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WFFG Silent notification

S

speer360

Found this rather funny and sad. A lot of effort to keep a station on air.

"In May 2018 a sailboat mast knocked out the power line supplying power to the uninhabited island in
Marathon (Boot Key Harbor), where WFFG’s tower and transmitter are located. As a result, licensee has
had to use a portable generator to operate the station. Operation in this manner requires personnel to
travel by boat to the island periodically to transport fuel and to refill the fuel tank the generator uses.
The licensee is unable to sustain the economic burden of operation in this manner, and accordingly,
suspended operation on May 26, 2023. Appropriate Special Temporary Authority is respectfully
requested."

Licensing and Management System

Licensing and Management System
enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov
 
WFFG has been dealing with this for some time, surprised they haven’t turned in the license. The station was news/talk/sports but the Keys has FM stations covering those formats now. Even if it could return back to full power, what could it do that’s worth it?
 
Any buyer of WFFG should make sure they own the transmitter site on Boot Key. For the reasons why, just take a look at what happened to the now deleted WKIZ Key West.
 
speer360 said:
the Daytime and Nighttime counters do cover Havana, might be some worth to some group for that reason.
Click to expand...
It does not really put a usable signal over La Habana... meaning that, by today's ITU standards, it does not have a 10 mV/m signal there. And were it to program towards Cuba, within less than a week the Cuban government would put some stations on 1300 and block it.
 
When I worked for then WTIR 1300, licensed to cocoa beach.. but studios in cocoa, just off W King, near the police station and WHKR 102.7 tower, 2 miles from the Merrit Island Bridge.. i went to cocoa Beach twice in the year I worked there.. and under WTIR each time was WFFG chattering away. Audible, but not intelligible. (This was back in 2005)
 
WFFG had a great signal in Havana. I have been to Havana 5 times and one of the stronger signals there as heard with my Sangean PR-D5.
One of their imaging messages said "from Homestead to Havana, WFFG"
 
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Working on Boot Key was always a hassle. The island had no drinking water or toilet facilities and a plethora of creepy crawlies plus rats, racoons and possums. It was about a 40 minute boat ride from Marathon to the dock on Boot Key. You had to take every tool and part you thought you would need or go back in the boat to get what you didn't bring.

If you had phone, air conditioning or power probem you had to make arrangements to meet the phone, AC or power company tech at the dock in Boot Key to transport them to Boot Key. We installed a new FM transmitter and it had to transported to the island in pieces.

More than a few times a storm would come up and we would be stuck on the island 'til the storm passed.

This is/was the only radio station, AM or FM, that covered all of the Keys.

Ah! The joys of a contract engineer.
 
Wow. Google Map that key. The bridge is out, the power lines are down and the transmitter site appears to be in the middle of a boat junkyard. And the station has been on for maybe 60 days total in the last 5 years. This is a turn-in if I have ever seen one. I'm surprised that the FCC hasn't pulled it already.
 
Boot Key bridge was turned over to the CIty of Marathon when they incorporated. Marathon did not want to spend money to maitain the bridge so they removed the draw section. There was also the thought they wanted the owners of Boot key to sell to the city at a low price. However, Marathon lost a multi-million dollar law suit brought by the owners for decreasing the value of their property.

The junk cars on the island were left there when the bridge was removed. Some of the junk boats were used by Cuban migrants and left on the island. Most of the other boats are just trash. If you look closely you can see the yellow submarine that is abandoned in one of the canals.
 
bigdonho said:
Boot Key bridge was turned over to the CIty of Marathon when they incorporated. Marathon did not want to spend money to maitain the bridge so they removed the draw section. There was also the thought they wanted the owners of Boot key to sell to the city at a low price. However, Marathon lost a multi-million dollar law suit brought by the owners for decreasing the value of their property.

The junk cars on the island were left there when the bridge was removed. Some of the junk boats were used by Cuban migrants and left on the island. Most of the other boats are just trash. If you look closely you can see the yellow submarine that is abandoned in one of the canals.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the background information.
 
DavidEduardo said:
It does not really put a usable signal over La Habana... meaning that, by today's ITU standards, it does not have a 10 mV/m signal there. And were it to program towards Cuba, within less than a week the Cuban government would put some stations on 1300 and block it.
Click to expand...
Sorry but again I disagree with you like in the past... When I lived in Havana I could perfectly hear WFFG 1300AM... even better than WKWF 1600. I found then WFFG a boring station... My favourites were on the FM band... But sometimes I listened to WKWF when they played good time oldies or big band music.... WKIZ instead was difficult or impossible to get... Probably due to low power and antenna radiation pattern... By the way I would love to get the gingles of WKIZ WKWF WEOW WFYN WAIL ..if someone one have them please!😁
Have a nice day all.
 
Iowacane said:
WFFG had a great signal in Havana. I have been to Havana 5 times and one of the stronger signals there as heard with my Sangean PR-D5.
One of their imaging messages said "from Homestead to Havana, WFFG"
Click to expand...
Fully Agree...
... When I lived in Havana I could perfectly hear WFFG 1300AM... even better than WKWF 1600.
 
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