Posted by Craig on October 01, 2009 at 11:04:15:
Toward the end of a thread below, Steve Green asked a good question that may have gotten lost: For those weaker AM stations that have trouble reaching NY's outer suburbs, what about repeater AM stations on the same frequency?
We've been talking about how hard it is to hear WWRL, WLIB, WADO, WNYM, etc. outside a 30-40 mile radius of Manhattan, even though all these stations have boosted their wattage or hours and several have bought suburban stations on or near their frequencies to take them off the air.
Nothing seems to help, given that a) the AM radio band has gotten more noisy due to new electronic devices, b) more stations are on the air and c) manufacturers are making less sensitive receivers.
So what would be wrong with an AM station like WWRL putting a few 1000 watt or even 500 watt stations on 1600 in several suburbs? Would the repeaters clash with the mother signal?
As Steve asks, didn't 1030 WBZ Boston have a 1030 repeater for many years in Springfield MA, about 75 miles to the west? Also in Massachusetes, doesn't 1400 WLLH have 1000 watt transmitters in both Lawrence and Lowell, two suburban Boston communities about 15 miles apart?
Craig
/