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106.9 Exhisting Facilities/possible Technical Changes

A

athegymtday

Does anyone know where the transmitter site is now. I heard they have an old AEL transmitter is that true? I wonder if Merlin intends to move the transmitter to Roxboro or even Wyndmoor?

By the way does anybody know when the old AEL made transmitters? I am guessing late 60's early 70's anybody know?
 
Had an AM-10KD at 1260 Boston in '79(then WEZE)which ran great daytime nondirectional but hated the night directional 65 ohm common point. Baarry Mishkind's site has this about AEL: AEL was founded by Dr. Leon Riebman and Conrad Fowler in 1950. The basis for the original business was medical products. Growing out of defense contracts, broadcast transmitters came to be a product line until approximately 1979.

AEL still exists, but mostly as a part of defense contractor Cobham Defense Systems, the broadcast areas of interest long sold off.
 
DG02816 said:
AEL still exists, but mostly as a part of defense contractor Cobham Defense Systems, the broadcast areas of interest long sold off.
Click to expand...

Cobham has a large facility on Richardson Road in Montgomeryville near Lansdale.

The first time I ever worked on an AEL transmitter, it was a 10KW FM at KSPZ in Colorado Springs in 1986. It was our Auxiliary transmitter. I was told when I was hired that it did not work. I had never heard of AEL before that. Imagine my surprise when I opened the manual and saw that AEL was located in Lansdale, the community from which I had just moved in 1985 when I left WZZD to return to college!

It was a very well designed transmitter with a grounded-grid final. In the four years I worked with it, it never failed after that first encounter. By the way, the problem was a bad final.
 
I think there may be an AEL FM lurking at the old WAAF site in Paxton, and there was another at WJFD in New Bedford.
 
Well, the 1st adjacency WFNE on 106.7 in N.Cape May no longer exists, so that is no impediment. We've completed our tower move, 6kw upgrade and migration to 106.3Mc.
 
The AEL at 1260 in Boston was also a grounded-grid triode. PA plate voltage was 3850, and the plate current was 1.85 amps, in comparison to the 5220 V @ 1.22A of the Collins 21E it replaced.
 
I worked on many AEL transmitters over the years, namely their 5kw AM rig at WKEN-1600 Dover, DE and WCDL/WKJN-1440 Carbondale, PA. These transmitters were well built but ate tubes, they generally had to be changed each year. WKEN had a 1kw cutback which got noisy when the tubes were starting to go, you could rotate the tube and it would stop for a while! I also had dealings with a 10kw FM at WSVS Crewe, VA which was put in back up service after the 100kw upgrade there in the 90's.
 
If Merlin messes with the 106.9 signal, they're nuts! 106.9 is clearly audible here south of York, PA anytime, even with 106.7 right up the roade! I'm about 65 miles away.
 
DaveWilliams said:
If Merlin messes with the 106.9 signal, they're nuts! 106.9 is clearly audible here south of York, PA anytime, even with 106.7 right up the roade! I'm about 65 miles away.
Click to expand...

I'll have to check that next time I'm in South Central PA, is this true for any other Philadelphia Market stations? I know 93.7 is fuzzy is south central PA. / North Maryland.
(and people still claim a 94.9 would cause trouble to WAYV / WZZO, it may cause trouble to the 94.9 in Harrisburg, but not WAYV/WZZO!)
 
Thanks everyone for the info on AEL transmitters. I must admit that I curently work at Cobham in Lansdale (formerly AEL), where the transmitters were made. Most old timers who were there when the commercial radio transmitters were made are gone. They continue to make transmitters but not for commercial use.
 
Actually went through the arcives here at Cobham and only see some pictures of FM only transmitters but no mention in AEL's history books about AM transmitters. The history book was written by Conrad J. Fowler in 1987. 25 years ago. I worked here for one year 25 years ago and returned in 2004.

Transmitters were AEL FM-2.5 HA, FM-75KA, FM1DA, FM 25KD and LA 40 KA. Anyone work on any of these transmitters?
 
athegymtday said:
In Bucks and Montgomery county somewhat weak signal with picket fensing.
Click to expand...
If the signal was in mono I don't believe there'd be a problem in much of the market.
On the Jersey side, 106.9 is the strongest Philly signal, since it's a bit farther east.
 
DaveWilliams said:
I also had dealings with a 10kw FM at WSVS Crewe, VA which was put in back up service after the 100kw upgrade there in the 90's.
Click to expand...

Slightly off-topic,

Nice to hear about the old WSVS-FM! That's a station that always intrigued me before and during the time they upgraded in '88-89 to move to Richmond. IIRC, the FM tx, feed line, antenna, and (at the time) top-of-the-line FM studios are still mostly intact over at the Melody Ln. studios for AM 800 in Crewe. This is as of the early/mid 2000's, however.

That could be a broadcast museum if all that gear from the 70's-80's is still floating around!

Radio-X
 
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