HOMESTEAD AREA RADIO STATION

[The-Major]

I recently discovered a real strong FM station right here in my own local area. It's at 91.7 FM and it's a Christian contemporary hit music / modern rock station - THE-CALL-91.7 - broadcasting at an ERP of 50,000 watts from a 300 foot stick in my own backyard - just about 20 miles south-southeast of my home on Useless-One right at the southern end of the infamous 18-Mile-Stretch. Apparently its fringe signal actually reaches northward into southern Broward County !

They play some pretty good music on there. Most of it is unfamiliar to me though, but it's a welcome break from Y-100 at times. I think I finally found some good rock music on the radio !

THE MAJOR

 

[954]

I recently discovered a real strong FM station right here in my own local area. It's at 91.7 FM and it's a Christian contemporary hit music / modern rock station - THE-CALL-91.7 - broadcasting at an ERP of 50,000 watts from a 300 foot stick in my own backyard - just about 20 miles south-southeast of my home on Useless-One right at the southern end of the infamous 18-Mile-Stretch. Apparently its fringe signal actually reaches northward into southern Broward County !

They play some pretty good music on there. Most of it is unfamiliar to me though, but it's a welcome break from Y-100 at times. I think I finally found some good rock music on the radio !

THE MAJOR

Isn't that the station that was in the news last year because they tracked down an interfering pirate and called police? 91.7 sounds familiar.

 

[The-Major]

Isn't that the station that was in the news last year because they tracked down an interfering pirate and called police? 91.7 sounds familiar.

EXACTLY - You've jogged my MASSIVE Memory here. I guess it was last Summer when some pirate station in North Miami Beach was using the 91.7 FM frequency directly over The Call's signal. I guess their Police Department investigated the matter, and they eventually found the source and carted away all of the stuff. The Call got some free publicity out of it all, but they had to pay a price for it because of the lost listeners up in northeastern Miami-Dade and southeastern Broward.

THE MAJOR

 

[954]

Isn't that the station that was in the news last year because they tracked down an interfering pirate and called police? 91.7 sounds familiar.

EXACTLY - You've jogged my MASSIVE Memory here. I guess it was last Summer when some pirate station in North Miami Beach was using the 91.7 FM frequency directly over The Call's signal. I guess their Police Department investigated the matter, and they eventually found the source

Noooo. You missed the most interesting part of the story.

The people from the station went out themselves with a DF and found the station....
and THEN called the police. That's what made the story so interesting!

I didn't realize it was in Homestead, though. At the time, I thought
it was Key Largo or somewhere in the northern keys.

73s

 

[The-Major]

I didn't realize it was in Homestead, though. At the time, I thought it was Key Largo or somewhere in the northern keys.

The transmitter and station are in Key Largo - which is considered the Homestead area - which is the Subject: of this thread. I live within two miles of the northern end of the infamous 18-Mile-Stretch, and their stick is at the southern end of the Stretch. The stick is essentially less than 20 miles from my home, and that's much closer than all of the rest of the major Miami-Ft. Lauderdale sticks that are roughly 50 miles from my home.

THE MAJOR

 

[callfm]

Hey...thanks for noticing us! Our transmitting site is in Key Largo, about half way between Ocean Reef and Key Largo. We moved there in April 2005 with an upgrade to 50kW. We do get good car radio coverage into parts of southern Broward - our signal pretty much owns the 18 mile stretch. Our studio is located in Cutler Ridge (w/ waiver). We're 100% locally owned and not a part of any other organization. We're hoping to expand more live programming in the near future. We just added RDS two weeks ago.

 

[The-Major]

Hey...thanks for noticing us! Our transmitting site is in Key Largo, about half way between Ocean Reef and Key Largo. We moved there in April 2005 with an upgrade to 50kW. We do get good car radio coverage into parts of southern Broward - our signal pretty much owns the 18 mile stretch. Our studio is located in Cutler Ridge (w/ waiver). We're 100% locally owned and not a part of any other organization. We're hoping to expand more live programming in the near future. We just added RDS two weeks ago.

Greetings CALL-FM !

I bet if I floated in a hot-air balloon straight-up several hundred feet from my Homestead home and looked due south I would be able to spot your transmitter !

I noticed that you guys play Christian rock, pop, rhythmic, and even DANCE on your station (especially late at night). It's just like a real TOP 40 station minus the commercialism and sex, trash-talk, and violence in the music. Your street team should get out more to promote the station around Homestead and South Miami-Dade. You've got a pretty good product on there with a great signal. It took me this long to discover you guys.

THANKS for checking-in with us on here !

THE MAJOR

 

[jcolletta275]

Hey, welcome, Call! I just wish I'd been able to pick you guys up when I lived in South Florida! It seemed in my later years back home (1995-2000) that WMCU started to go softer and softer. They seem to have spruced things up a bit from what I can tell, but back then... well, let's just say there's only so much Sandi Patty and Wayne Watson a man can take ;D

 

[The-Major]

Hey, welcome, Call! I just wish I'd been able to pick you guys up when I lived in South Florida! It seemed in my later years back home (1995-2000) that WMCU started to go softer and softer. They seem to have spruced things up a bit from what I can tell, but back then... well, let's just say there's only so much Sandi Patty and Wayne Watson a man can take ;D

Josh,

I was actually listening to it last night at home, and they were playing hip hop and rap - all with a positive message ! This morning while driving around my local Homestead area I was listening to it again, and they were mixing hard rock with hip hop. Their on-air station identification voiceovers sound like a big-time TOP 40 station ! If I keep listening to them all of this unfamiliar music will no longer be unfamiliar to me !

They stream LIVE via their web site at http://www.callfm.com.

THE MAJOR

 

[jcolletta275]

Now THIS is how a Christian CHR is supposed to sound! I'm listening right now, and... man, The Echoing Green... I haven't heard anything from them since I bought the Seltzer 2 compilation CD all the way back in... what was that, 1998? Still one of the best compilations CD's I've ever purchased, by the way.

I think I've just found my new favorite stream!

 

[The-Major]

Now THIS is how a Christian CHR is supposed to sound! I'm listening right now, and... man, The Echoing Green... I haven't heard anything from them since I bought the Seltzer 2 compilation CD all the way back in... what was that, 1998? Still one of the best compilations CD's I've ever purchased, by the way.
I think I've just found my new favorite stream!

I've had this station locked-in to my car stereo ever since this past weekend. I listen to it on my short drive to work early in the morning, on my short drive to and from lunch, and on my short drive back home again in the afternoon. They play an incredible amount of continuous hit music (with no commercials obviously) although they do run a bunch of public service announcements towards the end of each hour.

Earlier this year I experimented with two Christian stations on XM at home. One - 'The Torch' - was a bit too hard (rock) for me, and the other (I forget the name of it) was a bit too lite (mellow pop) for me. This station - '91.7-THE CALL' - is just perfect for me. They have successfully introduced me to a whole new world of hit music - all of the various styles of it - pop, rock, hip hop, rap, and even dance - trance and techno (!). On top of that they are doing it just like a big-time TOP 40 station with the over-the-top station identifiers and the wacky sound effects and clips.

I'm starting to recognize some of the music they are playing because I have now heard certain songs twice or thrice since I locked them in.

THE MAJOR

 

[954]

Hey...thanks for noticing us! Our transmitting site is in Key Largo, about half way between Ocean Reef and Key Largo. We moved there in April 2005 with an upgrade to 50kW. We do get good car radio coverage into parts of southern Broward - our signal pretty much owns the 18 mile stretch. Our studio is located in Cutler Ridge (w/ waiver). We're 100% locally owned and not a part of any other organization. We're hoping to expand more live programming in the near future. We just added RDS two weeks ago.

Hey Unnamed Call Guy (I'm not sure if that qualifies as a bad pun or just an awkward phrase) ...

Please e-mail me at the address on my web site.... I have a question for you.

I'd find the e-mail address for the station, but I wouldn't know who to direct it to!

73s

 

[Ai4i]

They stream LIVE via their web site at http://www.callfm.com.

I hate when I see it on the backs of police cars, when municipalities do it, when the US Army, Navy, Marines, and whomever do/does it, and this is just as annoying. Dot com is a suffix intended for bottom line companies, not FM radio stations below 92.1MHz. I live in a fantasy world overflowing with dot gov's, dot mil's, dot fl dot us's, and lots and lots of wonderful, glorious, beautiful dot org's.

 

[The-Major]

I hate when I see it on the backs of police cars, when municipalities do it, when the US Army, Navy, Marines, and whomever do/does it, and this is just as annoying. Dot com is a suffix intended for bottom line companies, not FM radio stations below 92.1MHz. I live in a fantasy world overflowing with dot gov's, dot mil's, dot fl dot us's, and lots and lots of wonderful, glorious, beautiful dot org's.

I understand where you're coming from. I live in a fantasy world where FM stations have web sites that end in .FM, AM stations - .AM, and TV stations - .VHF & .UHF appropriately.

In defense of 'The Call' they are 'licensed to Call Communications Group, Inc. - a 501c(3) non-profit organization'. That's a 'bottom-line company', but perhaps they could be a .ORG (non-profit). Of course .COM is the universally-accepted (and most popular by far) extension for all web sites in general for the average web surfer.

OK - I've got to get to back to working on my .COM web site ! I have a non-company to run here !

THE MAJOR

 

[The-Major]

Now THIS is how a Christian CHR is supposed to sound! I'm listening right now, and... man, I think I've just found my new favorite stream!

Well everyone I have returned home to Homestead from a long weekend in Dallas this past weekend, and I'll get to my report on Dallas radio in a new thread later this week but first this:

When I got into my car after arriving back en Miami I was disappointed to discover that my favourite radio station - '91.7-THE-CALL' - was off-the-air ! It was off during my entire trek back to Homestead this afternoon. (I kept checking for it). I had to listen to a myriad of other radio stations - 'Y-100', 'POWER-96', '97.3-THE-COAST', '99-JAMZ', and '103.5-THE-BEAT' (basically my other 5 FM presets). I was not happy about this unfortunate development. Aside from THE-COAST the other 4 stations pretty much sounded the same. I couldn't wait to get home.

Once I got home I turned on '91.7-THE-CALL' and it was still not on, and for the 2ND time in as many months '89.7-SPIRIT-FM' was coming in loud and proud at the 91.7 FM frequency. I live exactly 5 miles due south of the MASSIVE 'NBC-6 Tower' (as we refer to it down here), so my Magnavox boombox was picking-up SPIRIT-FM's powerful signal (which is on the same tower) in lieu of the THE-CALL's not-as-powerful (but still impressive) signal from due south of me.

A few hours later this afternoon THE-CALL was back on-the-air, and I caught the tail-end of the deejay talking about how it was 'finally the end of a rough weekend here at The Call'. I guess they had transmission problems all weekend long (that lasted through this afternoon). I wouldn't have known since I was listening to them rather extensively (and successfully) online in Dallas via their impressive stream on their official web site.

All is good now at '91.7-THE-CALL' !

THE MAJOR

 

[callfm]

Hey Major:

Thanks for noticing - it's always good to be missed (FYI we often send our CD's to listeners that call us to inquire when we're off air).

The tower owner was working on the strobe at the top of the tower and then public safety antennas located at the top portion of the tower. The CALL and two other radio stations had to power off from about 10AM-3:30PM (a little longer than expected). Hopefully one day when The CALL is a BIG station we'll have an AUX site.

CALL FM/Rob

 

[The-Major]

Hey Major:
Thanks for noticing - it's always good to be missed (FYI we often send our CD's to listeners that call us to inquire when we're off air).

I actually thought about calling, but then I had a scary thought. What if this station had gone offline indefinitely due to a lack of funds ? I surely hope that you stay on the airwaves for a long time to come because in the past month I have become so totally addicted to your station - the best station that has existed here in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale radio market in many years (as far as I'm concerned) ! I can't remember the last time I have been this sincerely passionate about a single radio station and its music.

I must admit that I am way above your target youth demographics of 13 to 25. I'm 39, but the excellent music on your station makes me feel happy and keeps me positive. I also seem to be reliving my youth again when I listen to your station, and that's a good thing. It's good to feel young.

The tower owner was working on the strobe at the top of the tower and then public safety antennas located at the top portion of the tower. The CALL and two other radio stations had to power off from about 10AM-3:30PM (a little longer than expected). Hopefully one day when The CALL is a BIG station we'll have an AUX site.

I read about the 'urgent need' on your web site this afternoon that explains it all.

I would like to follow-up this post with a personal E-MAIL to you (Rob) with additional comments as well as how I can possibly get more involved with your station. I found your E-MAIL address listed on the web site, so I'll get that to you later this week. Thank you for your time, and thank you for participating on here.

THE MAJOR