• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

WSRY-ESPN Radio

W

WTUX

Guest
Does anyone listen to the little ESPN affiliate in Elkton? 1550 WSRY, the former WSER?Nothing wrong with the ESPN format. However, this station is a sunrise to sunset operation, licensed for just a few watts at night. In January, you cannot hear the Mike & Mike show until 7:30am. Nothing after 4:45pm in November and December.So I am just wondering if anyone on the board bothers to listen during mid-day or afternoon.
 
A few watts at night?HA! Try 1 watt, yes as in singular......They are licensed for 1 watt directional into 3 towers at night!
 
Nobody is listening to that station now. It's a shame too. When I worked there in 1995, 1996, and in late 1997, the station had listeners. WSER was a good, little station, despite the terrible ownership. The former owners (husband and wife) treated the station as their "baby" during ugly divorce proceedings. Those people were not broadcasters. The station did have good people working there at one time. It's a shame to see where the station is now. It's sad that nobody cares about local, community-oriented radio anymore...especially, on small 1,000-watt AM stations like WSER (now WSRY).The station is allowed to be on the air after sunset, but only at one watt. I'm surprised to see the station didn't find a way to allow the transmitter to automatically lower the power at sunset. Perhaps, an engineering-type can explain if that can be done or not.Who owns the station these days? Is it still Pastor Steve Hare (who bought the station from Brian Barrabee)? When Pastor Hare's church bought the station, they were simulcasting WXHL-FM's programming. Then the station switched to all-ESPN, all the time. Since the station is an all-sports format, it would make sense for the place to hire a few people to sell and produce local high school sports broadcasts again...just like WSER did. Also, it would be smart for the station to air Wilmington Blue Rocks games again. I can't see how it would be difficult to get sponsors for local (Elkton High School and/or all of Cecil County's high schools) football, basketball, and baseball games, along with Blue Rocks games. The old WSER had no problems getting sponsors for these types of broadcasts.
 
WSER was my first full time radio gig, back in 1968. I started out on the air just Sat & Sun. then moved to afternoon drive. We were just starting the Top 40 format then. It had been tried for a few months in 1965/66, then dropped until spring 1968. I left the station and moved to WTUX in 1969 since WSER had a policy of paying the electric bill first, the married employees second, then if any money was left over, they would pay single guys like myself!Automatic controls are readily available to raise and reduce power. We used one at WNRK. It was programed to go to 500 watts at 6am, then 1kw at sunrise (this would be changed when sunrise is 5:30am). At sundown, it would go to 280 watts, a half hour later to 100, then 30 minutes later go to 42 watts. Trouble arrived when CE Dave Schmidt left the area. He left instructions on how to adjust the device each month, but I could never get the instructions to work.With 1550, they used to stay on at night and even had a couple of sponsors. But you could only hear the station on Main Street, the sponsors ditched it and it made no sense to continue. If you operate at the legal 1 watt, it makes no sense to stay on. But I would start it at 6am to get some morning drive action during the winter.Before WSER became WXHL-AM, Steve ran the Moody Bible Institute's format of music and Bible teaching. I enjoyed the format. At one point, the signal was stronger in Newark than 1260.
 
I worked at WSER in 1995 and through 1996. I remember working any and all shifts there...even board-oping satellite talk programming during weeknights...and spinning religious music records and preachers on audio cassette...all on one watt! Of course, I did shifts there when people actually listened! The station even had a Sunday morning Bluegrass Gospel program that was done live from a music shop in Oxford, PA (the guy who did the show had a studio in the back of his music shop...with his house next door) and the audio was fed down the phone line! It sounded like crap on the air, but that program had alot of listeners...even with the station still on one watt during the early morning winters! When the station stopped the program, they recieved alot of complaints. But the station didn't feel like trying to sell the program...so it was the easy way out to just ditch the show. The host did not buy the air time. The station was to do the sales for the show, and the host just provided his own personal time and studio facility. When the show began, it had sponsors and money was coming in. But in 1996, they fired the GM, and brought in some radio wannabee to be the boss...and he was too lazy to sell spots for the show.
 
I never heard the show, of course, living in Delaware. But I do rememeber reading about it. It got a bit of newpaper coverage when it started.He should have done what Jerry Blavat does - buy the time and sell the spots. No other sales rep can believe in your product as much as you do yourself.
 
I lived in Elkton until 1998 and I missed the old WSER. It was never a slick-sounding station but it was Elkton's station, and that made it special, especially during snow storms. We'd listen to either WSER or the old WASA for the hopeful school closings.

BTW- I worked at WOEL-FM across town from 1986-1998.
 
Wow Am I happy to see to at least see there are a few who remember the old WSER radio,ok I agree it wasnt the best am station on the dial but to be honest it wasnt bad and a lot better than my hometown station back in NW CT. At least WSER had a pretty steady music format mostly AC, and station ID"s far better than back home too!I really miss this little sation as to me it did a powerhouse job for a small town. Back home the then WTOR ran 1000 watts from 6am to mid then sign off it had a 3 tower dir array WSER does the daytime thing sunrise to sunset then 1 watt well 1 is beter than none , But WSER is a reminder to me of back home when we had teen shows and HS kids doing news and palying records on SAT morn's.When i drive by WSER and see the site it brings back memories as the two stations are comparable both local and 3 tower dir ant's and 1000 watts and in a swamp, I had I the cash i would by this station and bring back the music and loacl sports and flavor and your right sell time the right way.But I mus t admit ESPN radio is not a bad format and I know at least 2 dozen people who listen and the 1 watt goes farther than main street,I can get it at my workplace on appleton road after dark and at my house off 279. I just wanted to say this little AM could!!!
And still should!!!
 
Radio 610 said:
Wow Am I happy to see to at least see there are a few who remember the old WSER radio,ok I agree it wasnt the best am station on the dial but to be honest it wasnt bad and a lot better than my hometown station back in NW CT. At least WSER had a pretty steady music format mostly AC, and station ID"s far better than back home too!I really miss this little sation as to me it did a powerhouse job for a small town. Back home the then WTOR ran 1000 watts from 6am to mid then sign off it had a 3 tower dir array WSER does the daytime thing sunrise to sunset then 1 watt well 1 is beter than none , But WSER is a reminder to me of back home when we had teen shows and HS kids doing news and palying records on SAT morn's.When i drive by WSER and see the site it brings back memories as the two stations are comparable both local and 3 tower dir ant's and 1000 watts and in a swamp, I had I the cash i would by this station and bring back the music and loacl sports and flavor and your right sell time the right way.But I mus t admit ESPN radio is not a bad format and I know at least 2 dozen people who listen and the 1 watt goes farther than main street,I can get it at my workplace on appleton road after dark and at my house off 279. I just wanted to say this little AM could!!!
And still should!!!
Click to expand...
 
WTOR? Wow, that's a bit back in time..

i know someone who owned it just before it went dark and got sold to Buckley...
 
You bet its a long time ago like 1966 when I was 13 and it was a kickin local sation at night when top 40 was played. The console was a patch job but the xmitter was a Collins along with the phasor and turntables 16 inchers two of em with Tapecaster carts.A neat place to be on a sat nite,Thats why I like the WSER site as it is quite comparable in looks and power. Tho WTOR [Now WSNG] had way taller towers due to being on 610. Torrington Broadcasting owned it till the mid 70'S as then xmitter and studios had to be separated due to the town of Harwinton stepping inI recall then a NJ outfit got a hold of it then who knows as I moved to the Jersey shore and away from Torrington, I apprerciate any more info as it has been a long time, I knew it went dark in 96 and Buckley snapped it up.
 
Radio610:

Email me off the board, [email protected] I know someone who can tell you anything and everything yo uEVER wanted to know about WSNR/WTOR 610.. He's the former owner and historian for the CT Broadcaster's Assocation.. and a close friend.
 
Re: WSRY-ESPN Radio/Old WSER

Sorry to bump an old topic, but I just got to reading it..I had a chance to
work with Steve Hare in renovating WSER when he purchased it in 1999.

Fresh out of college, working for Steve Hare at WXHL was my first FT radio
job. When he purchased WSER, he made it our priority to clean the place up,
and get it ready for a complete renovation. I remember being really surprised at
the state of the place when we first walked in. Not that the building was older,
mind you, but nothing had been cleaned up or removed. Production room computers
still up and running, paycheck stubs in some of the desks. Heck, we found a stack
of blank checks just waiting to be written! It was almost as if the previous owners sold
the place, and ran as far as they could. (I don't know their story, so who knows.)

Anyways, Pastor Hare dumped a lot of money into renovating that place. Completely brand new
equipment, new coats of paint, new flooring, etc...I remember plans for a new transmitter, but I
don't know if that ever happened. We even built a new satellite dish for receiving the Moody Bible
format. (in the middle of a snowstorm, no less...I froze my butt off with the GM and Engineer working
on that in 10 degree weather.) That dish is still out in front of the driveway,from what I understand..

I didn't stick around to see the project to completion, but I was surprised
to pass through the area again in 2001 or so, and hear it as such another translator for WXHL. He had plans
to try and revive it, almost like a teaching and preaching station in Elkton.

It's been a while since I traveled into Elkton..does WSRY do any actual local programming other than just running
ESPN radio's satellite feed?

Thanks for letting me reminisce. Somewhere, I might have a few photos tucked away from the last few
days I worked there. If I can dig them up, I'll post a link.
 
The only "local" programming I've heard outside of ESPN are various short ministry related items (a sports ministry station?)...no local spots or info, at least from I've heard (I don't tune them in often). I used to see their logo on the back of the mass transit busses in Elkton, but I haven't seen them lately.
 
Likewise, I have nothing nothing local on 1550, except the very few local ads. And it does sound like a sports ministry station. Whatever money Steve dumped into that station was a waste of resources.

I listen on weekends since there is little on radio locally that I have any interest in and at least ESPN is better than Fox Sports on 1290.
 
And yet it doesn't have to be that way...I tried very hard to LMA that station last year, agreed to HIS price, and then he said it wasn't enough. Did I mention it was HIS price? <sigh...> Darn shame.......
 
I have known Steve since he was born. He figured if you agreed to his price too easily, he could con even more out of you. Be glad you didn't get it! He would have found a way to cheat you several months down the road. How familar are you with his business dealings? Any time you are thinking about an LMA with the owner of what is basically a dead radio station, be very careful. While probably not true in this case, often the station will have debts and a bad rep in the community that will prevent you from turning it into a success.
 
Probably not familiar enough. The place is sad. No heat or water because a pipe burst in the basement which caused the well to pump itself dry into the basement and ruin the furnace. Roof leaks like a sieve. Towers need paint and are not too straight. :eek: I don't think it has *any* reputation--it's been too dead too long. And if he thought that I had more money, he was wrong. What I offered was more than fair, and I'm pretty sure the Lord has something better for me. I did find it interesting that it's just about impossible to Google any info on "Faith City Family Church" in Newark, the "base" of his operations. They seem to hold their cards awfully close to their chest.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom