THE OLD WARO

[Bob E. Nelson]

In the WCAE (ahem, WEAE thead), hypwr wrote:

The 540 station has room for a studio. I was there when they went on the air in 1957 and we had 2 studios in addition to the xmtr. It was only 250 watts then but went everywhere. I believe they now have 5kw....down from 7.5kw.

Canonsburg's 540 was influential to me as young 'un. By the time I started listening, it had become WARO with country in the afternoon hosted by Zeke Jackson.

Which brings us to a few questions:

1). Wasn't Zeke Jackson (probably not his real name) a relative of someone who worked at KDKA during the Golden Age of radio?

2). As I recall, WARO began its existence as WCNG. Didn't they also have a studio in Mt. Lebanon as well as the location on the hill by the two towers?

3). When they came on in 1957, was there any consideration of picking a COL further to the north to get that massive signal better coverage into Pittsburgh?

When I lived in West Virginia and headed up Route 19 for a visit home, WARO was always the first area station that would come in (around Sutton), followed by WEEP and then KDKA.

 

[hypwr]

WCNG was started by the CE and 2 xmtr. engineers of WJAS. They had the choice of 540 or 1590 and, wisely, chose the former. They had all Collins gear. They could have made it a Wexford station and really covered Pgh.

However, in those days, people thought that local radio was the "wave" of the future. Dave Scott of KQV wanted to build a station in Bridgeville, but never got around to it.

They did have a studio in Mt. Lebanon, where Dick Bingham (Pirates broadcaster) and I looked into building WMTL (FM) at 102.5. I went to work for DYSR AM/SW and never did it. Oh well!

I don't know Zeke's real name nor if he was related to a KD person.

 

[PHIL Z]

WCNG was started by the CE and 2 xmtr. engineers of WJAS. They had the choice of 540 or 1590 and, wisely, chose the former. They had all Collins gear. They could have made it a Wexford station and really covered Pgh.

How Did they Know what freq to Pick? Did they do a Study? or where the Freq Picked by the FCC? How about Power levels, Did they Choose or were they Assisgined? A Consulting Radio Engineer in the Pittsburgh area told me that WZUM 1590 could have Came on the Air with 5 KW, but the Builbers did not want to spend the Extra Money, So they came on with 1KW. But when they were on for awhile they wanted to go 5 KW. But Could Not. No reason Given as to Money ,FCC or what. Any Info ?

 

[hypwr]

WPLW had a CP for 5KW on 1590. However, they were going to use very short towers and it appeared to be a rather unstable array. I believe one of the towers was negative. Anyway, they gave up on it.

WCNG (WARO) had a freq. search and decided on 540. They could have had more power with an additional tower. However, the ground is more conductive at low frequencies so they went with 250 watts. I remember getting a reception report from Columbus, Ohio during the day.

They also chose the call letters. WCNG. We all know what happened with the Waynesburg station when the FCC assigned them call letters and they realized that they would be fined if they used them. So they asked for WANB.

 

[cingram]

WPLW had a CP for 5KW on 1590. However, they were going to use very short towers and it appeared to be a rather unstable array. I believe one of the towers was negative. Anyway, they gave up on it.

WCNG (WARO) had a freq. search and decided on 540. They could have had more power with an additional tower. However, the ground is more conductive at low frequencies so they went with 250 watts. I remember getting a reception report from Columbus, Ohio during the day.

They also chose the call letters. WCNG. We all know what happened with the Waynesburg station when the FCC assigned them call letters and they realized that they would be fined if they used them. So they asked for WANB.

WPLW also had an application for 660 at one point, if memory serves.

I, for one, haven't heard the Waynesburg call-letter story. Do tell

C.

 

[loeper]

I too have never heard the Waynesburg call letter story and I managed that station for 9 years (1982 to 1991) I would also like to hear about it. that Cannonsburg station has an absolutly fantastic signal. I hope somebody can figure out a way to make some money from it. does anyone remember there "stereo Classical music format in the 90s? I'm not a classical music person but the darn thing came in loud and clear even in downtown Pittsburgh.

 

[MsMusicRadio]

I remember that. I came to Pittsburgh in 1988 and found my father listening to WWCS at 540 and it came in clear all over the place including Monroeville. Also 620, was so strong it was clear on a clock radio. 1150 was listenable at night too. Not any more for any of them. Why?

 

[chas108]

WPLW had a CP for 5KW on 1590. However, they were going to use very short towers and it appeared to be a rather unstable array. I believe one of the towers was negative. Anyway, they gave up on it.

WCNG (WARO) had a freq. search and decided on 540. They could have had more power with an additional tower. However, the ground is more conductive at low frequencies so they went with 250 watts. I remember getting a reception report from Columbus, Ohio during the day.

They also chose the call letters. WCNG. We all know what happened with the Waynesburg station when the FCC assigned them call letters and they realized that they would be fined if they used them. So they asked for WANB.

WPLW also had an application for 660 at one point, if memory serves.

I, for one, haven't heard the Waynesburg call-letter story. Do tell

C.

Can it be any more inappropriate than WCLT in Newark, Licking County, Ohio?!

How the original owners got that one by the FCC...all the way back in the late 40's IIRC, is apparently legend in and around Columbus.

 

[hypwr]

WPLW had a CP for 5KW on 1590. However, they were going to use very short towers and it appeared to be a rather unstable array. I believe one of the towers was negative. Anyway, they gave up on it.

WCNG (WARO) had a freq. search and decided on 540. They could have had more power with an additional tower. However, the ground is more conductive at low frequencies so they went with 250 watts. I remember getting a reception report from Columbus, Ohio during the day.

They also chose the call letters. WCNG. We all know what happened with the Waynesburg station when the FCC assigned them call letters and they realized that they would be fined if they used them. So they asked for WANB.

WPLW also had an application for 660 at one point, if memory serves.

I, for one, haven't heard the Waynesburg call-letter story. Do tell

C.

The story was told to me by one of the original owners of WCNG. Back in the 40s and 50s when you were granted a CP, the Commission would assign call letters. If you wanted to change to a custom set of calls you could make application to do so. The FCC assigned them WTIT. The applicant informed the Commission that they could not use those letters, and swore that the clerk at the FCC asked, "why not?"

 

[Talk_Dude]

I remember that. I came to Pittsburgh in 1988 and found my father listening to WWCS at 540 and it came in clear all over the place including Monroeville. Also 620, was so strong it was clear on a clock radio. 1150 was listenable at night too. Not any more for any of them. Why?

I am not a technician, so I'm repeating as best as I can remember what real technicians have told me about Radio Frequency interference. I might not get this 100% correct, as I'm working from memory.

All sources of electromagnetic energy emit radio frequency "noise" across many frequencies. This includes secondary and tertiary frequencies not intended. The increase in radio frequency based communication across the electromagnetic spectrum has made the entire electromagnetic spectrum much noisier (ie. filled with static). This is a problem for all radio communications to one degree or another, but it's especially bad for analog technologies and even worse for analog technologies that use amplitude modulation. I also remember when "daytime" stations had to shut down at night so that their signals didn't interfere with other stations. A few decades ago, many daytime stations were given permission for lower powered operation after sundown. With atmospheric "skip" at night, those weak signal still travel some distance, too weak to be picked up and listened to, but strong enough to raise the level of background noise enough to drown out other stations. The result is that the signal to noise ratio in the AM broadcast band has been getting steadily worse over the past decades, and shows no sign of improving.

I did a little bit of search engine research on this, but most of what I found was beyond my level of expertise and understanding. If anything I posted above is factually incorrect, I apologize. As I said, I was working from memory on something I'm not trained in and that was explained to me several years ago. If anyone who is a qualified electronics technician or engineer would like to chime in with either a correction or further explanation, I'm sure everyone would appreciate it. I know I would.

 

[chas108]

A for the day, Talk_Dude.

I'm no engineer either but that's what a couple old-time CE's explained to me 20 years ago when I was at WWVA. My GM, the late great Larry Anderson, was a vintage radio aficionado and kept a display of working tube sets from the 1930's and 40's there at the Capitol Music Hall. Those vintage sets would pick up 15Khz and AM stations in that day could (if capable) broadcast 15 Khz of bandwidth.

But even after NRSC restricted everything to 10Khz, WWVA still sounded great on one of those old wideband AM tube sets.

Of course Capitol Music Hall was less than ten miles from the tower, pumping out 50Kw. In the real world, decades of increased electromagnetic fields have taken their toll. Computers, microwaves, TV's, power plants and their substations...you name it. Our modern way of life - combined with the FCC allowing every nook and cranny of the AM band to become overpopulated - has put enough RF into the atmosphere that a younger person might wonder whatever possessed people to broadcast on AM in the first place.

Well, it wasn't always this way.

 

[dB]

Another factor is the decline in quality of the AM circuitry in current receivers. Broadband front-ends (susceptible to overload), lack of IF selectivity, noisy digital oscillators, all contribute to poorer sound, adjacent channel interference, etc.

 

[hypwr]

The signal level is also a function of the type of antenna used. In a vertical radiator, the current lobe is 90 degrees down from the top of the tower. In a quarter-wave tower, the lobe is at the base.
This means that the base impedance is low and there are I2R losses. This is why a half-wave antenna is better, since the lobe is much higher up on the tower.

The ideal is a 5 eights wave antenna. However, there is a high-angle current spike and this will cause close-in fading at night. They're great in the daytime though.

 

[kenhawk1160]

1150 was listenable at night too.

Broadbanded antennna. When the station was under Salem's ownership, they had the best engineer money could buy. He did a ton of upgrades to that site. It went pretty far for only 70 watts.

 

[FreddyE1977]

1150 was listenable at night too.

Broadbanded antennna. When the station was under Salem's ownership, they had the best engineer money could buy. He did a ton of upgrades to that site. It went pretty far for only 70 watts.

Guess that explains why WPIT seems to get out there so well at night
on just 24 watts. If there is a problem it's that they sometimes get overpowered
by Mexico or Canada, never that you just can't get them.

 

[hypwr]

The 5KW signal goes out 14.4 times as far as the 24 watt signal. On 730 24watts isn't too bad.

 

[KeyTimes950]

Let's have some fun with this thread. Anyone want to speculate on what the new WARO (i.e., AM 540 post-Disney) will sound like?

 

[cingram]

Let's have some fun with this thread. Anyone want to speculate on what the new WARO (i.e., AM 540 post-Disney) will sound like?

"Your Station of the Nations!" (Wait, they can't use that. WEDO sued them.)

Oh, well. In one form or another, I highly suspect we'll get the Ukrainian Hour.

C.

 

[kenhawk1160]

The 5KW signal goes out 14.4 times as far as the 24 watt signal. On 730 24watts isn't too bad.

Especially with the transmitter they had at the time. The old RCA Ampliphase. Total garbage. He made 'em sound good though! I would hope they got a new box since then (that was '93).

 

[hypwr]

I thought they had a Nautel.