quietboy said:
I was looking at the DCRTV.org mailbag and I saw that Metro Radio is still trying to sell WKDL-AM for about 300,000. I realize this is a AM signal but if you had the money to buy this signal would you do it? What kind of format would you do? I know AM is terrible for music and that at night you could pretty much forget listening to it, but what about if you had an internet station and used the AM to simulcast your internet station. Just curious about people's thoughts.
I think that the asking price for WKDL is way too much. What would be a fair price, I don't know. You can call me someone who lives in the past just a little too much, but I don't believe that AM is either dead or should be put out to pasture. I think that many of these smaller AM outlets such as WKDL should seriously consider going to more community-oriented programming which may or may not be run by schools. In some cases, a broadcast 'educational co-op' might work.
I'm sure that there are many amateur broadcasters who could afford to buy time to feature more avant-garde programming most major broadcasters wouldn't want to touch with a 20' pole, yet that still has appeal. Out in what I believe are pretty much 'the sticks' in northern Virginia, classic country mixed with bluegrass and maybe even some southern gospel or farm programming might work. In any regard, I might strongly advise that should new owners get a hold of this facility that they strongly consider what I'll call a 'hybrid revenue' model for earnings in which the station survives on commercials, donations and promotions.
I think it is time for the AM band to have an overhaul whereby a quality analog transmission standard is set up. There should be efforts to try to reduce electrical interferences as much as possible. Re-clearing the clear channels should also be given prime consideration. Give the so-called 'dinosaurs' their night time service areas back.
There has been talk of moving all current AM stations to FM. While moving some stations to an expanded FM band is probably noble, I don't think that the entire band should be moved. Having an additional fifty or sixty FM channels might do the trick. From there, you could clear most troubled AM signals and move them to an expanded FM band. I would recommend for there to be at least ten channels in an expanded FM band to have allowances for up to 100-kilowatt transmission standards no matter where they are in the country. For high powered stations with compromised service patterns (i.e. WPTR, Albany; WEEI and WRKO Boston; WEPN New York, among many others), this could be a way to put an end to some of their troubles.
