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Dead Air on WYDE 1260 Birmingham

passtheword

passtheword

WYDE-AM has been operating with dead air all day...since at least 8 am this morning. Do the folks at Crawford have another format change in the works for 1260? How about a 3rd attempt at the "Legends" format? :D (Don't write that idea off as crazy as it sounds. After all...we are talking about the folks at Crawford Broadcasting...). Or are they totally clueless that the audio is completely down?
 
As of Monday morning, still a dead carrier. Wouldn't it make more sense to just shut the Tx off if there's a problem with the audio path or automation?

Well, at least the IBOC hash is still there.... ::)
 
Savage said:
As of Monday morning, still a dead carrier. Wouldn't it make more sense to just shut the Tx off if there's a problem with the audio path or automation?

Well, at least the IBOC hash is still there.... ::)
Click to expand...

Crawford going IBOC on all their stations doubly-hurt me because I used to listen to the station before it became a simulcast of their FM talker. It had been completely rebuilt just a few years ago if I remember correctly and had run C-QUAM stereo during the music era, running oldies and later standards. It had a small coverage area but sure sounded good. The engineer in that market was a fan of AM stereo before getting on the HD bandwagon. After IBOC it became unlistenable.

I bet no one is even aware of the dead carrier. 1260 is just plain forgotten at this point.

You bringing up the IBOC through reminds me of something that happened here in Mobile recently. The big country station 95 KSJ's analog went off for about 10 minutes not too long ago, but the HD stayed on, with dead air. It was weird tuning to 94.9 and hearing static, then the static blending to a perfectly quiet digital feed. The HD-2 was unaffected and continued spouting classic country the whole time. I'd never heard an HD continuing to operate while the analog was off!
 
WYDE was back on the air again this afternoon, simulcasting 101.1 (it's still weird to refer to 1260 as "WYDE" after the calls were on 850 for so long). So I guess talk on 1260 is here to stay. ::) And yes the IBOC hash is still there, too, unfortunately. I love doing a scan on my car radio and it stopping on three frequencies... 1250, 1260, and 1270...more "bang for your buck", right? :D
 
Zach said:
Savage said:
As of Monday morning, still a dead carrier. Wouldn't it make more sense to just shut the Tx off if there's a problem with the audio path or automation?

Well, at least the IBOC hash is still there.... ::)
Click to expand...



You bringing up the IBOC through reminds me of something that happened here in Mobile recently. The big country station 95 KSJ's analog went off for about 10 minutes not too long ago, but the HD stayed on, with dead air. It was weird tuning to 94.9 and hearing static, then the static blending to a perfectly quiet digital feed. The HD-2 was unaffected and continued spouting classic country the whole time. I'd never heard an HD continuing to operate while the analog was off!
Click to expand...

One way to put IBOC on the air without buying a new transmitter is with a separate low power transmitter coupled to the main or backup antenna. If the main analog transmitter should go off, the IBOC transmitter would continue to run.
 
It now appears the IBOC has disappeared from AM 1260. :eek: I was up in the Hoover/Vestavia area this morning, and there was no IBOC hash on either 1250 or 1270. I was actually able to hear WRBZ out of Wetumpka on 1250 with no problem. The WYDE audio is significantly better than it was previously. Now...the question is...will it stay that way? :D
 
Not related to WYDE or whatever flavor of month they want to go by.

Just wondering about WBYE in Calera.

It is always a ghost town there, Mr. Passtheword?

Went by there today and a few weeks ago and noticed it.

The shades were all pulled down and it looked like the building was empty, on both journeys.

Even the writing on the sign, facing Highway 25 North and South, was fading real bad.

Didn't listen to the station though. 

Matters not, because I have listened to them in the past and wasn't impressed with their presentation.

R.D.P. <><
 
R.D.P. said:
Not related to WYDE or whatever flavor of month they want to go by.

Just wondering about WBYE in Calera.

It is always a ghost town there, Mr. Passtheword?

Went by there today and a few weeks ago and noticed it.

The shades were all pulled down and it looked like the building was empty, on both journeys.

Even the writing on the sign, facing Highway 25 North and South, was fading real bad.

Didn't listen to the station though.

Matters not, because I have listened to them in the past and wasn't impressed with their presentation.

R.D.P. <><
Click to expand...

RDP, yes, the WBYE "parking lot" is usually pretty desolate most of the time...hardly any vehicles are there during the day. The sign and building looked good when my wife and I moved to Calera about 10 years ago, but both are in bad repair these days. Most of the locals know about WBYE, but I would surmise a good portion of the "suburbanites" moving into Calera the last few years have no idea the station exists...or cares. I hardly ever listen to WBYE myself. The only reason I know of WBYE's existence is because my dad used to work there as a DJ during the early 70's.
 
The computer must be their DJ.

Meaning, they let it play the songs and programs for the few listeners they still have.

This station is just going to waste, in my humbled opinion.

For the good of Calera, it would be wise for them to shut this station down and turn in the license.

As I was looking at their facility, it appears to be a train wreck that needs some major renovations done to it.

So sad indeed.

Just my two cents on this.

R.D.P. <><

P.S. Wish that WYDE AM 1260 would go silent and turn in their license too. This is another radio station that's going to waste anyway. Glad that I live outside their main coverage area. If I was living in it, I wouldn't pay this station much attention anyway. I would avoid it on purpose.
 
R.D.P. said:
The computer must be their DJ.

Meaning, they let it play the songs and programs for the few listeners they still have.

This station is just going to waste, in my humbled opinion.

For the good of Calera, it would be wise for them to shut this station down and turn in the license.

As I was looking at their facility, it appears to be a train wreck that needs some major renovations done to it.

So sad indeed.

Just my two cents on this.

R.D.P. <><

P.S. Wish that WYDE AM 1260 would go silent and turn in their license too. This is another radio station that's going to waste anyway. Glad that I live outside their main coverage area. If I was living in it, I wouldn't pay this station much attention anyway. I would avoid it on purpose.
Click to expand...

I personally hate to see any station "go away". It is a shame a lot of stations do not "go local" and become a vital part of the community with local news and coverage of "all thing local" with local guests etc. I personally have sold HS sports. It was a very easy sell.
 
R.D.P. said:
P.S. Wish that WYDE AM 1260 would go silent and turn in their license too. This is another radio station that's going to waste anyway. Glad that I live outside their main coverage area. If I was living in it, I wouldn't pay this station much attention anyway. I would avoid it on purpose.
Click to expand...

You're calling for the shut down of a station you can't receive, yet wouldn't go out of your way to listen to.

Makes perfect sense ;D
 
You characters are worried about the AM? Last time I was in Birmingham, I heard hours of dead air on 101.1! These guys have absolutely no vision, or strategy when it comes to broadcasting. Most of what I hear on 101.1 is endless blather. The station was poorly executed the first time, and is even worse in it's second life.
 
I actually had hope when the station briefly changed over to Fun 101 and had actual (legendary) disc jockeys playing actual hits. By request. How novel! I listened online at work (120 miles away) and tried to listen at night until WACQ's translator was turned on. I guess its less expensive, no, I won't go there.

Three commercial talk/news FMs in Birmingham is just too dam many. And I don't see the other two leaving any time soon.
 
Birmingham has way too many talkers in my opinion.

Glad I can only get two of them, on a regular basis.

Love the presentations on both WAPI FM and AM.

Great job you're doing.

Keep up the good work.

And yes WAPI FM has proved to me that you can be successful without carrying the top billing talkers.

Kudos to you, for keeping it live and local WAPI FM.

R.D.P. <><

P.S. Wish WYDE FM/AM would go Urban Gospel and see if they could run with that format.  Wouldn't hurt to try it.  Unless the signal was an issue, they might have success with this idea.
 
Since WAPI-FM's been brought up I'm happy to say that they didn't dump the local hosts to carry the new Cumulus darling, Mike Huckabee. His show is tape delayed to the nighttime on the FM.

As for dead air, maybe it's a new syndicated program. WABB in Mobile has regular dead air, too.

"The Dead Air Show, now with two affiliates and growing daily!" :D
 
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