TIS Test broadcast on 1710 KHZ 2301 UTC Jan 14, 2014

[Skipmuck]

A huge signal here on 1710 KHZ with the following message..."You're listening to a test broadcast on a Travelers Information Station. This radio station broadcasts 24 hours a day on a special AM frequency licensed by the Federal Communications Commission".
This message repeated non-stop and still going strong at 2345 UTC. I have never ever heard the Hudson TIS this strong, so must be something new and possibly local?
Still going strong with same loop at 0020 UTC. S9+10 here.
I emailed the person responsible for answering inquiries related to TIS stations that I found on the FCC website and below is the reply I received this morning 1/15/14. It would seem that Hudson County is testing with increased power of 100 watts.

Hudson County New Jersey is authorized to use 1710 KHz under call sign WQFG689 and has a pending application to increase the power to 100 watts.   Hudson County was granted a waiver of the FCC rules to use frequency 1710 KHz back in 2008.  Waiver grant language is below:

 Waiver of Rule Sections 2.106, 90.242(a) and 90.103 granted 11-14-08, and special conditioned to require that operation on frequency 1710 kHz is secondary to authorized full service AM stations. The licensee must mitigate the interference by either reducing TIS transmitter power or ceasing TIS operations on frequency 1710 kHz.

I guess this will preempt any pirate activity on 1710 for a large swath of the Northeast.

[Kilokat7]

I'm copying the test loop tonight here too.  If the power has been increased from 10 watts to 100 watts then it's making no difference on the received signal here.  It's coming in no stronger.

[Skipmuck]

Still hearing strong loop message S9 + 10 here this morning at 0900 UTC, this afternoon at 1800 and now at 0100 UTC 1-17. Solid day and night, but about an hour ago, I could hear Celestial very, very weakly under the TIS. How long are they going to keep this loop going? Whatever it is, it will wreck any chance of hearing pirate activity here. Wish it would go away...there are too many TIS stations in the X-Band that nobody listens to anyway.

[BDM]

That TIS is booming in S9+, and at times Celestial comes over the top of it. I also believe I'm hearing bits/pieces of another station

[Skipmuck]

Finally ID'd as "Springfield Armory Historical Site" after 2-1/2 months of non stop test loop. The reason I could hear this night and day is because it is only about 3 miles away near downtown Springfield, MA
http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,16258.0.html