Freedom Radio FM, where did this come from?

Freedom Radio FM 96.1 HD-3. WRKH

When did this station launch?

So what translator is this feeding?

This is news to me! It looks like when the CP for W223BX on 92.5 was amended down to just 10 watts, the parent station changed to WRKH-HD3, so I'm assuming this is what the HD3 will be feeding.

Freedom Radio FM is already on a translator in Gulfport, fed directly from the parent station in Pennsylvania.

Great, another HD format that is completely irrelevant to me. In the short few minutes I listened, it seems to have the same dropout audio issue that 99.9-HD3 had when it debuted. It dropped out right at the TOH ID so I couldn't tell if they were mentioning the translator or not. Being co-channel with the translator here in Foley means I won't know if it's on the air unless someone in Mobile proper can pick it up.

Frankly, I don't know what was more facepalm worthy, the constant dropouts despite a strong signal or the preacher telling me how palm readers have married "the occult" in a pact with Satan.

That's strange. in Pensacola I can decode 96.1-3 fine but I can't get 99.9-3.

And in Foley I get 99.9-3 fine now, but not 96.1-3. Earlier I left the radio on the HD2 and watched the "HD+" indicator that says another channel is available dance off and on constantly.

I couldn't get any signs of HD or RDS from Kiss 107.3 today. Has iHeart shut HD off?

.... and WDLT runs the same syndicated shows as WRRX. WDLT is closer to Pensacola than some Pensacola stations... come on, get original with WRRX.

HD came back the next day on 107.3. Don't know why.

iHeart has two HD fed translators and now Edgewater has one (we think).

Does anyone think Cumulus might buy a couple translators to play with?
I would think 92.3 and 95.3 in Pensacola would be desirable and could be fed by WRRX, WCOA or WJTQ. WCOA might be able to move a translator in from >250 miles.

Mobile has plenty of unspoken for translators that could still be fed by HD instead of AM... and now WASG + 106.1 (a 250 watt translator) is for sale if someone new wants to enter the Mobile market. How many more translators will iHeart buy or feed by sublease? Will Cumulus turn HD back on and feed something? Will someone else join the Mobile HD-Translator game? Will CC Kees Smoth Jazz on HD-2 or put it on a transistor?

I'm sure as has been said before on other threads that Mobile and Pensacola's dormant translators are probably more valuable now elsewhere, but it really does seem like Cumulus has dropped the ball in maximizing their potential here. I still think a Mobile-only translator would do gangbusters for WGOK, since that's where the majority of their listeners are. I still can't believe they didn't think to jump on that when they had the chance.

And while the prevailing wisdom here is that a signal can only work if it serves both sides of the bay, I still don't believe that's totally true. Commuters aside, my experience has been that people from Mobile and people from the Eastern Shore don't like crossing the bayway and do it as little as possible if they don't have to for a job or school. Mobilians don't like making the drive through the tunnels any more than people from Daphne do. I mean, I hear this a lot. And frankly, I see nothing wrong with a strategically located translator that may "only" serve central Mobile county, because it's still going to reach over 200,000 pretty diverse people.

Pensacola is better suited for translators even if they might not reach people in Lillian or Cantonment or Navarre completely. Again, commuters aside, there's a pretty nice little market waiting to be tapped there for the right format. I don't know what that would be, but I bet there's room. A creative thinker creates the market, they don't wait for it to be exploited by research.

Could Edgewater feed a second translator in Pensacola with 96.1-3 or would they have to simulcast on 101.5 or 107.3?

seedless said:

Could Edgewater feed a second translator in Pensacola with 96.1-3 or would they have to simulcast on 101.5 or 107.3?

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No one has ever told me different, so I assume as long as the translator is within the primary station's 60 dBu coverage, they could feed it from any station that qualifies, HD or analog. Although why EMF would want to feed a competitor's format is beyond me.

Edit to add: EMF has apparently been using WMJJ HD-3 out of Birmingham to feed their translator in Tuscaloosa, so that would be the same kind of situation.

I'm trying to figure out why iHeart keeps the HD active on TK and Kiss if they aren't planning to feed the HD-2's to translators in the Pensacola market.

Well, you know I've always said that I think someone in the company loves smooth jazz since it's on two stations and on the best HD signal in Mobile.

But honestly, they probably just forgot the feeds are even active and won't until something breaks.

tomservo said:

I'm sure as has been said before on other threads that Mobile and Pensacola's dormant translators are probably more valuable now elsewhere, but it really does seem like Cumulus has dropped the ball in maximizing their potential here. I still think a Mobile-only translator would do gangbusters for WGOK, since that's where the majority of their listeners are. I still can't believe they didn't think to jump on that when they had the chance.

And while the prevailing wisdom here is that a signal can only work if it serves both sides of the bay, I still don't believe that's totally true. Commuters aside, my experience has been that people from Mobile and people from the Eastern Shore don't like crossing the bayway and do it as little as possible if they don't have to for a job or school. Mobilians don't like making the drive through the tunnels any more than people from Daphne do. I mean, I hear this a lot. And frankly, I see nothing wrong with a strategically located translator that may "only" serve central Mobile county, because it's still going to reach over 200,000 pretty diverse people.

Click to expand...

It astounds me that no one has snapped up Wilkins' 540 WASG and its 106.1 translator. Or that they're selling it.

I'm thinking there's just enough material in the Classic Hip-Hop wheelhouse to try it there.

I think Wilkins is asking way too much for the AM. I'm not sure if the translator would be included in the price. It was for sale before the translator was paired up if I remember correctly.

I do believe a classic hip hop format would do well in Mob town, though.