Wrxb

[HadYourPhil]

Are they gone? I drove up I-75 today but didn't hear them.

 

[drt]

Are they gone? I drove up I-75 today but didn't hear them.

Not sure what is going on. I had been out of the area for a few days and last night in scanning the AM dial, noticed they were off the air and as of this morning, they are still off the air. Can't depend on either of the daily newspapers here to have anything about it, since it probably doesn't involve sex or murder.

I would assume they've (like so many AM stations) have been running on a shoestring and they may not have the money or expertise to solve any technical problems...... I have noticed in the last 7 months or so, that they have been off the air for a day or two at a time, then return. I have a feeling though this time might be for good.

drt,
st. petersburg

 

[drt]

Not sure what is going on. I had been out of the area for a few days and last night in scanning the AM dial, noticed they were off the air and as of this morning, they are still off the air. Can't depend on either of the daily newspapers here to have anything about it, since it probably doesn't involve sex or murder.

I would assume they've (like so many AM stations) have been running on a shoestring and they may not have the money or expertise to solve any technical problems...... I have noticed in the last 7 months or so, that they have been off the air for a day or two at a time, then return. I have a feeling though this time might be for good.

drt,
st. petersburg

It's nearly noon, Friday the 11th and they are still off the air; what now makes me think it's more than an antenna/transmitter issue, is that all streaming is down. They used to be on the Tune-In app to stream...... no longer and also on their website there is a message that their stream is not available. WRXB 1590 does have a Facebook page but from what I can see the last activity or message was well over 6 months ago.

For dx'ing; it might be a good time to see if I can receive Key West on 1600.

drt

 

[SarasotaJim]

The manager is a friend of mine and couldn't explain anything technically but they heard a loud bang at 7:35 Wednesday morning and the transmitter dumped. They discovered parts of the transmitter fried. The station has two identical Continentals so they fired up the standby and it instantly fried. Now both transmitters are scrap metal. Apparently they have found some problem with the three-phase electrical service running into the building. That is (or has been) addressed and replacement parts for the transmitters are expected to arrive today from California. They'll be back on the air soon.

Sorry I can't give a better explanation; that's as good as Ed could give me.

WRXB is a profitable operation and they wouldn't just pull the plug on it.

 

[drt]

The manager is a friend of mine and couldn't explain anything technically but they heard a loud bang at 7:35 Wednesday morning and the transmitter dumped. They discovered parts of the transmitter fried. The station has two identical Continentals so they fired up the standby and it instantly fried. Now both transmitters are scrap metal. Apparently they have found some problem with the three-phase electrical service running into the building. That is (or has been) addressed and replacement parts for the transmitters are expected to arrive today from California. They'll be back on the air soon.

Sorry I can't give a better explanation; that's as good as Ed could give me.

WRXB is a profitable operation and they wouldn't just pull the plug on it.

Thanks, Sarasota Jim; I'm glad to hear they will be back on the air soon; I'm sure that was an unpleasant surprise when the backup transmitter fried instantly.

There are so few Mom and Pop stations left and I hate to see any of them go dark; especially one that is live and local all or most of the time.

I was scanning the AM dial last night around 8PM or so and was glad to hear that 930 WLSS (still want to call them WKXY) was broadcasting local high school football; other than that, they have no local presence with their business office in Tampa, but at least they break away from the talk format to broadcast something local. Of course, in the day when their (WKXY) transmitters and studios were on the fringe of downtown and their power was lower, their signal was stronger in St. Pete both day and night...... but that's another thread.

Thanks again for the info on WRXB and I am glad that my pessimism was misfounded.

drt,
st. petersburg

 

[hdradioeng]

The problem is that these transmitters are really old and require a TON of maintenance. The normal primary transmitter had decided to destroy the switchmod card which is what makes the modulation tube go. Because of that it had caused damage to the solid state rf driver also.

When the auxiliary was fired up it ran for a while then went off, this one likely failed in reverse, the rf card fried and because of that damage was caused to this units switchmod card.

I just talked to Continental Transmitter Company and the RF drivers have been repaired and will be overnighted to the station.

If all goes well they should resume broadcasting tomorrow evening but no promises.

Anyone want further details let me know I tried to not get too technical.

 

[frankberry]

Seems like it might cost less to hire an engineer to maintain the old gear than to get factory repair while you're off the air for an extended period of time. This falls under "There is no excuse for this." Just my opinion.

 

[hdradioeng]

I agree, I have argued with this company that these old beasts REQUIRE maintenance but it doesn't happen. Maybe now that will change, maybe it won't. And the parts that failed require specific jigs to test, they had some "field modifications" and in the interest of getting back to factory spec as quickly as possible a trip to Continental was the call.

They are back on as of an hour or so ago

 

[SarasotaJim]

As is the case with a lot of ownership these days, you can't fix stupid.

 

[drt]

I agree, I have argued with this company that these old beasts REQUIRE maintenance but it doesn't happen. Maybe now that will change, maybe it won't. And the parts that failed require specific jigs to test, they had some "field modifications" and in the interest of getting back to factory spec as quickly as possible a trip to Continental was the call.

They are back on as of an hour or so ago

They may still be doing some testing of the new equipment or having other issues; I checked a few minutes after 6 this morning as well as just now (1142) and each time found them off the air. I'm approximately 3.5 miles n.e. of their towers as the crow flies.

drt

 

[drt]

WRXB - back on the air

WRXB is back on the air and telling everyone that their transmitter was the reason for their week's absence. They also mentioned their FM translator at the last TOH ID, the 96.5 licensed to Bradenton, but tower just north of Palmetto.

Sounds as though there were several people on this board who helped get them back on the air.

drt

 

[HadYourPhil]

Any updates? Are they still doing Gospel?

 

[byron]

I'm not sure what happened to their AM transmitter, but ever since they've been back on the air I get what sounds like overmodulated splatter from them anywhere between 1570 and 1620 whether I'm in Riverview, Brandon or in downtown Tampa. Bleeding bad splatter. Reminds me of being under the tower, or just as close, which I why I point out it's possible in more than one spot.

Byron