If I'm not mistaken, that land had an awesome view of the Susquehanna and Washington Boro. Thanks for the update. I'll have to take a drive past there next time we're back in the area.
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AM 1580 Columbia
- Thread starter SteelRocker
- Start date
B
BigBob
Guest
WOW...some great info here. Thanks guys. WHEX was my first job in Columbia...and then I ended up working for Arbitron based in....Columbia, Maryland. Lots of good memories from my days there with Boppin Bob Brooks (who now works in Seattle) and John Gary (now a lawyer in DC). It's weird...the station was on Poplar St there in Columbia, and I now live on Poplar Ct. near Dallas, Texas. Weird. But a great memory!
S
SignalSeeker
Guest
Is anyone else receiving a signal from 1580 AM ?
J
John-Summers
Guest
SignalSeeker said:
Actually, yes...and a surprisingly good one. I was in the Roherstown area today and thought about 1580 and tuned it in. They're running a long wire antenna at 500 watts near Columbia and the signal was quite good. By compariosn, WGLD 1440 is running a long wire in Red Lion and even at a kilowatt it can't be heard where I live 10 miles away.
Speaking of 1440, when is that going to be up and running?
Maybe 1580 has found its niche these days...and the longwire may give a better signal than a tower. Don't forget, 1580 is a Canadian clear channel. I remember hearing CBJ in Quebec own the frequency at night. Now, CKDO Oshawa ON is audible, along with WPGC in MD. As for 1440, the COL was supposed to go to Manchester Twp from Red Lion, with 730 watts day and 53 watts night. The FCC site shows the COL going back to Red Lion; I think it will diplex from one of WSBA's sticks. Hearing it may be Fox Sports.I did some work there when the station was WVCH's sister, WTHM. What a dump the place was...
J
John-Summers
Guest
According to FCC records dated 2/19, 1440 was taken off the air temporarily from its Red Lion transmitter location until more favorable weather permits installation of the transmitter at the WSBA site, probably in April. COL is still Manchester Township and has not reverted to Red Lion. I remember that place when it was WGCB. I was there a couple of times. It was like entering a radio twilight zone.
Another sports station? Yawn!
Another sports station? Yawn!
S
SignalSeeker
Guest
Some of you guys are AM DXers obviously, are you not bothered by what some have "reported" as digital hashing by AM HD stations on adjacent frequencies?
2
2MANYHATS
Guest
1580 is also licensed to Ebensburg,Pa. WRDD.
K
kranchcom
Guest
This my first time posting to the board. Just to let you know WNZT 1580 is still broadcasting.
it comes on around 9Am playing spanish religous music with an English ID. It is broadcasting from
the same vicinity. I tracked it down to very near the old St Josephs academy. They do not seem
to broadcast on Sundays however. Kind of strange for a reigeos station
Tom
it comes on around 9Am playing spanish religous music with an English ID. It is broadcasting from
the same vicinity. I tracked it down to very near the old St Josephs academy. They do not seem
to broadcast on Sundays however. Kind of strange for a reigeos station
Tom
0
0219
Guest
I was so happy to find this site. I too ran the board for Ted Byrne. It was August to December 1993 when I was a senior at E-town college. The bathroom was small and luckily for me functional enough - as I am female. My favorite thing was having to go out to the transmitter shed if it wouldn't "power down" at the end of my day. It was fun in the winter when it was dark. There was a big mag light flashlight so I guess I could have used it to defend myself if necessary. I worked a 8am or 9am to 5pm shift and that was the end of the broadcast day. Ted also wrote commentaries that I played - he even let me write some. I'm sorry to hear that it's gone from "Broadcast Mountain". It was a beautiful location. If I remember how to get up there I'll have to swing by for a visit. I went on to work for WARM 103/WBSA 910 and now I'm out of radio and live near Philly. Good times.
1
1vw4me
Guest
1580 – WNZT – My experiences…………..
[size=10pt][/size]
Greetings all! What an interesting thread, and it brings back many fond memories for me. I happen to be youngest un-official former employee of WNZ-T, as I worked there a relative from 1987 through 1994. From here out he shall be referred to as “The Big Kahuna.” For those of you who worked or saw “The Big Kahuna” during those years, you’d know why I call him that; he was a large man with a great radio voice. I was very young, but spent many months and an entire summer there once. I got my FCC radio operator’s license at the ripe old age of 12. I cleaned the station, occasionally ran the board during the Big Kahuna’s lunch run to McD’s, and sometimes along with Larry Kay, would antagonize a certain sales manager named “Lazy Lou.” Just to clarify, WNZ-T, stands for “News/Talk Radio.”
Besides news & talk radio, WNZ-T occasionally broadcasted Columbia High School “Tide” football and basketball games. In the beginning, I believe there were two guys left over from the previous station that actually traveled to the games & would broadcast live. The official station “News Van” was a beat up old VW Bus, which has since gone to VW heaven. It was melting in to the ground in 1987 when my father started, and it never moved, just rusted away. Later, Ted Byrne’s old Datsun 280Z, and possibly a Mazda RX-7 joined it. WNZ-T also broadcast many other mind-numbing shows from the “American Radio Network”, such as Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Dr. Bob Hieronimus (a complete nut-case), as well as many other talk shows, including one called the “Garden Hotline.” How much more mind-numbing can you get? I’m sure the retirement homes ate it up with a spoon! For a little while in 1992 or 1993, there was a local lawyer who came to do a kind of variety show. His name was Jim Fritz, and he was really a funny guy. He drove a BMW, if I remember correctly. How he got involved with WNZ-T is unknown to me, but maybe Hadley Media Corp. owed him money for services, and instead paid him in air-time. This is only speculation.
To begin, you must start with the owner, Ted Byrne. Ted Byrne was from Boston, and actually had his own syndicated radio show on the American Radio Network that he delivered from his home via satellite uplink. He is well-educated in economics and was a PBS station manager and VP of the Bank of New England before owning WNZ-T. He writes for several radio and political magazines. I wonder if he ever made-up with the AP for lifting their articles and not paying up? Hmmmm. He is a staunch liberal in the pompous Massachusetts style, and yet he was the first to bring conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh to central Pennsylvania, years before WSBA and others. This of course, was used to get actual paying sponsors. He knows his demographic, no doubt about it. Because of his education, Ted also knows how to cover his rear-end. The previous threads containing stories of Sheriff’s Sale notices, unexpected IRS visits, and electric power shut-offs are ALL TRUE. The Big Kahuna and I experienced them as well. Several times. But you see, Ted didn’t own WNZ-T, Hadley Media Corporation owned it. Who controlled Hadley Media Corporation? Ted Byrne. Do you get the picture now? The government and others that Hadley Media Corporation owed money to could only go after Hadley Media Corp, not it’s CEO Ted Byrne. Those were the tax laws back then. Here’s a little insight as to how Ted …..errr….Hadley Media Corp. ran things right from the start: When Hadley Media Corp used a law firm to help acquire the FCC radio station license back in 1984 or so (a good 250K license by the way), Hadley Media conveniently didn’t pay the lawyers for their services. I still recall coming across the threatening letters from the lawyers to Hadley. What a great start! Haha!! I wonder if Hadley ever paid the FCC in full? Hmmm. On more than one occasion we got to work only to find the doors chained shut and a Sheriff’s Sale Notice on the front door. IRS problems? Threatening phone calls from creditors? You bet! Power outage due to “Storm Damage”? Ah yeah….sure! It was due to Hadley Media not paying their electric bill! Many times we received cash instead of an actual cheque, and you were damn grateful to get that instead of one of Hadley Media’s notorious bouncing cheques. Of course, how did WNZ-T actually bring in any money in which to pay its pauper employees and electric company? Why, the day before (or sometimes the day off) you just run on down to Hinkle’s Pharmacy or Schwangger Bros. Oil and hit them up for money!! If you’re Ted and really feeling the burn, you quickly create some new witty (in your own mind) sounding 30 second promo and take it with you in order to impress your paying sponsors. Man, I can’t even remember how many times that happened on pay day. Somehow, Ted always got blood from those turnips. How, I have no clue but he was a salesman and could sell ice to Eskimos no doubt about it. Speaking of sales, who could forget long-time sales manager “Lazy” Lou ? What a fine entrepreneurial spirit he showed! His desk was a complete disaster. At the beginning of summer one year, I wanted to test if Lou actually moved papers and unopened mail on his desk. So, I proceeded to take a few slices of American cheese and lay beneath some of the stacks of papers. In a few weeks, if those slices were discovered by Lazy Lou, they would be gone, indicating that he actually did do SOMETHING during the day. If they were still there, then it proved my theory that he did nothing besides look at the porno magazines that were in his bottom drawer while in the bathroom. So, I placed the slices of cheese, and waited. June passed into late August. I gathered The Big Kahuna, and we awaited the results. I lifted the stacks. There, beneath accumulating unpaid bills and unopened mail from years gone by, lay the fungus and mold entrenched cheese. As Larry Kay used to say, “He’s sooooo Lazzzy!!!” By the way, I left them there – haha! A few previous threads mentioned how the toilet facilities at WNZ-T would back up at times. What they failed to mention probably because they didn’t work the same hours Lou did, was the reason the toilet was clogged up. You see, it was because Lou would come in every morning at 9:00, and proceed directly to the restroom with his newspaper where he would “work” for about 2-1/2 hours. The toilet was sure to be clogged each and every day after one of his brain-storming sessions!! Haha! Our Les Nessman of the group was a very nice guy named Larry Kay. He worked in radio before and eventually left to greener pastures I believe. He adored Lazy Lou, as we ALL did. Speaking of the toilet, Larry came in one day to start his shift. The toilet was clogged, as usual. He proceeded to put on the yellow glove, and put his hand down the clogged toilet. What did he pull out? Why, a hand full of used condoms left over from a late-night orgy that one of our college students had thrown the night before. Ah, the memories!
WNZ-T was a great start for up and coming Millersville University communications students. I worked with several over the years, and several went on to good things. Actually, this was Ted’s greatest accomplishment. He provided a humble start for college kids, and they provided cheap (or free, if Ted forgot to pay) labor. Unbeknownst to Ted, he also provided a place for those same kids to have sex and do drugs late at night. Lol. Seriously, we all got a humble start there. I mean, we made WKRP in Cincinnati look like heaven! Who can forget manually switching the power at 7:00 am 7:00 pm? How about having to run down to the transmitter (500-1000W) and making adjustments, but first having to swat away the wasp nests? How many people today know how to manually align a satellite dish to hit the bird after high winds? Forget to lock the door? Fuggetaboutit!! There was nothing worth stealing, and everyone had a key anyway. I mean, about the only decent pieces of broadcasting equipment in that place was the RE-20 microphone and the Harris transmitter. Production Room? Old Shure microphone from the 50’s. Sound-proofing in the Production Room? Old shag carpeting tacked to the walls. What’s the temperature outside? Check the old round thermometer hanging outside the window. WNZ-T sure was cutting edge!
Lastly, who can forget the absolute gorgeous sun rises and sunsets from atop Broadcast Mountain? It was truly an inspiring sight sitting atop that mountain. About once a year I take a drive up past the now vacant site while I’m passing through Washington Boro (Best tomatoes anywhere on the planet).
The “Big Kahuna” passed away in 1999, but my memories of my time with him and at WNZT live on in me. I ate enough McDonalds in the summer of 1992 to hold me over for a life time. Thanks for letting me share my experiences. I’ll never forget my father’s voice.
[size=10pt][/size]
Greetings all! What an interesting thread, and it brings back many fond memories for me. I happen to be youngest un-official former employee of WNZ-T, as I worked there a relative from 1987 through 1994. From here out he shall be referred to as “The Big Kahuna.” For those of you who worked or saw “The Big Kahuna” during those years, you’d know why I call him that; he was a large man with a great radio voice. I was very young, but spent many months and an entire summer there once. I got my FCC radio operator’s license at the ripe old age of 12. I cleaned the station, occasionally ran the board during the Big Kahuna’s lunch run to McD’s, and sometimes along with Larry Kay, would antagonize a certain sales manager named “Lazy Lou.” Just to clarify, WNZ-T, stands for “News/Talk Radio.”
Besides news & talk radio, WNZ-T occasionally broadcasted Columbia High School “Tide” football and basketball games. In the beginning, I believe there were two guys left over from the previous station that actually traveled to the games & would broadcast live. The official station “News Van” was a beat up old VW Bus, which has since gone to VW heaven. It was melting in to the ground in 1987 when my father started, and it never moved, just rusted away. Later, Ted Byrne’s old Datsun 280Z, and possibly a Mazda RX-7 joined it. WNZ-T also broadcast many other mind-numbing shows from the “American Radio Network”, such as Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Dr. Bob Hieronimus (a complete nut-case), as well as many other talk shows, including one called the “Garden Hotline.” How much more mind-numbing can you get? I’m sure the retirement homes ate it up with a spoon! For a little while in 1992 or 1993, there was a local lawyer who came to do a kind of variety show. His name was Jim Fritz, and he was really a funny guy. He drove a BMW, if I remember correctly. How he got involved with WNZ-T is unknown to me, but maybe Hadley Media Corp. owed him money for services, and instead paid him in air-time. This is only speculation.
To begin, you must start with the owner, Ted Byrne. Ted Byrne was from Boston, and actually had his own syndicated radio show on the American Radio Network that he delivered from his home via satellite uplink. He is well-educated in economics and was a PBS station manager and VP of the Bank of New England before owning WNZ-T. He writes for several radio and political magazines. I wonder if he ever made-up with the AP for lifting their articles and not paying up? Hmmmm. He is a staunch liberal in the pompous Massachusetts style, and yet he was the first to bring conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh to central Pennsylvania, years before WSBA and others. This of course, was used to get actual paying sponsors. He knows his demographic, no doubt about it. Because of his education, Ted also knows how to cover his rear-end. The previous threads containing stories of Sheriff’s Sale notices, unexpected IRS visits, and electric power shut-offs are ALL TRUE. The Big Kahuna and I experienced them as well. Several times. But you see, Ted didn’t own WNZ-T, Hadley Media Corporation owned it. Who controlled Hadley Media Corporation? Ted Byrne. Do you get the picture now? The government and others that Hadley Media Corporation owed money to could only go after Hadley Media Corp, not it’s CEO Ted Byrne. Those were the tax laws back then. Here’s a little insight as to how Ted …..errr….Hadley Media Corp. ran things right from the start: When Hadley Media Corp used a law firm to help acquire the FCC radio station license back in 1984 or so (a good 250K license by the way), Hadley Media conveniently didn’t pay the lawyers for their services. I still recall coming across the threatening letters from the lawyers to Hadley. What a great start! Haha!! I wonder if Hadley ever paid the FCC in full? Hmmm. On more than one occasion we got to work only to find the doors chained shut and a Sheriff’s Sale Notice on the front door. IRS problems? Threatening phone calls from creditors? You bet! Power outage due to “Storm Damage”? Ah yeah….sure! It was due to Hadley Media not paying their electric bill! Many times we received cash instead of an actual cheque, and you were damn grateful to get that instead of one of Hadley Media’s notorious bouncing cheques. Of course, how did WNZ-T actually bring in any money in which to pay its pauper employees and electric company? Why, the day before (or sometimes the day off) you just run on down to Hinkle’s Pharmacy or Schwangger Bros. Oil and hit them up for money!! If you’re Ted and really feeling the burn, you quickly create some new witty (in your own mind) sounding 30 second promo and take it with you in order to impress your paying sponsors. Man, I can’t even remember how many times that happened on pay day. Somehow, Ted always got blood from those turnips. How, I have no clue but he was a salesman and could sell ice to Eskimos no doubt about it. Speaking of sales, who could forget long-time sales manager “Lazy” Lou ? What a fine entrepreneurial spirit he showed! His desk was a complete disaster. At the beginning of summer one year, I wanted to test if Lou actually moved papers and unopened mail on his desk. So, I proceeded to take a few slices of American cheese and lay beneath some of the stacks of papers. In a few weeks, if those slices were discovered by Lazy Lou, they would be gone, indicating that he actually did do SOMETHING during the day. If they were still there, then it proved my theory that he did nothing besides look at the porno magazines that were in his bottom drawer while in the bathroom. So, I placed the slices of cheese, and waited. June passed into late August. I gathered The Big Kahuna, and we awaited the results. I lifted the stacks. There, beneath accumulating unpaid bills and unopened mail from years gone by, lay the fungus and mold entrenched cheese. As Larry Kay used to say, “He’s sooooo Lazzzy!!!” By the way, I left them there – haha! A few previous threads mentioned how the toilet facilities at WNZ-T would back up at times. What they failed to mention probably because they didn’t work the same hours Lou did, was the reason the toilet was clogged up. You see, it was because Lou would come in every morning at 9:00, and proceed directly to the restroom with his newspaper where he would “work” for about 2-1/2 hours. The toilet was sure to be clogged each and every day after one of his brain-storming sessions!! Haha! Our Les Nessman of the group was a very nice guy named Larry Kay. He worked in radio before and eventually left to greener pastures I believe. He adored Lazy Lou, as we ALL did. Speaking of the toilet, Larry came in one day to start his shift. The toilet was clogged, as usual. He proceeded to put on the yellow glove, and put his hand down the clogged toilet. What did he pull out? Why, a hand full of used condoms left over from a late-night orgy that one of our college students had thrown the night before. Ah, the memories!
WNZ-T was a great start for up and coming Millersville University communications students. I worked with several over the years, and several went on to good things. Actually, this was Ted’s greatest accomplishment. He provided a humble start for college kids, and they provided cheap (or free, if Ted forgot to pay) labor. Unbeknownst to Ted, he also provided a place for those same kids to have sex and do drugs late at night. Lol. Seriously, we all got a humble start there. I mean, we made WKRP in Cincinnati look like heaven! Who can forget manually switching the power at 7:00 am 7:00 pm? How about having to run down to the transmitter (500-1000W) and making adjustments, but first having to swat away the wasp nests? How many people today know how to manually align a satellite dish to hit the bird after high winds? Forget to lock the door? Fuggetaboutit!! There was nothing worth stealing, and everyone had a key anyway. I mean, about the only decent pieces of broadcasting equipment in that place was the RE-20 microphone and the Harris transmitter. Production Room? Old Shure microphone from the 50’s. Sound-proofing in the Production Room? Old shag carpeting tacked to the walls. What’s the temperature outside? Check the old round thermometer hanging outside the window. WNZ-T sure was cutting edge!
Lastly, who can forget the absolute gorgeous sun rises and sunsets from atop Broadcast Mountain? It was truly an inspiring sight sitting atop that mountain. About once a year I take a drive up past the now vacant site while I’m passing through Washington Boro (Best tomatoes anywhere on the planet).
The “Big Kahuna” passed away in 1999, but my memories of my time with him and at WNZT live on in me. I ate enough McDonalds in the summer of 1992 to hold me over for a life time. Thanks for letting me share my experiences. I’ll never forget my father’s voice.
1
1vw4me
Guest
Follow up to: 1580 WNZ-T ...My Experiences.....
I drove up to "Broadcast Mountain" on June 14th, 2008. It had been about 2 years since doing so. I was a little saddened to see that the any evidence of a radio station existing there at one time is now gone. The tower, transmitter shack, trailer, etc. is all gone. In it's place though, is a beautiful 5,000 sq. ft modern/contemporay home with a view overlooking the Susquehanna River. It is an amazing looking home, and I have to admit that I am jealous because that had always been my dream since I was a kid to buy that land and build a home there. Someone is very lucky to have gotten that land and view. I am only sorry that it is not me!!! WNZ-T now only lives on in our memories, those of us still around to remember.
RIP - Larry Kay and "The Big Kahuna"; your voices may have been cut short, but your fond memories live on.
I drove up to "Broadcast Mountain" on June 14th, 2008. It had been about 2 years since doing so. I was a little saddened to see that the any evidence of a radio station existing there at one time is now gone. The tower, transmitter shack, trailer, etc. is all gone. In it's place though, is a beautiful 5,000 sq. ft modern/contemporay home with a view overlooking the Susquehanna River. It is an amazing looking home, and I have to admit that I am jealous because that had always been my dream since I was a kid to buy that land and build a home there. Someone is very lucky to have gotten that land and view. I am only sorry that it is not me!!! WNZ-T now only lives on in our memories, those of us still around to remember.
RIP - Larry Kay and "The Big Kahuna"; your voices may have been cut short, but your fond memories live on.
That truely was the best written story i have ever read on this board,you should be a writer for the Lancaster New Era, thanks for sharing the memories, I was a avid listner of WNZT, and as corny as it was, I miss it. It it least had a lot of personality compared to the now cookie cutter radio stations we have now thanks to big corporations like Cheap channel Corporation.
1vw4me I will also say that this was a very very interesting story and gives a lot of insight about this unique station. I was living in Landisville and started listening when Rush Limbaugh was only found on 1580. I'll have to take a drive past Broadcast Mountain and check out this huge house that now sits on one of the nicest views of the Susquehanna next time we come in from Pittsburgh. My wife's mom still lives in Columbia so won't be that far away.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
B
bl40modulimiter2
Guest
I had driven up past last year, after the tower had been dropped and taken away. The transmitter shack had been bulldozed off its base and was in pieces, and all that was left was a busted up equipment rack, some copper strapping and screen---which I considered grabbing for use in my ham shack, but then realized that's theft and prison food sucks----and you could see parts of the ground system still there. I always loved the old WHEX under Bob Brooks circa 1976, and I enjoyed "The Black Avenger" on WNZ-T some 20 years later. I'm just glad it's still on the air, albeit barely. I hate seeing licenses deleted.
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