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Willcox FM moving to Tucson soon.

C

caveman-97

Guest
About three weeks ago KWCX in Willcox went off the air. The owners have a construction permit to move the station on 104.9 from Willcox to serve the non-existent community of Tanque Verde. If the Town of Tanque Verde existed it would be found along Tanque Verde Road just east of the Tucson City Limits. Of course, serving Tanque Verde is the last thing on their minds as the predicted contour includes nearly all of Tucson. Why the FCC approves such nonsense is hard to say.

The Construction Permit calls for the transmitter to be located in the Coronado National Forest at about the 4,000 foot level. The station is owned by the same folks who own the Spanish station on 105.3.

As soon as this new station goes on the air, Journal's sports talk translator on 104.9 must go silent though I doubt if anyone will miss it.
Any guesses about what the new 104.9 will program?

Ted Tucker also has permission to move his Sierra Vista station to serve the vast Tanque Verde market but that's another story.
 
The FCC looks for such things as a local government (not necessary but nice), post office, significant population per the census and businesses. It's been a few years since I lived in Tucson, but I seem to remember business and maybe even a post office in that area. 16 thousand plus population seems like enough to satisify the Feds. It's a rimshot setup. Common all over. We have stations here licensed to North Las Vegas, Henderson, Meadview and several tiny places outside Las Vegas that serve this area. I find that more honest than a 100 KW station licensed 50 miles away putting a 1000 foot tower half way to the big city and a high power booster in the big city. We've got one of those in Mesquite/Las Vegas
 
I grew up in Tucson in the 50's and clearly remember passing through Tanque Verde on my way to the recreation spots in Sabino Canyon and Mt. Lemmon. In those days there was a golf course and a little row of businesses along Tanque Verde Road. As Tucson grew the golf course disappeared and houses and more businesses appeared. As early as the late 50's it was joined to the eastern part of Tucson and AFAIK has never been considered a separate community (at least not in the modern era). Residents who lived in Tanque Verde and beyond (along the Mt. Lemmon Highway) had a Tucson address.

If you asked the residents of Tucson they would most likely be unanimous in their opinion that the Tanque Verde area has always been an integral part of the City of Tucson (although perhaps not legally so).
 
bilco said:
The FCC looks for such things as a local government (not necessary but nice), post office, significant population per the census and businesses.
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The FCC is rather inconsistent with this. Gluckstadt, MS, an unincorporated community, is the city of license for 101.7 FM, which covers the nearby Jackson market. Gluckstadt was nothing more than a mere dot on the map. However, when WWWQ Atlanta wanted to use Sandy Springs as a city of license a decade ago, it was denied because it was unincorporated at the time and ended up using College Park. Mind you that Sandy Springs has more than 80K people and I'm sure they had a post office.
 
The only government entity that uses the name "Tanque Verde" is the TV school district. The term, though, is well-known to mean the northeast section of metro Tucson, including areas that the both in and outside of the Tucson city limits.
If I were to put boundaries on the Tanque Verde area, I would use Speedway as the southern boundary, and probably a line consisting of Kolb Road, Tanque Verde Road, and Sabino Canyon Road as the western boundary. The north and east boundaries would of course be the Coronado National Forest boundary line, where all residential development ends.
 
So is anyone prepared to argue that the operators of the new Tanque Verde stations care doodly squat about serving Tanque Verde? Will the owners research the music that Tanque Verde likes? Will any commercials promote Tanque Verde businesses? Will there be any news reports about Tanque Verde? How about public service messages? Will the studio even be in Tanque Verde? What will these stations do for Tanque Verde that residents of that community don't already have? Remember that the FCC was told that these stations would provide first and second local service to Tanque Verde. That's the justification for licensing them there.
 
caveman-97 said:
Will the owners research the music that Tanque Verde likes? 
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As they're part of the Tucson market, it's likely a few Tanque Verde listeners will be included in music research (if the station does research at all, that is).

Will any commercials promote Tanque Verde businesses?   
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They'll get the commercials they pay for.

Will there be any news reports about Tanque Verde?   
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If the station does news and there's major news in Tanque Verde, it will be reported.

How about public service messages?   
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The station will have to air community service programming for Tanque Verde at a reasonable time.  Of course, that's probably 90 seconds at 6 AM on Sundays...

Will the studio even be in Tanque Verde?   
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The station hasn't had to have a studio in its COL in years.  There's no reason to think they'll start now!

What will these stations do for Tanque Verde that residents of that community don't already have? 
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It will provide them another option on the dial.  The same thing it will do for people in Tucson and the surrounding area.

Remember that the FCC was told that these stations would provide first and second local service to Tanque Verde.  That's the justification for licensing them there.
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The FCC's policy on licensing has favored the owners for a long time.  In a sense, I can understand it.  After all, there are communities outside large metro areas that have no stations while much smaller communities have a station or two.  It seems odd to have communities of 100,000 people or more that have no stations.  Irving, TX, for example, has nearly a quarter million people but no full-power radio stations licensed to it. 

I'll grant you, however, that it seems odd to allow Tanque Verde to have two stations.  Also, the FCC has made changes to its licensing rules with respect to moving a station from a rural area to an urban area.  Now, a licensee has to not only show that a community is independent of a larger metro area but also that it lacks and needs an outlet for local expression.  In other words, this move probably wouldn't happen if it were applied for today. 
 
If we are lucky, perhaps one of them will repeat The Cave. Or maybe The Cave could stream....please? We also need a TV station in Tanque Verde. And another restaurant or two.
 
Just for fun, I decided to take a little trip to Tanque Verde. There isn't even a sign that tells you that you're entering the community. The only retail trade I spotted was a Circle K, a hay dealer and a place that sells ornamental iron. Who's kidding whom? Why don't they be honest and call it a 31st local service for Tucson?

Anyone want to speculate on what the new 104.9 will program?
 
Tanque Verde is a state of mind. I havn't the slightest guess as to what format although the thought of something new on the dial is reason for hope...
 
KRDX Vail/Tucson does not serve the Vail/southeast Tucson metro in any way either. Just a generic satellite 60s/70s/80s oldies format. I doubt if this new "Tanque Verde" station will be any different.
Theo only Tucson-area station that truly does try to serve their communities of license is KGVY Green Valley/Sahuarita. Just yesterday, for example, they were heavily involved with Sahuarita's 18th birthday celebration at a local park. And. of course, they are actually live and local most of the time.
 
Going to Las Cruces and back this Thanksgiving weekend was sad the cave is no longer. I used to be able to get that signal for a long part of then trip, now it is nada.
 
To correct any possible misconception, the Willcox FM on 104.9 is off the air. The Benson station on 97.7 is on the air with a unique locally programmed country music format. If you have a good car radio and are more than ten miles from the Orange Grove Freeway exit, you can pick up CAVE-FM from many parts of Tucson, though the signal is weak.
 
hey Caveman, when are you going to stream online over the net? you said 4 months ago, you were working on it, what happened?? i like local music not national broadcasters.. :( :(
 
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