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AM 1690 Moving Transmitter Today - 1/28/2013

B

BarryATL

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...84905359716.165538.78988859716&type=1&theater

There is a pic and this comment:

Because some of you may have noticed the signal coming in a little weaker the past couple of days, we thought it might be nice to include a little explanation.. We're moving to a new transmitter site which will bring you a clearer and stronger signal once everything is in place.. Here they are now taking the transmitter from the old site and moving it to its new home.
Click to expand...

From previous reports on this board, I thought the new sight did not have as efficient a tower and the signal strength would reduce slightly.

Current coverage:
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WMLB&service=AM&status=L&hours=D

New coverage:
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WMLB&service=AM&status=C&hours=D

Looking at both maps, the red coverage line which is labeled "local" is smaller at the new site.

Reading some of the comments and responses, it appears they have the rack mount 1kw transmitter up and running at the new site. (Amazing how small a 1kw transmitter is nowadays.)
 
My understanding is the city owns the land at the current 1690 site, and that Weber was concerned they wouldn't renew his lease. So he purchased the 970/1190 tower a few blocks away from the Dickey family. The 2 Salem AM's would remain on the tower.
 
HippieGuy said:
Where was the old tower located, and where is the new?

Are they actually in Avondale Estates on N. Decatur Rd?
Click to expand...

Both towers are in the Cheshire Bridge radio gulch, only a couple blocks apart. But when 1690 first came on the air, back in the Air America/pre-Weber days, they were using one of the towers in the WATB 1420 (the old WAVO) array off of North Decatur, which is what I think you are talking about. That was technically Scottdale, though, and not Avondale Estates.
 
HippieGuy said:
Where was the old tower located, and where is the new?

Are they actually in Avondale Estates on N. Decatur Rd?
Click to expand...

They're both in AM Transmitter Heaven on Cheshire Bridge Rd. I believe the new tower, also used by 970 and 1190, was years ago the tower for 680 AM when that station was a daytimer with 25,000 watts. Actually, the entrance to the site (as well as to the WQXI/790 site) is on Lenox Road.
 
The old tower was right across the street from the Colonnade Restaurant, closer to the old WABE-FM tower than the gultch.
 
I seem to remember the story that was posted on this board was WMLB had a 99 year land lease with the City of Atlanta for the current tower site, BUT the rent price was due for negotiation every ten years. The city wanted a giant chunk of change to continue the rental. That is fuzzy memory and I am too lazy to search for the original story on the boards.

There was discussion by the engineering types about the new towers wave length at 1690. The new tower is not matched as well to 1690 as the current tower is.

It does not matter to me. I and about 400 feet from the WQXI tower and 1000 feet from either the old or new WMLB tower... which means I get excellent reception day or night. Now, if WQXI would stop bleeding RF into my phone lines, alarm system, and just about anything that has a really long unshielded cable.
 
BarryATL said:
I seem to remember the story that was posted on this board was WMLB had a 99 year land lease with the City of Atlanta for the current tower site, BUT the rent price was due for negotiation every ten years. The city wanted a giant chunk of change to continue the rental. That is fuzzy memory and I am too lazy to search for the original story on the boards.

There was discussion by the engineering types about the new towers wave length at 1690. The new tower is not matched as well to 1690 as the current tower is.

It does not matter to me. I and about 400 feet from the WQXI tower and 1000 feet from either the old or new WMLB tower... which means I get excellent reception day or night. Now, if WQXI would stop bleeding RF into my phone lines, alarm system, and just about anything that has a really long unshielded cable.
Click to expand...

Back in the 70's-90', I was working for Southern Bell/BellSouth in the Morningside area. We use to have a lot of complaints from folks from radio interference with phone lines/alarms/faxes. We would always be blamed, tho we tried to explain it was not totally our fault. Radio filters put on the lines, at homes etc, were just not good enough. I use to answer complaints by telling them to report to the FCC. It was, at times, beyond our control. Or simply say, it is anew service, offering background music for customers...did not have to many takers on that
::)
 
HippieGuy, WQXI has bled into the power grid for decades... even when they were only 5000 watts. I remember as teen (1980ish) driving down Piedmont Rd and when I was under the power lines, AM 790 would splatter all frequencies on the AM dial.

Right now, I have trouble with two stations. One is 790 when they go to full power. The come in on everything. I have RF filters on everything.

The other is 1190 AM. When I first moved here in 2000 I ordered DSL from BellSouth. Got it, wet it up and great. The voice noises from AM 790 did not seem to bother it. Strange thing is my DSL would stop working around 9 AM and start working around 4 PM. I ended up with a high level engineer at BellSouth trouble shooting the problem. After six months of this I happened to look up all the AM stations around me. I found that 1190 (then WGKA) was a daytimer that signed on with 2300 watts critical hours. Two hours after sunrise they went to 25,000 watts. Reverse it at sunset. I told the engineer and he asked the frequency. Come to find out DSL uses 1000 khz and up on the phone line. 790 was not bothering the DSL because it was outside of the frequency range, but when 1190 went to full power after critical hours, it interfered with my DSL. Bottom line, to this day I cannot get DSL (not that I would want it).
 
There are some high voltage lines that parallel Pleasant Hill and State Bridge Road in Duluth. They cause 680 (in nearby Peachtree Corners) to splatter all over the dial when you drive under them.

My daughter got an electronics kit for Christmas, and the only two stations the radio you built could pick up were 610 out of Lawrenceville and 680.
 
jabba17 said:
There are some high voltage lines that parallel Pleasant Hill and State Bridge Road in Duluth. They cause 680 (in nearby Peachtree Corners) to splatter all over the dial when you drive under them.

My daughter got an electronics kit for Christmas, and the only two stations the radio you built could pick up were 610 out of Lawrenceville and 680.
Click to expand...

Congrats on having a daughter interested in electronics!
Nowadays, there aren't enough BOYS that would want an electronics kit.
 
fortt3 said:
jabba17 said:
There are some high voltage lines that parallel Pleasant Hill and State Bridge Road in Duluth. They cause 680 (in nearby Peachtree Corners) to splatter all over the dial when you drive under them.

My daughter got an electronics kit for Christmas, and the only two stations the radio you built could pick up were 610 out of Lawrenceville and 680.
Click to expand...

Congrats on having a daughter interested in electronics!
Nowadays, there aren't enough BOYS that would want an electronics kit.
Click to expand...

http://www.snapcircuits.net/products/product_details/snap_circuits®_300_experiments=MzU1
 
I'll be darned, you can still get these!

I was assuming your daughter was 30-something & you were talking about Christmas 1992 :)
 
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