From RadioInsight - Connecticut Gold 1220 WATX Debuts In New Haven - RadioInsight
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Connecticut Gold 1220 WATX Debuts In New Haven
- Thread starter DavidZ
- Start date
I took a drive down to Hamden today from Meriden. WATX becomes readable on the car radio about halfway through Wallingford on the Wilbur Cross Pkwy. (Rt. 15). They're using two slogans: "X marks the spot" and "Your 'X' wants you back." Both are voiced by someone with a husky, elderly-sounding voice (Clark Smidt himself?). The audio is on the bassy side, the music pretty standard for an oldies station of the '90s. I heard "Your Precious Love" from Marvin and Tammi instead of the usual "Ain't No Mountain," and "If I Fell" from the Beatles instead of more iconic singles, but no real "oh wow" stuff.
I have no idea how this station is going to make it, even if it finds a home for a higher-power transmitter. It's playing music for the Social Security set on AM with no translator. Does Smidt have the means to fund a vanity project 100 percent? I was a big fan of his WBZ-FM and WCOZ in Boston in the '70s, but expertise in programming 45-to-55-year-old music doesn't have much relevance in commercial radio these days.
I have no idea how this station is going to make it, even if it finds a home for a higher-power transmitter. It's playing music for the Social Security set on AM with no translator. Does Smidt have the means to fund a vanity project 100 percent? I was a big fan of his WBZ-FM and WCOZ in Boston in the '70s, but expertise in programming 45-to-55-year-old music doesn't have much relevance in commercial radio these days.
According to their FCC filings, WATX has requested special temporary authority to transmit using a 190-foot longwire antenna with 250 watts daytime and 76 watts nighttime until they can find a permanent transmitter site.
However, due to the lack of equipment to automatically switch between daytime and nighttime power, they had been transmitting full-time at the lower nighttime power level. But they hoped to get that equipment installed by today (May 14th).
However, due to the lack of equipment to automatically switch between daytime and nighttime power, they had been transmitting full-time at the lower nighttime power level. But they hoped to get that equipment installed by today (May 14th).
Q
qwertyuiop56
Guest
Finally got something again on AM 1220 instead of being the NOAA information station. Too bad the signal strength is weaker than before but at least the upcoming format already sounds appealing to me.
Signing on a new format on AM is the equivalent of opening a block buster video with VHS tapes. A complete waste of time.
Even after a new transmitter site is found and full-power operation begins, WATX will still need an FM translator to have a chance. Unfortunately, Quinnipiac University was short-sighted during its tenure in charge of 1220 and never applied for one.
Of course, if WATX is more or less a hobby operation for Clark Smidt, then it will probably stick around as long as he and his funding hold out. Even if there are no more stations playing more than a few pre-mid-'70s oldies on FM, streaming and satellite ought to satisfy all but the most Luddite, destitute or just plain cheap fans of that music far more than a muddy (and that's what WATX is on my car radio) AM signal will.
Programming oldies music is still relevant but only as a more niche format. The fact that people tune to WJMJ simply because it plays songs you cannot hear on any other station shows that some listeners still want to hear those songs and are willing to search the FM dial to find a rare station that still plays them. Beyond the obvious need for a translator, the key for this new incarnation of 1220 is following the blueprint that WQUN used, which was establishing a connection with the community and targeting local advertisers from right in town. AM music radio is only relevant when the FM translator has a limited coverage range and it gives listeners outside that coverage range a chance to still tune in (like in the case of 990). Otherwise, no one is going to search the AM dial to hear music these days (btw, the āAMā in my username stands for my initials, not AM radio). But if the station can offer both music and news updates/local interest segments, then it should gain enough listeners when it eventually gets an FM translator.
Assuming, of course, that (a) there will be another window to apply for one or (b) there are any channels still available in south central Connecticut. I suppose Smidt could also buy an existing one off some AM that goes belly-up even with a translator.
It would also be harder to find a channel still available in that area because you have to worry about interference from Long Island stations in addition to the ones from CT. The on campus Quinnipiac FM station 98.1 and Oldies 98 sometimes conflict.
WATX was crystal clear along Route 10 in Cheshire except for noise from power lines while driving. Heard quite a few songs that I hadn't heard in a long time. Their website says they have spots for $12.20 each, but I didn't hear any and I listened for close to 30 mins.
For shoots and giggles, because i like doing eccentric things, I contacted WATX via their website wanting to sponsor 2 hours of programming for 2 days.... never got an email back.
Q
qwertyuiop56
Guest
It used to be owned by Quinnipiac as WQUN. However, WQAQ 98.1, a very low powered station is also owned by Quinnipiac so yeah two radio stations Quinnipiac managed concurrently before 2019.
It has a long, colorful history. When I came to Connecticut in late 1981, it was WSCR, with a country format. John "Cadillac" Seville was on air there; he went on to WWYZ (which flipped to country in 1988) and still does weekend work there.
Seems like a waste of money, between the low power, the unappealing format and lack of anything local - not even a studio. Maybe Clark can hire jocks who can work from home and also make some type of committment to having a real presence in Hamden. "Hamden's Hometown Station<" with a logo that features Sleeping Giant park in silouhette?
It's hard to figure out his motivation for buying the station, especially with the money he's going to have to sink into it just to make it a viable listening option for as many people as possible. Bad enough it's on AM with no FM translator, but it still needs a permanent transmitter site that will allow it to return to its previous daytime power. Maybe he could voicetrack hours of himself and turn WATX into a WBZ-FM time capsule, forever stuck in 1973.
Ehhh...it's a hobby. Some people like to fish, others like sailing, while some others like to throw their money into low-powered AM radio stations. If he has the money and it makes him happy, good for him!!
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