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WICC now ABC News

WICC got rid of the wire antenna a LONG time ago! (50's or 60's) They've been using the two self-supporting towers on Pleasure Beach Island for quite some time. (It is a DA) Their ground system is LI Sound... so naturally, they get out like gangbusters!

I don't know the details, but they lost a very good Engineer a couple of years ago, and I suppose serious budget problems at HQ have hindered their current Engineer.

I remember WICC in its heyday... with Big Al Warren in the mornings, and Frank Derak in the evenings. Good times, some good music, and VERY GOOD RADIO.

I remember visiting the station, and even did a 2-year stint there while in high school, with Junior Achievement. It was a vibrant place... a full news staff, 24/7 activity, etc. Now, for the most part, it's just a cold, empty studio and a satellite dish. The end of an era. :'(
 
A litlle late but---


WICC 600 seemed famous for its dynamite signal.


I am not sure anymore. I live in the next town. (Fairfield)


Even in Bridgeport one can often listen to 590/610 with no splatter. Maybe a cleaner signal.(??)


By looking at charts such as that radio-locator web site WICC seems to be dong as good as the chart would suggest. -- BUT -- in older says driving around WICC would be booming in say in Poughkeepsie,NY or outside of Scranton,PA.(nights on latter)

All over the signal would be impressive.


Now ?? In driving down rt-8 if lucky WICC becomes interference free maybe in Ansonia. (nights) Interference ? Cuba. Danbury not much of a signal nights.

I even have an old QSL from WICC that crosses out 500 watts night and has 1000 filled in.


I can not ramble forever but it could be my imagination that the signal is not like the days of old. Maybe they are saving electricity ?
 
Well their current night time power is listed as 500 watts night time at radio-locator.
Was there a time when they were running 1000 at night?
If there was a time they were being heard "booming in...outside of Scranton",
that really would surprise me if all they ever ran at night was 500 watts.
 
@Zenith: According to the Vane Jones Radio Radio-TV Station Guides, WICC has been 100 watts day / 500 watts nights at least since 1958. This would make sense since their backup transmitter, a mid-60's vintage Gates, is a 1 kilowatt transmitter. It also makes sense that they have different power levels since they're directional. I don't know how this was handled when they have the wire antenna strung between the two towers in the 60's.

It was noted that one of the Jones' edition incorrectly states WICC's power as 5000/1000 day night power.

Some time ago I was coming back from another broadcaster's studio in Poughkeepsie and WICC's signal was pretty listenable, although I noticed some real interference from Cuba in the past. I haven't noticed it lately but I pretty much listen to 880 now since you can never get a traffic report in the middle of WICC's sydicated programming - dreadful!
 
Paul Thurst has been the contract engineer for Cumulus Bridgeport for at leaset a few years now. If you head to his site at engineeringradio.us and search for WICC, he's got some great technical blog posts about the station.

Reduced reception is a combination of factors: Aging transmission facilities, lesser quality modern radios, increased man-made noise.
 
Bill DeFelice said:
@Zenith: According to the Vane Jones Radio Radio-TV Station Guides, WICC has been 100 watts day / 500 watts nights at least since 1958.
Click to expand...

Darn typo! That should be 1000 watts day / 500 night
 
I remember being able to hear WICC all the way up in Lakeville CT as a kid! When we'd visit my grandparents up there, I could still listen to it in the daytime. I have been up that way to visit my cousins, but haven't tried that lately. My current car radio has THE WORST antenna EVER!! (Built-in to the rear window! UGH!!)
 
Aging transmission facilities...elaboration !!!


I just sense their signal is not what it used to be.


Oddity. I posted my last comments after a drive from Torrington to Fairfield in wee hours.(1am-5am,etc.)

WICC not very listenable until one reached Ansonia area. 500 watts north ?

Tonight I had to repeat my trek and WICC was listenable in Torrington (despite WSNG 610) and all the way south and kinda strong in Waterbuiry area. hmm it must be ground wave and Cuba seemed not a factor both nights.

So the difference in one night and the next..(save electricity?)


I am aware how bad radios can be these days. I still demand a sensitive car radio !!


WICC had a 5kw permit once but I think the tale was that 600 somewhere? made a stink and they would have had to direct most the signal into the ocean and get another tower and it never happened.

Cuba was making big radio problems back during certain years.(forget) I know the person at WICC would turn up the night power to try to combat the interference at times. At least verbally told so. Somebody get in trouble? This was 300 years ago.

Look at FCC site. WICC can't broadcast because of Cuba ?

The way things are going some morning 600 might be Spanish or religious. (??) (no offense)


Otherwise I hate to see a station with a good antenna set-up go to waste.
 
shepaug said:
WICC had a 5kw permit once but I think the tale was that 600 somewhere? made a stink and they would have had to direct most the signal into the ocean and get another tower and it never happened.
Click to expand...

There was a CP to increase to 5kW. It would have involved 2 additional towers, forming a parallelogram. The major lobe would have been to the southeast, over Long Island Sound and to eastern Long Island. The minor lobe is what would have covered Bridgeport and surrounding area. This minor lobe would have been LESS than the current 1kW major lobe. Fortunately, common sense prevailed.
 
shepaug said:
Aging transmission facilities...elaboration !!!


I just sense their signal is not what it used to be.


Oddity. I posted my last comments after a drive from Torrington to Fairfield in wee hours.(1am-5am,etc.)

WICC not very listenable until one reached Ansonia area. 500 watts north ?

Tonight I had to repeat my trek and WICC was listenable in Torrington (despite WSNG 610) and all the way south and kinda strong in Waterbuiry area. hmm it must be ground wave and Cuba seemed not a factor both nights.

So the difference in one night and the next..(save electricity?)


I am aware how bad radios can be these days. I still demand a sensitive car radio !!


WICC had a 5kw permit once but I think the tale was that 600 somewhere? made a stink and they would have had to direct most the signal into the ocean and get another tower and it never happened.

Cuba was making big radio problems back during certain years.(forget) I know the person at WICC would turn up the night power to try to combat the interference at times. At least verbally told so. Somebody get in trouble? This was 300 years ago.

Look at FCC site. WICC can't broadcast because of Cuba ?

The way things are going some morning 600 might be Spanish or religious. (??) (no offense)


Otherwise I hate to see a station with a good antenna set-up go to waste.
Click to expand...

First of all, atmospheric conditions can effect what you hear night to night and day to day.

Various technical issues that can effect an AM station:

-Directional pattern out of whack
-Monitoring equipment not calibrated or malfunctioning
-Ground system deterioration, or a missing ground system altogether
-Inefficient or malfunctioning transmitters
-NRSC, since '89 stations are limited to 10.2 khz audio bandwidth, down from 15 khz
-HD Radio
-bad recievers

Tiny little problems that aren't noticeable in several components can add up.
 
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