Just down the pike is a call sign change for Pascagoula's WPMP 1580. It's now WPMO for the second time in its history. It's also showing as licensed to "Pascagoula-Moss Point" for some reason.
The station currently airs a talk format and is simulcasting on WVGG (1440) in Lucedale, Mississippi.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Storms take their toll on Alabama broadcasters.
I'm hearing that there's been some damage to some central Alabama broadcasting properties due to the historic tornado outbreak on April 27th.
Folks on Radio-Info are covering the outages.
All the WVUA properties are off the air as of this evening. This includes WVUA-CA in Tuscaloosa, WUOA in Birmingham, WDVZ-CA Moundville and WJMY-LP Demopolis.
One of WAGG's two towers is down at the Birmingham Fair Park.
The WTXT tower northwest of Tuscaloosa is reported to have collapsed. The station is running 500 watts from an alternate site.
Check that link above to see if anything else pops up.
Folks on Radio-Info are covering the outages.
All the WVUA properties are off the air as of this evening. This includes WVUA-CA in Tuscaloosa, WUOA in Birmingham, WDVZ-CA Moundville and WJMY-LP Demopolis.
One of WAGG's two towers is down at the Birmingham Fair Park.
The WTXT tower northwest of Tuscaloosa is reported to have collapsed. The station is running 500 watts from an alternate site.
Check that link above to see if anything else pops up.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
W295AP Bay Minette is headed down the highway.
Translator W295AP (106.9 MHz, 99 watts vertical) has never been on the air as far I know, but it's received yet another construction permit, moving it down Old Pensacola Road (CR-112) into the absolute middle of nowhere, near the Gateswood community. The frequency and power remain the same, so it will cover literally nothing, but this is likely just a "stopover" en route to Pensacola or some other populated destination.
W271BN (WENN-AM) translator to decrease power, increase height.
W271BN, better known as neo soul-formatted WENN-FM in Birmingham, is getting a big drop in power, from 228 watts to just 85 watts vertical. The coverage will remain about the same, though, as they're moving up in height considerably. Still, with Birmingham being such a large metro and with the ever-present threat of tropospheric ducting to destroy weaker signals, it's odd to see them take such a big power cut.
W244CN Enterprise on the move again
Translator W244CN, license to Enterprise, is on the move again. The current (likely unbuilt) facility is actually in the Snowdoun community south of Montgomery, and is licensed for 250 watts vertical on 96.7 MHz. The new construction permit just issued will throw the translator clear over Montgomery, to a spot between Elmore and Wetumpka. The power will be 250 watts and it'll move down a click to 96.5 MHz, which is sure to anger the few listeners of Birmingham's Magic 96 down that way.
Also of interest is the station being relayed is changing, from American Family Radio station WAQG out of Ozark to Troy University's pubcaster WTBF. It's not unusual to see a translator list a public outlet like this before being transferred to relay a local AM signal, but it's also possible that WTBF could use this, as their signal begins to degrade once you get north of Montgomery. Another possibility is relaying one of the station's HD subchannels (HD-2 is Classical 24 and HD-3 is BBC World Service, but that could always change.)
Still, the prospect of them relaying another AM signal is most likely. Stay tuned!
Also of interest is the station being relayed is changing, from American Family Radio station WAQG out of Ozark to Troy University's pubcaster WTBF. It's not unusual to see a translator list a public outlet like this before being transferred to relay a local AM signal, but it's also possible that WTBF could use this, as their signal begins to degrade once you get north of Montgomery. Another possibility is relaying one of the station's HD subchannels (HD-2 is Classical 24 and HD-3 is BBC World Service, but that could always change.)
Still, the prospect of them relaying another AM signal is most likely. Stay tuned!
Monday, April 18, 2011
103.1 The Vulcan moving transmitter
If you're a fan of the new Vulcan's music and live north or east of downtown, better get your tape recorder handy because your signal is about to take a nose-dive.
Translator W276BQ that relays The Vulcan rock format on 103.1 MHz is moving off the devil-pronged master antenna atop Red Mountain and onto the short Magic 96 tower on Ishkooda Mountain west of downtown. The station had been authorized 130 watts but was running the full 250 watts thanks to a STA that let them run higher power while seeking a permanent home for the signal. Although the facility at the WMJJ tower is still for 250 watts, it's at a considerably lower 990 feet versus the current 1305 feet over downtown. This will lower the signal strength considerably in places like Gardendale, Center Point, Irondale and Trussville.
Translator W276BQ that relays The Vulcan rock format on 103.1 MHz is moving off the devil-pronged master antenna atop Red Mountain and onto the short Magic 96 tower on Ishkooda Mountain west of downtown. The station had been authorized 130 watts but was running the full 250 watts thanks to a STA that let them run higher power while seeking a permanent home for the signal. Although the facility at the WMJJ tower is still for 250 watts, it's at a considerably lower 990 feet versus the current 1305 feet over downtown. This will lower the signal strength considerably in places like Gardendale, Center Point, Irondale and Trussville.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
New FM auction details released; 3 Alabama allocations up for grabs.
The FCC is getting ready to auction off a bundle of new FM allocations, and Alabama has three up for grabs.
The first allocation is for Coosada, in the Montgomery market, for a class A at 93.1 MHz.
The second allocation is for Livingston in west central Alabama, for a class A at 96.3 MHz.
The final allocation is for Northport in the Tuscaloosa market, for a class A at 105.1 MHz.
There's no guarantee that any of these will be won at this auction, and no guarantee that whoever wins them will even built them out. But I thought it'd be interesting to share the new "possible future stations" that may one day come on the air. Anyone who has browsed the master FM list and seen all the purple-hued construction permits in the noncommercial band know that a permit to built doesn't necessarily mean a station will be on the air quickly, or at all. But, as two of these are in rated markets and near bigger cities, chances are the Coosada and Northport allocations will sell.
Also worth noting is that the allocation for Northport is currently occupied by a translator relaying AM station WTBC and their hybrid talk-AC music format The River. Should the Northport station be auctioned off and a station built, it would bump this translator off the air.
The first allocation is for Coosada, in the Montgomery market, for a class A at 93.1 MHz.
The second allocation is for Livingston in west central Alabama, for a class A at 96.3 MHz.
The final allocation is for Northport in the Tuscaloosa market, for a class A at 105.1 MHz.
There's no guarantee that any of these will be won at this auction, and no guarantee that whoever wins them will even built them out. But I thought it'd be interesting to share the new "possible future stations" that may one day come on the air. Anyone who has browsed the master FM list and seen all the purple-hued construction permits in the noncommercial band know that a permit to built doesn't necessarily mean a station will be on the air quickly, or at all. But, as two of these are in rated markets and near bigger cities, chances are the Coosada and Northport allocations will sell.
Also worth noting is that the allocation for Northport is currently occupied by a translator relaying AM station WTBC and their hybrid talk-AC music format The River. Should the Northport station be auctioned off and a station built, it would bump this translator off the air.
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