WLAT tower lights

[reelyreal]

I've wondered about this for a while...

WLAT has 5 - 250 foot towers adjacent to the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in Farmington. Four towers in line, and the separate day tower with old FM bays on it for WRCH. For at least a year now, I've been driving by there at night. For at least that long. the day tower hasn't been lit at night, and the end tower closest to the building hasn't had its top beacon illuminated. Side markers on that first night tower have been fine. This past week, I noticed the farthest tower from the building now has its top beacon out.

So... that's three towers not properly lit (the paint's pretty faded, too) about 3.5 miles from an airport (Robertson Field.)

Granted, the towers are less than 2 miles from the Rattlesnake Mountain TV towers, both over 1,000 feet and properly strobed so the 250 footers aren't a huge danger...

I dunno, wouldn't that be a good "real life" lesson for the kids at CSB? "Here! Don't do this."

 

[amfmradio1]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the "day tower" - 'LAT only uses one tower for daytime @5,000 watts, & the rest are a directional array for night?

Why would the tower have old FM bays on it from 'RCH, if, (correct me if I'm wrong again,) it is a 'LAT tower?

Or is it a '250 aux. antenna for 'RCH?

Noticed that the WVIT Ch. 30 & WTIC-TV Ch. 61 towers on Rattlesnake Mountain do have their LED lights out occasionally, but they are usually replaced within a week, as I'm sure they wouldn't want to be fined by the FAA & the FCC, as they are in the glide path for Bradley Int'l Airport.

 

[GlennO]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the "day tower" - 'LAT only uses one tower for daytime @5,000 watts, & the rest are a directional array for night?

Why would the tower have old FM bays on it from 'RCH, if, (correct me if I'm wrong again,) it is a 'LAT tower?

Or is it a '250 aux. antenna for 'RCH?

WLAT uses 4 towers at night, when their strongest signal is aimed in the direction of Route 9. This may have changed, but what was then WHAY/WRCH-AM/WRCQ/WNEZ actually ran slightly under the full 5,000 watts during the day to protect 920 WHJJ/Providence and I believe another 910: WRKL/New City, NY. While what is now WLAT could cut out completely at sunset in areas north and west of Hartford, the signal actually got a bit stronger toward places like Middletown.

The old FM bays on the WLAT tower go back to when WRCH-FM was co-owned by Radio Corporation of Hartford with AM 910. It's been a long time since WRCH used that as their main tower.

 

[reelyreal]

I'm pretty sure it was last used as the main for WRCH in 1985, when they moved to the then relatively new WTIC-TV tower. There's an aux antenna lower down the TV tower for RCH, but the old Birdseye Rd. antenna is still licensed as a second aux at 15.5 kw. With the "up-time" of the main being so stellar, I doubt it's been needed in years but I'm sure Gene Faltus keeps it in good running order.

 

[BobRadil]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the "day tower" - 'LAT only uses one tower for daytime @5,000 watts, & the rest are a directional array for night?

Why would the tower have old FM bays on it from 'RCH, if, (correct me if I'm wrong again,) it is a 'LAT tower?

Or is it a '250 aux. antenna for 'RCH?

WLAT uses 4 towers at night, when their strongest signal is aimed in the direction of Route 9. This may have changed, but what was then WHAY/WRCH-AM/WRCQ/WNEZ actually ran slightly under the full 5,000 watts during the day to protect 920 WHJJ/Providence and I believe another 910: WRKL/New City, NY. While what is now WLAT could cut out completely at sunset in areas north and west of Hartford, the signal actually got a bit stronger toward places like Middletown.

The old FM bays on the WLAT tower go back to when WRCH-FM was co-owned by Radio Corporation of Hartford with AM 910. It's been a long time since WRCH used that as their main tower.

I'm pretty sure it was last used as the main for WRCH in 1985, when they moved to the then relatively new WTIC-TV tower. There's an aux antenna lower down the TV tower for RCH, but the old Birdseye Rd. antenna is still licensed as a second aux at 15.5 kw. With the "up-time" of the main being so stellar, I doubt it's been needed in years but I'm sure Gene Faltus keeps it in good running order.

The 910 station was once daytime directional, using the side tower(referance) and I believe the 2nd of the 4 in a row. It was fulltime 5kW. (It was WELI that slightly reduced daytime power to prevent overlap.) In the late 70s the 910 station(as WRCQ) went Non-DA Day.
The old FM bays on the WLAT tower were for the original WRCH-FM. They later built a tower on Rattlesnake for the main FM and the original was kept as a backup. When the CH61 tower went up in 1984 WRCH moved on to that tower and their tower came down. The original WRCH-FM antenna on the AM tower 5 remained in place.

 

[progressivetalk]

The WLAT signal does cut out completely after sunset north of Hartford, but last week the signal was able to be heard in Windsor Locks for a full week, two weeks ago, but is completely unable to be heard after dark this week. I wonder if they are doing tests on the signal or the engineer forgot to switch the antenna after dark?

 

[reelyreal]

You never know who's reading these things sometimes...

Drove by tonight, and the "day" tower is totally lit for the first time in over a year, and the top beacon on the night tower closest to the building is lit. Right now, only the top beacon on the farthest tower remains out.

 

[necrat123]

If the engineer for WLAT hasn't changed in the last 8 years, he does read these forums.

 

[progressivetalk]

Once again, the WLAT signal is playing games. Twice today, I noticed while flipping through the AM dial that WLAT was broadcasting at barely above a whisper and about three hours later, silence. If the engineer is reading this forum, please shed some light on this.