more about 90.5 FM

For more information about the weird
phenomenon I found at 90.5 FM, these
search patterns are handy:

--------------------
"LPFM" (FCC's new licensing area, low-power FM)
"godcasters" (major orgs. who filed thousands of applications)

"radio assist ministry"
"edgewater broadcasting" (corps. holding large # of licenses)
------------------------

One problem is that a lot of content from thousands
of miles away (megachurches) would be on bandwidth
that is supposed to have local community content
(local churches, hobby DJs, local news, meetings, games, etc)
via the thousands of repeater licenses granted.

There has been a MITRE study saying interference
(with normal FM reception) is not a problem. I am
pretty sure people who enjoy visiting different communities
via FMDX was not considered.

Visiting local flavor is doubly ruined by thousands of relay
stations and replayed contents. Once by drowning out
local hobby and school stations (heard via FMDX during
an advancing warm front, for example), and once again
by favoring big nationally syndicated contents over
know community organizations and churches.

But this elevator music is the prelude.
What actually happens remains to be seen.

To examine some local frequencies, here is the FCC
database:
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/fmq.html


Right now is the easiest time to spot the LPFM permits.
They show as NEW where the call letters should be.

In NH, at 90.5 and 90.7, I see:

90.5: auburn, n.londonderry, derry, hillsboro

90.7: barrington, northwood ridge, dover,
northwood, plymouth

Mass has fewer (likely because spaces are occupied),
but I see the well-known
Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls Idaho with a license
at 90.5 (WSMA Scituate), and I see news
in the web about their exotic beaming antennas.
I also see a link at the WICN (Worcester Jazz NPR)
station for all the complaints about interference at 90.5 there.


-------------
From out west, here is an example of potential usage.
KFMW appears on these repeaters, with more to come:

K230AS 93.9 FM Fergus Falls, MN (250 watts)
K233BN 94.5 FM Aberdeen, SD (5 watts)
K237CV 95.3 FM Grafton, ND (165 watts)
K240CJ 95.9 FM Oakes, ND (250 watts)
K246AM 97.1 FM Jamestown, ND (170 watts)
K248AZ 97.5 FM Devils Lake, ND (160 watts)
K255BP 98.9 FM Milbank, SD (160 watts)
K257DW 99.3 FM Lisbon, ND (130 watts)
K269FI 101.7 FM Cavalier, ND (225 watts)
K274BH 102.7 FM Valley City, ND (165 watts)
K290BI 105.9 FM Wahpeton, ND (10 watts)
K296FW 107.1 FM Aberdeen, SD (250 watts)
K300BG 107.9 FM Grand Forks, ND (140 watts)

Local concent? LPFM? You can't be serious.

radio locator

A note:

www.radio-locator.com is a great way
to help find stations
(if you set the fringe range feature)
and it actually uses the power and distance
to tell you what the signal
strength should be where you are.

For example,

WERS 88.9 FM (HD, 4000W, Boston, 611ft)
shows a very strong signal gauge for Wilmington,
(15.4 mi)

WEVO 89.1 FM (Concord, NH)
shows a little gauge for a very low signal
(49.8 mi)

....yet 89.1 usually comes in great...
on the Accurian and the Grundig S350

mystery station

I'm getting this all-elevator-music
station at 90.5 FM, with only slogan
announcements, no station ID for hours
and hours.

Its' content doesn't match any schedule on the
web for 90.5 WICN / Worcester or
90.5 WSMA / Scituate. Not even for
WSPS/Concord-NH or WPEA/Exeter-NH
(low-power school stations, anyway)

I keep listening. I get on the Accurian, but
also on the Walkman, and on the car radio
faintly, sometimes walking over WICN/Worcester.

Most peculiar....nothing I can find online about it.

=======================

UPDATE-----UPDATE

I found out the source of the weirdness:
according to the FCC database, about 6 new stations (!)
have been awarded licenses, most not assigned call letters yet.
They are all in the 70, 100, or 150 watt power range, and
are scattered about southern NH. This is just at 90.5 MHz, mind you.

And they all look like fundamentalist Christian stations.
Some sort of "Cellular-Jesus" service. A rather spectacular
feat of church-n-state, if it happens other frequencies and places.
It completely crushes the college FMDX fun, that's for sure.
By swamping the frequency with one content.
What's that you say? Freedom of speech? Um....
....I see no Jewish radio, no Hindu radio (a few
hours of cool Bollywood music on a local campus doesn't count),
no Islam, ..........
get the picture? Prepare to drown, parts of the campus radio band!

==========================

another test

I checked out 1030 AM interference
out in my car tonight.
1010 WNDS came in like a charm,
and 1050 was good too.
I'm wondering whether the vertical
polarization helped. Of course, a
car is in a great reception site
on a wide highway. Clear sight lines,
little wiring around outside, and
good selectivity. This was a plain
Ford factory radio.

OK, FM HD station

OK, on to an FM-HD station



104.1 WBCN came in w/HD, fine, w/2 channels
(Boston)

There were only 2 stations listed in
www.ontheradio.net within 80 miles near 104.1.

103.7 (Keene, NH) came in fair-poor, as expected for
that distance.

104.5 (Fitchburg) Came in excellent.

---------

I'm noticing something: The FCC allocations for
adjacent/alternate frequency allocations handle this
well. They seem to have better design margin
than AM (which is already a problematic band).

-------------
Almost the same story around
102.5 WKLB, the highest fidelity country station I've
ever heard (it has HD, but you still need good gear and
avoiding too much compressor).
There are no adjacent freqs really. (there is 102.3, but I already
know the ridge on the way to Concord clobbers it here)
But the alternates come in fine.

another wbz report

march 3 10pm, wilmington, ma

I didn't receive much down low in the band,
so I revisited the WBZ1030 night-time HD area.

This is peculiar:

--At 1030KHz, the HD indicator turned on and off,
(even w/optimum coil aim) and I never actually
got the fidelity boost...ick. I'm wondering whether
HD gets scuttled as much as it scuttles at night.

--no trace at 1040KHz.

--however, the as-bought radio coil could be nulled
so I got KDKA//Pittsburgh...not bad.

--no trouble at all with WNDS//1010KHz NYNY,
or 1050KHz either..

So....Not much for interference tonight...heh, but
the HD did not work fairly close by.

...oh, wait a sec. I did just get HD on 1030.
..it is weirdl sounding though..I want to
turn off the HD mode. There is a kazoo effect.
I'll have to use another radio.

another FM HD report

Another HD interference test (loc: wilmington, ma)




HD station: 97.7 MHz FM, WKAF, Brockton, MA
reception: excellent
hd-mode: activated on my accurian, 2 channels
content: metal rock, a relay of WAAF
fidelity: hard to say on studio metal (heh)..
but the stereo imaging on live recordings was excellent
dynamics: good...normal CD live dynamics


There is an adjacent station:

97.5 MHz FM, WOKQ, Dover, NH
reception: excellent
mode: normal FM stereo
content: country music
fidelity: a few tunes weren't that great, but
Alabama's "Dixieland Delight" had OK highs
and excellent imaging. So the station's gear is OK.
...odd, cardboardy bass...I suspect the compression..
dynamics: top-flattened slightly


So I have:
----excellent FM HD reception at a range of 40 miles.
----no intereference with a normal FM station 50 miles away
(and only 0.2 MHz)
With an omni antenna.

Once again, I see good FM HDrange, and no interference.


----------------------------------
On the downside, a price report:
I saw $199 at Radio Shack for the Accurian,
and $299 for the Boston Acoustics
(they are $149 and $249 online though)

HD is still pricey upfront.