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Status of WABB-AM 1480

J Alex Bowab said:
If WABF 1220 were interested, they could simulcast on 1480, and get some reach on the other side of the bay. They have in the past simulcasted on 1110 in Bay Minette and 1000 in Robertsdale. 1220 does fill a programming void in the area, and the volume of calls from Mobile on their Trading Post suggests the station does have some following across the bay.
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I would prefer something original on 1480 kilocycles. Even though WABB-AM has better coverage at night for Mobile and other neighboring communities than WABF-AM, the former would be better off with an original format and I'm sure many folks in the Mobile area would usually listen to WABF-AM's programming in the daytime anyway.
 
amfmxm said:
If anyone in the Dittman clan has their thinking cap on, they'll find a few friendly appraisers to value the worthless SOB at a half-million-or-so and then donate WABB-AM to the University of South Alabama or Spring Hill College or the Mobile School District... and write it off their taxes.

But, yeah, you could slap True Oldies on it... or even dive into the Gospel Wars, since 1480 has a better 24-hour signal than 660 or 900 or 960--but that would require a war chest capable of outlasting the others, which would take years and years... for what? A tough slog for a small reward--and praying every night that an FM didn't come along and wipe you off the map anyway.

Nah, give it to a school--if they'll take it--and go for the tax break.
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They will never, ever sell 1480 AM. That's some stuff that's goes way back. People think it's just legend, but it aint, and it will never be sold. At least not in our lifetimes. You ex-ABB alum know exactly what I'm talking 'bout. (Submitted respectfuly)
 
I like the idea of it being a simulcast of WABF. WABF is listenable across the bay but it's pretty weak and non-existent at night.

It seems to work good for the 660/900 simulcast, if that's still going on.

To really make a go of something original, though, it's gonna take two words: FM translator.
 
amfmxm said:
If anyone in the Dittman clan has their thinking cap on, they'll find a few friendly appraisers to value the worthless SOB at a half-million-or-so and then donate WABB-AM to the University of South Alabama or Spring Hill College or the Mobile School District... and write it off their taxes.

But, yeah, you could slap True Oldies on it... or even dive into the Gospel Wars, since 1480 has a better 24-hour signal than 660 or 900 or 960--but that would require a war chest capable of outlasting the others, which would take years and years... for what? A tough slog for a small reward--and praying every night that an FM didn't come along and wipe you off the map anyway.

Nah, give it to a school--if they'll take it--and go for the tax break.
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No FM ever swooped in to replace Oldies 96.1/Oldies 106.5--so why is that a worry now?

Go [satellite] oldies, make use of the unused 95.7 or 99.5 translators (if legal), and maybe make a play for Atlanta Braves baseball (WHEP 1310/92.5 is the closest affiliate). I still say the perfect time to launch this effort would've been after the WABB-FM signoff. But I still think this idea has merit.

Zach said:
I like the idea of it being a simulcast of WABF. WABF is listenable across the bay but it's pretty weak and non-existent at night.

It seems to work good for the 660/900 simulcast, if that's still going on.

To really make a go of something original, though, it's gonna take two words: FM translator.
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Now that you mention it, Gulf Coast Broadcasting would be a great candidate to take over 1480.
 
A WABF/WABB simulcast would also allow them to use two FM translators, one in Mobile and another on the Eastern Shore. I don't know if the engineering is possible, but with Mobile Bay being 7 miles wide and the use of directional antennas... could they put up two FM translators on the same frequency?
 
Didn't two or three class A FMs in the Los Angeles suburbs try something like that a few years ago (or more than a few) when three different stations all on 92.7 FM (a guess, it was one of the original FM class A frequencies), with antenna sites maybe 45-60 miles apart, simulcast? Seems to me I recall station personnel and listeners alike say the reception was fine until you got in the bleed area outside of grade A coverage it was impossible for the signals to synchronize if one were closer than the other.

Like they say, "sound doesn't travel at the speed of light".

Who are these they anyway? Whole 'nuther question. Whole 'nuther forum.

A pair of translators, one in Mobile County and one in Baldwin County with the eastern/western respectively grade A coverage reaching to the middle of Mobile Bay, causeway area, might be worth a shot on one of those available frequencies. AM 1480, AM 1220, FM 99.5, and FM 99.5 (for example sake). Would fill up that 10 second TOH ID America's Best Music permits with ease.
 
Yes, it's been tried in LA, Chicago, and NYC ... the LA attempt is on 107.1. If you google "trimulcast," you can read all about it. I believe the NYC example is coincidentally on 107.1.

I believe the first one of these desperate attempts was in the Richmond VA area ... a class A in Petersburg, 20 miles south, was attempting to hold on to its top rated position in the market (urban format). Like all Class A stations, they can be subject to a co-channel spaced as little as 65 miles away. In this case, there was a minimum-spaced Class A located north of Richmond (can't recall the town - maybe Tappahannock). The Petersburg facility, then called WPLZ, actually BOUGHT the other station, synchronized the two transmitters, and simulcasted, in an attempt to smooth out the signal over the heavily populated area.
 
The synchronized trimulcasts or simulcasts had the disadvantage of having to follow FCC spacing rules, meaning significant chunks of the population were outside the 60 dBu. I seem to recall the WYNY trimulcast around NYC was especially bad in Manhattan and Brooklyn, because that's where all the signals 'met'.

Mobile's bay would act as a natural barrier between two translators so I guess it's possible. And translators don't seem to have the same spacing requirements as full blown stations… There's the 250 watt one on 103.5 in Spanish Fort and a license for one on 103.7 in Loxley, for example. Since most interference complaints are between competitors, perhaps one company owning two translators on the same frequency could find a way to make it work.

There are a pair of translators, however, on the same frequency where this sort of thing might work: there's a translator on 106.9 in Bay Minette (250 w) and one in Fairhope (10 w). If the BM one could be moved to Mobile this sort of fanciful scheme could work. But then you'd likely generate complains from WRBE in Lucedale.

Since the coverage of the translator can't exceed the 2 mv/m contour, it would take some creativity to make this sort of scheme work. WABB could probably host a 250 watt translator from the AM stick and be OK, but the signal wouldn't really reach the entire metro. WABF would be lucky to get 99 watts out of a translator because their coverage area is so small on paper.

As I've said before, though, it's mind-boggling why WABF hasn't tried to pick up the dormant 10 watt translator at 106.9 in Fairhope already. And whoever winds up with WABB would be wise to shoot for 99.5 or 95.7 in Mobile since they're also dormant.
 
Guys, I'm trying to dig up the history of the old WABB building on Whistler Street in Eight Mile\Prichard. I keep reading this was a broadcast tower. So, was this actually a station at one point? The first? The building is still there. I took pictures of it today. The crumbled remains of the towers are still there too. Hurricane Frederic knocked them down in 1979 from what I hear. I'm just trying to find out when WABB operated from this location. And does anyone know of any pictures exists from this location back in the day?
 
97fmhistory said:
Guys, I'm trying to dig up the history of the old WABB building on Whistler Street in Eight Mile\Prichard.  I keep reading this was a broadcast tower.  So, was this actually a station at one point?  The first?  The building is still there.  I took pictures of it today.  The crumbled remains of the towers are still there too.  Hurricane Frederic knocked them down in 1979 from what I hear.  I'm just trying to find out when WABB operated from this location.  And does anyone know of any pictures exists from this location back in the day?
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The building was probably used for transmitter equipment, since WABB programming in the beginning (1948) was broadcast from the former Mobile Press-Register building on Government Street in downtown Mobile. You may read more about the history of WABB at Examiner.
 
I was told the building burned down (Kwansit Hut). Is this not true? This was the nighttime transmitter site until 1979. After that, it was just used for storage. Because of FCC requirements at the time, it had to be manned all night, every night. The inside therefore, resembled someones living quarters.

After Hurricane Frederick, the nighttime site was rebuilt on Dumaine street, which is where the daytime site had been for many years.
 
The correct proper name of the xmtr building in Eightmile is a QUONSET HUT. Studio was upstairs at 962 Government (The Royal McBee Typewriter Building) in the early 60s after moving out of the Press Register bldg.
 
hertzkeeper said:
Check out wabbam.com

There is some history there. Picture 16 was taken inside the kwansit hut.
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Great pictures. I put a link to that section on my website. But then this caught my eye:

WABB 1480AM serves the Mobile metropolitan area with a signal of 5,000 Kilowatts during the day, and 4,400 Kilowatts at night.
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And yet it's still not enough power to be heard in the late afternoon in Gulf Shores. ;D
 
Frequency is too high. Ground conductivity is bad = poor signal.
 
Zach said:
musiconradio.com said:
Frequency is too high. Ground conductivity is bad = poor signal.
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That's not what I'm laughing at. Look again. ;)
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5000 kilowatts = 5,000,000 watts

What'd I win?
 
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