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WSBB-FM Application to move to midtown approved by FCC
- Thread starter MediaMan
- Start date
Not sure what you mean by the old Channel 2 tower. Channel 2's analog tower is the same tower they use now for digital. It's on Willoughby Way. The reason WSB-FM is not on that tower is because (from what I've been told) a station has to be at least 1,000 feet above average terrain to be a C0.
I assumed we do have such a person on this board. At least, we have someone with intimate knowledge of what's happening with Cox engineering, who tells us whenever the winds of change blow.
Roddy is right. I had forgotten about the reason. When all the class C's (now C0) had to move to above 1000 feet to retain their status, there were a lot of moves.
WZGC 92.9 lost their class C (C0) status because the tower was a few feet shy of 1000 feet. It was a tower on top of one of the high rises. I first posted it was on the Westin, but I don't think that was it. Maybe it was the building that used to be called the Life of Georgia Building. Fuzzy memory, but WZGC was trying to unload that tower on to WRFG (who was on the AM 1340 tower). The catch was if WRFG took the tower they were responsible for ultimately removing it and the transmitter facilities from the building (very, very expensive for WRFG).
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I thought Z93 was on the Westin Peachtree Plaza, back when it was Z93. Rock100.5 has that tower now. And didn't Channel 69 or 36 (one of the small UHFs) use it as well? WTBS analog (the LPTV Channel 6 and 87.7 Franken-FM, not WPCH Peachtree TV) also uses it today. The one-time Life of Georgia building is puny compared to the rest of the Atlanta skyline.
Didn't one of the other big ATL FMs preserve their C0 by digging out the ground around the tower, because they were that close to the cutoff where they could finagle it that way? I want to say it was 96.1 WKLS (WWPW).
Jabba is correct that 92.9 was on top of the Westin Peachtree Plaza until around 2004 when it moved to the newer tower at the Richland site off Briarcliff Road. And yes, Channel 69 was also on top of the Westin. When Channel 69 had to add a digital antenna, the weight caused the station to have insurance problems so WUPA moved. When 100.5 first signed on in Atlanta in 2001, the Westin Peachtree Plaza became its transmitter site and still is. In fact, the original 100.5 TOH said, "Broadcasting from the new Q tower atop Peachtree Plaza..." WTBS-LP is also at the Westin site but has a CP to move to Chester Avenue.
I wonder about some of Cox’s engineering moves too. Why they are not using the Channel 2 tower instead of paying rent? Also the 104.1 forced “downgrade”,* and allowing 97.1’s CP to move closer to town die.
I personally feel that 97.1 CP should have never been filed. I don’t think it would have increased the current P1 population that much. Of course that population gain might be more important to another format rather than WSRV’s current classic rock. IMHO any broadcaster who downgrades their facility unless there is a significant 60 DB population gain is kind of like the folks in the 60’s and early 70’s who let their FM facilities wither on the vine. The higher classes of FM have more “protection” on the fringe of the coverage. Not that the fringe coverage can be monetized now but the “HD” signals need all the adjacent channel protection they can get. Someday the HD channels could be like the FM today and analog FM like AM is today. I lived thru the decline of AM and a lot of “local” broadcasters had to leave the business. It wasn’t pretty unless you sold to CC and the others when they were buying just about any signal in any market at top dollar.
*they did make lemonade out of lemons but there had to be an easier way. It's kind of like there was no "big picture" manager for radio for a few years. I think they are headed in the correct direction now.
WSB FM still uses the TV tower for a backup site. You can see the four bay antenna at the base of the TV antenna. IIRC it is a full power site only a hundred feet or so lower than the New Street panel.
WRFG once looked at re-locating on the WSTR backup tower at Bishop Street but as far as I know never considered taking over the Westin site.
WRFG once looked at re-locating on the WSTR backup tower at Bishop Street but as far as I know never considered taking over the Westin site.
With WSTR keeping its backup at New Street, will there be any use for Bishop Street?
I thought the 4 bay antenna was WSB FM and V103's old analog site(s). It makes since to keep the old site for a backup. I wonder if this site has HD capacity
Rumor is Bishop Street has been decommissioned. Supposedly the land has been sold and the tower will be coming down soon. What I have heard is the American Tower site on Chester Ave. will be the main WSTR site and new Street will be the backup. I'm sure the engineering staff at WSTR will sleep easier with a full power backup.
WVEE never operated from the Channel Two tower. WSB FM was located there until the height requirement required a move to a taller tower. WSB FM, along with WQXI FM, were the original tenants for New Street. WVEE built, and owned the New Street tower until 2006 at which point it became school board property.
I *think* that site has full HD capability but I'm not positive.
Weren't WPBA-TV and WABE (prior to moving to Stone Mountain) also original tenants at New Street?
I wonder what that land on Bishop Street will be used for. Scott Trask once gave me a tour of that site, and the view of the various skylines was really impressive. It would be a great spot for a high-rise condo.
Channel 30 did move there from Shepards Tower but after the radios were already there. GPB's Channel 8 is on Stone Mountain...not WPBA. I seem to remember that WABE had a backup site at New Street in the early days but it was only 10,000 watts if memory serves. They didn't actually operate fulltime from there until coming off the mountain. IIRC WABE built the tower adjacent to the 1000 foot New St tower and always operated from there after moving intown although they did have that backup system which used the main radio panel antenna on the 1000 foot tower
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Scott now works for Charles at Cox Radio. I wonder what the purchase price was?
Yes, I'm aware that WGTV is the TV station on Stone Mountain. I was talking about WABE having been there.
You would think it would make a great site. Guess the bankers didn't want to hassle with communications tenants.
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