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630 Savannah/ Old days

B

beachguy3b

I worked in Savannah in the late 70s, at 630/95.5 and 1400/102.1 (only 102.1 has the same calls these days.)

I was there this weekend, and drove out to Oatland Island to see the old WKBX (630)/WSGF (95.5) site, and was shocked at the condition of the building, and that the 2 of the towers were gone.

When did the changes happen with a new tower site for 630, and why is the old building in such massive disrepair? I don't blame them for wanting new and better studios, but I am curious how and when the site came to be in its current condition.

Thanks!
 
Beachguy,
I thought I saw fresh tire tracks out there today.
We took down the 3 directional towers last July. THey were about to fall down on their own and I could not get a tower crew to come in and paint them (not that the rust would have held any paint). We moved the 630 transmitter to another site the year before and made it NDA all the time (4800w day, 50 watts night).
I moved the studios out of the old building in January, 2000 into our consolidated studios on the southside. The roof was already caving in at that time and the jocks were sick all the time from 20+ years of smoke, dust and mold which occupied every crevice of that building. It is currently used for storage.

Last December we finished erecting the new tower that replaced the southern most tower in the DA. It is now the site for WTYB 103.9.
 
Interesting! I thought it looked like there was stuff stored there, but it was hard to tell. I was wearing shorts and didn't want to be too adventuresome.

Had there been a small fire at one time in the part that caved in? I thought I saw some blackening in the wood. Also, what became of the old WSAV equipment there- the ancient transmitter in the brick building next to Termite Central, and the old Western Electric console that was still working in my days there.

I remember watching the old WSAV-FM andtenna mount (sans antenna) sway during storms on the center tower. Those things were a hazard when I was there- I can only imagine what they were like once you finally removed them.

I must admit, part of me wanted to walk through the place, and part of me wanted to run to safety. LOL

So you dropped all the way from 5KW directional at night to only 50 watts? Wow... what effect did it have on the signal in the MSA?

Thanks for the update. It was my first visit to Savannah in ages, and it was wonderful even to see places that are now run down. You're lucky to live in a wonderful city.
 
No Western Electric console, but the old 5kw RCA transmitter is still holding up the roof in the transmitter building along with an old RCA amplifuzz.
50 watts still covers most of Savannah pretty well. We lose Hilton Head and Richmond Hill in the local area and everything else past the city limits, but I can still hear it on the southside. It hurts us during football season, but not much else.
 
#1 Yes, the signal does reach Tybee Island at night. I have picked it up sitting on both the main beach and under the lighthouse a couple of times.

#2 It really came down to not being able to put up 3 new towers without moving inland or without spending a couple of million dollars. I could have put up 2 new towers on the original site, but the tower on the hammock could not have been replaced without doing a lot of damage to the surrounding marsh. This would have made it close to impossible to keep the nulls in line at night. We have to protect several stations to the north and south. The only other alternative, and the least expensive, was to go non-DA. We actually have 630 tri-plexed on the tower with 900 and 1400.
 
Robert, List,

Are there any photos of the former 630 directional array (and old studios/xmtr) that could be scanned/transmitted via email??

I would of loved to have seen the old site. Shame on me, I should of booted up there when I caught wind that it was going to be torn down. I was part of another salt-marsh AM station, much higher on the dial, 1570 WYHI/WQAI/WGSR/WNNR/WVOJ Fernandina Beach, FL. Keeping it GA, we used to show up in the Brunswick, GA book during our WGSR The New Soul of the East Coast/and Rejoice 1570.
(Got photos/scans....)

Rocky W. Shore
 
What ever happened to Burl Womack? I know he was on the air out there for years and years, and I haven't been back to Savannah in a long time....
 
I asked Big Mac about Burl, but he doesn't know what ever became of him.
 
Media Mogul said:
What ever happened to Burl Womack? I know he was on the air out there for years and years, and I haven't been back to Savannah in a long time....
Click to expand...
Me too. Last time I heard him, he was at WSGA-AM 1400. Of course, that was
back in 80's when its format was "The Music Of Your Life". I live here in Atlanta now, but
I still keep in touch with what's happening with radio stations in Savannah.
 
Also I remember seeing the call letters "WSAV-AM 630" along the intercoastal
waterway going into Oatland Island. It's gone now.
 
rcombs said:
I asked Big Mac about Burl, but he doesn't know what ever became of him.
Click to expand...

Burl will be 84 next month and is not doing much these days.

According to the December 3rd Savannah Morning News, Burl appeared on
WTKS AM 1290 for Broadcast Legends Week. Other participants were
Al Jennings, Mickey Wallace, Sonny Dixon, Doug Weathers, and
Joe Cox.
 
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