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WROX Clarksdale

L

lfuss

WROX-AM 1450 has been off-air the last two weeks. We installed a new solid-state transmitter two years ago (I won't mention the brand), and it turned out to be a lemon. It was constantly off-air or on low power. After screwing around with it for far too long, we're replacing it with a new BE AM-1A. The station will be back on by the middle of next week. Meanwhile, WKXY-FM 92.1 is still on air.

LF
 
I know that you've had trouble with the current box since you got it. Good luck with the BE. That was one of our options for WBZQ, but Harris had a Gates One on the dock and we grabbed it since we only had 3 weeks left to return the station to the air. Keep us informed. And it's OK to name the mfg of your lemon.

DBP
 
I know exactly what box Larry has in there .. and I can only second that.

I've never heard terribly great stories about 'em.. and I've even used one.
 
WROX back on-air as of Wednesday the 18th. The new BE AM-1A is humming along. The new GM, Kevin Dugan, is gearing up to launch some local programming soon, including a live morning show. There hasn't been anything live in Clarksdale for years.

LF
 
For gosh sakes, tell us what brand was the lemon..maybe it will help someone down the road when they made need a replacement.i've had great luck with Harris and BE, heard the Nautel was good.
 
WROX had an Armstrong X100B as did WQMA.

While I was never present when WROX's transmitter was installed, I was obviously present while WQMA's transmitter was in use.

Not only are their transmitters sub-par quality, the support department is horrible.
 
I've had good luck with Armstrong in the past. I have 2 Armstrong STLs, 3 Armstrong exciters, and an Armstrong FM amplifier in American Samoa. I also had some Armstrong STL and FM gear in Cleveland. But the Armstrong AM transmitter is terrible - inadequate metering, interlock problems, difficult to work on, etc. The Armstrong guys were always very helpful, but we just couldn't keep this particular transmitter running at full-power. There was alway something wrong with it - among the problems were modules returned from the factory blew fuses upon being reinstalled. Kirk installed it and maintained it, so I know it was done right.

The BE AM-1A is a nice little transmitter. We had an AM-1 at WDSK (the earlier model), and it always worked like a charm.

LF
 
I can still remember the first time I poked my head in the that old xmitter shack as a kid and looking in on those glowing tubes in the old xmitter... was even more amazed when Doc Grave fired up the even older one next to it that was kept running for a backup connected to a generator even... they were both ancient even then the 1kw sounded great for years till it fell to disrepair.. the other (gates? i think) was kinda muddy sounding but it worked and i believe was the original Transmitter

Doc Graves is probably the reason i'm a full on geek today.
 
One of the older transmitters is no longer there. IIRC, it went to another radio station as a back-up
 
The Armstrong folks are good people and make some good products. From personal experience, I don't think there has ever been a more well engineered, consistant and reliable series of transmitters than the BE AM product line. About to install one of their 50kw closet size transmitters for a client, we'll reserve judgement on that one for a while.

w/
 
Neither of the old transmitters are still there. The 1kw RCA went to Florida, and the original 1944 250-watt RCA is in storage. We plan to clean it up and display it in the lobby. The old 1944 transmitter shack is no longer there either. It was replaced two years ago after the rats chewed up most of what was left of it.

LF
 
I know the station in Florida it went to.. good people and I'm sure it's being put to good use.

I remember visiting that shack on December 31, 2003... it was not in great shape then
 
Watt Hairston said:
The Armstrong folks are good people and make some good products. From personal experience, I don't think there has ever been a more well engineered, consistant and reliable series of transmitters than the BE AM product line. About to install one of their 50kw closet size transmitters for a client, we'll reserve judgement on that one for a while.

w/
Click to expand...

Good to hear from you Watt. Keep us filled in on the BE 50kw install. I've never seen one, but have heard some positive things about it. I'm a big Nautel fan myself, but am impressed with the BE AM line.

RFB
 
A friend of mine installed a new Harris 50KW AM unit when he went from 750W ND to 50KW DA(only 2 towers!!!)..... I haven't checked in with him to see how that UNit is rnunning.. but it was cool to see "the beast"..
 
lfuss said:
Neither of the old transmitters are still there. The 1kw RCA went to Florida, and the original 1944 250-watt RCA is in storage. We plan to clean it up and display it in the lobby. The old 1944 transmitter shack is no longer there either. It was replaced two years ago after the rats chewed up most of what was left of it.

LF
Click to expand...

lfuss said:
Neither of the old transmitters are still there. The 1kw RCA went to Florida, and the original 1944 250-watt RCA is in storage. We plan to clean it up and display it in the lobby. The old 1944 transmitter shack is no longer there either. It was replaced two years ago after the rats chewed up most of what was left of it.

LF
Click to expand...
still got to check the signal for you
 
I installed a brand-new BE AM-1A about eight months ago, and it has run flawlessly. I couldn't be more tickled with it. In fact, I just placed an order for another one to install at another station. I was afraid I'd lose a little bit of the "warm/fuzzy" feeling going from an old CCA tube transmitter to a solid-state. Not the case. The BE sounds better than the old box could ever have dreamed of sounding. Pair it with an Optimod, and it's a great sound.
 
Gee, it sounds like the BE AM 1A is well loved here and for good reason. If I ever have the money(and a station, HA!!) I know where I'll be going to get a transmitter...
 
I haven't had any experience with the BE AM stuff, but I have to say their customer support is very helpful, etc. on the smaller FM stuff that I have used. I have two friends that have Harris Gates One 1k transmitters, and have had VERY little issue with them. Harris service is close to a joke, but the boxes themselves are excellent, as are their instructions. I have one station that has a 1k Nautel and he loves it. I have had one rf fet failure that I quickly was able to repair. Nautel customer support is excellent. I have the other 1520... the one that spits out 50k from Oklahoma that keeps QMA off at night (sorry guys!). We have a Nautel Ampet 50. Being that it's 50k and built in 88, we've had some experence in failures, not all the transmitter's fault. Lack of air conditioning for years I'm sure contributed to some issues. Two master combiners and two sub-conbiners, plus some relay issues before they sold us the new sealed relay retrofits, plus lots of fets over time are what I've had to deal with. Being it's a 50k and old, I guess that's a pretty decent record. The 1k I also take care of elsewhere doesn't have the relay rack or the combiner fun, so that's not even an issue. So with all that being said, if I had to buy a new 1k now, I'd look to Nautel and BE.

Larry...... sure miss the old WROX. I hope some day it'll be back to more local and streaming it for all of us out of range of the 1k.
 
Listened to WROX today in East Memphis... Larry once again i'm impressed by the signal... its better than I ever remember it being all the way back through the 80's
 
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