wabc xmtr site

[gunsmoke]

As a kid growing up during the British Invasion in Philly (64-66), I was always amazed at the power of WABC, it was the other top 40 station of choice in Philly besides WIBG. I would always think of this gigantic tower or more with big transmitters to get out that far. I was in the southern part of Philly so it was a harder catch then someone living north of me in Northeast Philly where WABC was like a local, but WABC was always loud and clear in my section. It so happened last week I was visiting a friend in Lodi, NJ, and we were taking a drive and he stopped the car and said see that tower, it was nothing unusual a small guy wired painted system. When he told me it was WABC's xmtr and tower, I could not believe it, was this the site that was sending that powerful signal to Philly. My question to the board is, was this the same tower, location and xmtr used in the 60's, or did it move. Its hard to believe this makes it into NYC and points south with great power, if so its amazing....thanks for the help.

 

[TimeIsTight]

My question to the board is, was this the same tower, location and xmtr used in the 60's, or did it move. Its hard to believe this makes it into NYC and points south with great power, if so its amazing.

The tower is the same. I don't know for sure, but suspect WABC has purchased a new transmitter in the last 45-years.

Some of the reasons WABC's signal was so strong in Philly, compared to other New York stations, is that its transmitter is closer to Philly than the other two network owned non-directional stations on clear channels WNBC-660, and WCBS-880. They both used and use the same tower on an island in Long Island Sound. That tower is not optimal height for the longer wavelength of 660-khz, and 880 is a shorter wavelength than 770.

If I remember correctly, the WABC tower is a half wavelength at around 609-feet, or 619. Outside of the O&O's the other NYC 50-kw stations like WINS, WOR, WNEW, WQXR were all directional, and had less than optimal tower heights.

WABC may also have been using more audio compression than some other stations.

I have heard experts say that the WABC tower and ground system has needed some maintenance that would improve its signal and sound, but that has been put off for financial reasons. Which may be part of the reason WABC doesn't seem to get out the way it used to.

If you are really interested in the WABC transmitter, check out this webite:

http://www.j-hawkins.com/wabc.shtml

 

[gunsmoke]

Thanks for the info, I noticed WABC does not come in like it did in the 60's. In fact I am living in the same area as in the 60's and WABC is gone at times, and at night forget it. I always wanted to grab WMCA in the same time period because I knew they were top 40 also but they never came in down here in Philly. I did pick them up in Seaside Heights in the 60's but they faded fast, as I drove back to Philly.

 

[TimeIsTight]

WMCA was a good station in the 60s, the evening guys like B. Mitchell Reed and Gary Stevens were especially good alternatives to WABC. I remember listening to WMCA under the boardwalk in Seaside Heights in the 60s too. But coming from North Jersey I used to get a kick out of catching WFIL and WIBG, The Space Station, while at the shore. The more Drake-like Philly formats kept the music coming, and there were some records heard in Philly that we never heard in NYC.

I also heard future WABC jocks like Frank Kingston Smith, Jim Nettleton, and "King" George Michael before they left Philly for the Big Town.

I am sure you are aware that WMCA is a directional 5-kw station, and WABC is 50-kw omni-directional. It's always been interesting to speculate how much of WABC's dominance was due to its superior signal, and how much was due to its on-air presentation and talent. And in the early 60s 50-kw WINS was also a player in the NYC rock radio race, but it had a highly directional signal that hurt its Jersey audience size and it switched to all news, mostly for NYC.

 

[gunsmoke]

I do remember WINS being top 40 along with WMCA and WABC, I am surprised you received both philly top 40 signals back then. WFIL had much less power but for some reason got out further, especially at night. The only thing was, we only had WIBG, when the British Invasion and Surf music were big, WFIL came on board in 1966. So we only had WIBBAGE and the alternative was WABC and at the Jersey shore WMID which came in good in Seaside. The good old days in Seaside in 64, Beachcomber, Chatterbox, Skilos and great music, great times. I also remember WOR-FM around 1967 with a great oldies format, I think before WCBS-FM, picked them up in Seaside all the time.

 

[MattParker]

WABC got an OK signal into the Philly area but as I recall the strongest signal from New York was WOR. WOR got enough of an audience that most cars had WOR as one of their presets. It wasn't what baby boomers listened to but a lot of parental units did. It also says something about Wibbage, the Philly top 40 station, that many top 40 listeners opted for a non-local signal.

 

[radioguy39nj]

WMCA was a good station in the 60s, the evening guys like B. Mitchell Reed and Gary Stevens were especially good alternatives to WABC. I am sure you are aware that WMCA is a directional 5-kw station, and WABC is 50-kw omni-directional. It's always been interesting to speculate how much of WABC's dominance was due to its superior signal, and how much was due to its on-air presentation and talent. And in the early 60s 50-kw WINS was also a player in the NYC rock radio race, but it had a highly directional signal that hurt its Jersey audience size and it switched to all news, mostly for NYC.

WMCA with its 5 kW signal took first WMGM then WINS, both 50 kW stations, out of the top 40 format. WMCA regularly beat WABC in the five boroughs of NYC. WABC would win in distant suburbs that WMCA couldn't reach.

 

[TimeIsTight]

I also remember WOR-FM around 1967 with a great oldies format, I think before WCBS-FM, picked them up in Seaside all the time.

WOR-FM started as a progressive free form station with well known NYC DJs like Scott Muni from WABC, and "Murray the K" from WINS, but then shifted to the Drake Chenault Oldies format with limited commercials, and much more music, when compared with competing stations. OR-FM, The Bigtown Sound, was great listening in stereo. If more people had FM radios in those days it would have wiped out the competition.

A lot of the DJ's came from California, among them the late Jim O'Brien, who did PM drive on OR-FM, and later went on to jock at WFIL Radio and do TV weather in Philly.

CBS-FM also went through a "progressive period" and switched to oldies sometime in the early 70s.

 

[DonTheTrucker]

Edit: Wow, it was posted in this thread. I stink.

That is a cool website though.

 

[fortmill]

Funny, I'm listening to Cousin Brucie on XM 60's on 6 as I speak. Growing up in Richmond VA in the 60s, my friends and I were big WABC listeners. During the winter, we could dial 77 from about 4 in the afternoon till 8 in the morning. The signal was weak in the mornings and afternoons during winter but clear and solid at night all year. THough of no interest to our teenage ears, WNBC was listenable 24/7 during the winter in Richmond. Man, WABC was a great station.

 

[gunsmoke]

True, many people from Philly tuned into WABC, only because sometimes WIBBAGE would be flat and they did play too much of a Philly Soul Sound and tons of Motown, whereas WABC played all the hits, from the BI, Surf, Folk and Motown. WIBG never broke British and Beach/Surf tunes like WABC did, I would hear those songs on WABC first. I can still remember some jocks, Bob Dayton, Bobaloo Bob Lewis his theme was Pipeline by the Chantays, Chuck Leonard who I always thought was white LOL, Cousin and go go Scottso. But I always do remember driving home from Seaside they would always stop the music around 8 or 9 on Sunday night for some talk program.

 

[davideduardo]

Man, WABC was a great station.

It sure beat listening to Harvey Hudson on WLEE 1480.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

It sure beat listening to Harvey Hudson on WLEE 1480.

David, what do you know about "WLEE (S-WBBL)" back in the '60s or thereabouts?
How much weekly airtime did WBBL have, and when?

 

[davideduardo]

It sure beat listening to Harvey Hudson on WLEE 1480.

David, what do you know about "WLEE (S-WBBL)" back in the '60s or thereabouts?
How much weekly airtime did WBBL have, and when?

When I managed a station in Richmond in 1970, WBBL was on for just a an hour on Sunday morning and another on Sunday night, and it was owned by the Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church. WBbLK was on 1450 post-NARBA (1941), and when WALV (later WLEE) appeared later in the 40's they shared that frequency prior to moving to 1480. WLEE's predecessor, WALV, essential bought about 95% of the station, leaving WBBL with just Sunday church service airtime.

An explanation of the share time agreement is at:

http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive BC/40s-OCR/BC 1945 05 07-Page-64.pdf#search="wbbl"

 

[gunsmoke]

I remember being stationed at Camp Picket VA near Blackstone in 1973 and heard WLEE, very weak, but the big upcoming station was the Super Q 94, fantastic top 40 playlist, unbelievable power and can't forget WRVQ Summer Rerun Time with Bill Garcia....great times. Did the Q bury LEE, I also remember a oldies station around the 1500's daytimer with a good automated playlist from Richmond.

 

[radioguy39nj]

I also remember WOR-FM around 1967 with a great oldies format, I think before WCBS-FM, picked them up in Seaside all the time.

WOR-FM started as a progressive free form station with well known NYC DJs like Scott Muni from WABC, and "Murray the K" from WINS, but then shifted to the Drake Chenault Oldies format with limited commercials, and much more music, when compared with competing stations. OR-FM, The Bigtown Sound, was great listening in stereo. If more people had FM radios in those days it would have wiped out the competition.

WOR-FM with the Drake-Chenault format was a big factor in fragmenting WMCA's audience, leading to WMCA's eventual flip to talk. WOR-FM probably helped WABC more than they helped themselves, since only about 50% of NY area residents owned FM radios in their homes. Automobile penetration was even lower, mostly confined to Cadillac and Lincoln luxury models. Popular priced Fords and Chevys offered FM, but got few takers.

OR-FMs format was heavy on 1955-63 oldies, but included contemporary hits as well. No bubblegum records were played as the station was targeting adults 18-34. OR-FM did fairly well, but was probably about a decade ahead of its time as a pop station on FM.

 

[rtetro]

Growing up in Orange County, NY, WABC was pretty much our only option during the day in the 1960s (until WALL started doing Top 40 in the late 60s). Neither WMCA nor WINS had any signal to speak of up there. But at night...well, that was another story. A lot of listeners looking for Top 40 at night would listen as much to distant stations like WKBW, WLS, CKLW, and WCFL as they would WABC -- all of which blasted into the area like locals.

 

[magicjellybeans]

WABC music radio 77 was the best thing on the dial back in the 60s and 70s,it was so sad when it went talk!We used to go camping all over
the good ol USA,and i used to "peak" my am radios so they could get WABC,even if it was "listenable" I was a happy camper.I think everyone listened to WABC back in the day.If you want to hear what it might sound like today ,check out the KOOL fm website.
I think they do shows every now and then on 77,but its no more. WABC was a piece of my life and kudos to everyone who put it together.
Wish I could thank each and every one of them for doing it.Thats when radio was the best!