[BC] Most powerful AM radio station....

[PeterH5322@aol.com]

In a message dated 11/15/05 8:16:56 AM, tom at bosscher.org writes:


> > That parking lot is where the other 3 towers used to be right?? Kmart 
> store
> > now??? Does the common point current still wobble when semi's go by on the
> > road out front?
> 
The East-most three towers were indeed where the K-mart (sold to Meijers ?) 
store parking lot now is.


> I don't know the history of the site, but I think you are right
> that it is a K-mart parking lot. After taking pictures of over 500 tower
> sites, it's nice to have one you can drive right up to, and go through
> very soft sand, or ruts!
> 
> I think I heard that WLQV is still on an "STA".
> 
The facility goes something like this, over perhaps 20 years (roughly 1985 to 
2005) ...

5 kW into all twelve towers, nights; 50 kW into the East-most nine towers, 
days.

Sold the land under the East-most three towers, which were actually added 
when the 5 kW night pattern was created in the first place, from an earlier 50 
kW/1 kW nine tower array.

Down to 3 kW nights; 50 kW days moved back to the original nine towers.

All of these arrays, but most particularly the night arrays, were considered 
"critical", thereby requiring an operator to be present 24/7.

A string of consultants tried to design a new 5 kW night array, this time 
using the original nine (and now remaining nine) towers. None were technically 
successful and none were licensed.

KSTP added augmentation to its night array; WTOP changed the phasing of its 
center tower by +13 degrees, thereby adding null fill to about 1 kW (the end 
towers remained +/- 65 degrees); both of these were by STAs, so here's where the 
STAs come in.

WLQV noted substantial "interference", most particularly from WTOP, but also 
from KSTP, and asked the FCC for relief, even though a Class A station (both 
WTOP and KSTP are Class A) normally cannot cause interference to a station of 
lower class (WLQV is Class B).

The FCC ordered testing to be done, and many tests were conducted, at WTOP 
and KSTP expense, which tests proved that WLQV was indeed being interfered with. 
WTOP and KSTP were still operating with STAs.

(If WLQV was operating with an STA, it was on account of the non-standard 3 
kW power).

Another consultant was hired, and he worked on yet another 5 kW nine tower 
design. This design was highly optimized, and allowed for 5 kW nights without 
any changes in the siting of the towers.

(Normally, an "optimized" design needs as many "degrees of freedom" as is 
possible; these factors being any or all of: field ratio, phasing and bearing and 
distance [ siting ] of a tower or towers from the reference).

Modeling of the stability of this new array design proved that it was stable, 
and could be considered for elimination of "critical array" status, thereby 
obviating the need for an operator 24/7.

But, this new 5 kW array, on account of its wider "aperture" (beam width) 
would cause a small amount of interference to KSTP, in Michigan's upper 
peninsula. But, except for this factor, the design was good.

This design was submitted to the FCC. The FCC accepted the design, on the 
condition that WLQV, WTOP and KSTP reached agreements with one another, formally 
accepting the "interference"/interference that each was causing to the other.

Although the parties implicitly agreed, no contracts were yet signed.

The FCC ordered WTOP and KSTP to pay for the engineering and construction 
changes to WLQV in order to implement this 5 kW nine tower array design.

The 5 kW night array was implemented and proved to be stable, and the FCC 
stated that it could be considered "non-critical".

(One would have to plot the "spurs" within the broad mimima towards WTOP and 
KSTP, in both the old patterns and the new, in order to observe just how good 
this new design really was).

Additionally, at the last moment and apparently without prior notice to the 
parties, the FCC granted WLQV 10 kW nights, not the requested 5 kW nights.

(The "critical array" status was also removed).

WLQV was granted a license for 50 kW days and 10 kW nights, "non-critical"; 
WTOP and KSTP were still STAd.

The parties finally signed the requested and required contracts; the STAs for 
WTOP and KSTP were removed.


Although in 1965 I successfully developed AM array design and analysis 
computer programs, these being mainframe-based (FORTRAN II), should someone want to 
see how such "optimization" tools are implemented, one can find a published 
program of this general type (FORTRAN IV) in a 1969 issue of IEEE Transactions 
on Broadcasting. (My program remains unpublished/proprietary).