WANO Rises Like a Phoenix from the Ashes

[Tim the Impounder]

Josh Wilkey says Pineville station sounds even better...


NEWS RELEASE

Dear Friends:

I'm pleased to report that WANO signed back on at 6:45PM on Friday. Please excuse the tardiness of my email, but I actually got some rest over the weekend, believe it or not! I have lots of pictures and such on the WANO website ( www.1230wano.com). The past four weeks have been an adventure, to say the least, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who has helped along the way. To start literally with bare ground and build a radio station from scratch in one month is truly a miracle, and this miracle wouldn't have happened without the dozens of people who helped.

I've heard from hundreds of folks over the past few weeks, from former employees and members of the community, to other broadcasters throughout the US. Thanks so much to all of you for keeping up with our journey! I hope the WANO website will serve as a reminder of what can be accomplished when we set our minds to it. We've posted pictures and anecdotes of our work, and to see the progress from day to day is worth the visit to the website.

Thanks so much to Frank Fulsom of RF Technologies, Inc, who is responsible for getting us back on the air. True experts in AM engineering are increasingly rare, and we are lucky to have a friend like Frank to guide us through the process of creating and tuning a great-sounding AM station! Our Antenna Tuning Unit had to be completely rebuilt, and Frank was the only person around who had the equipment to do the job. Also, I cannot say thank you enough to Brian O'Brien, who is not only the Operations Manager at the radio stations, but a dear friend as well. Without his dedication and hard work, WANO wouldn't be on the air. His dedication means more to me personally than he'll ever know. Thank you also to my mother, Libby, who is not only our Business Manager, but the glue which holds together the universe that is Countrywide Broadcasters. Her moral support has meant so much to me over the past few weeks. Finally, thank you to SCMS, and specifically Mike Phelps, who worked hard to make sure we had all our equipment when we needed it. When you need "stuff", call Mike (800-438-6040). There are so many other people to say thanks to that I'm almost afraid to start mentioning them by name, for fear I'll accidentally leave somebody out.

Sure, I might be a little bit biased, but WANO sounds better than any other station you'll get in and around Pineville. The combination of the BE Transmitter and Omnia Processor have created a signal that I believe probably sounds better than anything heard on WANO in the past 50 years. And, for the first time in a very long time, you can hear WANO all over Bell County and beyond. Turn on WANO, then flip over to the "other" station licensed to Pineville (an FM, mind you)...the volume is halved, and the sound quality doesn't come close to comparing. I look forward to serving Pineville and the Tri-State area with a great signal for years to come.
Friday evening, after we signed WANO on, I was sitting in the car listening to one of the most wonderful sounds I've heard in ages. The tears streamed down my cheeks...tears of joy, as I realized what a victory that flip of the transmitter switch represented. You see, hearing WANO back on the air represents more to me personally than just the fact that my business is, well, back in business. When I hear those Oldies, I think of all the people who have shown me kindness and loyalty this month. I think of all the times I've picked up the phone and been told "yes" when I had to ask for favors. And I think of Pineville, and how they have their radio station back. I can't help but choke up a little as I type, because the past few weeks have proven to me that people, at their core, are good. I've been shown that if you strive to be a good person, and live a good live, you'll be rewarded. I've been rewarded more than words can express during the past few weeks, and I cannot say thank you enough to all of you who have made it possible.

Let's all take a moment to savor the victory, and enjoy OUR radio station!

-JW
--
Joshua Wilkey
President

Countrywide Broadcasters, Inc.
PO Box 999
2118 Cumberland Ave.
Middlesboro, KY 40965

 

[BobOnTheJob]

When I upgrade an AM station, the BE transmitter, the Omnia processor (although I prefer the 5EX-HD+AM) and the Sine Syetms remote control are my first choices...virtually identical to yours. Your engineer did ya good...congrats!

 

[thebroker]

Haha not to steal Frank's thunder, but I picked the equipment myself. I actually ordered it before I consulted him, in fact. I can't say enough about the BE transmitters. We installed one at WFXY when we refirbished last year, and we literally haven't touched it since the day we turned it on. I would have loved to have had the 5EX processor too, but considering that we are just now recovering from the slow months, and that we had no insurance so I've funded the rebuild from my personal pocket, we had to go with the 3. We would have been on the air weeks before now, but when we began installing equipment, we discovered that our ATU was shot and had to be rebuilt. That's Frank's specialty...heavy-duty RF work, and he rebuilt our box with new coils and such, then tuned it to match the transmitter. With 1,000 watts of forward power, we have less than 2 watts of reflected power. And gosh, I can't say it enough, the station sounds GREAT! The listeners are tickled, particularly the ones in Middlesboro who love oldies but couldn't pick the station up before.

Thanks again to everybody for all the thoughts, prayers and emails!


-JW

 

[kyscott]

When I upgrade an AM station, the BE transmitter, the Omnia processor (although I prefer the 5EX-HD+AM) and the Sine Syetms remote control are my first choices...virtually identical to yours. Your engineer did ya good...congrats!

BE? Are you nuts?! I put a new Nautel 1kW transmitter on the air last Thanksgiving after their 40 year old Bauer went tango uniform. I also have a station with the same BE unit we are talking about. I'll take the Nautel hands down over the BE.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Nautel makes a good box, but for tech support, give me BE anyday. Unless Nautel has improved in recent years, calling them at 6PM results in a callback the next day. Calling BE results in the call being forwarded directly to the on call support tech's cell phone. They're both good transmitters, but I want instant gratification tech support...BE gives me that--on the rare occasion I need it.

 

[thebroker]

We actually have matching BE boxes at both WFXY and WANO. We installed the BE at WFXY about 13 months ago, and haven't touched it since. We've gotten great service out of the BE transmitters, and they sound fantastic. However, I know plenty of folks who love Nautel, too. I suppose for many of us, this is not unlike the Ford vs. Chevy (or even Toyota vs. Nissan) debate. I think anybody would be well-served to install either a Nautel or BE. Personally, I like to use BE and fly a Piper. However, that doesn't mean somebody else is making a mistake by using Nautel and flying a Cessna ;D

 

[kyscott]

We actually have matching BE boxes at both WFXY and WANO. We installed the BE at WFXY about 13 months ago, and haven't touched it since. We've gotten great service out of the BE transmitters, and they sound fantastic. However, I know plenty of folks who love Nautel, too. I suppose for many of us, this is not unlike the Ford vs. Chevy (or even Toyota vs. Nissan) debate. I think anybody would be well-served to install either a Nautel or BE. Personally, I like to use BE and fly a Piper. However, that doesn't mean somebody else is making a mistake by using Nautel and flying a Cessna ;D

Are you nuts? A Piper?!

I have a client here that has the same AM1A that you have Josh, and like I said I have installed a new Nautel at another. I'll take the Nautel. Here's why. The BE has one PA module. The Nautel has two. The PA Module in the BE fails and you are dead in the water until you get it fixed. A PA module in a Nautel fails, and you are on the air at 250 watts. I have a couple of Nautel ND1 transmitters and a Nautel ND 5 transmitter. It's the redundancy in the transmitters I like.

I have never had a problem with Nautel's support. They still have the page a tech system when you call into their office. However, having to call them at 2am (3am their time) one morning, I got a call back within 10 minutes.

BTW, it's good to hear that you got WANO back on the air. Hopefully, this will be the last time you have do deal with this for a very long time. WLLV's transmitter site in Louisville burned down about four years ago. The insurance company was very cooperative allowing them to rebuild with identical Nautel ND1 transmitters and allowing them to raise the building up to prevent it from flooding.