760 WJR must be broadcasting at reduced power right now

[MWmetalhead]

The signal was almost non-existent near M-6 and M-37 about 10 miles SE of Grand Rapids. I could not even make out 80 percent of what was being said. This was around 9:45 this morning.

640 from the Chicago area, 790 from Saginaw, 820 from the Chicago area and 920 from Milwaukee all had far stronger signals than WJR. I surfed the dial twice about five miles apart to make sure nothing quirky was occurring. Even 750 from NW Indiana was an easier signal to copy.

760's signal still sounded awful near the M-50 exit off I-96.

In fact, there were a couple spots in Gaines Twp and Cascade Twp where I could discern 950 WWJ's content a bit more easily than 760 WJR, which is quite remarkable given the fact WWJ sends nowhere near 50 kW ERP in the direction of GR's southern and southeastern suburbs. On paper, JR's signal should be much stronger than WWJ in that locale (and normally is).

[Ben Zonia]

This is just a rumor, but I heard that Cumulus has consolidated its engineering department, and the remaining engineers are spread thin. At one point, WJR had three working transmitters, one an old tube transmitter. It seems that the newer 50kW solid state transmitters have a lot of problems. It always seems that there is some issue on the new 50 kW stations within the last few decades in Michigan that the stations are frequently at low power. Again, mainly rumor. There also seems to be a low priority in maintaining AM facilities of all power levels.

[TC Talks]

When a station is pulling a 1.7 share, it shouldn't be much of a priority. Aren't AM stations more expensive to operate?

Even so, why hold on to assets if you don't want to maintain them. They're almost like Roy Henderson.

[MWmetalhead]

The fact 920 WOKY was leaps and bounds stronger than 760 near Gerald R. Ford Airport was very surprising to me.

[Ben Zonia]

The fact 920 WOKY was leaps and bounds stronger than 760 near Gerald R. Ford Airport was very surprising to me.

WOKY has been much stronger since they went to 5000 watts Day with 4 towers in the 1960s as I recall. Looks like they used the 3 tower Night array in the Daytime when it was 1000 watts Day. They couldn't increase with the 3 towers to 5000 watts Day because of WDOR 910 Sturgeon Bay, so they sent the signal over the Southern Milwaukee suburbs and into Lake Michigan and beyond. Recent estimates show the real but unofficial conductivity of Lake Michigan as far greater the the M-3 value of 8 mS/m, so the service area goes much further into Michigan. The 0.5 mV/m contour probably reaches close to Grand Rapids. When we visited my Grandfather in Grand Rapids in the 1960s, we took the Magnavox Portable, which wasn't that sensitive, like most transistor radios from circa 1960, you could get WOKY quite well there Days. The WJR contour probably falls short of the predicted due to reduced conductivity from M-3, which starts West of Ann Arbor and Oakland County through Central and West Michigan.

https://www.fccdata.org/?facid=&call=WO ... d=&lang=en

Actually, it wasn't until the mid to late 1960s that WOKY was licensed for 5000 watts with the 4 tower parallelogram Days, according to the History Card. One time, someone in the building where he lived was listening to "Aquarius" on WCFL, when I was tuning around on the Magnavox, so that would have been 1969.

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/ ... r_id=65994

[MWmetalhead]

WJR is usually a touch stronger days near GRR than WOKY - a station whose predicted daytime 0.5 mV/m contour barely brushes the Lakeshore.

I've never heard such a terribly weak daytime signal from WJR in that location before.

[Ben Zonia]

WJR is usually a touch stronger days near GRR than WOKY - a station whose predicted daytime 0.5 mV/m contour barely brushes the Lakeshore.

I've never heard such a terribly weak daytime signal from WJR in that location before.

The predicted WOKY predicted contour falls far short of the real 0.5 mV/m across Lake Michigan. The radio I was using wasn't that sensitive, and it was probably close to 0.5 mV/m in Grand Rapids. If I'm ever around there with my FIM-41, I could measure them.

[MWmetalhead]

That sounds about right. Their daytime signal definitely overachieves in western lower Michigan. 640 WMFN is another overachiever.

[Ben Zonia]

Somebody needed to measure the radials for WHTC 1450, seems like for the now deleted WKPR 1440. There were some radials much in excess of M-3 (2 mS/m) near Holland. There seems to be a sweet spot somewhere between Holland and Grand Rapids. Kent County is far less than 8 in most areas, according to measured radials and empirical observation. That Map with the measured Great Lakes conductivity shows Lake Michigan at least 3 X the M-3 (8) conductivity. Nearly all water paths from the Chicago area stations reach the Eastern shore of Lake Michigan with much higher signal levels. WIND, WMAQ/WSCR, WGN, WBBM, WAIT/WCPT, and WTMJ Milwaukee even at 5 kW, and WOKY were some I observed at a County Park in Oceana County (as I recall) were all very strong. At Crystal Lake near Frankfort, 10000 watt WDBC 680 and 1000 watt WDOR 910 were stronger than 5000 watt WCCW 1310 and 1000 watt WTCM 1400 when I stayed there when I was young.

It was a County Park (at least at that time) on Lake Michigan where the signals from across the Lake were so strong. All the Muskegon Area AM stations were much weaker, going over sandy land.

[Ben Zonia]

It was the WKPR 1440 Application. Look for the Exhibit that says WHTC Measurements. There are three radials. Two have conductivities as high as 5 and 6 over nearby areas to WHTC.

https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/datae ... 7&goBack=N

[TC Talks]

It was the WKPR 1440 Application. Look for the Exhibit that says WHTC Measurements. There are three radials. Two have conductivities as high as 5 and 6 over nearby areas to WHTC.

https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/datae ... 7&goBack=N

All this stuff sure it neat. Did you happen to find out if WJR is at reduced power?

[Ben Zonia]

It was the WKPR 1440 Application. Look for the Exhibit that says WHTC Measurements. There are three radials. Two have conductivities as high as 5 and 6 over nearby areas to WHTC.

https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/datae ... 7&goBack=N

All this stuff sure it neat. Did you happen to find out if WJR is at reduced power?

Why don't you call them, read them your impressive curriculum vitae to bowl them over, and tell them why it's important to you, and ask them yourself?

My guess is unless you know the engineers well, they won't tell you.

My point is to show that the conductivity path between WJR and GRR is less than M-3, possibly even less right now due to hot dry weather. Numerous applications online point to the real conductivity being reduced along the path. Not that they couldn't also be operating at lower power. No complicated multi tower DA to further complicate things like WWJ, WFDF, and WXYT though.

Look at the measurements on WKZO on the WTCM and WSNL applications, WOOD, WCCW, and WMKT applications, and WION and WKPR applications. Also WCPT Willow Springs for WMJH measurements. WMVP application for WDEO proof conductivities. WUFL proofs in application to change DA pattern.

[ftballfan]

I remember 640 (after the move to Chicago and before iHeart began to operate it) airing ads in Spanish for Berger Chevy in Grand Rapids. Did they simulcast 810 at points after the move to Chicago?

[MWmetalhead]

Yes, they did.

[k8jd]

Just curious to see how WJR is doing compared to other AMs I hear in this area of SouthWest Oakland Co.
I used my iIcom 7300 radio and a 250 ft Dipole antenna fed with 50 ohm coax. Probably has more attenuation as you go lower in the AM band.
Readings taken between 21:40 and 21:50 UT. I may take another reading tonight for night time power and patterns.
I used the 20 dB attenuator to get reasonable meter readings.
560 s6, 630 s5, 690 s6, 760 s8, 800 s8, 910 s8, 950 s8, 990 s7, 1030 s5, 1090 s3, 1130 s7,
1160 s9+30 dB, 1200 s8, 1270 s8, 1310 s4, 1340 s3, 1400 s5, 1460 s9+10 dB, 1500 s7, 1550 s3.
I will save my original chart for future reference, If I see another post about another possible tranmsintter or antenna out of spec.