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Birmingham It's been a sad one year, today.

W

wattwatcher

Another AM (WJLX) has now been officially silent for more than one year regardless of whether or not the first five years counted. Despite the $23,643 collected through GoFundMe and the offering of several donated towers, no effort was ever made toward a rebuild or of even seeking a reduced-power STA on even a long-wire antenna to salvage the license. So sad...

In the meantime, I know of another FM with a tower felled by a log-truck that can't get any help at all. Simply amazing...
 

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wattwatcher said:
Another AM (WJLX) has now been officially silent for more than one year regardless of whether or not the first five years counted. Despite the $23,643 collected through GoFundMe and the offering of several donated towers, no effort was ever made toward a rebuild or of even seeking a reduced-power STA on even a long-wire antenna to salvage the license. So sad...

In the meantime, I know of another FM with a tower felled by a log-truck that can't get any help at all. Simply amazing...
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$23,643 is a lot of money to collect from people who are that interested in salvaging an AM license. Maybe, other struggling AM's could set up their own fund. Although, it does make you wonder what the station owner ended up doing with that money?
 
Brett Elmore used it to buy personal "toys" (at least one vehicle) and he was somehow able to build another NCE FM (also being run as a commercial station by his loyal buddies) and placed a down payment on an actual commercial station in Haleyville, Alabama. I have no idea how they made $23,643 go so far.
 
Well, look at this! Just posted 9 while minutes ago on the 366th day after admitting to going silent, too! (I'm not holding my breath.)
 

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wattwatcher said:
Well, look at this! Just posted 9 while minutes ago on the 366th day after admitting to going silent, too! (I'm not holding my breath.)
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As of this very moment (on the 366th day of their acknowledged silence), silence is what 1240kHz sounds like at about 200 feet from their transmitter site which is specified in an STA they finally filled on January 23rd, just in time to beat the one year deadline. But, still no signal and that is what is required to keep the license from being cancelled. I bet they claim it's back on before the deadline when it's really not.
 
That doesn't surprise me in the least. I can't tell you how many times I've listed silent stations as back on the air based on filled STAs and the like, only to have someone email me to say "no, they're not actually on".

The FCC certainly doesn't seem to care, they're too busy going after NPR and PBS for "airing commercials" while dozens of small town religious noncomms and LPFMs do it with impunity. Some pea shooter AM in Darwin's waiting room (that probably has connections to Governor Meemaw) isn't on their radar.
 
tomservo said:
The FCC certainly doesn't seem to care, they're too busy going after NPR and PBS for "airing commercials" while dozens of small town religious noncomms and LPFMs do it with impunity. Some pea shooter AM in Darwin's waiting room (that probably has connections to Governor Meemaw) isn't on their radar.
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File an informal objection to the restoration application then. The FCC doesn't just look for proof its not on. If an objection is filed, WJLX will need to show proof of operation.
 
lanceventa said:
File an informal objection to the restoration application then. The FCC doesn't just look for proof its not on. If an objection is filed, WJLX will need to show proof of operation.
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It actually did come back on exactly 367 days after they admitted being silent but, considering that they were silent for at least six years now, I don't think filing anything would make a difference. Someone there obviously "knows someone". (Actually, I'm reasonably convinced it's a case of "no one cares to enforce the rules".)
 
I'm admittedly very curious. This story was all over the place and then went away, pretty much never to be heard from again. Was any kind of investigation done? I tried looking into it a few months back and couldn't find anything. Weird. Does anyone have any updates into what actually happened?
 
This is backed-up with all manner of documentation, interviews and evidence (with mounds of it not published within the article) and is as close to the facts as you will ever get:

alnewsbeacon.com

WJLX, Jasper, Brett Elmore, Johnny Elmore and Why Jasper is Corrupt. - Alabama News Beacon

The Untouchable "Good Old Boys" of Jasper & Walker County, Alabama. A lot like his father, local "Radio God" Brett Elmore was once celebrated as Jasper, Alabama’s “radio genius.” Young, ambitious, and extremely charismatic, he was credited with revitalizing local radio with his "creative" vision...
alnewsbeacon.com alnewsbeacon.com
 
wattwatcher said:
This is backed-up with all manner of documentation, interviews and evidence (with mounds of it not published within the article) and is as close to the facts as you will ever get:

alnewsbeacon.com

WJLX, Jasper, Brett Elmore, Johnny Elmore and Why Jasper is Corrupt. - Alabama News Beacon

The Untouchable "Good Old Boys" of Jasper & Walker County, Alabama. A lot like his father, local "Radio God" Brett Elmore was once celebrated as Jasper, Alabama’s “radio genius.” Young, ambitious, and extremely charismatic, he was credited with revitalizing local radio with his "creative" vision...
alnewsbeacon.com alnewsbeacon.com
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That's quite a piece of journalism. Yowza! Thanks for putting it up here. An interesting read for sure.
 
One thing that hasn't been mentioned anywhere is the power record for the site. That should exist and should have been looked at in the investigation supposedly done into the situation. That would give a pretty good indication of when the site stopped broadcasting, especially since the FM translator was at a different site.
 
Maybe the reason the FCC let this slide is because they knew that none of you would be willing to go to a little Alabama town and run an AM on a graveyard channel.
 
I know of an AM that was off for years but revived.
And it's in the backyard of an FCC field agent.
The old owners failed to notify the silence but paid their regulatory fees on time.
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WJLX 1240AM Returns to the Airwaves
Jasper, AL – WJLX 1240AM is pleased to announce the restoration of its broadcast signal, dispelling recent rumors and misinformation regarding the station's status. Despite many challenges, including the unexpected loss of our dear friend and previous owner, Brett Elmore, WJLX is back on the air, serving the Jasper community with its classic hits and local programming. The station thanks its loyal listeners for their continued support and especially the dedicated friends and volunteers that helped rebuild the antenna and transmitter over the last two weeks. We look forward to continuing to broadcast as The Sound of Walker County and supporting the local community.







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Cold Coffee said:
Maybe the reason the FCC let this slide is because they knew that none of you would be willing to go to a little Alabama town and run an AM on a graveyard channel.
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Giving a pass to them because of circumstances is just going to encourage others to skirt the rules. I don't think that's a good precedent to set, especially considering the number and scope of violations at play here.
 
tomservo said:
Giving a pass to them because of circumstances is just going to encourage others to skirt the rules. I don't think that's a good precedent to set, especially considering the number and scope of violations at play here.
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Agreed. It's one thing if a station runs into legitimate issues... Whole 'nother ballgame when they play the deception game and all of the things that appear to have happened here.
 
In SW Idaho there's three AMs silent.
890 for over a year now. Hadn't run licensed power since 2009. Translator's licensed but never actually built. Translator Might have been heard briefly-recently but didn't seem to be from the licensed location.
950 going on 3 years completely silent. Before they occasionally ran very low power at time mostly off since 2016 but the translator plays on.
1450 silent over a year now. Translator had no audio (except for EAS!) most of the time.
 
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