Synergy is a mess

[ftballfan]

Synergy Media currently has one station completely off the air and another on very low power:

97.7 WMLQ is completely off and has been off since early May. STA filing: https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.ex ... _num=39787

94.9 WKZC is on very low power. It's so low that it's staticy in Ludington and almost nonexistent in Manistee (yesterday, I had WMMQ come in over it). In fact, W224CA (the WKLA (AM) translator on 92.7) seemed stronger than WKZC! I've had suspicions that WKZC hasn't run its licensed 17kW in years (back when WKLA-FM was on 106.3 from the same tower as WKZC with 4.9kW, WKLA and WKZC seemed to be about the same strength in Manistee). No STA filing yet.

I have three suggestions, from most likely to least likely:
1. Once 97.7 gets back on the air, swap 96.3 and 98.7's formats so that News is on 96.3 (keeping the 97.7 simulcast) and WKLA-FM is on the stronger 98.7 signal.

2. Consider flipping 94.9 to classic country. Even with WKZC at full power, WTCM still kicks its booty and has for years.

3. Buy (or lease) 92.3 WBNZ and simulcast WKLA (AM) and W224CA on it, branded as "Superhits 92".

[Colonel Flagg]

Synergy isn't interested in Manistee. There's no money there. WMLQ has been listed with a broker for quite some time. There's very little "synergy" between Manistee and Ludington, so I can't imagine why they would want to add another big electric bill even further north in Bear Lake.

[TC Talks]

Who's buying ads in Luddington?

[hunterw]

97.7 WMLQ is back on air as of yesterday and at full power. 94.9 is very weak. 94.1 and 96.3 are broadcasting as normal

[ftballfan]

97.7 is back off. When it was on this past weekend, it was spilling heavily onto 97.5 and 97.9, much more than 101.5 WMTE (which actually runs more power than WMLQ, but at a lower HAAT) on my radios.

97.7 in Manistee is currently Rewind 97-7 from Sturgeon Bay. Also, 97.5 WKLT puts a decent signal into parts of town (ironically, WKLT was on 97.7 itself for its first few years on the air). Those graveyard FM frequencies used to be jammed full in some areas. Back in the 1980s, based on some research I have done, there were stations on 100.1 in Bear Lake, Fremont, Sturgeon Bay WI, Neenah WI, and Port Washington WI at the same time.

[organman95]

When has Synergy NOT been a mess?

[mocom70]

I've noticed 97.7 bleeding into the adjacent frequencys before. Either their transmitter needs to be tuned or their harmonic filter is defective or is not in line.

[audiophile]

A harmonic filter would only effect multiples of the frequency.

"christmas treeing" is something that happens when a feedback loop is created, which one might compare to when microphone gets too close to a speaker.

I've seen transmitters do this before, sometime the there is neutralization adjustment to fix it.

[ftballfan]

In the Ludington area, 89.1 seems to be a sloppy mess of W224CA (WKLA (AM)'s translator) and WKLA-FM.

96.3 - 92.7 = 3.6
92.7 - 3.6 = 89.1

Oddly, 99.9 (which is 96.3 + 3.6) has no issues, and neither does 101.1 (98.7 + (98.7 - 96.3)) or 93.9 (98.7 - (98.7 - 96.3)).

[hunterw]

Is this why z93 in mason county is choppy and unlistenable? As before when 92.7 was on 93.1,z93 came is clear as day.

In the Ludington area, 89.1 seems to be a sloppy mess of W224CA (WKLA (AM)'s translator) and WKLA-FM.

96.3 - 92.7 = 3.6
92.7 - 3.6 = 89.1

Oddly, 99.9 (which is 96.3 + 3.6) has no issues, and neither does 101.1 (98.7 + (98.7 - 96.3)) or 93.9 (98.7 - (98.7 - 96.3)).

[ftballfan]

Is this why z93 in mason county is choppy and unlistenable? As before when 92.7 was on 93.1,z93 came is clear as day.

In the Ludington area, 89.1 seems to be a sloppy mess of W224CA (WKLA (AM)'s translator) and WKLA-FM.

96.3 - 92.7 = 3.6
92.7 - 3.6 = 89.1

Oddly, 99.9 (which is 96.3 + 3.6) has no issues, and neither does 101.1 (98.7 + (98.7 - 96.3)) or 93.9 (98.7 - (98.7 - 96.3)).

Last week, Z93 seemed really good along US-10 around where the freeway comes in.

With Synergy being a mess, prior to WMOM returning to the air, I wouldn't have been surprised if WTCM-FM was the most popular FM station in Mason County

[Colonel Flagg]

Is this why z93 in mason county is choppy and unlistenable? As before when 92.7 was on 93.1,z93 came is clear as day.

In the Ludington area, 89.1 seems to be a sloppy mess of W224CA (WKLA (AM)'s translator) and WKLA-FM.

96.3 - 92.7 = 3.6
92.7 - 3.6 = 89.1

Oddly, 99.9 (which is 96.3 + 3.6) has no issues, and neither does 101.1 (98.7 + (98.7 - 96.3)) or 93.9 (98.7 - (98.7 - 96.3)).

Last week, Z93 seemed really good along US-10 around where the freeway comes in.

With Synergy being a mess, prior to WMOM returning to the air, I wouldn't have been surprised if WTCM-FM was the most popular FM station in Mason County

Stations that are "the most popular" even in a small market, typically sell for a lot more than $44,000. The way some of you rubes hype WMOM is beyond comical. Keep the funnies coming.

[TC Talks]

I still wonder how an owner makes money in a market like this one.