Standards/Elevator Music on 540 in Pensacola?

[Poledo]

I've got a p1$$ poor battery operated radio in my office in downtown Pensacola. It was quiet early yesterday afternoon so I turned it on. My co-workers were offended by Hannity so I started scanning the dial. I couldn't get any signal inside my concrete and steel building from Memories 1490 due to 1450 being 1 mile down the road. 590 from Panama City had an iffy signal. Then I found a station that was tuning on 540 and 530 playing very soft elevator music. I kept it on for about a half hour but it never stopped playing music... No ID or commercials to give me a clue. 550 was completely silent, so I don't think WASG has signed back on. 540 from Tampa should have been there with news/talk. Any ideas? Do any frequencies typically have an echo in the 530-540 range?
Just to let you know how bad this radio is, I couldn't pick up the faintest trace of WWL but WIST (ex-WTIX) 690 was coming in fine.

 

[cceng1]

According to the FCC database, WASG formerly 550 in Atmore has applied for 540 in Daphne with 2.5kw day and 19 watts at night

WASG AM 540 kHz ND2 Daytime D B APP DAPHNE AL US BMJP-20051031AGW 2.5 kW 51141 550 AM, INC.
WASG AM 540 kHz ND2 Nighttime D B APP DAPHNE AL US 0MJP-20051031AGW 0.019 kW 51141 550 AM, INC.

They may be running equipment test for the CP....of course this means they will loose their license for 550

cw

 

[Poledo]

Oh, I knew about that application. I just had my numbers off, I thought they were moving to 560 or 570. I checked out 540 on my drive home this afternoon and it was silent, so if it is WASG they must be testing. I'll try to keep an ear on that frequency to see what pops up.
It sure would be nice if they sold that station so it could carry a secular format. Their Pensacola stations are very poorly run and are off the air half the time and simulcast to the same coverage area most of the time they are on. I can't remember the last time I heard 1070 on the air and 610 has the worst signal of any AM in town. I guess 95.7 is paying the bills?

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

550 is or was supposedly off the air due to loss of tower site and I don't think you can test on the APPLIED for frequnecy till youre granted a CP and file a Program Test Authority Application.

By the way Poledo, Memories 1490 WECM streams in 64K Stereo using both Winamp and Windows Media Player. Their website is http://www.memories1490.com/

 

[w9wi]

550 is or was supposedly off the air due to loss of tower site and I don't think you can test on the APPLIED for frequnecy till youre granted a CP and file a Program Test Authority Application.

Apparently it is possible to get Special Temporary Authority to run temporary technical tests to establish the efficiency of a proposed site. Those figures can be necessary to fill out the application completely.

Such a test was run recently here in the Nashville area on 830KHz towards preparation of an application to move a station from 1550 in Clarksville, Tenn.

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

550 is or was supposedly off the air due to loss of tower site and I don't think you can test on the APPLIED for frequnecy till youre granted a CP and file a Program Test Authority Application.

Apparently it is possible to get Special Temporary Authority to run temporary technical tests to establish the efficiency of a proposed site. Those figures can be necessary to fill out the application completely.

Such a test was run recently here in the Nashville area on 830KHz towards preparation of an application to move a station from 1550 in Clarksville, Tenn.

I just checked the FCC's CDBS Database and I dont see any Program Test Authority or SPecial Temporary Authority to operate on 540

 

[Poledo]

550 is or was supposedly off the air due to loss of tower site and I don't think you can test on the APPLIED for frequnecy till youre granted a CP and file a Program Test Authority Application.

Yeah, and wasn't 550's Cantonment site co-located with another station with the same owner? How do you loose a site like that?
I still don't know that I was picking up WASG. Like I said, I was using a bottom shelf radio, there's no telling what kind of anomalies that thing could be picking up. The station I was picking up had a very strong signal on both 530 and 540. It was just as strong as the AMs located within 5 miles of my location. Maybe it was a "Talking House" or even a pirate... I know an ex Free-Form (later to become a Clear Channel rocker) DJ that lives about 200 yards down the street.
If it was broadcasting from Daphne, that's like 40+ miles away. I wouldn't expect to pick up that station in a concrete & steel building full of florescent lights and computers. Also, I couldn't pick up any station on 530 or 540 later on in my car. If I can remember, I'll check out that office radio sometime this weekend and see if there's still music on 530/540 and compare it to my car radio in the parking lot at the same time. If it matches up, I'll figure it out eventually.

By the way Poledo, Memories 1490 WECM streams in 64K Stereo using both Winamp and Windows Media Player. Their website is http://www.memories1490.com/

I've listened to their stream, I prefer to listen to stations with 128 kb streams and if I have access to 100,000 internet streams, I'm not going to choose WECM. I listen to WECM in the car all the time though. I wish the folks at WECM could acquire 1450 for a simulcast that would cover the majority of the Pensacola market 24/7, but nothing has changed at 1450 in the last 10+ years, I guess it's just the owners' jukebox.

The only semi-local station I stream is WZEW and that's usually only when there's bad weather in the area.

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

By the way Poledo, Memories 1490 WECM streams in 64K Stereo using both Winamp and Windows Media Player. Their website is http://www.memories1490.com/

I've listened to their stream, I prefer to listen to stations with 128 kb streams and if I have access to 100,000 internet streams, I'm not going to choose WECM. I listen to WECM in the car all the time though. I wish the folks at WECM could acquire 1450 for a simulcast that would cover the majority of the Pensacola market 24/7, but nothing has changed at 1450 in the last 10+ years, I guess it's just the owners' jukebox.

The only semi-local station I stream is WZEW and that's usually only when there's bad weather in the area.

Have you actually listened to the WECM streams? I know for a fact they sound really good.. alot of work went into getting the station to sound pretty good.

 

[Poledo]

Have you actually listened to the WECM streams? I know for a fact they sound really good.. alot of work went into getting the station to sound pretty good.

Yes I have, I think I pulled it up for a few hours earlier this month. I don't know if I was using a winamp stream or WMP, but I remember it sounding pretty bad compared to the AM over the air broadcast. 1450 covers everything from 1410 to 1550 on the boom box in the office, so I can only listen to WECM OTA in my car.

The people in my office don't understand why I listen to radio streams on the net instead of WXBM or The Rocket. The Indie 103.1 (KDLD) morning show really irritates everyone. They think I'm weird... except on payday.(I don't know which smiley face goes here)

 

[w9wi]

I just checked the FCC's CDBS Database and I dont see any Program Test Authority or SPecial Temporary Authority to operate on 540

STAs don't always make it to the CDBS database.

(Program Test Authority isn't possible unless there's an underlying Construction Permit)

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

I just checked the FCC's CDBS Database and I dont see any Program Test Authority or SPecial Temporary Authority to operate on 540

STAs don't always make it to the CDBS database.

(Program Test Authority isn't possible unless there's an underlying Construction Permit)

If WASG is testing their 540 facilities for further filing of the Application, they would need Field test Authroity.. and under said Field test Authority, you aren't allowed to broadcast anything but a 1000hz tone.... so what was heard wasn't them!

 

[Poledo]

Well, the standards on 540 and 530 was on from in my office from 10:30 till noon this morning with no breaks or IDs, but by the time I left I forgot to check my car radio for the station. This afternoon 540 is dead silent on my car radio and home radio. I'll try to do better on Monday. The station seemed stronger on 530. 530 isn't used in the US, right? Also, I'd swear I was listening to MUZAK, does that still exist?

 

[w9wi]

If WASG is testing their 540 facilities for further filing of the Application, they would need Field test Authroity.. and under said Field test Authority, you aren't allowed to broadcast anything but a 1000hz tone.... so what was heard wasn't them!

There's no such thing as "Field Test Authority".

_________________________________________________

Every STA is different, so I suppose it's possible any STA WASG holds might specify broadcast of only 1000Hz tone. To be honest it seems unlikely. (I am quite certain their permit does not specify what tone frequency must be used!) Such a requirement is definitely not a feature of all STAs. (and again, it can't be a feature of Field Test Authority because there is no such thing!) You will probably get in trouble trying to sell spots on a test operation like this. Broadcasting 400Hz tone, or a dead carrier, or identification announcements are not likely to cause problems.

These days, running music on a conductivity test would probably get you in trouble with the RIAA but I doubt the FCC would care...

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

If WASG is testing their 540 facilities for further filing of the Application, they would need Field test Authroity.. and under said Field test Authority, you aren't allowed to broadcast anything but a 1000hz tone.... so what was heard wasn't them!

There's no such thing as "Field Test Authority".

_________________________________________________

Every STA is different, so I suppose it's possible any STA WASG holds might specify broadcast of only 1000Hz tone. To be honest it seems unlikely. (I am quite certain their permit does not specify what tone frequency must be used!) Such a requirement is definitely not a feature of all STAs. (and again, it can't be a feature of Field Test Authority because there is no such thing!) You will probably get in trouble trying to sell spots on a test operation like this. Broadcasting 400Hz tone, or a dead carrier, or identification announcements are not likely to cause problems.

These days, running music on a conductivity test would probably get you in trouble with the RIAA but I doubt the FCC would care...

I don't mean to disagree, Doug.. but I was given information by someone whos been in the business almost 45 years.

Maybe I used the wrong terminology..... but 540 is going to be directly? Well, when you test the array, you cant run anything thru it.. I think.

Still, I'm going to bet $20 this isnt WASG testing on 540.

 

[MN Maniac]

Poledo,

What kind of a signal do you get from WFLF-540-Pine Hills (Orlando) in Pensacola?

When I lived in Ocean Springs, MS (2004-2005), I had it weak but listenable on both my Delco GM car radio and my Sangean C. Crane portable.

Gotta love those saltwater paths!

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

Poledo,

What kind of a signal do you get from WFLF-540-Pine Hills (Orlando) in Pensacola?

When I lived in Ocean Springs, MS (2004-2005), I had it weak but listenable on both my Delco GM car radio and my Sangean C. Crane portable.

Gotta love those saltwater paths!

Didn't Poledo say it's possible the station was on 530 and not 540?

 

[Poledo]

Yes, I believe the station is stronger on 530 than on 540 but it gets weaker on 535 when tuning from 530 to 540, very weird. I also tend to believe that I'm not hearing a test of WASG from Mobile but that I have a radio picking up something it shouldn't. I'm just not smart enough to figure out what else besides an AM radio station could put a signal on there. I haven't heard this type of music on OTA radio in ages. I only recognize one out of 5-6 songs and I don't know the names or artist of any of them. The music is odd, closer to elevator music or EZ listening from the 80's than anything I've heard on the radio in the last 10 years.
No breaks, No IDs over at least 90 minutes of continuous listening. I think that MUZAK is carried on an FM subcarrier so it wouldn't be bleeding onto 530-540 AM, but I could be wrong. I intend to take another radio into my office in downtown Pensacola to check this out, I just can't remember to do it... In fact, I'm going to put the GE SuperRadio in my car right now. If this is just something unique to my cheap battery operated office radio, this is going to be embarrassing.
As for WFLF, I have heard the station with a usable signal on the beach in the past. Over the last week I haven't heard a trace of it, but I've been at least 3 miles inland. I've been listening to this mysterious station from Downtown Pensacola, probably 6 miles inland from the Gulf. Some of the Tampa Bay spanish stations do reach my location, but I don't speak spanish so I don't keep up with them.

Hopefully I'll have something useful to post tomorrow night and I haven't wasted anyone's time with this mystery.

 

[cceng1]

doug is correct there is no such thing as field test authority.....I have been doing this stuff since 1969 and I have never heard that term....there is something called Program Test Authority...you can use normal programming for that......but nothing about a 1kc a tone...by the way doug hello de NF4A

cw

 

[redneckriviera]

Speaking of the mighty 610/WVTJ, I've always thought that it was the "sleeping giant" (okay, that's a bit of an overstatement, but you get the drift) in Pensacola. Yes, the audio chain needs thrown out and rebuilt, but the basic carrier signal itself is as-good-or-better than WCOA's. Even the 157-watt night signal covers more actual human beings than any other AM in the market. Schroeder's teapot on 790 ain't bad, either. Lot to be said for that low dial position stuff...

For that matter, why didn't they just move 550/WASG down the pike to just northwest of Pcola? Plenty of "communities" still available for use as theoretical Cities Of License. Gonzales? Are (or were) these the same guys who have that waste of electricity on 1070 licensed to Cantonment? Couldn't they have just co-located? A 3-tower DA shooting SE from that xmtr site with 5-KW on 550 (or even 500 w on 550) would be a blaster. Of course, the same goes for 1070...

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

Speaking of the mighty 610/WVTJ, I've always thought that it was the "sleeping giant" (okay, that's a bit of an overstatement, but you get the drift) in Pensacola. Yes, the audio chain needs thrown out and rebuilt, but the basic carrier signal itself is as-good-or-better than WCOA's. Even the 157-watt night signal covers more actual human beings than any other AM in the market. Schroeder's teapot on 790 ain't bad, either. Lot to be said for that low dial position stuff...

For that matter, why didn't they just move 550/WASG down the pike to just northwest of Pcola? Plenty of "communities" still available for use as theoretical Cities Of License. Gonzales? Are (or were) these the same guys who have that waste of electricity on 1070 licensed to Cantonment? Couldn't they have just co-located? A 3-tower DA shooting SE from that xmtr site with 5-KW on 550 (or even 500 w on 550) would be a blaster. Of course, the same goes for 1070...

1070 and 610 are no longer owned by the guy (Michael Glinter) that owns WASG. WNVY 1070 and WVTJ 610 are owned by Wlkins Radio Network(www.wilkinsradio.com).

Ginters 95.7 licensed to navarre is for sale too. http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WGCX&service=FM&status=L&hours=U