SW Fla's 93.7 picks up more signal

[RickRose]

The FCC just ammended the table of allotments that will allow 93.7 WTLT to upgrade to a C2 and change their city of license to Sanibel. This new facility will allow 93.7 to blanket the Fort Myers and Naples radio market.

 

[bossmsx]

> The FCC just ammended the table of allotments that will
> allow 93.7 WTLT to upgrade to a C2 and change their city of
> license to Sanibel. This new facility will allow 93.7 to
> blanket the Fort Myers and Naples radio market.

Ah, good to see it has been approved. Some years ago, the 98.5 frequency was actually alloted *to* Sanibel, but this was changed before the station signed on, to San Carlos Park...

The WTLT tower will be in Pine Island from my understanding, since environmental issues will keep it from being physically built on Sanibel proper...When 98.5 was in the process of being built, they intended (I believe) to build the tower on Tarpon Bay Road on Sanibel itself, but there were, again, environmental concerns, flight paths for birds being disturbed by radiation, and even an eagle's nest perched on the site of the tower delaying (and eventually cancelling) construction.

 

[sbe]

Yeah, the NIMBY's on Sanibel dont want that kind of trash on "Their" island. Reminds me of Anna Maria Island. GTE Mobilnet (now Alltel) tried for 3 years to put up a cell tower on Anna Maria Island. Finally the rep from Alltel finally told the city council, either you put up a tower or no cell service on the island. Being able to yak on the cell phone was more important.... Surprises me that a radio station would want their tower on such an expensive piece of land with a good portion of the signal aimed at flipper the dolphin... Pine Island location turns the station into a Ft. Myers Rimshot.





> > The FCC just ammended the table of allotments that will
> > allow 93.7 WTLT to upgrade to a C2 and change their city
> of
> > license to Sanibel. This new facility will allow 93.7 to
> > blanket the Fort Myers and Naples radio market.
>
> Ah, good to see it has been approved. Some years ago, the
> 98.5 frequency was actually alloted *to* Sanibel, but this
> was changed before the station signed on, to San Carlos
> Park...
>
> The WTLT tower will be in Pine Island from my understanding,
> since environmental issues will keep it from being
> physically built on Sanibel proper...When 98.5 was in the
> process of being built, they intended (I believe) to build
> the tower on Tarpon Bay Road on Sanibel itself, but there
> were, again, environmental concerns, flight paths for birds
> being disturbed by radiation, and even an eagle's nest
> perched on the site of the tower delaying (and eventually
> cancelling) construction.
>

 

[jefflaurence]

Yeah after just returning from Sanibel for a few days..they would never allow a tower on their precious island. There is a small tower there for cable TV I think, and maybe public service and cell, but that's it. And it must be owned by a Bailey or one of the five founding families

It would HAVE to be a Fort Myers move-in SBE! There can't be any more money left over for advertising after what it costs to open a business there and anyways..who needs it? You either eat in one of the few open restaurants with thier liquored-up clientele who are mostly boyfriends of the barmaids waiting to take them home to Cape Coral because of the high-toll to get out there, or you pretend to enjoy waiting for over three hours at Mucky Duck to eat a skewer of three dry shrimp for 30 bucks...My God it's expensive..I saw a small, nearly collapsed wooden building on blocks (a former 1945 bungalow) with a rotted out door, and warped floors on .011 acre for 430,000. A nearby mobile home park (gag) had o-l-l-l-d travel trailers with structures built around them to look like sort of houses..100k to start and you still have to pay 5000 a year rent to be there with a really strange community of "elite" Island Dwellers from Michigan with thier bobbing bulldog head lamps and folks from Indiana who all "used" to be something special in thier minds and try to impress us how what they "used" to be was so important and they have "tossed it all" to live the "Island Life"....all the while being bitten into a human spare-rib by the local no-see-ums..and let's not forget the kindly old woman with the bogus Bahama accent on Perriwinkle who sells Skin-So-Soft for 25 bucks a throw (which is cheap considering it costs 6 bucks a trip to get out there) AND the whole place is devoid of pine trees and stinks of pollution from the Lake Okeechobee sewage that has graced the standing water there.

I used to love to go to Sanibel, but it has become a colony of brashly affluent self-important "used-to-bes" who spend all of thier money trying to impress us how much money they have to spend, and wait patiently for the next Charlie to knock on the door of thier turquoise 1961 Holiday Rambler decorated with rainbow pelicans and plastic spoonbills jammed into the sand in front of thier fake astroturf lawn carpet.

"Pour us all another stiff one Jack..it's nearly 8:30 and the breakfast dishes are done. Time to go out on the beach and cackle and squeal at old dirty jokes and watch each others skin peel off.."

I guess maybe I'm jealous.

Best format for a Sanibel station?

Whatever frequency repels biting insects..Just turn the whole Island into a giant bug zapper and be done with it. Sign on..flick on the high freq tone on, and run back to Siesta Key for some real seafood and normal people.

 

[flwfg]

> Yeah after just returning from Sanibel for a few days..they
> would never allow a tower on their precious island. There
> is a small tower there for cable TV I think, and maybe
> public service and cell, but that's it. And it must be owned
> by a Bailey or one of the five founding families
>
> It would HAVE to be a Fort Myers move-in SBE! There can't
> be any more money left over for advertising after what it
> costs to open a business there and anyways..who needs it?
> You either eat in one of the few open restaurants with thier
> liquored-up clientele who are mostly boyfriends of the
> barmaids waiting to take them home to Cape Coral because of
> the high-toll to get out there, or you pretend to enjoy
> waiting for over three hours at Mucky Duck to eat a skewer
> of three dry shrimp for 30 bucks...My God it's expensive..I
> saw a small, nearly collapsed wooden building on blocks (a
> former 1945 bungalow) with a rotted out door, and warped
> floors on .011 acre for 430,000. A nearby mobile home park
> (gag) had o-l-l-l-d travel trailers with structures built
> around them to look like sort of houses..100k to start and
> you still have to pay 5000 a year rent to be there with a
> really strange community of "elite" Island Dwellers from
> Michigan with thier bobbing bulldog head lamps and folks
> from Indiana who all "used" to be something special in thier
> minds and try to impress us how what they "used" to be was
> so important and they have "tossed it all" to live the
> "Island Life"....all the while being bitten into a human
> spare-rib by the local no-see-ums..and let's not forget the
> kindly old woman with the bogus Bahama accent on Perriwinkle
> who sells Skin-So-Soft for 25 bucks a throw (which is cheap
> considering it costs 6 bucks a trip to get out there) AND
> the whole place is devoid of pine trees and stinks of
> pollution from the Lake Okeechobee sewage that has graced
> the standing water there.
>
> I used to love to go to Sanibel, but it has become a colony
> of brashly affluent self-important "used-to-bes" who spend
> all of thier money trying to impress us how much money they
> have to spend, and wait patiently for the next Charlie to
> knock on the door of thier turquoise 1961 Holiday Rambler
> decorated with rainbow pelicans and plastic spoonbills
> jammed into the sand in front of thier fake astroturf lawn
> carpet.
>
> "Pour us all another stiff one Jack..it's nearly 8:30 and
> the breakfast dishes are done. Time to go out on the beach
> and cackle and squeal at old dirty jokes and watch each
> others skin peel off.."
>
> I guess maybe I'm jealous.
>
> Best format for a Sanibel station?
>
> Whatever frequency repels biting insects..Just turn the
> whole Island into a giant bug zapper and be done with it.
> Sign on..flick on the high freq tone on, and run back to
> Siesta Key for some real seafood and normal people.
>


Jeff..... You didn't go far enough North... Next time try Anna Maria Island...
Yeah it took a while to get a cell tower on the island... but there are still lots of local places..

later...

walt- bradenton



<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by flwfg on 02/08/06 02:31 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[bossmsx]

Radio in Paradise

I'm obsessed with Sanibel...I like it, I've been going there since I was 2, and still go back, probably more than I should...Yeah, I'm one of those that hoped they never built the McDonalds and was happy they didn't, but as a radio type didn't like they never put the tower up, oh well...Compromise, right?

BIG Arts (the organization that promotes culture on the island) applied for an LPFM some time ago, but was tremendously ill advised on the venture, and asked for 97.1 as the frequency..Hello???!!!! First Adjacent?? WINK-FM?? I walked in their offices and told them "hey, look, I'd love an LPFM here, but, the first thing you gotta do is have a clue", nicely, of course, but it was one of those things where you could tell the guy who filed it was one man, and they did it as a 'flight of fancy'.

It is a nice place, and yes, it has evolved over the years (ok, I'm getting OT), but it beats the monstrous skyscrapers in Marco...They still have height restrictions on buildings....And I didn't care if they put up a tower...How hypocritical of me.

Jeff, the boyfriend thing is very true though...All the women there are taken, married or in some other unavailable form...That's a major issue, making it difficult for *this* single male.

(OT mode off)

 

[jefflaurence]

Re: Radio in Paradise

Well back on topic for a minute. Years ago Sanibel did have a station CP (My wife was going to work for the lady that had it) and it was going to be a very adult station. They had even talked about placing the tower on Punta Rassa, and it would cover nicely with a Class A signal. I don't remember the freq..might have been 98.5..not sure, but it all went away to Ft. Myers or Pine Island Center or some such COL.

(OT again) We we go to Sanibel, we like to stay at a funky little place called Mitchell's Sand Castles..10 or 12 real old bungalow style "fish camp" like places. Right on the water. Sand everywhere..it was great. We started going there in the early 80's and then it was about 60 bucks a night. Now it's over 225 bucks a night and I swear they haven't put new mattresses in there since 1975..and everything has mold on it. A doctor names Sobel owns it and has the place up for sale for 19 million!! Can you smell the developers' breath? Sad. Nothing can stay the same, or even close to it. There seems to be this thirst for progress, and slick-ness that has the nouveau residents of Sanibel trying to out-do the other..clawing each other to get the sushi at Jerry's Market..and make reservations at Tween-Waters Inn to have a giant porcelean plate with two little boneless lamb chops sitting in some mango squiggly stuff, and dusted with finely grated parsley. Just 55 bucks for that snack. The quaint little churches are now "Worship Centers"..and the formerly colorful "locals" have been driven off Sanibel because they are nasty, and "aren't one of us" You are right though. Sanibel is a special place. Too bad they can not get it together to have thier own radio outlet. I'll bet it would be interesting to hear.

BUT by God they still don't have a McDonalds or a burger king

 

[bossmsx]

Ruth Ray and 98.5

> Well back on topic for a minute. Years ago Sanibel did have
> a station CP (My wife was going to work for the lady that
> had it) and it was going to be a very adult station. They
> had even talked about placing the tower on Punta Rassa, and
> it would cover nicely with a Class A signal. I don't
> remember the freq..might have been 98.5..not sure, but it
> all went away to Ft. Myers or Pine Island Center or some
> such COL.

Yeah, that was Ruth Ray...98.5 was indeed the frequency and that was the one that I meant was reallocated to San Carlos Park before it signed on, and when it did, it was NAC WDRR "The Dream". Eventually they went under some twisted JSA with Clear Channel and the Jazz format is what you now have on 107.1, as WZJZ, and 98.5 is now owned by Ave Maria University, and LMA'ed to Meridian with a Classic Country format, with the intention apparently that Ave Maria will take it over and program Christian once the University is fully operating.

Ruth was very accessible the years leading up to the building of the station, and her name and number was listed on Broadcasting Yearbook, next to the CP (the calls were WRWX before it signed on). I would call her Ft. Myers number whenever I'd show up on the island, she was very friendly with this Radio Geek (me), and I remember her telling me on one occasion that construction was being held up by an eagle's nest that was right on the tower's location.

 

[jefflaurence]

Re: Ruth Ray and 98.5

Yup..my wife told me that she was going to be the business manager or some such thing, and was all set to buy a home on Rabbit road for 65,000 dollars!! Can you imagine? She would have been a millionaire now..Damn..I could have worn silly hats, and hung out with the Island Dwellers and sold TV lamps made out of sea shells. too bad that fell apart, but those eagles have a hold on that island fer shure. Glenn Frye should be ashamed of himself for this.