Okay had them LOUD AND CLEAR here last night in Haddon Heights, NJ about 110 miles south of the WRCR TX. They are NOT yet HD AM, as I heard no sideband hash. And to the point about them ruining the 1690, 1700 and 1710 channels, yes they're screwed if they are aroudn the north east and mid atlantic area. But I am sure there are many other X-BAND freqs we could use. Sucks though, but since I am an avid radio DX'er, it is great to hear a classic hits station on a nice clear frequency.
This is bad, BAD news for any Part 15 operator on 1700 in New England and the Mid Atlantic states. How in the world did this station get approved to move to an X-band frequency with X-band power levels at this point in time???? What type of special connections do they have at the FCC? I just searched through the FCC database and I couldn't find ANY evidence of their application to move to 1700. Yet, all the engineering data for 1700 kHz operation is there. What's it going to take, a FOIA request from a high powered attorney to find out when they applied and who at the agency "approved" this application for a class of station and frequency that is suppose to be no longer available for licensed, full power stations?
Here in North Central Massachusetts, WRCR's new nighttime signal at 1700 is overwhelming. They have reduced the nighttime range of one of my stations, Troubadour 1700, to about 1000 feet. Since my other Part 15 station, Liberty & Justice 1640, is also in the x-band, there are no other X-band frequencies to use. My station's branding and website, t1700.net, has been around for 11 years. I had just embarked upon an effort to find several additional transmitter sites in downtown areas around my region to finally get the two stations in a position where they can attract enough advertising and listener support to create a tiny business. All of that is ruined now, thanks to yet another useless pop station that no one is going to search for on the AM band. How many other licensed AM's on crowded frequencies throughout the Northeast would have jumped at an opportunity for an upgrade to 1700 khz had they known it would be available? Am I pissed off right now? You bet I am! This is WRONG! It is totally unfair and the behavior of the FCC in this situation is inexcusable.
I bet a car AM receiver would pick it up better.
I heard it down in Jersey today.
So much for using 1700 here. :/
I culd hear it on my Sony Boombox. I could tell they were playing A Flock Of Seagulls and some Journey too. Not too bad of a station. The boombox has fair AM reception. I'm willing to bet down here a car Radio would really sound great.
Mr. fjockey, I had seen your beautiful
website some time ago. Actually, it's been
quite a while since I have seen it.
Because of life's trials and
tribulations, I don't think I have even
heard your station's stream, sorry about
that. I remember from long ago, you had
mentioned the station on 1120 in Concord, MA(?)
I was staying in Gardiner, MA for a time (about 1988,) and heard
the Concord 1120 station. They were GREAT. I'm not as
sharp as I used to be (that's for sure) I don't remember
the callsign. In those days, I was going back and forth
between Gardiner, MA and Newington, CT. There was
(still is) an 1120 in CT about 10 miles from here. Back
then, it wrecked my chance to hear the Concord 1120,
although it's pattern might not have favored my direction.
Seems to me like you've gotten a lot done in the Part 15
world (a lot more than me) I hope you will find a happy
outcome for yourself and your listeners.
Bruce, very cool about the old radio and the HOMEMADE loop
that's the way to go, man! I am a minimalist and like using
older equipment, bringing it back to life and having fun with it.
I have a loop here, that has a variable cap and is on a wooden
frame. I used to use it with a Hammarlund HQ-140X. What a
combination. The things it could hear!
With my eyes, it's hard to go back and see the comments from
you guys again. John (or is it Jon) , thank you for the information, I wish
you could come over and show me how to get onto some of these
really good official sites.
Yeah, WRCR had been on 1300 khz - 500w day and 83(?) watts night.
I don't know what happened.
To the guy in New Jersey, that's
cool you reported the reception.
My eyes are too shot to go back and
see your name, I'm sorry.
So for medical reasons, we have to leave
our house and find an apartment.
This blew away my chances of getting back on
Part 15 with a good set-up - however it also
might blow away my chance to be a monitoring
station (AM DX, SWL, whatever) - if there is tons
of computer noise, etc etc.
However, I have told some people that I am
prepared to put a receiver in the car at night
and transmit whatever I am monitoring back
to the inside of the apartment. It sounds
outlandish, but I will do it if I have to. I tend
to monitor a channel (whatever it is) for hours
at a time, so this works for me. I have already
done it, except the receiver was in the backyard
and not in the car. A challenge. And it works.
I started doing it years ago when I DXed the
longwave BC band (153 to 279 kHz) - there was
no way the radio could be in the house. I heard
a lot of things. My favorite longwave broadcaster
was Iceland on 189 kHz. What a great station.
I'm determined to still be a DX listener anyway.
I hope I got all of this right and responded to the
right people about the right things.
It's 0340 local EDT here. I was supposed to
just take the dogs out. Then I got on here.
Hey, were's Carl? It's 0240 local in St. Louis.
I bet Carl is up recording a "Blare On Air" or
something. I don't think he ever really sleeps.
If you haven't heard the WWV like time clock he
has on the KDX stream overnight (most nights
during the week) check it out, it's a blast. KDX
is a very mysterious station - in that - there are
so many different things to hear - I'm not even
close to figuring out what they all are yet.
Carl is probably out in the backyard with a mike
getting ready to record the "predawn bird songs"
with his wireless mike or something like that.
Then he will mix that audio with a classical piece
that's in Creative Commons and the birds will
sue him for using their audio! I'm going back to bed.
This place is great!
Bruce, DOGRADIO
To the great guys who edit the site:
Sometimes I joke around too much.
I completely support any editing of my
posts that you guys want to do.
Best Wishes,
Bruce, DOGRADIO
Brooce we visited the website about the same time, it was during the 2 AM CDT hour that I checked in during intermission at The Sleep Stage.
Recording birds is a very delicate business since the experience one summer when recording the shrill song of a male cardinal declaring his exclusive territory and warning other male cardinals to keep flying if they knew what was good for them.
We made the mistake of playing back the song right there on the patio.
Knowing nothing about recording, the cardinal believed he was hearing an invading male and went berserk flying around trying to fight with the trespasser.
Be careful where you play your bird recordings.
I checked 1700 kHz and now conclude that all I can get is Des Moines.
Other forums have picked up on this WRCR 1700 kHz story, but Brooce MICRO 1690/1700 posted the story here one week before anyone else talked about it, so I think they all read the story here.
On two forums I read conflicting information.... one of them said that WRCR is simulcasting on their old 1300 kHz frequency and their new 1700 kHz, but someone else posted that they could only run one of their transmitters at a time.
Noting that the installing engineer for WRCR is Tom Ray, expect to hear a future "This Week in Radio Tech" featuring the story, because Tom Ray appears regularly on TWiRT.
I really dig this radio station. I love their mix, and they blast away here at night in Haddin Heights, NJ. Believe me, I feel bad for the part 15'ers who ran on 1700, but let us not forget that we are not, and might never be, top priorirty to the FCC.
In my opinion, TIS stations could pose more of a threat to Part 15 use of 1620-1700kHz than currently licensed AM stations moving into the expanded band. There are only so many AM stations that could move to the expanded band. On the other hand, new TIS’s can come on the air and apparently it is possible to get a TIS licensed with a taller antenna and larger service area than the TIS rules generally allow.
For example, http://www.radioworld.com/article/regional-tis-gets-fcc-green-light/276691
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0721/DA-15-782A1.pdf
I think the take away is we need to watch public notices for TIS waiver requests.
TIS (Traffic Information Stations) are available to government entities.
The smallest governmental unit is the family.
All of us constitute a family unit, even one person is a family of one.
I am thinking about applying for a TIS license to cover my driveway traffic and nearby street parking.
My place is also a campus, but that's a different section of the rules.