Is Ann Arbor part of Detroit? (Warren, Sterling Heights: casinos, live in, area code)

[Jwo85]

Originally Posted by 313 TUxedo

Most of the Detroit AM stations cannot be heard in A² at night (or, if you can hear them, they get enough interference that you probably would not listen to them) As for FMs, most can be heard on a decent radio (notable exception WHTD "Hot 102.7", as there is an Ann Arbor station on 102.9)

AM freq is the worst ever. I can't even hear the talk when I'm 5 miles away from Detroit due to the interference. I wish Sports Radio 1270AM would just move to another freq on FM. Horrible decision who ever decided one Sunday to put the Tigers playoff game on AM and the Lions game on sister station FM.

[MS313]

Originally Posted by Jwo85

AM freq is the worst ever. I can't even hear the talk when I'm 5 miles away from Detroit due to the interference. I wish Sports Radio 1270AM would just move to another freq on FM. Horrible decision who ever decided one Sunday to put the Tigers playoff game on AM and the Lions game on sister station FM.

I wouldn't be surprised if AM dies off in the next 10- 20 years. And they expand the FM station range from 108.0 to like 308.0 or something.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by MarvinStrong313

Michigan City and Gary, IN has their own identity but still in the Chicago area.

even South Bend has some of that attraction towards Chicago, although it is in no way metropolitan Chicago (where even Michigan City and obviously Gary can be included in metropolitan Chicago).

When the fans come from out-of-town from places like Oklahoma or USC and the like to play the Irish, Chicago is usually where they come and spend time before the game.

Notre Dame is quite linked to Chicago, more so IMHO than any other city, including New York and Indy.

[313 TUxedo]

@Jwo85 WXYT is an example of what is wrong with many AM stations. AM stations (or, most of them) need to use directional antennas at night to protect other stations from interference. When they were 5kW, their only real "null" was to the West (Rock Island, IL). Coverage was fine until new suburbs popped up well west of the city (their coverage did not change, but people moved into new areas that 1270 did not cover at night). When WXYT paid a fortune to snag the Tigers contract from WJR, a condition of the deal was that WXYT would increase power. Running 50kW required a much more directional signal than they needed at 5kW. They moved the transmitter to Northern Monroe County, where the Rock Island null was little problem, but inherited a new one. Another 1270 in Charlevoix had to be partially protected, too. This did not need a deep null, but they could not blow the full 50kW in that direction, either. The upgrade did not make a lot of difference. The same suburbs that were in the old Rock Island null are in the new Charlevoix "soft spot". They should have bought the Charlevoix station and turrned it into a daytimer, or bought another Detroit station. Ultimately, they cannibalized their talk station on 97.1 instead. many AM stations are cursed by directional patterns that covered their listeners 50 years ago, but not the sprawl of later years. In some markets, like Pittsburgh and Cleveland, only a single AM station has day and night coverage of the metro area "with no complaints".

@MarvinStrong313 There is more to the radio spectrum than radio broadcasting stations. The FM band should not be expanded beyond 108 MHz anytime soon - I think people would rather fly on airplanes that smoothly land on runways than on airplanes that crash into FM radio stations.
There are many radio enthusiasts (outside the radio business, but wanting in) who support extending the FM band below 88 MHz (practical now, since very few TV stations are below 88 MHz anymore), but it is not likely to happen. Those who already hold broadcast licenses see to it that their investment is protected from future would-be competitors.

[tigerfan3]

Ann Arbor and Detroit have very little in common, other than sports. But I love both cities.

[tigerfan3]

They are in the same media market, but that's about it.

[MS313]

Originally Posted by 313 TUxedo

@Jwo85 WXYT is an example of what is wrong with many AM stations. AM stations (or, most of them) need to use directional antennas at night to protect other stations from interference. When they were 5kW, their only real "null" was to the West (Rock Island, IL). Coverage was fine until new suburbs popped up well west of the city (their coverage did not change, but people moved into new areas that 1270 did not cover at night). When WXYT paid a fortune to snag the Tigers contract from WJR, a condition of the deal was that WXYT would increase power. Running 50kW required a much more directional signal than they needed at 5kW. They moved the transmitter to Northern Monroe County, where the Rock Island null was little problem, but inherited a new one. Another 1270 in Charlevoix had to be partially protected, too. This did not need a deep null, but they could not blow the full 50kW in that direction, either. The upgrade did not make a lot of difference. The same suburbs that were in the old Rock Island null are in the new Charlevoix "soft spot". They should have bought the Charlevoix station and turrned it into a daytimer, or bought another Detroit station. Ultimately, they cannibalized their talk station on 97.1 instead. many AM stations are cursed by directional patterns that covered their listeners 50 years ago, but not the sprawl of later years. In some markets, like Pittsburgh and Cleveland, only a single AM station has day and night coverage of the metro area "with no complaints".

@MarvinStrong313 There is more to the radio spectrum than radio broadcasting stations. The FM band should not be expanded beyond 108 MHz anytime soon - I think people would rather fly on airplanes that smoothly land on runways than on airplanes that crash into FM radio stations.
There are many radio enthusiasts (outside the radio business, but wanting in) who support extending the FM band below 88 MHz (practical now, since very few TV stations are below 88 MHz anymore), but it is not likely to happen. Those who already hold broadcast licenses see to it that their investment is protected from future would-be competitors.

I don't know much about frequencies and stuff but I never thought that was possible. I always thought of that to be as crazy as a human bumping into sound waves from somebody's mouth or a speaker or something

[313 TUxedo]

The frequencies from 108 MHz (the top of the FM broadcast band) to 115 MHz are used by the Instrument Landing System. ILS makes it possible to land an airplane on a runway when there is fog or where there are low clouds (in reality, commercial flights use ILS anyway even if the weather is perfectly clear).

Equally important, much of the spectrum above 115 MHz is used for aircraft crews to talk to the airports, the air traffic controllers, and the crews in other airplanes.

In reality, throwing an FM broadcast station onto the ILS band would not cause an aircraft's autopilot to direct the plane into the FM station. It would, however, make ILS useless, returning our aviation system to where it was in the 1930s!

[djmilf]

I'm certain that Ann Arbor is not part of Detroit.

If Ann Arbor was part of Detroit, then it wouldn't have gotten it's own sub-forum here on City-Data.

[redford dude]

Originally Posted by djmilf

I'm certain that Ann Arbor is not part of Detroit.

If Ann Arbor was part of Detroit, then it wouldn't have gotten it's own sub-forum here on City-Data.

All that debate and you summed it up beautifully!

I have always thought that if Detroit didn't have such a bad rap nationally that the metro area would go all the way to US-23 and I-69 by now. Unfortuanely I know a number of people from the western suburbs who tell people who ask where they're from while travelling that they're from Ann Arbor, just to avoid that you know what look.

Ann Arbor definitely has it's own vibe and persona separate from the Detroit area. But as time marches on the growth in areas between them (Canton, etc.) will further blur the lines of distinction.