For me, it was WNOP 740, Newport,KY in 1975 (it went beyond that year when I left, but not sure how long?) and WKRC 550, Cincinnati,OH in the fall of 1976. In the WKRC case, it was a new DA where the rules required it be manned 24/7 for 12 months before remote control was permitted. This was in the days of meter readings every 30 minutes...in this case, entered via a manual typewriter.
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When did you last see a manned AM or FM transmitter site?
- Thread starter BobOnTheJob
- Start date
WVLK AM/FM Lexington, KY transmitter site was manned twenty four hours a day until at least the late nineties. The FM automation was located at the AM transmitter site so the engineer maintained that, meter readings and pattern change. The FM moved downtown and soon after the site unmanned (or unwomaned, there were a couple of females through the years). I drove by the site last year only to find a fence blocking the driveway.
The last manned transmitter situation I personally worked with was WHBQ, Memphis in 1977. They had an overnight engineer at the transmitter site, and engineers on duty 24/7 taking readings. The jocks didn't touch a transmitter log at all. Across town, the WMPS overnight transmitter engineer, Harry Simpson, also doubled as DJ on the all night show. That situation was coming to an end around the time I went there in late 1977 as the reading reins were handed over to the jocks. CE Robert E. Knight was having to give crash 3rd phone courses to be sure everone got licensed.
Just this morning I was thinking that it has been decades since I worked at a station where the control room and transmitter were in the same building. I realized it was in fact the first station I worked for, WBAQ-FM in Greenville, MS in the early 70's.
Just this morning I was thinking that it has been decades since I worked at a station where the control room and transmitter were in the same building. I realized it was in fact the first station I worked for, WBAQ-FM in Greenville, MS in the early 70's.
While this person wasn't an engineer, the WCBS/WFAN transmitter site had a caretaker who actually LIVED at the site in a log cabin on High Island (the small island off City Island where the transmitter is located).
The position was eliminated in 2005 when the caretaker retired and moved off the island.
The position was eliminated in 2005 when the caretaker retired and moved off the island.
When I was CE for WGTO, Cypress Gardens, Florida (until 1982), I staffed the transmitter site during daytime 50kw operation.
The transmitters were remote controlled but the Florida thunderstorms could be quite wicked. An Engineer at the site was good insurance to prevent equipment damage due to lightning. When the storms got really bad, we would reduce transmitter power to avoid arc-overs in the transmission lines.
I can vividly recall the sound of the Johnny Ball insulators as they "snapped" as bad weather approached. This caused the MW50 transmitter to "burp" due to the VSWR.
During the dayime hours, we spent much of the time designing and building some of the on-air equipment and maintaining the 53 acre site.
The transmitters were remote controlled but the Florida thunderstorms could be quite wicked. An Engineer at the site was good insurance to prevent equipment damage due to lightning. When the storms got really bad, we would reduce transmitter power to avoid arc-overs in the transmission lines.
I can vividly recall the sound of the Johnny Ball insulators as they "snapped" as bad weather approached. This caused the MW50 transmitter to "burp" due to the VSWR.
During the dayime hours, we spent much of the time designing and building some of the on-air equipment and maintaining the 53 acre site.
In that case, WYGB Edinburgh,IN and W219DO Edinburgh,IN are manned as they are in my garage about 50' behind the house. Never thought of it that way!Scott Fybush said:
The old rule of being "manned" was an effort to ensure equipment and broadcasting stability. This is identical to another Indiana station.
To this end WBTO AM/FM Linton Indiana was co-located with the owner's house. Scheduled reel changes in breaks in evening tv programming. After an FCC inspection in the 1970's there was concern that the owner might be sleeping (gasp) while on duty. It was determined that manned didn't require the operator to be awake, just alive thank God! I can visualize all the co-located cemetary studio combinations.
WGBF Evansville Indiana was a 5kw DA and had the classic Collins Master Control console that passed audio still. In 1982 it was manned. Erwin Schoeny was an original employee from the 1920's, then in his 70's or 80's. He still worked there until the early 90's. The house in between the two self supporting radiators was the Chief's House and I left there in 1986. They went with part time Engineering after that.
The whole plant was designed by Staff, in a WW2 climate. No anything to buy so they made a wonderful open air feedline. 6 wires with a center wire serving as inner conductor. Posts at 8 feet held the menagerie (which was a wonder to behold when I first asked "what's that"?). You used a flourescent light bulb on day power to find any problems with the wires. It got brighter at desoldered "cracks".
This same staff was ESI later leaving to form...ERI. They built the first Indiana FM whcih had a channel designation, maybe CH 242. Then it moved from the Armstrong band to the current band as WMLL. This was the first FM in Indiana and it was on one of the AM radiators.
Most early radio stations were in the homes of amateur radio operators. This is really nothing new, just a memory of the past.
To this end WBTO AM/FM Linton Indiana was co-located with the owner's house. Scheduled reel changes in breaks in evening tv programming. After an FCC inspection in the 1970's there was concern that the owner might be sleeping (gasp) while on duty. It was determined that manned didn't require the operator to be awake, just alive thank God! I can visualize all the co-located cemetary studio combinations.
WGBF Evansville Indiana was a 5kw DA and had the classic Collins Master Control console that passed audio still. In 1982 it was manned. Erwin Schoeny was an original employee from the 1920's, then in his 70's or 80's. He still worked there until the early 90's. The house in between the two self supporting radiators was the Chief's House and I left there in 1986. They went with part time Engineering after that.
The whole plant was designed by Staff, in a WW2 climate. No anything to buy so they made a wonderful open air feedline. 6 wires with a center wire serving as inner conductor. Posts at 8 feet held the menagerie (which was a wonder to behold when I first asked "what's that"?). You used a flourescent light bulb on day power to find any problems with the wires. It got brighter at desoldered "cracks".
This same staff was ESI later leaving to form...ERI. They built the first Indiana FM whcih had a channel designation, maybe CH 242. Then it moved from the Armstrong band to the current band as WMLL. This was the first FM in Indiana and it was on one of the AM radiators.
Most early radio stations were in the homes of amateur radio operators. This is really nothing new, just a memory of the past.
K
kenglish
Guest
"When did you last see a manned AM or FM transmitter site?"
This morning, as I drove in and looked up at Farnsworth Peak ;D .
OK...it's a dozen or so FMs, a dozen or so TVs, and a few hundred assorted other things. But, it's manned 24/7, and has food, sleeping and living quarters, a water storage facility, and shop space. I think that KSTU-TV also mans their site, nearby.
This morning, as I drove in and looked up at Farnsworth Peak ;D .
OK...it's a dozen or so FMs, a dozen or so TVs, and a few hundred assorted other things. But, it's manned 24/7, and has food, sleeping and living quarters, a water storage facility, and shop space. I think that KSTU-TV also mans their site, nearby.
The Mt. Washington, New Hampshire transmitter site was manned until the TV station moved from the mountain. Engineers were prepared to live at the transmitter site during winter months. The TV station left in the early 2000's.
K
kenglish
Guest
frankberry said:
I got a little nostalgic just now, and looked at one of my bookmarks....
Does anybody else get goosebumps looking at the photos here?:
http://www.austin-insulators.com/radio/index.html
;D
(I can almost feel the static in the air.)
When I worked at WRSW AM-FM in Warsaw,IN between 1980 and 1985 the studio was at the transmitter building....three tower directional array for AM with the FM antenna mounted on the center tower. Made for some interesting times as I was News Director for part of the time and the newsroom had a large window looking into the transmitter room. Heard lots of snaps,crackles,and pops during thunderstorms each year...coming from the transmitter room.
Deer Point north of Boise stopped having a manned site when the last of the F Line transmitters were replaced. Think it was the early 80s. A few time a year we all wish there was still someone up there. With a couple feet of snow with drifting and the ski area gets shut down it can be impossible to get up there.
I can understand why Farnsworth is manned.
I can understand why Farnsworth is manned.
N
necrat123
Guest
radiorob2.0 said:
It still is, somewhat. The personnel who man the observatory are taught some of the basics of how to operate the FM transmitters so that the contract engineer for the site can talk them through resetting /operating on the phone. Has to be a land line phone, however, as there is no cell service on the top there. (except for spots where you can hit cell towers in Quebec , can anyone say "international roaming").
wgliradio said:
Having been assigned to tours at the transmitter back in the early 80's during the rebuild for WNBC Radio, I recall the caretaker, Tom and his wife lived in a log cabin on the island and told me a story about the time an airplane hit the tower, causing it to collapse. He said you could hear the insulators on the guy wires whistling around as they swung through the air.
WCBS (which shared half the building and tower with us )had a fulltime transmitter operator there during the day, Monday through Friday; and WNBC Radio likewise had one or two operators on during the day during the rebuild phase which lasted around 1-2 years.
On a sidenote; John Martin, a former NBC Radio engineer, if memory serves me correct, used to work at WDEE in Detroit, which had a twelve tower array at that time and while they were combo in the studios, they maintained a staff of transmitter engineers to attend to the transmitters. I recall him telling me that it was very tough to do base current readings during the winter time as the furthest tower was over a quarter mile from the transmitter building..it really got cold out there with the wind whipping around.
The last manned transmitter site I saw was WKOK AM in Sunbury, PA. back in the late 60's. You walked into the building and there it was this beautiful 10Kw "toaster". The engineers had it shined to the hilt not a spec of dust to be found anywhere. For a young DJ, with an inetrest in equipment it was quite a sight!
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