Beware of possible fake CP for Orange Beach Alabama on Craigslist!

[Groove1670]

A CP was listed on Craigslist for Orange Beach Alabama. So I decided to ask about it I wanted to know the COL and application information so I could look it up on the FCC database.

This is what I got for a response.

"I'm sorry but I cannot just hand out this information unless you purchase the application. Unless and until this is done, it is still property of the defaulting client and is subject to engineer/client confidentiality. A "good faith" showing that you will complete the purchase will remove this as they are badly in default and this would make you the new client.

I'm not trying to be "smart" but, as I have now answered many, many, many questions from various people concerning this availability (all of whom seem to want for me to apply for and construct a 100kw. Class-C commercial station and then, after getting it on the air, to sell it to them for $2,350.00), I'm becoming very cynical concerning the entire thing."

Uh-huh :

 

[Poledo]

That has to be a scam or a mistake.
If there was a CP for a full power AM or FM station in Orange Beach, posters on this board would already know about it. I suppose it's possible a CP for a translator might have slipped by the regular posters on this board, considering that some of the newer translators don't even cover their COL.
Any CP for even a class A FM in Orange Beach would be hot as a firecracker and would not make it to a craigslist posting. Plenty of people with cash on hand would be willing to overpay for a radio station down there.

 

[Poledo]

Another thought, are you sure it's a CP for a radio station? I believe there are CPs for several LD or Class A television stations (possibly even one on channel 6 (87.5 FM) in Baldwin county. There are/were CPs for low power TV stations in Pensacola and Mobile that listed the 1500 foot Robertsdale towers on them. Orange Beach used to have a christian television translator on channel 60something back in the 1980's. Some trace of it may still exist.

 

[tomservo]

It's not unusual for things to slip by me, but I'm 99% sure there's no CP for anything at all licensed to Orange Beach. OB already has WCSN on FM and I don't see how it'd get another slot on the roulette table for another station, anyway.

Heck, the one they got now is tightly wedged in. I don't see any translator CPs, either. Gulf Shores has a translator on 100.3 running 1 watt (never put on the air as far as I can tell). Robertsdale has a translator on 103.7 that could probably be easily moved, but no CP issued or APP there either.

I've got some analog and digital CPs for LPTV, however, in the area. Mostly from the tall towers around I-10 as poledo has mentioned. But none of them really cover OB specifically.

WWBH-LP Mobile ch. 44 has a CP to move to the unused tower off Wilcox Road, with 1,000 watts pointed in the general direction of Orange Beach. But it's listed as active now in Mobile as a Shop at Home affiliate.

WGHA-LP Gulf Shores, Etc. has an APP to move from channel 66 to 24 (I didn't know anything could still be licensed beyond 59 at this point, but it's there). The APP still has Gulf Shores as the COL but the antenna would be on the tower behind the health department off Fairfield Ave in Pensacola. This one is owned by Tiger Eye Broadcasting which is a suspicious company in my eyes, anyway, right up there with MS Communications for dicking around with the FCC on permits and stuff.

W14DE-D Mobile has a CP and would cover most of Baldwin County from the pronghorn tower up off I-10.

WRBM-LD Mobile on ch. 35 is similar to the above, minus the directional antenna.

WMOE-LD Mobile on ch. 42 with nearly identical facilities to the analog WWBH-LP above.

Those are the ones I know of, but I dunno why anyone would sell them as Orange Beach stations when they all cover more of Mobile or other small towns.

 

[Deleted User]

sounds like some engineer got stiffed by a client who probably figured out that the application wasn't worth filing and walked.

The engineer wasn't bright enough to get a retainer for his services, or it is complete BS.

 

[Poledo]

I just re-read the first post. Isn't it well known that there's no room left on the FM dial for a new 100Kw radio station that would put a grade-a signal over Orange Beach? Also, that would just allot a new frequency, not assign ownership.
The only possible way this could happen would involve moving (or major/minor changes) to two or more out-of market stations... and would probably include moving or downgrading one of the 100kw stations in Dothan, Panama City, or Biloxi. Sounds very expensive, but possible... Figuring out the right equation is over my head tonight. Some of the regular posters on this board probably already have it graphed out for several frequencies... care to share? I didn't think so. :'(

 

[tomservo]

I put my extensive research team into action (what, you didn't know I had a research team?) and was able to discover some more information about this "possible fake CP for Orange Beach".

Firstly, it's not a fake CP because it isn't a CP. It's just an application. Nothing has been filed yet. I don't believe anything about a construction permit was mentioned in the craigslist ad.

B) the actual physical location is not in Orange Beach but in that rather affluent no man's land west of Pensacola near the AL/FL state line.

#3 — you guys weren't thinking outside the box enough. It's not for a full power station but a low power (LPFM) station.

Firth of Forth… the guy selling the paperwork doesn't know anything about broadcasting, hence the confusion in terminology. It's 100 watts, not 100 kW and LPFM, not a class C station.

Fifth o' gin: the elder pastor who commissioned the study apparently feels it'd be better to sell the researched application than to build out the station for his church, hence the craigslist post.

So far, that's all I know. All the big Clear Channel and Cumulus regional executives can breathe a sign of relief… their bland radio products are safe from more competition and Sunny can continue to be a decent mix of music hampered by the worst sound processing in the entire free world. 8)