I took a day trip through the area today to visit family and figured I would shared with the Buzzboard readership some observations:
WLHT & WGRD: Is technical maintenance of some kind being performed? WGRD appears to be operating at reduced power and its audio sounds muddy. WGRD's RDS simply displayed "WGRD-FM" all day. WLHT, meanwhile, is at full strength but has some noticeable distortion in its audio chain.
WLAV: Holy shit. Please fix your fatiguing audio!!! I don't know if it's ever sound worse. Mid range is turned down as low as it can possibly go and upper-end treble is turned damn as high as it can possibly go. Someone at the station apparently loves the sound of cymbals.
99.9 Smile FM: I'm impressed at the coverage of the upgraded facilities, now pumping out 220 watts ERP as compared to the previous 10 watts. Signal carries much farther eastward than any of the other Grand Rapids-based translators. Signal came in clear as a bell as far east as the Saranac / Clarksville exit and didn't start to break up until I reached the Lake Odessa rest area.
Big 101.3: Actually heard a sung jingle while channel surfing! Very nice touch. Processing sounds excellent. Would be nice to hear one or two folks from the former Real Oldies 1480 on this station.
WSNX: Does iFart have some sort of corporate edict to use super sped-up versions of songs on all of its CHRs? I thought 95.5 was bad in that regard, but holy crap, WSNX is definitely worse. Underwhelmed by this station today, but hey, its ratings are definitely nothing to sneeze at.
105.3 Hot FM: Thanks, Cumulus, for alternating the RDS captions so that I no longer have to look at a continuous plug for the morning show. The ALL CAPS thing still annoys me, though. Music wise, the station sounds better than it has in some time. They are mixing two or three "throwback" hits into the playlist each hour today as part of a weekend promotion. Heard Dave Fuller (of Detroit radio fame) via voicetracking on 105.3 late this morning; that was both a surprise and a treat. Processing sounds better than 104.5 these days; that's saying something.
Star 105.7: Another victim of playing music faster than the artist intended; the settings aren't quite as obnoxious on 105.7 as 104.5 to my ears.
106.1 The Ticket: Why does this crappy little station even exist?
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West Michigan Radio Observations from 7/23/22
- MWmetalhead
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Re: West Michigan Radio Observations from 7/23/22
I think GRD is operating at lower power, cause I went to Indiana last week, I couldn't get it past the D Rd exit south of Plainwell
I think the former short lived Funny 1410 had more listeners than 106.1 likely does.
I cant stand how SNX is nowadays it sounds like every song is being remixed by DJ Nephets on 92.3 in Chicago.
I wonder if 93.9 or 103.5 in Chicago is sped up like 105.7 and 104.5 are
I think the former short lived Funny 1410 had more listeners than 106.1 likely does.
I cant stand how SNX is nowadays it sounds like every song is being remixed by DJ Nephets on 92.3 in Chicago.
I wonder if 93.9 or 103.5 in Chicago is sped up like 105.7 and 104.5 are
- MWmetalhead
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Re: West Michigan Radio Observations from 7/23/22
When I was traveling inbound (toward GR) on I-96, I couldn't get 97.9 to lock in on seek mode until I was within a couple miles of the Kent / Ionia line. That's less than 20 miles from their tower.
Heading back to Metro Detroit, it performed better, but still lost the signal a good 10 miles sooner than usual.
Heading back to Metro Detroit, it performed better, but still lost the signal a good 10 miles sooner than usual.
Morgan Wallen is a piece of garbage.
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Re: West Michigan Radio Observations from 7/23/22
101.3 has also sped up its music in the past. I take it that's no longer the case? Sped-up music sounds ridiculous on an AC (and Madonna circa 1985 was already sped up to the point where she sounded like Minnie Mouse), but even more so on an Oldies/Classic Hits station.
Last edited by ChrisWL1980 on Sun Jul 24, 2022 6:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- MWmetalhead
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Re: West Michigan Radio Observations from 7/23/22
I didn't listen long enough to notice. The audio sounded rich and dynamic to my ears. I liked how it sounded.
Morgan Wallen is a piece of garbage.
- teetoppz28
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Re: West Michigan Radio Observations from 7/23/22
I drove through Greenville eastbound on Thursday and lost GRD in the middle of town. I usually can tune in until about Carson City or so...MWmetalhead wrote: ↑Sat Jul 23, 2022 11:14 pmWhen I was traveling inbound (toward GR) on I-96, I couldn't get 97.9 to lock in on seek mode until I was within a couple miles of the Kent / Ionia line. That's less than 20 miles from their tower.
Heading back to Metro Detroit, it performed better, but still lost the signal a good 10 miles sooner than usual.
Dropping knowledge on forum MAGAts.
Unapologetically intellectually superior.
Unapologetically intellectually superior.
- MWmetalhead
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Re: West Michigan Radio Observations from 7/23/22
They're definitely broadcasting at greatly reduced power then.
Transmitter must be on the skids.
Transmitter must be on the skids.
Morgan Wallen is a piece of garbage.
- teetoppz28
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Re: West Michigan Radio Observations from 7/23/22
Made my weekly trek on M-57 across MI yesterday and was able to pick up GRD all the way to Carson City again. Looks (sounds?) like it's fixed now!
Dropping knowledge on forum MAGAts.
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