Station Flip In Tally???

[jmtillery]

AM 1020 isn't legally WSBX yet either! Yet, I see it on your website and hear it on your webstream...

You can call a radio station anything you desire so long as you give the assigned call letters followed by city of license in your on-air legal ID.

Regarding the website, you can put anything you want there with NO restrictions. The web isn't a licensed entity, and the FCC has no authority over the world wide web since it covers the globe and is not limited to only the United States.

We have a station here in the Ocala/Gainesville market - WKTK - which goes by "KTK" at all times except when the station is identified with its legal ID. There are no more new "K" call sign assignments East of the Mississippi, although one who didn't know better might reasonably believe WKTK's assigned call sign is KTK. Additionally, there are no more three letter call sign assignments, either, yet WKTK identifies itself as KTK which is perfectly legal, again, so long as the legal ID is given at a minimum of once an hour identifying KTK as WKTK Crystal River - assigned call sign followed by city of license. In this case WKTK is the legally assigned call sign, and Crystal River is the city of license as it appears in the FM Table of Allottments.

If WJEP is identifying itself as WSBX in the actual legal ID before the FCC has approved the call sign change, then WJEP is in violation of FCC rules. Otherwise they can put whatever they want on the website or on-air in station liners although my understanding is the station is off the air at the moment awaiting technical improvements, in which case, they are not identifying anything over the air. Therefore, no rules in station identification have been violated.

Mark Tillery,
Ocala, Florida
[email protected]

 

[drt]

AM 1020 isn't legally WSBX yet either! Yet, I see it on your website and hear it on your webstream...

You can call a radio station anything you desire so long as you give the assigned call letters followed by city of license in your on-air legal ID.

Regarding the website, you can put anything you want there with NO restrictions. The web isn't a licensed entity, and the FCC has no authority over the world wide web since it covers the globe and is not limited to only the United States.

We have a station here in the Ocala/Gainesville market - WKTK - which goes by "KTK" at all times except when the station is identified with its legal ID. There are no more new "K" call sign assignments East of the Mississippi, although one who didn't know better might reasonably believe WKTK's assigned call sign is KTK. Additionally, there are no more three letter call sign assignments, either, yet WKTK identifies itself as KTK which is perfectly legal, again, so long as the legal ID is given at a minimum of once an hour identifying KTK as WKTK Crystal River - assigned call sign followed by city of license. In this case WKTK is the legally assigned call sign, and Crystal River is the city of license as it appears in the FM Table of Allottments.

If WJEP is identifying itself as WSBX in the actual legal ID before the FCC has approved the call sign change, then WJEP is in violation of FCC rules. Otherwise they can put whatever they want on the website or on-air in station liners although my understanding is the station is off the air at the moment awaiting technical improvements, in which case, they are not identifying anything over the air. Therefore, no rules in station identification have been violated.

Mark Tillery,
Ocala, Florida
[email protected]

Exactly! (Mr. Tillery is correct, once again!)

Another example is 540 out of Pine Hills/Orlando, all through the hour, they i.d. as WFLA except for the one legal i.d. per hour when they properly i.d. as WFLF (albeit very quickly as though they are hoping you don't catch it! )

Of course, it helps that both WFLF and the actual WFLA (970- Tampa) are both owned by ClearChannel. At one time WJNX (Ft. Pierce) and 1450 in Sarasota also used the WFLA brand and if I'm not mistaken there is still a ClearChannel owned FM in the Tallahassee area that i.d.'s as WFLA.

drt

 

[radioboy]

If I'm not mistaken there is still a ClearChannel owned FM in the Tallahassee area that i.d.'s as WFLA.

drt
[/quote]

drt,

You are correct. It's WFLA-FM 100.7

 

[WJEPPD]

AM 1020 isn't legally WSBX yet either! Yet, I see it on your website and hear it on your webstream...

Look at the FCC site, I plugged in WJEP, Gone, WSBX is there, I would say that is approval of call letters...

 

[Charlie Gee]

Woody:
Here's $250 or more advice and this time it's free . . . .

Be absolutely certain that your "public file" is correct.
Make sure the fence around the tower is adequate and the gate locked.

....and don't assume that a rural area has no zoning laws!

....and don't construct something associated with a broadcasting facility before you have FCC permission to do so.

 

[jmtillery]

AM 1020 isn't legally WSBX yet either! Yet, I see it on your website and hear it on your webstream...

You can call a radio station anything you desire so long as you give the assigned call letters followed by city of license in your on-air legal ID.

Regarding the website, you can put anything you want there with NO restrictions. The web isn't a licensed entity, and the FCC has no authority over the world wide web since it covers the globe and is not limited to only the United States.

We have a station here in the Ocala/Gainesville market - WKTK - which goes by "KTK" at all times except when the station is identified with its legal ID. There are no more new "K" call sign assignments East of the Mississippi, although one who didn't know better might reasonably believe WKTK's assigned call sign is KTK. Additionally, there are no more three letter call sign assignments, either, yet WKTK identifies itself as KTK which is perfectly legal, again, so long as the legal ID is given at a minimum of once an hour identifying KTK as WKTK Crystal River - assigned call sign followed by city of license. In this case WKTK is the legally assigned call sign, and Crystal River is the city of license as it appears in the FM Table of Allottments.

If WJEP is identifying itself as WSBX in the actual legal ID before the FCC has approved the call sign change, then WJEP is in violation of FCC rules. Otherwise they can put whatever they want on the website or on-air in station liners although my understanding is the station is off the air at the moment awaiting technical improvements, in which case, they are not identifying anything over the air. Therefore, no rules in station identification have been violated.

Mark Tillery,
Ocala, Florida
[email protected]

Exactly! (Mr. Tillery is correct, once again!)

Another example is 540 out of Pine Hills/Orlando, all through the hour, they i.d. as WFLA except for the one legal i.d. per hour when they properly i.d. as WFLF (albeit very quickly as though they are hoping you don't catch it! )

Of course, it helps that both WFLF and the actual WFLA (970- Tampa) are both owned by ClearChannel. At one time WJNX (Ft. Pierce) and 1450 in Sarasota also used the WFLA brand and if I'm not mistaken there is still a ClearChannel owned FM in the Tallahassee area that i.d.'s as WFLA.

drt

I'm glad you mentioned 540 because I was going to had no one else noticed. WFLF-AM Pine Hills has branded itself as 540 WFLA for several years although the actual WFLA call letter combination is assigned to three different stations - WFLA-AM 970 Tampa, WFLA-FM 100.7 Midway, and WFLA-TV 8 Tampa. The only time 540 ever gives reference to WFLF, as mention by DRT, is during the legal ID which is ALL that is required.

At one time, and they may still do this, WNLS-AM 1270 Tallahassee also branded itself as 1270 WFLA even though the call letters are WNLS. I don't know if WNLS is still calling itself WFLA now that FM 100.7 has flipped its call letters to WFLA-FM.

The point is the legal ID is the only time the assigned call letters are required to air.

Mark Tillery,
Ocala, Florida
[email protected]

 

[radioboy]

Mark,

WNLS-1270 in Tallahassee is branded as "1270 The Team."

All of the FLA branding is over on 100.7 now.

 

[jmtillery]

Mark,

WNLS-1270 in Tallahassee is branded as "1270 The Team."

All of the FLA branding is over on 100.7 now.

Thanks Alan,

I appreciate you confirming the WFLA Tallahassee situation. I thought that may be the case since WFLA is now on the FM side but wasn't sure. It's been a little over two years since I was in Tally.

On another note regarding WNLS - wasn't that the original WTNT playing country music back in the 70s? I believe WTNT-FM 94.9 was WLLV or WLVV and branded itself as Love 95, playing a beautiful music format.

Also, do you know the current status of the power upgrade on 1270? I saw that Clear Channel had filed an application to increase power to 50kw.



Mark Tillery,
Ocala, Florida
[email protected]

 

[cceng1]

Here are some corrections/clarifications to previous posts:

WFLA in Panama City (94.5--100kw) has the call letters WFLF....we ID it once an hour as that....the transmitter is located on a 1000 ft tower about 3 miles north of Port St Joe and about 25 mi NW of Apalachicola. You should be able to pick it up in Wakulla County pretty good. We carry Dennis Miller LIVE from 9am until 11am Central Time.

WFLA in Tallahassee....the transmitter site is about 150 yds north of I-10 and just west of 98.9's tower off of Lake Shore Drive. It hasn't been in Midway for several years.

cceng

 

[radioboy]

On another note regarding WNLS - wasn't that the original WTNT playing country music back in the 70s? I believe WTNT-FM 94.9 was WLLV or WLVV and branded itself as Love 95, playing a beautiful music format.

Also, do you know the current status of the power upgrade on 1270? I saw that Clear Channel had filed an application to increase power to 50kw.
[/quote]

Mark,

Yes, to your first question - In 1977, then-WOMA 94.9 put their country format over on WTNT-AM 1270. 94.9 used the "Love 95" slogan with beautiful/EZ music for a while. WTNT 1270 was "Country Dynamite, WTNT." Bob Liles was
the morning man at WTNT and always referred to the morning tower pattern change (which took the station off the air momentarily) as "Time to turn the batteries around."

At that time, the 1270/94.9 studios were located in a small building at the corner of Magnolia and Tennessee. I
was trying to get started in radio at that time and after the PD turned me down, went in after hours and learned the board anyway from the DJs I'd made friends with there. One of those DJs gave me a lead which led to my getting my first job at WTAL-1450.

Love 95 was short-lived and country music eventually made it's way back over to the FM side. 1270 tried several things, none of which really worked well. When it became WNLS, those calls stood for 'Noles Radio.

Not sure what's happened with 1270's power upgrade. I'm aware of the CP filing but I'm not sure what's happening with it.

 

[nfltalk]

The application for power increase for WNLS has/is/was being withdrawn. There would be an endless (and winless) battle with the FSU Magnet Lab that sits just several hundred yards from the WNLS tower site. If the Mag Lab didn't exist, WNLS would be 50k by now

I understand there may be something in the works for better coverage for them, however. File for a smaller power increase, translator, something - just not sure yet.