WGUN call letters

[jabba17]

WGUN sounds great during CH in Gwinnett (albeit with 45k), all the way to powerdown. Better than anyone on the AM dial except You Know Who, and better than WGST, WQXI, and even WCNN and WDUN (YMMV).

 

[taylorengineer]

The power increase for critical hours, from 10 KW to 45 KW, did help. On the west side of town the station went away during winter month critical hours at 10 KW. We have not had a chance to listen at 45 KW during winter months - those are the worst months for skywave. I would have to believe a 6db increase in power will be noticeable!

 

[amlover]

During my time at WGUN I encouraged Georgia Salva (Rivers) to do a progressive/liberal talk format. Mike Malloy lives right around the corner from the studio.....there's a huge hole in this market for a well done liberal talker (although progressive talk will never get Rush/Hannitty/Boortz league numbers.) Bill and Gill (1690 khz Air America owners) got respectable numbers with the Air America format - the kind you can actually sell because they had decent demos at 1690 khz. And they never did a penny of advertising or promotion. But Air America was a media darling.....it got plenty of free promotion by the established national media.....so it had that advantage. A new effort, unless someone like Al Franken gets on board, will take considerably more effort to promote.
The 1010 signal is very strong in midtown and inside I-285.....even the pea-whistle night signal could cover Decatur and midtown.....areas where many liberal listeners live. It's another idea which would work.......BUT!
The "BUT" is you still have capital investment up front which the Rivers family has historically NEVER been willing to make. All this "night signal" talk is just that.....talk! When they get a look at what it will take to go 25,000 watts - even if they diplex on another station's sticks - their eyes are gonna' glaze over. It will cost in the hundreds of thousands.....maybe in the millions to make that happen.
Even with a "decent" night signal, the most important part of the formula is the advertising campaign to let people know what you're doing. This is where WGUN could actually do themselves some good - invest in some well placed billboards and a few gorilla marketing experts. A couple of good "Rainmakers" will cost you a quarter million yearly but could, in the long term, create some lasting value for the property.
Good idea, Jabba about doing liberal talk! This idea would also allow them to keep their brokered programming - the health and nutrition shows . The audiences for health and liberal talk would mesh nicely.
Maybe a staff person at WGUN will read this and try to steer WGUN in a more promising direction.

Tom you have some great idea's on programing for sure so we will see where all this goes for 1010. Rex Rivers is a terrific guy and only wants the best for the station.

 

[FLjack2]

Here are all the stations on 1010AM

It's 3 "pages" worth

http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/fi...is_unl=Y&is_ful=Y&is_lp=Y&sort=Call&sr=1&sid=

 

[secondchoice]

Would something like the Jacksonville FL 1010 night pattern from Douglas County or somewhere west out near I 20 cover most of the market?

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WJXL&service=AM&status=L&hours=N

The soil issue might mean 50 KW in a little tighter pattern to cover the COL of Atlanta. I sure one the engineers that lurk this site could figure something that will cover most of the market at night. With WFGW giving up their 500 watt night time service,

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WFGW&service=AM&status=L&hours=N

Could this make WGUN's nighttime interference to US stations less of an issue? This could mean fewer towers, less land and simpler (relatively speaking) equipment. Of course the Canada protection is a given. If the site is west of Atlanta, and the night time signal could cover all of I 575 then Gwinnett would be totally covered at night.

 

[taylorengineer]

I had mentioned the 1520 Douglasville site in an earlier post as a possibility.
The pattern would be rather restricted - it would be more like the Jacksonville 690 khz pattern - what's refered to as a "pencil pattern." You could put a rather intense signal in this narrow lobe which would cover most of inside I-285 and a good portion of Dekalb County relatively interference free. I just don't see how you could relax the pattern enough to cover the northside.....remembering the high interference level that must be overcome.
The only way I can see northside coverage is to locate northeast of Atlanta and shoot southwest. Even then, the interference levels are going to be an issue.

 

[jabba17]

What if you used WDWD's array and a similar pattern:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=wdwd

Is there anyone to the east that would need to be protected?

 

[artsutton]

What if you used WDWD's array and a similar pattern:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=wdwd

Is there anyone to the east that would need to be protected?

It would take at least six, maybe 8 towers to have any appreciable power. The openings are almost due east to avoid two stations in Florida and not overlap with WINS in NYC. Have to be really tight pattern. You could also shoot a very tight lobe to the south southwest but you have to make sure you dont overlap with WMOX 1KW DAN 1010 in Meridian MS.

I don't know if you could locate the towers close enough to put the required Interference Free Contour over Decatur and still be far enough out to cover anything.

Plus, there is simply not enough land you can buy and get ZONED for towers any where around Atlanta. Ask the folks who tried to get some approved for 830.

That being said, the money would be better spent on buying a FM translator and upgrading it. WSB going FM has drained ten years off the life of every AM in North Ga. Understand why they did...hate it happened.

 

[secondchoice]

If there is a FM translator or regular FM station available, FM is the way to go. I think most of these have been gobbled up by Cumulus or Cox. IIRC WINS is a class B so if your signal stays south of Charlotte NC at night, you are not going to cause any more interference than WFGW caused with their nighttime service. If you LMA it to CBS they might even agree to the signal slipping a little farther north. I do not know if the tower array at WDWD will allow more signal due East. You have to cover all of Douglas, Fulton, Cobb, Dekalb, Gwinnett, at least Canton, and the counties adjoining 285 south of I 20. The land issue is not as big of a problem as a couple of years ago. There are several bank owned parcels some of which are zoned for commercial development. The NIMBY's might like a very low traffic use of this land rather than another Walmart or Mall. The towers could even be "hidden" by using the "tree" cell tower design. I remember reading somewhere, there is a guy in FL. that has a "short tower" (less than 40 ft) system. This is not going to be cheap but hopefully WGUN can get something going quickly that will pay off in less than 5 years. I hope WGUN will have a better nighttime coverage than 790, 680, or 640 AM.

 

[buddysomeday]

I have heard from a very reliable source, someone who works at the station, that WGUN will have new call letters soon. They want to get away from the "gun" as it relates to violence, and this will be an all music station by the end of September, with maybe old AT 40 shows. And they are also applying to be 25 k directional at night. No more gospel........................ ;D 8)

Makes sense, remember the NBA's Washington Bullets’ changed to the Wizards for the same reason.

 

[taylorengineer]

FM translators are hard to come by around Atlanta. Most of the big guys are drawing circles every day trying to figure out a way to sneak another one in. That's not to say it could not be pulled off but it would take some ingenuity and $$$. Radio Training Network, parent company of J93, has a few but those guys are too smart to just give them away.
Reality check time.
1. They are not going to get a 25 kw night signal without a HUGE capital investment.
2. Even if they get a night signal......how will they make a return on investment?
3. FM translator not impossible but highly unlikely. That was Georgia's plan when she first took over operations a couple of years ago.....back when it could actually be done. Rumor was that she couldn't get enough $$$ to put together a deal. The time is probably past to put a deal together - too many other interested parties.
4. We are back to putting together a plan to develop a daytimer and an audience. It has been done before - it can be done again. But we are not talking about a mass appeal station - we're talking about finding a niche and superserving it.

 

[lilburncommunityradio]

Taylorengineer wins hands down.. NOTHING he has stated is in any way WRONG ! The station holds a special place in my heart for many reasons.. WGUN letters are legendary if for nothing more, they have been in place since my entry into the planet! Tom your ideas are great ones.. i dont see a all music format working , BUT we will see what time brings to the commercial table!
Still need to get together for lunch someday sir Tom!

 

[taylorengineer]

Taylorengineer wins hands down.. NOTHING he has stated is in any way WRONG ! The station holds a special place in my heart for many reasons.. WGUN letters are legendary if for nothing more, they have been in place since my entry into the planet! Tom your ideas are great ones.. i dont see a all music format working , BUT we will see what time brings to the commercial table!
Still need to get together for lunch someday sir Tom!

We need to get Capt'n Herb and go to that Yellow Jacket BBQ place on Thorton Rd. he is always hangin' out at......and tell some good Lil' George Purdy and "New-gene" stories. I wonder if Marvin's Fruit Stand is still there.......

 

[DToTheJ]

Parroting buddysomeday on the previous page of this thread...

I have heard from a very reliable source, someone who works at the station, that WGUN will have new call letters soon. They want to get away from the "gun" as it relates to violence...

I believe this is why the NBA's Washington Bullets dropped that identity in favor of their current incarnation as the Wizards. If they really wanted to eliminate the part of their name that related to violence, they should have just changed their name to "the Bullets." ;D

 

[lilburncommunityradio]

We need to get Capt'n Herb and go to that Yellow Jacket BBQ place on Thorton Rd. he is always hangin' out at......and tell some good Lil' George Purdy and "New-gene" stories. I wonder if Marvin's Fruit Stand is still there.......
[/quote]

It doesnt matter where, but we need to get together and have some stories and laughs.. talk about the good ole days, pre grey hair, or in my case when I had hair ! LOL