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Bethany College's WVBC goes dark

F

FreddyE1977

Guest
Apparently they've pulled the plug on the FM and gone internet only...which they are spinning
as an improvement!

http://www.pbrtv.com/blog/index.html

They used to put a heck of a signal into my house on that 1100 watts of theirs.
I wonder whether Pitt now might be able to file for 88.1 and step-up in power and coverage?
 
Seams like an odd move to me. Over the past year or so I have noticed WVBC's signal not as strong in Wintersville Ohio. The signal also had an over riding a hum in it. Could it be they need a new transmitter and they didn't want to fork out the bread for a new one?
 
Jim Trefney said:
Seams like an odd move to me. Over the past year or so I have noticed WVBC's signal not as strong in Wintersville Ohio. The signal also had an over riding a hum in it. Could it be they need a new transmitter and they didn't want to fork out the bread for a new one?
Click to expand...

That is indeed the case.
-D
 
FreddyE1977 said:
I wonder whether Pitt now might be able to file for 88.1 and step-up in power and coverage?
Click to expand...

I think there would still be a lot of obstacles to that move - cochannel WRWJ Murrysville out to the east of Pgh, and WRCT on first adjacent right in downtown.

I'm sure many of the students won't mind being on internet only - and the future of radio may play out that way - but there was something extra special for me knowing I was "broadcasting" through the airwaves while at WSAJ Grove City (Grove City College is a PAC sister school to Bethany).
 
Does Bethany have WiFi all over the campus? If they've made that investment, then forking out for a new radio transmitter seems redundant.
 
An excellent point, as so many college kids today are plugged into wireless devices, and probably don't even
own a radio. (somebody was floating a silly Fed rule that would force all wireless device manufacturers to
incorporate an FM tuner!)

And since many campuses now have open WiFi that would seem like a good alternative
(though what you are losing is the contact with listeners in the surrounding community...
not that there were ever a lot of us, but we are there).

Maybe BobbyMo is interested in 88.1 then? They floated an attempt to get on the air
years ago that didn't get off the ground. At least they are far enough west of Murrysville.
 
Pitt originally wanted to be on 88.1. Bethany was never an issue. We had negotiated a deal with WRCT to move to 88.5.

Channel 6 objected, so Pitt ended up on 98.5, until they wanted to move 98.3 in from Charleroi, then they went to 92.1.

WRCT would still have to move for anyone in or near the city to use 88.1.
 
FreddyE1977 And since many campuses now have open WiFi that would seem like a good alternative (though what you are losing is the contact with listeners in the surrounding community... not that there were ever a lot of us said:
College radio, depending on the town, could be a great community service. Westminster College's WWNW in New Wilmington and California U. of Pa.'s WCAL in the Mon Valley come to mind. As mentioned elsewhere earlier, until cars can access Internet, an online-only station won't have the equal playing field of a broadcast outlet. Thiel College found it was a mistake to drop over-the-air service. I wonder if Bethany will have a similar change of heart.
Click to expand...
 
KeyTimes950 said:
FreddyE1977 And since many campuses now have open WiFi that would seem like a good alternative (though what you are losing is the contact with listeners in the surrounding community... not that there were ever a lot of us said:
College radio, depending on the town, could be a great community service. Westminster College's WWNW in New Wilmington and California U. of Pa.'s WCAL in the Mon Valley come to mind. As mentioned elsewhere earlier, until cars can access Internet, an online-only station won't have the equal playing field of a broadcast outlet. Thiel College found it was a mistake to drop over-the-air service. I wonder if Bethany will have a similar change of heart.
Click to expand...

Haw many college stations still use carrier-current systems that can only be picked up in campus buildings? Do those even exist nowadays?
Click to expand...
 
Parttimer said:
Pitt originally wanted to be on 88.1. Bethany was never an issue. We had negotiated a deal with WRCT to move to 88.5.

Channel 6 objected, so Pitt ended up on 98.5, until they wanted to move 98.3 in from Charleroi, then they went to 92.1.

WRCT would still have to move for anyone in or near the city to use 88.1.
Click to expand...

Interesting. That's how the then-public WFBE in Flint, Mich. ended up at 95.1.
WLNS-TV 6 in Lansing would file challenges to anything below 90 MHz in that area.
(at the time they were the sole CBS affiliate in Mid-Michigan)

Worked out well for them as once the Board of Education could no longer afford
to run the station they could sell it to a commercial operator at a nice profit.
 
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