[BC] Translator Question

[First Step Productions - Dave Golterman]

I saw the following question posted on a LPFM message board and I 
thought I'd repost here for the brain trust to respond. 

Question:

There are 2 translators on the same frequency...1 North and the other 1 
South...The broadcast station is on a different frequency.
 
Just so happens the 2 translators signals slightly overlaps in the 
middle.   I know with different programming they will cancel each other 
out and cause interference to each other in that overlap area.
 
But...what if both translators would play the same excact programming..??  
 
Would that same interfence happen, or would it just blend the signal 
coverage together..??
 
My response:

I'm no expert, but I believe that even with both translators 
re-broadcasting the same signal you'd still have interference.  If 
translator A is 25 miles from the main transmitter and transmitter B is 
30 miles from the main transmitter, there will be a slight delay in the 
signal reaching each receiver.  It may not seem like much of a delay 
(probably measured in the milliseconds), but it would be enough to cause 
phasing. 

I've mostly concerned myself with the on-air side of the business, so 
I'm not sure how correct my above response was.  Maybe I should have 
asked someone before jumping in, but oh well!  LOL  I thought this might 
be an interesting topic.

Dave Golterman
First Step Productions
Plentywood, MT
406-765-1002