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WWVA towers knocked down by major storm yesterday

Rusty Muck

Rusty Muck

Class-A clear channel signal WWVA/1170 Wheeling - aka the third "Big One," behind WLW and WTAM - is now off the air as the result of massive storms in the Wheeling region yesterday (August 3). Their three-tower landmark off of Barton Road in nearby St. Clairsville, Ohio, built in the late 1930s, is now a heap of twisted metal.

Pictures of the damage from WWVA's own web site can be seen here: [ http://www.wwva.com/cc-common/gallery/display.html?album_id=244870 ]

As of 6:00AM on August 4th, WWVA's programming has moved to much tinier sister station WBBD/1400 (which carries a jockless adult standards format) as of 6:00AM until a temporary tower can be built.

Do remember that Clear Channel tried to leverage the value of the WWVA signal by trying to move the signal to Stow, Ohio, as a move-in to the Cleveland market back in 2004. It never happened, and yet, it's interesting to note that WTRF/7's coverage of this story noted the tower array as an area tourist attraction. :)
 
Interesting how Bill Timken of WWVA said he doesn't know if the station will be allowed to return to 50K. I don't see why they wouldn't. Cost-prohibitive maybe with three towers? What a loss that would be. Maybe a good part of that is they might not have HD anymore!
 
I would think they have insurance to cover replacement of the towers.....
 
schmave said:
Interesting how Bill Timken of WWVA said he doesn't know if the station will be allowed to return to 50K. I don't see why they wouldn't. Cost-prohibitive maybe with three towers? What a loss that would be. Maybe a good part of that is they might not have HD anymore!
Click to expand...

It was an goof by WTRF; Bill isn't their lead engineer, in fact, morning host Bloomdaddy poked some fun at Bill on their air this morning (identified as the "King of Stink" in the podcast): [ http://media.ccomrcdn.com/media/station_content/1286/tyson_interview_1281015732_24198.mp3 ]

CC has reined in engineers from all over to the Barton Road site in order to get 1170 up and running again, so they apparently won't spare any expense. Which is a good thing, IMO, considering that the Wheeling cluster was on the block for several years.
 
They will eventually be able to operate with 50kw, but they may have to operate with reuced power while they're on a temporary array, especially at night. They will re-build the towers, but it may take a while. Insurance will most likely cover the reconstruction costs.
 
Are they still running "The Savage Nation" live at 6pm Monday-Friday? I haven't been able to pick them up for a few months now. Seems like they run or ran the first 2 hours.
 
johnbasalla said:
Are they still running "The Savage Nation" live at 6pm Monday-Friday? I haven't been able to pick them up for a few months now. Seems like they run or ran the first 2 hours.
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Yep, I heard Savage on 1170 last night from just east of Columbus. As I mentioned on the Pittsburgh board, WWVA was subject to very deep fading around here as early as 6:30, two hours before sunset, and as usual was nowhere to be found after dark. How does it come in up in Cleveland at night?
 
Re: WWVA near Cleveland

WWVA has been hit or miss at least in the South Western portion of the county in which Cleveland resides. I called "The Savage Nation" some time ago, but didn't get passed the call screener. Maybe I should have mentioned at the out-set that I was calling from the Cleveland area, as they don't have an affiliate here. His reaction might have been interesting... or not. Seems like half the time you hear Michael saying... "New York, WOR, you're up next. What's on your mind?" Well, that and my favorite... "San Fransicko".
 
johnbasalla said:
Are they still running "The Savage Nation" live at 6pm Monday-Friday? I haven't been able to pick them up for a few months now. Seems like they run or ran the first 2 hours.
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They still run the first two hours of Savage, then have to cut out at 8:00PM in order to run paid religious programming. Indeed, it's an antiquated form of programming, but for decades, it's what paid the bills for the 50kW signal (and probably still does, especially in that region of the country).

As for the temp signal, I did receive it in eastern Lorain County shortly after they fired up the temporary towers. Even at a low-power (possibly just 1kW?) the fact that only KFAQ/Tulsa also broadcasts on 1170 at night - and they are aimed away from Wheeling - should still aide WWVA with signal coverage at night.
 
This is the application WWVA filed today with the FCC for a SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY to operate with A LONG WIRE ANTENNA:

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/w...xt=25&appn=101394966&formid=911&fac_num=44046

Exhibits Exhibit 16
Description: EX 16

CAPSTAR TX LLC SEEKS SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO OPERATE STATION WWVA WITH A LONG WIRE ANTENNA IN A NON-DIRECTIONAL MANNER WITH POWER REDUCED TO NOT EXCEED 12.5 KW, BOTH DAY AND NIGHT, DUE TO VERY SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO ALL 3 OF THE SELF SUPPORTING TOWERS UTILIZED AS ELEMENTS IN THE WWVA ANTENNA ARRAY.

AN EXTREME WIND EVENT IN THE LATE AFTERNOON OF AUGUST 4, 2010 RESULTED IN EACH TOWER BEING DAMAGED IN SUCH A MANNER THAT ONLY 40 TO 50 FEET OF EACH SELF SUPPORTING TOWER WAS LEFT STANDING.

WWVA HAS REMOVED THE DAMAGED SECTION OF TOWER, LEAVING STUBS OF EACH TOWER IN PLACE. FROM THE TOP OF THE EASTERN MOST TOWER IN THE ARRAY, A LONG WIRE HAS BEEN ATTACHED AND BONDED TO THIS TOWER AT THE HIGHEST ACCESSIBLE POINT. THIS WIRE EXTENDS APPROXIMATELY 125 FEET IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION TO AN APPROPRIATE INSULATING ASSEMBLY, WHICH IS ITSELF SUSPENDED BY A REMAINING STUB TOWER, AT APPROXIMATELY 40 FOOT ABOVE GROUND LEVEL.

THE PUBLIC INTEREST WILL BE SERVED BY THE CONTINUED OPERATION OF WWVA AS THE LICENSEE MAKES THE NEEDED REPAIRS TO THE ARRAY.
 
MsMusicRadio said:
He is a true wit------kinda like Will Rogers
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Comparing Michael Savage to Will Rogers?

Rogers was gentle in his humor, even when it was pointed ("Every time congress makes a joke its a law and every time they make a law its a joke").

Savage: Such gems as "So you have aids, eh? Why don't you just die". Or how about "these people are the scum of the earth and should be thrown in the garbage so that the vermin can eat whats left of their brains". Pretty witty, huh?

How can you possibly compare the two? Ridiculous.
 
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