Re: [IRCA] Synchros, anyone?

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

KKOB's night-only synchro on 770 in Santa Fe NM may well be the most
powerful synchro in the US, but at 700W-N, WR2XJR 670 Portsmouth VA, the
night-only synchro of what is now WPMH Claremont VA, is probably second.
WR2XJR is (or was) diplexed with the co-owned 1010 station licensed to
Portsmouth. I say "or was" because I seem to recall reading recently about
the 1010 station going dark to preserve the license of a co-owned ex-bander.

Anyhow, WPMH (ex-WRJR and others) is a 20 kW directional daytimer on 670
with an authorization for 3W nights. IIRC, Claremont is on the western shore
of Chesapeake Bay not far from Williamsburg. WPMH's four-tower teardrop
pattern is aimed right at Portsmouth and I believe that practically all
that's between the WPMH site and Portsmouth (34+ miles to the southeast) is
salt water. So WPMH's day signal, the equivalent of 120 kW ND on 670, must
BOMB into Portsmouth, Norfolk, et al. Needless to say, though, in Portsmouth
and Norfolk, even with the benefit of the teardrop pattern, the 3W night
signal must be barely audible (if that) above WSCR. So WR2XJR, shooting the
equivalent of 3.75 kW ND, also in a teardrop pattern aimed southeast from
its own four-tower in-line array 34+ miles closer to the target market,
takes over and must do a very respectable job of covering Portsmouth,
Norfolk, et al. This is a fascinating operation that represents some very
clever engineering!

BTW, somebody asked why all synchros in the US seem to be classified as
experimental. The FCC set up the rules that way. AFAIK, the only exception
is WLLH, whose synchronized operations in Lowell and Lawrence MA predate the
current FCC rules on synchros by close to half a century. Both of WLLH's
transmitters have regular licenses. WLLH IDs as Lowell AND Lawrence, and not
as Lowell-Lawrence, which would imply that it was licensed only to Lowell.

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






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