WMBL

[RFGuy]

Close, It was Caronet, The Carolina Radio Network. It originated from the WVOT fm studios. I remember when it burned as well. Does anyone remember where the WGTM studios were before it was located on hiway 42?

 

[ZAX Double J]

WOW some good memory there! Thanks for the info. What was it's daytime power? I remember Craig Webber(if it's the same one) when he was on WCTI-TV 12 as weatherman and host of the TV POWWW program and for a time he was on The Weather Channel. Last I heard he was in Richmond, but that was quite some time ago.

Excuse me for going off topic, but I remember TV POWWWW on WGHP in High Point.

For those who don't remember it, it was an early and very primitive video game. Kids would call in during the cartoons after school and one would be selected to play. If the kid said, "Pow" at the right time he or she would score a point. I think the objective was to make some dot or something disappear with a "bullet". I remember one poor kid missed them all and the host felt so sorry for him.

That is exactly how the one on WCTI was. I remember I even played one time. I didn't win, but it was fun none the less. Yeah they had Pong, bowling and a couple of others I can't remember. I think the game system was the intellivision system if I remember correctly. That was some good TV back then! Probably a little cheezy by today's standards, but hey when you're that age you didn't care it was just plain fun. I didn't know WGHP had the same type program I thought it was a WCTI TV 12 exclusive program. Humm.. interesting.

 

[Marathon Don]

Close, It was Caronet, The Carolina Radio Network. It originated from the WVOT fm studios. I remember when it burned as well. Does anyone remember where the WGTM studios were before it was located on hiway 42?

Oh, OK... Caronet. Always wondered about that.

Someone once told me that WGTM was initially located on Herring Avenue, about a block west and across the street from the current WVOT transmitter site. This was in the 40's when the station was on 1340. That building no longer exists. After the transistion to 590, they moved the studios to Nash St., downtown Wilson, upstairs in the old First Union Bank building. The building is now owned by the County of Wilson and houses various county departments. I believe they moved to Hwy 42 West in the very early 70's.

If anyone can fill in any gaps or correct errors in my recollections, feel free to pile on.

 

[quadraphonic]

WOW some good memory there! Thanks for the info. What was it's daytime power? I remember Craig Webber(if it's the same one) when he was on WCTI-TV 12 as weatherman and host of the TV POWWW program and for a time he was on The Weather Channel. Last I heard he was in Richmond, but that was quite some time ago.

Excuse me for going off topic, but I remember TV POWWWW on WGHP in High Point.

For those who don't remember it, it was an early and very primitive video game. Kids would call in during the cartoons after school and one would be selected to play. If the kid said, "Pow" at the right time he or she would score a point. I think the objective was to make some dot or something disappear with a "bullet". I remember one poor kid missed them all and the host felt so sorry for him.

That is exactly how the one on WCTI was. I remember I even played one time. I didn't win, but it was fun none the less. Yeah they had Pong, bowling and a couple of others I can't remember. I think the game system was the intellivision system if I remember correctly. That was some good TV back then! Probably a little cheezy by today's standards, but hey when you're that age you didn't care it was just plain fun. I didn't know WGHP had the same type program I thought it was a WCTI TV 12 exclusive program. Humm.. interesting.

They had a show called "Barney's Army" from around 1978-1985ish (maybe not that long) after school on channel 28 in Raleigh (WPTF, I think it was then). It was a cartoon figure that looked like a squat old guy whose arms and hands and head moved at the joints. I can't even remember the cartoons they played, seems like they were involving Superhero Robots and maybe the Fantastic Four or something. Crud I wish I could recall that right now. I just remember "Barney" because he looked like Barney Rubble kind of, and Norman Fell a lot, but he had like a photographer's/fisherman's jacket and maybe sunglasses sometimes. Kids would call in and say "Pow pow pow pow" to some kind of airplane-Space Invaders-Zaxxon type game and try to win prizes. I was on there one day and I got a couple hits, but not "enough." My sister was on a couple days later and she might have beat my score. I think it was rigged. (Sigh.) Those were the days, yall! ;D

 

[RFGuy]

Marathon Don, You are totaly correct!!!!!!!!! For a long time, The base of the tower was out there on Herring. I helped move the studios from the bank building in the 70's with Bill Bunn. Does anyone rember Jim Apple that was a PD there? I rember Buck Jones, Jim Rochelle, Bill, from the old days. The old GE console, I think they got a deal with the old Visual Transmitter as I remember the 5 channel Visual console that was used in production. And, The old Raytheon Transmitter that I think is still there. I saw that Transmitter on the air producing RF! Bill was a special person to me, He was responsible for me being in Engineering now.

 

[XTalker]

Best Reverb we ever had back in the 60's in Cocoa Beach, Fla at WKKO was from a Hammond Organ spring and a Leslie... Just a side note.Back in the 60's There was no "North Carolina News Network" It was orginally the "Tobacco Radio Network" then "TN News" and later "North Carolina News Network" Believe me when it was Tobacco Radio News, it was pitiful... BIG APE!

Delivered to most stations by FM Relay! Remember the Jesse Helms commentary?

 

[RFGuy]

Viewpoint. Came out of WRAL. Boy, a lot of memories! And a reminder of how old I am getting.

 

[BIG APE]

You Bet it was relayed up to Lexington at WBUY by WCSE Asheboro..I don't even know who they are now...They used to pick up the ball games from Tarheel also..If the Jock was half asleep or drunk, you would hear WCSE's Spots and ID's.. ViewPoint, That was a trip.. but they also ran Liberty Lobby.. with Melvin Munn in Dallas, Sponsered by HL Hunt Products.. He said one night "The problem with the nation is such rock and roll bands such as .."LIN WORD SKIN WERD... I thought I would drive into the bridge where I was I was laughing so hard.. Lots of Memories ..APE

 

[RFGuy]

One more, "Tobacco Talk" With Ray Wilkinson

 

[XTalker]

"Tobacco Talk" lasted forever! I know WSJS ran it at 5:25AM up until about five years ago!

The network originated at WRAL and for years, was in the basement of WRAL TV. I believe they then moved to North Hills during the early NCNN days. Used to love to listen to Bob Inskeep talk up the top of the hour news!

We were fortunate in Wilmington that we could pick up the WRAL signal. Didn't have to worry about some station missing a cue. We could miss them on our own!

 

[RFGuy]

Back in the day that WRAL was 250kw !!!!!!!

 

[tothedj]

Even though this may be out of the topic, whatever happened to Vern Strickland
and Ken Tanner?

 

[RFGuy]

I remember those guys, but I do not know what happened to them. Ray passed away a few years ago. Maybe we need to open a thread about "whatever happened to?"

 

[ZAX Double J]

Beyond my recording of WMBL does anyone have a good quality recording of them from the mid 70s as in my recording circa August 1977? Also does anywone remember Don/Ron/John (it's not clear on the tape) Michaels and where he is now?

 

[Marathon Don]

Does anyone rember Jim Apple that was a PD there? I rember Buck Jones, Jim Rochelle, Bill, from the old days. The old GE console, I think they got a deal with the old Visual Transmitter as I remember the 5 channel Visual console that was used in production. And, The old Raytheon Transmitter that I think is still there. I saw that Transmitter on the air producing RF! Bill was a special person to me, He was responsible for me being in Engineering now.

I remember hearing Jim Apple on the air back in the 70's, but never met him. I worked with Rochelle, Jones, and of course, Bill Bunn. Bill was one of the nicest guys I ever met. I first met Bill in the mid 70's. My CB radio activities had gotten the attention of the FCC : and the nice letter from Virginia advised me to have a licensed engineer check my radio. A fellow CB'er knew Bill, and convinced him to come by my parent's house and help me out. He was gracious as always. Little did I know I would eventually work for him. In 82, my old high school English teacher, Alton Britt was doing a call-in sports show (Sports Rap) at GTM. He recommended me to Bill, who granted me an interview. I was awful in both the interview and the subsequent audition, but he hired me anyway.

We were still using the Visual xmitter in the early 80's. Willis is probably still using it. The GE console was in production when I was there. We used a McMartin for the air studio. I visited the studios a few years ago, and most of that ancient hardware (including the Rust dial-up remote control) was still in use.

You and Bill obviously built that station right, cuz your handiwork is still running! Even Willis can't kill it.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Back in the day that WRAL was 250kw !!!!!!!

How was that possible? Several Virginia stations were allowed to do that too.

 

[JimA]

Sad how big corporate giants eat and destroy markets. I loved WMBL. Have the PAMS jingles. WBMA -no one listened too. This was early 60s. What a great loss - no WMBL. Also, you could hear the BIG wAPE on the beach. Those were the days.

 

[ZAX Double J]

Back in the day that WRAL was 250kw !!!!!!!

How was that possible? Several Virginia stations were allowed to do that too.

You have to remember this was the early days of FM and there were few if any stations to compete with. As time progressed and more stations came online the FCC reduced the maximum power output of FM stations to 100,000 watts. To my knowledge there are no 250,000 watt FM stations anywhere.

 

[RadioDze]

Here's an interesting webpage on grandfathered superpower FM stations:
http://members.aol.com/jeff1070/fm-max.html

While I didn't see it here, Rocky Mount-licensed WRVA-FM (while not a superpower) has one of the nation's largest FM coverage areas. I actually picked them up Wednesday night about a mile or two south of the Capital Beltway/I-95/I-395 "Mixing Bowl" in Springfield, Virginia..and very clearly at that.

When did WRAL-FM drop their power to the current 96 kW? Might this have been around 1978 when the first 2,000-foot Auburn tower was built (the one which collapsed in 1989)?

 

[ZAX Double J]

Here's an interesting webpage on grandfathered superpower FM stations:
http://members.aol.com/jeff1070/fm-max.html

While I didn't see it here, Rocky Mount-licensed WRVA-FM (while not a superpower) has one of the nation's largest FM coverage areas. I actually picked them up Wednesday night about a mile or two south of the Capital Beltway/I-95/I-395 "Mixing Bowl" in Springfield, Virginia..and very clearly at that.

When did WRAL-FM drop their power to the current 96 kW? Might this have been around 1978 when the first 2,000-foot Auburn tower was built (the one which collapsed in 1989)?

It could have been then. I know their chief engineer and I could ask him if he knows. WRVA-FM is 100,000 watts and according to radio-locator.com the signal coverage goes as far as almost to Petersburg, Va. and as far south as Lumberton, NC. There is also a WRVA-AM in Richmond, Va. that is a 50kW that I did not know was there with the same calls.