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WTUB 700 -Athol
- Thread starter robotique
- Start date
Radio-locator does give the WXRV site as the station's site, but if the info there is to believed it's supposed to be a daytimer. (Sister station WFNX 99.9 Athol also // WXRV) Someone forgot to flip a switch, or they're trying to get away with it?
raccoonradio said:
Please. Just. Stop.
You have exactly the same access to the FCC databases (otherwise known as the FINAL authority) as you do to Radio Locator. Why do you keep citing it?
The FCC says it's a daytimer, and why they're still on the air at night is irrelevant. The only way it's legal is under emergency conditions, where there's no other sufficient coverage of the emergency. Otherwise, they're violating the terms of their license and probably interfering with other stations.
The Big Tub is located in and licensed to Orange, right next to Athol, and it //WFNX Athol (formerly WXRG, WNYN, WAHL et al). The faux 'FNX in turn // WXRV.
Every hour a local ID is inserted which identifies WFNX but NOT WTUB, which apparently would rather remain anonymous.
For at least four weeks during July (and possibly part of June), WTUB's audio was extremely low (carrier seemed normal) and contained only bass, no midrange or treble. It comes as no surprise to me that my neighbor, the forlorn and forgotten former WCAT (and WPNS, et al) was left on past sunset due to carelessness and apathy.
(The good news out here on the lone prarie is we at least have WJDF 97.3, locally programmed AC, live weekday mornings, and buckets of community involvement.)
Every hour a local ID is inserted which identifies WFNX but NOT WTUB, which apparently would rather remain anonymous.
For at least four weeks during July (and possibly part of June), WTUB's audio was extremely low (carrier seemed normal) and contained only bass, no midrange or treble. It comes as no surprise to me that my neighbor, the forlorn and forgotten former WCAT (and WPNS, et al) was left on past sunset due to carelessness and apathy.
(The good news out here on the lone prarie is we at least have WJDF 97.3, locally programmed AC, live weekday mornings, and buckets of community involvement.)
Schuyler said:
Yet another FCC violation.
Will try to use the FCC site but have been known to get "Your search yielded no results" often...will try to find their proper search method for stations like this or maybe there's still a site like TVRadioWorld around with info.
As a Mainer with Orange-Athol roots who visits that area occasionally, I have listened to WTUB.
I can't, for the life of me, figure out why the station is on the air --- all it accomplishes is to simulcast its parent station, which has no relationship with, or any apparent interest in, the WTUB listening area. They can't be making any money with it. Are they holding on to it in hopes of eventually making some better use of it?
I remember when WTUB was WCAT --- a well-run local station with a significant community presence. As noted, Orange's WJDF has picked up that ball and run with it, much to its credit. It's a neat little station. One of the DJs is an acquaintance of mine; he loves working there.
I can't, for the life of me, figure out why the station is on the air --- all it accomplishes is to simulcast its parent station, which has no relationship with, or any apparent interest in, the WTUB listening area. They can't be making any money with it. Are they holding on to it in hopes of eventually making some better use of it?
I remember when WTUB was WCAT --- a well-run local station with a significant community presence. As noted, Orange's WJDF has picked up that ball and run with it, much to its credit. It's a neat little station. One of the DJs is an acquaintance of mine; he loves working there.
raccoonradio said:
Look under Tools for AM Query and FM Query. You only need to put in the call letters and click Submit.
Thanks, will do!
They're at it again.
I listened until 8:33 pm, and they should have been off at 7:45. Surprisingly, despite living about two miles from the stick, it's not sounding so good. It sounds like the FM (the local one) is being picked up on an air monitor which has drifted a tad off frequency.
They are celebrating their 18th anniversary this weekend, BTW. Mazel tov!
I listened until 8:33 pm, and they should have been off at 7:45. Surprisingly, despite living about two miles from the stick, it's not sounding so good. It sounds like the FM (the local one) is being picked up on an air monitor which has drifted a tad off frequency.
DougD said:
They are celebrating their 18th anniversary this weekend, BTW. Mazel tov!
Schuyler said:
If they're using a modern digital tuner I don't see how it could drift off frequency unless it became defective. If it's picking up the FM over an antenna, maybe it could be getting some multipath distortion.
Schuyler said:
And if you knew the owner, you'd know he's not known for investing in stuff.. no one I know whos worked for him has nice stuff to say.
Between 8/14 and 9/8 (the prior two posts above), I've heard them off when they are supposed to be off. But I'm not surprised they've goofed again.
AM 700 is licensed to Orange, not Athol (minor point). Its sister FM 99.9 WFNX the River (You got chocolate in my peanut butter!) is licensed to Athol. Way back in better days, they were WCAT AM & FM.
Before they moved to 700, WCAT was on 1390. Today WCAT is again on 1390, but in Burlington, VT.
Former Orange resident Steve Sawyer, a/k/a Steve West has more info posted, along with a rare piece of WCAT audio.
http://airchexx.com/2012/01/09/steve-sawyer-1390-wcat-orange-ma-march-1983/
AM 700 is licensed to Orange, not Athol (minor point). Its sister FM 99.9 WFNX the River (You got chocolate in my peanut butter!) is licensed to Athol. Way back in better days, they were WCAT AM & FM.
Before they moved to 700, WCAT was on 1390. Today WCAT is again on 1390, but in Burlington, VT.
Former Orange resident Steve Sawyer, a/k/a Steve West has more info posted, along with a rare piece of WCAT audio.
http://airchexx.com/2012/01/09/steve-sawyer-1390-wcat-orange-ma-march-1983/
The licensed "community" for WTUB is Orange-Athol, one of the few stations that has two communities of license. It's different than WLLH's "Lowell AND Lawrence," because of their synchronous transmitters.
The reason I remember hearing about the dual COL thing was that a station would start with one community of license and be granted the second if they moved their studio out of town in the old "main studio rule" days. Someone better versed in this area can help me out here.
The example I remember is what's now WKSS in Hartford, Kiss 95.7. The station was initially licensed to Meriden, but when the main studio was moved to Hartford, the FCC changed the COL to Hartford-Meriden.
I hope you monitored the FM ("WFNX Athol") 'cause the AM should have been off since sunset.
I don't know if what is now WTUB ever put a studio in Athol, although it's possible they did when they added the FM. But in recent years the AM has broadcast from its old studios at the transmitter site, which is in Orange about a mile from the Athol town line.
The present owners used to own WGAW 1340 Gardner, and during that time the FM studio was the WGAW production room. They did their morning show and ran weekend remotes from there; the rest of the time it was bird fed classic rock from ABC.
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