Definition of a "Flamethrower"

[FTL_Ian]

Does a 50,000 Watt AM that drops power at night still count as a "Flamethrower"?

 

[menotti1]

nope, but Z100 New York is the original Flamethrower..

 

[Turntable]

nope, but Z100 New York is the original Flamethrower..

Nope.

WLW, WABC, WOR, (I could go on and on) are just a few of the stations deserving this description. "Blowtorch" is another term for the same thing. This is a term reserved for full time 50kw (and higher) AM stations which operate at full power 24 hours a day,.

Z100 does not apply as it is an FM station.

-A

 

[oldrover]

Aren't the 100kw FM's also referred to as blowtorches?

 

[EncSpy]

only if their tower is 1000ft or higher.....or has more than 100kw, The "grandfathered" stations
like WRVQ 94.5 Richmond VA, 200kw @ 400ft

like WRVA 100.7 Rocky Mount/Raleigh NC, 100kw @ 2000ft

 

[Turntable]

Aren't the 100kw FM's also referred to as blowtorches?

Sometimes. But the description 'blowtorch' or 'flamethrower' is usually reserved for big full-time non directional AM stations.

-A

 

[CW]

Aren't the 100kw FM's also referred to as blowtorches?

Sometimes. But the description 'blowtorch' or 'flamethrower' is usually reserved for big full-time non directional AM stations.

-A

Also was used to describe the 100-250kw border blaster AMs of the 60s and 70s...like XROK 80........(ahh the good ole days)..The 2000ft/100KW Cs are sometimes called blowtorches in some media circles because of the coverage they get....but to me the difference between a full C and C0 is not that much in coverage....(and only 500ft of height difference)..

 

[ontheair247]

If you want to get technical, Z-100 New York has never been licensed to New York at all. Originally it was the FM side of WVNJ AM & FM, licensed to Newark, NJ with studios located at Livingston, NJ. 08/02/1983 the call letters changed to WHTZ. The studio was in Secaucus, NJ then moved to Jersey City, NJ with the transmitter, originally ar West Orange, NJ moving to the Empire State Bldg in NYC. In practicality now it does have a New York signal since it shares the same master FM antenna as most NYC FM stations. Latest plans call for CC to consolidate the NYC market stations in lower Manhattan, so it will soon be physically located in NYC while still licensed to Newark, NJ. One of my first broadcast engineering gigs was signing on both the AM and FM at 5:00 AM and opening up with the FARM report. I still think those Morning Zoo shows should do a farm report at least once a day . GK

 

[Turntable]

Good points. I think farm reports would do well in NYC, along with Country Music (And I'm serious about that).

But from the looks of things, Cheap Channel's days are numbered. I don't personally think that's a bad thing-- but the damage is already done. Thanks Bill.

I hope I live to see the day when radio gets it's game back. Right now, things are looking pretty crappy

-A

 

[rrsounds]

nope, but Z100 New York is the original Flamethrower..

When the original FM ("Alford") Master antenna on the Empire State Building was being replaced in the early 90s, Z100 used its backup antenna pretty often. This antenna, a single bay, was mounted within arms-length of the circular metal 'ice shield' at the base of the tower, one level above the enclosed observation deck (the two levels of the Alford system straddled the observation level).

The work to reinforce the tower for the new ERI FM Master (and other projects) involved putting a temporary metal guardrail around the perimeter of the ice shield, for worker safety. On one memorable occasion, it seems that part of the guard rail got a little close to the Z's aux antenna, and for a few minutes anyway, we truly were, as the jingle says, "Spittin' fire from the Top of the Empire."

A real Flamethrower, indeed!

Kind Regards and Happy Holidays!

David Reaves
TransLanTech Sound, LLC
Home of the Award-Winning "Ariane Sequel Digital Audio Leveler"

 

[menotti1]

thanks david for the post..i was talking about the original flame thrower pkg.(JAMS) one of the best ever.Hey that ARAINE is one hell of a flame thrower, best pre=processor ever ...congrats.

 

[PhilJSmith67]

only if their tower is 1000ft or higher.....or has more than 100kw, The "grandfathered" stations
like WRVQ 94.5 Richmond VA, 200kw @ 400ft

like WRVA 100.7 Rocky Mount/Raleigh NC, 100kw @ 2000ft

A few more...

Star 105.7 -- WOOD-FM Grand Rapids MI, 265kw @ 810ft HAAT
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?state=&call=wood

More often than not, I can pick up the B-93 in Monee IL, approximately 130 miles from their transmitter.
B-93 Country -- 93.7 WBCT Grand Rapids MI, 320kw @ 780ft HAAT
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?state=&call=wbct

This University of Illinois Public Radio station ain't shabby, either...
90.1 WILL-FM Urbana/Champaign IL, 105kw @ 850fm HAAT
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?state=&call=will

All three are east of the dividing line for 100kw vs. 50kw max power for newly-alotted FM stations.

 

[robgrayson]

OK, gotta root for the home team here...

WMC-FM, Memphis
ERP 290 Kw Horizontal/96 Kw Verical
HAAT 908 feet

A couple of non-tech side notes about "FM100"; Ron Olson, part of the morning team, has been with the station off and on (mostly on) since '74 or '75; as someone recently noted, the current afternoon guy, Tom Prestigiacomo, has been doing his shift at FM100 since Jimmy Carter was president.

 

[wgliradio]

IIRC, WHOM is 49kw ERP, but the antenna is approx 3600 feet HAAT on Mt Washington. They claim to have the largest footprint in North America. It is an impressive footprint

http://www.whom949.com/info/sales.shtml
http://lists.bostonradio.org/pipermail/boston-radio-interest/2006-May/008523.html

 

[FTL_Ian]

Hah, great trivia guys! This thread turned out far better than I expected. ;D