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WCRN Website gone

M

magpie

Guest
went to http://www.wcrnradio.com/ @9pm tonight it's not there and the page says the domain name has expired!
HOLY MOLY! Their website is GONE!

What is happening over there? Interesting.
 
Mike Roberts did their website and he's no longer with the station. The site was wcrnradio.com but I
think technically it was something like http://mikerobertswebdesign.com/wcrn

we'll see how long it takes them to get a new site

I did a WHOIS search and it's supposed to expire next year
wcrnradio.com
Updated Date: 20-jul-2008
Creation Date: 19-jul-2002
Expiration Date: 19-jul-2009

Allegedly it's owned by "Carter Broadcasting" of Park Plaza, Boston
---UPDATE:
GoDaddy's WHOIS said that it expires next year. Namesecure's WHOIS says
"Record expires on 19-Jul-2008.
Record created on 19-Jul-2002."

It's possible the domain name expired but it was just renewed for another year at the last minute
and it still needs to be updated/propagated
 
GovtMule1979 said:
I didn't know they had the internet out in Worcester...maybe they're having dial up problems.
Click to expand...

I just went on their website (and yes they have the internet out in Worcester, highspeed no less) and it now says a new website is under construction.

http://www.wcrnradio.com/

"As we get settled into our new downtown studios, we are also building a new and exciting website for True Talk AM 830."
 
raccoonradio said:
ah! And the address given on the WHOIS says "Park Plaza" so I'm guessing by downtown
they mean Boston & not Worc..!
Click to expand...

Not Boston, downtown Worcester it is. Their new studios are across from Worcester Common at 82 Franklin Street.
 
raccoonradio said:
Oh OK! The WHOIS said Park Plaza in Boston so I thought it referred to studio loc too!
Click to expand...


Often times the WHOIS info just reflects the company headquarters and not the actual location of the station.
 
I was on the Pike heading to see some friends out in the Sturbridge area, so I tuned into WCRN 830 yesterday. For a 50,000 W station, it sounded like a high school production. I heard the station randomly cut out two times, while Peter Blute's fill in was in the middle of a point. They would play bad jingle music then he'd come right back and say his name so fast I couldn't understand it and then talk like there was no interuption. It is a minor league station.
 
I think market size has a lot to do with it. Plus the company is family owned. It almost seems like the closest you are going to get to "WKRP in Cincinnati" in the year 2008. Some quirky programming that might sound screwy on occasion. They've lucked out in getting a kick ass signal though. I don't think you'll find such a small market station (Rank 112) anywhere in the nation with such great signal coverage. They reach all 6 New England states and even parts of New York!

Sadly you don't have to travel far from Worcester before the majority of people will tell you that they've never even heard of WCRN. This tells me that they need much better promotion to really take advantage of that Powerhouse signal that they have. I would be proud to work at this station based on their signal alone. But you are right. A few things are a bit off. I've heard them too. However just a few small adjustments could make a world of difference for them.
 
Skynet74 said:
They've lucked out in getting a kick ass signal though. I don't think you'll find such a small market station (Rank 112) anywhere in the nation with such great signal coverage. They reach all 6 New England states and even parts of New York!

I've heard them too. However just a few small adjustments could make a world of difference for them.
Click to expand...

Well, there are dozens of 50 kW AMs in communities with smaller populations than Worcester, but nearly all operate at night at considerably lower power than WCRN's 50 kW. Also WCRN benefits from the demise (on the AM band) of co-channel CFJR Brockville ON. Like all dark Canadian AMs, CFJR remains notified to the US and so continues to enter into WCRN's calculated NIF value of 10.<something> mV/m. But in fact, because there is no CFJR, WCRN's real NIF is a lot lower.

Programming-wise, the best thing that WCRN could do is move that execrable mortgage program (leased time) to, say, 3:00AM. Very few programs on commercial stations anywhere could possibly sound worse! Having it on right in the middle of the day must drive away anyone who might be listening. I sure hope that the company that buys the time for that show is paying WCRN through the nose because it's hard to imagine that the station doesn't lose a lot of listeners and hence a lot of ad $$$ because of the audience it drives away.
 
Well, there are dozens of 50 kW AMs in communities with smaller populations than Worcester.

---------------

There is? Where are they? I seriously didn't think there were any in smaller markets. Can you give me a list please. Thanks.
 
I poked around and found some...I'm sure there must be more. All are licensed to markets smaller than Worcester AFAIK. Any corrections or additions would be appreciated.

KTNN Window Rock, AZ
KRVN Lexington, NE
KCKN Roswell, NM
KTWO Casper, WY
KXEL Waterloo, IA
WCMA Daleville, AL-daytimer reported to be dark
KMIK Tempe, AZ
WWVA Wheeling, WV
KWKH Shreveport, LA
KCTA Corpus Christi, TX
KPNW Eugene, OR
 
NHRadio said:
I poked around and found some...I'm sure there must be more. All are licensed to markets smaller than Worcester AFAIK. Any corrections or additions would be appreciated.

KTNN Window Rock, AZ
KRVN Lexington, NE
KCKN Roswell, NM
KTWO Casper, WY
KXEL Waterloo, IA
WCMA Daleville, AL-daytimer reported to be dark
KMIK Tempe, AZ
WWVA Wheeling, WV
KWKH Shreveport, LA
KCTA Corpus Christi, TX
KPNW Eugene, OR
Click to expand...

Thanks for the list. I don't think any of these stations reach markets as large as Boston though. So that's one plus that WCRN has going for it.
 
Skynet74 said:
Well, there are dozens of 50 kW AMs in communities with smaller populations than Worcester.

---------------

There is? Where are they? I seriously didn't think there were any in smaller markets. Can you give me a list please. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I can't begin to name even a small fraction of them, but there are two or three AMs in Mississippi that have been 50 kW-D (and as little as 250W-N) for nearly half a century. With the breakdown of the clear channels (especially the 1A clear channels) Florida has picked up quite a few 50 kW AMs and a lot of them are not in the major cities. That is, they are inland in central and northern FL. Few if any are 50 kW at night, though. The same is true in GA, AL, and SC, although SC's 50 kW AMs are mostly, if not all, daytimers. There are a lot of high-powered (by day, anyhow) AMs in TX and AZ and many are not located in the major ciities, although the area around Dallas has several AMs (not necessarily 50 kW either) that, though licensed to communities as many as 70 miles from Dallas or Fort Worth, claim to serve the Dallas metroplex. This is possible because to the dynamite soil conductivity in the area.

Several of the 50 kW AMs that went on the air in the late '60s or thereabouts, when the FCC opened up half of the 1A channels to full-time secondary stations (then called Class IIAs--now just plain old Class Bs), are licensed to some of the smallest communities in the US to have high-powered AM signals. For example, Lexington NE is home to 50 kW KRVN 880. Kalispell MT is home to 50 kW-D/10 kW-N KOFI. The legendary 50-kW-U KBOI 670 is licensed to Boise, which by now might be more populous than Worcester, but almost certainly was not when KBOI increased to 50 kW. Heck, WOWO, which used to be 50 kW-U but now is 50 kW-D/9.8 kW-N, increased to 50 kW shortly after World War II. At the time, Fort Wayne was smaller than Worcester and it probably remains so to this day.
 
NHRadio said:
I poked around and found some...I'm sure there must be more. All are licensed to markets smaller than Worcester AFAIK. Any corrections or additions would be appreciated.

KTNN Window Rock, AZ
KRVN Lexington, NE
KCKN Roswell, NM
KTWO Casper, WY
KXEL Waterloo, IA
WCMA Daleville, AL-daytimer reported to be dark
KMIK Tempe, AZ
WWVA Wheeling, WV
KWKH Shreveport, LA
KCTA Corpus Christi, TX
KPNW Eugene, OR
Click to expand...
Good list! KXEL, WWVA, and KWKH care all Class A AMs! KRVN, KCKN, KTWO, and KPNW are all ex-Class IIAs. KTNN, which is 50 kW-U on 660, should have been a IIA, but I don't think it ever was--maybe because the co-channel Class 1A station in New York was owned by RCA, which may have pressured the FCC not to assign a IIA to 660. KCTA is on 1030 and had a long and interesting history with WBZ. I remember back in the 40s when Westinghouse was trying to get the station (then KWBU) to sign off at Boston sunset (3:15PM in December in Corpus Christi). KCTA remained a daytimer until (I'd guess) about 10 years ago, when it finally got nighttime authority, although I note that KCTA is now again listed as a 50 kW ND daytimer, so maybe it never built the night CP. Maybe it ran into some problem with nearby Mexico, which has at least one Class A AM on 1030.

Oh, and talking about small-town 50 kW stations on 1030. don't forget the daytimer in Indian Head MD! Indian Head is about 40 miles south of DC and the station tries to serve DC.
 
I tried listening to the WCRN Red Sox broadcast while on route 395 in Webster Friday evening about 7:30pm. The signal sounded awful, like it was on reduced power. It was actually unlistenable. I flipped to the lower-powered 1440 AM for comparison and their signal sounded about the same as WCRN. Even with a nighttime direction switch, shouldn't I have gotten better reception on 830 AM in Webster?. Are they having problems? What time is local sundown in the month of July for Worcester county? Also, I wonder if they are in financial trouble and that's why Roberts is out. Did he leave or was he let go?
 
exxear said:
I tried listening to the WCRN Red Sox broadcast while on route 395 in Webster Friday evening about 7:30pm. The signal sounded awful, like it was on reduced power. It was actually unlistenable. I flipped to the lower-powered 1440 AM for comparison and their signal sounded about the same as WCRN. Even with a nighttime direction switch, shouldn't I have gotten better reception on 830 AM in Webster?. Are they having problems? What time is local sundown in the month of July for Worcester county? Also, I wonder if they are in financial trouble and that's why Roberts is out. Did he leave or was he let go?
Click to expand...

Using WGFP's location as a proxy for Webster, WCRN's night signal in Webster is the equivalent of close to 50 kW ND; the daytime signal is equivalent to about 15 kW ND. The distance from WCRN to WGFP is 14.2 miles, so the signal in Webster ought to be quite good day or night. WCRN does have quite a phasing problem (skywave interfering with groundwave), which can make the signal sound like bad short-wave reception. But 14 miles is a bit close to the transmitter for that problem to be very troublesome.
 
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