I-10. The construction permit will move the daytime service to the Milton site and be a 3 tower directional array, with a major kidney-shaped lope to the west to cover Pensacola.
Now here's the oddity: Radio-Locator lists the CP as a daytime only operation. As far as I can tell, this new setup does not include any nighttime service! It's normal for daytimers to get nighttime authorization added, but I don't think I've ever seen a station go from fulltime service to daytime-only.
The nighttime/dayime CP transmitter site is the same 3 tower setup currently used by WEBY.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Translator move in the Demopolis area…
One of Edgewater's translators has moved a bit. Previously on 104.7 MHz with 250 watts in the Greensboro area, W284BY has been relicensed to 105.1 MHz with just 75 watts. The new TX location is near the community of Harper Hill, just south of Moundville.
A previous application lists WUAL as the parent station, not an Edgewater property.
The station seems to be headed towards Tuscaloosa, which is odd considering there was already a translator in Tuscaloosa on 105.1 MHz, which has made its way (but never on the air) to West Blocton.
A previous application lists WUAL as the parent station, not an Edgewater property.
The station seems to be headed towards Tuscaloosa, which is odd considering there was already a translator in Tuscaloosa on 105.1 MHz, which has made its way (but never on the air) to West Blocton.
Friday, May 7, 2010
History for Cullman's WMCJ added… plus a new CP for Greenville's WKXN
A thank you to regular contributer Travis for giving us a good review of the history of Cullman's WMCJ radio station. It's off the air now, but has a history dating back to 1950 as WFMH! This spurred me to finally re-write the history info for WYDE, which was a mess. Hopefully it makes more sense now.
In other news, Greenville's WKXN (Power 95.9) has received a construction permit to move up the road a few miles and change to 95.7 MHz. As part of this deal, they will re-license to Fort Deposit, but almost all of their Greenville area coverage will stay the same.
For some reason, the website already had listed the CP data as the actual license, although the contour map was linked correctly. Dunno how that happened, but it should all be straightened out now.
A quick last note for Pensacola TV viewers: HSN affiliate W19CO is now listed as broadcasting digitally instead of analog, on channel 19.
In other news, Greenville's WKXN (Power 95.9) has received a construction permit to move up the road a few miles and change to 95.7 MHz. As part of this deal, they will re-license to Fort Deposit, but almost all of their Greenville area coverage will stay the same.
For some reason, the website already had listed the CP data as the actual license, although the contour map was linked correctly. Dunno how that happened, but it should all be straightened out now.
A quick last note for Pensacola TV viewers: HSN affiliate W19CO is now listed as broadcasting digitally instead of analog, on channel 19.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
New servers…
You may experience trouble accessing the main site for the next day or two as we migrate to new servers. If you have trouble with almediapage.info or www.almediapage.info, the old site will remain active until the DNS servers are updated.
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