[BC] 50 kW DA Coverage

[Phil Alexander]

On 30 May 2006 at 7:05, Richard Fry wrote:

> Phil Alexander:
> >A true 50 would
> >cover places like Toledo, Flint, Lansing, possibly Cleveland,
> >because coverage is what 50 kW is all about.
> ______________
> 
> WJR does all that and more, as seen in this scan of their early 1960s 
> marketing brochure (link below).
 
<snip>
 
> WWJ at 50 kW DA has a lot of ERP in its max, but even so their 2 mV/m 
> contour falls a little inside WJR's in that direction.
> 
> I haven't looked at the other 50 kW DAs in Detroit, but probably they have 
> similar results when compared to WJR.

Correct.

> A station "going 50 kW" as a DA certainly improves performance in the 
> direction of the max when compared to 5 kW omni, but the pattern can become 
> so narrow that they lose considerable coverage area that they once had with 
> that 5 kW omni.

Exactly my point. This is especially true when a substantial portion of the 
"50" is dumped over water as is the case with WXYT or over less populated
land areas like WWJ, or even worse, WFDF which does not and cannot aim at 
the max population.

Contrary to some thinking, people, real people, do live beyond the metros.
They buy the same stuff as those inside the dense populations. WJR
potentially reaches far more homes with local service than any other
Detroit "50" with LOCAL service by a differential of millions.

The same is true in Chicago/Milwaukee if a comparison is made between
WGN, WBBM etc. versus WTMJ or WISN even if those were moved to Chicago.

To say that WJR and WWJ are both 50 kW stations is technically true,
but one IS a 50 kW flood light illuminating a huge number while the
other is a laser beam that crosses a major metro, a few cities nearby
and spends itself in the pine trees.

Ratings?  Ratings are programming.


---------------------------------------------
Phil Alexander, CSRE, AMD
Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology 
(a Div. of Advanced Parts Corporation) 
Ph. (317) 335-2065   FAX (317) 335-9037





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