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98.9 WOWE to flip to hip-hop?

Discussion pertaining to the Tri-Cities, Flint, Mt. Pleasant, and Bad Axe
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MWmetalhead
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98.9 WOWE to flip to hip-hop?

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Apr 24, 2021 7:03 am

Sure looks like it. Only question is when.

https://www.instagram.com/989thebeat/?u ... e=ig_embed

I like this move. Should give Club 93.7 some competition. WOWE's field strength isn't the best, but at least it doesn't suffer from co-channel and adjacent channel interference like Club 93.7.



tvbobn
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Re: 98.9 WOWE to flip to hip-hop?

Post by tvbobn » Sat Apr 24, 2021 10:32 am

Did you know they're towers are about 2 miles apart just north of Millington.

WOWE at 3kW 100 meters is a Vassar station.

WRCL at 3.5 kW 133 meters is a Frankenmuth station.


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Re: 98.9 WOWE to flip to hip-hop?

Post by Ben Zonia » Sat Apr 24, 2021 11:47 am

tvbobn wrote:
Sat Apr 24, 2021 10:32 am
Did you know they're towers are about 2 miles apart just north of Millington.

WOWE at 3kW 100 meters is a Vassar station.

WRCL at 3.5 kW 133 meters is a Frankenmuth station.ig pr
By breaking up the Millington "tower cluster" and moving from 101.7 to 101.5, WWBN was able to move 7 miles closer than WOWE and WRCL, and eliminate the first adjacent channel interference problems with WDET 101.9 and cochannel interference with 101.7 (now WHZZ) Lansing. They gained about an 11 dB signal improvement near ground level over WOWE and WRCL in the Flint CBD. A huqe improvement, even though some competing broadcasters fought it tooth and nail, and even though their Corporate Engineer way out in California didn't see much advantage, and it wasn't a big priority for him. Though not in the most advantageous location, acquiring the abandoned WFBE tower for well below market value sealed the TL deal.

That WFBE 50 kW Otisville tower facility had a fantastic signal in outlying areas the few days it was on the air, but because of a few signal complaints they got from inside buildings in the now demolished Buick City complex (competitors again?) about the diminished signal, they went back to the FCHS site, which despite the fact that they had agreements with Goodrich (now WMMQ 94.9) to be 50 kW NONDIRECTIONAL, and WKQI's refusal to agree, until revised second adjacent rules made their objections moot, they soon had to leave and move to the North WTRX tower, reduce ERP, and go more directional, with the nulls going toward the growth areas of Southern Genesee County.

Too bad FM growth in Genesee County didn't happen much before 1962, when the FCC allotment interference rules were like Canada, and the NCE-FM still does in the US.


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MWmetalhead
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Re: 98.9 WOWE to flip to hip-hop?

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:59 am

I agree that it's a shame WFBE chose not to move to the Otisville site permanently. They would've been able to become a dual market station effectively.

Some comparisons...

Present day WWBN:

https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?c ... service=FM


Early 90's WFBE:

https://www.fccdata.org/?lang=en&appid= ... acid=21730 (omni directional from Flint Central High School)


1998 Construction Permit for Otisville; note that the protected 54 dBu contour matches WWBN's present day 40 dBu (extreme fringe) contour!

https://www.fccdata.org/?lang=en&appid= ... acid=21730


Present day WFBE; note the null toward Pontiac:

https://www.fccdata.org/?lang=en&appid= ... acid=21730


Going back to Banana 101.5, the move to Otisville and change to 1.8 kW omni from higher height definitely helped. Reception in places such as Holly, Grand Blanc, Fenton and Durand improved markedly after the move. Heading toward Lansing on I-69, I'd say about 10 miles of usable range was added.



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Ben Zonia
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Re: 98.9 WOWE to flip to hip-hop?

Post by Ben Zonia » Sun Apr 25, 2021 11:54 am

I talked to representatives of the four short spaced stations about the time WFBE increased from 10 kW/240 feet to 50 kW DA/243 feet.

What is now WMMQ had an agreement to go to 50 kW nondirectional and WFBE to 50 kW nondirectional at their existing height.

There had always been a treaty agreement between WFBE and CBEE on 95.1 and what is now CKUE to operate at near full Class B facilities from their existing sites, despite extreme short spacing. 95.1 in Chatham has never been the limiting factor.

It is fully spaced from the FCHS site to WCSX. Despite being just 1.2 km short spaced to WKQI at the FCHS site, the owners of WKQI refused to budge.

Grandfathered 100 kW WKQI is only protected under Section 73.215 to 50 kW/150 meters. Under 73.215, it was possible, but at the time, 40 dB protection was required for Second Adjacents. This required a DA with 33 kW toward WKQI. Shortly after 50 kW WFBE at FCHS was built, the FCC changed the rules, requiring only 20 dB protection, allowing WFBE to have gone to 50 kW nondirectional at the FCHS site. Of course, then they had to move from FCHS.

Moving to Otisville reduced overlap to WMMQ to the point it could be 50 kW/150 meters, was fully spaced to WKQI, and only required about a 3 dB null toward CKUE, 24 kW at 99 degrees true.
Last edited by Ben Zonia on Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:08 am, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: 98.9 WOWE to flip to hip-hop?

Post by FormerNews5Dude » Tue Apr 27, 2021 3:50 pm

I was a DJ there waaaaaaaay back when it was "Your mature choice." I think we were housed in a former bank in Vassar.



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Re: 98.9 WOWE to flip to hip-hop?

Post by Mega Hertz » Sun May 02, 2021 9:03 am

Managed to sample it while working up in the Davison/Lapeer area last week. Caught "Sexy Love" by Ne-Yo, a song I used to like as a current in 2006. Like the processing, also.


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