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WASB 1590 AM
- Thread starter Mark Giardina
- Start date
JimPastrick said:
Grey Fidelipac with worn pads and the metal rod out of place. Where's my screwdriver so I can put the rod back in place? Crap, I can't get that sticker off the top...need a razor blade too...
John C said:Can "The Stiffs" thread be far behind?
Kent Kotal over at www.forgottenhits.com recently posted two old 'KB gems from '71...
Redeye - "Games" and Gayle McCormick - "It's A Cryin' Shame". That one was on ABC/Dunhill, so I believed it.
Soby6559 said:
The "Village of Brockport" sign going northbound on Rt 19 was placed halfway between Rt 19/31/31A intersection and the built-up are of town on Rt 19; making WASB in Sweden for sure.... which also means that some of the expanded College is also in Sweden, and some in village of Brockport. Therefore the letter abbreviations for the State University College of Brockport/Sweden could be SUC-BS
JimPastrick said:
There is a radio station that "could" have had potential IF instead of going after the 1590 frequency, it went for a lower spot on the AM dial.
I wonder if the weeds (or this time of the year, the snow) is taller now than the building itself?
JIBGUY said:
In another lifetime, back when 99.9 in Cortland/Ithaca was Burbach-owned Top 40 OK-100, and I was MD, our SUNY Cortland competition had changed calls from WCSU to WSUC, and started calling themselves "The Satisfier". Guess the possibility of being known as "suck radio" never crossed their mind...
B
Bob1370
Guest
Could be like a lot of AM transmitters in the area...the weeds might have grown to the point they're quarter-wave resonant. ;-)
Actually, given the crowded nature of the AM band 30 years ago, it's amazing they found a frequency they could operate fulltime on at all, even with a restrictive pattern. You could argue they should have waited a few more years for the band to expand, and then they could have had a 10 kW-D/1 kW-N nondirectional signal that could have been located somewhere along route 31 a few miles east of Brockport and functioned as a reasonable Rochester market rimshot. I know past owners of WASB have tried to sell their station in such a way--I got such a sales call in the late 80s myself when I was running a business in the city before returning fulltime to radio, and had to stifle a laugh as they made their pitch.
Actually, given the crowded nature of the AM band 30 years ago, it's amazing they found a frequency they could operate fulltime on at all, even with a restrictive pattern. You could argue they should have waited a few more years for the band to expand, and then they could have had a 10 kW-D/1 kW-N nondirectional signal that could have been located somewhere along route 31 a few miles east of Brockport and functioned as a reasonable Rochester market rimshot. I know past owners of WASB have tried to sell their station in such a way--I got such a sales call in the late 80s myself when I was running a business in the city before returning fulltime to radio, and had to stifle a laugh as they made their pitch.
Wow - it's 2011 and a station like that still exists? Sounds like WSAY in 1967. See http://www.fybush.com.
DaveMasonsd said:
Rumor has it that the only thing keeping the building standing are the termites.
Bejeebus! We're back to posting about 1590ish WADDJBTASB?
Okay, winter willies have definitely set in. "We've got.....CABIN FEVERRRRR!!!" as the Muppets famously sang.
For a nonentity radio station, it has certainly captured all of our imaginations. Radio professionals posting about it for two years now! When we all know that kid with the Archer SpacePatrol gets out better - as long as the 9-volt's fresh.....
Okay, winter willies have definitely set in. "We've got.....CABIN FEVERRRRR!!!" as the Muppets famously sang.
For a nonentity radio station, it has certainly captured all of our imaginations. Radio professionals posting about it for two years now! When we all know that kid with the Archer SpacePatrol gets out better - as long as the 9-volt's fresh.....
What's really amazing is that more people have responded to this post than ever listened to that radio station.
Mark_Giardina said:
Seems like more people have worked there than ever listened to that radio station.
Before the demise of Dr. David Wolfe, father of the current owner (and another one of those preacher-broadcasters who confuses the functions of a radio station with that of a jumbo PA system) negotiated with us about buying WASB. I was only interested in the license, which we planned to promptly modify. We had tinkered with 1600 kHz, 10kw DA-1 with a east-northeast lobe aimed towards Rochester, tentatively from a Churchville site. I was distinctly disinterested in touching either the 1590 or 1310 Canandaigua sites. About an hour after closing I would have headed out to Fourth Section Road, pulled the main breaker and taken bolt cutters to whatever coaxial feeds were remaining in that decrepit array - taking the thing silent pending new facilities on 1600. Drop the towers, bulldoze everything and sell the land.
Wolfe insisted on selling everything, which we would have accepted if the price was right, which it was not. So the talks ended.
Essentially we thought of using the Brockport station to simulcast WYSL and help the nighttime coverage situation plus the daytime deficits under the old 2.5kw 2-tower signal on 1040. The 20kw upgrade in 2006 gave us better northwest control of the pattern so we could fill in that direction while still protecting CHUM. And of course the 92.1 FM translator fixes the Rochester night coverage issues at 5% of the cost of building out 1600. Sic transit reborn WASB, at least by us....
Wolfe insisted on selling everything, which we would have accepted if the price was right, which it was not. So the talks ended.
Essentially we thought of using the Brockport station to simulcast WYSL and help the nighttime coverage situation plus the daytime deficits under the old 2.5kw 2-tower signal on 1040. The 20kw upgrade in 2006 gave us better northwest control of the pattern so we could fill in that direction while still protecting CHUM. And of course the 92.1 FM translator fixes the Rochester night coverage issues at 5% of the cost of building out 1600. Sic transit reborn WASB, at least by us....
Nice plan for 1600, Bob. You made the right choice with the FM translator. This thread may continue to attract posters because some for a time worked at the station and others who may not have are mystified by the station's existence. Last summer while in Brockport, I checked the station and felt a small sense of sadness. It's one of those AMs that had its day in the sun and today would be best put to rest.
Even if a small group of experienced radio geeks took it over and re-energized it, who'd listen to a stand-alone 1 kw AM on 1590? Seriously. Short of Bob Savage's vision and synergy with an existing signal, how do you make money on that? Really? Brockport sits in the shadow of Rochester. It's a (very nice) college town that busies itself with issues beyond the reach of this local AM radio station. I wonder how many residents of Brockport even know the station exists, let alone care. Let's see... y'got your iPod, your Facebook, your computer WiFi... oh, and there's that thing called FM radio.
BTW, there was a brief time when the thought of buying the station crossed the mind of Buffalo legend Dan Neaverth. Tom Atkins did the tech assessment which put a quick end to any consideration. And Savage's "bulldozer" scenario is interesting because in the 90s, I suggested to a friend that we buy the station, take it dark, bulldoze the land and build apartments for college students. Wouldn't you know, up on the hill, just west of Rt 19, south of the 1590 array can be found sets of off-campus college housing. (GMTA... sorta)
And one more question: As I recall, when the Duryea family invested in 1560, wasn't an FM allocation sitting there for the taking? Yeesh! Another one of those "If ifs and buts" things... sort of like WUSJ-FM on 99.3 back in the day.
But that's another thread.
Even if a small group of experienced radio geeks took it over and re-energized it, who'd listen to a stand-alone 1 kw AM on 1590? Seriously. Short of Bob Savage's vision and synergy with an existing signal, how do you make money on that? Really? Brockport sits in the shadow of Rochester. It's a (very nice) college town that busies itself with issues beyond the reach of this local AM radio station. I wonder how many residents of Brockport even know the station exists, let alone care. Let's see... y'got your iPod, your Facebook, your computer WiFi... oh, and there's that thing called FM radio.
BTW, there was a brief time when the thought of buying the station crossed the mind of Buffalo legend Dan Neaverth. Tom Atkins did the tech assessment which put a quick end to any consideration. And Savage's "bulldozer" scenario is interesting because in the 90s, I suggested to a friend that we buy the station, take it dark, bulldoze the land and build apartments for college students. Wouldn't you know, up on the hill, just west of Rt 19, south of the 1590 array can be found sets of off-campus college housing. (GMTA... sorta)
And one more question: As I recall, when the Duryea family invested in 1560, wasn't an FM allocation sitting there for the taking? Yeesh! Another one of those "If ifs and buts" things... sort of like WUSJ-FM on 99.3 back in the day.
But that's another thread.
JimPastrick said:
In 1965, when the Duryea family hatched the idea of a community radio station, FM was not at all prominent. FM had not even discovered progressive rock then (WCMF rock didn't come along til 1969, and that was part-time.). So an AM station seemed like a good idea then. - And I'm afraid Bob & Jim are correct.... there is absolutely no use of the station in its present form/pattern/license. Western Monroe County and most of Orleans County cannot support an AM station on the dog-end of the dial.- Beaming from northeast of Churchville with 10kw would give it some life, if it did a true adult-standards format (not like current Legends). Lotsa listeners for adult-standards, but little money. - Greater stations than 1590 have gone off the air for good. What's keeping this one alive?
Yeah: not only a standalone AM on 1590, but one that's directional AWAY from the population center of Monroe County, and which essentially feeds the Village and the fish of Lake Ontario (but only the ones not too far offshore.) It's a terrible facility even when the array is working - which it seldom really did, at least on 1590 (I guess the daytime 1560 ran okay.) I mean: jeez...5 towers, low power, and a near-shortwave frequency....no what I would call "viable" in today's media marketplace.
Brockport has evolved since WADD went on the air in 1970 - devolved, some might say - into a 100% college town. The industrial private-sector jobs, including the color film processing lab (how quaint), KleenBrite and Black & Decker have long since left Brockport, taking hundreds of local jobs with them. Also, since 1970, about 85% of the AM audience has disappeared.
So: no audience. No signal. No coverage of Rochester. NO point.
Brockport has evolved since WADD went on the air in 1970 - devolved, some might say - into a 100% college town. The industrial private-sector jobs, including the color film processing lab (how quaint), KleenBrite and Black & Decker have long since left Brockport, taking hundreds of local jobs with them. Also, since 1970, about 85% of the AM audience has disappeared.
So: no audience. No signal. No coverage of Rochester. NO point.
The 1560 array worked quite well technically, and within specs back in the early 1970's. The fish loved it.
Funny little quote.... Someone recently sent me a list of radio memories titled: "You've been in radio too long if you can remember...." And one of the items to remember was: "Every area had a religious station run by a local preacher and his wife, which had only 10 listeners but it still made money." (as opposed to today's common K-Love and Salem conglomerates). Well, 1590 seems to fit in the above.... non-conglomerate, but not sure about the making money part..... and 10 seems high.
Just thought of a GREAT use for 1590 (seriously)... it would make a decent repeater for a Rochester station having trouble getting into Orleans County... such as 950, 1460.
Funny little quote.... Someone recently sent me a list of radio memories titled: "You've been in radio too long if you can remember...." And one of the items to remember was: "Every area had a religious station run by a local preacher and his wife, which had only 10 listeners but it still made money." (as opposed to today's common K-Love and Salem conglomerates). Well, 1590 seems to fit in the above.... non-conglomerate, but not sure about the making money part..... and 10 seems high.
Just thought of a GREAT use for 1590 (seriously)... it would make a decent repeater for a Rochester station having trouble getting into Orleans County... such as 950, 1460.
B
Bob1370
Guest
"I was only interested in the license, which we planned to promptly modify. We had tinkered with 1600 kHz, 10kw DA-1 with a east-northeast lobe aimed towards Rochester, tentatively from a Churchville site."
Would the Oneida station on 1600 have gotten in the way, at least during the day (it's a daytimer)?
The AM band is probably too crowded with signals and spoken-word formats now, to make another one viable. Rochester basically has three viable news/talk stations, WHAM, WXXI and WYSL, with everyone else either a rimshot with suburban/surrounding county listeners only, or an Arbitron no-show. The various flavors of religious programming don't draw flies, and as far as sports, WHTK was barely showing in the latest book and WROC a shocking no-show.
The AM band isn't dead...but it seems only the most serious local players get an audience these days and that's true of every market. If you want to make money on AM, you'd better invest money in a decent signal and a quality lineup, now more than ever.
Would the Oneida station on 1600 have gotten in the way, at least during the day (it's a daytimer)?
The AM band is probably too crowded with signals and spoken-word formats now, to make another one viable. Rochester basically has three viable news/talk stations, WHAM, WXXI and WYSL, with everyone else either a rimshot with suburban/surrounding county listeners only, or an Arbitron no-show. The various flavors of religious programming don't draw flies, and as far as sports, WHTK was barely showing in the latest book and WROC a shocking no-show.
The AM band isn't dead...but it seems only the most serious local players get an audience these days and that's true of every market. If you want to make money on AM, you'd better invest money in a decent signal and a quality lineup, now more than ever.
By shaping the east-northeast pattern we could have protected WMCR. IIRC measurements would have been required to pull the proposed 1600 in Churchville off of them and WEHH, but it could have been done - again, this is dialing back to 2003, but I believe we were playing with a 3-tower narrow dogleg.
As historical notes, bear in mind that CJRN was on 1600 with 5kw NDA until 1970, and there was a 3-tower CP for WLMO on 1600 in Geneseo with 1.8kw daytime that was never built.
The redone WASB would have been a thumping strong signal in Monroe County and would be basically gone past Rush heading south, where 1040 would have taken over.
As historical notes, bear in mind that CJRN was on 1600 with 5kw NDA until 1970, and there was a 3-tower CP for WLMO on 1600 in Geneseo with 1.8kw daytime that was never built.
The redone WASB would have been a thumping strong signal in Monroe County and would be basically gone past Rush heading south, where 1040 would have taken over.
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