The oldies war is heating up on low-powered FM signals along the Connecticut River. The oldest among the oldies translators, Red Wolf's "Kool Radio" simulcast of WACM on W261DD (100.1, Springfield), has been joined by "'60s & '70s Classic Hits" on W249DP (97.7, Springfield), Success Signal's relay of WARE. In Hampshire County, Saga's W245BK (96.9, Amherst) will switch to "Pure Oldies" shortly, replacing the WHMP simulcast that airs, at present, on both 96.9 and the new W268CZ (101.5, Northampton). Farther upriver, the recent entrants in Greenfield comprise County Broadcasting's relay of WFAT's "Greatest Music of All Time" on W222CH (92.3) and Phil Drumheller's "Music Memories" on W263DE (100.5), a simulcast of WIZZ. Both of the foregoing Franklin County translators add nocturnal coverage to their AM counterparts.
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Oldies in the Pioneer Valley
- Thread starter Kemosabe
- Start date
And up I-91 a bit into Vermont, you'll find WFYX (96.3, Walpole NH) running Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel. The signal becomes usable around the Putney exit (Exit 4) and remains good past Springfield to around Windsor, at which point translator W294AB (106.7, Hanover, NH) takes over.
Sounds like good listening while chomping on ribs from Curtis' Bar·B·Q (just off Exit 4).
As regards WIZZ, I'm concerned about the station's future. The 10kW daytimer at 1520 kHz is owned by old-timer Phil Drumheller, who operates his station from his house. WIZZ is funded in part by listener support.
Having heard the new translator (also installed at the Drumheller homestead) over the holiday weekend, I was discouraged by its spotty signal in Greenfield—caused in part by crosstalk from WRCH. I had hoped the new FM signal would help WIZZ, but its benefit seems to be marginal at best.
At present, "Phil D" broadcasts his live morning show Monday through Friday; automation takes over the rest of the time. Now in his 80s, Mr. Drumheller sounds tired and may be looking to sell the station and retire. The question is, would anyone purchase a daytime-only AM station with an anemic FM translator?
Having heard the new translator (also installed at the Drumheller homestead) over the holiday weekend, I was discouraged by its spotty signal in Greenfield—caused in part by crosstalk from WRCH. I had hoped the new FM signal would help WIZZ, but its benefit seems to be marginal at best.
At present, "Phil D" broadcasts his live morning show Monday through Friday; automation takes over the rest of the time. Now in his 80s, Mr. Drumheller sounds tired and may be looking to sell the station and retire. The question is, would anyone purchase a daytime-only AM station with an anemic FM translator?
Agreed, WIZZ is a 10KW daytimer because of 1520 Buffalo and when Phil didn't apply for a translator in the first round, I was concerned as well. He was a legend at WHYN in the 60s but it must be time for him to retire. Not sure how profitable the station is, but he runs it out of his house and the electric bill for that transmitter is no doubt a large expense. I remember a few years ago he held a fund raiser to help buy a new transmitter. Not many options here, bad AM frequency and small translator coverage. One option for anyone to consider buying it, would be getting rid of the directional array which would lower the daytime power and still allow enough coverage area for a decent translator. Buying/finding a better translator, move the FM antenna to one of the towers, put the studio at the transmitter site to reduce rental costs (if possible), and hope to throw a decent enough FM Signal to serve the surrounding area. Not sure what the format options would be there, but the current music listener is probably aging out.
Which will likely eliminate yet another source of oldies in western New England. That old WFAT relay, along with WFAT itself, was sold to Saga and flipped to the "Outlaw" country gold format already in place in Des Moines.
Worse yet, there’s the prospect of losing a radio station entirely. Beyond the declining value of WIZZ’s daytime-only 1520 signal, the coverage of its 100.5 translator (W263DE) is significantly inferior to that of WPVQ-AM’s (formerly WFAT’s) 92.3 translator (W222CH). Furthermore, WIZZ’s tower site—with fuel storage tanks and railroad tracks as neighbors—would appear to have little investment potential. Aside from Saga, who would consider purchasing WIZZ?
By the sounds of it, WIZZ's anemic translator has received a transfusion. The antenna has been moved from Phil Drumheller's house to the eastern WIZZ tower. The new site affords an improved signal in Greenfield, and adds a mile or so to the coverage radius. Nevertheless, W263DE's contour remains inferior to those of Saga's Greenfield-area translators. Inexplicably, Mr. Drumheller continues to emphasize the AM 1520 signal (in jingles, in announcements, and on the website) with nary a mention of the 100.5 translator. Talk about nostalgia!
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