The next death watch

[Nostalgia]

Looks like the next AM station with one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel is WKFL 1170 in Bushnell. This daytimer has been silent since 1/7/09 so the clock is winding down fast. We all watched and rooted for WBGC in Chipley, watching for any sign of a pulse on WAJD, so whats the scoop on this one?

Looking at the filings it looks like the owner was trying to take this nice little 1kw AM daytimer into the big time with 10kw and a multi tower directional array. Did any of that get built? Is that what drug them down? Inquiring minds want to know 8)

 

[ok walters]

Owner is over mortgaged and in trouble. There is a foreclosure going on from the second mortgage holder ($265K) and there is a first for $115K that hasn't been paid on in years. Total mortgage debt with interest is over $450K.

The equipment is junk - the transmitter is 50 years old. It is a daytime only station with no night signal at all. The construction permit is a waste - 10K aimed toward Tampa but too far away to be a player. I know quite a bit about this one as I know the owner. He has lost a few AM's over the years, including WRHB 1410 in Leesburg and WKIQ 1240 in Eustis - he lost those in a 2003 bankruptcy.

 

[Nostalgia]

Wow that looks bleak. What is your friend planning to do? Is there any real property that can be grabbed by the creditors? Anything of value? (Is that transmitter a spark gap? ;D) They cant grab the license.

 

[jmtillery]

The WKFL 10kw CP called for the use of four towers with a highly critical directional antenna pattern towards the West/Southwest and virtually nothing to the North or East or direct South. The predicted 10kw contour placed a primiary signal over Brooksville and most of Spring Hill in addition to city of license - Bushnell. It didn't make Tampa, but North Tampa (New Port Richey, Hudson, Tarpon Springs) was pretty well covered.

 

[ok walters]

six acres of cow pasture right next to I75 - might be a good spot for a billboard, but not much else. the CP sent a decent signal toward no one. it would have been a pile of cash to not have a big population to listen and would not have made much sense. Probably would have been better off trying to go one stick with some additional power - maybe 2K watts and a small night signal - and it may have had a chance.

 

[jmtillery]

six acres of cow pasture right next to I75 - might be a good spot for a billboard, but not much else. the CP sent a decent signal toward no one. it would have been a pile of cash to not have a big population to listen and would not have made much sense. Probably would have been better off trying to go one stick with some additional power - maybe 2K watts and a small night signal - and it may have had a chance.

I actually saw the engineering study along with copies of the predicted contour filed with the FCC, and I can safely say the predicted contour covers Brooksville and Spring Hill very nicely. That was about all it covered with any meaningful population, but Brooksville and Spring Hill, although small market, isn't exactly "tobacco row". I'm not saying the expense factor involved to make that possible is economically feasable, but what I am saying is I wouldn't necessarily agree the signal went no where. It just didn't cover Tampa Bay as the current owner had hoped it would cover.

 

[ok walters]

Those towers would cost a fortune (if they fit on the six acre parcel) with no existing revenue stream. It is unlikely that this one will survive in any form. The owner seems as if he is trying to kill it. He is apparently broke and now fighting the repo - for what reason I don't know. It is my understanding that the power is off at the site as well.

 

[jmtillery]

Those towers would cost a fortune (if they fit on the six acre parcel) with no existing revenue stream. It is unlikely that this one will survive in any form. The owner seems as if he is trying to kill it. He is apparently broke and now fighting the repo - for what reason I don't know. It is my understanding that the power is off at the site as well.

Oh, I agree that it will cost a small fortune to build-out a four tower transmitting plant. I'm not sure I would make the investment for no more than can be realized as a result of the technical upgrade. As I had stated in an earlier post, the new 10kw signal covers Brooksville and Spring Hill pretty well with a new predicted primary signal, so those two areas would be the station's target market. I'm just not convinced that any additional ad revenues realized as a result of the upgrade would offset the expense factor incurred to accomplished the gain. If 10kw could be accomplished with one tower, then it may be worth while to look into more seriously from an economic perspective.

 

[ok walters]

Power increase on one stick - 2K watts isn't out of the question. And a small night signal. Best mix of money and results.

 

[Nostalgia]

Power increase on one stick - 2K watts isn't out of the question. And a small night signal. Best mix of money and results.

Look back to my original post where I referred to this nice little 1kw AM daytimer . It is what it is, or rather was. The question is- did the 1kw signal cover the COL and surrounding county well? My only criticism of radio-locator is that when a station goes silent they remove the pattern data. It would be interesting to see where the signal went, and what you could hope to cover from that site with some flea power at night. Is the cost of a new 2kw TX worth it, although I see from your earlier post that some investment in a new TX would be required anyway. OK, your post makes it sound like the owner is simply willing to let the license expire next month. Is that your impression?

 

[jmtillery]

Power increase on one stick - 2K watts isn't out of the question. And a small night signal. Best mix of money and results.

Look back to my original post where I referred to this nice little 1kw AM daytimer . It is what it is, or rather was. The question is- did the 1kw signal cover the COL and surrounding county well? My only criticism of radio-locator is that when a station goes silent they remove the pattern data. It would be interesting to see where the signal went, and what you could hope to cover from that site with some flea power at night. Is the cost of a new 2kw TX worth it, although I see from your earlier post that some investment in a new TX would be required anyway. OK, your post makes it sound like the owner is simply willing to let the license expire next month. Is that your impression?

Here's the link:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WKFL&service=AM&status=L&hours=D

 

[Nostalgia]

Mark,

Excellent, thank you. Are you a "gold customer" or do you have some magic backdoor unavailable to us mere mortals?

HO HO HO Merry Christmas to all!
Nostalgia

 

[jmtillery]

I'm not a Gold Customer. However, maybe one day I'll tell you how I was able to provide the link. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you, too.

 

[ok walters]

Who knows what the owner will do. He has lost pretty much every station he owned and this is the last one. Equipment is junk, land is not worth much, station may be mortgaged to as high as $500K right now, it is unlikely that the power is even on at this point - you make the call.

 

[jmtillery]

It looks like there may be another Florida AM station that bites the dust soon. WZCC-AM 1240 Cross City has been silent since March 10, 2009. WRGO Radio, LLC has until March 10, 2010 to return WZCC to the air or the license is gone. It's a shame, too, because WZCC has much value and untapped potential the present owner apparently has not recognized.

 

[ok walters]

Still not with you on the "untapped potential" of WZCC. It is in Cross City - which is two miles past "Reduce Speed". Mayberry would be a good comparison. The 1K graveyard signal only covers maybe 30K people, and that is a stretch. the equipment is nonexistent or junk, the transmitter is fried, and the building is a 30 year old trailer that hasn't been taken care of. No septic or water on site either - the septic appears to be a 55 gallon drum buried in the ground.

Without a bunch of changes including frequency and location it is not too attractive. Changes like that cost a fortune, so it is most likely still not attractive. Offer them $50K or less for the land, tower, and license and see how motivated they are.

 

[Nostalgia]

Mark and OK,
WZCC (formerly WDFL, WYNY, WMFQ, ect) was going to be my next station on the death watch. I was pitched this station by a broker a couple of years ago when it was still on the air. Jablamo, WRGO Radio LLC or whatever entitity the license is currently under got it as part of the package with WKZY and later WRGO through a transfer. You know, BOGO, buy one class C FM get one 1kw AM free while supplies last! For a while it was simulcasting the FM signal of the seller before they pulled the plug on it. I never did a thorough study of the station, Cross City or Dixie County at that time but it keeps popping up in the back of my mind. Mark I would love to hear what you think the value and untapped potential of this turkey is to balance OKs opinion of a radio cesspool.

 

[jmtillery]

Mark and OK,
WZCC (formerly WDFL, WYNY, WMFQ, ect) was going to be my next station on the death watch. I was pitched this station by a broker a couple of years ago when it was still on the air. Jablamo, WRGO Radio LLC or whatever entitity the license is currently under got it as part of the package with WKZY and later WRGO through a transfer. You know, BOGO, buy one class C FM get one 1kw AM free while supplies last! For a while it was simulcasting the FM signal of the seller before they pulled the plug on it. I never did a thorough study of the station, Cross City or Dixie County at that time but it keeps popping up in the back of my mind. Mark I would love to hear what you think the value and untapped potential of this turkey is to balance OKs opinion of a radio cesspool.

Those who do not see the advantage is missing the real value because the negative thinkers are not thinking outside the box, and cannot see the "forest for the trees." The REAL value lies in the license itself, not necessarily the location. Once you have a valid radio license, on-air or dark, it doesn't really matter, you can always file for a modifcation of license to move frequency, increase power, change COL, move TL, etc., etc., etc. You are seeing the station only as it is and not as it can become.

With a COL change, this can be done provided you are not removing a community's only radio service. In the case of removing WZCC, Cross City will still have WKZY-FM and an unused vacant channel on 97.7 C3 licensed to Cross City. WZCC's license can literally be moved to any state or any community as a first service provided the technical aspect works which is where the frequency move usually comes into play. The advantage of modifying an existing license as opposed to applying for a new station in the desired new location is quite simply in the first option you already have an existing and valid license. The second option can take as much as ten years to complete and is also much more costly as it is subject to the FCC auction process with multiple bidders coming out of the proverbial woodwork vying for the same frequency. By modifying an existing license, as I am suggesting with WZCC, you completely by-pass the auction process, time and unnecessary expense. Hence, the license is much more valuable than it appears to be on the surface even if it is licensed to Cross City, Florida.

 

[jmtillery]

Mark and OK,
WZCC (formerly WDFL, WYNY, WMFQ, ect) was going to be my next station on the death watch. I was pitched this station by a broker a couple of years ago when it was still on the air. Jablamo, WRGO Radio LLC or whatever entitity the license is currently under got it as part of the package with WKZY and later WRGO through a transfer. You know, BOGO, buy one class C FM get one 1kw AM free while supplies last! For a while it was simulcasting the FM signal of the seller before they pulled the plug on it. I never did a thorough study of the station, Cross City or Dixie County at that time but it keeps popping up in the back of my mind. Mark I would love to hear what you think the value and untapped potential of this turkey is to balance OKs opinion of a radio cesspool.

Of course, it goes without saying if nothing is done before the March 10th deadline, the license will become toast and will be rendered worthless.

 

[jmtillery]

Mark and OK,
WZCC (formerly WDFL, WYNY, WMFQ, ect)

The call letters WMFQ were never assigend to AM 1240 Cross City, Florida. What is now WZCC Cross City did not begin broadcast operations until 1985 under the call letters WDFL. There were actually other call letters assigned prior to WDFL signing on the air. They were WDKA and WUSW. WMFQ-FM 92.9 became licensed on July 11, 1977 and is licensed to Ocala, originally on 92.7. I believe you may have meant WMJQ, not WMFQ, as one set of former call letters assigned to AM 1240 Cross City which was briefly assigned between WYNY and WZCC.