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WARM

Maybe someone should call the folks on Baltimore Drive and tell them. They probably don't even know it's off the air.
 
the last time they were off the air,a few years back, the g.m. said they wouldnt spend the money to fix the problem.. so phil galasso, a great guy, and who knows his stuff got warm back on the air after a week or so, and they fired him last november.. its a shame, and scott your right, no one even knows they are off the air. i always had to call the office to let them know.. i dont listen to radio anymore..its embarrising...the format, the on air people, and the quality of on air stuff.
 
For a satellite delivered format, TOC is actually very listenable. With the right promotion and a little attention to the signal, WARM could have a decent, but moderate, slice of the audience. Once again, no one cares.
 
If Citadel at the time said NO to getting WARM back on the air, Cumulus will say NO times 1,000,000. I stopped listening to WARM after they got rid of Phil because it showed in their signal. I figured it would go off due to technical problems, and that the nerd from Allentown wouldn't know how to fix the mighty 590, then off the air it would be forever. Very sad :(
 
ty_kleinle said:
If Citadel at the time said NO to getting WARM back on the air, Cumulus will say NO times 1,000,000. I stopped listening to WARM after they got rid of Phil because it showed in their signal. I figured it would go off due to technical problems, and that the nerd from Allentown wouldn't know how to fix the mighty 590, then off the air it would be forever. Very sad :(
when warm went off the air a few years back, the g.m. told phil, the engineer at that time that they would go dark, because it would cost to much to put back on the air. if i remember right, during the weeks it was off the air, phil went to the site ,i believe on his own time to fix the problem, and he did. phil was a dedicated engineer, and p.d. for citadel and cumulus, but like all the other corps who own stations, its know different. they all do the same to employees. wheather its citadel, cumulus, entercom, clear channel, whatever, your just a body to them.
 
WARM would need a new ground system and to have the antenna system redesigned to get rid of the three negative towers in the array...those are a REAL pain. If someone bought the station, it wouldn't be a bad idea to find a site somewhere in the valley and go with a simpler antenna array, even if it means reducing the power somewhat. The current transmitter site is leased...and that is a VERY bad situation for an AM station, especially a directional one. WARM needs to put two very deep nulls in the direction of Harrisburg and Albany in order to protect WHP and WROW. It would need a minimum of three towers in order to do that. The existing array has five.

Phil could probably have had the station back on the air within an hour or two, as the transmitter just needed a set of tubes. But the market manager in Wilkes-Barre is stubborn and hard-headed and, of course, we know the corporate people in Atlanta know it all! "Engineer...we don't need no stinkin' local engineer!" How long before they have a problem that knocks one of the FM stations off the air for days? The engineer in Allentown who took Phil's job is a computer geek...he knows little about transmitters and RF.

There once was a country that was managed the way that Cumulus micromanages its stations. It was called the Soviet Union...and we all know what happened there.

We should keep a log of any prolonged outages of stations in the Cumulus cluster, such as the current one at WARM. The licenses of those stations are due for renewal in 2014. By being off the air for such a prolonged time just for the sake of saving an engineering salary, Cumulus is not serving the public interest. This is an EXCELLENT opportunity for a license challenge.
 
I agree with Pell Guy---could be, but needs such an infusion of $$$$......I think locals would come back.....my $.02 worth


oldies4ever
WARMLAND reunion August 11, 2012,at the Pocono Drag Lodge in Bear Creek
 
oldies4ever said:
I agree with Pell Guy---could be, but needs such an infusion of $$$$......I think locals would come back.....my $.02 worth. who would they be? most of them are gone, or to old, and what format would do well today? it would be nice, but i dont think its going to happen.....


oldies4ever
WARMLAND reunion August 11, 2012,at the Pocono Drag Lodge in Bear Creek
 
ka2xuk said:
WARM would need a new ground system and to have the antenna system redesigned to get rid of the three negative towers in the array...those are a REAL pain. If someone bought the station, it wouldn't be a bad idea to find a site somewhere in the valley and go with a simpler antenna array, even if it means reducing the power somewhat. The current transmitter site is leased...and that is a VERY bad situation for an AM station, especially a directional one. WARM needs to put two very deep nulls in the direction of Harrisburg and Albany in order to protect WHP and WROW. It would need a minimum of three towers in order to do that. The existing array has five.

Phil could probably have had the station back on the air within an hour or two, as the transmitter just needed a set of tubes. But the market manager in Wilkes-Barre is stubborn and hard-headed and, of course, we know the corporate people in Atlanta know it all! "Engineer...we don't need no stinkin' local engineer!" How long before they have a problem that knocks one of the FM stations off the air for days? The engineer in Allentown who took Phil's job is a computer geek...he knows little about transmitters and RF.

There once was a country that was managed the way that Cumulus micromanages its stations. It was called the Soviet Union...and we all know what happened there.

We should keep a log of any prolonged outages of stations in the Cumulus cluster, such as the current one at WARM. The licenses of those stations are due for renewal in 2014. By being off the air for such a prolonged time just for the sake of saving an engineering salary, Cumulus is not serving the public interest. This is an EXCELLENT opportunity for a license challenge.

Rough estimate..... how much do you think these repairs woud cost and do you care to venture as to how much Cumulus would want for the station as it stands today.....
 
The numbers I heard by somebody who was looking into buying it when Citadel owned it was in the neighborhood of 2 million to do it right and bring it back to where it once was. The problem isn't new. When Susquehanna owned it we were starting to deteriorate. Areas where we once were strong started to get staticy or disappeared altogether. Wyoming Avenue in Forty Fort was a real bad null. And there were a slew of others. You could probably do a band-aid for under a mill but to do it right..And it's too much to spend for a canned service with no local support.
 
scottsan said:
Rough estimate..... how much do you think these repairs woud cost and do you care to venture as to how much Cumulus would want for the station as it stands today.....

The repairs, including a new transmitter, redesigned phasor, and new ground system, would cost between $300,000 and $500,000. I don't know what Cumulus would want for that station, although they would probably be glad to get rid of it. It would probably be best to move the site to somewhere in the valley and start over...the site in Falls is leased and that is a bad situation for an AM station to be in.

The biggest headache for WARM is the ground system, which has been eaten away over the years. It accounts for most of the cost of the repairs. The amount of wire needed would stretch from Wilkes-Barre to Allentown! Copperweld (copper coated steel wire) or galvanized wire would be a lot cheaper than solid copper wire and would have no value to metal thieves, but it would not last as long as copper. Of course, pure copper wouldn't last too long if someone steals it.
 
I concur....moving down to the valley and diplexing with another facility or building new towers would be likely scenario. Best if towers were right wavelength or longer in height. Night could be flea power.
 
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