WLJA 101.1: Smooth Jazz 101.1 is STILL interfering with our signal!

Someone once posted that Davis should swap 100.1 with 101.1. I don’t know how much money he would have to throw in but it would make the interference issue with the translator go away. If that is not possible, I try lowering the antenna 50 or 100 feet (or find a different location that will protect WLJA and still give “sellable“ coverage in the Atlanta market.

That's why I thought they should have a brute force shield on the backside of the tower.

I don't know if there would be an issue with wind loading or ice accumulation weight. WELK in Elkins WV used a mountain to protect the Radio telescope when they first signed on in the early 1980's

secondchoice said:

Someone once posted that Davis should swap 100.1 with 101.1. I don’t know how much money he would have to throw in but it would make the interference issue with the translator go away. If that is not possible, I try lowering the antenna 50 or 100 feet (or find a different location that will protect WLJA and still give “sellable“ coverage in the Atlanta market.

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Davis' are good people and are to be admired for their achievements but sometimes successful people get into a situation like this where any outcome is not going to be exactly as they desired and they can't see the trees for the forest. IMHO Davis sees the huge Atlanta market(forest) and doesn't want to give up any inch of it but they have come up against a very successful small town operator with WLJA (the tree)who can cash flow this fight and needs the big coverage area of their unique niche format (Southern Gospel Music) to stay successful. The FCC lawyers and engineers love it...the longer the fight the more $ they make. The guy who runs Streets 94.5 got smart. He went up to Calhoun and bought the FM on 94.5 that was fighting his Atlanta translator and then went and did the same thing down at Warm Springs with the FM there on 94.5. Problem solved. In Davis' case, it would be much easier and likely much less expensive. You would think he could just swap signals with WLJA. Let them have 100.1 and him take their 101.1 and problem solved. Those Southern Gospel listeners to WLJA are every bit as avid as the Jazz fans to 101.1 in Atlanta and likely more politically connected and meaner!

MediaMan said:

Davis' are good people and are to be admired for their achievements but sometimes successful people get into a situation like this where any outcome is not going to be exactly as they desired and they can't see the trees for the forest. IMHO Davis sees the huge Atlanta market(forest) and doesn't want to give up any inch of it but they have come up against a very successful small town operator with WLJA (the tree)who can cash flow this fight and needs the big coverage area of their unique niche format (Southern Gospel Music) to stay successful. The FCC lawyers and engineers love it...the longer the fight the more $ they make. The guy who runs Streets 94.5 got smart. He went up to Calhoun and bought the FM on 94.5 that was fighting his Atlanta translator and then went and did the same thing down at Warm Springs with the FM there on 94.5. Problem solved. In Davis' case, it would be much easier and likely much less expensive. You would think he could just swap signals with WLJA. Let them have 100.1 and him take their 101.1 and problem solved. Those Southern Gospel listeners to WLJA are every bit as avid as the Jazz fans to 101.1 in Atlanta and likely more politically connected and meaner!

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P.S. Using an antenna different than what you specified in your FCC application was more than just stubborn. That was stupid. Smart people can do some dumb things and if it's true what WLJA claims in their filing about W266BW using a different antenna, then that action ranks up there at the top of the stupid list. If you read through the FCC filings, there has already been some serious allegations made against this translator on its march across Georgia to Atlanta. You'd think someone wouldn't purposely do something as dumb knowing the FCC and WLJA are paying close attention but it happens. That's exactly how the 99.3 translator got shut down in Atlanta after a long fight with 99.3 WCON in Cornelia. They put up a different antenna and WCON had someone fly a drone up near the antenna and take pictures. If these were not translators which are secondary services to the FCC and full power stations, someone would be a bunch of trouble. They could end up losing the license of their translator and then jeopardize their other FCC licenses on lack of candor issues with the FCC.

trusty said:

OK, so Smooth Jazz in Atlanta, owned by Davis, would be 100.1,
and 100.1 (WNSY) in Talking Rock, owned by Davis, just turned Smooth Jazz.

If I weren't so smart, I'd say there is something' going on here.

Nahhh ... can't be...

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Smooth Jazz is on 100.1 WSNY right now. I listened to it this morning. I am saying for Davis to swap 100.1 (WNSY) for 101.1 WLJA owned by Bryon Dobbs and company. The result 101.1 Elijay would be smooth jazz and 100.1 would be southern gospel/ classic country. I doubt Davis would file complaints against himself.

What's interesting to me is how a translator originally licensed to Winder/Barrow can't even put a city grade signal into Winder from where it actually transmit. Gotta love the Great Translator Scam of 2003, still continues in 2019.

MRFLASHPORT said:

What's interesting to me is how a translator originally licensed to Winder/Barrow can't even put a city grade signal into Winder from where it actually transmit. Gotta love the Great Translator Scam of 2003, still continues in 2019.

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While it's odd, unlike full power radio stations, translators are not licensed to a community. Instead, the FCC licenses their contour or circle of coverage. There is no requirement for a certain strength signal to cover a town in order for it to be designated as the city of license. You just pick out a town that is within that contour or nearby.

In the case of this translator, W266BW was originally permitted by the FCC at Winder, GA. In all the moves since, the operator didn't designate a different city to be the city of license which was within the contour area of where it was operating. The FCC forms used to change locations automatically loads the previous site information. They have not bothered to change it to Atlanta but it's not an FCC offense.

The FCC requires translators to identify their call sign a few times per day (3 or 4) audibly or every hour by Morse Code which isn't audible to the human ear. Most translators opt for the Morse Code option which is available on most transmitters used for translators. It should also be noted that the ability to move a FM translator into a bigger populated area has become much more difficult than it used to be. First of all, all of the available FM spectrum is used up under present spacing rules. Also, the FCC has greatly restricted the number of times a translator can "hop" to another location and those granted for use by AM stations must operate within a specific distance of the AM station and can only be on the air when the AM station is on the air unless the AM is a sunrise to sunset daytimer. The translator can stay on during the night but the AM has to operate in the daytime.

MediaMan said:

In the case of this translator, W266BW was originally permitted by the FCC at Winder, GA. In all the moves since, the operator didn't designate a different city to be the city of license which was within the contour area of where it was operating. The FCC forms used to change locations automatically loads the previous site information. They have not bothered to change it to Atlanta but it's not an FCC offense.

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Interesting. As a part 90 licensee, I am required to not only have coordinated any changes to my licensed transmitters if I move them to another location with a frequency coordinator, but also update all the data in the ULS to reflect that.

Again, the consequence free environment corporate media lives in amuses me. A CoL indicates where a station is for legal purposes, such as the very interference complaint lodged by WLJA listeners and owners, but not against the rules? Forgive me I'm a two-way guy, I guess we are a little old school.

MRFLASHPORT said:

Interesting. As a part 90 licensee, I am required to not only have coordinated any changes to my licensed transmitters if I move them to another location with a frequency coordinator, but also update all the data in the ULS to reflect that.

Again, the consequence free environment corporate media lives in amuses me. A CoL indicates where a station is for legal purposes, such as the very interference complaint lodged by WLJA listeners and owners, but not against the rules? Forgive me I'm a two-way guy, I guess we are a little old school.

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translators are licensed to a city, but they have no city of license coverage requirements .... no reason or need to change it

Looks like they're off the air. Not hearing jazz anymore or anything but static in the ATL on 101.1....