Okay, somebody somewhere has to know something about the status of WCER in Canton. The station has been off the air for a little more than a month, and there's been next to nothing reported about it in the local rag or anywhere else. What's the deal? Is Curtis Perry III planning to mismanage *another* Canton station into oblivion, a la WINW?
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WCER: Anybody home?
- Thread starter static_cling
- Start date
I covered this briefly on the blog, search for WCER.
Of course, I know very little that's not already known. Mr. Perry's studio location on West Tusc downtown is locked so tight, you couldn't get in there with a locksmith. No one's inside. There's an open box of "Joy 900" business cards visible from the window, atop the console. No people, tho.
Last I checked, both 900 and 1520 are off. 900's been off for what, a month and change? 1520 has yet to return after nominal owner Patrick Barb was notified that it was reinstated - but only through the end of the long-delayed renewal process. If he doesn't get that right, it's gone again.
The next step may be contacting the Stark County Urban League:
http://starkcountyul.org/?page_id=21
Which, as it turns out, lists someone on its Board of Directors:
http://starkcountyul.org/?page_id=52
Of course, I know very little that's not already known. Mr. Perry's studio location on West Tusc downtown is locked so tight, you couldn't get in there with a locksmith. No one's inside. There's an open box of "Joy 900" business cards visible from the window, atop the console. No people, tho.
Last I checked, both 900 and 1520 are off. 900's been off for what, a month and change? 1520 has yet to return after nominal owner Patrick Barb was notified that it was reinstated - but only through the end of the long-delayed renewal process. If he doesn't get that right, it's gone again.
The next step may be contacting the Stark County Urban League:
http://starkcountyul.org/?page_id=21
Which, as it turns out, lists someone on its Board of Directors:
http://starkcountyul.org/?page_id=52
WCER filed a silent STA with the FCC on 10/4. I can't read it, because it was filed on paper (and there's no correspondence related to it in the WCER folder).
OMW: Do you think both 1520 & 900 will eventually be deleted from the FCC database, and those frequencies in Canton be gone forever?
I wonder why the owner of WTIG in Massillon (Ray J.) wouldn't want to "buy" WCER...move the station to his Massillon site...the non-directional day power would be a huge increase in legal coverage
, and the 75 watts at night would cover the city of Massillon at night...and then simply shut down 990 forever? Don't know if Ray's 990 tower would work on 900 without some tuning.
Technically it might make sense. Don't know if it'd work from a business point of view.
I wonder why the owner of WTIG in Massillon (Ray J.) wouldn't want to "buy" WCER...move the station to his Massillon site...the non-directional day power would be a huge increase in legal coverage
, and the 75 watts at night would cover the city of Massillon at night...and then simply shut down 990 forever? Don't know if Ray's 990 tower would work on 900 without some tuning.Technically it might make sense. Don't know if it'd work from a business point of view.
One of those two frequencies will be dark forever. The economy, both nationally and in Canton, can't support two operators.
WCER: Ambrozic wants out, Harris (his partner) isn't gonna run the place (hence the LMA to the same guy who ran 1520).
WINW: I call Patrick Barb a mythical owner for a reason. He basically ignored a flurry of FCC deadlines and correspondence. They sent a letter about his renewal problems to his Cuyahoga Falls P.O. Box, which he may not even have anymore (his request for an STA lists his Doylestown home address). The first attempt to resurrect the station was filed at the FCC by the LMA operator's attorney, with a small note from Patrick saying he was OK with it.
Unless two LMA operators who can actually afford to run the things show up, they're probably gone, or sold to an operator who buys them for basically pennies on the dollar...like has happened with some other small AMs in the region.
One of the two survives? Sure. Both? That's a tall order. And the only LMA operator that's run both stations...we have no idea what financial condition he's in, but locked and abandoned studios can't be a good sign.
As far as Ray Jeske goes, my guess is he doesn't feel he needs 900, or more accurately, needs to buy it. I don't know if he intends on permanently replacing that tower or not, and how that works with the FCC, and how much that'd cost him vs. buying a whole new station. (See above about "pennies on the dollar")
But with his regular facility, he still hits Canton, and Massillon is his financial base - he can serve it with either, and he's got a more powerful full time signal in Massillon on 990 than he would with 900.
Interesting idea, but I don't think he bites.
WCER: Ambrozic wants out, Harris (his partner) isn't gonna run the place (hence the LMA to the same guy who ran 1520).
WINW: I call Patrick Barb a mythical owner for a reason. He basically ignored a flurry of FCC deadlines and correspondence. They sent a letter about his renewal problems to his Cuyahoga Falls P.O. Box, which he may not even have anymore (his request for an STA lists his Doylestown home address). The first attempt to resurrect the station was filed at the FCC by the LMA operator's attorney, with a small note from Patrick saying he was OK with it.
Unless two LMA operators who can actually afford to run the things show up, they're probably gone, or sold to an operator who buys them for basically pennies on the dollar...like has happened with some other small AMs in the region.
One of the two survives? Sure. Both? That's a tall order. And the only LMA operator that's run both stations...we have no idea what financial condition he's in, but locked and abandoned studios can't be a good sign.
As far as Ray Jeske goes, my guess is he doesn't feel he needs 900, or more accurately, needs to buy it. I don't know if he intends on permanently replacing that tower or not, and how that works with the FCC, and how much that'd cost him vs. buying a whole new station. (See above about "pennies on the dollar")
But with his regular facility, he still hits Canton, and Massillon is his financial base - he can serve it with either, and he's got a more powerful full time signal in Massillon on 990 than he would with 900.
Interesting idea, but I don't think he bites.
And don't forget, Cumulus is trying to sell the property at and around WINW's transmitter site. That flood-prone site is so unstable and unsafe (and has been pilfered for copper not once, but several times) it's in the buyer's best interest to redevelop the land and remove the towers completely.
When that should happen, WINW will likely be gone forever.
WINW is fraught with so many problems that it isn't worth reviving. At least WCER has a decent signal - not the best, but still a full-timer and can cover the metro.
When that should happen, WINW will likely be gone forever.
WINW is fraught with so many problems that it isn't worth reviving. At least WCER has a decent signal - not the best, but still a full-timer and can cover the metro.
I'm wondering...is there some way to resurrect WINW by diplexing it at a different site? The aforementioned issues would seemingly make it impossible to run it at Martindale, no matter what Mr. Barb has supposedly done to get a new transmitter or whatever else he's telling the FCC.
I don't know the engineering enough to know how possible it is to bring back 1520 at any other site. And there is, of course, the Heavily Directional Problem vis-a-vis Kaiser Bill's little automated talk AM in Kent...
I don't know the engineering enough to know how possible it is to bring back 1520 at any other site. And there is, of course, the Heavily Directional Problem vis-a-vis Kaiser Bill's little automated talk AM in Kent...
It's probably not worth it for WJMP to apply to the FCC to rework their day pattern....let out the deep null to the south (towards now dark WINW) and finally serve southern Portage County.
They might even get a super low-power night pattern (50 watts or so....just enough to cover COL in Kent).
But, probably not worth it $$$$-wise in 2011 on AM., but very possible from a technical standpoint.
They might even get a super low-power night pattern (50 watts or so....just enough to cover COL in Kent).
But, probably not worth it $$$$-wise in 2011 on AM., but very possible from a technical standpoint.
The whole idea of two 1520s only 34 miles apart was complete insanity to begin with. This, I understand, was originally supposed to be one station covering Akron-Canton, but political factions pulled strings and got two people licenses, which resulted in two crappy signal stations which beat against each other in many prime population locations.
WINW died a natural death, so let it be. Maybe The Kaiser will someday open up 1520's pattern, or sell it off to someone who will. No hurry, I suppose, since AM radio in general is in such bad shape. Maybe he could donate it to Kent State University, and they would open up the pattern for a news-oriented service.
WINW died a natural death, so let it be. Maybe The Kaiser will someday open up 1520's pattern, or sell it off to someone who will. No hurry, I suppose, since AM radio in general is in such bad shape. Maybe he could donate it to Kent State University, and they would open up the pattern for a news-oriented service.
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