BASIC QUESTION ABOUT AUGUSTA AREA RADIO/TV TOWERS...................

[electroboy73]

The 2 towers on the hill on Georgia Ave, North Augusta. (The shorter one behind WBBQ and "The Bull" studios and the taller one behind WRDW-TV 12). Are either of those 2 towers being used? WRDW TV-12's tower is in Beech Island so what's the tower behind their building used for? Also, i'm pretty sure years back, I heard that 104.3 (WBBQ) used a tower in Sweetwater, SC. So i'm guessing that 105.7 (through all the format changes) have been using the short tower behind their studios. And if WBBQ's main tower is or was in Sweetwater, SC, shouldn't their legal ID all these years
say, "Sweetwater/Augusta" instead of just "Augusta"? Then again, juging from where a lot of TV/radio towers are located, shouldn't a lot of legal ID's around here read like this...............................?

WBBQ -Sweetwater/Augusta
WHHD- Clearwater/Augusta (They actually say this one)
WIBL - North Augusta/Augusta ("The Bull")
WEKL- North Augusta/Augusta


*HERE'S SOME TV TRANSMITTER LOCATIONS THAT YOU NEVER SEE ON LEGAL ID'S*

WAGT-26 (Beech Island/AUGUSTA)
WJBF - 6 (Jackson/AUGUSTA)
WRDW-12 (Beech Island/AUGUSTA


Stuff like this, you just think you have all figured out. But, oh well. So could anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks.

 

[Frank]

I have never understood why the 4 network Augusta TV station's towers are located in Beech Island. They would better serve their DMA by being based in an area west or southwest of Augusta. There is a huge overlap in signals between the Columbia and Augusta stations, yet the OTA coverage in some areas between Augusta and Atlanta and Augusta and Macon is sketchy. I can receive WRDW and WJBF on a hand held portable TV on the east side of Columbia. Additionally, WACG-90.7, Georgia Public Radio is also based in Beech Island, SC. Go figure!

 

[upstate29651]

I'm sure it has to do with elevation & lower property costs.

G

 

[vibe]

I always wondered why I could receive the Channel 6 audio (very well) when driving on I-95 in GA and SC a now know it's partially due to the transmitter location. This was years ago when it was a CBS affiliate (not sure now) Yes quite a degree of overlap between that and the affiliate in Savannah as it sure got out aways to the southeast and east.

 

[RadioMahn]

I think as long as you cover your city of license with a city-grade signal, it doesn't matter where the tower is located. The towers behind BBQ/IBL studios are probably used for STL's, Marti's, etc... Unless they've been moved, IBL's tower is in the Jackson/Beech Island area and EKL's is in south Augusta.

 

[amos]

shouldn't their legal ID all these years say, "Sweetwater/Augusta" instead of just "Augusta"?

The legal ID doesn't have anything to do with the tower location. As mentioned, the tower location has more to do with available land and coverage. A station does have to put a city-grade signal over its city of license.

The station ID must consist of the station's call letters, immediately followed by the community or communities listed on the station's license. The name of the licensee, the channel of operation, and the frequency may be inserted between the call sign and the community -- but nothing else may be inserted there.

The station may also list additional communities in its ID, so long as the actual community of license is mentioned first.

Typically only the first location mentioned after the call letters is actually the city of license. Some stations still have dual-city licenses, but since the FCC now (since the early 80s) allows additional communities after the city of license, an actual dual-city license is rare. So WHHD is licensed to Clearwater, SC even though their studios are located west of Augusta.

Also, the rules for TV are the same, except they can ID either visually or aurally.

 

[jovialjay]

The tower behind WBBQ is actually the old WJBF tower...WJBF was originally in the building that WBBQ later (and now, once again) occupied. WBBQ-FM was on that tower for years, until they built their new tower in Edgefield County. The other tower is the old Channel 12 tower.

WIBL (originally WAUG-FM, then (as memory serves) WYMX and finally WZNY) has its antenna on Channel 26's tower at Beech Island. The 105.7 antenna was originally on the WAUG (1050 AM, now WFAM) tower on Laney Walker Boulevard. This is Augusta's oldest (still existing) FM, cranking up in 1952...'BBQ didn't go on until 1955. WRDW had an FM, but let the license go in the early 50's.

As an interesting aside, the WAUG-AM/FM simulcast combo was Augusta's first black (or "race", as they called it in those days) programmed station, keeping that format until well into the 60's.

Of course, WBBQ-FM was only put on the air to allow them to do background music on their sub-carrier (making money by leasing receivers to businesses). That's why WBBQ was licensed to Savannah Valley Broadcasting, while WBBQ-FM was licensed to Musicast Of The South. Oh yeah...WBBQ-FM was originally on 103.7, and went on the air right after WIS-FM in Columbia...on 103.7, turned their license in to the FCC.