• 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

1110 New Format

awsherrill said:
In 40+ years of loitering around transmitter sites, I don't think I've ever seen an AM site where the transmitter shut down because the tower was iced up. That said, most of my experience has been with standard base-insulated towers. I've heard of sites with shunt-fed towers that did not work well when the skirt wires on the tower were coated with ice.
Click to expand...

You probably have a lot more experience on this than I do, but I don't remember reflected power being a huge problem for AM's. The antennas just got detuned when covered in ice. I'd heard of an occasional AM tower being brought down by ice, but that's about the only time I've ever heard of ice taking an AM off-air outright.

awsherrill said:
Our big cash-generating FM is on a tall tower, with a broadband panel antenna that just seems to shrug off any ice detuning issues.
Click to expand...

I worked at a cluster that didn't have any antenna de-icers, and our FM station that ran on a solid state transmitter didn't seem to have very many problems with ice or VSWR. The problems were the two FM's that had tube type transmitters. Reflected power could come back and burn the filaments. They had what was essentially a safety valve in that the transmitters would shut off automatically when the plate current climbed above a certain level, but that was, in the minds of management and programming, only slightly better than the filaments burning up. After all, we'd still be off-air and not generating revenue. When icy weather was a problem, we were always told to take meter readings every 30 minutes and lower power if plate current or VSWR got above a certain level.
 
awsherrill said:
In 40+ years of loitering around transmitter sites, I don't think I've ever seen an AM site where the transmitter shut down because the tower was iced up. That said, most of my experience has been with standard base-insulated towers. I've heard of sites with shunt-fed towers that did not work well when the skirt wires on the tower were coated with ice.

I have seen AM directional sites where the antenna parameters went way out of tolerance as the ice built up on the towers, but the transmitter kept right on playing without any problems. Possibly an issue with the antenna sampling system rather than any real problems with the towers themselves.

At my current job, we have lots of FMs scattered about, some with radomes on the antenna and some not. The ones with radomes usually have no problems staying on the air during ice storms, the other ones not so much. I know exactly which sites will be occupying my attention this weekend.

Our big cash-generating FM is on a tall tower, with a broadband panel antenna that just seems to shrug off any ice detuning issues.
Click to expand...
A fybush website post from 2008 indicates that WBT-FM on 107.9 uses a Shively 6810 transmitting antenna, which I believe uses radomes. There are 8 transmitting domes for the analog signal and 7 domes for the HD signal. Since this antenna is side mounted on the Charlotte side of the WBTV tower, there is a bit of a null to the west where the tower structure weakens part of the signal. But it still reaches into Spartanburg and down into Greenville County, although it starts to become subject to interference in some areas down there. Not sure what effects snow and ice may bring.
 
secondchoice said:
The talent should be unaffected because they went to 107.9. Apparently "management" wants to destroy the audience then they will have an economic reason to turn the license in.

I haven't fooled with EAS for a couple of decades so excuse my ignorance: Is 1110 a significant station in the Charlotte EAS?

IMHO They will not sell, LMA, or donate this station because I believe they are afraid of someone actually programming it correctly and become a competitor for revenue. If it were an FM, Klove would be the answer.

I don't want to live near Charlotte, but I could easily run this station and Net a couple of $K a week.
Click to expand...
YES WBT is a significant EAS station, although I believe they shifted the primary to 107.9 years ago.

Having said that Homeland Security installed two electronically shielded buildings next to the transmitter building, fully equipped in case of an emergency. What's inside these buildings you ask....Well I asked engineer Ted Bryan when he was there and he wouldn't say.
 
Mike Sheridan said:
YES WBT is a significant EAS station, although I believe they shifted the primary to 107.9 years ago.

Having said that Homeland Security installed two electronically shielded buildings next to the transmitter building, fully equipped in case of an emergency. What's inside these buildings you ask....Well I asked engineer Ted Bryan when he was there and he wouldn't say.
Click to expand...
It's not cheap & easy to move those shelters. Just the foundations were extensive. I've watched it happen.

1769109864766.png
 
eacalhoun1 said:
Well, I was ABOUT to comment that radio station ads on TV (or billboards) seem to be a thing of the past. Well, I stand corrected - at least the “on TV” aspect. Used to be radio ads in newspapers, too — but that is definitely ”used to be”.
Click to expand...
The stations playing Christmas music were constantly running ads on TV.
 
I think I know where those pictures came from. KIRO AM on Vashon? As I sit next to my 317C2 as seen in Stranger Things final season, looking at my Gatesway 80 Console in the cold Drafty legacy transmitter site. Listening to the sound of the muffin fans in the NX50. Time to take a walk around the 20 acre site, good healthy walk.
 
The transmitter at least twice a year. Computer logged into and buttons pushed at least four times a year. Also try to have training with station and county people once a year. This includes letting others open the pods.
 
TV Guy that still loves radio said:
Will be interesting to see if the AM side reverts to the FM simulcast this weekend especially if we get the weather that is forecast. It's trending this could be 2003 all over again.
Click to expand...
I was thinking along these same lines. Whatever their new format ends up being, seems as though they'd want to serve the public interest, and while not necessarily reverting to a simulcast --- that would kind of defeat the purpose of their trying to draw their listeners over to 107.9 --- they could transmit emergency information on 1110 (and possibly tease their new format with promos here and there). A lot of people in western North Carolina and adjacent areas can surely get 1110 when they can't get 107.9.

While I'm a bit far afield of a consistently usable signal on 107.9 --- it varies with location --- we have a local LPFM on that frequency (Lexington SC) that swaps back and forth with WBT-FM. I have to wonder if there are other LPFMs on their fringes that present the same problem. For some reason the Lexington LPFM was off the air or something yesterday, and I had a listenable signal on WBT-FM throughout my neighborhood in northeast Richland County.
 
Remember all the times it was 70 and sunny and WBT ran the VO proclaiming themselves your emergency situation station?
If they don’t offer live programming this weekend on the AM side with one of the worst ice storms we’ve had in decades I’d offer it’s time to have their license stripped for failure to serve the community.
 
TV Guy that still loves radio said:
Remember all the times it was 70 and sunny and WBT ran the VO proclaiming themselves your emergency situation station?
If they don’t offer live programming this weekend on the AM side with one of the worst ice storms we’ve had in decades I’d offer it’s time to have their license stripped for failure to serve the community.
Click to expand...
Are they still in he building with WBTV even if the owner is different?

Not that it matters but a WBTV simulcast would be a good idea.
 
TV Guy that still loves radio said:
Remember all the times it was 70 and sunny and WBT ran the VO proclaiming themselves your emergency situation station?
If they don’t offer live programming this weekend on the AM side with one of the worst ice storms we’ve had in decades I’d offer it’s time to have their license stripped for failure to serve the community.
Click to expand...
The license isn't being stripped.
 
Let's be realistic here.

If the entire purpose of Radio One's format swaps is to get the WBT news-talk audience on FM, then a major news event is exactly when they want 107.9 at front of mind. Putting that coverage back on 1110 after they've spent weeks making sure the existing audience knows to go to 107.9 would be entirely counterproductive.

And regardless of the extended reach of 1110 outside Charlotte, the only listeners Radio One can sell to advertisers are the ones IN the Charlotte market, all of which can get 107.9 just fine. Radio One doesn't care if you're listening to WBT in Spartanburg or Asheville or anywhere else.

If there's an EAS activation, it will run on 1110, but that's all that will run on 1110. There's no FCC requirement that any licensee do more than that for emergency coverage.
 
fybush said:
Let's be realistic here.

If the entire purpose of Radio One's format swaps is to get the WBT news-talk audience on FM, then a major news event is exactly when they want 107.9 at front of mind. Putting that coverage back on 1110 after they've spent weeks making sure the existing audience knows to go to 107.9 would be entirely counterproductive.
Click to expand...

I was thinking exactly the same thing, but just wondered if public safety would take priority over marketing in this case.

One thing they could do, rather than playing that instrumental music over and over, would be to have a looped announcement, directing listeners to tune to 107.9 FM for the latest weather and safety updates.
 


Back
Top Bottom