Technical Changes in Clayton - NE Georgia

[eacalhoun1]

I posted this in "Georgia" but no replies - so I'll try here:

This is all puzzling - I ran across some FCC activity regarding Art Sutton's stations in Franklin (NC), and Clayton. And this comes ONLY five years after significant frequency changes, and now more are pending. First, WFSC in Franklin (AM 1050) has had apparent tower/transmitter issues going back to January, 2019 - which is some 10 years after they increased day power from 1kw to 5kw. In January 2019, an STA was filed to decrease day power to 2.5 kw due to technical issues. In March of this year, another STA was filed to decrease day power to 500 watts, due to a deteriorating tower. It's uncertain as to if/when WFSC returned to 5kw days after the January, 2019, STA. Now (as of May 10) WFSC has applied to change COL or move to Clayton. At the same time, WRBN 96.3 Clayton has applied to move to Toccoa and 95.7. Now, let's go back to just less than five years ago: WRBN was at 104.1 and moved to 96.3 to facilitate Franklin's WNCC to move from short-spaced 96.7 to 104.1 and increase the antenna's HAAT. Now - as a side bar of additional history - Clayton HAD an AM station (WGHC 1400) until 2014 due to the loss of the tower site (station had actually been dark for at least 12 months prior due to site loss). So - now - Clayton must have acquired a new tower site to accommodate the move of WFSC from Franklin? Additionally, I wonder how the Real Country 100.3 translator is going to be fed, as it is currently fed by WRBN's HD facility - maybe this is why WFSC is moving, to utilize FM translators for AM facilities? I would love to know the wherefores and therefores of these moves - especially only 5 years later. Art Sutton has been on these forums in the past - he could curtail the speculation.

 

[secondchoice]

I am not Art Sutton. I do live close and drive a lot around this area. Here is a guess until he gives us the real info.

If I am following the “chess” game correctly, 1050 is going to Clayton from Franklin NC. Franklin NC had the distinction of being one of the largest towns without a Walmart until a couple of years ago. I have never heard of an occasion where a Walmart has “helped” the majority of local merchants. A few adapt and change, but quite a few end up closing in a few years. The “local” merchants are more likely to be advertisers on a local radio station than Walmart. Also some of the areas in Western NC. were not doing well job wise before the Pandemic. I bet 1050 with a translator will end up billing better in Clayton GA than in Franklin NC.

There are not a lot of economical level places to put a “good” grounding system near any major town in Western NC or North GA. Some AM stations acquired their land decades ago and sometimes that land is worth more than the station. Eventually the heirs or retiring owner sell the land leaving the station “homeless”. If you can get your AM station’s tower in unbuildable wet lands that is always the best. There are not a lot of those in the West NC mountains.
The ground conductivity is horrible in the Mountains of North GA and Western NC. Also the soil tends to “eat up” buried copper radials. Your new ground system will be in really bad shape in less than 20 years, unless you use some kind of expensive coated copper.

There are shunt fed antenna designs can overcome a marginal ground system. It really doesn’t matter what your coverage area is with an AM that is feeding a translator if you are using the 25 mile 60 db coverage rule on the translator. That is why WFSC’s CP is for 250 watts daytime 180 watts nighttime in Clayton. Much smaller electric bill than 5 KW.