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WGTO/WFLF 540 Reception

S

Schroedingers Cat

Has anyone else in the Great Lakes area heard WFLF 540 from Cypress Gardens/Pine Hills, FL since CBEF moved to 1550?

I found a picture that had a street sign that read "WGTO Tower Rd." but I couldn't get a link that worked. I fairly recently got a haircut from a barber who once worked there.
 
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I was the Chief Engineer for WGTO (now WFLF). Their transmitter was located at the end of the WGTO Tower Road but has since moved two or three times. Back in the early 80's, I was able to receive WGTO in the woods of northern Clare County, MI, in the evening just before power/pattern change.
 
WFLF 540 would be a great catch. Would that even be possible up here in the Detroit Area? I used to pick up CBK but lately they’re a no show these days. Frankberry, you used to be Chief Engineer at WFLF (WGTO) how many towers in their array? just curious because I heard they had a strange pattern during the Daytime.
 
Kevin said:
WFLF 540 would be a great catch. Would that even be possible up here in the Detroit Area? I used to pick up CBK but lately they’re a no show these days. Frankberry, you used to be Chief Engineer at WFLF (WGTO) how many towers in their array? just curious because I heard they had a strange pattern during the Daytime.
Click to expand...
Back at the Cypress Gardens WGTO facility the signal around sunset in Cleveland, OH, was very often totally listenable... not as DX but as a distant reception choice. Of course, that was in the 60's!

For many, it was the easiest FL catch... that and The Big Ape at sunset.
 
I don't remember ever having any luck with WGTO in my Ohio days. I've seldom caught the present-day WFLF in East Tennessee, though WOKV on 690 is regular at sunrise and sunset.
 
Per Radio Locator, the present WFLF facility is six towers day and night with different patterns. The day pattern is an east-west configuration while the night pattern aims east out over the Atlantic. I have never logged this station in the Kansas City area.

Bob
 
Originally, 540, WGTO had 10kW into a two tower directional array. In 1958, the station upgraded to 50kW into a four tower array. Until the early 70's, they were required to operate at 10kW reduced power into the original two tower array during critical hours (the first and last two hours of daytime hours). The present WFLF day and night patterns are far tighter than the original WGTO patterns. It's doubtful that DXing of the station is possible.
 
I think I heard WFLF while it was on Daytime. During the Winter, I think Sunset is later further South, but it's dark already on my end. The Sunset time for WARD 750 is about a half hour earlier than WNDZ 750.
 
I'm curious, did WHGR 1290 come in in Northern Clare County, frank? And David said he could hear it quite well in Leelanau county, and someone here or elsewhere was speculating that they were on Night pattern during the Day. Not that that would interfere with anyone, it wouldn't. Maybe they thought it was useless to try to compete with anything to the South?
 
Schroedingers Cat said:
I'm curious, did WHGR 1290 come in in Northern Clare County, frank? And David said he could hear it quite well in Leelanau county, and someone here or elsewhere was speculating that they were on Night pattern during the Day. Not that that would interfere with anyone, it wouldn't. Maybe they thought it was useless to try to compete with anything to the South?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure. Wish I could answer your question.
 
Schroedingers Cat said:
Has anyone else in the Great Lakes area heard WFLF 540 from Cypress Gardens/Pine Hills, FL since CBEF moved to 1550?

I found a picture that had a street sign that read "WGTO Tower Rd." but I couldn't get a link that worked. I fairly recently got a haircut from a barber who once worked there.
Click to expand...
This is probably the photo that you saw. I took the photo in 2006.
The photo and others that I shot are posted on this website:
 

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