• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Panhandle Station Running from Transmitter Site

B

b-turner

Likely 10 years ago I met a guy that had been working a FM radio station, likely back in the 1980s. During his short stint, the station was operating from the tiny transmitter shack out in a field miles from town. I cannot recall if it was a station reaching Lubbock or Amarillo. It seems it was a relatively new FM and likely licensed to a community near either of the two cities. I recall the station was trying to become a contender in the market.

Does anyone have memories of an FM outside Amarillo or Lubbock running from the transmitter shack for months?

Reportedly the FCC seemed not to be happy about it (maybe something added to the story because I doubt the FCC would care).I was told it was a really tight squeeze in there and most of the time they kept the door open.
 
b-turner said:
Reportedly the FCC seemed not to be happy about it (maybe something added to the story because I doubt the FCC would care).I was told it was a really tight squeeze in there and most of the time they kept the door open.
Click to expand...

Since there is no longer a Local Studio Rule, I suspect you will find a lot of stations doing this. Even if you do want to have a studio in your City of Licence, it is a viable way to run a station. All it takes is a good computer with appropriate software and an Internet connection at the transmitter site. You can log into it from anywhere to do anything you need, including going live via a web stream. I know a lot of LPFM's operate this way. It is cheaper than a dedicate licenced Studio Transmitter Link.
 
Chuck said:
Since there is no longer a Local Studio Rule, I suspect you will find a lot of stations doing this. Even if you do want to have a studio in your City of Licence, it is a viable way to run a station. All it takes is a good computer with appropriate software and an Internet connection at the transmitter site. You can log into it from anywhere to do anything you need, including going live via a web stream. I know a lot of LPFM's operate this way. It is cheaper than a dedicate licenced Studio Transmitter Link.
Click to expand...

Even before the new studio rules, stations have always been able to have the main studio at the transmitter. For many stations this was a way to consolidate operations, to avoid extra staff at the transmitter under old rules, and to obviate a need for an STL.
 
That's true. I've worked many stations where the building was right under the tower. In this instance, it was a tiny building intended only for the transmitter and maybe an equipment rack. I was told it was so small it barely had room for a stool. I'm thinking the size of one of those wooden portable buildings you see for sale on the side of the road.
 
b-turner said:
That's true. I've worked many stations where the building was right under the tower. In this instance, it was a tiny building intended only for the transmitter and maybe an equipment rack. I was told it was so small it barely had room for a stool. I'm thinking the size of one of those wooden portable buildings you see for sale on the side of the road.
Click to expand...

Some were glorified sheds or manufactured buildings (i.e. "trailers", better known as "tornado magnets"). Some were just beautiful.

In my two collections of station postcards there are many really nice stations at their transmitter sites:

https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Post_Cards_I.htm

https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Post_Cards_II.htm

(Clicking on the card brings up a fuller size version).

In the earlier days of radio, stations often had their antenna on the roof of their studio building... often a hotel but sometimes a seed purveyor or a car dealer! My first radio job was at WJMO / WCUY (FM) in Cleveland, and the AM tower with the FM antenna on top were on the roof of a car dealership with the studios on the second floor, right above the new Fords.
 
Those are fantastic pictures, David. Thanks for posting them and especially for your American Radio History web site. It is truly one of a kind. I know it is a labor of love. I can relate...

Chuck Conrad
www.texasbroadcastmuseum.com

Moderator note: I corrected the double "." in the URL. DE.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom