Re: [IRCA] CFGO 1200

["Dan Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@xxxxxxx>]

Nigel Pimblett inquired whether CFGO has been running on day pattern at
night during much of this month. Here is the story:

It certainly isn't the regular night patterm, but whether it is the day
pattern is still the subject of speculation. I contacted the CE of WKOX,
which has been getting clobbered by CFGO every night for the last couple of
weeks. He called CFGO's CE, who reported that a component (capacitor)
failed--not sure whether it is in the night phasor or in one of the
ATUs--and if so whether it is in one of the ATUs that are used only at
night. Anyhow, the component is not a stock part (vacuum cap, I believe) and
must be specially manufactured, which will take a little time. Now, when
such an event occurs at a US station--if the station is playing by the
rules--the station notifies the FCC, which grants STA, but usually not with
the full power the station uses when its DA is functioning normally. In this
case, CFGO appears to be running 50 kW even though its night pattern (at
least) is clearly out of whack.

Compounding the confusion is that the FCC AM database shows records for two
transmitter sites for CFGO. One is about five miles north of the other. I
assume--but don't know--that the more northerly site is CFGO's original site
and that CFGO was losing that site and was therefore forced to find a new
site farther south and farther from the CoL. The six-tower night arrays and
patterns at the two sites are identical for all practical purposes. The day
patterns are quite different. The one from the more northerly site uses
three towers and is quite broad. The one from the southerly site uses four
towers and is narrower than the three-tower day pattern. The four-tower day
pattern is closer to a relaxed version of the night pattern than is the
three-tower day pattern. The recent reception reports for CFGO are more
consistent with the use of the three-tower day pattern at night than with
use of the four-tower pattern.

A friend of mine is a former part owner of WTLA and still consults for the
group that owns it. WTLA is co-channel with CFGO and only a little more than
100 miles to the south. CFGO protects WTLA day and night. Either of CFGO's
day patterns delivers substantially more signal toward WTLA than do CFGO's
night patterns. One would think that stations such as WTLA and WKOX would be
able to prevail on the FCC or Industrie Canada to require CFGO to operate at
reduced night power until it can fix its problem, but CEs are so busy these
days that unless sponsors are cancelling spots in droves and the station's
GM is yelling blue murder, the path of least resistance is the right one. No
CE is likely to devote much energy to a problem that hardly anyone besides
DXers cares about.

--
Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@xxxxxxx
eFax 707-215-6367





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