CT-NY Radio: 2 Stations Engaged In Interference Battle

WEHM 92.9 FM (3.1 Kw) 

A pair of FM radio stations, one in Connecticut, the other on Long Island, both broadcasting on 92.9 FM are embroiled in a dispute over the signal of one of the broadcast outlets interfering with the other, reports The New Haven Register.

Religious WJMJ, which is owned by the Archdiocese of Hartford, recently shifted the height and dial position of FM translator W225DI at 92.9 FM.

For a non-commercial, listener-supported station like WJMJ, a wider audience translates into more potential donors. So with that in mind, the station earlier this month raised the height of its FM translator from 20 feet up on the WKCI-FM radio tower on Gaylord Mountain Road in Hamden, CT to 460 feet, said Tom Ray, WJMJ’s transmitter engineer.

The change resulted in listeners of Alternative WEHM 92.9 FM on both sides of Long Island Sound being unable to hear that station because of interference from WJMJ’s signal, said Stefan Rybak, managing director of Long Island Radio Broadcasting, which owns the New York station. WEHM also broadcasts at 92.9 FM.

Translator W225DI 92.9 (100 watts)

“Last week, we started getting inundated with phone calls and emails, not only from listeners in southern Connecticut, but from those on the north shore of Long Island as well,” Rybak said. “This station enjoys quite a loyal and dedicated listenership because of the format that we have.”

WEHM listeners weren’t the only ones complaining about interference with the station’s signal by WJMJ, said Bud Williamson, an engineer with Long Island Radio Broadcasting.

“We've gotten phone calls from (WEHM) advertisers on the north shore of Long Island,” Williamson said. “More than one of them has said to us, ‘Your signal is getting interfered with, what are you going to do about it?’”

To appease listeners and advertisers whose commercials may not being reaching WEHM’s maximum audience, Long Island Radio Broadcasting officials are looking to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Rybak said he would prefer to resolve the matter with the two stations working together rather than having to file a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.

“We've tried nicely to communicate with them, but they’ve asked us to file a formal complaint,” Rybak said of WJMJ. “What that means is that both stations are going to spend a lot of money, but in the end, they are not going to win.”

(H/T:  RecNet.com for the coverage maps)