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WMLB 1690 AM Ready to Resume Again?

LegalTender said:
The product is decent and the 10kw signal better than I remember.
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The lack of interference helps a lot. There are not too many stations around to interfere with them . The best I can tell there is are on 6 stations US stations on 1680. The nearest on channel is either in Maryland or Illinois. There is a 1700 in Birmingham AL. There still is the man made noise.

IIRC: The above 1600 frequencies were originally “set aside” for stations that were experiencing or causing interference with there existing AM facilities. I believe that they were to run their existing AM station and the expended band station for a brief period then go expended band only. I can only guess these stations can be moved (if the existing COL is covered by another commercial station) just like FMs are moved into bigger markets.

IMHO: it would take a lot of advertising and some kind of unique format hole in any market to make a go of one of these stations without a FM translator. The 10 KW daytime signal with good ground conductivity might make allow for a translator that has class A or better coverage. Atlanta’s ground conductivity is poor so I doubt if 1690 could go past the 25 mile translator coverage rule.
 
The format on 1690 is interesting--it kind of, sort of, reminds me of what Weber had on the signal as a truly active station, although more focused and mainstream and less eclectic.

Technically, the station is playing "oldies". But if you slice "oldies" thinner, it's not 80s/90s classic hits, 70s AM gold, or even late 50s/60s "golden oldies". It's more 1940s-early 50s--what is usually called "standards" or "nostalgia", or MOYL. For a placeholder format it's interesting because it is so far out of target demos (we're talking age 75 to dead), and it's quite esoteric.

The station is doing frequent station IDs--"You're listening to WMLB at 1690 kilohertz, Avondale Estates/Atlanta", about every 3 songs. Technically that's not legal to the letter (Avondale Estates has to immediately follow the WMLB) but I doubt anyone would complain. They were also doing AMVETS PSAs.

As far as other x-band residents in ATL, WAOK had a license to move onto the x-band, I think at 1620, but obviously they let that lapse. I think that would have actually hurt their night coverage in their target demo area, and it definitely would have hurt their daytime coverage across the board--all x-band stations have to be 10kW day, 1kW night, nondirectional. I'm surprised one or more of the class C's or the class D daytimers haven't done that--or rather didn't do that--although spending money on AM is pretty much a nonstarter today.
 
It's okay to insert the station's frequency between the call letters and city of license. Because it is easy to 'add to' station IDs, I always suggested it go after the city of license versus between the call letters and city of license. Even so, I haven't heard of the FCC fining a station for an unacceptable wording of a legal ID in years, perhaps decades.
 
Here are the X-stations closest to ATL. They are all 10kw-D/1kw-N except for Canada. (Radio-Locator)

1610 CHHA Toronto, Canada 734.5 6250(w
1620 WNRP Pensacola, FL 282.4
1630 KCJJ Iowa City (Cedar Rapids), IA 665.5
1640 WTNI Biloxi, MS 345.3
1650 WHKT Portsmouth, VA 503.4
1660 WBCN Charlotte, NC 226.2
1670 WMGE Dry Branch (Macon), GA 80.5
1680 WOKB Winter Garden (Orlando), FL 396.8
1690 WMLB Avondale Estates, GA 4.5
1700 WEUP Huntsville, AL 145.3
 
b-turner said:
It's okay to insert the station's frequency between the call letters and city of license. Because it is easy to 'add to' station IDs, I always suggested it go after the city of license versus between the call letters and city of license. Even so, I haven't heard of the FCC fining a station for an unacceptable wording of a legal ID in years, perhaps decades.
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The FCC has cited station for unacceptable wording of a legal ID. I find KGAP-LP Los Angeles and KRVH-FM Rio Vista (Sacramento) on the enforcement bureau actions list.

This is for KBIG-FM Los Angeles:
2. On January 23, 2013, in response to a complaint, an agent from the
Enforcement Bureau's Los Angeles Office monitored KBIG-FM's broadcast
transmission on 104.3 MHz. The monitoring revealed that the
transmission failed to identify the station properly by announcing the
station's call letters immediately followed by its community of
license. The station simply identified itself as 104.3 FM. The
following violation was observed:

a. 47 C.F.R. S 73.1201(b)(1): "Official station identification shall
consist of the station's call letters immediately followed by the
community or communities specified in its license as the station's
location." During the time period that the station's transmissions
were being monitored, the station failed to identify itself properly
with call letters followed by community of license.
 
I learned something thanks to your post. The FCC still cites stations for a lack of a legal ID.

I worked one station that used a recorded legal ID. I'll us KKKK as call letters: KKKK FM Stereo Anytown. I was there 3.5 years. I pointed it out and was told it was fine. The FCC likely never heard it. There was not a KKKK AM. An AM would be KKKK but it's FM counterpart would be KKKK FM, essentially 6 call letters as the FM is specified.

Where I could dictate, I always chose call letters followed by city of license. Then I added anything else I wanted. And I recorded it for play. You'd be amazed how many people think they need to add words or can change to say the city of license first. For example, I worked KYND, Cypress, Texas. I had people saying KYND serving Houston from Cypress, Texas or KYND right here in Cypress. After putting up cards and that not working, I recorded it. I was always astounded by how otherwise very intelligent and diligent people could not simply say KYND, Cypress. In 1993 it was Houston's Kind Country 15-20, KYND, Cypress.
 
If you read 73.1201 in its entirety, you'll see that it explicitly lists acceptable insertions between calls and COL, and frequency is one of those.
 
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