Replies

>> An FM radio station in Hartford (central location) would not come in clearly in Stamford. <<

Nonsense. I got Hartford FM stereo just fine on the south shore of Long Island. Besides, NPR should be AM. I got New York AM just fine in Washington, and there’s (used to be?) quite a pool of Yankees fans who listen(ed?) to 770-AM NY down in Florida.

>> You could have repeaters, but several of the “NPR” stations are actually college stations (e.g. WSHU-Bridgeport, Sacred Heart University), and would exist whether they were formally NPR or not. <<

Yes, I make the argument that their communities and educational mission would be better served if they were NOT NPR stations.

I got Hartford FM stereo just fine on the south shore of Long Island.

First, some stations have more wattage than others. WTIC-FM will travel farther than WHNC-106 FM. The elevation of the transmitting antenna also makes a difference, as does the location and quality of the antenna and receiving unit. Car radios tend to get better reception than indoor desktop radios. Long Island Sound also means nothing stands in the way of your signal.

Large cities still have NPR music. Here in Phoenix, the main station, KBAQ, is classical music 95% of the time. The news station is relegated to a secondary FM digital signal, with smaller stations that are secondary to KBAQ music.

The AM stations like WABC in New York, KDKA in Pittsburgh, and WLS and WBBM in Chicago, have a clear channel, and what Rush Limbaugh used to call a "50,000 watt blow torch". Those do NOT get handed out easily, and most are heritage stations. If NPR in CT wanted to move to AM, it would NOT get a 50,000 watt station, like WTIC-1080 has. It would more likely get 5,000 watts like WPOP. Some stations only have 1,000 or 2,000 watts and are obliged to signoff at sundown.

So, yes, I have also listened to the blowtorch WBBM-AM Chicago continuous on a drive from Chicago to Connecticut, only losing the signal in New Jersey. (That works better at night, when the stratosphere provides "bounce")

I would agree with you that there is no need for true college stations to be NPR.

In the era of podcasting the wholde college broadcasting thing should perhaps be rethought. Unfortunately government funding (of all kinds not just NPR) inhibits organic change in college responses to changing technical and social environments.