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WBAZ RADIO 1550

C

CHJ1950

Guest
Can anyone recall when WBAZ 1550 in Kingston, New York went off the air, and why they did so?
 
This is a repost of 2 messages I posted on the subject last year.
I dug through some old posts from a previous version of this board that I had saved . It seems 1550 WBAZ started in 1959 with a 500 watt daytime only signal .It must have been a poor signal as I never heard of it in Poughkeepsie . The station went through several owners ending up as WKOT, before going dark in 1974 when the IRS seized their assets. I quote from maineengineer :
“As I recall, WKOT went dark around the time we took WGHQ-FM to top 40, as WBPM, in 1974. The only tape I have of WBAZ is that of a single weather break from my "hat-trick" day on those three Kingston stations, in an era when radio was still fun. “

Sorry for the confusion. The comment about having a tape was part of a quote I copied from maineengineer telling about the station a few years ago. Unfortunately I have no air checks or tapes from 1550, WBAZ or WKOT, in fact I never heard of them until read about them on the Hudson Valley Radio Board.
 
WBAZ had a difficult time not only due to low power, 500w, and bad dial position it also lacked the pre-sunrise authorization to go on the air at 6am. WBAZ had to wait for sunrise to begin broadcasting. In the winter this was 7:30am. During the 1974 oil crisis the Feds went to daylight savings time year around and this ment that WBAZ's sign on time during the winter was now 8:30am and this effectively killed their morning drive period and put the station out of business.
 
hhvr said:
WBAZ had a difficult time not only due to low power, 500w, and bad dial position it also lacked the pre-sunrise authorization to go on the air at 6am. WBAZ had to wait for sunrise to begin broadcasting. In the winter this was 7:30am. During the 1974 oil crisis the Feds went to daylight savings time year around and this ment that WBAZ's sign on time during the winter was now 8:30am and this effectively killed their morning drive period and put the station out of business.
Click to expand...

Ever since I heard about this station I have wondered why nobody took over the frequency by buying the license, after all what is the IRS going to do with it. AM was still fairly big in this market back then. This would sure explain it .Thanks for clearing that up.
 
Had to throw in my .02 worth since I was the one who built BAZ in 1959. (My first gig as CE.)

HHVR is right about low power and a bad dial position, but at the time we legitimately billed ourselves as "Kingston's Most Powerful Radio Station"! WKNY was 250 watts and WSKN (later WGHQ) was licensed to Saugerties. As for dial position, on several occasions I was called upon to retune the receivers of potential listeners whose radios couldn't pick up anything above 1500 KHz. There were probably many more we never heard about.

WBAZ does live on in cyberspace. Go to www.topozone.com and search for 150 Sawkill Road, Kingston,NY.
 
I singed WBAZ the Air at 3PM EDST - I had work at and for WBAZ during different owners, formats and from it two locations. WBAZ was started in 1959 in a building just south of the railroad over pass, at 527 Broadway sharing a building with a coin operated laundromat. It had been an auto repair garage prior to becoming a radio station. The main on-air studio was facing Broadway and allowed for the general public to walk up and watch the on air activities.
one small room was the combo talk-studio, newsroom, and production room. WBAZ = Best from A-to-Z, on the right side of your radio dial. equipment included a Gateway dual board, a GATES101 Tapecaster. (Contained 101 Tracks) and two Tape casters. two Gates turntables. and a staff with a lot of heart.
many air personalities went on to greatness from WBAZ.
 
O'Rly Johnny? LOL! Who was the broker you worked with on that attempted buy? Which lender(s) turned you down? Could it be that they turned you down because (A) you are making up another story, or (B) you are every bit the clueless sniper that your postings indicate that you are.

You sound pretty ambitious for a guy who has never been a player in the Albany market (let alone broadcasting) with a CTDA pass because even now you still cannot afford a car (did the Morells turn you down for a loan... I mean, several loans?) and who lurks in this room to spout what even you have admitted in previous postings were fabricated. You have a special problem with Jackie D and Mark W for some reason (maybe they have the talent that you do not and get the jobs and recognition you wish you could have?)

FYI folks, "Johnny" is not Paul V. Paul V is a class act who I personally know to have never uttered a negative word about anybody.
 
I enjoy "Johnnys" posts. Factual or not, its good to see someone raising some hell on this board again....
 
and MT1 (Mark Williams) was FIRED confirmed today by the Times-Union Newspaper just go to their online website!


Phhhffffffffffft!
 
Johnny never claimed to be anybody - have you been at the Tequila again? Tut-tut-tut. By the way, did you ask Paul V for a job? I hear there's one for $19K a year - you better grab it, chum!
 
I grew up in Poughkeepsie, had never heard of BAZ before learning in 1967 that "Large Sarge" had departed WHVW (another 500 daytimer, in Hyde Park, which he helped build) for Kingston. Sarge went on to WENE (Binghamton, NY) and WMID (Atlantic CIty, NJ) as Dick Sargent. He then became Johnny Donovan at WOR-FM (NYC), then at WABC, where he followed Dan Ingram in the afternoon. He's still there today. The milkman's son from Poughkeepsie done good.

I don't know if his stint at BAZ was during the time it was owned by Hunter Broadcasting, which also owned WDOT (1390) in Burlington, Vermont. That went dark, too. I just heard the freq has opened up again, but not as DOT.
 
Do you have any idea where I could find that air check . I would enjoy hearing what the Hudson Vally Station I never heard of sounded like . I checked your site but couldn't find it .
 
Max Kinkel there is a name from the past. I understand when he was in Kingston he married a girl from Saugerties and comes back every now and them.
 
MHVRadiofan said:
Do you have any idea where I could find that air check . I would enjoy hearing what the Hudson Vally Station I never heard of sounded like . I checked your site but couldn't find it .
Click to expand...

The first and last time I heard the aircheck was in 1970, it was of jock "Johnny Lance". I haven't seen or heard the aircheck since then.

Rick Kelly
northeastairchecks.com
 
Time Traveler said:
Was this the same "Johnny Lance" that was at WFLY in 1970-1971???
Click to expand...

Yep. As a matter of fact, it was his audition tape to get in as a PT jock at WFLY. I think at this point only you and I remember WFLY in those days, TT!

Rick Kelly
northeastairchecks.com
 
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