FM antenna, downtown Fort Lauderdale

[Ai4i]

Was WGOS stereo?

Not until their "BUS" years, in fact, after they dropped country, for a little while, and srill mono, they were saying, "We GO Stereo".

 

[Mike Sheridan]

I didn't have Stereo FM till about 1969.

Contrary to popular belief even mono FM sounds better than AM.

Broward had it's own country FM around 1968 anybody remember WIXX-FM? It was WFLM before WIXX and after that a very nice set of call letters that lasted for quite awhile. Anyone care to guess?

 

[Ai4i]

I'll guess the AM became WEXY!

 

[cd637299]

Yes, WAXY, which was Drake-Chenault's "Hitparade '71"!

Don't ask why, but I do recall a WIXX-FM commercial for Bill Brown's:

When your car needs a paint job, take it to Bill Brown's, take it to Bill Brown's, take it to Bill Brown's....

cd

 

[Ai4i]

Here is the rest of the story:
RKO sends these big city slicker boys in suits to visit the owner of WEXY-WAXY and make an offer of one million dollars.The owner agrees but insists that RKO must take the FM too. RKO says they only want the FM, so the local guy gets his million dollars, keeps the AM money maker, has his FM albatross lifted from his shoulders, and laughs all the way to the bank about how he made out so well.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Here is the rest of the story:
RKO sends these big city slicker boys in suits to visit the owner of WEXY-WAXY and make an offer of one million dollars.The owner agrees but insists that RKO must take the FM too. RKO says they only want the FM, so the local guy gets his million dollars, keeps the AM money maker, has his FM albatross lifted from his shoulders, and laughs all the way to the bank about how he made out so well.

Actually Tedesco wishes he had been paid a million for WAXY. It sold for $465,000 (source: Broadcasting Magazine Jan 8, 1973). I seem to remember there was another $35K non compete payment making it an even $500K.

I was working there at the time as one of the automation/transmitter watchers from sunset to sunrise. I heard that Tedesco was hoping the sale would fall through since he had been offed more for the FM during the lengthy approval process of the sale to RKO General.

A quick glance to that time show the sale of WINZ from Rex Rand to Guy Ganett for 2.45 mil and the sale of WMJR 100.7 to Heftel for 850K.

Getting back to WAXY, RKO got nothing more than the license. All the equipment was replaced. There were no WAXY studios really. The transmitter was an old 10KW Gates running to a Horizontally polarized antenna at 165 feet. RKO put a new transmitter down at the candelabra tower and a new antenna at the top of the tower. WAXY went from junk equipment to the best that money could buy and lots of it. As for me I liked to joke that I was sold along with the license. I was the only one who stayed after the change.

 

[Ai4i]

The person who related the history to me practiced poetic license. Ya gotta admit, a mil sounds twice as good as a half mil. At this time, WAXY 105.9 has had its antenna in the same spot longer than I think any othe commercial FM in the market, safely over the 300m requirement.

Slaves usually transfer with the land

 

[Mike Sheridan]

The person who related the history to me practiced poetic license. Ya gotta admit, a mil sounds twice as good as a half mil. At this time, WAXY 105.9 has had its antenna in the same spot longer than I think any othe commercial FM in the market, safely over the 300m requirement.

Slaves usually transfer with the land

Yep, but a happy slave, I had fun in those days!

Note too WEXY the moneymaker wasn't doing well, it was a 1KW daytimer going up against WGMA's full time 5KW. There was a house cleaning that happened while I was hanging around there (unpaid visitor). I got the job right after the house cleaning when one of the guys went into the service.

 

[Ai4i]

I have always wondered why the WFLM facility was sooo downgraded from 100kw at whatever height (were they the ones in that round building @ the NW corner of Oak & Fed, or was that WMJR?) with really excellent stereo separation to about a third of that and mono. Why did the new owners (who could not have had the station for very long before RKO came into town) not get that great sounding facility? I suppose the parts were sold for scrap.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

I'll guess the AM became WEXY!

Yep the beginning of WEXY-WAXY.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

I have always wondered why the WFLM facility was sooo downgraded from 100kw at whatever height (were they the ones in that round building @ the NW corner of Oak & Fed, or was that WMJR?) with really excellent stereo separation to about a third of that and mono. Why did the new owners (who could not have had the station for very long before RKO came into town) not get that great sounding facility? I suppose the parts were sold for scrap.

I know the answer to this one! First that was WMJR and they were limited to something like 71kw because there was an antenna for the FBI on that tower at fed and Oakland park blvd.