WSFW off the air

[JakeLongwell]

While tuning around this morning, I noticed WSFW (1110 Seneca Falls) absent from the frequency. This once great radio station is now owned by CSN International based out of Twin Falls, Idaho. It's nothing more than a feed of CSN's religious preaching and teaching programming. Not sure how long it's been off the air. I was wondering if anyone had any insight into what's happening. Transmitter problems? Did the automation not turn the transmitter back on this morning? (The station is a daytimer). Or, is it off the air permanently?

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[Bob1370]

A variation on the "tree falling in an empty forest" conundrum...if a station no one's listening to signs off, does its closedown make any white noise?

 

[JakeLongwell]

You bring up a great point, Bob. As everyone reading this board knows, WSFW was once an outstanding full service station that super served Seneca county and the rest of the Finger Lakes. Now that it's nothing more than a Godcaster with absolutely no local programming to speak of, I'd be surprised if it has any listeners at all these days.

I called CSN's technical department, presumably based at their HQ in Twin Falls, and the man I spoke with said he would look into the situation. So, it appears they will return 1110 to the air, eventually.

But, if it were taken off the air for good, I'm afraid you're right. It would not be missed.

 

[aaronread]

You might be one of the only people who noticed it was off, Jake. 1110AM has a killer signal by day but literally zero signal at night. That sort of engineering limitation means one is extremely limited in what format you can run and still be "successful," and even that usually takes a liberal view of what "success" means. Making a go of it on the AM band is hard enough, but to be completely off the air after dark - in the era of 24/7 media - is damn near impossible. There's a reason why Alan traded it for an FM translator which he then moved to the WNYR tower and started relaying WGVA 1240AM on it; that FM translator is a heckuva lot more valuable across a lot more programming strategies.

I suppose for a national operator, broadcasting on multiple frequencies, a signal like 1110AM can be useful. As I say, it's killer during the day...you can hear it almost into Brighton. In fairness, I thought Alan's "Finger Lakes Visitor Channel" idea was a really good one. It's just the economic downturn made selling it a tough go AND made for fewer tourists in the FL in the first place.

 

[audio4tv]

You might be one of the only people who noticed it was off, Jake. 1110AM has a killer signal by day but literally zero signal at night.

Literally, no signal is correct, being a daytime only due to WBT being a clear on 1110. WSFW has to sign off the air at sunset. I do remember one time driving towards Geneva, during the days when 1110 was 99% a simulcast of WGVA. It was on well after sunset, broadcasting a Syracuse Game, while WGVA had on a Bills game. I made a phone call to the studio and asked the board op why the game was on WSFW. He said it was scheduled. I told him that was interesting, since WSFW should have signed off the air 2 hours earlier! He asked who it was, and I told him someone trying to save his butt!

 

[therealjm12]

If I remember my FCC rules & regs right, daytimers were allowed to stay on the air til the conclusion of a sporting event or an opera. But some things change.

 

[Element9]

Never heard that one. Sign off or power down was always by the book at the stations I sold for, one of which sold the sign off. And if you can sell that, you can sell just about anything. One client was a restaurant ("after we sign off, we go to dinner..."), the other was a funeral home ("as all good things must come to an end...") We sold the sign-on too ("the second best place to start you day, with fresh pastry and cup of coffee...") Brutal. Hokey as hell. But it made money.

 

[JakeLongwell]

For what it's worth, 1110 is back on the air. It signed back on sometime last week. I received a phone call from CSN's engineering department. They said the problem had something to do with some equipment being reset during the last thunderstorm to come through the area. Let's see how long it stays on the air this time...

I completely agree with Aaron about it being nearly impossible to operate a standalone daytimer in this day and age. Fortunately, many stations, like WCJW in Warsaw, have found a way around that problem by adding FM translators. Unfortunately, there aren't enough translators to go around for all of the nation's daytimers, so, many are left out in the cold.

This will probably never happen, but, I think the rules should be modified to allow daytimers to power down rather than sign off completely. This would enable them to serve their city of license at night. Yes, I know the interference/noise level on the band would increase. But, let's be honest, does anyone other than the CXing community really care about reception of distant AM signals at night? Let's take WBT, for instance. Would their core audience in the Charlotte metro area really be impacted if we allow all the daytimers on 1110 to stay on at reduced power to serve their communities?

 

[Bob1370]

"you can sell just about anything. One client was a restaurant ("after we sign off, we go to dinner..."), the other was a funeral home ("as all good things must come to an end...") We sold the sign-on too ("the second best place to start you day, with fresh pastry and cup of coffee...") Brutal. Hokey as hell. But it made money."

Selling sign-ons can be a good idea even for a fulltimer that shuts down overnight after the bars close and power up again at 6 AM...there are stations in smaller towns that still do an 18 to 20 hour broadcast day, knowing they're broadcasting only to trees and squirrels if they're on at 3 in the morning.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

This will probably never happen, but, I think the rules should be modified to allow daytimers to power down rather than sign off completely. This would enable them to serve their city of license at night. Yes, I know the interference/noise level on the band would increase. But, let's be honest, does anyone other than the CXing community really care about reception of distant AM signals at night? Let's take WBT, for instance. Would their core audience in the Charlotte metro area really be impacted if we allow all the daytimers on 1110 to stay on at reduced power to serve their communities?

It's an admirable thought, but how many of these stations would get eaten alive by the co-channel and first adjacent clears or power lobes of directional regionals. The night time interference presently afflicting the Class IVs is indicative of what could happen if daytimers on clears or regionals were allowed to power down to what... 50 watts? 100 watts? 250 watts? Add the flotsam generated by IBOC and it creates even greater noise.

Any discussion of night time operation for daytimers should consider the consumer perspective: Who's listening? Who's gonna listen? Local high school sports is often cited as "local programming" that attracts listeners. Agreed. But if the powered-down daytimer's signal is eaten alive before it reaches the consumer's radio, it's useless. Such a station might be better off heavily promoting (horizontally, e.g., "this Friday night at 8" and vertically, e.g., "tonight at 8") the event on the air and stream the game as if it's on the air after the station signs off. As to the translators, they serve a purpose. Kudos to stations (like WCJW) which have robust translator game plans in place. But, as noted, there's a translator mash-up that's contributing to a lot of interference on the FM band.

On a recent road trip, I listened to about a half dozen stations operating on translators in small communities and near major markets. Each carried no more than about 8 to 10 minutes on a good car radio. Traveling at 55-75 mph, that allows for a radius of about five to seven miles. It's clear (and understood) that the translator initiative is designed to serve stationary listeners, but even this initiative, as well intentioned as it is, may provide only a temporary solution to the AM daytimer's plight. Some of the most egregious RF guzzlers are those assigned to the pray for pay corporations operating in the commercial band.

 

[audio4tv]

If I remember my FCC rules & regs right, daytimers were allowed to stay on the air til the conclusion of a sporting event or an opera. But some things change.

Not in my lifetime. The only exception was if there was imminent danger to life or property and one could stay on the air to warn the public of the impending disaster. One could make a case that airing SU football would be a disaster, but that is another story....

I do remember one time that the station manager at WWBK ordered the station to stay on the air after sunset (when it was still daytime only) due to a tornado warning being issued for Orleans county. I don't believe there ever was a real tornado, and when the warning was canceled, he was pretty steamed when the station signed off, instead of staying on later!

 

[W2JUV_AL]

FWIW, I think WSFW is back on the air. I can hear it faintly at my locale, about 30mi east of Syracuse.

 

[Philip_Airtime]

Perhaps some broadcasters with more knowledge than me can clarify this. Why were some stations that were once day-timers allowed to broadcast into the evening, while others retained their daytime status? For instance, the station I once worked for, WMNS in Olean, now broadcasts at lower power into the evening hours. And obviously, WHLD and WXRL, once daytimers, are now 24-hours. Yet, the Seneca Falls station -- or AM 1120 in Buffalo for that matter -- retain their daytime status. Was it a matter that their owners -- either current or past -- did not apply for evening broadcasts? Or are their particular frequencies protected by some clear channel station somewhere in the nation? Can anyone enlighten me here?

BTW, WSFW and WMNS once shared the same owner. He didn't like my voice and wanted to fire me from WMNS. Thanks to his partner at the time -- WMNS General Manager Mike Ameigh -- I was saved. Who knows what would have happened if that jerk had his way. I could be managing a convenience store! Anyway, I will always be indebted to Mike -- now GM of Oswego-Syracuse public station WRVO -- for taking a chance on me right out of college! And the guy who wanted fire me? I don't know or care whatever happened to him! I consider him one of the two worst people I ever encountered in my career.

 

[Bob1370]

Some of these stations that operate fulltime now, were able to construct directional antenna systems to meet FCC protection standards and screen out dominant stations on their channels (like WHLD was able to screen cochannel WXYT in Detroit and adjacent channel WHTK in Rochester, among others. with its north-pointed DA pattern). Others are satisfied with running flea power of anywhere from a few watts to 100 watts using their daytime antenna.
But stations like Buffalo's 1120 may figure that it isn't worth it to keep the studio open if they can't run enough power to cover their market well enough at night to make it pay.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Perhaps some broadcasters with more knowledge than me can clarify this. Why were some stations that were once day-timers allowed to broadcast into the evening, while others retained their daytime status? For instance, the station I once worked for, WMNS in Olean, now broadcasts at lower power into the evening hours. And obviously, WHLD and WXRL, once daytimers, are now 24-hours. Yet, the Seneca Falls station -- or AM 1120 in Buffalo for that matter -- retain their daytime status. Was it a matter that their owners -- either current or past -- did not apply for evening broadcasts? Or are their particular frequencies protected by some clear channel station somewhere in the nation? Can anyone enlighten me here?

It helps to understand how the FCC assigned frequencies when AM was regarded as the "Standard Broadcast" band. There were/are designated power levels and station classes. Many of us continue to refer to the former terminology of Classes 1, 1A, 2, 2B, 3 and 4 (the local graveyard stations) rather than using the new Class A, B, C, D.

Stations like WBBF and WSFW operate on what the FCC designated as Clear Channel (not the corporation) frequencies. Anybody who ever held a valid Third Ticket with Broadcast Endorsement is likely capable of rattling off all the Clear Channel, Regional and Local frequencies without missing a beat.

The FCC Rules require mileage/distance separation requirements for operating on Clears Channel frequencies with a maximum power of 50 kw. Take WKBW (WWKB) on 1520. It was designated as a Class 2-B, operating with a directional antenna fulltime (DA-1) to protect KOMA on 1520 in Oklahoma City. KOMA operates DA-N to protect KB. (A friend theorizes that KB could have been DA-N when it first signed on, but that point is moot.) KMOX on 1120, like WHAM on 1180, was designated as Class 1A, operating 50 kw non-directional day and night. Other stations on these Clear Channel frequencies were required by FCC Rules to sign off at night.

Stations operating on 1300, 1270 and 1440 (among many others such as 550, 930, 950, 970, 1280, 1460) operate on designated Regional Channels, which were originally limited to a power of 5kw day and night, and also were required to protect other stations operating on the same frequency (or adjacent frequencies) by using directional antennas or reducing power at night, and in same cases day and night (DA-1.) WGR, for example, was first licensed with 5 kw non-directional during the day and 1 kw at night (1 kw DA-N) to protect WKRC on 550 in Cincinnati, which also operates with a directional antenna at night (DA-N). WBEN on 930, using a directional antenna only at night, protects WPAT on 930, in Patterson NJ.

Stations like WMNS 1360, Olean and WHHO 1320, Hornell also operate(d) on regional frequencies. Because they were within a certain distance of the dominant or primary Regional station operating on the same frequency in another city, they were required to sign off at local sunset.

Some Regionals that operated daytime only (D) later constructed directional antennas and were licensed to operate with a directional antenna (DA-N) at night with reduced power. WDOE, Dunkirk, for example, operates on 1410 with 1 kw day and 500 watts DA-N to protect KQV 1410 in Pittsburgh (which has a brutal directional pattern at night, despite being one of the earliest AM stations in America.)

The FCC years ago loosened the Rules allowing more stations on Regional Channels to operate at night with directional antennas, some with more restrictive patterns, reduced power or both. WXRL, directional at all times, (DA-1), actually increases power at night, but operates with a more restrictive night time pattern (DA-N.)

The Local Class 4 stations operate(d) on 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450 and 1490, at first with 250 watts, later by FCC decree with a combination of 1 kw Day/250 watts Night or 500 Day/250 Night. Now, Class 4s operate with 1 kw day and night. (In this writer's view, adding to the cacophony of the AM band at night.)

That's a thumbnail sketch. Only matter of time before Fybush or Savage add the details, exceptions and coloration.

 

[rdcuffpa1]

That's a thumbnail sketch. Only matter of time before Fybush or Savage add the details, exceptions and coloration.

I have neither of those names, but one interesting comparison to the 1120 WBBF/KMOX situation is 830 WCCO Minneapolis, MN - a classic 50 kW non-directional - vs. WEEU Reading, PA - which runs 6 kW nights on a five-tower array aggressively nulled to the WNW (see http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WEEU&service=AM&status=L&hours=N) ...I believe the protected zone for clear channel stations is now 500 miles.

I suppose if WBBF wanted to invest in a new tower site near, say, Angola, and throw nearly all its power to the ENE, it *might* be able to do the same thing. But apparently its owners haven't been motivated to contemplate the expense of new equipment, towers, and land.

Similarly, WUFO's nearest clear channel neighbor is Hartford's WTIC, which is directional nights to protect KRLD in Dallas, also directional. With that logic, WUFO would need to have a WNED-AM like night directional pattern throwing most if its signal towards the NNW to protect both WTIC and KRLD. Interestingly, there would not likely be any Canadian interference to consider...the only Canadian station on 1080 is based in Alberta.

I am not a radio engineer...just a DX enthusiast...so who knows if the FCC would even contemplate such approaches...

Richard in Allentown, PA (ex-East Aurora)

 

[bmcglynn]

Stations like WMNS 1360, Olean and WHHO 1320, Hornell also operate(d) on regional frequencies. Because they were within a certain distance of the dominant or primary Regional station operating on the same frequency in another city, they were required to sign off at local sunset.

WHHO is an interesting case. They actually stayed on 24/7, although dropped to 22 watts at night - virtually signing off. Their previous owner never paid the fine to the FCC and turned in the license.

There were a fair number of 5KW daytimers. The cost to be non-directional daytime only at 5KW was substantially lower than nighttime power with a directional array. Once you go directional, the cost goes up 5 or 10 fold with phasors, sampling loops, extra towers, and land.

As for the graveyard channels - we operate on one in Dansville at 1400 powering up to 1KW at night from 880W daytime. The noise on the band at night is quite noticeable. At night, we get out about 10-15 miles in all directions (depending on where you are in the valley). With that said, the nighttime coverage that Dave Mance invested in in the early 80's did make a big difference for a local station that people rely on for school closings in the dark of winter.

On another note... 1400 WDNY is quite truly on a "Graveyard Frequency" for us. Our transmitter is located on Cemetery Road in Dansville across from... a cemetery.

Brian

 

[fybush]

WHHO is an interesting case. They actually stayed on 24/7, although dropped to 22 watts at night - virtually signing off.

Which of course, from a regulatory standpoint, is essentially the same thing as being a daytimer; like most class D stations on regional channels, WHHO was granted very limited non-DA night power in the 1980s with no protection from incoming interference.

As for the graveyard channels - we operate on one in Dansville at 1400 powering up to 1KW at night from 880W daytime. The noise on the band at night is quite noticeable. At night, we get out about 10-15 miles in all directions (depending on where you are in the valley). With that said, the nighttime coverage that Dave Mance invested in in the early 80's did make a big difference for a local station that people rely on for school closings in the dark of winter.

And I'm sure you know, Brian, that WDNY started out as a daytimer on a regional channel! With as much skywave as WWRL throws up this way in late afternoon and early morning, I can only imagine how impaired that WDNY signal on 1600 must have been during critical hours before the move to 1400...

 

[JakeLongwell]

The AM station in my hometown started out as a daytimer on a regional channel. WFSR/WGHT/WVIN in Bath, NY, started life in 1962 as a 500 watt daytimer on 1380. When Robert Pfuntner bought WVIN AM/FM in 1990, one of the first things that happened was that 1380 (calls changed to WABH) began nighttime operation with 50 watts. At that time, they still signed off at Midnight, though, still giving us a chance to do some DXing on 1380 until sign on at 5:30. They went 24/7 in the Fall of 1994.

Since then, WABH has had a couple of facility upgrades. Today, they run 10kw by day, and 500 watts at night.

Back when they signed off at sunset, I remember hearing stations like WNAQ in Naugatuck, CT, and an ethnic station which was probably WKDM in New York.

When WHHO signed off at night, I could hear WJAS Pittsburgh, and CFGM in the Toronto area, at about equal levels.

 

[Bob1370]

"WBEN on 930, using a directional antenna only at night, protects WPAT on 930, in Patterson NJ."

Actually it's the other way around. WPAT was first a daytime-only station until, after the war, it installed a multitower antenna in North Jersey specifically to protect WBEN (it sends almost no power to the northwest after sunset). WBEN can send as much signal it wants anywhere except toward WKY in Oklahoma City, which mutually screens WBEN with its night pattern. Theoretically WBEN could raise its power beyond 5,000 watts, maybe to 10,000, without reconfiguring its pattern...although the effort and expense may not get them much extra help, given that their existing plant gives virtually full market coverage already.

And WWKB and KOMA are also equivalent Class A (or class 1-B using the old system) stations on 1520, required to protect only each other. KB in 1941 was designated the dominant eastern station on the channel whole KOMA was dominant in the central and prairie regions...KOMA bumped up from 5,000 to 50,000 watts a little later, in 1946, while KB had already built its plant in Hamburg and made its upgrade before Pearl Harbor. I heard from KB's tech people that the reason they didn't go DA-N was to be able to shoot more power toward Rochester around the clock and grab listeners who couldn't hear either CBS or Mutual programs from the local Rochester stations (WHEC, with 1000 watts daytime and 500 watts at night, or WSAY, which then only had 250).