1 of 1- RadioActive
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How Much Interference Will A New Grimsby FM Station At 88.5 Generate?
There's a newcomer arriving soon to a familiar frequency - but will it play nice with those near and around their future dial position?
I'm talking about the yet-to-get-to-air CKLK, licenced to Grimsby-Beamsville. The CRTC approved a licence for the new Durham Radio outlet way back in 2018, but concerns about the transmitter site and an attempt to sneak the station into the Hamilton-Burlington market has so far prevented the launch. They were granted an extension until July 2024 to finally get the thing up and running.
The company has gone back to the CRTC yet again to ease fears about possible interference. The reason: the frequency they've been granted is 88.5. And it's not just CKDX Newmarket that could potentially be infringed. A recent engineering report indicates there may, in fact, be some interference on the outskirts of each market.
So whether you'll be affected when this thing finally gets to air remains to be seen. But if you listen to CKDX over the air from a distance or tune in WBFO from Buffalo from outside its main area, you may be getting literal mixed signals in the future.
Check out these charts and maps filed by Durham Radio with the CRTC.
The CKLK update
- turkeytop
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Re: How Much Interference Will A New Grimsby FM Station At 88.5 Generate?
Interesting. Thanks for posting that.
I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.
- tvguy
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Re: How Much Interference Will A New Grimsby FM Station At 88.5 Generate?
Looks like a licence to lose money, especially when there is tropospheric activity which will enhance the rochester signal.
- RadioActive
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Re: How Much Interference Will A New Grimsby FM Station At 88.5 Generate?
Looks like they'll have to carefully put the beam in Beamsville!
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Thread Starter- Skywave
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Re: How Much Interference Will A New Grimsby FM Station At 88.5 Generate?
In addition to tvguy's comment about tropo interference from Rochester, there is a clear shot across Lake Ontario from the CKDX-FM site in Snowball (Newmarket). So calculated on a point-to-point basis, it will likely interfere,
Second issue is that WBFO is 1st adjacent. That's fine for analog interference, but their HD signal is effectively co-channel white noise which will be there constantly. The interference zone almost identical to the zone of analog 1st adjacent interference.
A major issue with these stations where interference-free reception is constrained to more or less the 3 millivolt contour is that the commuting audience won't tolerate the abrupt change to a bad signal. So if you're driving from Grimsby or Beamsville to St. Catharines or Hamilton, bada boom, bada bing....gone.
Yes, a license to lose money.
My prediction is an eventual plea for indulgence to make it a repeater of KX 94.7 or The Grand.
Last edited by Skywave (August 25, 2022 2:00 pm)
- markow202
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Re: How Much Interference Will A New Grimsby FM Station At 88.5 Generate?
I beleive the 88.5 CKDX Newmarket signal has a directional pattern more-so to the north and its south end goes northern/mid GTA
- Skywave
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Re: How Much Interference Will A New Grimsby FM Station At 88.5 Generate?
markow202 wrote:
I beleive the 88.5 CKDX Newmarket signal has a directional pattern more-so to the north and its south end goes northern/mid GTA
True, but it's still enough to cause interference because of the over-water path. I'm basing it on the actual notified antenna pattern.
- tvguy
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Re: How Much Interference Will A New Grimsby FM Station At 88.5 Generate?
I have had a lot of experience in Lower Mainland BC where CKYE 93.1 (Mt. Seymour site) had excellent reception throughout its 3 mV/m contour, despite a 50 kw 1st adjacent KISM on 92.9. On the day that KISM implemented IBOC HD, it was “game over” for CKYE in a significant portion of its coverage area. Depending on the quality of radio in different vehicles, the “white noise” (more like a swish-swish-swish sound) from KISM was intolerable to many listeners. Because CKYE’s primarily audience is in Surrey, about 40 kms from its Mt. Seymour site, the interference was really bad bcause KISM was that much closer. CKYE had an excellent signal throughout the lower mainland before KISM HD was implemented. We were able to get Saga’s cooperation for a few hours in order to dis-able the HD during drive tests. But that cooperation ended quickly when Saga’s head-office had a change of heart. After several years of battling the CRTC, CKYE was granted a fairly low power repeater in Surrey, which provides adequate coverage, but there are still sections of Vancouver where the HD interference remains - within sight of Mt. Seymour. The WBFO (HD) signal cuts through a lot of CKLK’s 3 mV/m coverage. Skywave is correct in his asessment. Then add on the impact of CKDX, plus tropo from WRUR Rochester, and it’s a recipe for diasaster.
- markow202
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Re: How Much Interference Will A New Grimsby FM Station At 88.5 Generate?
Off topic but not so much speaking about interference.....when at the cottage I listen to 103.3 CLKP in the Honey Harbour area which is somewhat already a distance from Parry Sound - one day I was in a weak signal coverage area in car - and the signal didnt go scratchy rather....silent gaps - almost like the receiver was being overloaded by something else. It was not a fade or radio silence on their part. What could that be?