• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

WCTA 810AM Alamo,TN Dark?

anotherguy said:
I think it was brought up earlier that the owner in Chattanooga was a lawyer and that they may be keeping the station on as a tax writeoff, so I wonder if they really know or care that the license has expired.
Click to expand...
He was the one whom I emailed about the station back in 2017 or so. I could not find that information from back earlier in this thread, but I was able to track it down in messages that you and I exchanged at the time. Apparently, I never posted about it here.
I'm guessing everything is automated, but somehow the timing is off on the equipment, which is what is causing the station to be running illegally into the night. I saw lights on in the building a few times but nobody there at the time except for the first time I talked to someone (Dave Colvett I think) when they first came back on in 2012.
Click to expand...
Dave was their engineer who died (according to a funeral home announcement that I found) on May 7, 2016. I also had that information (and link to funeral home website) in messages that I sent to you, but apparently never posted about it here. I'm not clear on why he moved to Missouri, or if he continued on as their engineer after moving there. (Apparently he did.) Then the question becomes why he continued as their engineer after moving away. Granted, he wouldn't have had much to do, unless they were coming back on. And they have apparently never seen the need to hire another engineer.
 
AMFMKYTN,
You might have missed it earlier, but where do you live? I'm just curious about how far out the signal is reaching at night. I've picked up at Humboldt and the northern outskirts of Jackson. Thanks.
 
The station has been off the air completely in recent weeks. I don't know if the FCC finally put a stop to it, the owners realized they were running illegally now, or if this is another sporadic down period and they'll be back later.
 
It's been close to a year since I last heard WCTA on for any period so I guess it's safe to say they're off permanently. I could say rest in peace but they should have been off for the past 13+ years instead of the lame way they came back on the air, when they were on.
 
This thread got bumped, so needless to say, I figured that someone was trying to say that they were back on! Fortunately, that is not (apparently) the case. For the family of the owner to try to keep it on for all those years after his passing was only an affront to his memory.

I also couldn't find anything about them on radio-locator.com not too long ago.

We should now probably let this thread die, as well. It served its purpose for us quite nicely.
 
Although WCTA appears to finally be done and gone, there's still an obligation when it comes to tower painting and lighting. The tower furthest from the street has a top beacon, as well as lighting about halfway up. I haven't been to Alamo at night to check, but I wonder if the lighting is even operational these days.

The attached pic is of the transmitter site from the street from several years ago.
 

Attachments

  • WCTA Alamo.jpg
    WCTA Alamo.jpg
    320 KB · Views: 18
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom