Full Time 50kw AM in Indiana

[Hoosierky]

I have picked up WOWO like a local in downtown Atlanta on a Sunday night.

Unfortunatly, with all the Same ole programs that are on ALL the other stations, does a 50KW really do anything for a city or region?? I think the engineer at WKBV was actually ahead of his time

 

[Corky Marlowe]

Since the 1995 downgrade, WOWO is tough to pick up at night just 50 miles to the northeast here in northwestern Ohio...Which is OK, because it's all the same ol' same ol' syndie stuff heard on WJRSPDTVN, anyway. Let's not even get started on the loss of IU sports.

 

[Apollo7979]

I have picked up WOWO like a local in downtown Atlanta on a Sunday night.

Unfortunatly, with all the Same ole programs that are on ALL the other stations, does a 50KW really do anything for a city or region?? I think the engineer at WKBV was actually ahead of his time

I never knew that about WKBV. One would think they would have attempted to go 50,000 watts on 680. Afterall, WKBV was fairly new to Richmond back in the 30s, having moved from Connersville a few years earlier. Weren't they also on 1500 back in the Connersville and Brookville days?

 

[Flying-Dutchman]

Wow! If that is true? Indiana Radio history would have been changed if WKBV was 50,000 watts
on 680 KHz. They would have blasted into Dayton, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Louisville. Plus,
they would have covered many medium sized markets and covered many states at night.
Unfortunately though, 1490 is the noisiest of the local AM channels. In Springfield, Ohio just
55 miles to the east, they are underneath 2 other stations on the same frequency.

 

[hipporadio]

1030 was lit-up in a small community in west central Tennessee about the same time. It did have nighttime service and it's country format could be heard in Indiana frequently...

There's two stations on 1030 in Tennessee. One, in White Bluff, was WJKZ in the early 1980s... in Dickson Co. about 30 miles west of Nashville. The other one, in Memphis, was WXSS in the early 1980s. It's (as you say) WGSF today, and still in Memphis.

Thanks for calling that little critter to my attention w9wi—I didn’t scroll down far enough in the FCC DB to see it. After viewing the 50kw facility for WGSF (upgraded after WJKZ went on)—I figured it was gone—gone—gone... But WOW—those two are mighty close! WJKZ must have had 250-watts night (the minimum allowed then), and they could be frequently heard in Indiana (but usually underneath WBZ).

What became of WLTH 1370... I remember well a commentator on WLTH, Warren Frieburg, who was essentially channeling Rush Limbaugh from the future. He went to WLNR Lansing, and I last heard him as a guest on a paranormal show on Houston radio, about 1993.

I doubt any radio listener over 40 who grew up in “The Region” could ever forget Warren Frieburg—especially on FM radio in the WLNR era. I remember a well-celebrated tussle he got into with Steve Dahl at the Holiday Star in Merrillville back in the 80s. He was no stranger to Chicago media publicity despite his sub-politan radio presence. In the most delicate of terms—Warren was one who saw (white) skin as Webster’s definition of supremacy despite his southside radio address. He minced NO WORDS—even when he was live from the WLTH studios in Gary!

Now the humorous irony... NOBODY NOHOW could run Frieburg off WLNR. Bar cages appeared over the station’s windows—and those facing I-80 were covered with metal sheets. Finally, the station would accept “an offer it couldn’t refuse” from Chicago-based Ebony Magazine publisher Johnson Products. Warren was out and “The Quiet Storm” was in at 106.3.

I never knew that about WKBV. One would think they would have attempted to go 50,000 watts on 680. Afterall, WKBV was fairly new to Richmond back in the 30s, having moved from Connersville a few years earlier. Weren't they also on 1500 back in the Connersville and Brookville days?

WKBV began in Brookville around 1926. It was the hobby of a local businessman who was a canoeing enthusiast named William Kaiser. The calls signified the owner’s name/town PLUS his recreational pursuits: Whitewater Kcanoeist BrookVille. Hearing of its move to Connersville is new info... Interestingly, WCNB(FM) debuted in 1948 (after the band move)—the AM station there on 1580 followed a year later.

 

[hipporadio]

WKBV was fairly new to Richmond back in the 30s, having moved from Connersville a few years earlier. Weren't they also on 1500 back in the Connersville and Brookville days?

A check of the Indiana Radio Archives reveals that WKBV signed on September 27, 1926 in Brookville on 1490. It moved to Connersville in the early 30s, where they changed frequency to 1500kHz broadcasting with 100 to 150-watts. No mention of the date the station moved to Richmond, or any info on the frequency change back to 1490 and kick-up in power to then-maximum 250-watts.

'Guess Mr. Kaiser decided he liked canoeing better than radio

http://www.well.com/~irw/stations/wkbv.html

 

[Jeff_Davis]

To Dave...Salem did not downgrade 1160 in Cincinnati for WYLL. The 1160 pattern was set long before Salem ever owned it.

 

[Wazzie]

Sometimes, I can get all eight cyclinders to fire! I just remembered the engineer's name that told me about that missed opportunity. His name was Chuck Yount. Chuck did mid-days on WKBV in the early 80's and did a phone-in show. The in-studio phone was a standard desk phone with the loudest damn ringer you could find... and every time someone called it, it pegged the needle on the board.

When I first started there, I noticed the board had markings for "Tape 1" and "Tape 3", referring to the in-rack reel to reel decks. I asked "Where is Tape 2"? And Chuck's reply "The second deck got fried during a lightning strike about ten years back and we never replaced it".

There was a bomb shelter in the backyard... a 1950's must-have. Thru the years, it became a warehouse of sorts. But one day, somebody noticed that the door was locked and nobody could find the keys. That door stayed locked for at least 5 years... who knows it has been opened since.

All the goofy stories I could tell you about that place. But it was an important part of my training. Live jocking, production, DJ gigs... it was a great learning enviroment.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Didn't WDJO used to be on 1180?

I was in the WKBV bomb shelter a few years ago & made a half hearted attempt at cleaning it out. Seems there wasn't a door on it any longer...

 

[hipporadio]

His name was Chuck Yount. Chuck did mid-days on WKBV in the early 80's and did a phone-in show. The in-studio phone was a standard desk phone with the loudest damn ringer you could find...

One VERY LOUD phone that was—You could hear it all the way out on Tingler Road, and nearly always during the news intro “It’s the live-five at fifty-five with Ted Westbrook on 14-90 Daba-uuu—K—B—V.”

All the goofy stories I could tell you about that place...

Did you hear the chart-topper about the time WKBV’s all-night guy filled in for Chuck’s predecessor on the late morning “Party-Line” program? His name was Steve-(something). I’m trying to get all eight of my cylinders firing, but believe me—the last name was not flattering for on-air use. He was the ONLY guy in the building that Les Spencer allowed to touch a Top-40 record—and that was between midnight and 5AM while “The Radio Ranch” slumbered. He actually called ‘KBV the “Rock of Richmond” during those hours.

That morning, the “Party-Line” suddenly slid into downright chaos due to WKBV’s lack of a delay. Just before “the live five”, a caller who had been blathering on for nearly five-minutes about what a great job the substitute host was doing took a sudden turn toward triple-X. A host of Chuck Yount’s caliber would have seen it coming—not the all-nighter pursuing his big break with 1490’s daytime audience of Grandmas and Garden Club members. When he least expected an ambush, the caller exclaimed “I enjoy hearing you so much, I want to come over and ---- ---- ----!” A full minute of dead air followed... Then the familiar “cur-chunk” and un-gated studio noise when the mic switch found its way into program. The next sound you heard was... That darn phone ring

“Charlie” never fined the Mighty 1490—doubt he ever found out despite the tape that was innocently rolling over on Tingler Road—seems they recorded the “live-five” to get their news.

 

[jimbo700]

Bob-Ob-The-Job: Your comment about WNDE's signal to the south was right on the money. Columbus is in the dead-center of the southern lobe and they sounded great. I agree that the noise level on 1260 is horrible these days, but in the 70's it was great because, for years, when WIFE (Indy's 1310) switched to night facilities, they just disappeared and WCSI signed off. so all you could do was hope the ionosphere was right for WLS or other distant stations. WNDE actually sounded a little better when the switched to the night array, because those 5,000 watts were now focused onto 2 lobes, one of them pointing right into Columbus. After a while you could hear Cleveland's WIXY or the Edmonton Alberta station (1260 is a Canadian Clear Channel), but most of the time it was WNDE, crystal clear.
Now the noise level is so high you can't pick WNDE out of the mess. There aren't that many class B stations with night time facilities on 1260, so I'd guess there are lots of daytimers who don't cut power at sunset. I've heard the Dickson Tennessee station (5KW days/18 watts nights) many times, especially when they are doing high school football on Friday nights in September, so you know we're getting the full 5KW.

Getting back to my earlier post about WOWO and the drop-in on 1190 in Dallas, it holds the record for being the 'most directional AM station in America'.
They are 50,000 watts with a 4 tower directional array during the day, but at night they have a separate transmitter site with 12 towers and a 5,000 watt transmitter. There's a joke down there that you can drive down the North-Central Expressway listening to it clear as a bell, but as soon as you cross the line to exit, you lose the signal. Here's a link to the night plot:
http://fccinfo.com/CMDProEngine.php...bSearchType=Appl&sAppIDNumber=221001&sHours=N
I was in Dallas several years ago and I visited their transmitter sites and talked to the CE. He said it was a chore keeping everything going. With the studios in downtown Dallas, the daytime x-mitter site with a Harris DX 50 and 4 tower array 20 miles northwest of town, and the nighttime x-mitter site 20 miles northeast of town with a 5KW transmitter and 12 towers, not to mention the auxiliary facilities. That's a lot of hardware to keep running.
There are a couple of questions I have about the WOWO downgrade:
First, 1190 is a US clear channel, and the FCC keeps both Portland Oregon and Ft. Wayne 'notified' as the dominant stations on that frequency. Meaning, even though WOWO is now a class B, stations in Canada and Mexico must still protect Ft Wayne. That's probably why they still get out so well in the southeast US with slightly less than 10 KW. My question, why does Ft Wayne remain notified?

My other question, once Ft Wayne was officially downgraded, there were several daytimers on 1190 who applied for night time facilities. I saw apps from Atlanta's 1190 and Kansas City's 1190 (both are daytimers). I believe WOWO finally became a class B in late 1999 or early 2000, which was 7 years ago, yet the FCC has yet to allow any station on 1190 to get/improve night time coverage. Why?

Marty, Bob, Anyone, Bueller...

 

[Jeff_Davis]

Bob...WDJO was originally on 1230 AM between 1985 and 1990. 1160 was originally on 1180 as a 1kw daytimer. The WDJO calls and format were recently reborn on 1160. Before that, the station was named for you! 1160 WBOB.

Read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WDJO

 

[radio lover]

Thanks to everyone who posted commits on this topic. I learned some things and enjoyed reading about some of the am'ers of the past. How about those colts!!

 

[dave73]

WYLL uses the Park Ridge antennas daytime, but the Lockport antennas at night?

I used to live in Hobart, and WOWO did boom in. I almost never was able to get WOAI.

What became of WLTH 1370 and WWCA 1270? in Gary?
Did they just quietly fade away?

I worked 7 years at USS in Gary.

I remember well a commentator on WLTH, Warren Frieburg, who was essentially channeling Rush Limbaugh from the future.
He went to WLNR Lansing, and I last heard him as a guest on a paranormal show on Houston radio, about 1993.

Someone mentioned AM 1030 in Chicago. Can't remember the call, but that station is in Vernon Hills, IL.

What? You don't like IBOC on AM? Greatest thing since sliced bread, according to ibiquity.

WYLL used to use the Park Ridge Illinois site for both day & night:50kw day on 2 towers, & 4 towers at 5kw night. Since Salem wanted to try and cover the entire Chicago market at night, they had to find a new site to pull it off, and they found it in Lockport Illinois. Salem wanted to try and make that site for their daytime operations too, but based on a posting from the old radio-info site, the engineers weren't able to make it feasible to create the same site for daytime operations, while still protecting KSL Salt Lake City. I dind't even know KSL still had to be protected during the daytime, as the signal relies more on ground conductivity during daytime hours. So that's why there's a day site, & separate night site. Salem eventually wants to move their day site, as that site is owned by the church that sits on daytime site, and Salem leases it, while they own the nighttime site.

As for Warren Frieburg, I don't know much about him. My maternal Grandmother listened to him a lot on WLNR, and I believe he used to be on WWJY 103.9 Crown Point too. All I remember as a kid was that she would wake up at 5am and prepare breakfast. Then around 6am, she would turn on the radio and listen to WLNR, plus WWJY. If my Grandmother's health & memory weren't fading, I'd ask her about Warren Frieburg, since she listened to him everyday that he was on the air.

WLTH is still on the air, but the station is basically on life support. The audio is so bad that I don't know how anyone can even listen to the station. The station moved from the Glen Park neighborhood (I believe they were in the 3700 block of Broadway, near IUN) to its current site at 2019 Broadway in Gary. The station airs mostly syndicated programming, but does air some gospel programming from local churches too. I don't know how much longer the station will be on the air, but their transmitter sites are in bad shape, especially the nighttime site in Hobart. Yes they have a nighttime site, and it's on Liverpool Road just north of the Norfolk Southern Railroad track, & east of I-65. That site looks neglected, and not sure if the station even maintains that site anymore. Technically according the FCC database, they're supposed to operate on their nighttime site at 500 watts, but I never see it litup. Their daytime site has only 1 tower, and operates at 1kw, which is still on Martim Luther King Drive, just north of the Gary Area Career Center, and that site seems to be the only site that has any work done to it. I'm surprised though, for a station that is barely on the air, I have received it up in Wheeling Illinois during the daytime.

I don't remember the call letters to 1030 Vernon Hills IL, but the current call letters are WNVR, and Polnet owns that station. So the station airs a lot of ethnic programming, especially Polish programming, since there's a big Polish population in the northern suburbs of Chicago. The station operates at 5kw day on 4 towers, but only 120 watts at night on 2 towers, but doesn't even cover their COL at night on their puny 120 watts. Polnet also owns WKTA on 1330, and it's licensed to Evanston, but their tower site & studios are in Northbrook. It's another daytimer that operates at 5kw day, but only 17 watts night, but their night operation is on 1 tower, and doesn't cover Evanston at night. Since Evanston already has an FM station licensed to that city; why don't Polnet change the COL to Northbrook. Afterall, that's where their nighttime signal is heard.

WWCA went off the air in 1994, and was silent for almost 10 years, when Starboard Media bought the station. They originally wanted to buy WJOB, but lots of protests caused Starboard to backout of the buyout of WJOB, after St George Broadcasting filed bankruptcy, and was unable to buy the station (along with WIMS Michigan City, but Starboard wasn't buying that station though), and that station was airing Sporting News Radio for a while. Starboard had no intention of running any local programming on WJOB, and only wanted the station so they could air their satellite network (as I call it) in the area, and WJOB was only going to have the power on for just the transmitter, and nothing else. Not even the studio equipment at WJOB. When they bought WWCA, there was little protest to that buyout because the station was silent until December 1, 2003. There was plenty of testing on the station after there was lots of work done to the tower site, before it went live on December 1, 2003. But now that WWCA is back on the air, I no longer get WXYT Detroit, which operates on 50kw day & night.

As for IBOC, I don't like it because it creates lots of hissing noise on analog radios when trying to listen to adjacent stations, and that especially becomes true on 2nd & 3rd adjacents on the AM. The FM side isn't as bad, unless I'm within a reasonable distance from the tower, then a station running IBOC can splatter on 2nd & 3rd adjacents. I live close enough to WPWX's tower, which is in Burnham Illinois, and at home in Gary, my radio already has a crappy tuner, and IBOC only makes it worse. So 92.3 gets splattered on 92.7 & 92.9 to the right, & to the left, it splatters on 91.7 & 91.9 to the left. But my radio (an Emerson that wasn't worth $95 that I paid at Kmart) already has problems with getting 91.5 from Chicago clearly, because of the splatter from 92.3 making its way all the way to 91.7. All other stations, I'm far enough away that it doesn't create a big problem on second adjacents.

You say you don't get WOAI in Hobart? I can pick it up all the time in Lowell, where I work. At home in Gary, I get bleedover from WRTO Chicago because that station has secondary coverage over Gary at night, and that'll get worse when WRTO gets their new tower site up, and running. WRTO's new nighttime output will be 4.5kw, which is 3.5kw more than what they transmit at right now, of only 1kw.

 

[Timewarp]

Except for WBAA, I turned off AM long ago!

 

[miketurner]

How about those colts!!

I'm happy, but not so loud...we don't want this thread to be relocated.