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WCSB - college station that flipped to jazz

I've only been at one station that had a transmitter log in the studio, but we never had to fill it out. I think the engineer was probably responsible for filling it out.
 
OK, young 'uns. When I first got into radio the dj/operator took transmitter readings every 15 minutes! You had to at least have a third class FCC Radio license to do that which involved taking a written test on rules and regs either locally or at a field office. If it was an AM directional station with a tight DA tolerance you needed a first class FCC license which was a test with much more electronic and technical knowledge required. Even back then, a lot of the exam was outdated, focusing on vacuum tube circuits and the like.
Oh, and you had to do all this in military time, 24 hour clock. And you had to sign on and off the program log and mark the time each spot ran to the nearest 10 seconds. And try to do a live, tight, good dj show at the same time.
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certain AM radio stations used to "forget" to power down Friday nights during high school football season. No idea if the FCC actually fined them or whatever
 
inter1097 said:
certain AM radio stations used to "forget" to power down Friday nights during high school football season. No idea if the FCC actually fined them or whatever
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Rumor in the biz had it that years ago, WIXY didn't switch to the more restrictive night pattern during rating periods until the other 1260s started to complain of interference.
 
Santa fe said:
OK, young 'uns. When I first got into radio the dj/operator took transmitter readings every 15 minutes! You had to at least have a third class FCC Radio license to do that which involved taking a written test on rules and regs either locally or at a field office.
Click to expand...
When I got my first 3rd Phone in either late 1958 or early 1959, license readings were every half hour and there was a very simple test (see below). About 10 years later, when visiting Washington, DC, I thought it would be fun to take the 1st ticket test and so I got to visit the old M Street FCC headquarters.
Santa fe said:
If it was an AM directional station with a tight DA tolerance you needed a first class FCC license which was a test with much more electronic and technical knowledge required.
Click to expand...
And that was eliminated in the 70s, with all but "critical" AM directional being operated by those with a 3rd ticket.
Santa fe said:
Even back then, a lot of the exam was outdated, focusing on vacuum tube circuits and the like.
Click to expand...
And that was because transmitters, until much later, had tubes at least in the final power output and, for AM, modulation stages.
Santa fe said:
Oh, and you had to do all this in military time, 24 hour clock. And you had to sign on and off the program log and mark the time each spot ran to the nearest 10 seconds.
Click to expand...
You exaggerate. The log just required approximate times for the spots. By the mid 60's, most stations had some kind of "system" that produced written logs and all you did, at most, was check off the spots and sign the hour. At some stations, the start time of a commercial break was entered, but not in my experience.

A widely used system had master log forms printed on erasable plastic, and a typewriter entered the spots and promos, which could be erased easily if the client did not continue and added to similarly for new sponsors. You could even order the forms with your call letters and information on them... one for every hour of the week and extras for special programs like sports.

Another system had each hour on a metal frame that held thin bars on cardboard which were inserted into the frame naming advertisers, promos, newscasts and the like. Then the frame was copied and you had the log.

Before that, each hour was typed out manually but the traffic department had some kind of card system showing what ran each moment.

Where I owned stations in the 60's there was no log requirement. So we just used file cards with the name of each sponsor and had a card box divided by hour and stopset in which we placed or removed cards.

Note:

Here are the key details regarding the Third Class license in the 1960s:
  • The Exam Structure: The exam generally consisted of Element 1 (Basic radio law) and Element 2 (Operating practice).
  • The "Broadcast Endorsement" (Element 9): To work as a DJ or operate a commercial radio station, a "broadcast endorsement" (often called Element 9) was added to the Third Class license. This was considered the most challenging part of the test, covering technical topics like calculating station power, Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) rules, and transmitter log requirements.
  • Requirements: While sometimes referred to as a "permit," it was officially a license requiring passing a test. It was used by police radio dispatchers, marine radio operators, and radio station personnel.
That is from Google AI. Of course, in the early 60's there was no EBS as we still had CONELRAD! And no part was "challenging" for anyone who read one of the many booklets available about passing the test.
 
davideduardo said:
When I got my first 3rd Phone in either late 1958 or early 1959, license readings were every half hour and there was a very simple test (see below). About 10 years later, when visiting Washington, DC, I thought it would be fun to take the 1st ticket test and so I got to visit the old M Street FCC headquarters.

And that was eliminated in the 70s, with all but "critical" AM directional being operated by those with a 3rd ticket.

And that was because transmitters, until much later, had tubes at least in the final power output and, for AM, modulation stages.

You exaggerate. The log just required approximate times for the spots. By the mid 60's, most stations had some kind of "system" that produced written logs and all you did, at most, was check off the spots and sign the hour. At some stations, the start time of a commercial break was entered, but not in my experience.

A widely used system had master log forms printed on erasable plastic, and a typewriter entered the spots and promos, which could be erased easily if the client did not continue and added to similarly for new sponsors. You could even order the forms with your call letters and information on them... one for every hour of the week and extras for special programs like sports.

Another system had each hour on a metal frame that held thin bars on cardboard which were inserted into the frame naming advertisers, promos, newscasts and the like. Then the frame was copied and you had the log.

Before that, each hour was typed out manually but the traffic department had some kind of card system showing what ran each moment.

Where I owned stations in the 60's there was no log requirement. So we just used file cards with the name of each sponsor and had a card box divided by hour and stopset in which we placed or removed cards.

Note:

Here are the key details regarding the Third Class license in the 1960s:
  • The Exam Structure: The exam generally consisted of Element 1 (Basic radio law) and Element 2 (Operating practice).
  • The "Broadcast Endorsement" (Element 9): To work as a DJ or operate a commercial radio station, a "broadcast endorsement" (often called Element 9) was added to the Third Class license. This was considered the most challenging part of the test, covering technical topics like calculating station power, Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) rules, and transmitter log requirements.
  • Requirements: While sometimes referred to as a "permit," it was officially a license requiring passing a test. It was used by police radio dispatchers, marine radio operators, and radio station personnel.
That is from Google AI. Of course, in the early 60's there was no EBS as we still had CONELRAD! And no part was "challenging" for anyone who read one of the many booklets available about passing the test.
Click to expand...
I remember the spots on the old AM radios that indicated the CONELRAD stations. Probably not even indicated on any AM radio dials today, if they even make them anymore. And I remember going to school during the Cuban Missle Crisis and having those damn "Duck & Cover' drills three times a week. There was an old Civil Defense siren right on the edge of the playground that they set off for all of them. I still get shivers down my spine and a little on edge when they set off those damn tornado/severe storm sirens around town.
 
I do not exaggerate about meter readings every 15 minutes or checking off commercials to the nearest 10 seconds. Those were the requirements for operators and djs at the station I worked at. If they exceeded the minimum required by the rules it is an example of stricter standards some stations and chief engineers set back then. This was at a major market locally owned AM/FM combo in 1970.
 
And young uns I had to walk 5 miles through ice and snow before the crack of dawn just to get to the station to warm the ransmitter to sign on at sunrise for my board shift. Than I had to walk 5 miles back through the snow to get home. And I had to take meter readings, run the station and answer the phone.
 
skiwest said:
So do the digital subchannels with lower wattage have the same coverage area as the analog? I'm guessing the answer is no.
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We go through this over and over again.

The technology of HD Radio hasn't stood still for the last 20 years. When it was introduced, digital power levels on FM were -20 dBc, or 1% of analog power for the digital carriers. That was inadequate, and the allowed power levels have increased in recent years, so that stations which are willing to spend on upgraded equipment can run up to -10 dBc, or 10% of analog power.

At that level, the digital signal has at least comparable coverage to the analog signal, if not better.
 
b-turner said:
And young uns I had to walk 5 miles through ice and snow before the crack of dawn just to get to the station to warm the ransmitter to sign on at sunrise for my board shift. Than I had to walk 5 miles back through the snow to get home. And I had to take meter readings, run the station and answer the phone.
Click to expand...
Uphill both ways.
 
Yabadabado1 said:
There's snow and ice in San Francisco?
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I used to get "quit kidding around" when I'd mention going through snow and ice to get to my FM transmitter in Quito, Ecuador... about 15 miles south of the Equator. They just did not get that the site was 3,000 feet above the city and at an altitude of nearly 14,000 feet. It snowed, and it iced up often.
 
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Yabadabado1 said:
There's snow and ice in San Francisco?
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I was talking about “uphill both ways” (which I had to do walking to and from KQED, since I lived in The City). But there would be frost in winter and there has been snow there before:


Article on the 1976 blizzard with a picture from near Sutro Tower:
www.cbsnews.com

Long-time residents recall 1976 blizzard that blanketed the Bay Area

With snow levels dropping down to 1500 feet Thursday morning, some in the Berkeley Hills are hoping to see some flakes fall.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com
When I moved to the Peninsula, there was hail in Foster City one day.
 
radiofan2023 said:
I was talking about “uphill both ways” (which I had to do walking to and from KQED, since I lived in The City). But there would be frost in winter and there has been snow there before:
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I grew up in Florida and had to walk to elementary school from day one [5 years old, mile and a half, no school buses back then....well, I'm sure they had them , just not for MY school]. Oh the moaning that went on when we hit that intolerable 2 foot high HILL we had to go over. Now for the stupid part: Any tropical storms/hurricanes coming, they cancelled school [sometimes summer school for the idiots that had classroom difficulties] the day BEFORE it hit. The day it actually came thundering ashore.....school is in session! At least then my mom said there's no way in hell you're going to school. And to keep it radio related, I do remember them dropping music and go wall-to-wall reporting on all stations, at least the ones I listened to. Same for TV. Wonder if that even happens down there anymore.....TV yeah, I've watched enough online to see they cover it all.

 


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