Acceptable registrations in the queue through March 16 at 11:00a ET have now been activated. Enjoy! -M.W.

Terms of Use have been amended effective October 6, 2019. Make sure you are aware of the new rules! Please visit this thread for details: https://www.mibuzzboard.com/phpBB3/view ... 16&t=48619

WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Discussion pertaining to Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Battle Creek, Big Rapids, and Michiana
User avatar
Ben Zonia
Posts: 2143
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:35 pm
Location: Honor

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by Ben Zonia » Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:10 pm

Actually, the population of Livingston County is closing in on 200,000, not 250,000. The pandemic delayed the count, which normally would be for April, 2020, but the accurate counts are apparently for July 1, 2020 due to delays.

The lack of complete data, and the overuse of statistics rather than actual counts, confuses this. Some of the statistics are frankly wrong, predicting identical percentages of gain or loss rather than actual counts on regions of counties and all townships and other subdivisions. But the best figures are here for Livingston County, 195,702 about a year ago.

https://michigan.hometownlocator.com/mi/livingston/

As far as powerful signals where there are less people, more sparsely populated areas are often overrepresented with powerful signals. The concepts of First Local Service and the Rural Radio Initiative result in more and more stations with towers in the middle of nowhere. They appear to be motivated by an attempt to limit competition in more populated areas rather than providing service to an economically unsustainable low population for radio stations.

Consider all the 100000 watt stations in the Upper Peninsula, Great Plains, Montana, etc.
Last edited by Ben Zonia on Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:45 pm, edited 5 times in total.


"I had a job for a while as an announcer at WWV but I finally quit, because I couldn't stand the hours."

-Author Unknown

User avatar
MWmetalhead
Site Admin
Posts: 11873
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:23 am

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by MWmetalhead » Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:13 pm

Thanks. I do believe that county's population has grown at a brisk pace since 1990 whereas Muskegon County has been nearly flat.

Muskegon County only has about 175,000 residents.



User avatar
Ben Zonia
Posts: 2143
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:35 pm
Location: Honor

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by Ben Zonia » Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:56 pm

County lines may define SMSAs and radio markets, but where a city like Muskegon has suburbs such as Grand Haven in Ottawa County, which is rapidly growing, they don't represent reality. At least until recently, cities in Michigan lost population or didn't grow because they could not and cannot easily annex compared to other states. The population continued and continues to grow in suburbs outside the city and/or county. Toledo, Ft. Wayne, Columbus, Indianapolis, and others in nearby states have had less loss or more gain due to their boundaries steadily increasing or including an entire County in a Metropolitan government.


"I had a job for a while as an announcer at WWV but I finally quit, because I couldn't stand the hours."

-Author Unknown

jesusjenny
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:12 pm

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by jesusjenny » Tue Jun 22, 2021 10:08 pm

Good Conversation. I think there is a big difference between big signals covering more rural areas, and corporate radio moving signals around and dumping the local market to make more money. IE -106.9 WOOD-FM is a great example. Take a Heritage Muskegon station and make it a repeater for a Grand Rapids AM?

There are a lot of Big Signal stations up north for sure. The rumor was that when Bob and Tom were discovered it was because they were on a 100000 Watt Station (WJML at the time) that covered so much territory (and the tower was on top of Boyne Mountain or Boyne Highlighands) you could pick it up in something like 30 counties in the Northern Lower, Upper Peninsula and in Wisconsin. One of the "big wigs" from down south heard while vacationing somewhere in Michigan and then rest is history. Interestingly enough, I believe at the time WJML and WMUS were owned by the same group at this time.



User avatar
Ben Zonia
Posts: 2143
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:35 pm
Location: Honor

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by Ben Zonia » Tue Jun 22, 2021 10:32 pm

The other Bob and Tom theory is that someone from MacDonald Broadcasting leaked their resume and tapes to WFBQ Indianapolis because they were beating WWPZ and WMBN in the ratings.

WOOD 1300 should have had more research done before they moved. The WOOD Proof of Performances used for the WCCW 1310 application for 50 kW Day shows that the radials from the new WOOD site are <<< M-3 toward Grand Rapids. Other stations do site studies before they do such a big move. I guess corporate didn't want to spend the money. Their insistence on a single pattern and phasor rather than DA-2, a site so far South from the old site, and a Day pattern that didn't serve Ottawa County so badly might have resulted in better service, and not such an urgent need for an FM simulcast. Service in Scandinavia at Night on a regular basis, while impressive, isn't as critical as service in Central Grand Rapids. :) :) :)

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Att ... &exhcnum=1


"I had a job for a while as an announcer at WWV but I finally quit, because I couldn't stand the hours."

-Author Unknown

Steve Dirksen
Posts: 19
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2009 5:40 pm

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by Steve Dirksen » Wed Jun 23, 2021 8:30 am

Got my interest this morning. I think Tim Moore may have sent out the Bob and Tom tapes back in the day. As a sidebar, I interviewed for the morning show at WJML as their replacement sometime in 80 I think. It was with the legend who is/was Lucy Nally. The interview took place at MUS. I wound up calling Tom at FBQ one morning after 10am...he took the call...and was quite informative and helpful in about a half hour conversation. Fortunately I was rejected for the gig, and quickly realized after that I was NOT a morning show talent.



andymuskegon
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:06 am
Location: muskegon mi

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by andymuskegon » Wed Jun 23, 2021 8:48 am

Well, the economy of Muskegon county could be better if the reach out of it for local business and events could actually reach other markets. It's also the ad rate the locals have to pay compared to the national chains who pay pennies on the dollar. It's bullshit and everyone knows it
MWmetalhead wrote:
Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:21 pm
The economy of Muskegon County doesn't warrant multiple 50 kW blowtorches hypertargeting the area.

Look at Benton Harbor / St. Joe. The class B behemoth there (99.9) changed its focus to South Bend years ago. The "local" stations are all Class A (6,000 watts equivalent or less).

Mt. Pleasant - similar story with WCEN-FM.

Best comparable case might be Jackson, where 94.1 and 106.1 shifted attention (and studios) to Lansing decades ago. Until a series of AM translators signed on within the last decade, WKHM-FM was the ONLY commercial FM station with a primary focus on Jackson and with studios there.

Livingston County - 250,000 residents - only one commercial FM station is licensed to the whole county. That would be 93.5 WHMI.


http://www.facebook.com/#!/andyoriley

ftballfan
Posts: 875
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 6:38 pm

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by ftballfan » Wed Jun 23, 2021 7:00 pm

I'm surprised iHeart hasn't dumped 96.1 or 101.3's format to temporarily rebroadcast WOOD 1300 (or bumped one of the HD2's they have in the market)



User avatar
MWmetalhead
Site Admin
Posts: 11873
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:23 am

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by MWmetalhead » Thu Jun 24, 2021 6:59 am

Well, the economy of Muskegon county could be better if the reach out of it for local business and events could actually reach other markets. It's also the ad rate the locals have to pay compared to the national chains who pay pennies on the dollar. It's bullshit and everyone knows it
Agree on the second point.

On the first point, I am inclined to disagree.

For about the last five years it spent at 106.9 FM, 107 MUS generally scored between a 1 and 1.5 share. The best way for Muskegon area destinations to reach GR area consumers is to advertise on Grand Rapids-based outlets, not Muskegon area outlets.

101.7 does have a surprisingly good signal in the car away from the low lying areas of Grand Rapids (the signal is unusable in the valley). 107.9 is nearly as good.

The biggest problem with Muskegon area radio, in my opinion, is the lack of local content on the stations actually targeting Muskegon. I believe 92.5, 97.5, 98.3 and 100.1 all rely on national programming around the clock. 101.7 & 107.9 rely on voicetracking from out-of-market personalities fairly heavily.

iHM has had great success using 104.5 as a GR-focused station. I cannot fault them for redeploying 106.9 in a similar fashion, especially given the fact few folks under age 60 use AM radio regularly. Finding an FM home for WOOD Radio was essential for its long-term viability, especially given the AM signal's deficiencies in northern Kent County at night and in western Ottawa County 24/7. 106.9 FM (when it's actually broadcasting) delivers a good - even great - signal to a lot of the areas where 1300 AM suffers issues.

Using 96.1 FM to rebroadcast WOOD 1300 may have been considered at one point, but 96.1 FM has a crappy signal in northern Kent County (albeit not as lousy as it once was) and could also run afoul of programming exclusivity issues since its signal creeps into the Kalamazoo market.



User avatar
Ben Zonia
Posts: 2143
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:35 pm
Location: Honor

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by Ben Zonia » Thu Jun 24, 2021 10:47 am

I'm sure if they could have they would have downgraded 104.5 and 106.9 to Class B1 and moved them close to Grand Rapids. But the second channel adjacent restrictions are brittle and prohibitive and the closest they could get is 44 miles to WVGR and WTNR respectively. And Class B1 is a much larger step down than it appears. It's not just going down from 50 kW to 25 kW, it's going down from 150 to 100 meters reference, so it's really about 7 dB down from a Class B.


"I had a job for a while as an announcer at WWV but I finally quit, because I couldn't stand the hours."

-Author Unknown

User avatar
MWmetalhead
Site Admin
Posts: 11873
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:23 am

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by MWmetalhead » Thu Jun 24, 2021 12:03 pm

Very valid points.



User avatar
Bull Shannon
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2004 11:31 pm

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by Bull Shannon » Thu Jun 24, 2021 12:33 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Thu Jun 24, 2021 6:59 am
The biggest problem with Muskegon area radio, in my opinion, is the lack of local content on the stations actually targeting Muskegon. I believe 92.5, 97.5, 98.3 and 100.1 all rely on national programming around the clock. 101.7 & 107.9 rely on voicetracking from out-of-market personalities fairly heavily.
100.9 and 103.7 are the only truly local stations.



User avatar
MWmetalhead
Site Admin
Posts: 11873
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:23 am

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by MWmetalhead » Fri Jun 25, 2021 5:58 pm

With the current weather pattern, I suspect it'll take longer to reactivate 106.9 FM at full power than initial estimates.

Earlier today, the station returned at reduced power, which in itself is impressive. Reception appears to be quite respectable compared to normal facilities based on Facebook posts.



Kennelly Heaviside
Posts: 145
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2021 12:06 am

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by Kennelly Heaviside » Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:48 pm

Are there any details as to how they got it back on the air? I guess they could have transported a temporary transmitter in, and fixed any damage to the electrical supply and transmission line. Any idea what the TPO and ERP are?


Kennelly Heaviside. The best Technical Consultant no money can buy.

User avatar
MWmetalhead
Site Admin
Posts: 11873
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:23 am

Re: WOOD-FM transmitter fried by lightning strike

Post by MWmetalhead » Fri Jun 25, 2021 7:06 pm

I found no new FCC database filings.

The station has long had registered AUX facilities for 15.5 kW ERP. Not sure if that's what they are using right now or not.



Post Reply Previous topicNext topic