Where It Stands
- Aaron on 88.9 is out. It fails the WSFI showing, so every pair using it is ruled out. Aaron can still file 89.3, and it stays the control point either way.
- Mark is viable on 89.3 at 40 W non-directional with a 50 ft radiation center. It needs no second- or third-adjacent showing. WBSD is the only tight limit.
- BA is fileable on 91.7 at 250 W. It sits on low ground, so real coverage should fall short of its prediction.
- Confirmed: off-air reception at all sites and Twin Lakes tower approval expected, per Chris.
- Still needed: site assurance letters, the antenna quote and the filing exhibits.
Coverage Map
Contours show predicted 60 dBu reach and do not show interference. Use the town counts for clean reception. Contours for the 89.3 directional use a modeled pattern, not a real antenna.
Pair Rankings
Click a row to show it on the map. Viable pairs come first, then pairs with a showing not yet run, then ruled-out pairs. Totals include WLCB's 7,698 people. Town columns are people with clean reception. BA's numbers are predictions and likely high.
Site Options
| Site | Channel | Antenna | ERP | New People | Twin Lakes | Issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark | 89.3 | Directional | 95 W | 9,234 | 6,309 | Dropped: going non-directional |
| Mark | 89.3 | Non-Directional | 40 W | 7,632 | 5,889 | Chosen. WBSD margin 0.10 km |
| Mark | 88.9 | Non-Directional | 25 W | 5,574 | 5,435 | WSFI showing, not run |
| Mark | 91.7 | Non-Directional | 80 W | 5,110 | 4,908 | WTZY showing, WZKL noise |
| Aaron | 89.3 | Non-Directional | 95 W | 8,065 | 100 | Conflicts with Mark on 89.3 |
| Aaron | 88.9 | Non-Directional | 80 W | 7,866 | 0 | Fails WSFI showing: homes in zone |
| BA | 91.7 | Non-Directional | 250 W | 3,956 | 0 | WZKL noise, low ground: prediction likely high |
Not possible: Aaron and Mark both on 89.3, Mark and BA both on 91.7, 89.3 at BA (WBSD), or 88.9 at Aaron (WSFI).
Site Checks
Aaron on 88.9: WSFI Showing Fails
88.9 is second-adjacent to WSFI 88.5, and Aaron is inside WSFI's 60 dBu contour, so the filing must show that nobody lives where the translator's signal is 40 dB stronger than WSFI's. WSFI is predicted at 71.6 dBu at Aaron, which sets that line at 111.6 dBu.
| Antenna | 80 W | 25 W | 10 W | 5 W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-Bay | 43 | 20 | 9 | 7 |
| 2-Bay Half-Wave | 43 | 18 | 8 | 5 |
| 2-Bay Full-Wave | 43 | 14 | 3 | 3 |
| 3-Bay Full-Wave | 40 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Structures inside the interference area, worst of 2, 5 and 8 m receive heights. Clearing them takes about 1 to 2 W, which would lose nearly all the coverage.
Mark on 89.3: Viable
| ERP, 50 ft Center, Non-Directional | Margin To WBSD |
|---|---|
| 38 W | 0.21 km |
| 40 W (Planned) | 0.10 km |
| 41 W | 0.04 km |
| 42 W | Overlaps by 0.01 km |
The tightest point is toward 9 degrees true, where height above average terrain is 48.4 m. Figures use Mark's final coordinates, 42.532441, -88.254984. Population figures were modeled at 41 W, and the difference at 40 W is negligible.
- Every other station clears by about 5 km or more: WOKL 5.0, WTHX 14.9, WUWM 16.4.
- Channel 6: clears, the closest being the Milwaukee permit by about 1 km. These are low-power stations, and it is unclear whether the rule covers them.
- IF: exempt under 100 W.
- FAA: no open public-use runway within 14 km turned up. Confirm at final height.
- WLCB: 6.27 km away, inside the 10-mile limit, with the required contour overlap.
- Off-air reception of WLCB is confirmed.
BA on 91.7: Fileable, Weak Terrain
- Ground is 230 m, about 40 m below Mark and 33 m below WLCB.
- Height above average terrain is only about 5 m at 75 ft. FCC contours use a 30 m minimum, so the 250 W filing result is the same at 75 ft or 50 ft, but real coverage should be smaller.
- Filing at 75 ft, with an amendment to 50 ft if 75 ft proves impossible.
- IF: WXLC is 37.3 km away, Class A, well beyond the required spacing.
- Off-air reception of WLCB is confirmed.
WLCB Move Zones
Screening areas within 11.2 km of the WLCB transmitter. WLCB cannot move to Aaron's tower: it is 23.280 km from WLGS-LP, 172 m closer than today (23.452 km, allowed at grant by rounding). No specific site is confirmed in either zone.
Control Point
- Aaron holds the Barix and EAS equipment, with audio arriving from the studio over the internet.
- Barix units send lossless audio over a wireless link to WLCB. Internet for WLCB can share that link.
- RDS stays at the WLCB transmitter.
- Every translator receives WLCB off the air. Aaron stays the control point even with no translator there.
- Path is 6.15 km with a ridge about 3.3 km out. 5 GHz is preferred; 900 MHz is the fallback if trees block it.
Open Items
- BA: mount position.
- Antenna quotes for Mark (89.3, non-directional) and BA (91.7).
- BA: WTZY margin.
- WSFI showing for Mark on 88.9 and WTZY showing for Mark on 91.7, if those pairs stay in play.
- FAA notice and RF exposure checks at final heights.
- Wireless path check from tower height, including trees.
- Written site assurance for each filed site.
- Schedule 349 worksheets and exhibits.